The Ex-Husband Demands Reunion (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
I glanced around briefly.
Above everyone’s heads, frozen like stone, question marks seemed to hover.
Among them, Philip and Marlboro’s expressions were quite something to see.
Laila, clinging to me, trembled like a rabbit caught by a lion.
‘Oh dear, this is serious. But if I refresh my image today and handle things well, it should be fine, right?’
Hoping so, I tried to recall what incidents lay ahead between Laila and me.
Ellen’s antics afterward went as follows:
That very night—meaning around 3 a.m. tomorrow—she would overturn the bedroom of the newlywed couple, claiming she’d seen a thief while they were still wide awake.
‘Hmm, I suppose I just need to do nothing about that…’
Then, the day after tomorrow, Laila would host a garden tea party, inviting friends of various social standings.
Of course, Ellen would cause an outrageous scene there, but I would act differently.
‘Alright, Laila. Rest easy tonight, and I’ll see you at the tea party.’
I patted her shoulder lightly, trying my best to offer a kind smile. At the same time, I caught sight of goosebumps rising on Laila’s neck, which drew a bitter smile from me.
‘At least she’s not scared to the point of fainting, right?’
I gracefully returned to Philip’s side and gave a slight nod toward Marlboro, who stood stiff as stone.
“Marlboro, now that you’re here, you should greet us properly.”
He looked dazed but bowed respectfully to us.
“I’ve returned, Father, Mother.”
Then Laila, grasping the hem of her dress, curtsied gently like a butterfly alighting.
“I’ve returned, Father, Mother.”
But Philip’s expression was blank—my unexpected behavior must have shocked him quite a bit. I nudged his side with my elbow.
“Ahem! Come in, come in.”
Only then did Philip cheerfully take his stepson’s hand and pat his back.
“Let’s go inside first. I’ve prepared some fine black tea and pie in the drawing room.”
True to Philip’s word, freshly baked apple pie and black tea awaited us in the drawing room, where a white rug lay on the floor.
A maid carefully poured black tea into our cups. The tea’s fragrant aroma spread through the room along with its warm steam.
After catching their breath with a cup of tea, the young couple soon summoned the head butler, Domingo.
Domingo, his thick white hair neatly combed back, wheeled in a moving wagon stacked neatly with gifts.
He was an elderly butler nearing retirement in about a year. His son was expected to inherit the vacant head butler position after him.
Domingo, ever loyal to the earl’s household, was the only servant in the mansion unafraid of Ellen—and even gently accepted her outbursts.
Sadly, however, he wouldn’t survive until retirement. He ultimately died after suffering three accidents.
The first occurred when he went to buy camellia oil for his hair and was badly beaten by a thief wearing a blue mask.
Because of this, Domingo broke his leg and spent three months in the hospital.
The second accident happened just a few days after his discharge.
On the day Laila went to meet the messenger delivering her letter to the Ferdeth Kingdom, Domingo, accompanying her, was trampled by an agitated horse right in front of an inn.
In that instant, he managed to push Laila out of the way—but broke both his ankles and was bedridden once again.
The third incident took place after the king’s passing.
A high minister arrived to officially announce the late king’s successor, and shortly afterward, a brief skirmish broke out in the palace gardens.
That was Domingo’s end. He was caught in the conflict and died.
At the time, Ellen scoffed, saying the meddlesome old man had died well. That same day, she drank heavily and… with Sir Mild…
“Oh dear.”
Since it involved side characters and extras, the details weren’t clearly described, but given the context, something of that sort likely happened.
Seeing me startled just by looking at him, Domingo couldn’t hide his fluster and gave a couple of small, awkward coughs.
“Why are you like this, Madam?”
His gentle voice moved me.
‘It might seem odd if I mention the future, but…’
I had no choice. Even if I didn’t know how things would ultimately turn out, it was only natural to help him avoid danger as much as possible.
“Domingo, be careful on the day you go to buy camellia oil.”
“…Yes?”
“You’ll run into a thief wearing a blue mask. Either send an errand boy to order the camellia oil, or bring a guard with you.”
Domingo looked somewhat surprised.
“Also, when you go with Laila to meet the Ferdeth Kingdom’s messenger, be careful near the inn.”
“Yes?”
Domingo’s eyes widened.
“If an agitated horse charges and hits you, both your ankles will break. Please be careful.”
He rolled his eyes left and right, bewildered, then gave a gentle smile.
“I’ll keep it in mind. Thank you.”
He clearly didn’t believe me and seemed to reply only out of politeness. But if my words proved true, he might pay closer attention—so I continued.
“So, when exactly are you planning to buy the camellia oil?”
Domingo answered readily.
“I’m scheduled to pick up my reserved order at Madame Hade’s boutique in three days.”
“Reserved?”
“Isn’t Renoir Trading Company’s camellia oil from Bourbon Kingdom considered the finest? Their new product arrives first at Madame Hade’s boutique.”
Camellia oil was just oil, after all—but apparently, there was a preferred brand.
Since tastes should be respected, I simply nodded. Then it struck me that the company’s name sounded familiar.
“What’s Renoir Trading Company?”
“Yes?”
“My maiden name is the same as that trading company’s name.”
Domingo looked extremely flustered at my remark. His expression, similar yet subtly different, was rather amusing to watch.
Before the flustered Domingo could stammer a reply, Philip spoke up.
“My lady, why do you speak so strangely of the trading company owned by your brother?”
“…?”
I considered trying to recall something, but quickly gave up.
After all, I was certain I’d never read about this in the novel.
But I didn’t know how to continue the conversation.
‘Hmm… being a villainess is fine, but I don’t want to become a madwoman…’
Worried, I lowered my eyes briefly and took a sip of tea. Philip clicked his tongue.
