We had a truly happy time in Attica.
Leaving the noisy capital, we chose to focus more on each other. It goes without saying how excellent the choice was.
One day, about a year after our second wedding anniversary.
It was nice to see the warm weather. I took a walk around the neighborhood with Kaelus.
“The potato crop has increased, so everyone likes it.”
“It went well to trade Attica’s forest products for Illion’s crops. Both territories were satisfied.”
When I returned home talking with him, I received an urgent call from imperial city.
“Who is it?”
“Hmm. Heli sent it.”
Reading the letter, Kaelus’ face darkened.
“The emperor’s condition is not very good.”
“Oh…”
He was like a father to him. He often referred to Kaelus as his “second son” in public.
I clasped his hand.
“Let’s go to imperial city. You could really regret it if you hesitate.”
“Yeah, I should.”
The road prepared us for a hasty departure to the capital. I had to move quickly, so I packed my clothes with the least amount of luggage and personnel.
~~~~
It’s been a long time since we left the land of snow and ice and headed south. At the time of coming to Attica, the road, which took almost a week, was shortened to three days this time.
At last we reached the duchy of the capital. However, far from relieving the fatigue, Kaelus and I rushed to the palace without having time to greet the servants who had kept the house.
There were already a considerable number of aristocrats gathered in the Lion Palace. When we appeared, there were sighs and buzzes here and there.
Countess Erinnis greeted me with a handkerchief wiping tears.
“Duchess Hestia! Duke Kaelus!”
“Ah, Countess…!”
It was not a situation to greet peacefully, so I briefly asked about the state of the emperor.
“What happened to his majesty?”
“He’s been debilitating, but his condition has suddenly deteriorated over the past few days. The courtiers are all stuck, but he really needs to prepare himself this time.”
“Ah…”
Kaelus’ face turned almost earthy.
“I must go to see his majesty right away, Hess.”
“Yes, I’m coming with you.”
We hurried to the emperor’s bedroom. I reached the bedroom door, past a corridor heavily guarded by guards.
“Tell him Kaelus, the lord of Illion, and Hestia, the lady of Attica, to see him.”
The chief bowed deeply, and after being polite, he hurried inside.
“Come on in.”
Kaelus exchanged glances with me for a moment, and then stepped carefully so that there was no sound of footsteps.
I could see the bed in which the emperor was lying.
“….”
The white-faced Diana looked at us and rose silently. an expression on the verge of tears The sea-colored eyes were already filled with tears.
Kaelus approached the emperor without giving her an eye.
“Your Majesty!”
“…?”
Perhaps he had just come to his senses in his voice, the emperor confirmed him with his dim eyes.
“Ah… Kaelus….”
A weak hand shook on the quilt. Kaelus managed to notice it and clasped his hand tightly.
I think we need to move out for the two of them now.
“…”
But that tactless Diana is always the problem. She was standing next to the bed as if he were stuck with a handkerchief and only shedding tears.
It can’t be helped. It’s been a while since we saw each other, but you and I must be destined to bump into each other every time we see.
I boldly talked to him.
“Your highness the crown princess. Why don’t we go out for a while?”
“?”
Her fine eyebrows were slightly distorted. But when I looked at her with force in my eyes, she nodded gently.
I kissed Kaelus lightly.
“Kael, see you later”
“…”
He nodded in silence.
~~~~
Coming out, Diana and I looked away in silence from each other.
Judging from her attitude, I don’t think she’s properly reflecting on herself yet as Helios said.
Do you still need more time? It’s hard to change a person in a few years.
Still, let’s take a peek to see how much she has taken steps to reflect on herself.
“It’s been a long time since I saw you, your grace.”
“…Yes. Long time no see.”
It’s cold. This is the end of the progress check.
I should have pushed her to abdication, but Kaelus broke down. For a moment, old resentment rises.
“….”
But while I was spending time with Kaelus and Attica, I changed my mind a lot.
He was absolutely right. It was much more important to think only about what we would make us happy among ourselves, regardless of what others did. It’s actually overwhelming to just care about that.
So I decided not to take Diana’s reaction to heart.
“Oh…”
She made a sudden noise next to me, and I turned my head in surprise.
Helios was approaching at a rapid pace, perhaps hearing our news.
“The great sun of the empire…”
“Hestia. Is Kaelus inside?”
The habit of cutting off the cumbersome etiquette is still there. I answered quickly.
“Yes, his majesty has left his seat for a quiet conversation with my husband.”
“I see. Whoo…”
Helios sighed with great relief.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Hmm? Ah, I…… I was glad you guys came before it was too late.”
