The Credentials of a Couple (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
“So you intend to bury this matter as it is?”
“My wife has only just begun to return to her daily life. I have no wish to stir up this affair any further. Though losing a daughter is tragic, my wife is far more precious to me.”
“Precious, you say…”
“Shouldn’t a person look toward the future, rather than dwell on the past?”
That was a sharp remark indeed.
Bake grinned openly, making no effort to conceal his true intent.
What good was all that grand love? After all, he was just a foolish father who had let his own child die without ever being able to acknowledge him as his blood.
Moreover, the woman he loved was someone he could never truly possess anyway.
In the end, once again, the victor was himself.
“Very well. If the Craytons take this stance, even the Imperial Household cannot pursue the matter further. I shall hereby conclude the investigation into Meriel Crayton’s death.”
“I was beginning to grow fond of you, seeing your face so often lately—but I suppose we shan’t meet again.”
“Yes, precisely. Compensation matters fall outside my duties. And—”
Calix paused, gazing at Bake for a moment.
But it lasted only a brief instant before he turned his head away.
“Then I shall take my leave now.”
“I won’t be going far. I wasn’t planning to anyway.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Your Grace! Your Grace! A terrible emergency!”
At the servant’s loud, frantic knocking on the door, deep furrows formed on Bake’s forehead.
He was already frustrated that, despite his efforts to display the Craytons’ noble dignity to Calix, his servants kept appearing so undignified.
“Speak to me after the guest has left. I have no appointments afterward anyway.”
“My lady has fallen from the window!”
“What are you saying? Liviana has—”
“Is she safe?”
The servant’s eyes widened at Calix’s sudden interruption.
The man, twice the size of an ordinary person, was intimidating merely by standing before him. It was nearly impossible to utter a word.
Yet instinctively, the servant knew he must speak even more urgently now.
Calix’s menacing gaze seemed capable of devouring him whole at any moment.
“W-well, she’s, um—she’s still breathing, but she’s lost so much blood…”
“Stop stammering and speak clearly. She’s lost blood—then what?”
“They say… they can’t guarantee she’ll survive.”
With those words, the servant rolled his eyes back and fainted on the spot, collapsing while still standing.
Brushing aside the bothersome servant, Calix strode quickly forward with long strides—his pace now closer to running than walking.
Bake stared blankly at Calix’s back for a moment before rushing to block his path.
“Kindly leave now, honored guest.”
“Step aside.”
“Step aside? By what right do you say such a thing? Liviana is my wife—my own spouse.”
Though Bake’s bloodshot black eyes were threatening, his pride would not allow him to yield.
He clenched his jaw tighter and held his head high.
“Don’t delude yourself. Liviana isn’t your lover—she’s my wife. And this is strictly a matter between us spouses.”
“……”
“As an outsider, you have no place interfering. Please go your way and meddle no further. That would be the greatest courtesy you could show your former lover.”
“Courtesy?”
“Yes, courtesy. Or—could it be that during your time in the frontier, you’ve forgotten what courtesy even means?”
Bake’s lips trembled violently as he chattered on.
He was afraid—but he never believed he would lose.
After all, even Calix couldn’t escape the consequences of that incident ten years ago.
He would inevitably have to turn back.
Just as he had long ago.
*** *** ***
She had no idea how long she’d been lying here.
She only knew she’d slept for a very long time.
Her eyes, once closed, refused to open easily, and all she saw was pitch-black darkness.
Truthfully, Liviana’s inability to open her eyes stemmed more from her utter lack of will to live.
Liviana painfully forced her eyes open and stared at the medical apparatuses keeping her alive by sheer force.
If she had just a little more strength, she’d rip them all off and hurry to Meriel’s side as soon as possible.
After all, Meriel had always hated being alone.
With her mother by her side, she wouldn’t feel lonely.
“We’ve barely saved her life, but the real problem begins now.”
“Now?”
“The muscles in her legs are completely ruined. Even with full treatment, it seems she’ll….”
“I told you money is no object!”
Bake roughly seized the physician by the throat.
The Craytons had money to spare. Thanks to that, he’d secured the best equipment, the finest doctor, and created the optimal medical environment.
After all the money already spent, he wouldn’t tolerate such weak words now.
“It’s not a matter of money. Medically speaking, there’s nothing more we can do—and moreover, the patient herself shows absolutely no will to live—”
“No will? Nonsense! She was perfectly fine! She ate, slept, even dressed as usual!”
No matter how loudly Bake shouted, it was useless.
No matter how tightly he throttled the doctor until he gagged, the diagnosis remained unchanged.
Surviving such a great fall in the first place was already miraculous.
“Is there really no hope at all?”
