Male Lead's First Wife (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 022

Dante tensed sharply at the approaching shadow.

Meidi, who had just mocked Dante to the fullest, squatted down in front of the young dragon.

Brushing her bangs upward as if extremely weary, she continued her tirade disguised as advice.

“Please think before you speak. This is exactly why I tell you not to talk to people outside. I don’t say these things for no reason, you know?”

Meidi let out a heavy sigh and continued.

“No, honestly, would any newlywed bride be happy seeing her husband clinging to someone like you? Especially someone who isn’t even human?”

The more Meidi spoke, the smaller Dante became.

The young dragon cowered, utterly deflated, yet Meidi still didn’t seem satisfied with his pitiful state.

“So get a grip, will you?”

Brushing herself off as she stood up, Meidi muttered all sorts of irritated remarks while heading toward the exit of the basement—had it not been for Dante’s murmuring.

[But… she didn’t seem to hate me.]

That single sentence abruptly halted her irritated steps.

Turning around in disbelief, Meidi glared at Dante and asked.

“Are you talking back to me right now? To me, the only person who stands by you, my lord?”

Dante’s body shrank under her accusing stare.

Even at such a pitiful sight, Meidi’s anger only grew stronger.

“How could you defend the Duchess while speaking against me like that! I… I’ve done so much for you…”

Her clenched fist trembled. Her fierce glare at Dante soon softened into a drooping tail, and before long, tears welled up in her brown eyes.

“Sniff…”

[No, no, that’s not what I meant!]

Dante was shocked to see Meidi, usually so harsh, crying with reddened eyes.

Most of the time, the maid acted rough, but occasionally she would break down helplessly. Dante firmly believed that this gentle, vulnerable side was her true nature.

[I was wrong. Please don’t cry, okay?]

Hastily moving to Meidi’s feet, Dante began offering excuses to soothe her.

[You know I only have you. I wasn’t really trying to take the Duchess’s side… I just wanted to say that Raymond doesn’t even consider me as a successor.]

Dante’s eyes darkened at the mention of Raymond.

The late Duke had regarded this phenomenon as possibly a manifestation of an ancient dragon, but his wife had been different.

The young dragon had been abandoned by his mother the moment he was born.

The first thing imprinted in baby Dante’s eyes was his mother’s look of disgust.

Her expression, treating him like a filthy beast, and her gasp of horror had left Dante deeply unsettled.

The Growen bloodline inherently required spices.

But this need was strongest during infancy.

Only spices could stabilize an infant’s fragile mind and guide it toward healthy development.

Normally, this role belonged to the Duchess, the mother.

But the Duchess who gave birth to Dante hadn’t even held him once—never fulfilled that role.

Not even once.

Dante’s unstable mind grew increasingly chaotic.

The young dragon caused incidents wherever he went, rejecting everyone’s touch and retreating into his own isolated world.

Just as his mother saw him, Dante became a young beast.

A wounded beast, with a fractured mind.

Even after the late Duke and Duchess passed away, the situation remained unchanged.

‘The Duke probably sees me as a beast too.’

No, it had worsened.

Dante quickly shook his head, trying to push away the painful memories.

Right now, Meidi crying before him was a hundred times more important than those old wounds.

She was the only person who, despite being bitten and scratched, never gave up on him.

The young dragon needed human warmth.

From anyone, really.

[I was wrong. I really was. I’m sorry. Don’t cry, okay?]

Dante repeated his apologies, circling around Meidi’s feet, rubbing his cheek and tail against her repeatedly.

His desperate demeanor seemed to soften the maid’s heart slightly.

After a brief moment of deep breathing, she gently knelt down and opened her arms to him.

“Of course. My lord would never betray me.”

[Uh… uh…]

Surprised only for a moment by Meidi’s sudden change,

Dante was soon captivated by the warmth he hadn’t felt in so long.

Half a year ago?

No, perhaps a year?

Maybe even longer—it had been such a long time since he’d felt human warmth.

Meidi gently comforted the child burying himself in her arms.

“See? Even His Grace ignores you. Only Meidi accepts you. Just remember that, my lord.”

[Yeah… yeah, I will.]

Human warmth was incredibly addictive.

Desperately nodding, Dante settled into the maid’s embrace, finding tender refuge.

Yet even within that melting warmth, Dante’s thoughts remained unchanged.

‘She really didn’t seem to hate me.’

The young dragon found himself recalling the Duchess’s smile.

She probably didn’t like him.

He well knew that only Meidi would ever accept someone like him.

But still…

‘I hope she doesn’t hate me.’

That was the young dragon’s only wish.

Was he starved for human touch?

Dante fell into a pleasant dream for the first time in ages.

Its source was the smile of a woman who carried the sweet scent of honey.

***

The next day.

Yerpi called over a maid who was tidying the curtains and asked about the seed she had found yesterday.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Oh, it’s a peach seed.”

The maid assigned today received the seed, her eyes widening.

She seemed curious why the Duchess would be carrying such a trivial thing, but dared not ask.

“Just a moment. I know it’s a peach seed, but it looks a bit unusual. Let me call the other maids to find out exactly what kind it is.”

“I’d appreciate that. Please do.”

“Just wait a moment!”

The maid’s eyes sparkled at Yerpi’s words of gratitude.

She immediately left the room and returned thirty minutes later.

“I kept you waiting!”

“Not at all. You came quickly.”

The maid, warmly welcomed by Yerpi, returned the seed and spoke.

“They say it’s from a thorny wild peach tree. It has some sweetness, but mostly it’s very astringent—people don’t usually eat it. Oh, someone mentioned seeing wild animals foraging and eating them.”

“So it’s really that unpalatable?”

When Yerpi asked in confusion, the maid quickly nodded and pulled a peach from her apron pocket to show her.

“I was late because I went to pick this.”

The maid chuckled sheepishly as Yerpi took the peach.

The fruit had small seeds and a dark red color, covered in bruises—it looked far from appetizing.

“It does seem like no one would bother eating this.”

“Yes. Most fruits in Growen come from the spring, summer, and autumn regions. Since harvests arrive from areas other than winter, the central Growen region, where all goods converge, is quite rich in fruits.”

The maid proudly added, not meaning to boast, that even commoners like her could enjoy soft, sweet white peaches within the castle.

Watching the maid unconsciously salivate at the thought of peaches, Yerpi fell even deeper into confusion.

Yerpi immediately brought the fruit to her lips.

“Ah, Your Grace!”

The startled maid tried to stop her, but it was too late.

“……!”

The first sensation upon biting into the flesh was a bitter taste tormenting the tip of her tongue. Only afterward did a faint sweetness emerge—but even at best, it was far from a delicious fruit.

“Are you alright?! Why did you eat such a terrible fruit?”

“Just out of curiosity.”

Yerpi rinsed her mouth with water the maid brought.

The bitterness faded quickly, but her mind was now even more entangled in mystery due to the experiment.

“That’s strange. In such a fruit-abundant place, he was eating this?”

What were the people around him doing while the heir of Growen was scavenging such scraps?

Was it just unusual taste?

Or was it something else…

An ominous premonition began to engulf Yerpi.

‘I need to check this.’

She needed solid evidence to confirm the truth.

She hoped, more than anything, that her suspicion was wrong.

***

A basket filled with plump peaches lay scattered across the courtyard.

One bruised peach rolled along, only to be caught by a shoe. Raymond coldly glared at it, then turned his gaze toward Dante.

“Causing trouble again, I see. Dante Growen.”

His chilling, icy voice weighed heavily upon the young dragon.