The Ex-Husband Demands Reunion (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
Philip calmly explained to the two of them what might happen in the future.
Marlboro’s eyes gleamed with solemn intensity.
In contrast, Laila looked cautious.
Laila, princess of the neighboring small kingdom of Perdes, was known to be delicate, yet famed for her beauty and kindness.
The king had long ago marked her as Marlboro’s bride.
“A submissive queen would be best.”
Laila was deeply shocked to become a pawn in a political marriage due to external pressure.
It wasn’t because she couldn’t marry the one she loved.
Of course, she had anticipated that, as a princess, her marriage might turn out this way.
What shocked her was that, despite being born a princess, she wouldn’t marry a prince.
Unable to refuse, Laila entered the mansion in tears and was raised alongside Marlboro.
Though it pained Philip to see Laila so disheartened, as if her life were over, all he could do—bound by a gag order—was silently watch and wait.
Instead of teaching her etiquette or ideology, he simply waited.
For her to open her heart to Marlboro.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the two began a tender romance.
Only then did Philip finally feel at ease.
After all, they had become soulmates who could rely on each other along the king’s potentially treacherous path.
But after hearing Philip’s entire story, Marlboro’s expression darkened.
“Why is that?”
“I’m worried Laila might be in danger.”
Marlboro knew he was destined to inherit the throne.
He had studied extensively to prepare for his future reign, yet now that the time was approaching, he found himself reluctant to be thrown into the storm of politics.
After all, the fact that his real father—the king—had gone so far as to hide his existence by making him Philip’s adopted son meant the royal court was extremely dangerous.
If possible, Marlboro simply wanted to inherit the earldom and manage the territory together with Laila.
But he couldn’t bring himself to say that aloud. He knew well the efforts Philip had made thus far to uphold the king’s command.
“Sharp-eyed people always exist—your safety will soon become uncertain. From now on, I intend to assign you proper escorts.”
Philip leaned back against the sofa. Then Ellen came to mind again.
“How has Ellen been treating you two lately?”
“Mother?”
Marlboro asked in surprise, briefly meeting Laila’s eyes.
“We saw her at the tea party after meeting together to present our honeymoon gift.”
Laila, hesitating, lowered her head deeply.
“Father, I’m sorry I couldn’t choose my friends more carefully.”
Philip gave a bitter smile.
“That’s hardly your fault—it was your mother who blocked visits from noble young ladies in the first place.”
“I’ve also caused worry for Mother.”
Worry? Nonsense. She’d merely seized a convenient excuse to unleash the cruelty she’d been itching to inflict.
Philip swallowed his words silently.
Ellen was still Laila’s mother-in-law.
If Philip hadn’t rushed straight to the tea party upon hearing the maid’s report, they might all have been whipped.
But then Marlboro’s next words made Philip doubt his own ears.
“I haven’t seen her even once since meeting her right after returning from our honeymoon.”
“Ellen… not go? Impossible.”
Ellen was the type who visited the children nearly every day, always finding some pretext to stir up trouble.
Only then did Marlboro himself seem to realize something odd.
“I truly haven’t seen her. I didn’t pay it much mind before, but now that I think about it—yes, that’s right.”
It was strange. If Ellen were the woman he knew, this simply couldn’t happen.
“Didn’t she say ‘Welcome to Seworld’ back then? So that meaning…”
Philip trailed off.
Given Ellen’s character, that “Welcome to Seworld” must have been a warning.
“Now that Father has made his decision…”
Decision… He meant Philip’s divorce.
Marlboro, fingers interlaced, nodded.
His demeanor suggested he was about to honestly share how he’d interpreted “Welcome to Seworld,” and Philip tensed unconsciously.
But Marlboro fell silent—contrary to the earlier impression that he would confess everything.
‘Of course. He wouldn’t speak so easily, not even this time.’
Philip sighed inwardly.
Marlboro had always endured Ellen’s torment alone. He’d never once volunteered a word about her.
No matter how much Ellen tormented him, she was still his stepmother and Philip’s wife.
Yet Philip knew everything. Even without Marlboro speaking directly, there were many indirect ways for news of Ellen’s misdeeds to reach Philip’s ears.
