I Became The Ex-Wife Of A Regretful Male Lead (2 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 6
After awkwardly letting go of Dante’s hand, I quickly rummaged through my pocket and pulled out my bribe—er, gift.
“This is a welcome-back present! Please have it after dinner later.”
It was cookies I’d made myself.
After coughing so hard my back ached and being dragged off by the maids, I’d stopped by the kitchen before heading to Dante’s room to carefully pack these cookies.
“I made them myself.”
“You made them yourself?”
“Yes. Lately, I’ve taken quite a liking to baking.”
I waved my hand a couple of times, urging him to just take the—no, the cookies. Dante cautiously accepted the cookie bag.
[This is the timeline separator]For a while, Dante struggled to adjust to the changed atmosphere of the household.
And it wasn’t just about Serphina suddenly popping up everywhere to greet him.
“Good morning, Madam! Have a lovely day!”
“Mm, good morning.”
“Madam! I managed to get my hands on some brand-new fertilizer! Kah-kah-kah!”
“Oh, thank you, Markops.”
“Madam! I spotted some new boots and gloves—they’re perfectly comfortable for farm work!”
“Wow, thanks, Mari.”
The servants all treated Serphina with easy familiarity.
And Serphina replied with even greater warmth.
They were so friendly with each other, it almost looked like they were friends.
Watching this, it felt as though even the very air inside the mansion had changed.
The color of the air, its mood, its scent.
Once resembling the cold northern climate, the mansion had somehow transformed into a sun-drenched home.
Right at its heart stood my wife, unmistakably.
She wore boots like she’d worn them all her life, a worn-out dress with frayed hems,
and gardening gloves on her hands, topped with a wide-brimmed noblewoman’s hat.
Serphina.
As Dante gazed down at the garden from his study window, his eyes met Serphina’s as she abruptly looked up.
Immediately, she waved her hand enthusiastically.
“Duke! Good morning! Let’s have lunch together later!”
Her loud, ringing voice pierced through the high ceilings effortlessly.
Dante, unsure how to respond, simply nodded his head a couple of times.
Satisfied, Serphina squatted back down in the field and began transplanting seedlings into a new row.
Serphina tended her herb garden, and Dante watched, losing all sense of time.
When this became routine, Dante realized something.
For the first time ever, he hadn’t suffered any post-reconnaissance symptoms.
Until now, after every scouting mission into the Beast Forest, Dante had always endured various aftereffects.
Dizziness, icy-cold fingertips, nausea so intense it felt like his insides were twisting.
Sometimes, it even felt as if someone were stabbing his chest with an ice pick.
He never knew if it stemmed from witnessing a knight torn apart by beasts right before his eyes as a child, or from the lingering influence of the ice-covered lands of the Beast Forest.
Perhaps it was phantom pain, born purely from fear.
Because whenever he faced the ice lands, he couldn’t help but think of death.
He was destined to die young, cursed by the ice lands.
The Ice Lands.
The origin of the magical corruption that turned creatures and plants into beasts.
Though now solidly frozen in thick ice, it hadn’t always been that way.
Originally a marsh constantly oozing dark magic, it gradually froze over each time a beast was slain—eventually becoming today’s Ice Lands.
Fortunately, as the marsh froze, so did the magic—reducing how often beasts burst forth from the Ice Lands.
But.
Unfortunately, that was also when the Richter family curse began.
Like the thick ice that froze the magic marsh, their bodies began to freeze as well.
Starting from the fingertips, then the toes, spreading through limbs until finally reaching the heart.
“…I guess I’ll die someday too.”
Yes.
Once the heart froze completely, death followed.
Since the curse began, every Richter bloodline member had died before reaching thirty-five.
Not a single Richter had escaped the Ice Lands’ curse.
…No, that wasn’t entirely true. There was one exception.
His older brother.
Oscar Richter.
He had circumvented the Ice Lands’ curse by choosing death himself.
〈Brother, please. You still have me. Don’t do anything foolish.〉
〈…I’m sorry.〉
His brother’s pale, hollow voice flickered through Dante’s mind.
Then came the image of his brother’s gaunt face, the stormy weather outside the window,
and finally, the retreating back of the woman who had betrayed his brother—all flashing through his memory before vanishing.
The suffocating recollection creased Dante’s brow deeply.
He silently clenched his fists.
For some reason, his fingertips felt cold again,
as if the delayed aftereffects were only now catching up to him.
[This is the timeline separator]“Doesn’t he seem… kind of wilted lately?”
As I muttered while squatting in the herb garden, Sienna vigorously shook her head.
“No way! He looks perfectly fresh! It really seems like you have a talent for growing herbs, Madam.”
“Right? I’m pretty talented, huh? Germinating seeds isn’t something just anyone can do, you know. Right?”
“Exactly! Seed germination isn’t easy at all! You’re an absolute genius at it, Madam!”
Wait a minute. This feels… strangely off.
But seeing Sienna give me two enthusiastic thumbs-up, I figured, what the heck—why not just go with it?
“Right? Haha.”
The moment we finally got back on topic was during tea time in my room, after finishing our garden tour.
“Oh, right. It wasn’t about the herbs.”
I’d been munching loudly on some pre-made healthy snacks when I suddenly remembered the “wilting” person I’d meant to talk about.
“Listen, Sienna—doesn’t the Duke seem a bit… wilted these days?”
Sienna stopped sipping her tea and looked at me.
Her wide-open eyes practically screamed, “What on earth are you talking about, Madam?”
