I Killed My Husband (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1

Hss, kkk……. Hhss.

The middle-aged woman, her hands and feet bound to the bedposts and a gag in her mouth, looked upward and wept. The muffled sobs escaping through the gag were nothing but faint, tiny whimpers.

The middle-aged woman lowered her gaze and curled her body into a tight ball. Out of fear, she moved instinctively, seeking to protect herself.

And what gazed down upon her was—

Mercedes.

The Crown Princess of this kingdom, the youngest daughter whom Count Cromwell cherished dearly.

A woman of radiant beauty and graceful poise, always composed.

“……Ah.”

Yet on this day, Mercedes wore her nightgown, her hair long and loose. Still, she looked every bit the noblewoman.

Without hesitation, she turned her steps and left the room. There was only one thing she needed to take.

How much time had passed? It had happened during dinner… Was the palace still lively?

If it was, she would need to wait a little longer. Fortunately, the corridor was quiet. It was deep into the early morning, past midnight.

“It wasn’t evening time…”

Mercedes murmured as she walked. Indeed, lately she had struggled to sense the passage of time.

Mercedes, Mercedes, Mercedes……

As she walked the silent corridor, countless voices poured into her ears, echoing up into her mind.

Why did they keep clamoring for her? Why did they lock her away in the deepest corner, treating her like a useless ornament?

Why did they keep calling for her?

Mercedes could not understand.

If you found her repulsive, expel her. If she annoyed you, turn away. Wouldn’t it have been simpler just to kill her?

Why did they seek her out, strike her, and hurl vile words at her?

Why did they keep her close?

She finally understood the reason.

The reason she had been forced to spend her life alongside those who tormented her.

“To die together, I suppose.”

Mercedes murmured with a vacant expression and continued walking. Her destination was clear.

In the very late night, when all lights had been extinguished and sleep had settled over the palace,

Mercedes moved with beautiful, graceful steps, as if dancing.

Somehow, her body felt light.

She walked down the dark corridor. The moon outside the windows shone brightly.

The corridor was silent. Herself, though slightly disheveled, looked merely like the Crown Princess taking a midnight stroll.

Except for the dagger clutched tightly in her hand.

The dagger, engraved with the image of mistletoe, made her appear instantly deranged.

Her eyes looked only ahead, her feet moving swiftly, as if exhilarated.

Could this be how it feels to dance with wild abandon?

She turned the dark corridor into her own private banquet hall, heading toward her destination.

“Yes, this is all…”

This was why she had lived.

She walked swiftly to her husband’s chamber and knocked on the door.

Then, smiling, she whispered:

“Your wife, Mercedes, has come.”

At last.

It was time to kill her husband.

#01. The Crown Princess Has Fled

The Crown Princess of Shaym Kingdom, Mercedes, fainted during the second anniversary celebration of her royal wedding due to extreme respiratory distress caused by an overly tight corset.

At first, it was nothing unusual.

It was common for women who wished to follow fashion to tighten their corsets too much and faint. Occasionally, they were mocked for asking, “Do you really want your waist that thin?”

But who would dare say such a thing to the Crown Princess?

Thus, what should have been a minor incident ended as one.

But then, things began to turn strangely.

The next day, the day after that… strange rumors began to circulate in high society.

Isn’t that odd? The virtue expected of a Crown Princess is above all good health. How could she faint from a mere corset? Is a woman with such frail health truly fit to be Crown Princess? We are worried for our kingdom’s future.

Indeed? Could the reason she has not conceived in two years be due to the Crown Princess’s poor health?

Heavens! Then perhaps she cannot bear a proper heir?

Hmm. Judging by how she fainted, her health must be compromised. Why, the Crown Princess is so slender.

If that’s the case, hasn’t Count Cromwell, the Crown Princess’s father, defrauded the royal family by presenting Mercedes as Crown Princess?

Heavens! Then this is truly a grave matter.

The small spark of rumor spread at an alarming speed—unreasonably fast, excessively rude.

Had Mercedes truly been a revered Crown Princess, such rumors would never have dared to surface.

That is, had she been a “truly revered Crown Princess.”

The rumors spreading through high society could not possibly have escaped the Crown Princess’s notice. Mercedes endured nightmares every night, pierced by words shaped like daggers.

“……What a lovely day.”

Mercedes sat before the afternoon tea on the terrace, gazing blankly at the sky. She felt a slight dizziness.

“Nurse, please bring me the newspaper.”

Mercedes had always read the newspaper daily. So today, she naturally requested it.

Her nurse and lady-in-waiting, Gertrude, seated beside her enjoying tea, hastily concealed her alarmed expression as she replied:

“Your Highness, today… it would be better if you did not read the newspaper.”

Upon hearing Gertrude’s response, it was clear the rumors had not died down in high society.

Mercedes sighed, feeling a mild bout of dizziness.

“Just give it to me.”

She could not defy the Crown Princess’s command. Reluctantly, Gertrude raised her hand and signaled the maid to bring the newspaper she had already prepared.

The newspaper, placed upon a silver tray, was handed to Gertrude.

Only after Gertrude carefully lifted the tray’s cover to check that no damaging articles or malicious alterations had been made did she present it to Mercedes.

Mercedes extended her slender fingers gracefully and picked up the newspaper resting on the tray.

The Crown Princess, with porcelain-white, translucent skin, a long, slender figure, pale golden hair catching the sunlight, and green eyes, looked as if painted from a masterpiece.

