How To Escape From A Devilish Husband (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Delphine offered a greeting with the etiquette ingrained in her by habit, then gracefully approached the table placed at the center.
At that, one gentleman, who had been sitting somewhat awkwardly, abruptly stood up from his seat.
He then gave her a slight smile and spoke first.
“It’s been quite a while since you last graced us with your presence, my lady.”
Taking that as a cue, the people who had been cautiously observing one another began offering greetings one by one.
“Hmm….”
Of course, not everyone welcomed her with warmth.
One young noblewoman, who hadn’t risen from her seat and had merely been sipping her tea, opened her mouth with a peculiar expression.
“Our club operates strictly on a referral basis. Naturally, one must be a Central Noble to qualify.”
It was Baroness Hers—famously an ultra-conservative.
Her husband, Baron Hers, quickly chimed in, ever the dutiful echo to his wife.
“Thus, strictly speaking, Lady Pembroke… no, Mrs. Pride, hasn’t had her membership revoked?”
Everyone in the Empire knew she’d become Marchioness Pride.
Yet, by deliberately using the name “Pembroke,” they subtly alluded to Earl Pembroke’s treason.
At those words, not only those gathered around the table but everyone present in the entire reception room turned their eyes toward Delphine.
“Ahem… Well now… How interesting.”
“This is rather ambiguous… There’s no precedent for such a case.”
Seeing everyone merely exchanging glances without stepping forward, Delphine lifted the corners of her lips into a faint smile.
“Well, I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
She added lightly,
“It seems the copy of the club’s guidelines you read, Baron and Baroness Hers, might be missing a page from the back.”
“What do you…?”
“There’s a clause stating that once admitted through referral, one retains their membership as long as their noble title hasn’t been formally stripped.”
Delphine replied gently, maintaining a serene smile.
She was still a Central Noble—no longer Earl Pembroke’s daughter, but now Marchioness Pride.
By that fact alone, her status far surpassed anyone currently present.
Moreover, Pride—that man—was the Captain of the Imperial Guard.
Thus, she held the closest personal connection to the Emperor, the very source of absolute power.
“Oh dear! Leaving a lady of your standing standing like this—what impropriety, Lord Hers!”
“If you’d be so kind, won’t you please take a seat here, my lady?”
Immediately, the people gathered around the table began calling out eagerly, vying to offer her a place.
A faint look of humiliation crossed the faces of Baron and Baroness Hers.
Meanwhile, Delphine, still composed and dignified, sat down in the chair offered by a gentleman.
“Oh my! That necklace—it’s new, isn’t it? I don’t recall seeing it before….”
“Yes. I received it recently as a gift from him.”
Delphine’s gentle reply once again shifted the gazes around her.
If she was also enjoying Lord Pride’s personal favor, then their calculations would need to be revised again.
Watching their masked smiles, Delphine inwardly sneered.
“How have you been lately, Marchioness Pride? I’ve been so preoccupied I haven’t had the chance to greet you properly.”
“Yes, thanks to your concern, I’ve been quite….”
The meaningless pleasantries about the weather and daily life lasted only a moment.
Soon, after gauging the mood, the group began openly discussing various matters.
“Frankly, I’m too frightened to go out to District 2 after sunset these days.”
“What exactly is the Capital Defense Corps doing?”
Apparently, the ghastly string of murders in District 2 had become the talk of their gatherings.
“Well, I’ve heard some information—the culprit isn’t easy to catch.”
All eyes at the table turned to the man who had spoken.
“So the rumors are all true? They say even victims locked inside securely fastened rooms have been found dead!”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Good heavens!”
‘Could they be talking about that newspaper article?’
Delphine recalled the article she’d read the day after her wedding.
Having been confined to the mansion, this was the first time she’d heard any details beyond that.
The man, seeming well-informed, lowered his voice discreetly and continued.
“There are many suspicious aspects to these cases… For one, not a single body has been found intact.”
“Incomplete? Whatever do you mean by that?”
“The eyes.”
“Excuse me?”
“The bodies killed by that creature—or those creatures—all share one common feature: both eyeballs are missing.”
At this, one noblewoman, who had been fanning herself, let out an exaggerated shriek.
“Oh my! How utterly horrifying!”
“Don’t worry, my lady. District 1 is perfectly safe.”
“Besides, winter is coming soon. No matter how devilishly clever they are, they can’t possibly withstand a midwinter blizzard.”
“And above all, don’t we have Lord Pride?”
At those words, everyone glanced toward Delphine.
Finally—the chance had come.
The chance to investigate the true identity of that mysterious man.
But hiding her true intent, Delphine merely smiled calmly and said,
“…But my husband mainly oversees District 3.”
