I Became The Ex-Wife Of A Regretful Male Lead (2 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16
In the end, everyone in the mansion chose indifference.
No, that wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t indifference—they deliberately chose to pretend they didn’t care.
After all, if that was what Serphina wanted, they believed it was the right thing to do.
Nothing could be crueler than forcibly digging up a truth someone was trying so hard to hide.
Instead of dragging out uncomfortable truths and interrogating Serphina, they resolved to protect her happiness.
[This is the timeline separator]“Wow. How long has it been since I’ve had a morning without that burning stomachache…?”
The first thing I did upon waking up was sigh in amazement.
After taking the medicine Hetterson gave me, the gnawing pain in my stomach was completely gone, as if it had never existed.
Every morning used to be spent retching from the bitter bile rising up my throat—but today, I could leisurely stretch and get up.
Wow. Was healthy living always this beautiful?
Indeed, you really need to be in good health to enjoy life properly.
To commemorate this healthy and refreshing morning, I finished my meal neatly for the first time in a while.
Since overeating was strictly off-limits, I skipped breakfast dessert and returned to my room to read.
‘Herbs Are My Friends’
It was a botanical guidebook.
I’d grown tired of the book I’d been reading before, so I temporarily tucked it away in a corner of my desk and switched to this one.
“Huh… still nothing about Hoshan berries here…”
I skimmed through the pages, but couldn’t find any mention of Hoshan berries.
At this point, it almost felt like a mythical fruit.
If this weren’t the original story, I probably never would’ve learned what kind of tree it even came from before leaving this place.
…Then, maybe I should try recalling the original work a bit more carefully?
Right now, the only source where I could possibly find information about the Hoshan tree was the original novel itself.
Perhaps if I strained my brain hard enough, something might finally come to mind.
I closed the book and shut my eyes.
Then, clutching my forehead with one hand, I focused intensely.
“…Ugh… uuu…”
I concentrated so hard that a faint groan slipped out through my clenched teeth.
Just as I was wracking my brain with agonizing effort…
“Madam? Madam!”
Mari, who must have slipped in unnoticed, suddenly rushed toward me in a panic.
Startled by her shriek-like call, I jolted awake.
“What—what is it? Mari! You scared me.”
“More importantly, what just happened? Are you in pain? Is it your head? Your head hurts, doesn’t it? Right!”
Pale-faced, Mari hovered nearby, hands twitching in the air as if afraid to touch me, her eyes frantically scanning my entire body.
I shook my head firmly.
“No, no. I was just thinking hard. I didn’t even notice you’d come in.”
“…I… I see.”
Her awkward reply sounded utterly unconvincing.
She clearly looked at me as if she believed I was lying—anyone would’ve thought the same.
Yeah. By now, I’m used to this kind of situation.
They’ve already come to see me as little more than a walking skeleton. And considering I genuinely suffered from something resembling esophagitis this time, their belief would only have grown stronger, not weaker.
Instead of offering more excuses, I just gave her a bittersweet smile with a thumbs-up.
While tidying the room, Mari kept glancing sideways at me, peeking furtively every few seconds.
She wasn’t saying anything, but I could feel her worry radiating from her entire body.
It was kind of touching… Seriously, really touching… but…
Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if it were a little less touching.
At one point, I even felt a tickle in my throat that threatened to break into a cough—but I swallowed it back down, afraid of worrying Mari.
“*Huh-huh… huh-huh…*”
But the cough just wouldn’t stay down.
Feeling Mari’s gaze growing even more concerned, I gave her another bittersweet smile.
Only after Mari finally left did I let out the cough I’d been holding back.
“*Kuh-rahk! Kuh-rahk!*”
Ugh. Looks like my throat’s really taken a beating from this esophagitis.
That explains why the cough keeps coming.
I neatly wiped away the snot threatening to drip from my nose with a handkerchief, then resumed the train of thought I’d been interrupted from earlier.
After several days of mulling it over, I finally recalled a crucial detail from the original story.
“…Ah. Those berries were poisonous.”
In truth, many medicinal herbs carry poison within them.
Depending on how they’re used, they could become either medicine or poison.
Now that I thought about it, Hoshan berries belonged to that very category.
Thankfully, they didn’t contain deadly poison—only a mild toxin.
Their side effects included stomach pain and indigestion.
But the strange thing was, the poison in Hoshan berries didn’t actually affect the body itself.
I can’t believe such a bizarre fruit even exists in this world.
No wonder it’s treated like some mystical fruit.
In any case, based on all available evidence, my strange, esophagitis-like symptoms—which weren’t quite esophagitis after all—were clearly caused by the side effects of Hoshan berries.
I’d eaten them raw without thinking, and paid dearly for it.
“Ugh. I’ll need to be more careful from now on.”
Looks like I’ll have to pause my Hoshan berry research for a while.
I should wait until my body’s fully recovered before deciding what to do next.
Fortunately, I was getting better day by day.
Figuring out the cause, combined with consistently taking the prescribed medicine, had effectively eased my symptoms.
Just as I was beginning to think I could finally return to my usual routine, the sunlight today was especially perfect.
“Ah. Today’s the day.”
Right after finishing breakfast, I set down my fork, got ready immediately, and headed outside.
*Sigh.*
Ah—the crisp, fresh air carried the scent of earth and herbs.
As I took deep, soothing breaths—*shhuh, shhuh*—Markops came running from afar, waving his hand.