I honestly don’t know what to say to Helios, who smiles bitterly. What should I say to the person who has his dying father in front of him?
It is a pity that life experience is far short at times like this.
In the end, after thinking and thinking, I barely gave him this word.
“His Majesty will wake up.”
Although the expression is corny, I hope my apologetic heart can be conveyed.
Fortunately, Helios took my consolation.
“I hope so, too. Thank you, Hestia.”
Then the door opened and the palace chief appeared. Helios and Diana, who were standing in front of him, turned their heads in surprise.
“Your highness the crown prince. His majesty is calling.”
“I got it.”
When he went inside, Diana and I were left alone in the hallway again.
“…”
“…”
The awkwardness that came again. I just have to think of Diana as a person who doesn’t exist.
I don’t have the heart to make up with her. Of course, I didn’t just do nice things when I confronted her. But just as she doesn’t want to apologize, I don’t really reflect on my actions either.
Yes, I can’t force Diana to reflect on herself when I don’t reflect on myself.
It’s just that until she realizes what’s wrong with her, Kaelus and I have to live with our own happiness.
To be honest, it takes energy to hate constantly.
When I spent a long time alone in various thoughts.
As the tightly closed door opened, Kaelus and Helios reappeared.
I quickly approached my favorite.
“Kael.”
“Hess…”
Kaelus looked very tired.
Then Helios said to us, “I’ll call the two of you soon. Until then, stay in imperial city for now.”
“Yes, your highness.”
I answered on behalf of Kael.
Helios turned his back and disappeared down the hall.
“…”
Diana looked at us for a moment, and then silently returned to the emperor.
I held the cold hands of Kaelus.
“We’re going back, too.”
“…Yes.”
He took my hand and walked weakly.
~~~~
After a long time, we laid together on the bed of the duke’s mansion.
Kaelus opened his mouth with a heavy face.
“His majesty…”
When Kaelus blurted the end of his words, I waited silently for the words to follow.
“… He wanted me to remain in the capital.”
“!”
Only then did I realize why he had such a dark look on his face.
You must have feared that I would be troubled by confrontation with Diana in the noisy capital. In particular, I think I caused a suicide disturbance in front of my favorite. Maybe he’s afraid of life in the capital.
However, to turn a blind eye to this and go back to Attica to make us happy, I am concerned about the emperor’s request, which is like a will.
I asked cautiously.
“What do you want me to do?”
“I….”
He shook his head as if he didn’t know.
Nevertheless, I can clearly feel his heart shaking. Can I help you with your decision?
“Kael, I promised I’d follow you wherever you went. Whether it’s Attica or the capital, now I’m happy wherever I am with you.”
“Hess…”
“If you don’t know what to do, stay in the capital for the rest of your life. We can think about what to do later.”
In fact, I still don’t care much about anyone other than Kaelus. Whatever happens to the emperor or not, it’s enough as long as I’m happy with my favorite.
But I don’t want to burden him in return for my happiness.
Moreover, the emperor does not have much time left. To ease Kaelus’s mind, that much is willing to yield.
“Let’s do that, Kael.”
I urged him once again.
After a long sigh, Kaelus nodded slowly.
“Thank you, Hestia. If you don’t mind, I’ll probably stay in the capital a little longer. I’m very sorry to just reject his majesty’s words.”
“Yes, I feel the same way.”
This extended our capital schedule a little bit.
The next day, Helios brought Kaelus and I to the palace.
“You must have been very surprised to hear the news out of the blue. But thank you for coming quickly.”
He poured tea in front of Kaelus and coffee in front of me.
Raising the teacup, Kaelus asked.
“Is there a reason why his majesty got worse so quickly?”
“According to the court doctor, a person who has been bedridden for a long time can be affected by a very minor cause in an instant.”
Helios replied with a complex look.
The emperor was less than fifty years old, even for his parents’ generation. However, due to his long illness, he looked much older on the outside.
In this world where modern medicine is not developed, the average life expectancy is extremely short, around the age of three to forty. Perhaps that’s why people think the emperor is enduring for a sick person.
Kaelus spoke slowly.
“Yesterday, his Majesty asked me to remain in the capital.”
“…”
Helios shook his head in silence.
“So I discussed it with Hess yesterday, and I decided to stay in the imperial city for a while.”
“Hmm…”
Looking at his expression, Helios somehow seemed to have more to say.
I poked at it.
“Your Highness, you must have something to say.”
“What’s interesting is that you, the duchess, read my mind strangely well.”
