Wishing My Husband Dead - Chapter 12
“Master, may I look at this?”
“Go ahead.”
Leonard nodded indifferently. Cordelia read the report carefully.
Surprisingly, it contained detailed accounts of misconduct committed by nobles affiliated with the Abrams, including Helena.
“Is all of this true?”
“If the Baron hasn’t gone senile, then it’s probably true.”
“I thought you made this up to bring down the Mistress.”
This was because Helena’s lovers, who were supposedly locked in the underground prison that day, were not in the castle.
When Helena found out about this later, she jumped up and down, claiming that Leonard had fabricated it to frame her, but it was already too late by then.
“She admitted with her own mouth that she had lovers, so that’s the end of it.”
“So is it true that she illegally sold tax collection rights to merchants, as written here?”
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s quite a spectacle.”
The report detailed how much Helena had pocketed by selling tax collection rights to merchants.
“If we show this, we could get a hefty alimony, couldn’t we?”
Cordelia said jokingly as she put the report down on the desk. Leonard glanced at her and casually remarked:
“If you want it, take it.”
“What? This? Really? Can I really have it?”
Her eyes sparkled as she asked again. Leonard waved his hand as if annoyed.
“I don’t care if you use it to blackmail them for alimony or whatever, just don’t drink wine with your head from now on.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“You’re already not very bright, what if the wine gets into your brain and breaks it completely?”
Leonard said mockingly. As Cordelia was about to retort, the Baron suddenly appeared out of nowhere and clicked his tongue.
“Oh my. Master, you could just say you’re worried.”
“Worried? I’m just embarrassed to call her my disciple in public.”
Leonard said, habitually tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair.
“Other kids start studying at the Magic Association from the age of five. If you want to catch up to them, you’ll need to work at least twice as hard as this.”
“What? How can I catch up to them? I just want to modestly assist…”
Her modest dream was to learn a few auxiliary spells and become a magic appraiser to make a decent living.
However, as soon as Cordelia mentioned auxiliary magic, Leonard frowned deeply.
“What? Auxiliary magic? Are you really thinking of becoming an appraiser or whatever?”
“Yes. What’s wrong with being a magic appraiser?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Absolutely not.”
“Why, why not…?”
The life plan she had carefully constructed was denied in an instant. Cordelia protested timidly, but as always, Leonard pretended not to hear.
“You’re my first disciple. At the very least, you should be able to run a star by the age of twenty-five.”
“Master, only five magicians in history have been able to run a star by the age of twenty-five. And Cordelia is already twenty this year.”
“Five years is plenty of time.”
Cordelia was no longer surprised by the Baron’s sudden appearances from cups or washbasins. She blinked and asked the Baron:
“I think I’ve asked before, but what does it mean to run a star?”
“It refers to when someone with very deep magical achievements establishes a school of magic under their name.”
“…Pardon? Establish a school? At twenty-five? Um, I just want to do auxiliary magic…”
“Baron, why are you being so negative when we haven’t even started yet?”
“The biggest problem is that we haven’t even started yet. Others might not be able to do it in a lifetime, how is it possible in five years?”
“Hmph. It’s only natural for my disciple. If you sleep only three hours a day and read five theses each day, it’ll be done in no time.”
An word that couldn’t be overlooked popped up in their conversation.
“Wait, Master? If you sleep only three hours a day, you’ll die. I don’t need to run a star or anything, I just want to do simple auxiliary…”
“Three hours? That’s not nearly enough. Even one hour of sleep would be too much.”
“Then sleep for one hour. You’re worrying about nothing. It’s only natural for my disciple.”
In an instant, Cordelia’s precious sleep time was reduced by 7 hours. She screamed internally.
Suddenly, the Baron disappeared. At the same time, a maid’s voice was heard from outside the door.
“Viscount Dylan has arrived.”
Before Leonard could give permission, Arnold Dylan strode in.
As soon as he saw Leonard, he approached with an exaggerated smile.
“Oh, Craig! How have you been?”
“Who?”
“It’s me. Your maternal uncle. Oh my, it seems your memory hasn’t fully returned yet.”
A strange light flickered in Arnold’s eyes. It was obvious what he was thinking.
Cordelia gave a light bow in greeting, but as usual, Arnold didn’t even glance at her.
“I suppose you’ve come to check how much of my memory has returned?”
“Haha. Of course not. I came to see my nephew’s face after a long time and to have a chat while I’m at it.”
“Then why didn’t you greet her?”
“Greet? I greeted you earlier.”
“If a viscount sees a countess, shouldn’t he greet her first? Isn’t that common sense?”
