After the Wicked Wife Leaves

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Translated by: Alina

Edited by: Vcubed

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Just a moment ago, Medelin was in great distress.

Understandably so, as her beloved Erich had wrapped himself with that Raven’s wings and treated her cruelly.

But shortly after, to make matters worse, even the Empress called her and scolded her severely.

“Did you really do that? Did you, dare I say, criticize our son’s behavior?”

When asked what that was all about, the Empress, infuriated, said “Cornelia told me. She said you often spoke ill whenever you visited Duke Blant!”

Of course, she did visit frequently and often spoke to Cornelia, but it was never to gossip or chatter, only for mockery’s sake.

Flustered, Medelin hurriedly denied ever doing such a thing.

But the Empress was already fixated on her son.

“I can’t stand the sight of you anymore, so don’t come to me for a while!”

As Medelin was chased out of the palace, she shed tears of sorrow.

*’What nonsense is this woman spewing?’*

I don’t know how the Crown Prince found out about the incident.

But one thing was certain.

This was Cornelia’s deliberate attempt to frame her.

‘Do they think I’ll just sit back and take it?’

If Cornelia had the Empress, then Medelin had the former Duchess of Blant.

She decided to go to Duke Blant’s estate and give her a taste of her own medicine.

She told her attendant who had followed her, “Inform the coachman to bring the carriage, quickly!”

That’s when it happened.

“Medelin Arzen, are you already leaving?”

Feeling irritated already, when she heard the annoying question, Medelin shot a fierce glare at the perpetrator.

Soon, however, her expression softened, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Erich, did you really come to see me?”

He confirmed, saying he had something to tell her.

With a sense of relief washing over her, the dismal feeling began to dissipate.

‘As I suspected, you still care for me.’

But Medelin soon regained her stern expression. Recalling his cold attitude from the past few days, she couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful.

So, after venting her frustration, what followed was beyond her expectations.

“Why did you get angry with me? Do you know how hurt I was?”

He slowly bowed his head in response.

As he approached as if to kiss her, Medelin instinctively closed her eyes.

Eventually, his voice reached her ears.

“Medelin Arzen, it’s because of your annoying behavior.”

Hearing those unbelievable words in her ear, Medelin’s eyes snapped open.

In the blink of an eye, he had detached himself, staring at her with a cold gaze as if she were an inanimate object.

Medelin felt her pride being wounded as well as her anger rising.

“What do you mean by annoying behavior?”

“You entered my house without my permission and barged into my study. And you kept coming to see me, disrupting my work.”

“That, t-that’s because! There were changes in our contract, and I wanted to inform you about them. And I visited you frequently because of the contract!”

At that moment, Erich’s eyes became piercing.

“Yes, that’s why I didn’t want to sign that contract.”

This was something she hadn’t expected to hear. Medelin’s mind went blank, unable to process.

‘You don’t want to sign the contract?’

At first, she was dumbfounded, but upon reflection, she felt indignant.

After all, her efforts had made the contract so favorable to her.

“Father, we barely interacted with the Duke of Blant. Please, uphold my dignity.”

‘I pleaded with my father to get you to agree, and you refuse so blatantly!?’

With an angry expression, she confronted him.

“Why? It was advantageous for you!”

“Yes, it was indeed very advantageous for me. If it had been concluded, I would have gained a lot.”

Eventually, Erich spoke with a captivating smile.

“And I know your influence would have played a part in making it happen.”

As Medelin looked at Erich, she felt her heart race.

Impeccable features, overflowing with charm—a strong jawline, broad shoulders, and a robust chest—all accentuated his masculine appeal.

However, his subsequent words made her heart drop like a stone.

“But if that gives you the excuse to act as you please, it’s problematic, Medelin Arzen.”

Beyond annoyance, his face was filled with irritation, unmistakably showing that he was angry with her.

‘Well, Erich has always disliked being controlled.’

Realizing this, Medelin tried to interject.

“Erich, I—”

But Erich cut her off mercilessly.

“This is your final warning. Don’t cross the line.”

Her heart sank at his stern gaze, and Medelin found herself involuntarily shrinking back.

Soon, tears of sorrow began to stream down her cheeks.