He replied with a false smile.
“…I’ll tell you the truth. I want you to come back to the capital, not for the time being.”
“…”
Kaelus frowned, but for now he was silent.
“I’m at my limit on my own. It used to be a burden when you were out of state for months to relax, but now the gap is bigger than that.”
“Well….”
Helios said to me this time.
“Duchess, I think you’d prefer Attica to this capital. But this country really needs Kael.”
Then, Kaelus opened his mouth with a voice dripping with cold air ahead of me.
“Don’t force my wife to answer, Heli.”
“Oh, I’m not forcing you, I’m begging you.”
Helios also responded without losing.
I sipped my coffee calmly.
“…To be honest, I don’t care.”
“Hess, you don’t have to.”
My favorite’s words gave me a gentle smile.
“No, I’m telling you. The most important thing to me is that you don’t owe me anything. We’ve had enough of our honeymoon, so we’ll have to get back to where we belong.”
Helios grinned at the right time.
“Thank you, Hestia.”
But Kaelus had no intention of going that far.
“No, there’s something we need to talk about before we can stay in this capital.”
“?”
“How’s Diana doing these days?”
At his sharp question, Helios and I were momentarily quiet.
Kaelus’ eyes cooled even more.
“I went to Attica with Hestia because I wanted to keep Hestia out of your problems with Diana.”
Helios spoke in an awkward voice.
“If it’s Diana….”
A bitter smile.
“We’ve been married for more than three years. We got married a day earlier than your wife.”
Kaelus and I waited in silence for his words.
“We’re regaining our relationship little by little. Now we can have breakfast together. I’ve been accompanied by Diana as my partner in public.”
It is natural for couples, but it was certainly a great development when I recall that the relationship was the worst.
“Diana is much softer than before. Among the ladies of the Lily Palace, there are much more aristocrats. Of course it won’t be enough in the eyes of the duchess, but I want you to know that she’s still trying.”
“Did she stop criticizing my wife?”
When Kaelus asked stiffly, Helios affirmed.
“She’s officially silent. Not only for Hestia, but also for the nobles.”
“Well, that’s a bit too bad.”
Helios chuckled at my words.
“The duchess certainly has more leeway. I didn’t expect you to say such a generous thing.”
I gently held Kaelus’ hand.
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m really fine.”
“Hess…”
Purple eyes still full of worries.
I smiled silently.
“I’ve already monopolized you enough. It’s time to send it back to the people of the empire.”
“Well…”
“In addition, his majesty will be alive longer. In the meantime, shouldn’t we stay in the capital as his majesty said? But who knows how many years it will be?”
Helios smiled quietly at my words.
“Yes, Hestia.”
After many sighs and agonizing, Kaelus said yes with difficulty.
“…Okay. I’ll go back to state affairs.”
“Thank you, Kael.”
“Thanks to his majesty’s request and my wife’s persuasion.”
Despite my feisty favorite’s words, Helios replied with a bright look.
“Of course. I won’t forget.”
~~~~
On the day he decided to stay on the capital altogether, Kaelus contacted the remaining people in Attica. He was told to meticulously take care of his household and return to the emperor.
I wrote a separate letter to Madam Harmonia. I asked her to report on the situation of the territory in the future because the circumstances of the imperial city were not favorable.
There was another thing to do. Having returned to the capital, I should have had a welcoming ceremony in society.
I called the butler and the lady-in-waiting to discuss it.
“I should have a tea party at the duchy.”
“Feel free to tell us. We’ll help you as much as we can.”
As expected, trustworthy people. This is why I can work courageously even if I am clumsy.
It’s a social event that I’m in a hurry to prepare, but I’ve also made some progress with my own experience.
First of all, I sent invitations to several people I had frequently interacted with, including Countess Erinnis. And they quickly airlifted the top-of-the-line teas even if they gave them more money. Of course, I asked the tailor, Tekima, for the costume.
Less than a week after that, I was able to throw a perfectly prepared tea party.
Kaelus was there for the first time in a long time. I spoke humbly before the guests.
“The smperor is in critical condition, so I avoided the splendor a little. It’s a simple party, but please be generous.”
Erinnis was all smiles.
“Even parties are very cautious these days. We fully understand if the duchess is not so modest.”
The atmosphere continued to flow amicably. Above all, with Kaelus together, people could not help but get excited about the rare sight.
“You two look really good. Attica is also Attica, but I can clearly feel that you two are happy.”
I agreed with someone.
“I think it’s a good thing I came here after cooling my head off in the territory.”