“You’ve suffered greatly enduring Ellen’s behavior all this time. Now you may speak freely.”
At Philip’s reassuring words, Marlboro took a deep breath.
‘I believed she’d hate me until the day I died… Yet that mother shouted “Welcome to Seworld”?’
He understood the phrase’s literal meaning, but the moment he’d heard Ellen’s cry, countless thoughts had flooded his mind.
It would be a lie to say he hadn’t been surprised.
Still, speaking openly about Ellen in front of Philip remained burdensome, so Marlboro only voiced the simplest interpretation he’d accepted.
“It sounded like a warning to prepare myself for life in the mansion.”
Philip nodded once, agreeing with Marlboro. Anyone would understand it that way.
“Thus, Laila, as the new daughter-in-law, must have suffered even more.”
Laila, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, flinched in surprise.
“…Yes?”
“There’s no need to hide what Ellen did after your honeymoon. At the tea party, you actually shielded Ellen, didn’t you?”
Laila, hands folded demurely, cautiously averted her eyes. Seeing this, Philip sighed inwardly.
How much must she have endured from Ellen to act like this?
“But you don’t need to hide it anymore. I’d like you to tell me everything now.”
Philip steeled himself.
“Soon your official statuses will change. I’ll clearly correct what’s wrong and ensure no one dares defy authority.”
At Philip’s firm declaration, Laila quietly inhaled and exhaled.
“To me, it also sounded like a warning to prepare for life in the mansion—now that our household registry is clear.”
Philip thought Laila was about to fully expose Ellen’s misdeeds.
Feeling sweat bead on his palms, he subtly wiped his hands on his trousers, careful not to let the two notice.
“But Mother hasn’t come by.”
“…?”
At Laila’s next words, Philip held his breath. Had he heard wrong? He even doubted his own ears.
“…What?”
“She never visited. Not even once.”
“…?”
He couldn’t believe it.
Ellen, who couldn’t go a day without tormenting the children, would never behave this way.
Philip asked about another likely scenario.
“Then, did she send someone to inquire after your well-being?”
He bit back the words that almost slipped out: “Say, around 3:30 a.m.?”
“No. She didn’t do that either. Thanks to Mother’s consideration, I could rest comfortably and recover from my fatigue.”
Philip felt bewildered.
It was ironic that the child who should dislike Ellen the most had received her consideration.
Laila covered her peach-blossom-pink cheeks with her hands.
“Mother has changed since our marriage. Perhaps she acted that way before because I was too timid and she wanted to toughen me up.”
‘Nonsense. What kind of “toughening up” would that be?’
Recalling that he’d once heard Laila had grown up innocently in her homeland—singing with nature and dancing with gathered animals—Philip found her conclusion absurd.
‘Could Laila’s optimism simply be excessive?’
Yet, considering possible future dangers, perhaps this attitude was actually better.
“Well… That’s good, then. Marlboro, what about you?”
Marlboro’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“To be honest… I’d braced myself too, but somehow Mother seems to have changed. Aside from Laila’s tea party, truly nothing else happened.”
Philip, already bewildered, was now utterly dumbfounded by the reply.
“…I see. That’s fortunate.”
He cleared his throat awkwardly and finished with the most suitable words he could muster.
‘Still, I can’t let my guard down.’
Philip resolved to observe his surroundings vigilantly.
Perhaps all of Ellen’s actions were merely a show.
‘Could she be preparing for revenge, resentful over the divorce?’
It was a plausible theory. Given Ellen’s past behavior, it was entirely possible.
Yet something felt off. Merely doubting her made him feel he’d already made a mistake, weighing heavily on his heart.
Earlier that day, while inspecting his territory, he’d received a report of armed men entering an alley—and the vivid memory of Ellen’s righteous actions then resurfaced clearly.
Though extremely malicious, she had always cherished and protected herself above all.
‘Even if the daytime incident were a highly orchestrated scheme, she’d never stage such a dangerous show…’
Though lying low now, Philip had once commanded battlefields and swiftly secured victories.