“Ah, that’s true recently—after all, the Emperor’s safety is the highest priority now.”
“I hear people in District 3 suffer panic attacks just hearing Lord Pride’s name these days.”
“Such lowly, vulgar commoners deserve that level of intimidation, don’t you think? Haha!”
The entire table burst into laughter.
Delphine forced a small, slightly uncomfortable smile.
She had never grown accustomed to the Central Nobles of District 1 and their smug sense of superiority.
“But when it comes to threats against His Majesty, the Imperial Palace, or even our District 1, he always appears out of nowhere to deal with them instantly.”
The exaggerated praise kept flowing.
And the occasional sidelong glance at Delphine made it clear this was flattery.
Then, Baroness Hers, who until now had sat silently, suddenly exclaimed,
“Of course, of course! His Majesty’s trust in him was truly immense… ‘For a time,’ that is.”
“Oh, well, that’s certainly changed a bit lately…”
People shot Delphine uneasy glances at the woman’s words.
Only Baron Hers, ignoring his wife’s cue, loudly declared,
“He defied His Majesty’s explicit opposition and forced through that marriage—of course he’d incur royal displeasure! Wouldn’t you agree?”
No one dared to agree openly with those words.
Stung, the Baron raised his voice again,
“He cast aside all those virtuous and ‘suitable’ ladies His Majesty himself had bestowed upon him!”
It was clearly meant to wound her—but Delphine was too stunned by this new information to feel offended.
‘His relationship with the Emperor soured… because of me?’
When she’d asked why he married her, he’d said it was because of her beauty.
She’d assumed he’d simply claimed her as spoils after suppressing the rebellion…
But was it not that simple after all?
Seeing Delphine’s lack of reaction, others slowly added their own remarks.
“…Just the other day, three days ago, I heard His Majesty was furious again.”
“They say a tremendous commotion erupted in the audience chamber.”
“I wonder what it was about?”
Curious eyes turned to Delphine, as if expecting her to know something.
Yet even she, his own wife, was hearing this for the first time.
‘Three days ago?’
That would be…
when she’d begged him for permission to go out.
Could it possibly have been because of that?
“My lady?”
“Oh.”
Delphine quickly snapped out of her thoughts and smiled.
But these seasoned foxes would never miss such a fleeting lapse.
“…It seems Lord Pride doesn’t often discuss work matters at home, does he?”
The same noblewoman who’d panicked over the murders asked, fluttering her fan.
Baron Hers immediately seized the opening,
“That’s probably because… he’d hardly share such things with his wife.”
The mood around the table instantly grew heavy.
A woman who married the man who killed her own father.
Even the illustrious Pride name couldn’t easily erase such a glaring flaw.
Yet inwardly, Delphine cheered at how naturally the conversation had turned to this topic.
Though outwardly, with lowered lashes and a wistful expression, no trace of such eagerness showed on her face.
“…Yes, I suppose he worries I might be hurt if he tells me too much.”
Delphine dropped her head slightly, feigning sorrow.
“I truly… knew nothing at all.”
The gentlemen nearby quickly offered consoling words,
“Of course, of course.”
“It’s only natural you didn’t know, my lady! No one knew anything until that very day!”
No one… knew?
Delphine, still keeping her head bowed, let her eyes gleam secretly.
“Is that… so, really?”
“Absolutely! Didn’t the Earl attend the palace party just the day before?”
“Besides, he couldn’t possibly afford to raise private troops—he was spending all his money on bribes!”
Even in a secretive social club like this, treason wasn’t a subject one could dwell on for long.
After offering just enough consolation, the group hastily steered the conversation elsewhere.
“By the way, movement in District 3 remains deeply unsettling, doesn’t it?”
“If this continues, factories might shut down again, and tea prices will skyrocket once more….”
The sound of their chatter faded into the background.
Delphine fell into deep, solitary thought for a moment.
So even others had noticed absolutely no signs of rebellion beforehand.
That truly was strange.
Her father, who had so desperately used both her and bribes to gain entry into the Imperial Court—him, a traitor?
Unfortunately, this topic had run its course.
Pushing further might arouse suspicion.
After lingering a while longer, Delphine excused herself, citing the approaching evening hour.
“Well then, I shall take my leave now.”
“Oh, so soon…?”
They offered her warm smiles, but no one tried to hold her back or invite her to their tea parties.
They still needed to assess her worth further.
Delphine, who never believed her social standing could be decided in a single day, left without hesitation.
Just as she reached the wall adorned with an owl statue,
“Excuse me, just a moment, my lady.”
Someone called out urgently from behind, stopping her in her tracks.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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