Don't Obsess Over A Married Woman (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10
“Publicly, I did announce that I’ve long admired the Empire and studied extensively… but surely, Your Grace, you understand the truth, don’t you?”
His upper body, which had been sitting perfectly upright, leaned toward me with a secretive air.
“As a regressor, I’ve lived through countless rewinds of time…”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“…so naturally, my general knowledge and erudition far surpass those of the average Imperial citizen.”
Ah.
A sudden wave of heat flushed through me, making me jerk backward in surprise.
Had our breaths touched? No, we weren’t that close.
“Your Grace?”
“…It’s nothing.”
I fanned myself unnecessarily to cool my heated breath and continued.
“In any case, I understand that part now. With a recommendation letter of this caliber, other nobles will have no choice but to acknowledge Sir Joseph.”
“Especially Viscount Baden.”
Exactly. That’s what matters.
At my evident relief, Sir Joseph’s smile deepened.
For the first time in a while, I found the tea’s aroma genuinely pleasant.
It felt almost surreal that the matter I’d worried over for a full month had been resolved so easily.
“By the way, you haven’t forgotten our promise, have you, Sir Joseph?”
We’d agreed to draft the contract after finishing our tea.
It wouldn’t be an employment contract—that would be drawn up later, under identical terms, in the presence of the tutor Viscount Baden had sent.
The document Sir Joseph and I were preparing now was closer to a pledge than a contract.
A solemn vow that, during his tenure as tutor to the Dieren household, he would maintain an unwavering alliance with me and prioritize the children’s safety above all else.
And should he fail to uphold this…
“What troubles you now?”
I’d barely furrowed my brow, yet Sir Joseph perceptively noticed my state and asked at once.
“Sir Joseph, you once referred to me as an ‘investment,’ correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Now I feel I must understand precisely what that meant.”
Only the final sentence of the pledge remained unwritten.
Yet something still didn’t make sense—this agreement was far too heavily in my favor.
In this world, no such deal exists.
Only transactions satisfying both parties can endure through mutual trust.
Why?
Because it’s only natural that the other side would have no reason to uphold a deal that benefits only one person.
After all, a contract is ultimately an act of binding each other with chains disguised as clauses.
“Only then can I confirm exactly what you hope to gain from me through this troublesome contract—and whether it’s truly something I can afford to give.”
“Oh—wait a moment…”
“…? Sir Joseph?”
Suddenly, Sir Joseph’s previously relaxed brow crumpled sharply.
Startled by his abrupt change, I instinctively rose and moved closer.
“Are you all right?”
Up close, I saw he was breaking out in a faint cold sweat.
When I offered him my handkerchief, he pressed it to his temples and exhaled a deep, relieved sigh.
“I must’ve looked quite unseemly. My apologies. I occasionally suffer headaches—it’s probably from acclimatizing.”
“That must be difficult.”
It’s common for those arriving from distant lands.
I was about to call for his physician, but he straightened his posture as if nothing had happened.
He looked so perfectly composed now that I felt embarrassed for having worried.
Come to think of it, even at our first meeting in the ballroom, he’d mentioned resting due to a headache.
Not that it’s any of my concern.
“This handkerchief is damp with my sweat—I’m too embarrassed to return it right away.”
“You needn’t return it at all.”
I’d deliberately given him a handkerchief bearing neither my initials nor the Dieren crest.
Better to lose a single handkerchief than risk being seen exchanging one with an unrelated man.
“Then, returning to our main topic… You were curious about what I seek to obtain from you, Your Grace?”
“Yes.”
“Come to think of it, I’ve been so preoccupied I haven’t mentioned it until now.”
Sir Joseph adjusted his posture. I met his eyes, ready to listen closely.
“Your Grace’s concern is entirely reasonable, but I assure you, there’s no need for worry. After all, what I desire is something only you—and no one else in this world—can grant me.”
His gentle voice flowed like a melody.
“By any chance, Your Grace, do you know where the territory of ‘Alphon’ lies?”
“I don’t. I’ve been wondering about that myself.”
I hadn’t expected him to bring it up at this moment—though naturally, I’d been curious.
During that month of isolation,
I made sure not to waste my precious time.
I had much to protect, and thus, my vulnerabilities were clear and exposed.
Amid all this, Sir Joseph was the only one who’d declared himself my ally.
‘But does that mean I truly trust him? Hmm.’
After all, I’d only received a handful of kindnesses and favors. Anyone could offer that much.
Moreover, building familiarity is a common tactic for effective persuasion.
Therefore, I remained determined to assess Sir Joseph objectively.
I needed to judge whether he was trustworthy and calculate what price I might owe him.
