The Dark Lord Obsesses Over His Fake Wife (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
The air grew so still it felt heavy. I stiffened and stared at Johan.
‘Where did you hear it from?’
Johan’s red eyes fixed on me as if I were the only person in the world.
He strode toward me.
Betty naturally let go of my hand and stepped back. Johan took her place, perching on the edge of my bed.
“My lady, are you feeling well?”
“Yes. I slept deeply and woke up feeling much better.”
“Better, you say?”
A cold shadow fell over Johan’s eyes.
Whether from the shadow or from having stayed awake many nights worrying about me, his face now bore a weariness I hadn’t seen before.
Tiny imperfections in his otherwise immaculate appearance added a decadent air to his demeanor.
His gaze slowly dropped to my swollen wrist. I tried to speak up belatedly, but Johan was quicker.
“It’s still swollen.”
“This is just…”
“You also have a slight fever. My lady, how much pain must you endure before you consider it serious enough to mention?”
Johan pressed his fingers to my forehead and murmured in a cold, reproachful tone.
“It really is fine—that’s all. I can’t very well say it hurts when it doesn’t.”
“If you were truly fine, why didn’t you tell me instead of hiding it?”
His tone wasn’t drastically different from usual, yet somehow I felt as though Johan’s feelings had been hurt.
‘Is it because he found out the person he meant to take revenge on is ill?’
Thinking about it, I could understand why he’d be frustrated.
He’d carefully laid out plans for revenge, only to learn his target might die of illness instead. That would indeed feel hollow.
“That was my fault. I simply didn’t want to worry you over something that wasn’t serious.”
“Not serious, yet you could faint for an entire week? Has Imperial medicine grown so lenient?”
Still groggy from sleep and slightly more relaxed than usual, I turned to Henry and asked,
“I might have fully recovered within the week. Isn’t that right, Mr. Henry?”
Johan gave Henry a faint, knowing smile. Caught between two people and forced to choose a side, Henry began sweating profusely.
“That’s possible… but, my lady, in truth, it’s unlikely. Anyone else would have recovered quickly from such symptoms, yet you remained unconscious for a full week.”
Calling it unconsciousness made my condition sound truly grave. But to me, it still felt distant, like something happening in another world.
‘I’ve always fainted often anyway…’
Since I didn’t feel pain right now, it didn’t seem serious at all.
Johan lightly gripped Henry’s shoulder and asked, his low voice naturally pressing the other man.
“So, what caused my wife to collapse?”
“A-all I can say for now is that she was born with a frail constitution.”
“You kept me waiting a whole week just to tell me that?”
Johan’s demeanor hadn’t changed much, yet I couldn’t understand why he suddenly felt so intimidating. Worried Henry might get caught in the crossfire, I spoke up.
“The doctor is right. I’ve been frequently ill since childhood. Things like this have happened often.”
The corner of Johan’s mouth twisted slightly further.
“Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“There was no real need to. You never asked, and it’s not even a chronic condition.”
“…What about the Libertan ducal household?”
“To be precise, they did nothing at all.”
The Libertan ducal household was trash that abused me. Yet I didn’t blame them for every illness I’d ever had.
‘After all, I was often sick even back at the orphanage.’
Though it worsened after I went to the Libertans, that was probably due to stress.
“Illness isn’t something you can cure through effort alone. Even if doctors examine you, some things simply can’t be treated.”
The prime example of that was none other than their own daughter, Yestella.
‘Yestella died of an incurable disease.’
Unlike me, she was the true princess of the Libertan ducal house, beloved by everyone.
If Yestella hadn’t died, I never would have been adopted into the Libertan household or endured these hardships.
After all, aside from losing a daughter to an incurable illness, the Libertans had no reason to adopt an orphan girl.
‘Was the illness called Sleeping Princess?’
It was named so because, like a fairy-tale princess, the patient would fall into an eternal slumber. Despite its gentle name, however, it was a cruel disease—slowly destroying the body without the patient’s awareness until death finally came like sleep.
‘It would’ve been nice if it were just a long sleep.’
But it wasn’t.
The moment the patient fell asleep, all bodily functions ceased, and life ended right then and there.
‘Not that I have that illness or anything.’
Sleeping Princess was, after all, exceedingly rare. How heartbroken the Libertan household must have been when Yestella happened to contract such a rare disease.
Johan, who had silently listened to my words, now had his eyes darkening heavily.
“So you expect me to pretend I know nothing and not care at all?”
“I didn’t say that exactly.”
I tried to think of an answer Johan might accept.
“It’s just… not worth expending unnecessary emotion over.”
Johan’s smile seemed to fracture slightly.
“Why?”
Johan slowly leaned closer.
His handsome, languid face drew near as if to kiss me. Seeing his strong, masculine nose, I tensed unconsciously and gripped the blanket tightly.
