The Plan of the Terminally-Ill Wife's Divorce (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
During the month Darius spent in the south for marriage negotiations, all affairs of the Grand Duchy had come to a halt.
Perhaps because of that, when I entered the main chamber to receive petitions from the villagers, I saw mountains of documents piled beside the large chair.
‘Wow, look at the height of those petitions. But I won’t be handling them anyway.’
“Lady Ygritte seems like a kind person. She shouldn’t have to serve me personally—she could leave such tasks to a maid.”
“Lady Ygritte is a distant aunt by marriage. She married into our family, but her husband passed away early, leaving her alone.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Darius was now reviewing the first petition of the day—a request from the blacksmiths’ guild for permission to expand their workshop.
“Even if we’re poor, surely we can afford to build a blacksmith’s shop, right?”
“We have enough money to survive this winter.”
No, my dear male lead. Lady Ygritte took all the castle’s funds and ran off with them.
All the grain and cotton I brought as dowry became useless because she stole every last coin!
That was precisely why I distrusted Lady Ygritte. When Darius had just become Grand Duke and was still naive, she seized the ducal treasury and vanished.
Because of this, Darius—now penniless—had to lead his own knights into battles in other territories just to earn money, all to uphold the dignity of his title. He practically became a mercenary.
“Have you ever considered that, had you not been born a Grand Duke, you might have become a wandering mercenary and lived freely?”
“Among many professions—knight, merchant, scholar—why specifically a mercenary?”
“Well… it just came to mind.”
In the original story, you excelled so much as a mercenary that whenever Darius joined a war, victory was guaranteed. That says it all.
“It’s true that northern mercenaries are famous. But I have no intention of profiting off the lives of my precious villagers. Nor am I so short on funds that I’d need to.”
Darius spoke firmly. He must have interpreted my earlier question as a suggestion to revive the territory through mercenary work.
“Indeed.”
He genuinely didn’t wish to profit off his villagers’ lives—not when their situation wasn’t dire.
Yet, in the original novel, “The Abandoned Saintess Goes to the Northern Grand Duke,” the male lead suffered immensely.
Just as things improved slightly, famines, plagues, and demon beasts would strike the north. Other regions ignored the north entirely and never offered aid.
Despite this, the northerners—who should have rebelled against such neglect—were steadfastly protected by Darius.
Finally, with the arrival of the saintess heroine, the north began to prosper, and together they defeated the Demon King—that was the original plot.
It was fortunate the story was told from the heroine’s perspective; otherwise, Darius’s life would have been pure frustration.
‘Betrayed even by trusted relatives, Darius grew even more somber.’
Thus, when he first met the heroine—who’d been cast out by the temple—he struggled to trust her.
Lady Ygritte’s name never appeared in the original story, so I hadn’t noticed her at first either.
‘After the previous Grand Duke died and Darius was just settling into power, it must have been easy for her to siphon funds. But Darius won’t rely solely on Lady Ygritte forever, so she’s likely decided to withdraw now.’
Taking all the wealth she’d accumulated with her.
I recalled Lady Ygritte, who, with a gentle smile, constantly tried to outmaneuver me in subtle power struggles.
Had Anette not arrived in person—as she originally wouldn’t have—Lady Ygritte could have continued exploiting the situation longer.
‘But, coincidentally, I’m here now—the true mistress who can audit the ledgers.’
Lost in thought, I sat quietly in the grand duchess’s imposing chair. The thrones for the Grand Duke and Duchess resembled the large golden chairs often seen in games and films.
‘Maybe because the chair is so big, Darius keeps slouching.’
“Your armrest is right here, Your Grace.”
Smiling so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed, I gently adjusted his arm—he’d absentmindedly reached toward me.
My fingertips brushed against his outstretched hand.
“Anette, yours is right here.”
He was in no position to talk. On these two adjacent armrests, our hands kept colliding.
Sighing, I gave up on the armrest and folded my hands neatly in my lap. Go ahead, take the whole thing—it’s just an armrest.
[This is the timeline separator]Gnome Gilbert was a blacksmith who’d worked for over fifteen years at the largest forge in the north. He also served on the executive board of the Northern Blacksmiths’ Guild.
“…So we’re requesting Your Lordship’s permission to undertake a full-scale renovation.”
Though Gilbert usually haggled well with townsfolk, his tongue kept twisting awkwardly before the exalted Grand Duke—after all, this was nobility, the very ruler of the north.
‘This isn’t even my job. Why am I here, way out of my depth?’
Gilbert silently cursed the guildmaster who’d dumped this meeting on him.
He did his best to explain the north’s iron ore production and consumption rates, unaware that the Grand Duke and Duchess’s expressions were growing increasingly displeased as his explanation grew more technical.