He had a keen eye for distinguishing real close combat from fakery—and the fight he’d observed that day with hawk-like focus had been genuine.
‘The mistress’s display of skill for Domingo wasn’t a show.’
The more he thought, the more Philip’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
‘Why on earth has this woman changed?’
At the same time, Philip found himself hoping Ellen’s change was genuine.
If so, could he perhaps cancel the divorce?
“Father, Mother seems to have changed. Could ‘Welcome to Seworld’ be taken literally?”
“You think she’s changed?”
Philip couldn’t bring himself to add “you too.”
Laila’s eyes shone with innocent brightness as she continued.
“It was the same when we recently gave her a gift. And she’s apparently stopped asking the maids that morning question every day.”
Philip and Marlboro recalled Ellen’s daily routine.
Before breakfast, she would haughtily ask every maid she met, “Who am I?”
Though the maids privately thought Laila the most beautiful in the mansion, they always answered Ellen’s question with, “You are the most beautiful Ellen Morris, Countess!”
They had to include “the most beautiful in the world.” Otherwise, the maids would often be slapped or shoved by Ellen.
Yet now she’d stopped doing even that.
“And Father, you might not believe me, but back then—it was real.”
“What do you mean?”
“At the tea party, Mother was furious with those friends who kept making spiteful remarks. It truly felt like she cared for me.”
Laila, fingers interlaced, shyly blushed.
“I’d felt stifled, thinking I’d never see those friends again—but after sleeping on it, I actually felt relieved. It was as if a heavy weight had lifted from my chest, and now I’m grateful to Mother.”
Listening to Laila’s account, Marlboro turned to Philip.
“Then… has Mother truly changed?”
If Laila said poison wouldn’t kill her, Marlboro would believe it.
This time too, he seemed greatly swayed by Laila’s perspective.
“Perhaps so…”
Philip trailed off, slowly stroking his chin.
‘But why? What could have caused it?’
As Philip speculated about what might have prompted her change, divorce came to mind. Simultaneously, Marlboro offered his own opinion.
“If Mother truly has changed, she might be trying to win back your heart during this reflection period.”
Since it was obvious she’d soon no longer be mistress of this house, perhaps she’d adjusted her conduct accordingly?
Philip thought this sounded quite plausible and nodded once.
Then Marlboro asked cautiously,
“Father, is there any chance you might revoke the divorce during the reflection period?”
“Revoke it?”
Marlboro’s face reddened.
“It’s because of me that things came to this…”
“…”
“No matter what choice you make, I want you to know you’ll always be my father.”
Philip understood the gratitude and affection Marlboro was expressing—and simultaneously felt a dull ache behind his eyes.
Gently pressing his eyes with thumb and forefinger, Philip swallowed a sigh.
“My divorce isn’t because of you two. This wedding was merely the catalyst.”
After all, noble marriages were often alliances between families or tools of politics and diplomacy. It was fortunate if both parties liked each other, but even if not, feelings rarely mattered.
All that was required was fulfilling the roles of husband and wife in public.
Certainly, Philip had felt fondness for Ellen when he first met her.
He’d intended to love his wife. Ellen, who’d been drawn to Philip, had longed for his love in return.
Yet it was impossible for anyone to believe a wicked woman and the righteous Philip could fall in love.
No matter how beautiful she was, Philip had found too much malice in Ellen.
‘But for Marlboro to worry like this…’
Philip reconsidered the possibility of revoking the divorce and mending things with Ellen.
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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Chapter Comments (3)
Inline Comments (27)
A gust of wind rustled black hair. And a pair of very startled purple eyes met m
A gust of wind rustled black hair. And a pair of very startled purple eyes met mine directly.
But Philip wasn’t foolish enough to believe that lie.
Unfortunately, Philip is foolish enough to believe that the truth is a lie.
Philip’s fists had already struck Alexandre’s face and abdomen in rapid successi
Ha! Instead of covering up Eileen’s actions, Philip added firewood to the fire. But the prince really deserves to be beaten. ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ – ˵ ) ✧
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This is a repeat of an earlier chapter, not actually chapter 91 – please fix
This is a repeated chapter.
Repeat chapter