Chapter 4
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#4.
"...."
Arkid was at a loss for words at my passionate outburst. He'd given me what I'd so desperately wanted, yet my reaction was far from gracious.
I barely managed to compose myself and began persuading him.
"I admit that I've caused you considerable trouble in the past. But that won't happen anymore."
"How am I supposed to believe that?"
Arkid asked while gnawing at his lower lip, his skepticism evident in every fiber of his being.
"You've been protesting for a divorce every single day."
"That, well..."
"I thought you needed time. But if you despise me enough to throw your life away, I should let you go."
Arkid spoke with considerable resolve.
'This won't do.'
I pressed my forehead against my palm, watching Arkid dig himself deeper into an endless pit.
It seemed the shock of Rhoena's suicide attempt had cut him deeply, so I had no choice but to weave a lie.
"Actually, that day, I wasn't trying to die. I simply lost my footing."
"But the maid clearly..."
"Hannah misread the situation. She tends to overreact to everything. I'm often startled by her dramatics myself."
"...."
"I may have disliked you, but I didn't hate my own life. I never wanted to die."
"...."
"I was truly terrified that day.... Terrified of dying."
As I lowered my brows with a pitiful expression, Arkid's lips trembled slightly.
Confronted with this unexpected truth, he seemed to have lost his words. I seized the moment and pressed forward.
"If you hadn't saved me that day, I would have died right there. Come to think of it, I never properly thanked you. I'm truly grateful, Arkid."
I bowed deeply from the waist, and Arkid flinched. He quickly helped me up and spoke.
"No, it's only natural that I protect my wife."
"That's not true. It's not natural at all. Not everyone acts so swiftly. The water was treacherously deep, and it was bitterly cold that day."
When I met his gaze and smiled brightly, Arkid's expression went blank. After a moment, he asked.
"...Could it be that your feelings have changed because of that incident?"
I shrugged and replied.
"To some extent."
This answer was appropriate for now. Suddenly declaring that I'd grown fond of him would only heighten his guard.
With a cautious cat, you must approach step by step. And once you've earned a spot beside him, the game is won. Hehehehe.
I carefully moved closer and grasped his hand firmly.
"So please stop asking for a divorce."
"...You'll regret this. This is your last chance."
Oh, how delightful to hear those words!
"I don't need such chances. Even if you begged me for a divorce, I wouldn't grant it."
Did he think I'd carelessly squander an opportunity I'd fought so hard to seize?
Did he think becoming the wife of my favorite character was easy?
Don't you dare bring those cursed documents back to me!
At my firm words, Arkid stared at me for a long moment. My sudden change in attitude seemed to perplex him greatly.
A moment passed.
"...I understand."
Arkid didn't pull his hand away and murmured softly. It seemed he was willing to trust me for now.
"Really?"
"Yes. So this hand...."
"Yay!"
I grasped his hand more firmly just as he was about to withdraw it, shaking it enthusiastically with delight.
I was even more overjoyed than I would have been otherwise, having feared I might be cast out of this household.
Since I'd already accepted my fated death, I wanted to see Arkid's face one more time before the end. As I continued swinging his hand, Arkid opened his mouth.
"What on earth...."
"Yes?"
"Never mind."
Arkid trailed off and released a deep sigh. I simply laughed brightly regardless. In any case, it seemed I'd overcome the greatest hurdle.
* * *
I possessed Rhoena Hadelus's body just over a year after she'd arrived at her husband's estate.
And it happened after she'd thrown a tantrum wanting to return home, plunging into the lake in the depths of winter.
Delus, located in the northern reaches of the empire, was part of the Hadelus Duchy. The weather here was generally cool, and brutally cold in the depths of winter.
So falling into a lake in the dead of winter was tantamount to saying "I'm going to die!"
The fortunate thing was that the lake within Hadelus Castle was artificial and shallow.
I heard that Arkid, who came running at Hannah's screams, had saved me. Despite my usual disdain for him, he protected his wife unconditionally.
'Perhaps he regarded Rhoena as family.'
Arkid was that kind of person. With his strong sense of responsibility, he tried to respect even a wife as wretched as she was. After all, she was both his family and his wife.
'Perhaps the real Rhoena died back then.'
