After the Wicked Wife Leaves

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Translated by: Sienna

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After returning to my room and changing clothes, I had a simple late-night snack and sat by the window.

‘That mine is not worth accepting; it’s too dirty.’

Before I knew it, it was already past 9 o’clock at night.

‘What a tiring day.’

At that moment, I saw the carriage of the Marquis of Arzen leaving.

I couldn’t help but raise the corner of my mouth in disbelief.

‘Tsk! Sending someone at this late hour, I can’t believe it.’

But now that I had decided to think of him as a stranger, it was none of my business.

I drew the curtains and went to bed.

 

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After Cornelia left, Erich sat on the sofa for a long time with a blank expression.

‘Don’t interfere with each other, huh?’

He had intentionally not cared about her. But now, hearing it like this, a corner of his heart feels empty and hollow.

‘Yes, she was never my wife in the first place.’

A bitter smile lingered for a moment, but soon Erich’s gaze turned stern.

<I won’t miss any opportunity that comes my way.>

Reinhardt Adolf Tarant, known to be kind and virtuous, holds the Emperor’s trust as a noble.

Cornelia was known to have had exchanges with Archduke Tarrant since her youth. Earlier, Cornelia’s interactions with Reinhardt had seemed so natural and comfortable.

However, Erich was well aware of his true nature.

<Erich Lennon Blant, I warn you, do not covet what is mine.>

Erich clenched his fists, his eyes glowing murderously.

‘If you find out what he intended to do to you, you will…’

At that moment, the door burst open.

“You!”

At the entrance stood the matriarch of the Blant family with an angry face.

“What’s going on? Mother.”

Ignoring Erich’s question, the matriarch locked the door, approached him with furious steps, and promptly slapped her son across the face.

“How dare you!”

Erich was unharmed by the blow, being a sword master who could take most attacks, but the ring on her finger must have caused him discomfort.

Nevertheless, the matriarch paid no attention and shouted,

“Didn’t I tell you clearly that you must continue to maintain good relations with the Marquis of Arzen? How dare you unilaterally terminate the contract?”

The moment he heard those words, he remembered Medelin glaring at him with venomous eyes.

‘Oh, that annoying woman has already reported it, it seems.’

What was fortunate was that the matriarch hadn’t caught wind of Cornelia’s pregnancy.

‘If this woman finds out about it…’

Just as tension built up, she shouted as if having a fit.

“Why aren’t you listening to me? Why are you disrespecting me like this?”

Upon hearing her voice, Erich, who had been silent all along, pursed his lips and then spoke for the first time.

“I know you cherish the Marquis of Arzen’s young lady. But she tried to use that contract to put the Duchy under her thumb.”

“Well, what? Isn’t that the right of the duchess? If only that incident hadn’t happened, the rightful duchess would have…”

At that moment, Erich opened his eyes wide and raised his voice.

“Who do you think the duchess is? The Duchess of the Duke’s estate is solely Cornelia!”

Then the matriarch struck his cheek again.

Slap!

“You insolent fool, who do you think you’re raising your voice to!”

The Blant matriarch grabbed Erich’s chin firmly, saying, “Remember, what I entrusted to you was to play the role of a compliant puppet Duke. It’s not about overstepping your boundaries.”

She then released his chin roughly and wiped her hand with a handkerchief as if she had touched something dirty.

Afterwards, she dropped the handkerchief on the ground and stepped on it, her face filled with disdain.

“Always remember. Your true status is at the bottom of the pile, just like that handkerchief.”

After crushing the handkerchief with her shoe, she glared at Erich.

“The fact that you play the role of a duke without any pedigree is all thanks to my judgment. So, all you have to do is listen to me.”

Observing her son’s silenced response, the matriarch thought, ‘Ah, indeed, a disobedient dog must be beaten to make it listen.’

She raised the corners of her red lips and spoke again.

“Resume the contract. Don’t make a fuss about Medelin coming to our mansion.”

And then, as if she remembered something, she added,

“Ah, and I heard that wretched has a jade mine. Make sure to include that in the contract as well. I know it won’t be a loss, so she won’t refuse.”

With that, she turned and headed for the door.

Erich, watching her retreating figure, called her with a suppressed voice.

“Mother.”

