I Wish My Husband Were Dead - Chapter 159



Only Krnovel

Side Story 2. If You Love
2024.04.07.

“Hehe. I was worried because there were a lot of rain clouds when we left, but fortunately, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to rain.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“If we go on like this without any problems, we’ll probably arrive at the capital in two days.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Although Baron had been serving Leonard for nearly thirty years, he couldn’t stand this kind of silence that was like a grave. If he got angry and irritated, I’d at least try to comfort and appease him. It was unsettling to ride with a couple in a cold war in a narrow carriage. He

tried to lighten the mood by saying a few words, but no one responded. Leonard stared out the window with a blank expression, and Cordelia closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window on the other side.

Fortunately, they would arrive at their destination, the village, in an hour.

Baron took a deep breath as he got out of the carriage. There was a fairly large inn in the town, so they decided to unpack there.

“What about the rooms?”

If it had been like that, they would have just gotten one room without asking, but in this atmosphere, they didn’t want to imagine what kind of disaster would happen if they crammed the two of them into one room.

“Do whatever you want.”

Leonard quickly passed Baron. Knowing that “Do whatever you want” was short for “read my mind well and handle things without making me uncomfortable,” Baron quietly called the clerk and said,

“Prepare the two best rooms for me.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Of course, they went up to their separate rooms for their meals. Gasil, who had been following them as escorts, couldn’t even breathe properly all day, but when Atile and his wife went up to their rooms, he finally relaxed.

“Do you know why you two fought?”

“Hmm.”

“No matter how big the fight was, we would usually get back on track in a day or two, but this time it seems different.”

The atmosphere was so bad that even the quiet Gasil said something like this.

It was a banquet held once a year, where all eight families had to gather, so they couldn’t miss it or postpone it. There were still two days left until arrival, and the atmosphere was so tense. My breath was suffocating.

“This trip won’t be easy.” No matter how much they say

that a fight between a couple is like cutting water with a knife, Baron instinctively realized that this fight wouldn’t end easily.

Sometimes, when they went on these carriage trips, they would stop and take a walk along a beautiful lakeside, but this time, they only looked forward.

Thanks to that, they arrived at the capital, Yebo Delim, a few hours earlier than expected. The townhouse servants who had already heard that the Elector and his wife were arriving were waiting for the carriage to arrive.

“Wasn’t it hard to get here?”

Alex, the townhouse butler with his hair neatly combed, said with a faint smile. Leonard nodded at him and didn’t respond out of courtesy.

Alex, without any embarrassment, followed his master and greeted his mistress.

“Madam, did you enjoy your trip?”

Leonard habitually reached out his hand to Cordelia, who was getting out of the carriage. Cordelia hesitated for a moment, then quickly reached out to Alex.

“Oh, yes.”

Alex looked at his master’s expression, then quickly grabbed Cordelia’s hand and helped her get out of the carriage. Leonard grabbed his empty hand out of the air, which had nowhere to go, and quickly entered the mansion.

By this point, not only Alex but also the other attendants who had been inspecting the room could tell that the couple had had a huge fight. The attendants unloaded the luggage from the carriage without saying a word and carried it inside. Alex slid up to Baron.

“Baron.”

“Nonsense. You two didn’t say a word the whole way here.”

“Oh. What happened on the way here?”

“There are some complicated circumstances. “Not only the madam, but the master is very, very uncomfortable, so send the maids who will serve him carefully.”

“Understood.”

Baron, who knew the circumstances of the couple’s fight, found it difficult to step forward rashly. He

fully understood both Cordelia’s and Leonard’s positions.

‘It is the master’s fault for not telling the madam in advance, but.’

But he could not blame Leonard entirely. In any case, he had done his best for his wife. Even giving up Attila’s succession.

However, he knew all too well that Cordelia had desperately waited for a child for three years, so his mind was in turmoil.

He headed to Leonard’s room, then quickly moved to Cordelia’s room.

Cordelia had changed into her going-out clothes, was wearing an indoor dress, and was combing her hair.

“Madam.”

Baron greeted her politely and approached her. Cordelia did not turn her head, but stared at the gray-haired man in the mirror.

