2. The Husband Who Desires His Wife's Demise
Esika slowly reflected on her past life.
She, Esika Klaus, had been born the only daughter of a merchant family that had achieved great success in the jewelry trade and earned the title of baron. Raised like a delicate flower in a greenhouse, she had grown up with every comfort and luxury her family could provide.
Her two older brothers had studied business, but Esika had shown no interest in such matters. Instead, like any noble lady, she had dreamed of marrying into a fine family, bearing children, and living a life filled with love and happiness.
During a visit to the capital of Turesian, she had accidentally encountered the handsome and impeccably mannered Duke Kalian Klaus. At first sight, her heart had been stolen. She had pleaded with her father again and again to make her his wife.
Her father had warned her that the temperament of his mother, Leona Klaus, was not ordinary, but Esika had refused to be swayed.
In the end, she had secured a marriage to Kalian by offering the Klaus family a massive dowry to ease their financial troubles. And so her dream had come true…
“Such a wretched life has begun.”
Staring at the dark window facing north, Esika muttered in a dignified tone.
Beyond the contempt of the dowager and the neglect of the in-laws, Kalian had never once treated her as his wife. The life she had once dreamed of had shattered into pieces.
She had begged her childhood friend Yuri to come to her through a letter, pleading for her to join her.
Yuri, the daughter of her wet nurse and her playmate from her own family, had willingly become her maid at the Klaus residence…
In this place without a home, Esika had relied solely on Yuri.
Although her reputation seemed to have declined since Yuri’s arrival, she was still the only person she trusted.
“If I had recovered my memories sooner, I would not have been so foolishly deceived.”
The people who had betrayed her in her past life as Cheon Yeong-ryeong were far too numerous to count on one’s fingers.
If she had remembered her past self, she would have seen through Yuri’s every wink… yet she had been deceived for years.
Esika sat on her old desk, covered in dust.
She began writing in the script of the Central Plains so that no one could recognize the characters.
“First, regain my power.”
Originally, Cheon Yeong-ryeong had possessed formidable martial arts as the daughter of the Heavenly Demon Cult leader.
“I realized I could not protect myself with a man’s love.”
This body had no experience in training and was weak, but fortunately the qi here was far denser than in the martial world.
Within five to ten years, she could regain half of her former strength.
“Second, dig up this family root and branch and turn it into kimchi. Then eat it all and discard it.”
Kalian and the Klaus family had planted in her an excessive hatred that made divorce easy to forget.
Here, in this place’s way, she would elegantly devour their souls.
Having read the book, she knew the weaknesses of the Klaus family well.
Her memories of living as Esika Klaus—every sight and word she had seen and heard—were now piecing together like a puzzle, from the small to the large.
It would take time, but the result would surely be satisfying.
“Third…”
As Esika considered her final plan, the corners of her lips curved into a wicked smile.
This life had to be different.
It had to differ completely from the fate Esika Klaus had been doomed to in that book.
And then, a knock sounded from outside the door.
“May I come in?”
It was the listless voice of Sella, one of the maids who had tormented her.
***
“S… Save me…”
Sella must have believed an external assassin had entered.
The Duchess was gone, and someone was pressing a sharp object to her neck with an unknown aura.
Her entire body trembled, and her breath came in ragged gasps.
“Do you know who I am?”
A cold voice she had never heard came from behind her.
It was neither a man’s nor a woman’s voice.
Sella closed her eyes and whispered in a trembling voice.
“I… I saw nothing… Please save me…”
The Klaus family had strict security and vigilance.
Whoever had slipped through that barrier must be an exceptionally skilled assassin.
“If I save you, you will immediately run to the Demon of Klaus and tell them everything that happened here.”
The Demon of Klaus was a euphemism for the dowager.
“Ah… No. If you let me go, I will not even open my mouth. Please… Have mercy just this once.”
Sella shook her head and vehemently denied it.
The sharp thing touching her neck seemed about to pierce her flesh and take her life at any moment.
“Sella.”