Hannah said I'd lain unconscious for an entire month, hovering at death's door. And just when I'd stopped breathing and he was wailing in despair, I suddenly awoke.
'That's strange. Rhoena wasn't supposed to die at this time....'
In "Embrace Me," the novel I'd read, Rhoena was meant to die later from a plague. This wasn't meant to be her time.
'Or perhaps our souls switched when I had my accident?'
That would make some sense. Rhoena had thrown tantrums as casually as breathing.
Falling into the lake was probably meant to torment Arkid. It was possible our accidents had coincided by chance at that very moment.
'Since possession itself is already impossible, such a thing could certainly happen.'
Arkid suffered every time Rhoena acted recklessly. He believed his own inadequacy was why his wife kept going astray.
And Rhoena had savored his pain. She did so all the more because she despised him so deeply.
Raised as the youngest daughter of a marquis's house without restraint, she was a woman who refused to truly acknowledge Arkid simply because he was a bastard.
"Well, in any case. I'm Rhoena now."
I dangled my feet in the bathtub, wearing a languid smile.
Rose petals released their subtle fragrance, diffusing softly throughout the bathroom.
In truth, I'd been overjoyed when I realized I'd possessed Rhoena Hadelus. "Embrace Me" was my magnum opus, and Arkid was my ultimate bias.
In my previous life, I'd been adopted. My adoptive parents were good people. Or so I'd thought.
But when my adoptive parents had a biological daughter, I was no longer part of their family.
I was merely a mouth to feed.
Perhaps that's why the life of Arkid—a bastard who gained recognition of his bloodline at thirteen and was registered into House Hadelus—struck such a chord in my heart.
Constantly threatened with survival between his biological father and stepmother, forced to live in perpetual vigilance—it mirrored my own existence so closely.
'Perhaps God granted me this time so I could help Arkid.'
I truly believed that. This body should have died long ago. There had to be a special reason why I was given a few more years to live.
Rhoena Hadelus dies seven years from now. Seven years would be more than enough time to help Arkid establish himself in the Duchy.
Unlike the original Rhoena, I wouldn't cause trouble. Instead, I would devote myself to helping Arkid earn his parents' recognition.
I had no lingering attachment to life. I'd suffered enough in my previous existence before dying—this life was a bonus from the heavens.
'After all, if I'm going to be a fan anyway, why not be a happy one?'
The problem was that Arkid and his parents thoroughly disapproved of me.
"Hmm, who should I win over first?"
My husband was a stubborn fool burdened by responsibility, insisting on shouldering everything alone.
My father-in-law was a hopeless case—a libertine with a severe prince complex, a personality wreck of the highest order.
My mother-in-law was once called "the mad dog of Heint," a terrifying personality wreck of the second order.
'So, who would be easiest to win over?'
None of them seemed like an easy target. Lost in such thoughts, I was stepping out of the bath and drying my hair when it happened.
The head maid, Aria the Countess, came to find me.
"Young Madam, the Madam is calling for you."
Wow, personality wreck number two wants to see me? Why?
* * *
I dried my hair somewhat and made my way to Elena Hadelus's bedroom in my nightclothes.
It was strange that she suddenly summoned me.
I'd thought she would simply ignore me, but apparently not.
My mother-in-law had shown no interest in either Arkid or me until now, so I felt somewhat uneasy.
'Could she have called me about the incident with Lady Lorke? Does she think I bungled things?'
In the original story, Elena was not a wife who unconditionally tolerated her husband's infidelities.
Rather, she exploited them to humiliate the Grand Duke or gain economic advantage.
Elena likely knew that the Grand Duke had submitted a bill banning child abuse and corporal punishment, which was currently under review.
In the original story, after the bill was passed, Elena presented evidence of Marquis Lorke's abuse to pressure the Grand Duke. In exchange, she received one of the Duchy's mines.
That mine later became a goldmine, and Elena reaped enormous profits. The mine had received the blessing of a spirit.
Land blessed by spirits becomes fertile.
This world was governed by such supernatural forces.
After receiving the spirit's blessing, the magical stones extracted from the mine exceeded five times the normal yield, and Elena lined her pockets handsomely.
As I arrived at Elena's bedroom, Aria the Countess announced my presence.
"Madam, the Young Madam has arrived."
"Let her in."
With the Grand Duchess's permission, the door opened.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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