After the Wicked Wife Leaves

 

The next day, as I opened my eyes in the morning, I inadvertently smiled when I saw Demian.

My baby was smiling brightly while sleeping.

 

‘What kind of good dream is making him smile like this?’

 

He looked so much happier than when he ate his favorite cheesecake. It was incredibly adorable.

 

“Sleep well, my dear.”

 

After watching the sleeping child for a moment, I kissed his rosy cheek.

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

[Dad!]

 

Erich’s face distorted when he saw the familiar blond kid.

The little boy he had seen in his dreams a long time ago started appearing again.

Though it was just a dream, it always pained him to see the child.

 

[Mom and I are safe! But when are you coming?]

 

As Erich looked at the child, he clenched his fists in self-reproach.

 

‘Are you blaming me for not being able to protect you and your mother?’

 

However, the reason he couldn’t take his eyes off the child was that the child’s eyes resembled Cornelia’s perfectly.

Suddenly, Cornelia felt cruel.

The child was reaching out to him, not his father, but he had stopped appearing in his dreams at some point.

 

‘I wanted to see her, even in my dreams…’

 

Then it happened.

 

[Dad, there’s no time left! You need to find us quickly.]

 

Erich wanted to say something to the child.

He wanted to find them too and ask where they could possibly be.

But as always, the words didn’t come out.

Feeling frustrated, he looked at the child, who soon opened his mouth with a bitter expression that did not match his age.

 

[Telling our location goes against the law of causality, so Dad has to find us himself.]

 

At that moment, Erich opened his eyes.

He saw a familiar ceiling.

Erich sighed and got up.

 

‘It’s that dream again…’

 

The child in the dream was constantly pleading to find him and his mother.

 

‘I’ve checked everywhere along the west and south, where the rivers connect, but I still couldn’t find her…’

 

Having had no contact with Janet for years, he no longer hoped she was alive. He just wanted to find at least her body.

Erich slowly walked to where the wedding portrait was.

Soon, a bitter expression crossed his face.

 

‘I was only thinking of myself, unaware that you were rotting inside.’

 

When he came to his senses and returned home, he suddenly wanted to see Cornelia’s face.

So he looked at the portrait painted during their wedding, but it was a mess due to the ink.

And at that moment, Erich felt his mind go blank.

He feared that he might forget the face he used to always see when he came to this room.

He attempted to locate her portrait and exerted pressure on the artist responsible for painting it.

However, because Cornelia hated having her portrait painted, there was nothing left.

The portrait made by the artist also turned out differently than he had imagined.

Her image seemed to fade away gradually.

 

‘I want to see you. Even if it’s just in a dream.’

 

He thought that even if she was cursing him in a nightmare, he would welcome her.

At some point, however, Cornelia no longer appeared in his dreams or as an apparition.

Erich was despairing at the fact that she was fading away from him.

And that despair sometimes led to extreme thoughts.

 

‘If I die, will I be able to see you?’

 

Eventually, he smiled with a hollow expression.

 

‘That won’t happen.’

 

He was a murderer who had slaughtered countless people.

On top of that, he was also a depraved son who drove his only mother insane by giving her an unbearable shock.

 

‘If I hadn’t visited, no. If I hadn’t told the truth, she wouldn’t have gone mad.’

 

If there were an embodiment of the most hideous things in the world, it would be himself.

In contrast, she had harmed no one, and during her time as a princess, she even showed kindness to the lower classes, whom the nobles deemed filthy.

 

‘Even if I die, I won’t be able to meet you. You must have gone to heaven.’

 

He was a widower, but he could not die yet.

He still had to seek revenge and find her body.

Just then, a gray hawk flew in.

Squawk!

It was a message from Heit, his informant.

As soon as he checked the letter tied to its ankle, Erich’s eyes gleamed sharply.

 

[Marquis Arzen has been investigating Countess Herde. It has also been confirmed that the Emperor is periodically monitoring the Herde territory.]

 

While it was easy to overlook Marquis Arzen, the Emperor was different.

According to investigations conducted over the years, there was a very high probability that the Emperor was involved in Cornelia’s death.

 

‘After her death, it was suspicious how quickly the Emperor banished Marquis Arzen from the capital and how the evidence related to Cornelia’s death came to light so quickly.’