“Hold on—let’s say building a blacksmith’s shop has ten levels. Where would you place our territory’s current blacksmiths on that scale?”
“Huh?”
Facing the raven-black Grand Duke alone already made his heart race, and now the girl beside him suddenly questioned him.
Wasn’t she the new mistress they’d mentioned?
“If we consider the ideal blacksmith’s shop—one capable of working legendary ores like Orharicon—as level ten, where does the current state of northern forges stand?”
“By that standard… we’re probably at level three, maybe four. With this expansion, we could reach level four.”
“What? Only that much?”
The girl frowned, and Gilbert’s heart sank. He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he felt guilty somehow.
“How much would the expansion cost?”
“We’ve budgeted roughly twenty carts of materials, ten carts of iron, and about 1,000 gold coins.”
This was already the bare minimum estimate. Though the guild would also contribute funds, such a massive project required essential support from the ducal house.
“Expanding the forge will increase employment and allow us to refine more iron—benefiting the north in every way.”
Sweating profusely, Gilbert passionately argued that expanding the forge was vital for regional economic growth—and silently thanked Anette for her timely intervention.
‘Thank goodness the Duchess asked me to explain using the ten-level scale. Otherwise, I’d have droned on about sewage treatment for expanded forges, and the nobles would’ve lost interest entirely.’
Level three out of ten—how refreshingly clear.
“Your Grace, seeing the forge expansion as today’s first agenda item suggests your retainers consider this matter important.”
Darius nodded at Anette’s words, seemingly agreeing with the necessity of expansion.
“Therefore, I propose approving this expansion—and adding further expansion on top of it.”
“Further expansion?”
Gilbert’s eyes widened at Anette’s unexpected suggestion.
‘I thought merely getting approval would be a miracle!’
A project even larger than this—was this a dream or reality? Predictably, the Grand Duke, who’d been listening quietly, stepped in.
“After hearing the explanation, I agree this project is essential. But proposing additional construction they didn’t even suggest—what’s this sudden idea, Anette?”
“No. At this pace, it’s too slow—far too slow.”
Anette turned back to Gilbert.
“If our northern forges are around level three, what level are forges in other cities?”
“Other cities… say, the finest in the capital—might be around levels five or six.”
“And the average elsewhere?”
“About level four.”
“So every other region possesses forges superior to ours, which you’ve rated at merely level three. We’re falling far behind.”
Anette sighed regretfully.
If the nation’s best forges operated at level six, the north’s average was only half that.
As she spoke, even Darius—and certainly Gilbert—began to grasp the gravity of the situation.
“What sets our north apart is our troops and logistics. If the north, famed for its military strength, must import weapons from elsewhere, wouldn’t that be shameful?”
Though the north had never imported weapons en masse in its history, upon hearing Anette’s words, Gilbert found himself nodding as if spellbound.
“Exactly! Grant us the expansion, and we’ll repay you with results.”
Thus, the forge expansion was approved at a scale far beyond initial expectations—thanks to Anette’s counsel.
[This is the timeline separator]‘This is strange. At this stage, such a low level really shouldn’t be possible.’
In the original story, the north was portrayed as barren, frozen land hiding treasures beneath—a place where soldiers were sturdy and northern weapons were famed for abundant iron deposits, despite demon beasts roaming the area.
‘Yet now they’re far behind even the capital’s top forges?’
I’d asked about refining the mythical Orharicon because, in the original’s finale, the protagonist’s sword was forged from it.
Before the final battle, the hero’s party specifically came to this northern forge—not elsewhere—to repair their weapons before setting out to slay the Demon King.
‘At the grandly named “Forge at the End of the World,” no less.’
But mythical Orharicon? Right now, the north was begging just to increase basic iron production.
With facilities like this, how could they possibly supply troops during the final war when the Demon King descends with her monsters? That’s why I pushed so hard for expansion.
‘Could there be other hidden problems I haven’t uncovered yet?’
If so, I’ll have to investigate.
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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MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (98)
Oh my God, I hate misunderstandings! Poor hero, you misunderstood Annette!
Poor hero, the north is so barren, and they even steal from them.
Hahaha, it’s great to see Annette teaching that rude Lucien a lesson! Well done, Annette! Make the North rich!
Inline Comments (2)
‘Remember the original story. Darius belongs to Evangeline Stockwork.’
Why does she insist that Darius would never like her? Isn’t she already defying the original work by changing the events?
‘In the original story, Anette was assassinated in the annex by Darius’s unknown
Who really could that be? If she was just the arranged wife and an enemy daughter at that, who could possibly plan on killing her?
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Miioo
What is this? A demon queen? Could Annette be the demon queen?