“Baron, did you know? What’s in that antidote?”

“… … Yes.”

“You knew?”

Cordelia slammed her comb down on the dressing table with a loud noise. That alone showed how angry she was. Cordelia turned around to face Baron.

“Don’t you ever think of saying something to me, even if you’re on Leonard’s side?”

“I’m sorry. But as you know, the master does it for his wife.”

“If you wanted to say, ‘for me,’ you should have at least said something to me.”

“… … .”

“Is it my problem? Am I unable to have children because I resemble my mother? What should I say to Leonard? Is it really okay for me, the head of the Attila family, to not have children? It’s okay now, but will I be able to maintain this relationship without children when I get older?”

No matter how much her husband Leonard said it was okay, a woman who couldn’t have children was considered a sinner in Ershe.

It was the mistress’s calling and right to have children after marriage and establish a successor. After her husband died, she also solidified her position through children.

In fact, Cordelia, who had no children in the Abrams Counts, could not even maintain the Abrams surname after Craig died.

“I couldn’t sleep properly for the past year because of these thoughts. Do you know what Leonard said every time? It’s okay. Let’s wait a little longer. We’re still young. I don’t care if I don’t have children.”

Baron, who had been silently listening to her worries, anxieties, and feelings of betrayal, opened his mouth.

“No matter how much you say it’s because of the antidote, if it’s officially revealed that you’re infertile, the elders of Attila will not stay still. The master was worried about that, so he didn’t tell anyone except me, who had to bring the antidote ingredients.”

“Why did you hide it from me?”

“I know it’s presumptuous, but I knew you would object like this. And the meaning of a secret fades as more people know about it.”

Cordelia bit her lip hard. Baron was right. If Leonard had told her that, Cordelia would have tried to stop him or avoided taking the antidote.

“If there was such a fatal problem, why not just continue taking the original antidote instead of the improved one?”

“That antidote had many problems. Not only did it have a short shelf life, but it also had the side effect of causing heart disease if taken long term.”

“… … .”

“I dare not speak for you, Master, but please know this. I did it only for your safety.”

Baron left quietly after saying that. Cordelia jumped up and loitered around the terrace for a while. The terrace was connected to Leonard’s room because it was their master’s bedroom.

There was no doubt that he loved her. Nevertheless, Cordelia sometimes felt suffocated when she encountered his overprotectiveness. She felt as if she were trapped in a sturdy birdcage.

Perhaps because she was so nervous, her lower abdomen ached and she even had a slight fever. So she couldn’t sleep until the moon went down.

* * *

On the night the banquet began, Leonard waited at the entrance in his black robe for Cordelia to come out. He fiddled with his cravat several times because it felt uncomfortable.

He knew she would be shocked if she found out about the antidote, but he didn’t know that she would not speak to him for weeks. He

couldn’t even remember when we last talked. The soft voices we used to whisper together as we lay together, the tickling eyes, the warmth, he missed more and more as each day passed.

The three-day carriage ride in silence was the most painful. It was so close to her that he couldn’t hear her voice even once. Even though he was there, it didn’t feel like he was with her. He

knew that he had to apologize for not telling her in advance, even if it was for her sake. But Leonard wasn’t used to the word apology.

What was that little pride?

The longer the cold time with his wife went on, the more regret he felt, but once he missed the opportunity, he couldn’t open his mouth.

At that moment, Cordelia came down the stairs. The blue dress made of silk matched her wife amazingly well. Leonard stared at her for a moment, then strode over to her and held out his arm.

“Cordelia.”

Cordelia just stared at the arm without saying a word.

For a moment, Leonard felt his heart sink. He tried to ignore the fact that she had taken Alex’s hand when they got out of the carriage yesterday, but in fact, deep down inside, he was filled with hot jealousy.

“Are you not going to accept my escort anymore?”

“… … .”

“Call another knight?”

If Cordelia had nodded there, he probably wouldn’t have been able to attend the banquet today. Fortunately, Cordelia put her arm on her husband’s arm.

Surprisingly, that alone calmed down his crazy, racing heart in an instant. He realized anew how much influence she had on him.