I Wish My Husband Were Dead - Chapter 82



Only Krnovel

What do you think of me?
2024.01.21.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. The young lady is not feeling well, but she is definitely alive. Her fever has also gone down a lot.”

“Hmm.”

Maximilian looked at Rosaline, who was lying like a corpse, without much emotion, and then asked Sophia.

“But why are there only you three? Where are all the other knights?”

“That’s… … . In fact, not long after we arrived at Angsene, we were attacked by a group. Only the young lady and I barely survived the attack.”

“What group? Who was it?”

“I don’t know. The three of us survived because we were hiding in the carriage.”

“Did you see anything? Like the emblems of the attackers?”

“Uh.”

A young maid stepped forward cautiously at Maximilian’s question.

“A woman… … was.”

“A woman?”

“Yes. There was definitely a woman with black hair among them.”

Even now, when I think back to that moment, my body trembles. But I remembered the face of the woman I saw right after I got out of the carriage because it was unrealistically beautiful.

“No way. The woman attacked Embly’s carriage? How on earth? Are you sure?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

“You shouldn’t go around talking like it’s true when it’s not even certain.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Her tone was gentle, but it didn’t hide the sharpness within. The maid who had spoken shrugged her shoulders and stepped back.

“If we go to the place where we were attacked, we’ll find some clues. Do you remember where we were attacked?”

“Oh. Yes. I remember it clearly.”

Sophia described the place where they were attacked in detail.

“Yes. Since you dared to attack Embly, you should make sure to pay the price, right?”

He spoke as if Embly’s blood flowed through him, but it was so natural that it didn’t even feel awkward.

Then, another maid who was holding a child in a corner carefully brought Daniel over.

“A son, you gave birth to a son. His name is Dani… … .”

“You take good care of her.”

Maximilian didn’t even look at his son’s face. It seemed as if he didn’t think of him as his own blood.

Sophia was furious at his behavior. The young lady endured the pain of tearing her flesh and blood for this child, but this guy doesn’t even care about his own child.

“And until Elector Embly arrives, you take good care of Rosaline. How sad would the Elector be if she were to die?”

“… … Yes. I understand.”

When Rosaline was by his side, he acted as if he would pick the stars from the sky for her, but when she couldn’t open her eyes, he was so cold. It was as if he was entrusting her with an animal, without even a speck of warmth.

Sophia cursed him inwardly, but nodded obediently on the outside.

* * *

‘If you’re holding my hand, doesn’t that mean you don’t have any feelings for me?’

Leonard had been staring intently at Cordelia’s hand since earlier. Then he began to think back on the actions she had taken toward him one by one, and gave them meaning.

‘The most respected thing in the world also includes affection, right? Doesn’t that mean I’m full of positive emotions?’

If someone knew the thoughts floating around in his head, they would laugh at his ridiculousness, but surprisingly, Leonard was sincere.

‘And you hugged me and cried in the middle of the night, telling me not to abandon you. That’s proof that you trust me the most in this world.’

“Master.”

“What, huh? Why?”

“Why are

you so surprised?” “When was I surprised, you know?”

His choked words made the credibility of what he had just said disappear. He tried his best to act normal.

“What is it, tell me?”

“You’ve been staring at my hand for a while. Do you still have a grudge?”

“Grudge? What grudge?”

“This bracelet. Was it Evrard’s treasure?”

Cordelia shook her left wrist lightly. Leonard had been looking at her hand the whole time, and now he realized that Evrard’s treasure was on it.

“Just use it. Don’t feel pressured.”

“Beluce said you can teleport?”

“Yes. But did she tell you about it?”

“Yes. She even taught me the starter word. I’ve never used it though.”

“That’s strange. At first, Beluce seemed to dislike you… … .”

Now that I think about it, Beluce is suspicious.

At first, he was very dissatisfied with the fact that Cordelia was his disciple, but since then, he has never once complained about protecting her. In fact, he volunteered to be by her side when Cordelia left for Abrams.

‘Maybe he’s with Cordelia too!’ If

Beluche found out, he would immediately explode with anger, but Leonard, who was already firmly ensconced, said that it could easily happen, and drew a line of defense.
“Don’t get too close to Beluche.”

“Huh? Suddenly? Why?”

“Just don’t do it if I tell you not to. There’s nothing in his head but me and the sword. There’s no room for a woman to enter there. Got it?”