Without Kaelus, the topic of conversation about Diana would certainly have come out here. However, even though they are in front of him, who explicitly opposed the abdication of the crown princess, no one can bring it up.
In fact, I already know that there was a lot of talk in society about why we left the imperial city. So to speak, speculation that Kaelus dragged me out of the capital to protect his first love, Diana.
Therefore, if we show ourselves together like this today, we will be able to completely calm down the speculation in the world.
I smiled satisfactorily and put a piece of cake in my mouth.
By the way.
“…?”
Ugh. What kind of cake is so disgusting?
Kaelus, who saw my face distorted, asked quickly.
“What’s wrong, Hess?”
I made a mistake there. There is a fear that the duchy’s cook may be falsely accused. I have to be more careful because I know he’s a faithful person.
“I think I have a slight upset stomach. I feel a little sick.”
“Well…”
But one of the guests threw it out of the blue.
“Are you pregnant?”
“?!”
“!”
When I heard that, Kaelus and I were frozen.
“Didn’t the doctor say something different?” asked Erinnis, forcing herself to hold back her laughter.
“Oh… I haven’t been able to see a doctor for the last few days because I’ve been busy……”
Come to think of it, it’s a little past the time to get my period. I thought it was because of the lack of stamina on the way from Attica to the capital!
Erinnis couldn’t take it anymore and laughed aloud.
“You shouldn’t be doing this, Duchess! Well, we’re going to leave quickly, so go see a doctor. Hohohoho.”
In the end, that’s how the party ended.
The duchy’s doctor was called in like a thunderbolt. I was examined by a doctor, with Kaelus watching with hawk eyes.
“Are you really pregnant?”
“Well…”
The doctor grinned.
“It’s weak, but it’s the pulse of a pregnant woman. Congratulations, ma’am, my lord.”
“Oh……!”
“Ahhhh!”
Oh, my God. Really?
I burst into tears without realizing it. I can’t believe I’m finally having a baby in just over two years since I became a real couple with my favorite!
Once it exploded like that, it was hard to stop. I was hugged by Kaelus and wept.
“Oh, my God! The baby is really…!”
As much as I waited anxiously, I couldn’t express my emotion in words.
Kaelus hugged me tightly and kissed me.
“Congratulations, Hess, and thank you.”
His voice, too, was teary.
“I’m most glad my child was born through you. Children are precious, but you’re the one I love the most.”
“Thank you, Kael.….”
Isn’t it a truly happy ending? The ordinary me who fell in love with my favorite finally bears the fruit of my favorite’s love.
I saved my abandoned favorite.
And my dearest,
Who saved me from being abandoned in this world.
<For My Derelict Favorite> end
TN: That’s the end folks! Now there’s only the epilogue and five side stories left. Stay tuned for the epilogue which will be split into two since it’s so long.
Tyyy
Thank you so much for translating this awsome novel
Thanks for translating! Just binged it and finally caught up so feels kinda empty it finished so suddenly. I have a question tho – the original says theres 100+ chapters, so were there merged chapters that made the numbers smaller?
Yes! The reason why there were so many scenes in each chapter because it was merged in the ebook.
Whaaaattttt😭😭😭😭 more more more please… Hope to read more with their baby and hope tell us why hestia woke up with golds in the house 🤣 I’ve read one of the comment that she’s half sister of Helion… I hope it’s not the end huhu
Well, I’m glad it’s a happy ending but I feel like there could’ve been more… I was actually expecting things to kind of come around more full circle. I was thinking Hestia would still get sick (or maybe bleed out during childbirth) and then Kael would go to Diana and beg her to use the last bit of her healing power to save her. Then, seeing Kael begging for Hestia’s life and saying how he can’t live without her etc, would make Diana realize he doesn’t love her anymore/moved on. Then Diana uses the last of her powers for a genuinely selfless reason, to save someone she hates and gets redeemed a little by sacrificing her powers to help Kael.
This would have tied everything up nicely. However, I think much of the theme of the story has been that the pacing of life is different from that of a story and life is often disappointing because things don’t always come full circle like in books. I’m not surprised the author stopped before the truly satisfactory ending. I also think this ending is too abrupt, but maybe it was on purpose?
Not sure if my comment went through or not, so posting again… Thank you for the translations! I’m glad there’s a happy ending, though I feel like there should be more… I was expecting things to kind of come more full circle. I was expecting Hestia to still get sick (or maybe bleeding out from childbirth), and Kael goes to beg Diana to use the last of her healing powers to save Hestia. Seeing Kael begging for Hestia’s life and saying he can’t live without her, it makes Diana realize he’s moved on and doesn’t love her anymore. Then, Diana somewhat redeems herself by doing a genuinely selfless thing by using the last of her healing power to save Hestia, who she hates, in order to repay Kael for all he’s done for her.
