#2. The Husband Who Wishes His Wife Dead
December 2, 2023
Eshika slowly recalled—
Her past life.
Eshika Brigitte, the only daughter of a wealthy merchant family who had bought the title of Baron through their success in the jewelry business, had been raised like a flower in a greenhouse.
Her two older brothers were taught the family trade, but Eshika had no interest in such things.
Like most noble ladies, her dream was to marry into a good family, bear beautiful children, and live a life full of love and happiness.
Then, during a trip to the capital, Torres, she had fallen in love at first sight with the handsome and dignified Duke Kalian Klaus, whom she had bumped into by chance. She persistently begged her father to let her marry him.
Her father had warned her, saying, “His mother, Liona Klaus, is no ordinary woman,” but Eshika was stubborn.
In the end, in exchange for a massive dowry to help the financially struggling Klaus family, her dream of marrying Kalian came true…
“…And that’s when the dog-like life began.”
Staring at the dark window of her north-facing attic room, Eshika muttered in a refined tone.
The scorn from the Duchess and the cold treatment from the family were one thing—but Kalian had never once treated her as his wife.
The life she had dreamed of had completely shattered, and in despair, she had written to her childhood friend Yuri, asking for help.
Yuri, the daughter of Eshika’s nanny and her childhood playmate, gladly joined the Klaus estate as her maid…
With no one else to lean on, Eshika depended solely on Yuri.
After Yuri came, her reputation seemed to decline even more, but still, Yuri was the only person Eshika had ever trusted.
“If only I’d regained my memories earlier, I wouldn’t have been duped so stupidly.”
Back when she lived as a celestial spirit, she had been betrayed countless times by people.
If her past instincts were still sharp, she could’ve seen through Yuri’s lies just by the way she blinked… Yet she’d been fooled for years like an idiot.
Eshika sat down at her dusty, old desk.
Then, using the characters from the Central Plains—unrecognizable here—she began to write.
“First, regain my power.”
In her previous life, she had been the daughter of the cult leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect and possessed powerful martial arts skills.
“I’ve learned that a man’s love cannot protect me.”
Her current body had never trained and was weak, but fortunately, the spiritual energy in this world seemed denser than in Murim.
If all went well, in five to ten years she could regain at least half of her former strength.
“Second, destroy this family from the roots and turn it into fermented fish sauce. Then, take everything and throw them away.”
The resentment she harbored against Kalian and the Klaus family was far too deep to simply walk away with a divorce.
Here, in this world’s way, she would elegantly gnaw at their souls until they crumbled.
She remembered reading books about the Klaus family and had observed plenty while playing the role of dim-witted Eshika, piecing everything together like a puzzle.
It would take time, but the outcome would surely be satisfying.
“Third…”
As she thought of her final plan, a sinister smile curled on her lips.
This life had to be different.
It had to be nothing like the fate Eshika Klaus was supposed to face in the story she had read.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
“I’m coming in.”
It was Sella, one of the maids who used to torment her, speaking with her usual lack of respect.
“P-Please, spare me…”
Sella was convinced an assassin had broken in.
The duchess was nowhere to be seen, and an unknown presence held something sharp to her neck.
Her whole body trembled, and she could barely breathe.
“Do you know who I am?”
A cold voice spoke from behind her—neither male nor female.
With eyes tightly shut, Sella whispered in a trembling voice,
“I-I didn’t see anything… Please, spare me…”
The Klaus estate had strict security.
For someone to slip in, they had to be an incredibly skilled assassin.
“If I spare you, you’ll just go running to the demon of Klaus and report everything.”
The “demon of Klaus” was slang for the Duchess Dowager.
“N-No, I swear I won’t say a word. Please… have mercy, just this once.”
Sella shook her head violently.
The blade at her neck felt like it could slice through her skin any second.
“Sella.”
Startled, she flinched at the sound of her own name from behind.
She nearly opened her eyes in shock.
‘How does this person know my name?’
“Your mother and younger sister live in Achembelle. You send them half your wages, but it’s not enough, so you sometimes take things from the duchess’s storage.”
Sella’s heart pounded wildly.
The duchess received so many gifts that she couldn’t keep track. Stealing a worthless ring or bracelet was easy.
“Anis and May from your group are in on it, and yes—Dave is covering for you.”
Hearing Dave’s name, Sella nearly fainted.
Dave, one of the senior soldiers, was someone she had a mutual interest in.
“If you bother me, your crimes will be exposed, and you and your friends will be thrown out.”
“…”
“That means I’ll have four easy targets to eliminate.”
Sella trembled all over.
Four—her family in Achembelle, Dave, and herself.
The only place where she could be protected was inside the Klaus estate.
‘This assassin… might be an insider…’
No one else could know such minor thefts between maids and guards.
Sella’s heart pounded in terror.
“I’ll never speak a word. Please, believe me.”
She bowed her head, eyes still shut.
She didn’t know why this person was in the duchess’s room, but if she wanted to survive and avoid ruin, she had to obey.
“I’ll spare you. In exchange, bring hot soup and good meals instead of that stale bread, and leave them at the door.”
The sharp edge finally left her neck.
“Food, you say?”
“Yes. Only the best for every meal.”
The area where the blade had pressed still stung, but Sella felt like she could finally breathe.
It was a strange request for an assassin—so normal that it made her suspicious.
‘Could this assassin… be the duchess’s friend?’
Impossible. The duchess only had one friend—her maid, Yuri Anessis.
But even she had severed ties after the duchess hit her in front of the duke.
‘Or maybe… this person is blackmailing the duchess.’
That theory made more sense.
If this assassin knew the household inside and out, they’d easily know all of Eshika’s weaknesses.
They could be forcing her to let them stay in the room while she recovered from a head injury.
Since the duchess wasn’t in bed, maybe she’d been tied up somewhere.
‘But who cares? I have enough problems of my own.’
Sella would have to follow the assassin’s orders obediently.
No one in the estate cared about the duchess’s condition anyway.
She picked up the stale bread and water she had brought and slowly left the room.
“Relief for Sorbet? Isn’t that just the Crown Prince trying to extort money? Fellope isn’t in good shape either. Damn it, where’s the honor among nobles?”
In the rose garden of the Klaus estate—
Gaven Fellope, Kalian Klaus’s close friend and lord of Fellope, scowled and complained.
Kalian responded only with silence and a grim expression.
Even if Sorbet was suffering a famine, the Klaus family wasn’t in a financial position to offer food from their stores.
Maintaining and training soldiers required immense funds.
“By the way…”
Staring at the rose garden, Gaven cautiously asked,
“I heard the duchess was injured… How is she doing?”
“Let’s talk about that another time.”
Kalian’s cold tone cut him off.
Startled by the iciness in his voice, Gaven froze mid-sip of his tea.
Kalian Klaus was known to be cold by nature—but even more so toward his wife.
‘No matter how bad things are between them, isn’t this a bit much…?’
Kalian furrowed his brows and looked off into the distance.
That detestable woman, Eshika, who had lunged at him in a fit of rage.
They said she’d been bedridden with a high fever for a week and only recently recovered.
It had been ten days since.
The woman who used to parade around the garden flaunting her gaudy jewels hadn’t left her room once.
‘Whatever madness she’s caught now, I don’t care.’
He thought with a scowl.
‘No… I wish she’d just die already.’
