[This novel will be entering VIP on May 17. Enjoy a 10,000-word update, and thank you for your support! (*￣︶￣)]
-
Margaret is an utterly ordinary scholar researching invertebrates and mollusks. She dies young, a victim of the Nobel Prize.
When she wakes up again, she discovers... that she has married into the British Empire's royal family and become a duke's wife. But her marriage is a miserable one, and she is constantly in danger of being assassinated by the powerful and seeing her world collapse.
The duke banishes her to a castle shrouded in mist, leaving her only a lowly male servant and letting her waste away on the estate.
-
The unremarkable, lowly male servant on the estate serves his lady with utmost devotion.
He always kneels on one knee with his head lowered, gently wiping the dust from her shoes. When she dozes off while reading academic papers, he quietly smooths the creases in her skirt and corset. He stands in the shadows of her bedroom with a candleholder, watching over her all night. No one sees his reddened neck and ears.
-
But the lady never gives him so much as a moment's attention. Instead
Each time, she carefully strokes the tiny tentacles of a group of hungry baby octopuses in their tank, records data, and focuses on researching the central nervous systems of mollusks.
-
Under the magnifying glass, seven or eight little darlings reach their tentacles out of the tank and wrap them around the lady's fingers, squirming and sliding all over them!!!
At the sight, the lowly male servant's fingers twitch. His eyes are hidden beneath long lashes.
-
Meanwhile, a book titled The Origin of Species appears out of nowhere and shocks the world.
Margaret resolutely divorces the duke, leaves behind the servant the duke had practically put up for sale, and walks away with her world-renowned scientific discoveries to establish herself independently.
-
The first marine biology research institute in Britain opens on Regent Street. To better popularize science, Margaret spends a fortune tracking down and ordering world-class scientific illustrations and paintings of mollusks to hang on the walls.
Under Margaret's expectant gaze, the framer's hands tremble as he lifts the silk cloth covering the framed picture!!!
It depicts a colossal mollusk-like monster roaring amid the waves of Celtic myth, a god who rules over a golden tree. Its sky-darkening tentacles overlap to form a gigantic nest, and its blood-red monstrous eye stares at her with a feverish, fervent madness unlike anything she has ever seen.
-
Margaret: Is it still in time to return this??? Where do I leave a bad review???
☆, [Bonus Scene I], ☆
-
The Welsh hunting dog the lady kept has died. To keep the lady from being reminded of it, the maid secretly puts the old collar and dog tag in a golden box in the storeroom.
The next night, the golden box vanishes without a trace.
The maid is horrified and hurriedly searches every hiding place in the castle. Then, passing a half-open carved marble door, she catches a glimpse of
-
The personal male servant kneeling before the lady, trembling with devotion and flushed from head to toe. The collar is around his neck, its newly made dog tag gleaming silver, his proud head pressed against the lady's skirt.
☆, [Bonus Scene II], ☆
-
The lady is busy today, tying little pink bows one by one onto the tentacles and tiny heads of several baby octopuses. They twitch their tentacles and bob their heads, making the bows flutter. How lovely!
Huh? There were clearly seven little darlings. Why is there one more?
-
The one with the thick, long tentacles is secretly crawling toward the lady. It carefully raises one strong tentacle and slips it into the loop of pink ribbon in her hand.
Once the lady has tied its bow, it sways with satisfaction, watching the bow flutter. Then it silently raises another tentacle toward her...
[Reader's Guide]
1. The male lead seems cold and abstinent on the outside, but he's a clingy, deranged mess inside. Once he falls for you, he'll cling as tightly as mating snakes and never let go.
2. The female lead is beautiful and intelligent. Later on, she turns dark and slays a dragon.
3. The setting is entirely fictional, though inspired by the Victorian era. Please don't confuse it with reality.
★[A lawyer's letter has been sent to the party accused of plagiarism]★
[1] See the author's Weibo, [TrevorLawrence], for the lawyer's letter and statement.
[2] To prevent further spread of insulting and defamatory comments related to this incident, the comment section has been closed.
[3] Thank you to everyone who has offered encouragement, support, and help as we defend our rights through legal channels. Updates will continue until the story is complete.
※This blurb was first posted for presale on 2021.03.20 and updated on 2022.03.26. Weibo screenshots have been saved as evidence. Any stolen plot points will be pursued.
★★Coming soon, the next story will follow right after★★
[Mad King]
[The Mad King: A seemingly gentle, modest, and refined beauty / A world-weary heiress, a flower of wealth]
-
Many people say Gillian's path to becoming a world-class director was paved with gold bricks by her family. Many others say she won the international Golden statuette three times in a row because of that person. Some say her success was undoubtedly thanks to the little actor who was destined for her.
-
Everyone knows Gillian single-handedly made that unknown little actor a star. She created scripts and roles tailored to him, assembled the world's top film crews for him, and laid out the red carpets of world cinema at his feet.
Gillian doted on the little actor without a shred of principle, indulging him with carefree abandon.
-
In the apartment's sitting room, a refined figure sits on a sturdy oak sofa. He looks up at Gillian, watching the bright daylight outline her figure, and the handsome young actor clinging to her side.
-
Within the faint outline of the light, smoke rings escape her vivid lips. She slumps against a dusty cushion, listless.
