Male Lead's First Wife (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 040
‘Children are very jealous.’
Yerpi had once defined all of Dante’s spoiled behavior toward her with just this single sentence.
Perhaps he saw her as someone filling the void left by his mother, which was why he clung to her so.
Yerpi smiled and gently stroked the child’s head.
“Of course Dante is—”
She was about to say he was even better. That was what the child wanted, after all. But a sudden gaze flying toward her interrupted her.
‘Raymond?’
His gaze rendered Yerpi speechless. Even as she hesitated, the whining from within her arms continued.
[Hurry up and say it!]Dante, borrowing Yerpi’s voice, firmly believed—without a doubt—that he would triumph over Raymond again. But Dante’s assumption was easily proven wrong.
“Dante Growen. Yerpi isn’t your mother. She’s my wife.”
That statement fell completely outside the realm of expectations—for both Dante and her.
Raymond, who had been sitting across from her, had quietly approached behind Yerpi.
He casually leaned on her shoulder, lowered his head, and looked down. His golden, shimmering eyes held her completely.
‘What? Why?’
It must have been just a joke. Yet his gaze was so deep that she couldn’t casually respond.
Her throat felt dry. From some point onward, being near this man made her mouth unbearably parched.
A dragon is fire itself. Could it be that because he carried such hot blood, she was being drawn in as well? Yerpi entertained this odd worry.
Suddenly, her heart gave a lurch—a sensation difficult to interpret as either a heartbeat or mere surprise.
[No way!]“What do you mean, ‘no way’? You should face reality.”
The argument between the young dragon and Raymond pulled her back to reality. The enchantment of his mystical golden eyes snapped back to clarity.
Yet her astonishment didn’t last long. Though surprised, she found it somewhat endearing—this man trying to outdo a child by pushing himself forward.
‘Are you really doing this against a child?’
The way he spent time with the boy always caught Yerpi’s attention. She burst into laughter.
“Why are you laughing?”
[Why are you laughing?]Even their simultaneous questioning of her was strikingly similar.
It wasn’t just their appearances—human and young dragon—but their manner of speaking, their gazes, and even their slightly prickly temperaments were alike.
Ahaha. Her bright laughter captivated both dragon-blooded beings.
[You’re making fun of me!]“No, I’m laughing because Dante and my lord resemble each other.”
[Whaaat?]“What?”
Seeing both frown simultaneously again, she thought to herself how even that expression was alike.
It couldn’t be helped. After all, the two shared the same blood—they were family. It always made her happy to see someone enjoying themselves together.
“I like both Dante and my lord equally.”
[That’s impossible!]Dante was insistent on her choosing one, and Yerpi had no choice but to soothe the child caught in his tantrum.
Meanwhile, Raymond turned his back. He clamped his hand over his mouth, suppressing his breath. Only she remained unaware.
Just as the bickering was about to resume, urgent footsteps and a knock on the door drew everyone’s attention.
“My lord, I was told you were here.”
That voice belonged to Johan. At the sudden request from his aide, Raymond’s expression stiffened.
More than anything, Johan had left the castle a month ago on an expedition.
The door opened and Johan stepped in. He was drenched in sweat, clearly having run here at full speed.
“Oh—Your Grace… and young Master Dante?”
Johan seemed surprised once at seeing Yerpi and Raymond together, and again at finding Dante—who rarely showed himself—present here.
Raymond, noticing this, urged him to report without paying further mind.
“What’s the matter? Wasn’t the survey team scheduled to return in half a month?”
“Well, an issue has arisen in the Forest of Discovery. The survey team is currently returning, and it will take approximately two more days to reach the castle.”
“If they were returning early, they should have sent a message. What happened?”
“It’s… the Noise in the Forest of Discovery has intensified.”
The Forest of Discovery?
Yerpi’s expression hardened as she silently held Dante.
The two dreams she’d had, and the large landscape painting beside the lobby staircase—all originated from the Forest of Discovery.
As Yerpi leaned in to listen, the conversation continued.
“Explain properly.”
“We tried sending an advance report via messenger, but the messages didn’t go through. Even after barely escaping the area and releasing a message bird, any content related to the Forest of Discovery simply vanished.”
Even encoded messages, or attempts to only write the return notation, disappeared completely.
The team could only send their vanguard forward to report after every member had exited the affected zone.
