I'm Terminal Anyway, No Regrets (17 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 10
It had been four days since I started praying with Madam Olan.
Today was the day of the tea party hosted by Madam Olan, so I woke up early from my slumber.
Madam Olan came down to the first floor. Her hand kept pressing against her forehead, trembling slightly. She was thoroughly irritated from her headache.
Even during morning prayers, she had swayed drowsily, barely able to stay upright.
Madam Olan, who usually left the mansion before dinner and returned from parties at dawn, had gone back to sleep after morning prayers—but fatigue still hadn’t lifted, and she often frowned in discomfort.
When I poured her tea, she gave me a sharp look and asked in a biting tone,
“Did you sleep well? You look quite refreshed.”
“I slept well, thank you. I usually suffer from insomnia, but I slept soundly last night.”
My answer wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Her narrowed eyes scrutinized me sharply.
“Oh? You weren’t uncomfortable at all?”
“Thank you for even worrying about my sleeping arrangements.”
“Who on earth worried about your sleeping arrangements!”
“I was negligent. From now on, I’ll personally prepare your bed.”
“No, no! The maids already do their job well—why would you meddle in that!”
“Yes, it wouldn’t be right for me to take over their duties.”
In my first life, I had been crushed by their harassment. I trembled in bed, terrified a snake might crawl out, and once even claimed to have found a frog—but by the time I spoke up, a servant had already cleaned it away, making me seem like a liar.
Looking back now, it all seemed ridiculous.
Why had I clung so desperately to this marriage? What was I so afraid of losing?
“You…”
“Yes?”
“The guests have arrived.”
The butler announced the guests’ arrival.
Madam Olan shot me a displeased glance, then stood up to go welcome them.
Today, she had invited her relatives and acquaintances for tea time—all people loyal to Madam Olan, close to her, and ready to take her side.
Elena was already waiting by the front entrance.
“Now that you’re part of this household too, you must greet them properly.”
“Yes, thank you for arranging a place for me.”
“Be careful not to make any mistakes in front of the ladies.”
“Yes.”
“Elena has always treated the ladies well and earned their praise. I wonder how you’ll fare. Please show them the royal grace you learned in the palace.”
As soon as Madam Olan finished speaking with a faint smile, the ladies entered.
“Miss Elena grows more beautiful by the day.”
“Welcome, ladies. Hearing such kind words from you always fills me with joy.”
“How wonderfully you speak.”
“I’ve prepared tea imported from the East today. This way, please.”
“Oh my—such a rare treasure!”
“I’m quite eager to try it.”
The three ladies, all warm and friendly toward Elena, instantly turned cold the moment they saw me.
I could even feel icy chill in their gazes.
‘Just as I remembered.’
In the past, I’d felt intimidated by their stares—even though they had nothing to do with me.
“Welcome.”
Madam Castlea was Madam Olan’s sister-in-law. Madam Henson was an acquaintance who flattered Madam Olan ever since she became a viscountess. And Madam Riel, who came with them, ran a mid-sized dressmaking shop in town and acted as Madam Olan’s informant.
They were precisely the people who would spread word of what happened at today’s tea party.
“Elena has been attending salons lately and learned Eastern tea culture. We’ve enjoyed it together many times since. I wanted to share it with you all, so I invited you.”
“I’ve heard the East has deep expertise in tea.”
“I knew it was good for the body, but I’ve never tried it here before. To enjoy such a refined custom—it makes me envious.”
“I heard it’s terribly expensive.”
“I’m delighted to treat you all with such fine quality. I even have the proper tea utensils—products I acquired with great difficulty last month.”
As soon as everyone sat down, a maid brought a rich walnut-colored rectangular wooden box. The lid opened to reveal an elegantly substantial box filled with charming tea tools.
“Oh my, how adorable.”
“How lovely.”
Elena took out the black-glazed teacups, tea pot, and other utensils and laid them neatly on the table.
The cups were smaller than usual, made of stoneware in deep, weighty colors—not flashy, yet impressive enough to draw admiration from the ladies.
Meanwhile, desserts to accompany the tea were also served.
“What a stunning color.”
“Tea soothes the stomach and is very healthy.”
She placed one teacup per guest on the table, then instructed the maid to take the wooden box away after removing all the tools.
“I heard that in the East, they treasure tea time just as much as we do. They calm their minds with deep breaths while waiting for the tea to steep.”
She crumbled the compressed tea leaves into the pot, poured in the prepared hot water, and closed the lid.
Then Elena placed one hand over her heart and closed her eyes quietly.
“Close your eyes and feel the air and nature around you. Breathe out your exhaustion and weariness.”
After holding this moment with the ladies—eyes shut, breathing deeply—for quite some time, Elena poured the steeped tea into their cups.
The liquid was dark and cloudy, though you could still see the bottom of the cup.
“Go ahead, please try it.”
Elena lifted her cup and took a sip first, prompting the others to follow suit.
Two of the ladies frowned slightly at the overly strong flavor but masked it with smiles, while Madam Henson heaped praise.
“Oh! It’s so rich—the fragrance fills my whole mouth. So this is Eastern tea!”
“Yes, I’m relieved it suits your taste, Madam Henson. You truly have a refined palate.”
“It’s strong, but not unpleasant.”
“The flavor is deep as well—quite luxurious.”
Madam Castlea, having savored the tea, turned her gaze toward me.
“But it seems the princess doesn’t enjoy tea at all. You haven’t even touched your cup.”
Everyone looked at the untouched teacup before me. I hadn’t lifted it once.
“Oh dear, to show such disregard for someone’s hospitality.”