“You said you disliked your brother—did you really plan to pretend you didn’t even know him?”
‘That’s it!’
Taking a hint from his words, I lifted my chin proudly.
“Did I have a brother?”
At my response, Philip massaged his slightly furrowed brow with his fingers.
“If you dislike him that much, we’ll just pretend he doesn’t exist. Hoo… That’s not what matters right now, anyway.”
Philip changed the subject.
‘Good.’
From now on, if unfamiliar information came up, it’d be best to stay quiet.
If it were truly important, the other person would react first.
‘Except, of course, when someone’s safety is at risk.’
Philip’s gaze turned toward the gifts stacked on the moving wagon.
What mattered now was opening the honeymoon souvenirs. Domingo began unwrapping the gifts one by one for us.
They were mementos bought from various travel destinations—perfume, fans, quill pens, and so on.
Since Philip examined the gifts without much reaction, I stayed quiet as well.
But every time Domingo revealed a gift to us, Laila kept glancing furtively in my direction.
She was watching my reaction carefully.
I knew from the novel. Laila had worked hard to choose Ellen’s gift during their honeymoon, hoping her feelings would get through and soften her mother-in-law even a little.
It was the typical image of a naive heroine.
‘Trying to move the heart of a villainess who, by the author’s design, never changes…’
Of course, Ellen would later complain the gift was cheap and scold Laila for having poor taste despite being a princess.
But I hadn’t forgotten my goal: to improve relations with them and survive.
‘She’s giving me such an opening—I absolutely must give an appropriate reaction!’
I felt secretly satisfied, thinking my plan was perfect.
But the moment one corner of my mouth lifted involuntarily, Laila’s shoulders twitched slightly.
Judging by her expression, she must have mistaken my smile for mockery of the gift.
‘What should I do? Should I gush over every gift as “so pretty!”?’
Just then, two gift boxes tied with red satin ribbons were placed on the table. Clearly, extra care had been taken with them.
‘Ah, yes. This is it.’
I recognized this gift. It was the one Laila had put special effort into during their honeymoon.
Laila believed Ellen tormented her because of stress stemming from Philip’s strained relationship with her.
So, hoping for harmony between the couple, she’d chosen matching dark gray robes.
But when Ellen received them, she only grew furious.
‘What? A good relationship? Because of your marriage, I ended up like this! How shamelessly bold of you!’
Naturally, Philip’s decision to divorce was due to Ellen tearing up the wedding dress.
And though Philip had been ready to overlook the thoughtful gift meant to foster goodwill between in-laws, Ellen’s behavior prompted him to make a major announcement:
“Thank you for the gift, but we finalized our divorce while you were away on your trip.”
Laila smiled shyly.
“There were so many wonderful things at our honeymoon destination… I hope you both like them.”
‘Alright, this won’t be hard.’
I decided how to react to the gift.
I considered overacting, but that would break character—so I held back.
‘It’s unrealistic to expect their relationship to improve, but I should at least thank her for putting effort into choosing the gift… That should be ideal.’
At Philip’s signal, butler Domingo reached for the ribbon on the gift.
“Wait.”
I stopped the butler from touching my gift.
“I’ll unwrap my own gift.”
I needed to open it myself and give an appropriate reaction—only then would my appreciation be properly conveyed.
“Here you are, Madam.”
I unwrapped the gift. The ribbon came loose so smoothly—it felt wonderful.
When I lifted the box lid, an elegant dark gray hue peeked through the thin white tissue paper lightly covering it.
Indeed, it was a robe.
“Oh? Good heavens!”
The moment I pulled out and unfolded the robe, all the pretense I’d prepared vanished.
The color grew more attractive the longer I looked at it, and the fabric—silk, perhaps—was smooth, soft, fluffy, and light.
It looked so lovely that I was eager to see how it fit. I quickly stood and draped it over my shoulders.
“Huh!”
I heard Philip’s sharp intake of breath—sounded like he’d choked slightly on his tea.
Not worth worrying about, so I finished tying the robe’s sash and stood before the mirror.
Just as expected, the fit was excellent.
“Oh my! It’s absolutely beautiful!”
I didn’t need to deliberate over my reaction—the gift pleased me so much that an honest exclamation slipped out naturally.
“Pwoop! Cough! Cough!”
“Hmph! Gulk!”
Philip and Marlboro kept coughing, as if they’d swallowed their tea wrong.
‘Why are they choking so easily?’
Their faces were flushed red—they must be struggling quite a bit.
“Master, Young Master, are you alright?”
Flustered, Domingo hurriedly handed napkins to both of them.
“Are you okay?”
Laila, about to pat Marlboro’s back, glanced at me and quickly switched to formal speech.
“I mean… are you alright?”
I understood. Ellen had previously criticized her for using such informal language with the man who would soon be her husband.
Anyway, since both Domingo and Laila were taking good care of them, there was no need for me to step in and ask if they were alright.
I took off the robe, folded it neatly back into the box, and looked at Laila.
Our heroine truly had excellent taste—and was far too kind.
While reading the novel, I’d cursed Ellen endlessly—but here was the girl actually suffering, yet still thinking to buy such a lovely gift for her mother-in-law…
Truly, she had the demeanor and grace befitting a protagonist.
‘No wonder Ellen was cast as the villain!’
How could anyone stay angry at such an angelic heroine at this moment?
Anyway, it’s alright now, Laila.
You’re completely blameless—and your mother-in-law isn’t the original Ellen, but me, who’s possessed her.
It was time to say thank you, so I cleared my throat softly and spoke.
“Oh, you really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble…”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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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