I Wish My Husband Were Dead - Chapter 15



Only Krnovel

Teacher and Disciple
2023.11.15.

“Where did you raise your voice? Without manners. Well, what manners did you learn in that house?”

“Why does the lady have the letter I sent you?”

“Is that important right now? There was a thief in the house. Ha, I can see why Elector Vasquez sent you to Abrams.”

Arnold muttered and interrupted Helena from the side.

The only one who remained silent in this place was Baron Lancaster. He must have not expected the sudden change in atmosphere, so he coughed lowly and examined the situation.

Cordelia tried to catch her ragged breath and said,

“Thief? You misunderstood. I had no intention of doing that.”

“No? Then what are you going to say in this letter? It clearly says to send a hundred thousand ringgits to Vasquez!”

“We have to kick him out of this castle right now. If not, there’s no telling what he’ll do. Mother.”

Helena shouted, waving the letter. Lily, feeling it was the right time, insisted that Cordelia be kicked out immediately.

Cordelia was furious at the continued insults. She wanted to get up and yell at her to stop talking nonsense.

She bit her lip so hard that she could smell blood. Her fists were deeply cut into her palms by her nails. Even her throat was stinging.

“My lady. Calm down. Let me hear the countess’s story.”

“Oh, Baron Lancaster. I forgot you were here for a moment.”

The baron, who had been silent all this time, spoke politely. Helena seemed to notice his presence only then and acted out loud.

“Ahem. This is, this is the first time in a long time that I’ve had a meal with the baron.”

“It must have been that woman who manipulated Craig into believing the strange rumors about my mother.”

“Now that this letter has been found, there’s no room for excuses.”

“What excuses? Hmm. You should be thankful that you didn’t kick her out naked right away. Oh, your head. How dare you bring something like that into the house.”

Helena snapped venomously, then exaggeratedly placed the back of her hand on her forehead. Arnold clicked his tongue and shook his head. Lily’s lips were forming a blatant smile.

Cordelia instinctively tried to endure the insults pouring down like a waterfall, thinking, “Hold on, hold on.”

Then suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

“Why should I hold on?”

The moment she realized that, her boiling head and heart instantly cooled down.

“Can I take a look?”

“Oh, yes. The Baron, take a look too. You’ll see how shameless you are when you read the letter.”

“Hmm. Well. It’s hard to suspect the Countess just from this one letter. It’s just a request, and it’s hard to believe that she actually sent it, right?”

“My goodness, where is there more solid evidence than this? “Since you’re talking about sending money so casually, it’s obvious that you’ve done this before!”

Baron Lancaster returned the letter to Helena. Lily was furious and snapped at Baron Lancaster.

But the Baron remained calm the whole time.

“Let’s at least hear what the Countess has to say.”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it, Mother?”

“Let’s call the treasurer of the castle right away and check. As Lily said, this is the first time I’ve caught you, and there’s no telling how many times you’ve stolen something like this before.”

Then, a lightning-like realization struck her head. All her questions were answered in an instant.

‘Helena is afraid of me.’

Normally, she wouldn’t have cared, but it was obvious why she had been so aggressive toward Cordelia and deliberately invited Baron Lancaster, who had a strong influence within the family, to dinner.

It was an attempt to somehow bring the pendulum of power back to her side.

Cordelia was extremely pleased with this situation. She almost burst into laughter.

Because she realized that she no longer had to lie flat on her stomach and beg for their mercy.

“That’s a very good idea, Madame.”

All eyes were on Cordelia.

She pulled out her long-honed sharp sword.

“What did you just say?”

“Let’s get the treasurer of the castle right now.”

“Oh, you’re thinking of confessing?”

Lily scoffed and took a sip of the wine next to her.

“Confess? That’s a good idea. Lily, try it first. If you confess, I’ll take it easy and not banish you.”

“What? What am I confessing? Are you crazy?”

“Lily has so much to confess. When you got married, you raided the Abrams warehouse without the previous count knowing and made a big profit. Do you remember?”

“You… … . What, what nonsense are you talking about?”

Lily’s face turned pale and then quickly returned to normal.

It was worth memorizing the report Leonard had given her.

“Shall I tell you what you stole from the Abrams safe? You smuggled five paintings by Deschamps and twelve sculptures by Le Medi and sold them to a fencing man. If I call the finance officer and check, will you remember?”

“Don’t lie! Do you have any evidence? Do you have any?”

“In that case, you should say you don’t know anything. Lily.”

“I, I will!”

Lily, her face red, couldn’t hold back her anger and jumped up from her seat. She was holding a glass half-full of wine in her hand.

Her threatening hand, which seemed ready to pour over Cordelia’s head at any moment, was stopped by an unexpected person.

“I’m swaying. Are you okay?”

“… … Let go of me. Baron Lancaster.”

The baron whispered, “Excuse me,” and let go of Lily’s arm. Lily glared at him fiercely.

Cordelia scratched the back of her hand under the table. In fact, it was not just the back of her hand, but her whole body was ticklish. The back of her throat had been stinging like an ant bite, but she held it in and endured it.

“I guess you’ve heard some strange rumors somewhere.” “Oh, you were there too , Viscount Dylan

. Of course, I’ll give you a chance to confess your sins too.”