“How could you… How could you treat me like this?”

Despite her pitiful sobs, Erich turned away decisively, as if she were no longer worth his attention.

In her desperation, Medelin called out to him.

“Erich!”

His footsteps halted.

*’Could it be… Is he going to apologize to me?’*

Surely he would.

Unless he was a complete fool, he wouldn’t reject such favorable contract terms.

With hope in her heart, she looked at him with pleading eyes.

But moments later, Erich’s words made Medelin’s expression harden.

“And now that the contract is null and void, don’t bother coming to my house anymore.”

His refusal to even look back made her furious.

In her anger, she raised her voice.

“”I-I will never let you go,  you’ll regret this!”

A satisfied smile lingered on Erich’s face as he listened to her furious outburst.

‘Now she won’t harass Cornelia for a while.’

Whenever Erich was with Cornelia, Medelin purposely tried to agitate the Empress to find an excuse to harass Cornelia.

So, the lies he told to appear disinterested in Cornelia were for a reason.

One thing worried him though—her knowing about Cornelia’s pregnancy.

Despite his efforts to keep it a secret from the Empress, if it ever got out, he couldn’t predict what might happen.

‘But she’d never tell the Empress, would she?’

Erich recalled the day he arranged for Medelin’s eavesdropping, and a twisted smile formed on his lips.

‘If that happened, the Empress might turn against Cornelia.’

The fact that the lady of the house, who often communicated with Medelin, was unaware of Cornelia’s pregnancy was evidence of his success in keeping it secret.

For a moment, Erich’s smile faded.

‘Cornelia might resent me.’

He felt a heavy weight on his chest.

He knew that Cornelia had heard the words he’d spoken just moments ago, when he’d used them to distract Medelin from her.

But even if she resented him, there was nothing he could do.

Because of those words, Medelin would now hate him instead of her.

And, partly, it was sincere. After all, he had never been her husband even once.

‘It’s been quite some time since she left here. Maybe she decided to head home first.’

Erich decided to go to where Cornelia might be, just in case.

That’s when he spotted someone and froze.

‘That’s…’

With a fierce glare, Erich clenched his fist.

‘If they happened to meet Cornelia…’ 

Feeling anxious, Erich hurriedly left the scene.

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Despite being instructed to depart for the estate, the knights and coachmen looked at me strangely, not saying a word.

The only one who dared to speak up was Chester, the head of the Blant knights.

“I thought his Grace was coming with you… Why did you return alone?”

Not wanting to answer about the recent events, I climbed into the carriage.

Chester approached again.

“Didn’t his Lordship mention that he was coming to the palace? But… why…”

“If you can’t see why I’m alone, you’re truly clueless.”

My icy tone made Chester’s expression sour even further.

But I paid him no mind.

“Depart.”

With that, Chester gritted his teeth and glared at me.

“I apologize, but if my Lord is here—”

Due to my status, I hesitated for a moment, but I roughly understood his words and chuckled.

‘He’s implying that he can’t send me off alone.’

After all, I had arrived in this carriage alone, and Erich surely hadn’t come here without any transportation.

Even if I didn’t wait for Erich, he could return to the mansion on his own.

‘But if he insists on not letting me depart, it means he’s ignoring me to that extent.’

It wasn’t worth getting angry over such trivial matters. I rose from my seat and stepped out of the carriage.

“All right, I understand your intentions, but I’ll make my own way back.”

“What do you mean? That’s not what I meant—”

“No, you said a moment ago that you couldn’t start the carriage. So, I’ll go on my own.”

Chester looked initially startled, then tried to dissuade me.

“I misspoke. Please, calm down and get back in the carriage.”

At first glance, it might seem like they were looking out for me, but their intentions were clear.

*’They’re probably afraid Erich will be angry if something happens to me.’*

“No, it’s not necessary. You gentlemen should return with your master.”

“But—!”

Despite Chester’s persistent attempts, I had no intention of returning with them anymore.

‘It might be troublesome, but I’ll ask the palace for a carriage.’

As I was about to head towards the imperial palace, where I intended to go, I froze in place when I spotted a familiar face.

“Whoa, who’s this? A Raven?”

 

𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒐-𝒇𝒊