I Wish My Husband Were Dead - Chapter 40



Only Krnovel

Maximilian
2023.12.10.

“When I went down to the cabin when she didn’t come to the dining room on the first day on board, she was crying.”

“Crying? Cordelia? Why?”

“She said she cried because she missed her hometown. Does that make sense? She’s the kind of girl who tears up her father’s letters to pieces, saying she was being picky.”

“That’s strange. Cordelia doesn’t seem like the type of person to cry when she thinks of her hometown.”

“What I’m saying is. There seems to be something going on, but she never says anything.”

“Please don’t be too pushy and be kind to her. When Cordelia feels better, she’ll tell you why.”

“Do I have to please my disciple?”

Leonard said annoyed, but from the next day on, his attitude toward Cordelia became much more lenient.

That day, Cordelia handed him a blank piece of paper as homework, but Leonard didn’t say anything.

“Let’s move on to the next step. “Now, the Delorana estate is not far away.”

“Are we there?”

“Yes. At this rate, we’ll get there in a day or two.”

Cordelia’s face darkened noticeably at those words. The paper in her hand crumpled with a rustling sound.

“Already? Already finished?”

“What do you mean already? It’s been almost a month since we left the Abrams estate.”

“It’s too short. Like this, I’m not even ready yet… …”

Her tear ducts burst out without warning, as if they were broken.

Leonard was about to press her on why she kept crying, but then he remembered what Baron had said yesterday, and tried to imitate a kind tone.

“What do you need to prepare? I

told you to just stay still and I’ll take care of everything.” “I, Ma, it’s only been a month, no, two months since I learned magic.”

“Yes, yes. So you don’t have to do anything and just stay by my side.”

“There’s still so much I want to learn, huh.”

“Does someone who wants to learn so much not do their homework? Huh?”

When Leonard waved a blank piece of paper in the air and said that, Cordelia started to cry like a baby, as if she was so sad.

If he were the one who saw a woman cry, he would have gotten sick of it and left, but Cordelia was different.

He awkwardly grabbed Cordelia’s shoulder and patted her back.

“Okay, okay. I won’t give you homework for a while. Stop crying. You’re already ugly, but you’ll get uglier.”

“S, sob, why, me, magic, ugh.”

Her words were mixed with her sobs, so she couldn’t hear them properly. Cordelia buried her face in Leonard’s chest and began to shed tears in earnest.

Leonard felt her chest getting wet and continued to gently stroke her back with his hand.

As time passed, Cordelia’s shoulders, which had been shaking violently, gradually calmed down.

“I don’t know if I’m raising a child or a disciple.”

“Ugh. Hmm.”

“Are you done crying?”

“Yes. Hmm.”

“Then let me tell you why you cried. For the past few days, you haven’t listened to me, you haven’t done your homework, huh? Just like that.”

“I needed time to collect my thoughts.”

“Collect what?”

“Just. Everything… …”

Cordelia pulled away from his embrace and wiped her moist eyes with her sleeve.

“Master. Do you remember what I suggested to you at first? If you accept me as your disciple, I’ll help you return to your original body.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“I’ll help you.”

Leonard tried to say in his head, ‘You just have to look after the barrier, and I’ll do the rest, so what’s the point of helping you?’ but held it back. He had barely managed to calm her down, so he couldn’t make her cry again.

“Yes. Thank you, disciple. I feel so secure because you’re here.”

Instead of answering, Cordelia smiled like sunshine after the rain. Leonard liked that smile so much that he didn’t say anything else.

* * *

“I think you’ve come.”

Even without Baron saying anything, she could tell they had arrived. The warm weather of Angsien had kept the greenery of midsummer, but here, it was a forest in the middle of winter that had not yet welcomed spring.

An ominous air wafted from afar, and not even the sound of birds could be heard.

“Don’t get too close.”

“Yes.”

Cordelia stuck out her tongue at the tightly packed barrier every time she got closer to the forest. She had thought Leonard’s lab, surrounded by twelve layers, was impressive, but this place was far beyond that.

When she was speechless at the sight of the forest, Baron quietly approached her and asked,

“Lady Cordelia. Do you see something?”

“Yes. The entire forest is covered with a dense magic circle. Just like Baron said, if you step out, you’ll burn to death.”

Even though she had only studied for a month, she could still read what was written on the magic circle.

At that moment, Lottie, who had gotten out of the carriage, suddenly jumped forward. Cordelia was startled and stopped Lottie.

“No. Lottie! This is a very dangerous place.”

She got a rope from Baron, tied a knot, and tied Lottie to a nearby tree.

