Life After Divorce (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2
Before me stood Antraga, thoroughly furious. Her face was flushed red as she seethed with anger, grumbling under her breath.
Seeing Antraga angrier than I was somehow made my own heat drain away. It was strangely fascinating.
In my memories, she had been rooted as a terrifying presence, like an unforeseen calamity—but now that my past-life memories had returned, she merely looked like an immature person throwing a tantrum like a colt, unable to control her emotions.
‘All this time, I’ve been trembling in fear of someone like this.’
I scoffed inwardly and blinked languidly.
“Yes? You called for me?”
“What’s gotten into you? Did you hit your head when you fell down the stairs or something?”
“No, but honestly, you’d need to be half-mad to have a conversation with Mother.”
Pfft. A few stifled giggles broke out from the line of servants at my innocent-sounding reply.
Antraga and the butler shot sharp glances at the servants, who hastily clamped their hands over their mouths and looked away apologetically.
The butler, giving the servants a sidelong warning glare, stepped forward from the line and bowed deeply.
“Please understand—our lady isn’t herself after tumbling down the stairs yesterday. Once she’s regained her senses, she’ll truly appreciate your intentions.”
Ha. An incredulous laugh burst from me.
Indeed, how many subordinates in this world would dare openly declare their master insane?
Shortly after the wedding, when the household hierarchy had seemed firmly established, the butler quickly grasped who truly held power and promptly submitted himself entirely to Antraga.
If even the butler, her direct subordinate, behaved this way, how much worse must the servants be? No wonder they resented me so deeply—after all, a sister-in-law who intervenes is often more vexing than a mother-in-law.
I narrowed my eyes and shot the butler a cold stare.
‘You’re out too.’
Meanwhile, Antraga, calmed somewhat by the butler’s smooth words, lazily lifted her chin.
“Hmph. Well, if it’s because you’re in pain, I’ll let it slide this once.”
Huh? Sensing something off, I furrowed my brow.
Normally, Antraga would have seized my hair and shaken me furiously by now.
‘She must have some demand.’
As if to confirm my suspicion, Antraga paused suspiciously, then tilted her eyes upward with affected innocence and asked,
“You there—what’s gotten into you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You cut the dignity maintenance allowance on your own accord, didn’t you?”
Ha. I let out a weary scoff.
‘Of course. It’s not concern for your daughter-in-law—it’s because your money supply dried up.’
Devon sent Antraga her daily extravagance allowance through the servants every morning. Today, however, the stipend was smaller, so she’d hurried over immediately.
Not only had he gotten thoroughly drunk yesterday and commissioned an assassination, but he’d also slashed financial support.
‘Nice.’
I sighed inwardly with amusement, then spoke lazily after drawing a slow breath.
“So what?”
“Don’t you understand that a household relies on principles and order? Why meddle with finances out of nowhere when you could’ve just stayed quiet? What could someone like you possibly know?”
“…”
I stared steadily at Antraga for a moment, then lowered my eyes and spoke in a deliberately calm tone.
“Mother.”
At my seemingly submissive demeanor, Antraga let out a haughty snort.
The woman who had previously acted so unrestrained must have still been under the influence of alcohol—now, apparently, she believed the Etricia she knew had finally returned.
“Enough. I won’t accept your apology, so just—”
“Does Father know that Devon has been funding your dignity maintenance allowance?”
Viscount Dian, my father-in-law, was notoriously stingy—a man who trembled at the thought of a single ogrant leaving his purse. There was no way he knew.
Antraga, who had been holding her chin high, stiffened her expression and straightened her face.
“How dare you brazenly threaten me—”
“And what about the business capital you borrowed from Uncle before the wedding?”
Viscountess Antraga faltered slightly, her eyes wide.
“Th-that was a sound investment! You chose to invest of your own volition!”
Ha. I snorted at her utterly futile excuse.
‘How shameless. You grabbed me by the hair, dragged me back to my seat when I tried to leave after saying I’d think about it, and forced me to sign.’
My scalp still ached from that incident.
“All I remember is you tearing out my hair, Mother. Oh, right—that business eventually collapsed, and Uncle ended up divorced over it. He hasn’t remarried to this day, has he?”
Oh dear. I lowered my brows sympathetically, mourning the tragic fate of my poor in-laws.
That scandal had been so shameful for her that she’d avoided social gatherings for quite a while.
Mentioning it now was bound to make her see red. A shadow swiftly fell at my feet as she loomed closer with a rueful smile.
Antraga clenched her fists, trembling slightly, and forced her crimson-stained lips into an upward curve.
“Well, well—you’ve learned to be cheeky now, haven’t you?”
“All thanks to Mother’s teachings.”
“Do you think I’m letting you off lightly out of consideration for your dignity, so you dare mock me?”
I pulled back my head and glanced pointedly at the servants behind me.
A few who met my gaze flinched and quickly looked down—their instincts telling them to submit to my sudden, dramatic transformation.
Feeling oddly satisfied, I straightened my head with perfect nonchalance.
“Why act so surprised? Haven’t you pulled my hair right in front of everyone before? Maybe you’re just getting old and running low on energy.”
“This is really…”
Antraga’s cheeks twitched violently with rage.