“What? You’re crazy… .” “You raped and beat two married women, Yeong Ji-min, and kicked them out?” Cordelia recited her sins with a calm face. However, unlike her calm-looking face, her internal organs were shaking as if they had been bitten by a snake. She knew something was wrong, but she couldn’t just sit there. She had to tie up the knot and go. “You’ve been talking nonsense since earlier. What’s wrong with your hair?” “One of them had red hair and a slightly crooked nose, and the other had black hair, black eyes, and a mole on her neck.” “… …” Arnold Dylan took a deep breath at the overly detailed description. “Oh, what was your name? Daisy and… … .” “I can’t shut my mouth!” Arnold shouted urgently. It was hard to hide the impatience inside him. Judging from his reaction, it seemed that Emily had figured it out. Cordelia’s lips formed a leisurely smile. Helena bit her lips tightly and took a deep breath as the situation flowed strangely. Baron Lancaster stared at Cordelia carefully with a very interested expression. “Don’t get distracted. We’re talking about the theft you committed.” “That’s right, ma’am. We were talking about theft.” Cordelia smiled brightly and agreed with Helena’s words. “Craig got away with it that day, but the theft you committed is not something to be easily overlooked. You received Manhow’s mansion in return for handing over the tax collection rights to Leonard Asow.” “Well. That’s the first time I’ve heard of that.” “Is that so? The three of you have a bit of a memory problem today.” Cordelia pinched the back of her hand that was hidden under the table. She had to do it because her body was itching so much. She recalled the contents of the report with her throat burning like crazy behind her. “What should I say to make you remember? Oh, how many mistresses have you hidden in that mansion? Should I call them as witnesses?” “You, you… …” Helena’s eyes grew wider than they could have been. Cordelia put a stop to it. “By the way, your tastes are quite consistent, my lady. Blonde and blue-eyed. The mistresses you’ve called to the castle before were all similar, weren’t they?” “You speak with interest, Countess.” At that moment, Baron Lancaster, who had been observing the situation, spoke. “Of course you all have reliable evidence, right?” “Of course, Baron. Otherwise, how could we put these three on trial?” Everyone in the room held their breath at the word trial. For no matter what the reason, being brought to trial was a disgrace to a nobleman. “We must bring justice to Abrams. Of course, Craig wants it too.” Moreover, the evidence is overwhelming. Cordelia had her servants gather more detailed evidence based on the report Leonard had handed over. She thought that she would definitely have a chance to use it someday. She had not expected that the opportunity would come so soon. “I will put you on trial. What good is this kind of fabricated evidence!” “Give me the letter.” Cordelia held out her hand to Helena. Helena trembled as if she could not believe this reality. “Or should I hold a trial? I don’t care.” Helena’s lips trembled. Victory had already passed. Everyone in the room knew it. Even Arnold was silent.

‘Itchy, itchy, itchy.’

Cordelia gritted her teeth. If she showed even the slightest hint of dishevelment, Helena would surely come running back.

The reason why her whole body was itching was obvious.

Peanuts.

She was extremely allergic to all nuts, especially peanuts.

She had never been near them since she ate them thoughtlessly as a child and almost died.

No one in the castle, including the servants, knew that, but it was obvious why Cordelia had eaten that food.

At that moment, the dining room door opened wide.

“Craig!”

Helena’s expression brightened in an instant. She waved at him cheerfully as if she had seen a savior.

“Come on. I have something to tell you. Oh my, that thing. It’s been stealing money behind our backs… …”

“What’s wrong with your face?”

Leonard didn’t even glance at Helena. He strode over and stood next to Cordelia.

“A letter.”

“What?”

“The lady has my letter.”

Cordelia felt like her whole body was being eaten by ants. However, her eyes never left Helena.

Helena flinched at the fiery gaze and instead handed the letter to Leonard.

“T-that’s right! Craig, you should read this letter too!”

“What’s the letter?”

Leonard scanned the contents of the letter Helena handed him and then slammed it down on the table without any sincerity.

“Send it.”

“What?”

“Send it. Don’t you think Abrams doesn’t have a hundred thousand ringgits in his safe?”

“Are you crazy…? Are you in your right mind? Why are we sending money to Vasquez?”

“Craig. What’s wrong? Why are you taking that woman’s side?”

Helena and Lily were furious at the unexpected answer. On the other hand, Leonard leaned back arrogantly and said,

“How much is that small change?”

“Small change, Craig. You don’t know much, but I heard that a hundred thousand ringgit is not a small amount of money.”

“So? You don’t have that money? You do?”

Leonard glanced around the room, his

gaze swaying. He must have felt so unlucky that he felt annoyed even though he was taking his side.

“Ha. Craig.”

Helena clenched her teeth and forced herself to smile.

“It’s not that I don’t have it, but it’s money that needs to be used for important things.”

“Important places? That’s great. It’s important since my brother-in-law has to go to the academy.”

“Craig!”

“Huh.”

Now she was really at her limit. She couldn’t hold out with her mental strength anymore. When her body visibly swayed, Leonard quickly grabbed Cordelia’s shoulder.

“What? Seriously, what’s wrong? Does it hurt?”

“Leave me alone. More importantly, Craig, sending the money to Vasquez. No matter how much I think about it… …”

Helena frowned and continued to talk nonsense.

“Huh.”

Cordelia took a deep breath. But not a single ounce of air came in through her throat.

She grabbed Leonard’s clothes in a hurry. Leonard was visibly flustered and shouted at the servants nearby.

“What the… . . What are you doing! Stop dawdling and call the senator immediately!”

“Ta… . .”

“What?”

She grabbed his shoulder with all her might and whispered in his ear.

“Ta, ta, ta… peas.”

“Why peanuts?”

“Oh my! What a nice thing to do. You must have picked up peanuts somewhere without being careful. That’s why I told you to be careful.”

Helena clicked her tongue and crossed her arms as she looked at Cordelia. She

felt Leonard shaking her body violently. He shouted something, but not a word reached her ears.

Sadly, her memory ended there.