“Why is it unnecessary?”
Strangely, he looked more pained than I did—despite my week-long unconsciousness. Flustered, I answered in a trembling voice.
“Well… because there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“…”
“If I wished it, could you cure me, Your Grace?”
“Yes. I’ll cure you.”
Johan looked at me with an oddly anxious gaze.
“I can grant you anything you want. So go ahead—say whatever’s on your mind.”
A wry thought suddenly struck me.
‘You won’t grant what I truly want anyway.’
So I asked Johan indirectly, recalling a promise he’d actually made before.
“May I visit my father and mother?”
The smile at the corner of Johan’s lips began to feel slightly frightening.
‘Did I go too far?’
Since I’d asked half on impulse, I was about to backtrack when he took my hand and said,
“Go ahead. Visit them.”
Johan showed me affection by personally feeding me porridge before leaving.
Yet his parting words just before he left kept echoing in my mind.
‘In return, since I’m worried about your health, my lady, you should think of a way to reassure me.’
I knew he wouldn’t let me go easily!
Just then, Betty returned from outside with a worried expression.
“My lady, the head maid has come to apologize to you.”
“The head maid?”
Suddenly, I remembered the first time I’d met Patricia.
‘I collapsed before I could even greet her properly.’
She probably disliked me already, and after that first meeting, she surely hated me even more. In that case, I needed to deal firmly with Patricia.
Patricia entered gracefully and bowed. With her expressionless face and meticulously arranged hair, she looked just as she had that first day.
“Good day, my lady. Are you feeling better?”
“I’m much better.”
Patricia nodded and slowly knelt.
“As you already know, this entire incident occurred because I neglected my duties in managing the household staff. I sincerely apologize. I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit.”
I was startled to see Patricia bowing her head like this.
‘She wasn’t like this before…’
Even in the original story, she did apologize—but never this humbly. After all, Patricia was noble-born by birth.
‘Did Johan order her to do this?’
I couldn’t tell if this was good or bad.
‘But this is a good opportunity.’
I stared blankly at Patricia before speaking calmly.
“You said you came to apologize to me?”
“Yes.”
Patricia slowly raised her head. I looked at her impassive face and spoke elegantly.
“Then I won’t accept Mrs. Gillite’s apology.”
“…Pardon?”
She seemed thoroughly surprised by my response. So I gave her a gentle smile.
“Because Mrs. Gillite still doesn’t understand what her true fault was.”
Patricia’s sea-green eyes wavered.
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Do you think your negligence was limited to this incident alone?”
Honestly, the original story barely explained Patricia’s circumstances. But I remembered the things she’d said while tormenting or confronting me.
‘Do you truly believe your actions are right, my lady? How can you fulfill your duties when you’ve won none of the servants’ hearts?’
‘If you don’t understand, then do nothing at all. That’s the only way to cause the least trouble for our master. Perhaps that should even be your duty.’
Especially that word “duty”—she’d thrown it at me every time she harassed me.
“I fully understand if you dislike me or don’t wish to be close to me. Everyone has their own stance. But you are the head maid of the Blanchet ducal household.”
“…That’s true.”
“Your fault isn’t that you failed to respect me—it’s that you failed to fulfill your duty as head maid.”
“…”
“Isn’t that precisely why this happened?”
Patricia bit her lip hard and lowered her head.
‘My words must have wounded her pride deeply.’
But I had no reason to care. Even if Johan had ordered her to act this way, Patricia was the one who carried it out.
‘Honestly, I can’t just dismiss someone who’s been Johan’s trusted aide.’
That would be far too risky—it would completely shatter the harmless image I’d carefully maintained before Johan.
‘It’s better to formally punish her and take over the mistress’s duties myself.’
“From now on, I’ll be handling all the duties of the Blanchet household’s mistress. Do you have any objections?”
“I have none, but…”
Patricia hesitated briefly before speaking.
“Our master has already instructed that all the mistress’s duties be transferred to you. Thus, everything has already been settled while you were unconscious.”
‘Johan said that?’
My clear mind grew tangled again.
‘What on earth is Johan thinking?’
I couldn’t fathom the emotions of this hidden mastermind. Could he have anticipated Patricia’s retreat and acted in advance to earn my trust?
“…I see.”
Reacting belatedly, I gathered my thoughts and addressed Patricia.
“Now, I’ll state your punishment. As head maid entrusted with the mistress’s duties, you failed to fulfill your responsibilities and disrupted the order of the Blanchet household, thereby causing trouble for His Grace.”
“…”
“Therefore, impose upon yourself a punishment befitting your crime.”
This way, I could ensure Patricia received an appropriate penalty without lifting a finger myself—and without being accused of excessive harshness.
‘What if she gives herself too lenient a punishment?’