“The Crown Princess’s Health—Is This Acceptable?”

In a voice as soft and clear as a breeze, she read the headline. Her clear eyes swiftly scanned the article.

The more she read, the more the letters seemed to dissolve before her eyes. Mercedes pressed both hands hard against her throbbing temples and swallowed a sigh.

It was a headache, as habitual as it was painful.

“Are you suffering from a headache? Perhaps you should rest. Shall I summon the palace physician?”

Gertrude urged quickly. Mercedes set down the newspaper and exhaled deeply.

“No, it’s fine… So this is how it ends.”

Gertrude watched Mercedes in silence, then spoke with a sigh.

“I heard His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is living as usual.”

“…Yes, of course.”

Mercedes gave a hollow laugh.

Someone had clearly lit the spark of rumor and was now feeding it logs.

Insults toward the Crown Princess amounted to treason against the royal family, so people usually restrained themselves.

But that such stories had reached even the newspapers meant that someone higher than the Crown Princess was orchestrating this.

And Mercedes knew exactly who that person was.

“It will be fine with time.”

She repeated this to herself.

As it always had been. If she closed her mouth, covered her ears, shut her eyes, time would pass—and her existence would be forgotten by everyone.

Mercedes believed in people’s forgetfulness.

She dared to believe it.

After all, that was all she could do.

To speak out and retaliate would only ensure her defeat.

[This is the timeline separator]

“How could you behave so poorly that an article like this gets published?! I can’t show my face anywhere!”

Her father, Count Cromwell, shouted loudly as he flung the newspaper violently. The newspaper struck Mercedes squarely on the face and fell to her knees.

Mercedes stared silently at the open newspaper.

[Is the Crown Princess Qualified?] [Crown Princess Received Infertility Diagnosis… Confession from a Former Palace Physician]

In just one week, the intensity of the slander had escalated drastically.

Mercedes continued to stare blankly at the newspaper. Before her, the Count continued shouting.

“I went through so much trouble to place you in such a position! Not only can you not even charm a man, you faint? You repay kindness with betrayal!”

The ringing voice made her headache intensify. Gradually, she felt herself growing detached from the world. Slowly, Mercedes raised her head.

The elderly Count’s face was flushed red—unnaturally healthy.

‘Father still… has such strength.’

And here she was, withering away.

She clenched her own suddenly thin wrist and let out a faint, bitter laugh.

“You… you’re laughing? Now even your father’s words don’t reach you, is that it?”

The Count’s eyes did not register the sight of his emaciated daughter. Naturally, his thick hand slapped Mercedes across the cheek.

Pain surged, so intense her vision swam.

This wound would swell badly, she thought. Calmly, Mercedes spoke again to the Count as he raised his hand once more.

“Father. If the Crown Princess’s cheek swells, it will not look well to others.”

“Oh. Right. Habit. Annoying.”

The Count spat an oath, then summoned the healer he always kept ready.

‘After all, I’m not his real daughter.’

Being treated as property was perhaps only natural.

She had been born as the Count’s illegitimate child and secretly adopted into the Cromwell household.

Her mother, it seemed, had been the youngest maid in the Cromwell household. There was a significant age gap between her and the Count.

Her mother had fled to the neighboring kingdom of Loom, pregnant with the Count’s child, fearing that if the existence of the illegitimate child were ever revealed, disaster would follow. The Count, fearing for his own safety, had insisted on taking the child.

He left the mother behind—only the child.

The Count, after taking her in, abandoned her. The Countess, naturally, despised and abused Mercedes, the illegitimate child.

As the Countess abused her, Mercedes became the household’s scapegoat.

She was beaten only where no one could see, and subjected to verbal abuse.

Once, her second son kicked her in the head—since then, a strange headache had followed her constantly. Whether it was hallucination or trauma, she could not tell.

Where had her wandering mother gone?

Had she passed away…? She didn’t believe her mother still lived. It took little time to come to that conclusion.

Through these years, Mercedes learned to let every word pass through one ear. She learned to kill her emotions—until she finally learned to make no expression at all.

The day Mercedes made her debut in high society,

she could no longer be hidden away, for outwardly she was the Count’s daughter. Reluctantly, the Count had “presented” her.

The Count had said: “Even if she’s ugly, can’t you at least raise a dowry? Go to potential suitors, flirt, and earn some money.”

But on that day, Mercedes met Elmond—the former Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince Elmond, renowned for his good reputation and handsome demeanor, fell in love with Mercedes at first sight.

He immediately sent a marriage proposal to the Cromwell household.

Given her impeccable status as Crown Princess, betrothal was a natural progression.

The Count rejoiced, declaring, “Good! Even you have some use!” And he urgently summoned healers to erase every scar from her body.

None of this process considered Mercedes’s will.

At the time, Mercedes was fourteen.

Fourteen. She was far too young to marry.

Shaym Kingdom typically arranged marriages around eighteen to twenty.

Mercedes accepted everything, expressionless, even at that age.

“If you weren’t part of the Cromwell household, would you ever have deserved to be Crown Princess? You should be grateful.”

Technically, it was her beauty—not the Count’s favor—that had secured her position. But to the Count, that didn’t matter.

“…I’m sorry.”

Mercedes kept lowering her head before the furious Count.

“Do whatever it takes to mend the rumors. But you—you must bear His Royal Highness a child. This time, you must!”

The Count gripped her arm tightly and whispered as if he meant to devour her.

Mercedes, naturally, nodded.