Oh dear. She was properly furious. I blinked innocently, pretending I hadn’t noticed.
“Mother, are you perhaps… angry?”
“Do I look like I’m not angry?!”
“But you’ve gone too far yourself! Coming to your daughter-in-law—who suffered greatly just yesterday—and throwing a tantrum to demand more allowance?”
I added with a mischievous wrinkle of my nose,
“Even a nursing infant wouldn’t behave like that, Mother.”
“…”
Ha! Ha ha! Antraga threw her head back, staring at the ceiling as a hollow, unhinged laugh escaped her.
Watching her, I felt as if a decade-old blockage in my chest had finally cleared.
‘Indeed, one must speak their mind to truly live.’
How long had I endured, living as Etricia merged with the original story? Now that I’d come to my senses, I found myself seriously confronting Antraga at last.
Just then, Antraga abruptly cut off her laughter, gathered her skirts, strode swiftly toward me, and raised her hand.
Oh dear. I sidestepped with a single backward step, easily avoiding her swinging hand.
Antraga, having swung at empty air, lost her balance and wobbled.
She stared blankly, clearly having assumed she’d land the strike, then straightened herself and locked eyes with me. Realizing what had happened, her face flushed crimson with shame and fury.
“I’m very curious what Devon will say when he sees your insolent attitude. That boy adores his mother—if he finds out, he’ll surely cast you out immediately!”
‘Ah, there it is.’
The ever-reliable threat card.
In the past, this was when I’d beg, “Please, don’t tell him!” and obediently give her exactly what she wanted.
‘But that won’t work on me anymore.’
When I merely blinked indifferently, Antraga faltered and swallowed hard.
“D-Devon will divorce you on the spot once he hears of your outrageous behavior!”
‘Right on cue—perfect.’
“That’s exactly why you should’ve hired more competent people in this household!”
‘Ah, I see.’
“We’ll see about this once Devon returns! I wonder if you’ll dare act like a wild colt and babble nonsense in front of him too!”
‘Not in the mood.’
“D-Devon truly has no judgment! Of all people, he had to marry someone like you!”
With that final outburst—her creative well clearly dry—I smiled faintly, impressed by her choice of words.
“I dislike mama’s boys too, Mother.”
Seeing even her threats fail, Viscountess Antraga, now stripped of her ultimate trump card, gritted her teeth and glared at me.
“…You’ll regret your impudence. Just you wait.”
At that outdated exit line, I offered a bland, polite smile.
‘Yes, please go now.’
Viscountess Antraga, seething with fury, gathered her dress and headed for the door.
Thud. Thud. Each footstep echoed heavily on the floor, loudly proclaiming her anger—as if demanding I chase after her to apologize.
‘Oh, right.’
Suddenly remembering something, I calmly called out to her retreating back.
“Mother.”
At my soft, gentle voice—like a spring breeze—Antraga turned around with a knowing expression, as if to say, “Of course.”
I watched her triumphant smile for a moment, then bowed slightly.
“Goodbye.”
Silence hung above me.
I peeked up to observe Antraga. Her face was utterly dumbfounded.
“I just remembered you got upset earlier because I hadn’t greeted you properly.”
“…Oh, well then—how very, very kind of you.”
Grinding her teeth as she spoke, Viscountess Antraga whirled around, her dress swirling dramatically.
“Mother?”
“Don’t you ever call me ‘Mother’ again!”
Viscountess Antraga shrieked and hastened her steps—a clear protest that I’d never truly treated her like a mother.
“Shall I address you as Viscountess Dian, then?”
“Never mind! You’ve never shown proper respect anyway! Call me whatever you like!”
In that case—
“Yes, Auntie.”
That really… Viscountess Antraga spun violently on her heel and glared at me with venomous eyes.
‘You said I could call you however I liked.’
I blinked innocently and gave a small shrug.
Antraga gave me a withering look, then stomped out of the mansion like an elephant.
‘Phew. Finally gone.’
I sighed in relief, as if completing a long-overdue task.
‘Ah, right—this isn’t the time for that.’
To avoid death, I needed to fix the mess I’d made while drunk the previous night.
Ignoring the servants’ and butler’s stunned stares, I swept my hand through the drifting fox fur, sending it fluttering away, and quickly left the mansion.
My destination was undoubtedly the Assassination Guild.
[This is the timeline separator]I adjusted the mask on my face and stared at the tea already cold on the table since it had been placed there.
‘He’ll be right back—just sip this while you wait.’
The tea had been left by the man who claimed to be the guildmaster’s aide, his gold tooth glinting as he gave a sinister smile before departing.
‘Then shall I give it a try?’
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Chapter Comments (1)
Inline Comments (54)
Yes—it meant someone had already been dispatched to escort her to the netherworl
Wah! She is unlucky. The heroine possessed at the wrong time! Run now to catch up with the disaster that will happen.
“Lirien! When you send her on an errand, it always takes half the day—did you lo
It’s clear what kind of friends those are! They are exploiters and bullies. Poor Lirien!（◞‸◟）
I planned to expose the forged will clearly, send Devon to prison, and isolate A
I thought she was just going to get a divorce. Revenge is awesome. To get what they deserve. ｀(^▼^)´↑
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oh man girl, using your self as bait never goes well! just kiss the man instead