“Madaaam!”
“Oh, Markops.”
“Oh dear! Are you feeling better now? Is it really alright for you to be out here?”
“Of course. It’s perfect.”
“*Khhk.* Thank goodness. Just in case, I only did the bare minimum to tend to your garden. I was worried you might feel disappointed if I tidied it up too perfectly.”
True to his word, weeds had been roughly cleared, but plenty of plants still needed thinning—
herbs and flower buds growing too close together, overlapping leaves, and so on.
The sight was perfectly inviting for some gardening, so I gave him a thumbs-up.
“Perfect, Markops.”
“Heh heh. Well, I *am* the Duke’s gardener, after all! The one and only! Hah hah hah!”
As he laughed, he kept glancing around suspiciously, as if on guard against a potential appearance by Sienna.
Honestly, he hasn’t changed at all.
I chuckled lightly and crouched down in the garden patch.
After exchanging greetings, Markops returned to his own work area.
Ah—it’s even more fun doing this after such a long break.
I was completely absorbed in garden work for a while…
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, a tall shadow stretched over my head.
I didn’t notice it until long after it appeared, and only then did I look up and glance around.
My eyes locked directly onto a face shadowed darkly under the sunlight.
“When did you get here, Duke?”
“Just now.”
“Really? This feels almost like the first time we’ve run into each other here… doesn’t it?”
Plenty of people had wandered over to give unsolicited gardening advice while I worked, but the Duke had never once come by.
Then again, he was always terribly busy—practically living in his study during the day—and never missed his sword practice during whatever spare moments he had.
Running into him here, of all places, made me oddly happy.
“What brings you here? Do you have something to tell me, perhaps?”
“…No. I just wanted to check how you’re feeling.”
Ah. That’s all.
I barely managed to suppress an involuntary chuckle.
It wasn’t that I disliked it—just that after being overly protected by everyone around me, I’d reflexively started laughing nervously whenever someone showed concern.
But Dante seemed to catch my expression faster than I expected.
“Did I interrupt you?”
“No, not at all. You were just worried about me—that’s kind of you. It’s just… I was wondering if I’ve become too much of a worry for everyone.”
“Not at all.”
“Well then, I’m glad.”
Phew. I managed to brush it off smoothly enough.
But an awkward silence lingered between us for a moment afterward.
“Um… Duke?”
“…Just don’t push yourself too hard.”
With that, Dante turned around and walked away.
…Did he really just come by out of pure worry?
As expected—rough exterior, soft inside.
Smiling to myself, I returned to my gardening.
And then, for several days in a row, he kept showing up. It seemed he’d noticed how uncomfortable I felt about his constant check-ins on my health—he didn’t speak to me anymore, just lingered nearby before leaving…
Which bothered me even more.
“Ah. I picked the wrong one.”
Caught up in being aware of Dante nearby, I accidentally plucked a flower bud I shouldn’t have touched.
Goodness. My poor little one.
I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.
With a bitter heart, I carefully set the flower bud aside and abruptly stood up.
I can’t go on living like this any longer—not for the sake of our precious flower buds!
Clutching my trowel, I marched straight toward Dante.
“Excuse me, Duke.”
He visibly hesitated as I strode toward him in a straight line.
“My lady?”
“Here. Take this.”
Seizing the perfect moment, I placed the trowel firmly into his hand.
“Suddenly…?”
“It seems you really want to join in. Instead of just hovering around nearby, why don’t you just garden with me? What do you say?”
I figured that, given Dante’s personality, he’d take the hint and politely refuse with a simple “No, thank you.”
I felt a little bad for dropping such a hint on him, but I also had every right to enjoy my beloved hobby without distraction.
But his response caught me completely off guard.
He stared blankly at the trowel in his hand for a moment, then looked up at me and asked,
“What should I do first?”
“…Huh?”
Before I knew it, we were both squatting side by side in front of the garden patch.
I stole a sideways glance—Dante, gripping the trowel, looked unexpectedly determined.
*Pfft.* Ahem.
I nearly burst out laughing and hastily covered it with a fake cough.
He probably didn’t hear that, right?
I glanced at him cautiously—but his gaze, previously fixed on the garden, had already shifted toward me.
Caught off guard by our sudden eye contact, I blinked—and his lips twitched slightly.
“Your cough…”
“Huh? What was that? I didn’t catch it.”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
That’s strange. He definitely mumbled something.
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
MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (159)
Hahaha, they’re really sweet and overprotective. I hope he likes her soon.
Haha, their interactions with some cute and funny, it’s cute to watch Dante floundering like this🤭🤭
How disgusting and filthy they are! Royal families are always such filthy bastards. Poor Dante’s brother, why does this happen to them? I hope he gets rid of this curse.
Inline Comments (215)
“Yes. Even if I leave someday, these plants will remain rooted right here.”
Serphina has now made a big misunderstanding with Dante.
Turns out he’s got quite a bit of pride too?
Hahaha! She really has no clue. I really feel sorry for every male lead who had to deal with a female lead who thinks of his future wife while they are falling for them.
For someone who wasn’t interested, he’d been showing up consistently and working
No, never, but the attitude of someone who loves the person who is gardening. (｡♥‿♥｡)
YOUR COMMENT
2. Inline comments are now available. Tap the end of any line in a chapter to share your thoughts instantly.
Log in to comment.
Miioo
I hope they get closer soon. It’s lovely to see the hero’s concern for the heroine.