“Perhaps royalty doesn’t know how to drink Eastern tea.”
“There’s no one to invite you, so you’re not up to date with trends.”
Madam Olan sighed and muttered resentfully, and the other ladies nodded in agreement.
“Goodness—regardless of status, how will you ever lead a viscount’s household if you carry on like this?”
“You must be so weary, Madam.”
“Having a princess as your daughter-in-law is already difficult enough, but she’s not even proper royalty…”
She let a mocking laugh finish her sentence.
“Go ahead and try this. It’s an Eastern dessert Elena specially prepared. It melts delicately in your mouth and pairs wonderfully with tea.”
Madam Olan gestured to the small, finger-sized desserts placed before each guest and looked pointedly at me.
“Even if you won’t drink the tea, at least try the dessert. Don’t embarrass yourself further.”
This time, they all just stared at me—as if refusing to eat unless I did first.
‘So this was their transparent scheme all along.’
I pressed the dessert gently with my fork, and it cut smoothly. I split it in half and put it in my mouth. As my tongue crushed it, it dissolved like melting snow.
“It’s delicious.”
Madam Olan and Elena exchanged glances between my mouth and the halved dessert—both their pupils visibly trembling.
“Then let’s all have a taste.”
As soon as Madam Riel picked up her fork, everyone cut off a small third and took a bite. Suddenly, Madam Riel screamed, turned deathly pale, and shot up from her seat, vomiting the dessert onto the floor.
“What—what is this!”
She gagged violently, then rinsed her mouth with tea water and spat it out.
“Madam! What happened?”
“Kyaa! A—a bug! There’s a bug in the dessert!”
Madam Henson pointed at the half-eaten dessert on Madam Riel’s plate—thin, hairy legs protruded from the cut surface.
“Kyaaa!”
“Why on earth is that in there?”
Everyone except me jumped up in alarm, and another lady gagged in fear that she might have swallowed a bug too.
Madam Olan fixed me with a glare.
“Don’t tell me… you did this?”
“What do you mean, Madam? You just said Elena prepared the dessert yourself.”
(Of course, I’d switched them. While Elena was setting out the tea tools and everyone’s attention was focused there, I swapped Madam Riel’s dessert with mine.)
“You… you…”
“Miss Elena! What on earth have you done?”
Madam Castlea, furious, shouted at Elena.
“I—I didn’t! The head chef made the desserts!”
“Ha! How could bugs possibly get into food in a properly managed household? To serve this to guests—it’s absolutely disgraceful!”
“I’ll have the head chef severely punished and dismissed. To ruin my tea time like this… I’m utterly heartbroken.”
Madam Olan pulled out her handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. The other ladies softened their anger.
In their panic, the ladies had knocked over teacups, leaving the table in disarray.
Maids hurriedly cleaned and wiped the table.
The ladies, visibly upset, refused to sit back down.
“Eastern tea calms the spirit. Since you’ve been startled, let me brew a fresh pot for you.”
She signaled a maid to bring back the tea tool box she’d set aside.
Lifting the lower section of the box revealed a draining tray.
“A fine item like this deserves proper use.”
She placed the teapot and utensils onto the perforated tray in a neat arrangement. The teapot had tipped over in the commotion, leaving only a few tea leaves inside.
She discarded the remaining leaves, rinsed the pot with hot water, added fresh crumbled leaves, and poured in hot water until it slightly overflowed before closing the lid.
“What in the world are you doing…”
“You don’t even know how to brew tea properly.”
“For the first infusion, you pour hot water over the leaves to rinse away surface impurities. That water isn’t wasted—you use it to warm the cups and pot.”
She collected the rinsing water into another vessel, used it to rinse and warm the previously used teacups, then poured it onto the tray.
“Oh—you just pour it right on top like that?”
“Yes, that’s precisely what the draining tray is for.”
She poured hot water for the second infusion, closed the lid, and used the first infusion to warm the teapot.
Instead of pouring the second infusion directly into the guests’ cups, she first poured all of it into the empty vessel used earlier, then served each lady a cup from it.
The tea’s clear, refined hue brought peace even to the soul.
The cups were warm to hold, and simply cradling them brought gentle warmth to the heart.
The ladies soon sat back down, savoring their tea. Their tense expressions gradually softened.
“Oh—so the princess actually knows how to brew tea well!”
“My goodness—this is completely different from before. It warms me right through.”
“I never knew tea could be like this… it’s wonderful.”
“Please, go ahead and drink.”
I offered tea even to Madam Olan and Elena, whose faces remained stiff.
In my second life, Duke Haiman had seized the throne for himself and indulged in luxury. He’d insisted I join him in his pleasures too—even if I didn’t want to—and that was how I learned to brew tea.
“Would you like more?”
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 (16)
Inline Comments (120)
For a man, this reaction was understandably awkward.
Oh. 👁️👁️😳
“If she’s being sent away anyway, who would do such a thing!”
Seriously, that people disgust me so badly… The audacity! Caring for her only in the struggle, and calling her devious when they are the ones who should be cursed! I hope she rises in the Empire and i hope that the news somehow causes in them atleast despair or some kind of disability.
“Marcus, please shut up! People avoided me, calling me ‘God’s rejection’—how cou
👁️👁️
👄
Man… I know she’s miserable, but did you have to humiliate the woman like that?
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Yes! Thank god he say it! Omg, she is crazy but the olan worked well. I hope she gets to the empire safely and swiftly
Loved this novel, i came because i started the manhwa and the story was really wonderfull, so i just had to know the rest. I am loving it.
hahahaha baby girl😭😭 she is so cuuuute. I really live her so so much