Yet something strange had occurred.
‘No matter how thoroughly I examined the maps, I couldn’t find the County of Alphon.’
The continent is vast. Though the Empire stands alone, there are many vassal states and independent kingdoms.
So I’d assumed Alphon was simply an unfamiliar territory belonging to some distant kingdom.
But it didn’t exist. That place wasn’t on any map.
Still, the possibility that Sir Joseph was an impostor noble was out of the question.
Without noble status officially recognized by the Emperor himself, one couldn’t possibly attend imperial banquets.
“Naturally. My land isn’t on any map.”
Sir Joseph spoke so casually that I nearly replied, “Ah, I see,” and left it at that.
“Not on any map? Does that mean it’s an unknown land?”
“Precisely. It’s uncharted territory, absent from all publicly available maps. My land lies there.”
“…?”
Wait a moment.
Every time I talk to this man, I feel like a fool. Why is nothing ever within the realm of expectation?
I asked, bewildered.
“Then where exactly is Alphon? Does His Imperial Majesty even know of this?”
“I did report it, but His Majesty showed far greater interest in the tribute items I presented. Thus, he granted me an Imperial earldom and formally recognized me as nobility.”
“…”.
My mouth wouldn’t close.
This was an astonishing revelation—it meant Sir Joseph wasn’t merely a count.
An uncharted new land. Its sovereign. Elevated to Imperial nobility solely through tribute offerings…
“…Now that I think of it, Sir Joseph, you ought to be addressed not as ‘Count Alphon,’ but as ‘His Majesty, King of Alphon.’”
“That title embarrasses me. I’d prefer to be called simply ‘Sir Joseph’ by Your Grace.”
Sir Joseph spoke with a voice full of gentle laughter.
Good heavens—he wasn’t a count at all, but a king.
Though stunned, I didn’t suddenly see him differently.
Perhaps because he lacked the Emperor’s authoritative demeanor?
“In any case, Your Grace, the reason I must form an alliance specifically with you—and no one else—lies precisely in the land of Alphon.”
His long, gloved fingers interlaced gracefully and rested upon his knee.
“I wish to establish a trade route connecting Alphon and the Empire. And I know full well that you, Your Grace, are the only suitable person to entrust with this task.”
[This is the timeline separator]It was a lie.
Joseph, in truth, cared nothing for trade routes.
Certainly, having one would be beneficial—but not enough to require the Duchess of Dieren.
He had a far more fundamental problem to solve.
Namely…
survival.
[This is the timeline separator]Liselotte Karin Dieren was beautiful.
Joseph first became aware of her in the distant past, during one of his countless regressions whose number he’d long lost count of.
It was a ball he couldn’t even recall clearly. She wore deep mourning black and a dark veil—the unmistakable image of a widow grieving her lost spouse.
Yet she was so breathtakingly beautiful that no one could tear their gaze away—especially the pale, slender nape revealed beneath the updo that marked her as a married woman.
He hadn’t felt some childish infatuation at first sight.
He’d simply found himself unable to look away from her beauty, which resembled that of a nocturnal goddess—admiring her as one would a miraculous work of art.
He’d never before stared so blankly at anyone.
‘Ah—how rude…!’
Dazed like a fool, he’d accidentally collided with her.
It was at that exact moment
that the monster, which had raged inside his head as if determined to consume it for ages,
suddenly fell utterly silent.
At the time, Joseph hadn’t had the chance to ponder why. He’d been too astonished by the unexpected relief in his body.
And precisely one day later…
…the cursed agony returned, swallowing Joseph once again like a monster.
Yes, a monster.
A monster lived inside Joseph’s head.
A creature that slowly devoured a person’s brain, driving them inevitably to madness and death.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
_____
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Chapter Comments (4)
Inline Comments (62)
‘she must be there.’
Oh, I like this development… the novel synopsis made it seem like he was obsessed before the story started. But it seems like what brings him towards her is a need for survival rather than love…that means we get to see him fall in love during the novel :)))))Arriving in the past by flipping the hourglass of time,
Huh… Interesting 🤨 so he can control his regression??? This is new..never read a story with this kind of plot
She was someone he now had to protect. Someone he must be able to protect.
Awww sooo cutee, the lot of them. I am worried his mentality may be his magnum opus
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Soo all this talk about the dungeons being a maze and very dangerous was for what???
Aww this is such a tesrjerker of a chapter 🥲🥺 . Now she knows they love her ( they made it obvious though)
This is crazy omgosh what is going onn this amount of darkness and trauma gave me whiplash. I can also see where this is going amnesia arc incoming isn’t it.