I Wish My Husband Were Dead - Chapter 16



Only Krnovel

Teacher and Student
2023.11.16.

When she was young, her hobby was to go into her father’s study, steal books, and read them in her mother’s room.

Her father would get very angry if he found out she was reading books, so she would always have to hide in a dark corner.

‘Poor thing.’

Every time that happened, her sick mother would look at young Cordelia and say incomprehensible things.

‘Why?’

‘Because you won’t be able to have what you want.’

‘I don’t want anything.’

Then her mother stroked Cordelia’s head and said,

‘You are a greedy child. Cordelia. My daughter. Will you be satisfied with this one book when you grow up? As you read, you become curious, want to know more, and actually want to go, that’s human nature.’

‘Huh?’

‘Poor thing. Your father will definitely hold you back. It would have been better if you were born somewhere else, not in my stomach.’

‘But I like my mother the best, don’t I?’

When she said this, her mother would hug her tightly. It was one of the few beautiful memories Cordelia had.

Her mother’s face gradually became blurry.

Her consciousness, which had sunk deeply, rose to the surface.

She saw the familiar ceiling.

She blinked and Emily, who was sitting next to her, said happily,

“Are you awake?”

“… … Ugh.”

“Ugh. I almost got into big trouble. The doctor said that if I had been a little later… … .”

Emily burst into tears while talking. Her eyes were already red.

“Big ma, ma’am… Ugh. They say it’s nothing, but little ma’am hasn’t opened her eyes for four days… … .”

“Four days? It’s been four days since I collapsed?”

“Yes. It was fortunate that the master brought all the doctors living nearby and told them to save ma’am.”

“Huh? Craig?”

She blinked at Craig’s name that came out of nowhere.

She remembered his bewildered face before losing consciousness.

“Yes. The atmosphere was so tense that the doctors were shaking while treating her. And then there was the big lady… … .”

Even the devil comes when you call him, and somehow Leonard knew that she was awake and came in, kicking the door open.

Emily quickly got out of the way when she saw Leonard.

He stood next to the bed where she was lying and stared at Cordelia without saying anything.

After a long time, Cordelia spoke first.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Are you an idiot?”

“Huh?”

“You have a peanut allergy, but you don’t even check if it contains peanuts and just eat it? Is that a hair accessory? Why do you wear it around?”

“Is that what you say as soon as you wake up?”

He had come back from the brink of death, but instead of offering a word of comfort, he started spewing harsh words.

But strangely, he didn’t feel bad about hearing his sharp words. Cordelia just chuckled.

“But I managed to not die.”

“Many? Many?”

Leonard let out a hollow laugh as if he was shocked.

“… … “ I’ve never seen anything so stupid as you.”

“Yes, yes. I’m sure you would.” “

You just gobble up anything

.” “How could you refuse when the lady offered it to you?”

“You don’t have a mouth or a tongue? Why can’t you refuse? That woman put peanuts in it to make it a little easier. What if it was poisoned? Would you just eat it and die?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t eat it if it was poisoned. I’m not stupid.”

Cordelia pouted. Leonard shook his head briefly.

“Idiot, haa. That’s enough. I’m going to clean up this place anyway, so stop bowing to that woman and giggling.”

“When did I ever giggle again? Wait, tidying up? What tidying up?”

“This castle. You must be feeling better now, I have to clean up this dirty stuff.”

Leonard’s face became colder than ever. He crossed his arms and glared at the window.

The “dirty stuff” he was talking about probably included Helena. He was afraid to ask what to do with Helena.

“Oh, by the way, special training starts tomorrow.”

“Huh? What special training all of a sudden? I just woke up?”

“Does it matter? What if I eat peanuts again and die?”

Leonard said curtly and turned to leave the room. Cordelia reached out and grabbed the hem of his clothes.

“Wait a minute.”

“What? Let go.”

“What about the letter?”

He stared at Cordelia’s face with a subtle expression and handed her a crumpled letter from his bosom. Cordelia clutched the letter tightly. She couldn’t take her eyes off him for a long time.

Leonard said casually as if passing by.

“Tuition.”

“Huh?”

“You said you needed tuition, your brother. The money… .”

“That’s a complete lie.”

She tore the letter to shreds without blinking. Leonard was rather embarrassed.

“What are you doing?”

“I should have torn it up a long time ago, but this is making me nitpick.”

Cordelia ground her teeth and crushed the letter into powder.

“Tuition? How dare you enroll with that kind of brain. Dennis barely knew how to write his own name until he was ten. I’d rather believe that a passing dog could write.”

“Are you saying that’s just an excuse to get money?”

“I told you. To my father, I’m just a hole through which he can get money.”

She looked at the piece of paper that was the letter with eyes full of contempt.

“And this isn’t the first time my father has sent me such a letter. He has been sending me letters consistently since I got married two months ago.”

At first, I thought they were letters of greetings, so I opened them and was disappointed more than once or twice.

As such letters continued, I felt sorry for my father, then angry, and finally ashamed. I felt pitiful and strange about my situation.

“I ignored them all. I never said a word to the lady about it.”

“Why?”

He asked. His expression was filled with pure curiosity. Cordelia gave a weak laugh.

