It was clear that he had come to the imperial capital with his wife.
“Please visit Daiern with the Countess later, Lord Joseph. It would be better to have as many acquaintances as possible to adjust to the imperial capital.”
However, upon hearing this, Lord Joseph first showed a meaningful smile.
“I appreciate your kindness, but I wonder if it’s alright if I visit alone. I don’t have a wife to accompany me yet.”
“Oh my…!”
“I haven’t had the leisure to think about marriage.”
It seemed that this year’s social circle would be quite lively. To think such a man was still unmarried.
Of course, it would be irrelevant to me.
“Of course, it’s fine if you visit alone. Please come whenever it’s convenient for you.”
“That’s good to hear. Then, I shall visit soon.”
Lord Joseph added one more thing.
“It may be rude to say this to a lady with an injured ankle, but I think it’s fortunate that I met you here.”
“Fortunate, you say.”
“Yes, truly.”
Just then, the waltz melody heard from outside the lounge changed.
It seemed the first dance would soon come to an end.
And the people who enjoyed the music would soon start entering the lounge. It’s time for my husband to send a maid.
I placed the almost melted ice pack on the side table. I was about to exchange farewells with Lord Joseph.
But then…
“And I’m not sure how you’ll take this, but…”
He trailed off for a moment.
Curious, I met his eyes, and he smiled gently while uttering cryptic words.
“I think it would be good to put your children to bed early when you return home today.”
“Pardon?”
It was truly an unexpected and abrupt statement.
Why bring up the children here?
Moreover, had I even mentioned the children? Or did Lord Joseph already know about me?
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
But Lord Joseph didn’t resolve my confusion.
Instead, he uttered even more puzzling words in an nonchalant voice.
And that was…
“Your husband will pass away tonight.”
“…What?”
I was so unsure of how to react to those words that I could only blink blankly for a moment.
[This is the timeline separator]My first meeting with Lord Joseph was quite impressive, but it wasn’t an event that would have a significant impact on my life.
At least not until then.
Anyway, I left the ballroom early with my maid as planned.
In the carriage on the way home, I had a moment to recall Lord Joseph’s words.
‘What does he mean by my husband dying?’
And what did he mean by putting the children to bed early?
I was curious, but I didn’t take it too seriously.
Realistically, it was too far-fetched to accept, wasn’t it? It’s not like Lord Joseph was a prophet.
However, an event that would make me retract those thoughts occurred not long after.
“Hahaha, damn it. Why didn’t my lovely wife come out to greet me?”
“You’re home early.”
My husband returned earlier than expected.
Unable to go out to greet him due to treating my ankle, I had no choice but to receive him sitting in the bedroom.
Now I saw that he was completely drunk.
Seeing my husband with his eyes fully dilated, I inwardly sighed in relief.
It was fortunate that I had made the children go to their rooms early, just in case.
But that action seemed to have stimulated something in my husband.
“Ugh!”
It was an action without any warning.
In an instant, my husband approached and suddenly grabbed my neck.
“If I treat you nicely, you should act like a pretty doll, but wife, you’re increasingly trying to step on top of my head.”
A strength unbelievable for a drunk person.
No matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t overpower him at all.
All I could do was squirm for survival.
“Thanks to you, the nobles are completely disrespecting me. They praise you more than me, they value you higher than me. Haha, just a pretty doll!”
The lack of oxygen was threatening to swallow my consciousness.
It was then that something caught in my hand.
There was no time to hesitate. I immediately swung it.
Thud.
“Ah?”
Ridiculously, even luck wasn’t on my side at this moment. What I had swung was merely a flower bouquet decorating the room.
However, even that was enough to provoke my husband.
Looking alternately at me and the bouquet with disbelief, my husband eventually loosened his grip and burst into laughter.
“Puhahaha! Wife, did you just use violence against me?”
This bastard?
It was truly an absurd reaction. Who used violence first?
Normally, I would have gotten up and slapped him, but right now I had to focus on supplying the oxygen necessary for survival.
With the strength in my legs completely gone, I collapsed in that spot as if sitting down.
Cough, cough.
“Hahaha, to think I would experience such a thing in my life. How dare you, you green little bitch!”
I don’t remember much of what happened next.
“How dare you! How dare you! How dare… Aaargh!”
My husband, who was shouting loudly unable to control his anger, staggered and lost his balance on the terrace railing.
“……”
And then a long silence.
What just happened?
Forgetting the pain in my ankle for a moment, I crawled to the balcony where my husband had fallen.
The voice I heard in the lounge at the banquet hall kept replaying in my head.
Could it be…!
Surprisingly, that prophetic-like statement actually came true.
My husband, Duke Daiern, Carlos Nikolai, met his death that day in such a ridiculous manner.
[This is the timeline separator]It was 10 years ago when I entered the Daiern ducal family.
I was 22 years old at the time.
Considering that the marriageable age for noble young ladies is between 16 and 18, it was long past the prime marriage age.
Naturally, the marriage proposals coming to me were only mediocre at best.
Among them, the best condition was the position of the Duke of Daiern’s second wife.
Despite the Duke being 8 years older than me and already having three children, that is.
The marriage contract was quickly concluded by the agreement of both families. There was no room for my opinion to be reflected.
I wasn’t particularly dissatisfied with the process. After all, political marriages are natural for nobles.
After the marriage, I fulfilled my duties and responsibilities to my husband and the three new children.
I didn’t neglect my duties as the Duchess either.
Then one day, I discovered that my husband had been abusing the three children all along.
However, I didn’t expect that one statement would spread my husband’s violence to me as well.
Still, there was a fortunate point. Unlike the minor children, I had the strength and foundation to protect myself.
My husband couldn’t inflict direct violence on me as he did to the children.
Thanks to that, I was able to create some physical distance between my husband and the children.
That alone was enough for the children to grow up wonderfully over the past 10 years without going astray anywhere.
Even my relationship with them, despite not sharing a drop of blood, was quite close.
[This is the timeline separator]As the late afternoon sun sank beneath the black roof of the Daiern mansion,
My husband’s funeral was also coming to an end.
Even though he was a husband deserving of divine punishment, death is solemn, so the atmosphere was very subdued.
The mourners offered lilies to my husband’s coffin and comforted me and the children who had lost the head of the family overnight.
I too did my best to express sadness throughout the funeral.
‘Though I’m not actually that sad.’
Rather than sad, it’s serious. The things I’ll have to handle from now on and the events that will unfold around me.
Let’s think about it for a moment.
The duke title that can’t be inherited by a child who hasn’t come of age yet.
My life as the acting duchess. The inevitable checks from the collateral family…
From now on, many people will covet what my children and I have, and will have.
‘How can I protect these children well in that storm?’
As if knowing my concerns, my eldest son approached me.
“Stepmother, I heard your ankle is still uncomfortable. It seems there won’t be any more mourners, so why don’t you go in and rest a bit before the burial?”
This polite and mature boy is Kardiel Diark Daiern. His nickname is ‘Kar’, and he’s 15 years old this year.
He’s the eldest son, but still a minor.
The boy with a face very similar to my husband’s, neatly tying his long platinum blonde hair, with clear blue eyes, is very mature as the eldest.
Or rather, should I say he’s blunt?
It might be good for him to be somewhat strict in separating public and private matters and have a cool personality, as he will become the Duke of Daiern after his coming-of-age ceremony in three years…
‘But he’s still a young child, so it would be better if he were a bit more cheerful.’
I first met Kardiel when he was 5 years old.
Even then, the child was already unusually thoughtful and mature for his age.
______
In This Life, I Won’t Be Foolish To Lose You Again (Female-dominant)
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
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