After blinking in shock for a moment, Sienna spoke with sudden resolve.
“Listen carefully, Madam.”
“Okay. I’m all ears.”
What on earth was she going to say?
“To be honest… the one who looks wilted is… you, Madam.”
Good heavens! Unbelievable!
Me? Wilting?
“Me? No way. I’m as fresh as my herbs!”
“No, you’re not. You look like you’d shatter if someone even tapped you—no, you’d crumble into pieces!”
Sienna’s words were so blunt they practically snapped in the air.
Literally snapping my heart in two.
Help! Someone! My maid just assaulted me!
“…What on earth makes you say something like that?”
“But it’s the truth! Look at your wrist.”
My wrist? What’s wrong with my wrist?
I glanced down at it.
…Okay, sure, it is pretty thin.
But it’s not fair!
I just inherited my mom’s build, that’s all.
Among the sturdy, muscular folks of the North, I naturally look extra frail—but that doesn’t mean I’m actually wilting!
It’s not me who’s unhealthy—it’s all of you who are freakishly robust!
Pouting, I stuffed another homemade healthy snack into my mouth.
“Never mind me. But seriously—my husband’s eyes look so sunken! I keep bringing him herbal tea and snacks every day. What’s wrong?”
“…Could that be the problem?”
“What?”
“Nothing! I didn’t say anything!”
Ugh, what a boring answer.
Soon after, Sienna closed her eyes and let out a muffled groan, clearly picturing Dante in her mind.
Though she found his efforts for me quite touching,
“My personal opinion is that the Duke seems just like usual. So please, don’t worry too much.”
Her answer remained unchanged.
At this point, I started wondering if I’d just imagined it all.
Mari had known Dante far longer than I had—if she said he was fine, then he must be.
I gave a half-hearted nod and stuffed another snack into my mouth.
But that very night,
I realized I’d been right all along.
As usual, I went to bed early—yet woke up before dawn.
Because I needed to use the restroom.
Honestly, I’m not a little kid anymore.
Probably drank too much tea, that’s all.
Starting tomorrow, I’ll go easy on it.
Half-asleep, I returned from the bathroom—and noticed the empty bed.
“Huh? He still hasn’t come to bed?”
It was already 4 a.m.!
I knew Dante went to bed later than I did.
Unlike me—a responsible adult from a land where people sleep early and wake up late—Dante was one of those hardworking adults from a land that valued overtime.
So I’d figured his workload as Duke must be quite heavy…
But seriously, is it so overwhelming he can’t even sleep by 4 a.m.?
I briefly considered dropping by his study—but decided not to disturb him and just went back to bed.
Burrowing under the covers and closing my eyes, I suddenly heard the door open behind me.
At that perfectly awkward timing, I hesitated for a split second.
Should I open my eyes and greet him—or not?
Before I could decide, a quiet shadow approached softly and carefully lay down beside me.
He moved so delicately—almost stealthily—as if trying not to make the bed creak.
Then, without even pulling up the blanket, he fell asleep.
His breathing became steady in under a minute.
I quietly sat up and looked down at Dante.
“He must’ve been really exhausted.”
Figuring his overtime session must’ve been particularly grueling, I gently pulled the blanket up to his chest.
It wasn’t until a week later that I realized something odd about his overtime habits.
“Madam. You look wilted.”
“…Huh? What? Do you mean my herbs are wilted?”
“No, Madam—you are.”
Ah. So it’s me again.
Yeah, makes sense.
Instead of arguing with Sienna, I just dropped my face onto the table with a thud.
“Madam? Madam?!”
“Don’t shout… I’m just sleepy.”
“Oh! Then that’s fine… Did you not sleep well?”
Yeah, I didn’t.
And it’s been like this for a whole week!
“Aaaaaargh!”
I slammed my hands on the table and abruptly lifted my head.
“Sienna.”
“Eep! Yes?”
“Go get Barhan for me. I need to ask him something.”
Sienna quickly left.
And soon after, Barhan arrived to fill the empty space.
I gestured for him to sit, then stared at him with my chin resting on my hand.
“What is it, Madam?”
“Barhan. Be honest with me.”
“Yes. I’ll answer honestly.”
Pleased with his attitude, I nodded.
Then I finally asked the question I’d been holding back.
“Is the North going to collapse soon?”
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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MANGA DISCUSSION
4 Comments
Chapter Comments (193)
Dante, you’re thinking too much. sometimes, if you think too much, you can miss the right moment. take action.
my grape cake dante 🍇Serphina my flower, it was very good of you to intervene. otherwise Dante would not have been able to sleep again.
Dante is so innocent and kind. How much he suffered from his wife’s fear! Poor thing, I want to pamper him.
Inline Comments (236)
“Truly.”
What a course! Hahaha, they’re really funny and so cute!
I fed one cookie each to the three exhausted girls, then called over the other s
Poor people! Nobody dares to tell her the truth!!! But she tried them too… I think she has a different taste.
I sorted everything—what needed juicing, grinding, or fine chopping—and with Mar
Now I am curious 🧐 too! Is farming and baking really supposed to be this fun?
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agustus_orchid
why isn’t he sleeping in bed? is it because he has too much work to do, or is it related to his curse?
agustus_orchid
the family curse is an essential element of the male lead’s character.
my grape cake dante🍇
Miioo
Poor Dante, why did this terrible curse befall him? I hope Serafina can help him.
agustus_orchid
serphina, my baby, you are so cuteee. giving me cookies is such a sweet gesture.