Upon hearing his call, she turned around with a face full of displeasure.

“What is it? The matter is settled. Don’t bother…”

“I can’t do it.”

For the first time, the matriarch widened her eyes at her son’s refusal.

“What did you just say…”

She wasn’t asking because she didn’t hear. She was giving him a chance. But even knowing that, Erich threw away the chance she gave him.

“I said I can’t do what you asked for, Mother.”

Defying his mother was a foolish thing to do. However, even knowing that fact, Erich couldn’t bend his will.

<And I don’t need this kind of thing, so don’t bother me again.>

Though it was clearly a refusal, a smile appeared on his face as he thought of her.

‘Yes, I’ll make sure no one can touch you.’

Soon, Erich glared at the matriarch and said, “If you try to proceed with the contract against my will, I will reveal the truth to the entire world.”

The matriarch furrowed her brow.

‘Why does he seem to be protecting that wretched woman since earlier? Could it be, he’s involved with that woman…?’

However, soon she denied that thought inwardly.

‘He wouldn’t treat a woman he likes like that. Moreover, that woman…’

She soon opened her mouth and asked,

“Truth? What are you talking about?”

The moment the matriarch questioned him, a smirk appeared on Erich’s sculpted face.

“The real Erich Lennon Blant disappeared in the war with Krithan five years ago, and I, the other son of the former duke, am here in his place.”

Upon hearing this, a glint of rage appeared in the matriarch’s eyes. Facing her, Erich calmly said, “So, don’t try to manipulate me.”

“You lowly bastard!”

She flailed her arms wildly and began to slap him.

To Erich, a transcendent, it was a very mild form of violence. However, there were times when emotional pain outweighed physical suffering.

“It should have been my son who returned from the battlefield! Not some fake raised by a lowly maid!”

Erich endured her violence silently.

Exhausted, she gritted her teeth and glared at her fake son.

Soon her blue eyes grew venomous.

“Shameless thing, when my son returns, that will be the day of your funeral!”

With a loud thud, the matriarch forcefully slammed the door and left.

After a while, he, who had been expressionless, let out a bitter laugh.

“No matter how hard I try, I can never be your son.”

At the age of thirteen, he, who had been abandoned by Duke Blant, returned to the position of a Duke’s son. However, the reason for the duke finding his son, whom he had discarded, was not to take him back.

<Erich is the heir to this house. He keeps insisting on participating in the war. If that child dies, it will be troublesome.>

<I hear you were raised to be an assassin. Well, then, you should be able to protect yourself.>

After leaving him alone for so long, they requested that he die in place of the precious heir. Frankly, it was absurd.

But it was not for the sake of his father, the Duke, that he complied.

<Don’t worry. I will never let my brother die.>

The reason he followed that request was because of ‘the real Erich,’ who spoke with affection in a face so similar to his own, his blood-related brother. He couldn’t bring himself to hate him. So he fought desperately to protect both his brother and himself.

And before he knew it, he had transcended his limits, becoming a swordmaster.

The problem arose when the real Erich went missing after going to a battle he should not have participated in.

Leaving behind a letter that read.

[I’m sorry, but I couldn’t send you off to death. If I don’t return, I hope you’ll take my place. My dear brother.]

He searched anxiously for Erich, but he could not find his body.

In despair, he returned to the Empire, where he had become a hero who had saved the country from a crisis.

The nobles used him as a focal point to wield power.

However, despite his relentless efforts and achievements…

<Why are you…… my son, where is my son!>

He was still just a ‘fake’, a stand-in for ‘Erich Lennon Blant’.

‘That’s why I tried not to be greedy for you.’

A beautiful and noble princess, he had only seen her in the procession of the imperial family at the founding celebration.

People scorned her, calling her the Raven Princess, but for the boy, she was an object of admiration.

<At once, stop the carriage!>

Cornelia was the benefactor who had saved him from almost being trampled by the carriage, a faint light seeping into his slum-like life.

So, he eagerly awaited the Foundation Day, presenting flowers to the princess with hopes she would smile.

And indeed, when she smiled at him, he felt like he had the world.

But that was just a story from his ignorant days.

<Do you know that beggar who just called you, Raven?>

<I don’t know such lowly beings.>

Despite offering her flowers every year, she remained unaware of his existence.