Wishing My Husband Dead (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
“I’ve tried every medicine I could think of, yet there’s absolutely no sign of improvement.”
“So?”
“I thought… if I learned healing magic myself and used it on Father, maybe he’d get a little better.”
“Hmm.”
“Mother passed away without even getting a chance to try anything. I… I just can’t lose Father too… h-hic… I can’t lose him as well…”
Any human with a heart would have teared up at such a sorrowful tale, yet Leonard remained completely indifferent.
“Wipe your tears and speak honestly—this pathetic act is disgusting.”
‘Heartless, tearless bastard!’
Cordelia realized that emotional appeals had absolutely no effect on this man.
It was probably best to drop the pitiful act of squeezing out tears in front of him.
She quickly wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes and straightened her back. By now, Cordelia’s expression had turned cold and composed.
“That’s right. To be honest, I just want to escape this loathsome reality.”
“What does that have to do with anything? If you’re just going to divorce me anyway, why bother learning magic? You’ll be returning to the Vasquez household after the divorce, won’t you?”
“I won’t be returning to the Vasquez household even after the divorce.”
“Why?”
She couldn’t say the truth—that it wasn’t that she didn’t want to return, but that she couldn’t; that her father had ordered her to die here, even if he himself passed away.
She didn’t want to give him any more leverage over her.
“Do you really think I’d want to go back to the family that sold me off?”
She spoke with an unintended sneer.
She couldn’t forget her father’s cold eyes when she last saw him on the day she left home.
His words—“Even your corpse won’t be accepted here”—had pierced her like thorns.
So she made a vow: never to return there again.
“I’ll be honest. Originally, I planned to find some excuse to get a divorce, claim alimony, and open a shop appraising magical items.”
“Magical items?”
Cordelia tapped her own eyes lightly as she explained.
“I can see mana. I’d check whether enchantments on magical items were properly cast or if curses had been placed on them. But if I could also cast a few simple supportive spells, that’d be even better.”
“Ha! So you want to become a magical appraiser?”
“Yes. I’m not asking for some incredibly powerful magic. Just teach me a few basic supportive spells—that’d be enough.”
She spoke earnestly and desperately. She had no desire to become a great mage anyway.
Yet somehow, her words seemed to strike Leonard differently. The corner of his mouth twisted into a mocking smirk.
“No.”
“Why not? Why can’t I?”
Cordelia protested vehemently. Leonard crossed his arms and scoffed.
“I absolutely will not allow my disciple to go around boasting about having learned just a couple of simple spells from me. And an appraiser? Are you joking? Leonard Atirai’s disciple, reduced to a mere appraiser? Even the stray dogs in the street would laugh.”
“I promise I won’t tell anyone I learned from you.”
“How am I supposed to trust you?”
“I’ll swear on my family’s name—”
“The Vasquez name is already ruined. Swearing on it is useless.”
“…”
His cutting words left Cordelia speechless.
She briefly considered threatening to run to Maximilian instead, but feared that would get her silenced—permanently.
So she forced her lips into a smile.
“Trust is something we build over time.”
“That’s your opinion.”
“But if you won’t even give me a chance, how can I build that trust? Don’t I at least deserve a minimal opportunity?”
“Not my problem.”
Their argument had dragged on longer than expected. By now, the sun had dipped halfway below the horizon, and evening hues spilled through the window.
Leonard continued to glare at her with eyes full of distrust. Cordelia decided it was time to retreat—for now.
After all, today wasn’t the only day.
“Oh my, it’s already this late. I’ll rest now. I’ll come again tomorrow.”
“Don’t come. You’re a nuisance.”
“By the way, I heard from the maids you left most of your meals untouched. Don’t they suit your taste?”
“What’s it to you?”
“Shall I change the chef?”
“Weren’t you just saying you’d leave?”
“How can you ignore a single word like that?”
“What?”
“I heard you. Good to see your ears still work. That’s a relief.”
Leonard stared at Cordelia as if she were utterly absurd. Without blinking, she rose from her seat with a gentle smile.
“I’ll really leave now. See you tomorrow.”
[This is the timeline separator]What a stubborn woman.
Only after the door closed and he confirmed she’d fully left did Leonard finally let his guard down. His whole body immediately began trembling violently, as if seized by convulsions.
This useless body was already completely drained just from casting a few simple spells.
His stomach churned, threatening to vomit, and his head throbbed as though nails were being driven into it.
Grimacing, he endured the pain silently.
“Cordelia Vasquez.”
From beginning to end, she was a woman full of suspicion.
She claimed to have figured out his identity as Leonard Atirai based on just a few clues—but it was utterly unbelievable.
“Is someone pulling her strings?”
Yet she seemed too clumsy and amateurish to have been sent by Maximilian.
Already overwhelmed by confusion, Leonard’s mind grew even more tangled with Cordelia’s sudden appearance.
“Damn it. Just using this measly bit of magic…”
His hands still wouldn’t stop shaking. The smooth, unblemished hands of this borrowed body felt alien compared to his own.
Amused by his own pitiful state, a self-mocking laugh slipped out.
All of this was that bastard’s fault.
“Maximilian.”
The hated name escaped his lips without thought. He clenched his fists and ground his teeth furiously.
