Return of Black Lotus system:Taming Cheating Male Leads

Chapter 476: Chapter-476

Heena lay quietly against his chest for a moment, listening to the steady, reassuring rhythm of his heartbeat. Then, she shifted her weight, propping herself up slightly on one elbow so she could look down into his face.

"Aren’t you calling my name a lot more these days?" she asked, a teasing lilt in her voice.

Samuel looked up at her, a wry, almost shy side-smile touching his lips. "And who was it that suddenly stopped calling me ’Husband’ and started exclusively calling me ’Samuel’ after taking over the estate?"

Heena clicked her tongue, tracing a light circle on his collarbone. "Aren’t you worried about the old superstition? The elders say that if you call a person’s name too much, you will wear it out and shorten their lifespan."

Samuel’s teasing smile faded. He looked at her with a profound, unwavering seriousness. He reached up, gently guiding her head down until his forehead rested against hers.

"Don’t worry," Samuel murmured, his dark eyes locking onto hers. "Even if your lifespan becomes shorter, it will never be shorter than mine. After all, you call my name just as much. Whatever time we have, we’ll run out of it together."

Heena completely froze.

The words hit her like a physical blow to the chest. A sudden, suffocating wave of dark irony washed over her. ’Six months to a year.’ She actually ’did’ have a brutally short lifespan now, and she was absolutely not going to take him into the dark with her.

Desperate to break the sudden, agonizing weight in the air, Heena quickly broke eye contact and lightly swatted his chest.

"It is just a stupid superstition," she snapped, though her voice wavered for a fraction of a second. "Shut your mouth."

Samuel let out a soft, tired chuckle, completely unaware of the tragic reality behind her reaction. He gently tapped the back of her head, smoothing down her hair.

"Yeah. Just a superstition," he whispered warmly. "Just sleep."

He wrapped both arms around her waist, effortlessly pulling her back down so she was completely enveloped in his embrace. He let out a long, contented sigh, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Ah... it feels like it has been an eternity since I could just hold you like this," Samuel murmured, the sheer exhaustion of the past two days finally pulling him under. "Let’s sleep."

Wrapped securely in the warmth of his arms, with the faint, comforting scent of jasmine lingering in the air, Heena closed her eyes. And for the first time since she had arrived in this brutal world, she allowed herself to truly, peacefully fall asleep.

When the morning light finally spilled through the heavy velvet curtains, Heena shifted under the warm covers. Still half-asleep, she blindly reached her hand out toward the other side of the bed, expecting to find Samuel.

Her fingers brushed against cold silk sheets. The bed was completely empty.

Heena slowly opened her eyes, her brow furrowing in genuine confusion. That was highly unusual. Normally, Samuel acted like an overgrown, affectionate hound in the mornings, stubbornly nuzzling into her neck and using every excuse to linger in bed just a little longer.

She sat up, stretching her stiff muscles. Assuming he had simply been called away on early estate business, she went about her morning routine, washing up and dressing for the day. But even after she was fully ready, there was no sign of him.

Before she could even send someone to search for his whereabouts, a timid knock sounded at the door. A maid bowed respectfully and informed her that the Old Madam—her grandmother—had requested her presence in the main dining hall for breakfast.

Heena decided she would track Samuel down later and headed down the corridors.

But as she walked, she noticed something incredibly strange. The maids she passed were all glancing at her, hiding soft, giggling smiles behind their hands. Some even blushed as she walked by.

’’What the heck is going on?’’ Heena thought, a sudden, suspicious prickle crawling up her spine.

When she reached the grand dining hall, she pushed the heavy double doors open—and completely froze. She stood in the doorway, utterly dumbfounded and entirely speechless.

Sitting right there at the vanguard table, looking perfectly at home, was Samuel.

But he wasn’t standing in the corner like a loyal guard. He wasn’t wearing his dark, utilitarian uniform. He was sitting directly beside the terrifying matriarch of the Marcuset family, and the grandmother was actively, affectionately ’serving him food’.

To make matters infinitely more surreal, Samuel was dressed in the attire of a high-ranking noble lord. He was wearing an incredibly luxurious, magenta-red silk robe embroidered with silver threads that made him look obscenely handsome and entirely out of place for a "servant."

Heena blinked twice, absolute disbelief washing over her. ’’What the heck is this guy doing?!’’

Forcing her shocked expression back into a mask of perfect composure, she stepped into the room.

"Greetings, Grandpa. Greetings, Grandma," Heena bowed gracefully, before her sharp eyes locked onto Samuel. She turned back to the elders, her voice tight. "Grandma, Grandpa... is there something going on here?"

The grandmother didn’t even look up. She calmly raised her silver chopsticks, placing a prime cut of steamed fish directly into Samuel’s bowl.

"Ah, nothing at all," the grandmother said casually, as if discussing the weather. "I just thought it was about time I properly checked on my new grandson-in-law. I need to see how his health and manners are." She finally looked up at Heena, offering a terrifyingly pleasant smile. "After all, I need to start preparing for your official wedding."

Heena choked on air, feeling like she was about to spit a mouthful of blood right onto the pristine carpets.

’’Wedding?! What the heck?!’’

Heena stood frozen in the doorway for three full seconds, her mind completely short-circuiting.

"W-Wedding?" Heena stammered, her usual cold and calculating demeanor completely shattering. She marched forward, pointing a trembling finger at Samuel, who was currently sipping premium morning tea with the elegance of a born prince. "Grandma, what do you mean ’wedding’?! He is a—"

"A what?" the grandmother interrupted smoothly, not even blinking as she poured herself another cup of tea. "A guard? A servant? Oh, please, Seera. We are the Marcuset family. The vanguard of the empire. Do you honestly think we give a single damn about useless aristocratic bloodlines?"

The old Marquis, who was aggressively tearing into a roasted piece of meat at the head of the table, let out a booming laugh. "Your grandmother is right! Look at what ’noble blood’ brought into this house—your pathetic father and that venomous snake of a mother. No, no. We don’t need a pampered young lord from the capital. We need a wolf."

The grandfather pointed his heavy silver fork directly at Samuel.

"This boy stood outside your door like a rabid dog for two days straight while you were unconscious," the old Marquis stated, his eyes gleaming with aggressive approval. "And yesterday? When you were screaming in pain, he looked ready to slaughter the entire imperial medical wing and burn the estate down to save you. ’That’ is exactly the kind of ruthless, devoted madman this family needs to protect its heir."

Samuel didn’t even look embarrassed. In fact, he smiled politely, bowing his head slightly toward the old warlord. "You praise me too much, Grandfather. I was merely doing my duty as Seera’s husband."

’Grandfather?!’