That would be fine too. Now that I’d taken over the mistress’s duties, I could use that as grounds to dismiss her later.
Either way, I’d successfully blocked Patricia’s ability to harass me as she did in the original story.
“Thank you, my lady.”
Patricia’s eyes looked slightly dazed as she bowed her head.
“For disrupting the household’s discipline, I shall accept house arrest and a ten-year salary reduction.”
Then, as she looked at me, she raised her own hand and slapped her cheek hard.
Slap!
A single strike was enough to draw a thin trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth.
‘…She’s ruthless…’
Yet contrary to my expectation that she’d glare at me with fury, Patricia’s eyes strangely sparkled with vitality.
‘Why doesn’t she seem to hate me?’
But that was probably just my imagination.
After clashing so directly, there was no way she didn’t hate me. Even close relationships could turn to hatred under such circumstances.
Patricia slowly left the lady’s chamber.
‘To think someone so perfect existed…’
Patricia had originally dismissed Estelle. Not only was she a daughter of the Libertans—someone she felt justified in despising—but she’d also firmly believed that no matter what Estelle did, she’d never surpass her.
Thus, Johan’s decision to take the mistress’s duties away from her had made even less sense.
‘But the fool was you, Patricia.’
Closing her eyes tightly, Patricia recalled Estelle’s calm, composed words.
‘Your fault isn’t that you failed to respect me—it’s that you failed to fulfill your duty as head maid.’
Estelle surely disliked her too—the head maid who’d been so rude as to not even greet her properly.
‘And yet…’
There was no trace of personal emotion in Estelle’s attitude. Instead, with remarkable detachment, she’d pinpointed the exact fault Patricia had carelessly overlooked.
‘Therefore, impose upon yourself a punishment befitting your crime.’
At that moment, Patricia found herself deeply shaken without even realizing it.
‘She could have cast me out.’
Usually, a head maid who lost such a power struggle would be expelled from the household—making it easier for the new mistress to assert control.
But Estelle had set aside her own convenience and resentment to give Patricia a chance to redeem herself.
‘This is consideration for me.’
Tears nearly welled in Patricia’s dry eyes.
‘Why show me such mercy…?’
Estelle had shown kindness even to someone like Patricia—who’d never even seen her face and had despised her.
‘From now on, I’ll be handling all the duties of the Blanchet household’s mistress. Do you have any objections?’
Even asking her that question—something she likely already knew from Master Johan—was the same.
‘She must have wanted to show respect for me, who’d handled the mistress’s duties until now.’
After all, Estelle had verbally acknowledged Patricia’s past role and even asked for her opinion. Given Master Johan’s prior decision, she could have punished Patricia without explanation—but she hadn’t.
‘She is… precisely the mistress I’ve always dreamed of.’
A person who upheld dignity and duty while showing appropriate mercy and guidance to those beneath her.
In that instant, Patricia forgot Estelle was a Libertan daughter and slapped her own cheek hard in obedience and repentance.
‘What should I do now?’
As Patricia prepared to carry out her house arrest, her heart grew complicated.
Estelle was both the Blanchet household’s target for revenge—and the very embodiment of the ideal mistress Patricia had longed for in her dreams.
‘I don’t think I can… hate her anymore.’
At the moment Estelle had looked down at her with such grace, Patricia had unknowingly already accepted her as the true Lady of the Blanchet household.
After Patricia left, I gazed out at the sky. It was already growing dark.
‘I slept so long, yet it’s already night.’
Though I wasn’t sleepy, the doctor’s advice came to mind—I must sleep at night to recover, even if I don’t feel tired.
‘I’ll read a book until I fall asleep.’
But tucked between the pages was a note.
Written in an elegant script that clearly belonged to a noble.
[My lady, stay awake and wait for me tonight. We must sleep together.]
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
MANGA DISCUSSION
7 Comments
Inline Comments (21)
Estelle was a greater villainess than even the Libertan ducal couple. Leandro al
Leandro sees himself as a chivalrous knight who will save even the wicked and bring them back to their senses. Arrogant.
‘She doesn’t understand what’s truly precious.’
What is valuable? An arrogant fiancé abandoned her.
All the composure he’d so skillfully maintained was utterly useless before such
Love works wonders. Johan is still unaware of his true feelings.
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agustus_orchid
There are many diseases in the world for which there is no cure.
I pray for healing for patients. 🙏🏻
agustus_orchid
Estelle, you have gained a new ally. Congratulations.
Walk along beautiful roads with a gentle breeze.
agustus_orchid
What do you want Estelle to say?
Would you feel better if Estelle said she felt bad and was sick?
agustus_orchid
Why would she wait for you and sacrifice her sleep even if she’s sleepy?
Who exactly are you?
agustus_orchid
Johan, why are you feeding oatmeal to Estelle?
it’s too personal an effort.