Aaahh. It’s the end already. Congratulations hestia and kael
I’m hoping for helios to have his happy ending too. He Regretted a lot and I’m proud it. He knows he’s wrong and reflected on it.
And disappointed that diana didn’t get punished ugh.
That would’ve been nice but sadly at this point, Diana has lost all her powers
Haha, but the author could always give her one last bit of heal power, or move the timeline around a bit. But I guess that wasn’t in their plans!
Thank you for all the translations, can’t believe it’s coming to an end, I just wish they clarified why Hess is fully stuck in the novel and their world, and can’t go back to reality, like she died in the real world or didn’t wake up so she ended up dying on the real world, and her existence on Kael’s world is now permanent, I can’t believe Diana got away so easily I felt Hestia’s frustrations all she did to make Diana fall went to ashes simply because Kael already didn’t hate Diana that much and turns out he always understood why she didn’t apologize? Because she grew up with the temple teachings? But he was willing to kill himself back then for her so if he already understood back then on why Diana’s principles are like that why did he even try to die? It’s like he just forgot all of it and moved on he may not care about Diana as he says but he refused to depose her completely for no reason?? He should have asked Hess if how she feels about it. I hope Hestia for the last time can continue her goal the one she wanted to in the first place I thought the novel would continue more so Kael could actually get to know Hestia without Hess always making Kael’s words law, because she finally accepted she is stuck on their world and needs to see the end of her goal and see if Kael wouldn’t mind to see her real nature even though he knew some of her scheming nature she is still holding back a lot. And what about Helios? Is he going to keep Diana despite having some side feeling towards Hestia? It’s like both of them were doomed well if Hess can’t bring Diana down with her original plot, I hope Diana finds out even Helios admired Hestia in a way that’s more than a acquaintance and Helios to know that Diana doesn’t actually love him or Kael she actually just likes to feel loved and treated specially based on what I evaluated on her overall up to this point.
Thank you for reading! I was honestly surprised that the author didn’t dive into that more either. I wish Hestia got her full revenge. It didn’t feel like Diana learned anything.
Thank you so much for translating this beautiful novel. I love that the ending is really realistic and really deviated from normal rofan novels where the protagonist get complete revenge and absolute happiness. As Hestia said, reality is not perfect like in novels so I hope she can eventually accept her new reality and live happily.
thank you for translating!
Pensé que había muchos más capítulos todavía x_X Fue demasiado corto T_T
Gracias por el capítulo!
How can you capture my thoughts so well… I have been stuck, feeling like the story is incomplete… Because there are so many questions that have went unanswered and I honestly wanted Hestia to really get sick, maje Kael realize how important her goal was to the point that she regressed… We needed to see Diana’s character development irregardless of how stuck she ia on her ways. And honestly when Kael asked Hess to stop with the revenge, he was being selfish, this girl lived for one purpose and 1 purpose only which was to make Diana sincerely apologize bit he took away her reason, her essence… I wished Hess could’ve attempted more misunderstood close to death trials to get Kael serious 😭😭
I really love them but there is so much opportunity for the characters to grow even more
THANK YOU FOR THE TRANSLATIONS!!!!!
this was such a nice ride :”
Thank you for translating. I want story from Kael point of view. When he started to accept Hess, when he is falling in love with Hess. How do he feel for Hess. I dont like the feeling that Kael isnt really in love with Hess.
At first I was like NANI??? but then I read “epilogue and side stories”.
Thank you so much for your hard work, translation team!!!!!!
Tbh I’m angry because this story feel incomplete and no matter how many times I have read this novel it’s feel like kaelus never loved hestia that much. I’m angry because hestia’s only reason to live is kaelus but that damn brat never shown affection to her in the story. It’s not like diana has done so much for him to forget her but that’s was just love in first sight so how the hell he has so much affection for his first love when he knows how she used him . Fuck I’m so angry and sorry for hestia. Imagine oneday you woke up in a unknown world and the one person you love doesn’t give you a space for yourself.
No matter how I look into this I never felt any sincere love for hestia from kaelus. It’s feel like he wanted a wife and he see that hestia is already a contract wife so why not make her his real wife and you know that she is a commoner so there will be no problem.