‘What is this Noise?’
Yerpi had no knowledge of the events occurring in the Forest of Discovery.
But Raymond seemed already well aware of the situation. Noticing her interest, he quietly informed her.
“Two months ago, an issue emerged in the Forest of Discovery. Sounds began manifesting visually, turning parts of the forest into Noise. The affected area has been expanding steadily. Anyone who touches it suffers memory problems.”
Initially, it was judged as merely a visual disturbance. The memory damage was so slight—like forgetting what one had for breakfast that morning—that it seemed like trivial forgetfulness.
But soon, they realized those affected weren’t just losing memories entirely, but experiencing specific memory corruption.
Reports flooded in from the spring territory—people forgetting how to eat, or failing to recognize close family members.
The Noise continued to spread, now consuming one-third of the Forest of Discovery. The larger it grew, the more severe the memory damage became for those exposed.
“This is a serious problem.”
“That’s why I said I couldn’t bring you there.”
His words made Yerpi recall her memory from the lobby.
‘So that was the reason.’
At the time, she had thought perhaps he simply didn’t trust her. But now, hearing firsthand what was happening there, she realized it was no ordinary crisis.
After the brief explanation, he turned back to Johan to hear the rest of the report.
“What’s the condition of the returning group?”
“There are no injured or casualties. However… those who touched the affected area are suffering memory issues. Many are mentally unstable due to scrambled memories or lost past experiences.”
Mentally unstable?
The conversation was deeply unsettling. After hearing this, Raymond stood from his seat. Before stepping out of the private chamber, he politely excused himself to Yerpi.
“I must leave for a while. You may stay here as long as you’d like.”
“Take care.”
She had no choice but to let him go. So, merely asking for her understanding was already something to be grateful for. Yet Raymond turned back and added a parting word for her sake.
“When I return, I’ll tell you more about this incident. If you have further questions, ask me then.”
An unexpected promise. But it was also a deeply comforting gesture.
Yerpi smiled brightly. At that, he wore a dazed expression again—though she remained oblivious, simply offering her regards.
“Alright. I will. Dante, let’s say goodbye to my lord and wish him well.”
Yerpi mimed waving Dante’s hand. Dante huffed and turned his head, yet didn’t pull his hand away.
Johan, witnessing this, rolled his eyes in amazement—even amid the urgency of the situation.
“You all look truly harmonious. It’s heartwarming.”
“What?”
“I mean… your married life seems very happy…”
Johan’s voice, usually labeled as too blunt, grew quieter and quieter.
Unlike his usual expectation of being reprimanded for his lack of tact, his superior wore a satisfied smile.
“Yes. We are indeed husband and wife.”
For some reason, the aide’s comment seemed quite pleasing to him. As the flustered Johan stood awkwardly, Raymond gave his farewell.
“I’ll be back. You stay well-behaved.”
[I’m always well-behaved!]Dante grumbled, but clearly didn’t mind Raymond’s farewell.
And so, Raymond left, and time passed.
Two days later, the survey team returned. The next day, the Duchess’s reception room turned into a sea of tears.
“Pepe, please calm down.”
Pepe had soaked the sofa with her tears. Other maidservants gathered around, comforting her.
But her tears showed no sign of stopping. Eventually, she pleaded to the Duchess.
“What should I do now? Your Grace… Ryan seems to have completely forgotten me.”
Included in the returning survey team was Pepe’s only remaining family member.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (9)
I feel so bad for Pepe😭 they finally have a safe place to live and tragedy just keep coming their way
Ehhhh, if she needs to touch them to do sth, would the duke allow it😅?
Please please just not the memory loss arc😭😭😭 just let her solve the problem
Inline Comments (25)
‘That was my memory.’
I thought this happened when she touched him so what triggered the memory?
“It’s invisible to you. That mist is a special barrier capable of crossing dimen
I don’t think it is invisible to her since she is able to see
Judging from what she saw, he had a talent for winning people over, no matter th
I mean he is in general considerate of everyone’s feelings
YOUR COMMENT
2. Inline comments are now available. Tap the end of any line in a chapter to share your thoughts instantly.
Log in to comment.
Pache98
Pepe, noooooo😭😭😭😭😭 i think maybeee the duchess needs to go?? I still dont quite get what is happening there