I Wish My Husband Were Dead - Chapter 22



Only Krnovel

Ropal Wizard Association
2023.11.22.

“Keep going. Lily.”

“… … I really tried to stop you. But my mother pushed me to the end and told me to be quiet, so I had no choice but to come here. I really had no intention of harming Craig. Trust me.”

“Oh, so that means all of this was done by the great lady.”

“No! It wasn’t me, it was the author, Jared Abrams, who planned all of this! I just, to Craig, Craig, Craig!”

Helena screamed and rambled. Leonard silenced Helena with just one finger.

“So there’s no one who’s dissatisfied with me becoming the earl? Baron Lancaster. What do you think?”

“… … Of course, I think Craig is the rightful successor to the earldom.”

“Really?”

As soon as Leonard heard Baron Lancaster’s words, he jumped up from his seat and walked to the dining room, opening the door wide.

Several servants waiting outside flinched in surprise and stepped back.

“Then it’s time for punishment. Beluce. Bring them all.”

“Yes, master.”

Upon hearing the word punishment, Beluce smiled brightly and grabbed Arnold and Jared by the back of their necks, dragging them. Although the two men were on the thin side, it was surprising that they could lift a grown man with one hand.

“Oh, you’re short on hands. You.”

Beluce pointed to one of the servants.

“Yes, yes?”

“Bring that old woman who’s fallen over there.”

“Are you talking about the lady?”

“Yes. That woman.”

Beluce pointed to Helena, who was sitting on the floor with her chin down. The servant looked at her for a moment, then grabbed Helena’s arm and followed Beluce.

“Tell everyone in the castle to gather at the front gate.”

“Yes.”

Another servant who had received Leonard’s order ran quickly. But the order was actually unnecessary.

Everyone in the main building was watching and gossiping as Arnold and Jared were dragged away by Beluche.

Leonard arrived at the main gate and went up to the stage. Those who had already heard the news were swarming like bees. They guessed the situation by looking at Helena’s disheveled appearance and Arnold with a knife in his thigh.

“Something unpleasant happened at dinner today. My mother and uncle, who are here, joined forces with Jared Abrams to kill me.”

Leonard motioned to Beluche behind him, who quickly dragged the two men and Helena toward Leonard.

“Betraying your own blood. It’s heartbreaking.”

He muttered softly. He couldn’t tell if he was talking to Craig or himself.

Then, one of the audience members shouted, “Kill the traitor!” The silence lasted a moment, and soon everyone began to shout, “Kill him.”

Jared, Arnold, and even Helena turned pale.

It was illegal to kill nobles without trial in Ershe, but Craig Abrams had a legitimate reason.

Arnold was the first to kneel down and quickly kneel before Leonard.

“Count. Please forgive me. I guess I was blinded by greed and that’s how I ended up like this.”

“I see.”

“Don’t you know? How much I’ve loved you since I was little.”

Arnold tried to persuade Leonard by bringing up his childhood. Of course, those words didn’t move Leonard at all.

“Don’t the others have anything else to say before they die?”

“Craig! Please, at least my mother. Just spare my mother. Okay? I’ll beg you like this.”

Lily’s face was already stained with tears. She was also lying down next to Arnold and wailing. Jared seemed to have already given up on his situation and was just looking at the floor.

Only Helena raised her head with venomous eyes and glared at Leonard.

“Lily.”

At that moment, Cordelia smiled kindly and touched Lily’s shoulder.

“Could it be that the lady is not in her right mind?”

Then Helena raised her head so quickly that there was a snap and glared at Cordelia.

“Poor thing, she has been delusional ever since the previous Count passed away. So it is no wonder she fell for Jared’s trick.”

“Was she?”

Leonard found this situation quite amusing and responded appropriately to Cordelia.

“Yes. Of course. Isn’t that right, Lily?”

“… … .”

“Lily. You have to answer when someone asks you a question.”

“… … That’s right. Your mother is not in her right mind right now. That is why she fell for Jared’s words.”

Lily hesitated and lowered her eyes. Cordelia clapped her hands.

“Then it makes sense. Now that I think about it, the lady put peanuts in my food even though she knew I was allergic to them?”

“T-what about that?”

“I’ve told you this many times, but considering that she put peanuts in on purpose, it’s either malicious or insane. What do you think, Lily?”

“… … That, that is.”

Lily’s face turned completely pale. She could clearly see that she was racking her brain to figure out what to say to survive here.