“What, um. Yes.”

All of a sudden, talking about Beluche and women was so absurd. It seemed like he wasn’t like this before, but since leaving Abrams, his master has been saying incomprehensible things.

Cordelia felt it was very strange, but she let it be. Her entire attention was now focused on the remaining Wilas Islands.

Originally, she had planned to go straight to Yebo Delim, but there was news that Maximilian’s traces had been discovered in the south. In addition, she changed her direction to the Ropal Magic Association to officially establish Cordelia as the successor of Leonard’s school, ‘Acheron.’

“What kind of ceremony do I have to do there?”

“It’s just a procedure to call the old wizards and announce that you are the successor of Acheron.”

“Is the successor different from the disciple?”

“Usually, there are multiple disciples. The successor refers to the disciple who will take on the next Seirius.”

“Is it okay for me to be your successor? You could have another disciple besides me.”

“No.”

Leonard shook his head firmly.

“You are my first and last disciple. I never intended to have a disciple in the first place.”

The words “first and last” pierced Cordelia’s heart. She liked them quite a bit.

The first and the last.

“Ahem. Well, that’s up to the Master. But why didn’t you want to take on a disciple?”

“As you know now, the relationship between a wizard’s disciple and his master is absolute. It can’t be easily broken or withdrawn. It also means that once you take on a disciple, you have to take responsibility for the rest of your life. How scary that is.”

“Master, you really… … .”

“Really?”

“You seem afraid of taking responsibility. It was like that with your marriage before.”

“Because I know the weight of it. My choice can change someone’s life.”

“You don’t seem to care about other people’s lives, but you’re actually quite delicate.”

“I don’t care about other people’s lives. They’re just my disciples or my wives.”

Leonard stared into Cordelia’s eyes and said.

“I… … .”

He worried that if he brought that up, the atmosphere he had tried to ease would get worse again, but he chose to face it head on.

“I was also responsible for giving your father money.”

“What responsibility?”

“I just wanted to protect you from him and chose to give you the money that way. I swear I never thought of the money as your ransom.”

“… … .”

“But that was just my intention and if you feel bad about it, then it’s the wrong way to do it.”

To be honest, he still didn’t fully understand why she was angry, but his feelings for her helped him transcend even that understanding.

Cordelia just stared at him for a while, silently. When the silence grew longer, Leonard spoke in a smaller voice than usual.

“Say anything. Say you’re annoyed because of me, or that you’re still angry. … … It doesn’t matter.”

“Do you really not care?”

“Oh.”

Although he said it indifferently, Leonard’s emotions were racing inside. If she said something like she could never forgive him, or that she was disappointed in him and didn’t want to see him, it would be a big blow.

“Father hated my eyes.”

“… … Huh?”

His head, which had been tilted down at the floor, suddenly rose at the unexpected words. Cordelia calmly told her story.

“I don’t know why. He just said he didn’t like it. When he drank, his hatred grew stronger. At first, he just slapped me once or twice, but later he swung his leather belt wherever he could get his hands on it… … .”

She recalled days she didn’t want to think about, but couldn’t forget.

She clung to her father’s trouser leg as he swung his belt and begged. That she was wrong. That he should have spared her. But Cordelia still couldn’t figure out what she had done wrong. Leonard,

who had been listening to Cordelia’s story, secretly clenched his fists hard.

‘You shouldn’t have just broken his ankles. You should have beaten him to death with a horsewhip.’

“At first, I tried to understand my father. Of course, I failed. Then I tried to change my eyes.”

“How?”

“With something like medicine… … I thought that if I couldn’t see, my father wouldn’t hate me even more.”

Thinking back now, it seems foolish, but at the time, it was desperate. Maybe if I had just a little more time, I would have really done it.

“Your eyes.”

Leonard could easily recall Cordelia from his younger days. He must have brought his trembling hands to her eyes. He reached out as if he could barely touch her cheek.

“Your eyes are so beautiful. More beautiful than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

“Haha. Thank you.”

“I’m serious. I’ve never seen eyes as vivid as yours. Sometimes they’re as soft as spring sunlight, and sometimes they’re like leaves blooming in early summer.”

He regretted his poor expressiveness. He would have to call on all the writers of Ershe to explain how beautiful her eyes were, sparkling whenever they caught the light.

It is unclear whether Leonard’s sincerity reached Cordelia. Cordelia only smiled very faintly.