I Wish My Husband Were Dead - Chapter 58



Only Krnovel

Father’s Daughter
2023.12.28.

“Huh? Vasquez? Ah.”

The owner belatedly realized who Leonard was talking about and took the lead.

“You’re staying in the room at the end of this floor. I gave you the best room in our inn.”

“That was a waste.”

“Huh?”

The innkeeper blinked, not understanding what he meant. Baron silently motioned for him to step back. The innkeeper understood the gesture and quickly disappeared.

Leonard stood in front of the door. Then, without warning, he opened the door abruptly.

“Whoa, who is it?”

Even in broad daylight, the smell of alcohol was overwhelming. Baron instinctively covered his nose with his sleeve. There were countless empty bottles scattered around the room, showing how much he had drunk.

“Atilio?”

“Yes. You said you were ready to meet me and talk, but you look like a mess.”

“Ugh. If you have something to say, say it.”

“Don’t say you can’t remember because you’re drunk, so let’s talk sober.”

“I’m perfectly fine. Tell me. You said you wanted to tell me something.”

Leonard ignored Vasquez’s drunkenness and pointed at Elector Vasquez, who was completely drunk, with his chin.

The Baron noticed his master’s intention and took a step forward. Then he summoned water and poured it over the man’s head, who was soaked in alcohol.

“Uffffff, what are you doing!”

“Don’t come near me. I’m afraid I’ll catch your smell.”

“What are you doing! You’re suddenly dousing me

with water!” “Are you sober?”

“What?”

“If you are, then sit over there.”

The Baron brought two chairs that were relatively clean in the room, offered one to the master, and placed one in front of Vasquez.

Vasquez shook his head roughly. Water dripped from his wet body, soaking the floor. He had definitely sobered up, because his eyes were clearer than before.

He glared at the chair and Leonard.

“Are you deaf? “Sit down.”

“You begged me to see you, and now this is how you treat me? Do you think I’ll listen to you?”

“This time, should I summon fire instead of water?”

Although his tone was calm, Vasquez must have read his sincerity, and he grumbled before sitting down quietly on his chair.

“Yes. The money I sent you.”

Leonard looked around once and sneered.

“I think you spent it all on drinks.”

“If you have something to say, say it quickly and go. I don’t really enjoy seeing your face either.”

“Good idea, Vasquez. I want to get out of this dirty den quickly.”

He took out his checkbook and pen from his pocket. Then he looked at Vasquez.

“Do you have a favorite number?”

“What?”

“Tell me. Any number.”

“Four, three? No, nine!”

Vasquez’s eyes turned greedy as he looked at the checkbook. Leonard wrote something based on the number he had mentioned, then tore off a page.

“What do you think? Do you like it?”

Vasquez snatched the check like a magpie. His face lit up as he checked the number.

He thought it would be at most 3,000 or 9,000 ringgit, but it said 39,000 ringgit. That was enough to buy a decent four-horse carriage.

“Well, hmm, hmm.”

“I don’t care why you came to the capital. Just accept my demands. Elector Vasquez.”

“What is it? Tell me. I will help you as much as I can.”

Vasquez, who had the money in his hand, forgot that he had been hit by a torrent of water and spoke in a generous tone.

“Don’t ever approach Cordelia again.”

“She’s my daughter. Who are you to tell me what to do, ugh! My money!”

Before he could finish his sentence, the check in Vasquez’s hand burst into flames. Vasquez was startled and tried to put out the fire by throwing the check on the wet floor, but it disappeared, leaving only ashes behind.

Leonard crossed his legs and said,

“You must be mistaken. I am not here to negotiate or deal with you. The money is just the price you paid for meeting my demands.”

“Demand? Is it a reasonable demand to not meet my daughter?”

“My daughter. That is not something a father should say, having sold his daughter to Abrams for five hundred thousand ringgit, let alone a dowry.”

“It is the father’s right to marry his daughter off!”

He shouted at Leonard, swearing at him.

No matter how much he looked at his dirty clothes and the smell of alcohol in broad daylight, he could not believe that he was Cordelia’s biological father.

Yes. Cordelia’s father.

That is why he has endured and endured so far.

“How much would you give up?”

“What would you give up?”

“The damned rights of your father.”

Vasquez’s eyes wavered. He had just witnessed him spend thirty-nine thousand as easily as if he were giving a one-ringet coin.

Leonard, who noticed that he was not hesitating whether to give up his ‘rights of father’ but rather contemplating the amount, couldn’t help but laugh.

Vasquez, who had been calculating hard in his head, finally said the number.

“I received five hundred thousand ringets when I went to Abrams, so I should receive at least one million ringets from Attila.”

