Life After Divorce (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
“Oh my, what’s wrong with my expression? I was just thinking how delicious the croissant looked. Here, try a bite, Count.”
I quickly picked up a croissant with the tongs and placed it on his plate. He frowned, glanced at his plate, then gave me an irritated look—a clear, silent rebuke that stung with disapproval.
I offered a bright smile and shrugged my shoulders.
Edmund let out a soft sigh and spoke.
“Today, I will accompany the Countess on her outing.”
This time, the croissant I was about to place on my own plate slipped limply from my fingers.
‘…Why you?’
Edmund spoke, elegantly dabbing the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
“Can you be certain the fire at the mansion the other day wasn’t deliberate? Someone might be targeting the Countess.”
Isn’t that *you*? I swallowed the words that surged to my lips.
“Besides, there are no knights currently at the mansion—so I, at the very least, must attend to the Countess.”
He set down his napkin and fixed me with a cold gaze.
He was, after all, an esteemed guest.
Under the pressure of his expectant stare, I offered a faint, ambiguous smile.
‘So you’re here to keep watch over me.’
Though it stung to be outright treated as a threat, this was also an opportunity to demonstrate my harmlessness to Lirien.
His insistence on accompanying me despite having already intercepted and read my letter clearly showed his meticulous nature—he wouldn’t rest until he saw things with his own eyes.
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
“How could I possibly refuse such a splendid gentleman’s company? It’s an honor.”
“I look forward to your cooperation as well.”
Ha… Ha… —his eyes, however, carried a distinctly murderous glint beneath that polite request.
Unaware of the bloodless battle unfolding over the table, Lirien clapped her hands in delight, thrilled by the turn of events.
[This is the timeline separator]“Damn it!”
Devon shot up from the bed, still clutching the shoulders of the bare woman beside him as he read his mother’s letter.
He reread it with wide, unfocused eyes, but the contents remained unchanged.
His wife, Etricia Bueil, had discovered his infidelity and declared her intention to divorce him—coldly and decisively, unlike ever before.
Devon’s face turned ashen. He leapt to his feet, yanking up his trousers that had slipped down.
“Damn it…! Damn it…!”
His feet kept tangling in the dragging hem, nearly tripping him several times.
Etricia had never once mentioned divorce before.
No matter how he scorned her, how Antraga threw tantrums, or how she was neglected—if he later offered her a few sweet words like a favor, she always forgave him.
Always. Without fail.
He’d never doubted for a moment her unwavering devotion since their marriage.
And now, divorce?
Without even consulting him—the very person involved! Wasn’t this a blatant sign of utter contempt? What did she think he was…?
Furious, Devon roughly tore the letter lying on the bed to shreds.
He wondered bitterly just what his mother had been doing all this time to let things spiral so far.
Even worms writhe when stepped on.
The noble custom that once viewed a noblewoman’s tolerance of her husband’s affairs as a virtue—and discouraged divorce—was fading fast. Even Etricia now had every right to declare divorce.
Yes, a declaration.
Devon gritted his teeth, snatched up his fallen shirt, and shoved his arms through.
He needed to hurry back, embrace Etricia as he always had, shower her with sweet lies, and whisper false words of love until she softened again.
Antraga couldn’t do it—only he could.
“Mmm, leaving already?”
The woman who had been sleeping slowly opened her eyes. Wearing only a thin slip that revealed her ample figure, she wrapped her arms around Devon’s waist.
As Devon buttoned his shirt one button at a time, he coldly pushed her shoulders away when she pressed her face into his back and rubbed against him.
“I don’t have time for you—move aside, you fool!”
“…What?”
Her eyelids fluttered in shock. Those weren’t words she expected from the man who’d shared her bed until dawn.
“Why so sudden, Dean?”
‘Dean’—one of his countless aliases, carelessly tossed out from memory he didn’t even bother to recall.
Hearing it, Devon scoffed, picked up the torn fragments of the letter, and gathered them—evidence to be destroyed.
He strode straight for the door. The woman hurried after him, but he coldly stepped out without looking back.
“Where are you going, Dean! Come back!”
Where? Obviously, to Etricia—the woman who loved him beyond measure. Or rather, more precisely, to the place where everything he needed to satisfy his own desires still remained intact.
Wearing a sly smirk, he hastily called for his coachman and headed for the capital.
[This is the timeline separator]Inside the carriage heading toward the square, Edmund sat across from me.
Arms crossed, he gazed indifferently out the window. His striking appearance stood out even in his simple attire and neatly tied-back hair.
Our eyes met as he impatiently swept aside a stray lock of hair that had fallen over his brow.
I instinctively smiled brightly, and after studying me with impassive eyes, he finally spoke.
“Why did you decide to divorce Count Bueil?”
Good question. I half-covered my face with my fan, lowered my eyes, and used my fingertips to discreetly dab the corner of my eye.
“He constantly committed adultery. Every word of affection he whispered to me—every show of love—was a lie.”