What I want is that hestia have a imperial background of other country and his ex finance came to take her back with him to her homeland. Seriously if this happened in the real story I wanted to see the face of kaelus.😆
Thank you so much for your hard work!
I’m so incredibly frustrated that I had to leave a comment just to vent my emotions or I’d never feel done with this story. As someone who started the manhwa and liked it so much I found the novel to read, I just feel so disappointed. Like many people, I was fully invested in Hestia’s vendetta and felt like Diana needed to get her due end. Before the regression, Hestia had to live with seeing Kael attempt suicide so many times. After Kael’s death, she didn’t even feel like she was living so much so that she regressed while on the verge of insanity. The hatred she must have felt and all the effort she put in after regression with Kael’s revenge and happiness as her sole goal. Just to have Kael put a stop to it himself. Her mentality didn’t seem to fully heal but with her sole goal and dedication to it she diverted her attention until it relapsed. I sympathized with Hestia so much in that one moment. The silence and resignation after his statement, the emptiness, Hestia’s realization that as a side character the story must proceed with the decision of a main character was so well done. Honestly, with the way she was living and charging ahead at full speed just to have the rug yanked out from under her by the person she was doing it for. I was speechless and incredibly frustrated/angered. Sure, he hasn’t gone through the same despair as the original timeline and doesn’t know what Hestia has gone through. Sure, he never specifically asked for any of this. But, he sat by watching all her efforts step by step and in the end at the final moment, he was the one who put a stop to it. To break neutrality, for the stability of the kingdom. To hell with that! The choice was made just like that without any regard of Hestia’s opinion/mental state when she was at the center of everything. To give her the ultimatum and expect her to agree is so incredibly cruel. She was merely given a heads up after the decision was made. Hestia was right when she told Helios no one in this world could ever truly understand her. While she was partially at fault for not telling Kael everything in the end, but even then I want to be unreasonable and say it’s not fair, I hate it, how could he!? It really wasn’t enough, the difference in depth, I really wish Hestia’s illness went on longer just to drive home how much his single choice impacted her mentality. Hestia’s realization that he set off to save Diana again, that moment made me insane. When she said she had no attachments to the world even with her bias here and then to have everything wrapped up and washed away with time and companionship by leaving the capital?! You’ve got to be kidding me. Hestia completely broke down and you’re telling me the fix to this was her picking the pieces back up and coming to realize she should live for Kael just as she’s always done? It’s doesn’t sit well with me, it feels incomplete, incredibly unsatisfying. I love Hestia, I love the scene she broke down and couldn’t determine what was reality and what wasn’t. The potential was there, shame that only the tip of the iceberg was touched. It’s just as Hestia said, in that moment I felt hatred towards the character I always liked and felt the immense urge to quit the novel.
i totally get what you’re saying!! like…i was beyond frustrated when kael decided to save diana despite all that has happened and despite how hard hestia worked…there does seem to be a lot of holes throughout this story…i really wish kael hadn’t save diana…sigh…
Ok, I sort of understand what you’re saying but also, like Kaelus is the empire’s duke or whatever and if saving Diana benefits the empire thats what he’ll do. It’s like you’re asking him to betray the country he grew up in for some girl he met a year ago. Kaelus’ life shouldn’t have to center around Hestia just because she is the main character, just as Hestia’s life shouldn’t have to completely center around Kaelus'(I do understand why her life does center around his though)
Sorry if it doesn’t make sense I just want to put my rough thoughts down.
Kaelus literally risked a death penalty by killing the old duchess and princess to save Diana from being poisoned. He has 0 qualms wiping out a ducal house and all the downstream effects of what happens as a result just because he wants to get with Diana. I wish the novel would have explored more of the ‘what if’ factor of the other choice of deposing her, what if it would have resulted in a way better outcome. Unfortunately we can never really know lol
I totally agree with you. What’s with the sudden acceptance despite being confused just a chapter ago and making Kaelus her only will to survive again, that’s just sad for Hestia’s character development as in she just goes back to square one, being a ‘slave’ for Kaelus’ happiness. And the pregnancy, uhh… for the first time ever, I am pissed with the unnecessary pregnancy route.
you conveyed all my thoughts and described my feelings like no one else. This story left me with not just a bitter taste on my tongue, but also devastation. I agree with just everything you wrote. I can’t even swallow it without feeling a sore throat. it’s broken. for me, the heroine of our story was already in cracks, and after she returned to the beginning, she became like a vase that was glued together with cheap, weak glue, that as the plot “developed,” a light shone through these cracks, which represented nothing more than the disintegration of her remaining particles of consciousness.