“…”
Arnold’s face turned red in an instant. However, he quickly composed himself and greeted Cordelia with a smile.
“Ah yes. Cordelia. Haha. It’s been a while.”
“Yes.”
It was the first greeting she had heard in the year she had lived in this house. Cordelia awkwardly received the greeting.
It was just ridiculous how he immediately changed his attitude after Leonard said one word, when he had never acknowledged her before.
Arnold lowered his voice and leaned towards Leonard.
“By the way, Craig. I have something urgent to discuss.”
“You seem to have already made up your mind to talk to me, so I can’t stop you. Go ahead.”
“Ha, haha. But your way of speaking has changed a bit. As I said, I’m your maternal uncle, Craig.”
“Well. I don’t recall having an uncle who didn’t visit his nephew even once during the five months he was in a coma.”
“That’s… I’ve been quite busy. You wouldn’t know since you were just lying down, but Abrams can’t function for a day without me. Do you know how busy I’ve been during the past five months while you were lying down?”
Arnold boasted, rattling on about this and that. Leonard cut him off, seeming very annoyed.
“So. What did you want to say?”
“Ahem. What I’m saying is that you can’t do anything on your own. Do you know how many people are opposing your succession? If you’re not careful, you might lose your title to Gerard Abrams!”
“Hmm.”
“Russell, Vincent, even Menias have all sided with Gerard. Those fools who don’t know their place.”
Arnold ranted, the veins in his neck bulging. Leonard, however, showed increasing signs of boredom.
“I’ll take care of that myself, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Craig! What kind of hurtful words are those? Why shouldn’t we care? We’re your family. We want you to become the Count more desperately than anyone else.”
“Family? Who?”
“Me and Helena, of course! Ah yes. I heard about Helena. It’s truly shameful. But she’s your mother, isn’t she? If you focus on such trivial matters now, you’ll miss the big picture.”
“I suppose embezzling family funds is a trivial matter to you?”
“Ah, I looked into that, and it seems there was some misunderstanding. I swear nothing like that ever happened. I don’t know who told you what, but you’ve got it all wrong.”
Arnold said shamelessly.
Leonard already had ample evidence of his embezzlement in his possession, but he didn’t bother to bring out the ledgers.
“Look here, Viscount Dylan, was it?”
“What kind of disrespectful tone is that? Craig, I’m your uncle…!”
“Stop pretending to be family when we don’t share a single drop of blood. It’s disgusting.”
The air suddenly froze.
Or perhaps that’s just how Cordelia felt. She stiffened up and looked back and forth between Leonard and Arnold.
Arnold’s face turned red as if it was about to burst. He opened and closed his mouth as if he wanted to shout right away. His clenched fists trembled.
Of course, Leonard paid no attention to this.
“If you’ve said all you wanted to say, then leave. I don’t need your help.”
“You’ll, you’ll regret this.”
“Yeah, I got it. Now go.”
Leonard waved his hand dismissively. It looked like he was shooing away an annoying fly.
Arnold ground his teeth and then stormed out of the room. Cordelia watched the Viscount’s retreating back and stammered without realizing it.
“Will, will it be okay? What if Viscount Dylan joins the opposition?”
“Let him join whoever he wants. Do you think I can’t maintain a single count title in this rural backwater?”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Of course, Leonard could probably handle Arnold easily, but it still felt unsettling, as if he had planted a seed of anxiety.
* * *
“Ill-mannered bastard!”
As soon as Arnold entered his room, he started throwing whatever he could get his hands on. A vase flew and shattered with a sharp sound.
Even that wasn’t enough to quell his anger, and only after the room was completely trashed did he finally catch his breath.
“Arnold! My goodness, what’s all this about?”
“What’s it about? Do you have any idea what Craig just said to me?”
Helena, who had opened the door and entered, asked in shock at the mess. Arnold, still breathing heavily, recounted every word Craig had said.
Helena, who had been listening quietly, interrupted in the middle.
“Craig told you to greet Cordelia?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Good grief. Now I even have to bow my head to a woman bought with money.”
“Strange. Something’s not right.”
Helena muttered, rubbing her chin. Arnold, still angry, kicked the innocent sofa.
“It’s not just strange, he’s clearly gone completely mad.”
“No. I don’t think Craig came up with this on his own.”
“If he didn’t think of it himself, then who?”
“It must be that woman pulling strings behind the scenes.”
“Who, you don’t mean that Vasquez woman?”
“Yes. Don’t you think it’s strange too? How Craig changed so suddenly?”
Come to think of it, Craig’s personality had changed completely from before.
He had distanced himself from all the mistresses he used to love and kept only Cordelia close.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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