“Because I didn’t want to get into trouble by talking about money when I was already being ignored. I didn’t want to be even more miserable here.”

“… … .”

“It seems like I was really sold for money. No. To be honest, that’s true.”

Cordelia laughed self-deprecatingly.

A breeze blew in through the slightly open window. Cordelia’s hair blew a little.

Leonard unconsciously reached out to her and flinched. Strangely enough, at that moment, it felt like Cordelia would disappear from his sight.

“That’s right. Thank you.”

“Suddenly?”

“Just, you even left the dinner table… … . It feels really good when someone gets angry for me. I was the only one who fought for me.”

“Huh.”

Leonard lifted his chin and turned his head sharply. Then he flicked his hand slightly. Cordelia yawned loudly as she lay down on the bed.

“But why am I so tired? Later, Master, hmm, homework, hmm. Examination.”

Cordelia fell asleep after saying a few words. Leonard stared blankly at Cordelia’s sleeping face with a complicated expression before leaving the room.

* * *

“Oh, how are you, Cordelia? Are you awake?”

As Leonard left the room, Baron, who had been standing on the window sill, asked excitedly. Leonard ignored that and said only what he wanted to say.

“Call Veluce.”

“Huh? That mad dog, huh? Him?”

Baron reacted immediately like a bird struck by lightning at the name Veluce.

“Isn’t he too conspicuous? Maximilian hasn’t caught me coming here yet, but if Veluce comes to Abrams Castle… … .”

“Maximilian will inevitably notice my presence sooner or later. I can’t lie down flat in fear of that forever.”

“If you need help, wouldn’t it be better to call Sir Mervan?”

“If that old-fashioned vassal shows up in a remote place like this for no reason, Maximilian will immediately think something is strange. But Veluce is like a wild dog, so I guess that’s understandable.”

“But, but if Veluce comes here… … .”

Baron, who knew Veluce Ingrion’s personality better than anyone else, couldn’t easily continue speaking.

Given Belluce’s personality of charging in without regard for the consequences, it was clear that this small castle would soon be turned upside down.

However, despite Baron’s persuasion, Leonard’s will was firm. He glanced down the long corridor with a cold face.

“This damn castle, I have to clean it up quickly. There are more than a few things that are bothering me. It’s annoying that people I don’t even know keep crawling up.”

“… … Haa. I understand.”

“And.”

Leonard paused for a moment. Baron also held his breath.

“Find out something about Vasquez.”

“Vasquez? Why are you doing that? Do you still suspect that Lady Cordelia has a connection to Maximilian?”

Baron’s expression instantly turned serious. Leonard tried to say something, but then shook his head.

“No, that’s not it. It’s just… … Anyway, find out everything. From the current head of the household, all the property, all the blood relatives.”

“Yes. Understood.”

As always, the Baron obediently bowed his head and disappeared from sight.

* * *

Since that day, the castle had become extremely quiet.

Cordelia had never seen Helena, Lily, or Arnold.

When she asked Emily about it, she said, as if she was pleased, “The master was furious that day and made threats.”

“Threats? What threats?”

“Anyone who touches the little lady one more time will have their head cut off and hung on the castle gate. In fact, the head of the cook who put peanuts in the little lady’s soup was hung on the castle gate.”

“Oh… … .”

Cordelia felt a surge of gratitude toward Leonard upon hearing those words. Still, she wondered if he was paying attention to her as his disciple.

“That’s not it. Do it again.”

“Like this?”

“Again.”

“This… … .”

“Again.”

“… … .”

“Again.”

The overflowing gratitude subsided in an instant.

Without lying, he only practiced magic from morning to night.

After being together for almost ten hours every day, he had reached a point where he could guess Leonard’s words from his gestures or the subtle movements of his lips.

“That’s… … .”

“Don’t do that and use your head? I know. I know, but what can I do when my body won’t follow?”

“Say… … .”

“Don’t just say it and do it? Okay, so be quiet.”

“… … .”

Leonard looked at Cordelia with very strange eyes, but she was so focused on her magic that she didn’t notice.

After devoting herself madly to magic for over two weeks, she finally succeeded in creating a small magic spark.

“Oh! Look at this! Master! Quickly, quickly!”

“Oh. Right.”

“T-this is it? I succeeded? I did it, right?”

“Hmm.”

Unlike Cordelia, who was jumping for joy, Leonard was completely indifferent.

“It’s exactly the magic I succeeded with when I was five.”

“I’m saying that I’m at the level of a five-year-old master. Not bad for a first time, right?”

“If you’re satisfied with the level of a five-year-old, then it’s not bad.”

Oh, I wish I could punch that annoying mouth.

But soon, that thought was replaced by joy at the magic that succeeded.

“I think I understand what the master said now. It’s not your head that needs to remember, but your body.”

“Yes. You need to repeat it thousands, tens of thousands of times so that your body remembers no matter what the situation is.”

“Yes. I will.”

She smiled brightly at Leonard.

Then, he suddenly turned his head away and avoided her gaze. Then she added bluntly,

“Don’t make a fuss. You’ve just finally gotten rid of the training label.”