Cordelia suddenly burst into laughter.

“Why were you so scared? Just say that the lady was insane.”

“… … That’s right. My mother was insane… … .”

“Lily! You little rascal! Are you calling your mother crazy?”

Helena yelled. Nevertheless, Lily hunched over and watched Cordelia’s expression.

“There’s someone who’s trying to kill me, but everyone says no, so what should I do? What do you think, Countess?”

“How about hanging Jared Abrams, the mastermind behind all this, and moving the rest to the North Tower?”

“North Tower?”

“Yes. No matter what, it’s not good for others to see their mother and uncle dead. Let’s move them to the tower and have them reflect there.”

“Hmm.”

Leonard pretended to think for a moment and touched his chin. However, his thoughts didn’t last long. He actively accepted Cordelia’s opinion and decided the fate of the Abrams.

“Jared Abrams is put to death for trying to kill me, the rightful heir to the Earldom. Arnold Dylan and Helena Abrams, who assisted in this evil deed, are imprisoned in the North Tower, and Lily Dahlia is permanently exiled from the Abrams estate from this moment on.”

Everything went as he wished.

The soldiers below immediately dragged Helena and Arnold to the North Tower.

Helena continued to curse Leonard and Cordelia until the very end, but no one listened to her.

Instead, people talked about the greatness of Craig Abrams, who had regained his position despite his stepmother’s threats.

When the situation was somewhat resolved, Leonard, Belluce, and Cordelia returned to their room.

Belluce was full of complaints and grumbled openly on the way.

“Why did you save them? It’s annoying to keep their mouths shut, so why don’t you just kill them?”

“Because I didn’t intend to kill them from the beginning.”

“Why are you judging it on your own?”

“If you really intended to kill them, you wouldn’t have asked me what I thought and done whatever the Master wanted. Isn’t that right?”

Leonard stared blankly at Cordelia.

That was right. Even though they were a count family in a remote corner of the country, it was obvious that the central government would think it strange if most of the family members were suddenly killed. It wasn’t the time to receive attention yet.

What surprised Leonard was that Cordelia read his mind and did as he wanted without him having to say anything in advance.

As I had felt before, Cordelia was excellent at reading situations. Just like she had figured out that Leonard was the head of Attila with just a little clue.

“You know well. But even if you had told me to kill him, I would have done so.”

“Then you should let him live.”

“Why?”

“Death is too lenient. I should let them experience the hell I experienced.”

“Now he’s finally acting like my disciple.”

Leonard looked at Cordelia as if he was proud, and Belluce felt anxious.

“I didn’t just plan on killing him. I planned on torturing him so that he would suffer as long as possible.”

“Oh my. Belluce didn’t suffer anything from those people.”

“You have to have suffered something to kill him. If you want to kill him, you can kill him.”

“… … .”

Cordelia was a little taken aback by his response as if it were so obvious. It had only been a short time since I had known Beluche, but this much was certain. He

was crazy. And completely so.

“By the way, I feel relieved even after leaving here because the Master took care of everything cleanly. I was worried that I might divorce and take revenge.”

Leonard asked her back.

“Why are you worried about that?”

“I am worried. The Master will leave, but I have to stay here.”

“Why are you staying?”

“Then where am I going?”

“I should go. To the Wilas Archipelago. To be exact, I’m going to the Lopal Alliance.”

“Why am I going there?”

As the conversation continued, only questions remained between them. Leonard said incredulously.

“Aren’t you my disciple?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll go. Wherever I go. I have to follow the proper procedures.”

“Huh? Weren’t we supposed to just teach each other magic and then part ways?”

“What are you talking about? Don’t you know what a wizard’s apprentice is?”

Beluche, who was next to her, must have been quite frustrated, butt-in. Cordelia blinked in confusion and stuttered.

“Uh, um. So, isn’t that someone who learns magic from a wizard? When they learn all the magic, they say they’ve learned it well and go their separate ways.”

“What are you talking about?”

“No?”

Beluche said as if she found it pathetic, so Cordelia shrugged her shoulders a little. Leonard let out a deep sigh.

“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while, but do you really not know anything about wizards? This is common knowledge that any noble would know.”

“You’re the first wizard I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“It makes sense that I’m the first. But even if you lived in the countryside, you must have received basic education, right?”

“What do you mean by basic education…?”

“What is a wizard? What is a magician? Things like that?”

“Not at all. My father didn’t even want me to learn how to read.”