With the deaths of the Countess and the Count happening in succession, the threat of assassins disappeared. However, what had already twisted could not return to normal. Sleep wouldn’t come.
During the sleepless nights, Erne was consumed by a fundamental doubt, why had he struggled so hard to survive?
Though he had never fought to protect his life, wouldn’t he have simply died if he hadn’t fought in the first place?
What was it that he fought so hard to gain? Honor? Wealth?
None of it interested Erne. He fought simply because the enemy came at him.
‘It’s disgusting when the tip of the sword is pointed at me.’
Yes, that was the reason. Erne had taken up the sword for that very reason. Once he lost the reason to live and to fight, everything became tiresome.
He kept his neck clean. If anyone dared to come and claim it, he was more than willing to hand it over.
To those who had tried every means to kill him, it might sound absurd, but what could be done now that he found everything meaningless?
Time, stubbornly refusing to pass, was spent drinking, living carelessly. Whether his life was too tenacious, or it simply wasn’t his time to die, Erne kept surviving.
Then, when even the fact that he alone kept surviving grew tiresome, he died.
He didn’t exactly remember when he died. It felt like he had fallen into a deep sleep that he didn’t want to wake from for a long time.
Then, suddenly, he felt someone pulling him strongly, and he opened his eyes to find a woman with her hand between his legs.
‘What? I died and came back to life? And after almost 50 days without even decomposing?’
Erne tore up a bed sheet to cover his lower half, frowning.
Was this a punishment? A punishment for not being able to die? It would have been less ridiculous if he had turned into a ghost instead.
“Give back the medal.”*
His sudden surge of irritation was directed at Henry, who was sitting slumped over in the corner as if half his soul had left.
“What’s a guy who’s been to the battlefield afraid of that he’s screaming like that?”
“Wouldn’t you scream if a corpse suddenly came back to life?”
“That woman earlier didn’t scream.”
Judith Harrington, that’s what she called herself. Henry had given a rough explanation that she was forced with him, who was on the brink of death, into marriage to inherit the Rainland family.
Erne didn’t know much about Judith, but one thing was clear, she wasn’t in her right mind.
Calling him honey.
The term of endearment Erne had never heard in his life made him doubt his own hearing.
“She must have been too startled. Her face was bright red as she walked out.”
Wait, red instead of pale?
Henry briefly recalled where Judith had been standing in relation to Erne and shook his head.
Erne, having shown everything, seemed entirely unfazed. Henry didn’t even bother asking Erne if he was okay, as he had a strong feeling that he’d get an annoyingly smug answer.
“Do you really not know that woman?”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen her today.”
Erne pressed down on his throbbing head. What on earth had happened to him? Who had killed him, preserved his body without decay, and married him off?
Just as he thought he needed to have a conversation with Judith, she carefully opened the door at the perfect moment.
“May I come in?”
Erne looked at Judith, who entered looking much calmer than before.
“…It’s still the first time I’ve seen her.”
Erne scrutinized Judith, who was carrying a tray, from head to toe. It was a gaze as if a ferocious beast were assessing its prey, causing Judith to flinch.
“I brought something to drink.”
Judith extended the tray to Erne first. He absentmindedly picked up a steaming cup from the tray, sniffed it out of habit, and tilted his head.
The drink had no scent, leaving him uncertain whether there was something wrong with his sense of smell or the drink itself.
“What kind of tea is this?”
“It’s just hot water.”
Right, water doesn’t have a scent.
But shouldn’t tea usually be served in such situations? Fortunately, Erne wasn’t the type to nitpick over such matters.
“Don’t you have any alcohol?”
He was a man who only cared if alcohol was available.
“…We don’t.”
Judith gave him a look as if to say, “We didn’t even have tea, so why would we have alcohol?” then quickly lowered her gaze.
“Didn’t I mention earlier? The Rainland family is deeply in debt.”
As Erne’s eyebrows raised crookedly, Henry quickly stepped in to support her. He definitely didn’t want to see Erne, draped in just a scrap of cloth, throwing a tantrum.
If Erne went wild and the cloth fell off, who would cover up that part of Erne? Only Henry Spencer—there was no one else.