“A million ringets.”

Leonard stared blankly into Vasquez’s eyes. When Vasquez didn’t get an answer quickly, he regretted asking for too much.

But surprisingly, Leonard made a more generous offer.

“How about this? I’ll send you fifty thousand ringets every month.”

“Every, every month?”

Fifty thousand a month is six hundred thousand a year. It was enough money to live comfortably, if not abundantly. Vasquez’s lips twitched involuntarily after finishing his calculations.

“Okay. But you must never appear in front of Cordelia again as a father. You must not send letters or send people to contact her.”

“Of course!”

Vasquez gave up his father’s rights so easily. His eyes were focused solely on the checkbook on the table. His gaze was so blatant that even Baron was dumbfounded.

“If I knew you would cherish our daughter this much, I would have married her off to Attila instead of Abrams.”

“Don’t be so filthy. She’s my disciple.”

“What? You can make her your disciple or your lover, whatever you want.”

Leonard glared at Vasquez with a serious expression. Regardless, Vasquez licked his lips and couldn’t take his eyes off the checkbook.

“Then can I start doing it today? I want you to give me the money today… …”

“Of course I should.”

Leonard wrote 50,000 rings on the check, signed it, tore it up, and handed it to Vasquez.

Vasquez looked at it for a long time, smiling broadly. Then, as if he suddenly felt uneasy, he looked up at Leonard’s face.

“Shouldn’t we put it in writing? Something this important?”

“What are you going to do? If I don’t send you 50,000 rings every month, you can see your daughter as much as you want, and if you break your promise and approach Cordelia, I’ll kill you.”

“… … .”

The price for breaking the contract was more dire than he had thought. Vasquez’s face turned pale.

He remembered the news he had heard recently about Atile. He had taken all the magic power from his younger brother who had betrayed him and put it in a box… …

“T-Tell me, didn’t you say that!”

Vasquez stammered and shouted. Leonard got up and straightened his clothes. If he stayed in this dirty den for a little longer, his clothes would smell like alcohol.

“Why. Are you scared now? If you keep your promise, you won’t die of natural causes or accidents.”

“T-that.”

“Oh. I almost forgot.”

As he was about to leave the room, something occurred to him and Leonard turned around and said to Vasquez.

“Put your foot out there.”

“Foot?”

“No. Not that one, your right foot.”

Vasquez was bewildered, but obediently put his right foot out. Leonard strode towards him and tripped him.

“What are you doing, AAAAAH!”

He heard a cracking sound and the sound of his right ankle breaking. He had stepped on it so hard that it lost its original shape and became bizarre. The floor was quickly soaked with blood.

Baron turned his head away and pretended not to see the gruesome sight.

Leonard took the check out of his pocket again, wrote down thirty-nine thousand ringgits, and threw it at Vasquez.

“This is for the ankle.”

“This, this, ugh!”

“I hope you keep your word, Vasquez. If not, it won’t be your ankle next time, it’ll be your neck.”

Vasquez writhed in pain. Leonard left him without hesitation and turned around to leave the room.

Baron followed his master without saying a word, and only spoke after getting on the carriage.

“Isn’t ten thousand a month a little too much?”

“If you can clean up the trash with that little bit of money, it’s cheap. It’s a hundred times better to pay monthly and manage it than to give a lot of money all at once and then have to go back and forth when the money runs out.”

“But if Cordelia knows… … .”

“How would she know? Vasquez won’t come near Cordelia anymore, and unless you or I speak first, she’ll never know.”

He leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes, refusing to listen to any more questions.

Baron realized that Leonard’s excessive interest, affection, or obsession with Cordelia was much more than he had thought.

The only worry was that Leonard seemed completely unaware of my feelings for Cordelia.

“What’s going on with Embly?”

“I’ve been asking Embly’s employees, but they’re all tight-lipped and won’t open up easily. But there’s something a little strange.”

“What?”

“Rosaline Embly.”

“The daughter of the Elector Embly? Why?”

“I’ve been watching Embly’s townhouse for nearly ten days, and I’ve never seen her leave the mansion. She’s single and it’s social season.”

“Is she not feeling well? I heard she was born with a weak heart.”

“That could be true, but… … . The employees react strangely when I ask them about Rosaline Embly. They react very sensitively. It’s like I’m digging up their private parts.”

“Hmm.”

Leonard touched the tip of his chin. There was something bothering him, but he couldn’t tell what it was because it was as hazy as fog.

“What else?”

“Nothing in particular. I think we should look into the main body.”

“Go ahead. By the way, what time is it?”

“Oh.”

The Baron realized that he wasn’t asking for the current time, but how much time was left in the three hours he had promised Cordelia.