I’m not happy that in the end MC still did not disclose to anyone that she’s from another world and a reader of the novel. This could’ve initiated so many potentially fascinating plots and confrontations (and hence character development) but this rushed ending wasted all of them. Like Nemesis commented, the abdication crisis could’ve been such a good chance for the main couple to communicate on their past stories and mindset analysis/discussions, but in the end nothing was really seriously touched face-on. Very disappointing.
Btw at least here are a few points I could think of that really deserve further development (but didn’t):
— MC confessing her origin story & more plots derived from it, as vented above.
As a nerd myself I’d also love to see how more modern elements (industrialization, sci/tech development, ideological “renaissance” etc.) can be worked into new societal development & geopolitics, & alter main couple’s dynamic but I digress.
— Transition of MC’s own mindset; the dissolution/collapse of her “fourth wall”, to be exact. The abdication crisis in the end only showed the beginning of this process.
What’s more, the mindset transitions happen not just in her sense of fiction vs reality, but also in her affection/adoration of the ML as a fictional character vs. as a real person and an intimate lover. These two types of “love” IMO are very different and worth digging through; admiring someone as a celestial body is fundamentally distinct from loving someone in one’s real life. The author did not do a good job in distinguishing the two, let alone describing how one gradually changes into another.
— Also valuable is how ML & ogML (ogFL would still go with denial, I guess) take MC’s transmigrator identity, the “fourth wall” between her and them, & their own existence. Accepting someone you know being from a higher “dimension” is definitely non-trivial, and its impact on their relationship dynamics would be very intriguing at least to me.
Thanks for the translation btw!
I still want Diana to suffer though.
She won’t be able to drink coffee anymore 💀
I feel like the whole manhwa is low-key bullshit. All the other comments have already said my thoughts. But I just don’t like it. Like the whole manhwa was based on Diana and it was pretty annoying and I feel like the romance between the main characters is weird. Like I never felt a satisfaction from them getting together after their first sexy time. It just seemed kinda fake to me. Kale going from Diana to Hestia and Hestia going from a fan and wanting to go back to her world to actually falling in love with him. It didn’t feel like a smooth transition and it never sat right with me. To me they feel both overly obsessed with each other, but they also feel like they just settled. Completely different things, but I can’t feel the actual romance. Dunno. But just like many of the other people I feel like I have to write something in order to get over this.
Thank you so much for the translation. Best translator ever. Everything was really well translated.
I’ll be honest, I don’t like Diana but I don’t loathe her like 99% of people here. She was Kael’s friend, and Helios was also his childhood friend. It’s completely realistic you don’t want your former friend to be so publicly trashed and discarded even if she’s stupid. If he didn’t do it for Diana, he did it for Helios. It seemed like Hestia was never going to be happy unless Diana offed herself in despair, and tbh that would’ve been an interesting ending, if a little tragic and dark.
With how many factors that go into suicide, I think it’s silly to point to Diana and Helios and say they’re entirely responsible for Kael’s death and deserve to be punished to the extent that Hestia wanted. It makes sense for Hestia to react that way however, considering that she was the one who found his body and interacted with him moments prior, fueling an intense sense of guilt and hatred.
What I would pin on Diana is the temple bullshit and how she poorly she acted as a princess to a nation, her inability to accept criticism and change as well as how she chose isolation instead of building bridges in a way that Hestia and Kael did for the betterment of the poor and rich alike.
As for Hestia and Kael, I don’t really see a problem with how he acted towards her like some here. Not everyone is obnoxiously loving like Hestia who kind of seems like the type to have a secret shrine of photos with lipstick kisses and a bunch of Kael’s used underwear. Kael was nothing but kind and supportive with Hestia and his actions showed that imo.
This is such a great story!!! Thank you so much for the translation I loved everything 😭😭😭💕
Hestia could’ve left Kael for a while or being sick so badly to show us how Kael truly loves her. Moreover, how could Hestia suddenly accepting everything as if her unresolved issue of being a transmigrator is nothing and her previous worries vanished out of thin air just like that? And her sole purpose is back to making Kael happy?! What a loose end.
Hi . Thank you for the translation, I find it quite short, maybe becuz I love to see and read more about Cael and Hestia love story.. but all and all I’m happy to know that they have a baby mwehehhee. Congratulations love birds Caelus and Hestia❤️ I hope you have a happy ending ahead of you and I hope I can experience this kind of Love story too. I hope
Thank you for translating and sharing it with us!