Henry had no intention of wrapping himself around that particular part of Erne, no matter what.
‘Why on earth did I even perform a funeral ritual for him?’
While Henry regretted his decisions, Judith emphatically nodded beside him, raising two fingers.
Normally, raising one’s index and middle fingers would signify victory, but in this case, it meant a debt of 200 million gold.
She even muttered under her breath, “200 million gold in debt,” just in case Erne didn’t understand.
“……….”
Erne was briefly at a loss for words, seeing her so determined to emphasize the family’s debt.
In this utterly bizarre situation— where a preserved corpse had come back to life— who starts by talking about their enormous debt?
Though Erne hadn’t lived a particularly normal life, Judith was clearly no less peculiar.
Well, he should’ve realized when she called him ‘honey’ on their very first meeting.
“I can imagine how confused you must be, Sir Erne.”
“I don’t think you really do. If you did, you wouldn’t have called me ‘honey.’”
“Well, we are married, after all. In my heart, I suppose I’ve accepted you as my husband.”
Judith murmured, mentioning they even shared a kiss of oath—though it was entirely one-sided.
“Didn’t we fail to observe the first night tradition?”
While Erne wasn’t the most virtuous person, he honestly wasn’t trying to be sarcastic this time.
He was simply curious, given the mention of a kiss of oath, whether they had consummated their marriage.
Though he’d been unconscious, it wasn’t impossible that his strong body might’ve functioned on its own.
“…Ah, could that be the case?”
However, Judith’s strangely off-the-mark answer, delivered after careful thought, only made things more unsettling.
“That? No, I don’t think that’s it.”
Judith shook her head firmly as if making up her mind.
“Alright, let’s proceed with the consummation night.”
Judith let out a short sigh, which somehow sounded like, ‘Men are just so hopeless,’ or maybe that was Erne’s imagination.
Erne opened his mouth slightly, rendered speechless. They say extreme shock can leave you at a loss for words—he was experiencing that now.
“Sir Henry, could you leave us for a moment?”
Since the consummation will happen anyway, getting it over with immediately wouldn’t be the worst option.
Judith stole glances at Erne’s chiseled chest and tightly defined abs.
She hadn’t anticipated this, but Erne’s physique made her hesitate less.
‘Well, I nearly became a virgin ghost in my previous life. Living with a man in this life might not be so bad.’
Honestly, when else would she get the chance to be with a man like this? Even if this were a novel, such things were rare.
Moreover, considering that Erne was the one to bring up the consummation first, it seemed he also liked her.
‘It’s probably because this novel has an R-19 rating—things move so fast. Well, as long as I keep this marriage going for about two years, I won’t lose anything.’
By then, the property value would likely rise, so this wasn’t such a bad deal in many ways.
Judith subtly urged Henry with her eyes to leave quickly.
“Well, I guess I’ll be heading out then?”
Henry awkwardly stood, his tone trailing off strangely.
“…Where do you think you’re going?”
Erne rubbed his forehead with his palm, snapping at Henry for no reason.
“I thought you said you didn’t have any peculiar preferences earlier.”
As Judith, who was about to approach Erne, hesitated and muttered under her breath, Erne raised his voice at her.
“I don’t!”
Where was this conversation even going?
Looking at Judith, who seemed disappointed she couldn’t seduce him and pouted her lips, Erne lost the will to argue.
For the first time, the Empire’s Mad Dog thought it wasn’t worth arguing with someone not in their right mind.
“So, are you going to divorce me?”
At Judith’s question, Erne drained a cup of lukewarm water in one gulp and nodded. That seemed like the natural course of action.
“It’d probably be better for you as well.”
He heard it wasn’t a marriage she wanted in the first place. Well, seeing she eager to consummate the marriage now, it seems she had changed her mind, but still.
“If we divorce, I won’t have to pay off this family’s debts either.”
“…Ah, about that—I borrowed a bit more money.”
🍓; *In a more figurative sense, it could be used sarcastically or critically, implying that someone doesn’t deserve the honor or recognition they’ve received. For example, if someone acted in a way unworthy of their award or position, this phrase could be used to criticize them.
They’re meant for each other 😂😂😂