 

Furthermore, the Emperor did not personally step forward unless something important was going on, and he kept himself aloof and minimized external activities as much as possible.

In such a situation, it was very unnatural for the Emperor to be interested in the local territory.

 

‘I need to investigate.’

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

A few days after finishing my inspection, I frowned at the unexpected visitor.

 

“It’s been a while.”

“What brings you here, Marquis Philippe?”

 

Given my status, it was appropriate for me to show him respect. However, he was one of the few people who knew my true identity and served as a messenger for the Emperor.

And the only reason the Emperor would send him to me was when he had something to discuss.

 

“Get to the point.”

 

Marquis Philippe sighed and opened his mouth.

 

“Recently, His Majesty the Emperor has not been in good health.”

 

It was expected.

Around this time, the Emperor suddenly fell ill and only held on for about a year before passing away.

 

‘At that time, there were issues with his liver and digestive system.’

 

The liver is the organ most sensitive to toxins.

So I suspected that the Emperor might have been poisoned for a long time.

And as for who could have poisoned him…

 

‘Marquis Arzen. He would not have been pleased if my father lived longer, as it would delay Fritz’s succession to the throne.’

 

Furthermore, because his uncle had the Empress as an ally, it would have been easy to pass the poison through her.

So I warned him to be wary of the Marquis of Arzen.

Fortunately, the Emperor began to be wary of Marquis Arzen and expressed his intention to restrain him by banishing him from the capital.

However, hearing that the Emperor was feeling unwell, I wondered if Marquis Arzen had pulled strings through the Empress, so I asked,

 

“Where is he feeling unwell?”

“It’s his lungs. He’s been coughing persistently and even coughing up blood.”

 

Thud!

I was surprised by the symptoms that were different from before, so I got up.

 

‘What is this? Why are the symptoms different from before?’

“What’s wrong?”

 

I clenched my fists as Marquis Philippe looked at me with a confused expression on his face.

 

‘I tried to change my fate, but I guess it’s not possible.’

 

For a moment, the thought crossed my mind, but then I laughed.

 

‘No, it can’t be.’

 

I had already changed my fate.

I had taken revenge on Grand Madam and Medelin, who tormented me and tried to kill my child.

And now, instead of being just the hollow wife of Erich Lennon Blant, I was living a happy life as myself.

According to my experience, most events in human history were the result of someone’s intervention.

 

‘There must be another villain behind this.’

 

And perhaps he might be the mastermind of the rebels I had been searching for.

 

“I need to see the Emperor in person.”

 

With that thought, I prepared to leave for the capital.

But there was one problem I hadn’t considered.

 

“Mom! Don’t go! Waaah!”

 

Demian, who had always been a well-behaved child, clung to my leg and started crying.

 

“Mom, you absolutely can’t go! Stay with Demi. Okay? Waaaaah!”

 

I tried to pull the child away and leave, but the sight of him crying as if he would faint if I left made my heart hurt.

 

‘What should I do?’

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

Erich stared expressionlessly at the territory visible from the mountain below.

 

‘So this is Herde territory. It was a rather poor land just five years ago…’

 

The prosperous city before him made him keenly aware of the abilities of the territory’s lord, Countess Herde.

Gradually, a bitter expression crossed his face.

 

‘Originally, this land belonged to Cornelia…’

 

After Cornelia went missing, the emperor confiscated the things she had brought, as well as her property. This land was also included in the confiscation.

 

‘I thought it was going to be given to the crown prince, but I never thought it would be handed over to someone else like this.’

 

The emperor promoted Viscount Herde, who had distinguished himself in the Eastern Frontier War and died in battle, to a count and bestowed this land on his wife, who had lost her husband.

To the Emperor, it was probably just the smallest and least useful of his possessions.

But, as it turned out, Countess Herde discovered a diamond mine in what was then a mere village and became extremely wealthy.

 

‘If you had been alive…’

 

She had always had a particular fondness for sparkling jewels.

Thinking that all this should have been hers, he felt anger toward those who caused her death: the Emperor, who had neglected and failed to properly punish them, and himself for not protecting her.

A part of him wanted to kill them all and end his life right then and there.

But Erich exercised patience. He had to uncover the truth about her death.

 

‘First, I need to find out what the Emperor is up to.’

 

Erich clenched his fist and headed towards the Herde territory.