“Countess Bueil…”
Edmund’s eyes widened slightly as he quietly regarded me.
“I’ve had quite enough sympathy already—please don’t make me feel pitiful—”
“Stabbing your eyes like that won’t make tears come.”
Hmm. Didn’t work.
I closed my fan and blinked rapidly to moisten my dry eyes.
Heh. Edmund gave a disbelieving chuckle and shook his head. Clearly, pity and pleading weren’t my strong suits.
Frowning as if displeased with me, Edmund turned back to the window.
I glanced sideways at him and decided to change tactics.
‘If sympathy doesn’t work, flattery will.’
Ahem. I cleared my throat, hid my mouth behind my fan, and giggled lightly.
“With the Count away, the noblemen who go out today won’t receive even a single glance from anyone.”
Edmund shot me a frosty glance before looking away again. He seemed as disinterested in casual conversation as he’d been at our first meeting.
“Judging by Lady Lirien’s stunning beauty, I expected the Count to be handsome—but I never imagined you’d be this extraordinary. If the goddess of beauty from myth were reborn as a man, surely she’d look just like this?”
Edmund’s eyebrows twitched. A brief look of incredulity flashed in his eyes before vanishing—no other reaction followed.
Hmm. But since he’s still listening quietly, it can’t be going too badly.
I continued my effusive praise as if reciting sacred doctrine.
Your eyelashes shimmer like stolen stars from a moonless night; your silver hair gleams like rippling moonlight; your golden eyes are so bewitching they could swallow the hearts of countless women…
Just as I was about to continue, Edmund let out a deep sigh and pressed both hands to his temples.
“Are you always this talkative?”
Oops. Backfired? I gripped my fan with both hands and offered a vague, awkward smile.
Well, even flattery has its limits.
Excessive praise often had the opposite effect.
And a married woman on the verge of divorce, shamelessly batting her eyes like this, might easily earn herself a few sharp glares.
“My apologies—I was simply overwhelmed at meeting Count Edmund Mipidian, the Empire’s renowned genius—”
Wait. At that very moment, as I lowered my eyes with feigned composure, I noticed something.
The back of Edmund’s neck, turned toward the window, had turned red.
His jaw clenched tightly, brows furrowed—he wore the unmistakable expression of someone enduring deep embarrassment.
Surely it couldn’t be—the great Edmund, flustered like some green lad? But no matter how wide I opened my eyes, the flush remained. A rush of delight filled my chest, as if I’d stumbled upon a rare jewel.
After all, he’d spent the past nine years secluded in the forest, with no exposure to such rhetoric.
He’d been too busy hunting bandits with rough men to build any immunity to flattery.
Living solely to restore his sister’s status, he likely paid no mind to beauty—or even realized the worth of his own looks.
My lips curled into a sly smile.
‘If he’s this easily embarrassed, I’m almost tempted to tease him. Or perhaps, every time he follows me for surveillance, I’ll chase him off this way?’
Forgetting all caution toward Edmund, mischievous thoughts bubbled up inside me—when suddenly, the carriage halted.
Edmund sprang out with almost escape-like agility, and I followed with a quiet chuckle.
But as I stepped onto the carriage stairs, I paused.
Edmund was awkwardly holding out his calloused, scarred hand. He glanced at me, frowned slightly, then spoke.
“…Do you realize you’re wearing an expression of surprise at my unexpected gallantry?”
Oops—slipped in my expression. I narrowed my eyes and smiled brightly.
“Misinterpret it, then. I was merely marveling whether a flaw could possibly exist in someone like you.”
As I took his hand and stepped down, Edmund immediately pulled his hand away and walked ahead.
“There is. A flaw.”
There is? Eager for more, I covered my mouth with my fan and hurried after him—but he clamped his lips shut like a tightly closed shell.
Well, who would willingly reveal their flaws to others? I felt a twinge of disappointment.
“Do you have a map?”
“Here.”
I pointed to the area on the lawyer’s leaflet—obtained from Rail the previous day—where Rainbutton’s credentials were listed.
After checking the address beneath it, Edmund confirmed I was following and disappeared abruptly into the alley.
As we crossed paths with a young girl exiting the alley, she stood frozen, mouth agape, her eyes tracking Edmund until he vanished from sight.
Tsk tsk—look at that poor girl, utterly spellbound by this sudden vision of first love. If I were her, I’d at least wink. Just then, I found myself thinking how shamefully wasted such striking beauty was on him.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
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Chapter Comments (1)
Inline Comments (45)
"Really? What about the retainer fee? Will it cover five meals a day?"
Weren’t there three meals a day?! Has the number of daily meals increased and I do not know. ♨(⋆‿⋆)♨ 🍴
"In that case, I must decline. I’m an honest lawyer. I won’t let myself be used
I loved this lawyer. (・ω<)
Not only was his sister infatuated with this woman without knowing her true natu
Haha! The problem is that he is completely charmed, and tries to justify himself.
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oh man girl, using your self as bait never goes well! just kiss the man instead