Lottie scratched the ground with her feet, showing her displeasure, but there was nothing she could do because she could die if she stepped just a little bit wrong on the forest boundary.

“Stay still. Okay?”

“Cordelia. Come here.”

“Yes, I’ll go!”

At Leonard’s call, Cordelia ran behind Lottie.

“Can you see?”

“Yes. Just as Master said, the center is the weakest.”

“In the case of large-scale barriers like this, we always finish in the center.

“Ah, I see.” “

Do you remember learning about coordinates? Call them out one by one.”

“Uh-huh. Wait a minute. Three hundred fifty-four, two hundred twelve, forty-five. Four hundred one, seven hundred sixty-two, forty-seven.”

Cordelia looked at the weak points with her eyes and converted them into coordinates, reciting them. It was bigger than she had thought, and there were more than seventeen distorted parts.

Every time she spoke a coordinate, Leonard placed his magic power precisely on that point. Cordelia was amazed at the mass of magic power flying and landing without a single error.

She was just converting what she saw into numbers, but Leonard calculated everything in his head.

The two of them put their heads together and found all the weak points of the barrier. That alone took almost two hours.

“All right. Now step back. I’ll break it on the count of three.”

“If the barrier collapses, will all three of us go in at once?”

“Do you need to? I’ll go in and come back, so you two wait here.”

“You’re going there alone?”

Cordelia wasn’t the only one who was surprised. Belluce and Baron foamed at the mouth in protest.

“No! Do you know what kind of evil spirits are inside?”

“I came all the way here to protect my master, and you’re going alone? I can’t let you go alone.”

“Oh, you noisy guys. Then you two go in together. But you take care of your own lives.”

Leonard waved his hand as if it was annoying.

“Have a safe trip.”

Cordelia decided to stay, of course. If she went in, she would only be a nuisance to the others.

The three men stood resolutely at the entrance to the forest. Leonard took out his pouch from his bosom. He grabbed one of the reddest holy relics, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it.

A powerful magical power swept over him. Cordelia opened her mouth wide at the sight she had never seen before. Soon, the magical powers permeated Leonard’s body.

Leonard raised his hand high.

“One, two, three.”

At the count of three, a tremendous amount of magical power exploded from the weakest part of the forest barrier. At the same time, a powerful magical storm was created. The three men standing at the entrance were instantly sucked into it.

The wind was so strong that their bodies swayed.

Cordelia quickly grabbed hold of a nearby tree trunk. If she didn’t, she would be sucked into the storm.

“Ugh!”

The power of the magical storm was tremendous. Cordelia’s body was lifted by the wind. Cordelia screamed as she witnessed Lottie, who had been tied up quite far away, being lifted into the air.

“Lottie!”

With a thud, the roots of the tree Cordelia had been leaning on began to be pulled out. She struggled in the air, trying to find something else to hold onto, but it was no use.

“Gyaaaaak!”

In the end, Cordelia was also sucked into the storm.

* * * She

barely managed to move one finger. Her whole body ached as if she had been beaten by someone.

Cordelia opened her eyes with difficulty. The sky was covered with thick leaves, so the sun wasn’t visible.

“Ouch.”

She let out a groan as she sat up. She looked around.

The inside of Delorana’s estate was different from what it looked like from the outside, full of summer greenery.

Cordelia looked around carefully. It was more peaceful than she had thought. At first, they had expected that there would be demons running wild, but there weren’t even any small animals in the forest.

“But how do I get out of here?”

The three men wouldn’t even know if she had fallen here or not. The worst would be that she would be trapped here and left alone.

As she thought about that, Cordelia came to her senses. She couldn’t just sit here. She had to meet one of the three and join them.

“Master! Baron! Beluche!”

She walked toward the rising sun, calling out their names.

Whether it was because the forest was too large or because she was unluckily isolated far from the group, no one answered no matter how much she called.

It felt like she had walked for at least two hours, but she hadn’t encountered a single person, let alone a squirrel.

At this point, Cordelia began to feel fearful. How long could she survive here, without food, water, or even how to make a fire?

That was when she heard a rustling sound. Cordelia shouted in joy.

“I’m Cordelia! Who’s there?”

The sound of the bushes parting on both sides grew closer. Cordelia also walked toward them.

“Maybe it’s the Master? Or maybe… …”

Her eyes met with itss. Cordelia’s body froze as hard as ice. Why did she think that anything that moved was a person?

The black-eyed monster stared at Cordelia with its fangs bared. It had a body as agile as a wolf and had five eyes. The claws on its feet looked sharp, as if they could tear Cordelia’s body to pieces at any moment.