Though his younger brother had occasionally irritated him, Leonard had never truly seen him as a rival.
More precisely, Maximilian had never been worthy of being considered one. Leonard Atirai’s only true rival had always been himself.
Others might call him arrogant, but Leonard had always believed this truth was simply natural.
“I’ll kill you for sure.”
His seething hatred even overpowered his pain.
He couldn’t forget the cold blade that had pierced his helpless abdomen when he’d been trapped in that scheme. Nor could he forget Maximilian’s ecstatic face, vivid in his memory.
Without the soul-transfer spell he’d cast in his final moments, survival would have been impossible.
“You’re probably laughing right now. Go ahead. Laugh as much as you like—until I rip you apart in the brightest place of all.”
He muttered darkly.
Outside the window, the sun finally sank below the horizon.
[This is the timeline separator]“How do I convince this man?”
She hadn’t expected to succeed right away, yet disappointment still lingered.
Though magic wasn’t strictly necessary for an appraiser, learning it would undoubtedly be a huge advantage.
There was a world of difference between an appraiser who could use magic and one who couldn’t.
Moreover, meeting a mage and learning magic might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance—one that could possibly change the course of her entire life.
Back in her room, Cordelia sat at her vanity and pondered for a long while.
She declined the meal offered by her maid, burying her head in her hands and groaning in frustration.
At least she’d confirmed one major thing: the man now inhabiting Craig’s body was truly Leonard Atirai.
“I have to find a way to learn magic from him.”
Everything was unfolding differently from what she’d anticipated.
Craig, who should have died, had returned to life—and inside the body of her supposedly simple-minded husband now resided the soul of a great archmage.
While others might see this as a hopeless situation, Cordelia found joy in every moment of it.
For the first time in a life of passive obedience, she finally had something she could decide for herself.
Just that thought sent tingles to her fingertips and made her blood boil.
‘I absolutely cannot miss this opportunity.’
Perhaps the star that guarded the Vasquez family had finally taken pity on her.
It felt as if she were receiving all her overdue birthday gifts in one go.
Cordelia drifted off to sleep wearing a truly happy smile—one she hadn’t worn in a very long time.
[This is the timeline separator]No one ever visited the chamber of the earl, now reduced to a simpleton—except his wife, Cordelia.
The servants all praised her virtue and devotion, though the truth was far from their assumptions.
“Good morning.”
“Aren’t you tired of this yet?”
“What’s tiresome about seeing my husband’s face?”
Cordelia smiled brightly and settled comfortably into the seat beside him, as she always did.
Ever since that day, she visited Leonard every single day, tending to him in every way except formally serving him.
“Hey. No matter how much you pester me, the answer won’t change. Learning magic isn’t like studying history from a tutor—anyone can’t just become a mage. If it were that easy, the country would be overflowing with them.”
“I didn’t even say anything yet.”
“Sigh.”
Leonard found her presence burdensome, exhausting, and irritating.
If this had been his own original body, he would have simply ignored her—but given the current circumstances, he couldn’t ignore her, nor could he easily drive her away.
Moreover, the fact that she knew his true identity made him deeply uneasy.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I haven’t eaten either. Let’s eat together. I changed the chef—hope you like it.”
“Your ears must selectively hear only what you want to hear. How convenient.”
Despite Leonard’s sarcasm, Cordelia remained steadfast. He couldn’t help but be amazed by her sheer audacity.
Just then, Emily wheeled in a food trolley. Cordelia transferred a dish onto a plate and scooped a spoonful of stew herself.
She even remembered to blow on it gently, worried it might be too hot.
“Just try one bite. The chef prepared this especially for you.”
She spoke with a kind, thoughtful smile.
“I told you I don’t want to eat—why do you keep bothering me?”
“Oh! Young Lady!”
Leonard snapped, swatting her hand away. The stew splashed from the spoon onto the back of Cordelia’s hand.
The maid, standing a short distance away, gasped and rushed over.
“Oh no! Are you alright?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Oh dear—it’s turning red.”
The maid wiped Cordelia’s hand while clicking her tongue in concern. Though she didn’t say it aloud, her eyes held quiet reproach toward Leonard.
“Give that to me and leave.”
“Yes, Young Lady. Call me if you need anything.”
Cordelia silently massaged her reddened hand.
Though the burn surely stung, she didn’t even glare at Leonard—instead, she smiled and cleared the dish away.
That bothered Leonard immensely.
“How are you feeling today?”
“You. Why do you keep acting in ways that annoy me?”
Her daily visits, always smiling cheerfully and striking up conversation, kept getting under his skin.
“Huh?”
“I’ve told you countless times not to come—it’s bothersome. How many times must I say it before you understand?”
“I just… feel comfortable here.”
“Since when have we spent enough time together for you to call it ‘comfortable’?”
“You’ve never called me a useless leech sucking your money dry.”
“…”
“And you don’t come home drunk to cause trouble, or bring a mistress here to flirt right in front of me.”
Leonard was left speechless by Cordelia’s calm, matter-of-fact words.
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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Fun chapter. The relationship between all of them is heartwarming.
Laughed out loud reading this, Lord Leonard is very jealous of the closeness of his own student and friend 😭
They are so cute together I can’t take it anymore <3 love the dynamic