After gripping the doctor’s throat for a long while without hearing the answer he wanted, Bake’s shoulders slumped in defeat.
The physician prudently stepped back a little, then spoke again.
“For now, we’ve done everything medically possible, and the treatment itself has concluded successfully. The best course is to wait and see if she recovers.”
“……”
“After all, perhaps a miracle might still happen, or her condition might improve.”
The last remark was nearly a lie, but the physician smiled as if unaware.
The Craytons’ patronage was absolute, and thus, avoiding any offense to his benefactor was equally crucial.
Fortunately, the transparent ploy worked—Bake didn’t lunge for his collar again as he had moments before.
“Keep watch over her. Summon me immediately if anything changes.”
“Understood.”
The physician kept his back bent until Bake left, straightening only long after he’d gone.
It was infuriating how this youth—less than half his age—strutted about with such arrogance, but what could he do?
With neither money nor power, all he could do was bow.
“Damn rotten brat.”
Of course, that didn’t mean he couldn’t curse him quietly behind his back.
The physician muttered curses repeatedly toward the spot where Bake had stood, then flinched reflexively upon meeting someone’s gaze.
The new figure standing where Bake had departed was familiar to the physician.
He had served as the attending physician for the child she carried.
“How did you come here? His Grace has already left…”
“I came only after making sure he’d gone.”
“I see?”
“Human life is far more persistent than one might think—and rather troublesome.”
Her voice dripped with coldness, yet her smile bloomed like a flower.
Thus, the physician failed to immediately grasp her meaning.
“I heard everything outside. They say Liviana’s in danger?”
“Ah, well…”
“How truly tragic. If she dies, it’s a problem; and even if she lives, it’s still a problem—after all, there’s no such thing as a Marchioness who can’t walk.”
“……”
“She won’t be able to attend social events, and if her scars are severe—ah, it’s really too dreadful to imagine.”
Margaret strolled leisurely toward Liviana’s bedside.
The physician numbly followed her with his eyes.
She smiled—but it wasn’t a real smile.
“Would you mind stepping aside?”
“Pardon?”
“Wouldn’t it be wiser to place your hopes on the next Marchioness, rather than on one who can no longer do anything?”
“What do you mean…?”
Margaret offered no further reply.
Instead, she merely stroked her swollen belly with her fingertips.
Inside her womb lay the child who would become the next Marquess Crayton.
“I….”
The physician hesitated, glancing at Liviana lying on the bed.
Instinctively, he knew what might happen if he left—and thus couldn’t bring himself to move.
After all, he’d been Liviana’s personal physician since childhood, and the late Marquess and Marchioness Crayton had always treated him so well.
But his hesitation lasted only a moment. In the end, he turned away.
It was regrettable for Liviana—but there was nothing to be done. The living must go on.
*** *** ***
“Still, after all this time together, it’s a shame to see you lying like this. It’s rather pitiful.”
“……”
“Sorry—of course you can’t speak, so I’m just blabbering on alone.”
“……”
“But please bear with me a little longer. Unlike me, you’ve always lived saying exactly what you wanted. So it won’t hurt if I talk a bit more this time.”
A gentle hand lightly brushed my cheek.
Through my blurred vision, I spotted Margaret’s face and exhaled a harsh breath.
I knew I should be angry with her—but by now, even that felt meaningless.
All I wanted was to find peace as soon as possible.
“You never knew, but I’ve always envied you. Everything I wanted, you always had—even the man I loved.”
“……”
“So honestly, when your family fell, I felt a bit glad. I thought we’d finally become equals. Of course, that was just my delusion.”
“……”
“Isn’t it sad? No matter how desperately I struggle, nothing ever changes—while you’ve always lived so gracefully.”
“……”
“So please, just this once, yield to me. You’ve already enjoyed everything enough.”
The gentle hand that had touched my cheek slowly slid down to my throat.
“I’m sorry—but I won’t regret this. Just as you loved your daughter, I love my child as well.”
“……”
“I’ll repay the sin of killing you both in hell, so please don’t resent me too much. After all, the living must go on.”
Killed? Whom? Who exactly did she just say she killed?
I barely managed to move my unresponsive lips.
But despite my efforts, no sound emerged.
I thrashed desperately, trying to move my body—but even that was futile.
My ruined body couldn’t even twitch a finger.
All that grew stronger was the pressure tightening around my throat.
This couldn’t be happening. Right before my eyes, the very person who murdered my daughter stood there, smiling so brightly. Why couldn’t I do anything?
The more I writhed in despair, the deeper Margaret’s smile became.
Seeing her face so clearly now, so close, I let out a silent scream.
“Thank you—for giving me this chance too.”
Margaret smiled.
It was the brightest smile I’d ever seen from her.
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.”
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