My entire body chilled.
The blood in my veins froze. The sound of my heartbeat echoed loudly near my ears. Johan, observing my startled reaction, opened his eyes narrowly.
“Why? Does my revenge seem too cruel to you?”
“A bit.”
My mouth felt parched.
But I did not avoid Johan’s gaze and stared at him silently. His red eyes seemed particularly cold and ominous today.
“I don’t quite understand why it has to be that extreme.”
“Well.”
Johan’s thumb brushed against my lips. The subtle sensation sent shivers down my spine.
“Everyone has their reasons. If you want to judge the severity of the crime, there’s no end to it. How many unavoidable things happen to each person?”
“…”
“If we consider all of that, can revenge be done?”
Johan whispered lazily with a languid voice. It was a gentle voice as if intoxicated by sleep, but the eerie nature ingrained in the voice couldn’t be hidden.
“So, in the first place, there’s no such thing as revenge being ‘that extreme.’ If you’ve decided to finish off your opponent properly, you have to move without distinguishing means and methods, aiming to achieve your goal.”
For some reason, those words felt like Johan was speaking to himself rather than to me.
It was the time when Johan, the black sheep who had staked his life in the hell of revenge, had nothing left.
“But, Johan.”
I grabbed Johan’s right hand that was touching my cheek.
“What if you were the one being revenged against by someone?”
“Me?”
“Of course, Johan, you must have finished it very thoroughly. Since I was merciful, there probably won’t be anyone daring to come at you for revenge.”
Indeed, Johan was very capable.
I still hadn’t figured out how much Johan knew about me, and what was impossible.
“But still, everything doesn’t always go according to your wishes in the world.”
According to the original, I should have died, swallowed by the revenge hell, yet I was still alive.
Moreover, by Johan’s side, carrying the name of an official wife, I was even living better than in the Libertin days.
‘Was I part of Johan’s plan?’
I couldn’t be sure of Johan’s feelings right now, but I had changed something.
“Even if you’re human, there might be things you don’t know. The blade you’ve swung may come to your neck.”
“Are you giving me a warning?”
“Rather than a warning, think of it as concern.”
Johan cautiously ran his fingers through my hair. It was a usually affectionate touch, but an inexplicable fear couldn’t be hidden.
“If you were to become the target of revenge, would your decision not change?”
Johan and my eyes met.
We remained silent, gazing at each other’s faces for a while.
Clunk, the carriage moved, and the tip of my foot touched lightly. Once again, a shiver ran down my shoulder.
Johan, with an expressionless face, smoothly lifted my lower lip.
“I won’t change my decision.”
It was a cold yet firm response.
“I always make the best decisions according to the situation. Even if I make the wrong choice, it’s still my decision. It can’t be helped.”
“I see.”
“But don’t worry. I’m not the type to make wrong choices. So, don’t be afraid. No matter what attack comes, I’ll protect you.”
What I fear is not something else.
“Don’t worry.”
It’s you.
“I’m so fortunate to have Johan as my husband.”
While it wasn’t unexpected, Johan’s answer made me feel like a piece of trust was falling into place. I deliberately wriggled my fingers that had become cold.
‘But it’s not something Johan can handle.’
It’s all about my feelings.
It’s a habit of unnecessarily thinking things are difficult, complicated, and tiring. I tried to bury my cold heart beneath the surface.
“Estelle, you also understand that Johan couldn’t help it back then.”
His words are not logically wrong. I know Johan’s past better than anyone. So, I can’t help but understand and empathize.
‘Johan doesn’t see me as a mere revenge target.’
Since coming to the Blancchat Duchy from Libertin, how comfortable has my position become? Moreover, unlike the original, Johan never posed a threat to my life.
Maybe he didn’t even realize he loved me.
‘I’m okay.’
After closing my eyes for a moment, I opened them again, feeling truly unaffected.
“But when Miryu’s wedding is over, we agreed to go on a date. What did Johan prepare?”
As I asked, holding his hand with both of mine, Johan smiled at me as if finding it adorable.
“Our honeymoon.”
Huh?
Crown Prince Carlos visited the Empress’s palace.
As always, the Empress was hiding in the deepest part of the palace. Carlos stood by the door and sneered at his mother.
“Mother, you’re still the same.”
“…Crown Prince.”
The Empress called her son gently.
“Now that you’re finally free from your mental breakdown, behave well according to Her Majesty’s will.”
“Yes, just as you wished, I received instructions from Father.”
Carlos sneered, showing a letter stamped with the Emperor’s seal.
“Where is the Ortega Prime Minister, whom Father cherished more than me? It seems he’s busy somewhere, leaving this useless son behind.”
“Her Majesty deeply cherishes the Crown Prince.”
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