And in that instant, hearing her name from behind, she flinched.
It was startling enough to make her eyes widen.
“How does this person know my name?”
“Archambel. Your mother and sister live there. Half the monthly salary is sent there, but it is not very satisfying, so I sometimes touch the dowager’s warehouse.”
Sella’s heart raced wildly.
Gifts sent to the dowager were so vast that she could scarcely track them.
So stealing small, worthless items like a bracelet or a trinket from them was no great matter.
“None of your colleagues—Anise or the maid—are involved in this. Yes, Dave is watching from behind.”
When Dave’s name was mentioned, Sella felt as though she might faint.
Dave, one of the senior soldiers, had shared a mysterious interest with Sella.
“If you make me annoyed, your sins will be laid bare and you and your friends will be driven out.”
“…”
“Then there will be four of us who can easily take your life.”
At the assassin’s words, Sella’s body trembled.
Four… meaning her family in Archambel, Dave, and herself.
The only place she could be protected was inside the Klaus family.
“This assassin… might be an insider…”
Otherwise, how would he know about the small thefts that occurred among the maids and soldiers.
Sella’s heart pounded.
“I will never tell you. Please believe me.”
Sella lowered her head with her eyes closed.
She did not know why such a person was in the Duchess’s room, but to preserve her life and prevent the destruction of her existence, she had to be obedient.
“I will let you go. Bring warm soup and good food instead of that rotten bread and place it in front of the door.”
Finally, the sharp thing pressing on her neck was removed.
“Food, you mean?”
“Yes. Bring the best for every meal.”
The spot where the thing had been pressing still stung, but now Sella felt a glimmer of hope that she might be saved.
It was too ordinary compared to what the assassin had demanded, so suspicion lingered.
“Could this assassin be… a friend of the Duchess?”
No. The Duchess’s only friend was the maid Yuri Anesis.
The Duchess had been beaten in front of the Duke, and their relationship seemed completely over.
“Or perhaps he is blackmailing the Duchess’s weakness.”
This inference seemed more plausible.
Someone who knew internal affairs as well as this seasoned assassin would surely know the Duchess’s weaknesses like the back of his hand.
He might be blackmailing her into resting here… or living together.
From the sight of the Duchess lying in bed that was not visible, perhaps he had let her go.
“But no way… My nose is a yard long.”
Sella had to faithfully carry out the assassin’s orders in the Duchess’s room.
After all, no one inside the Duke’s family knew about the Duchess’s condition.
She took the dry bread and water she was holding and slowly walked out the door.
***
“Surviving in the clouds? His Highness the Crown Prince’s number of people trying to take money is too small, isn’t it? Pelope’s situation is also not good, damn it, no moral sense at all.”
In the Klaus family rose garden.
Gaven Pelope, Kalian Klaus’s close friend and lord of Pelope territory, frowned and complained.
Kalian simply gave a stiff expression and remained silent in response.
With a famine, the food shortage in Sorbe had reached its extreme, yet the Klaus family’s wealth was not abundant enough to offer their warehouse.
The money spent to maintain and train troops was always enormous.
“By the way…”
Gaven, gazing at the rose garden, asked Kalian quietly.
“I heard the Duchess was injured. The situation is a bit…”
“We will discuss that later.”
Kalian cut off Gaven’s words with cold eyes.
Gaven flinched at the cold tone, his hand trembling as he held his teacup.
Kalian Klaus was naturally ruthless, but even more so toward his wife.
“No matter how bad the marriage is, to show such disgust… tsk.”
Kalian stared at the distant scenery with furrowed brows.
The ferocious woman who had rushed at him with eyes rolled back was Esika.
After suffering high fever for a week and regaining consciousness, it was said.
Since then, ten days had passed.
The woman who had been busy showing off her luxurious jewelry in the garden after regaining consciousness had not come out of the room either.
What could be the matter? There was no reason to be curious.
“If she never comes out of her room…”
Kalian thought with furrowed brows.
“No, rather, if she died.”