I feel that the theme “entering your favorite novel” was really uncalled for. We never got to know her real name and/or profession, it did make no difference in this story whatsoever, since everyone in the aristocracy knew the love triangle of Helios, Diana and Kaelus without the need to read it in a book. The regression on time was enough to justify Hestia’s knowledge.
Tbh, I didn’t like Kaelus at all. He was too deppressive and then too obsessed. He was supposed to be a clever character that was learning about his past mistakes about love, since he was reflecting about what he did wrong and concluded that it might’ve been the fact that he didn’t want to make the first step towards Diana that kead him to lose her, so I was expecting for him to argue with Helios regarding the crown prince’s intimacy with Hestia. C’mon, Helios already took Diana from Kaelus and he clearly tried to make a move a couple of times on Kaelus’ wife. Even if Kaelus hasn’t realized his feelings for Hestia back then, he should’ve been more possessive towards his people, since Hestia was the only one who embraced his pain as her own.
In this subject, I must praise Hestia’s determination. Many times during the story I’ve thought that she was going too far on her revenge, especially because it wasn’t something that happened to her, but to her favorite character that didn’t even know who she was, making it kinda cringe… lol
Perhaps I suffer from second character’s syndrome, yet I believe that Helios wasn’t a bad choice to end up with Hestia. Their personalities and wits gave them a good level of chemistry. If they ended up together, I believe that Hestia would’ve been an admirable Emperess.
In general, I was very happy reading this novel. The characters are very interesting and the plot is great! I loved the shades on the characters, because they hide more than what they give. I’ll definitively read it again in the future!
Thank you so much for your reading!
In all honesty, I wish Hestia ended up with Helios as well for the same reasons as you. Their dynamic just worked more smoothly.
It felt to me like Hestia was babytrapped in staying in their world.even. would’ve been better without the pregnancy trope.
Honestly I don’t understand these comments. I don’t have any problem with Kaelus and I really don’t understand how some of you people think Kaelus is still in love with Diana or whatever other bullshit. He was just being realistic and doing what he thoughts was best for the Empire, and in the first place Hestia was pursuing this revenge all on her own when it wasn’t like Kaelus in particular desired it… So it does not really bother me at all that she wasn’t deposed of or whatever because Kaelus did not want it. I feel like Kaleus definitely loves Hestia and I think if you understood his character you would be able to tell as well. Honestly my issue was with Hestia, she was kind of annnoying me when she was having that identity crisis…? I understand, yes, but it still annoyed me regardless. Like girl if you’ve resolved to yourself that you’re just in a novel isn’t that even more of a reason to act as how you desire and get with your favorite? Also Hestia and Helios together? Lmao what a joke to me. Never, that would defeat the whole point of the story if they got together and I am glad the author never did or even entertained the thought of that bullshit. If anything Helios needs to find some other woman to marry that is not Hestia and divorce Diana on his own once he finds someone suitable. Either way, I would say I liked this novel and loved Kaelus.
I agree, I feel you. In reality, who would still want to get involved with your ex? Kaelus decision for leaving for Attica shows that he really loves Hestia. Why the h. would anyone question how he love Hestia or still loved Diana inspite of his efforts?
Ahh, im not good in english so i can’t explain my thoughts well. But thank you so much for translating this!
It can be complicated. I know a few people that still want to get involved with their ex but this is clearly not the case with Kaelus. Thank you for reading!
Ha? That’s the ending?
Unfortunately, it is
to the author: what kind of ending is this for good sake??! I forced myself for the last chapters after Diana stayed Princess thnx to Khael hoping for some badass kicks. and then THIS?! Give me the last 2h back!!
So many comment already point this out. But I really want to say, that one moment about hestia breaking the fourth wall is very VERY important, but the author just glossed the story. Bcs in my opinion, on this part of their life. Hestia is still struggling to differentiate between loving Kael like a god and loving kael as a human being as a normal couple bcs thats is completely two different thing. Bcs i really want hestia to live in that world, i really wish hestia can acknowledge herself, i want her to proudly say “yes im alive, yes im here, this world is my world” Not just bcs of kaelus. In this past ch hestia lost all of her strong strait and just saying “yes” to whatever kaelus want and i felt the baby is really there just to coerce/force her tied to this world without her have peace in her heart and in her mind. I dont care anymore about diana or helios. I really want hestia happy bcs he loved herself not bcs kaelus.
Sorry for my bad english
She ought to consider divorcing him, or perhaps living apart for a while to rediscover her purpose. Relying on him like that is pathetic; it’s clear he doesn’t truly love her. She’s just convenient to him—a capable wife fixated on him. How much greater can it get than that?