I Married a Sick Husband

When the two left, Meredith was left alone.

 

“…….”

 

She stared blankly into space for a while.

 

Her expression looked like she had completely lost her mind.

 

After a while, Meredith collapsed on the spot as if her legs had completely lost their strength.

 

“…….heuk.”

 

At one point, Meredith’s face distorted, and let out a cry.

 

She cried out with a desperate look on her face, not even thinking of keeping her cries from leaking out.

 

“Mother, mother…!”

 

A combination of resentment, anger, and shock enveloped Meredith.

 

She was saddened by the truth about her mother’s death, which she had known for the first time in ten years.

 

Ten years ago, the mother, who suddenly disappeared, was cursed by everyone in the Duchy of Schwartz.

 

The Duchess of Schwartz and Catarina, as well as the butler and maid, said Meredith’s mother had run away.

 

Three months later, words circulated around the young Meredith that she must have died.

 

At that time, she only thought that it was a lie.

 

Because she was too young and knew that her mother had always had a hard time living in the Duchy of Schwartz.

 

Meredith knew how badly her mother was treated and how badly her mother worked in the Schwartz mansion.

 

So instead of blaming her mother, she tried to understand her and stayed strong on her own.

 

At the same time, she gave up on her family’s affection after seeing her father, who was not interested at all even though her mother was missing, and the Duchess of Schwartz, who was not trying to find her even though her maid disappeared.

 

However, she never dreamed that such a cruel truth would be hidden behind the mysterious disappearance.

 

Meredith gripped her chest and sobbed.

 

“Mother, mother can’t leave me alone……”

 

They said that her mother must have seduced their father, but Meredith never thought so.

 

For a long time, Meredith had known that her mother gave birth to her unintentionally.

 

It was because she knew that her mother had never had good feelings for her father.

 

In addition, her mother had tried everything she could to avoid having to face her father since she gave birth.

 

The Duchess of Schwartz was extremely loathsome for any reason the two of them were seen close together.

 

If the two people were to be together in one space, that was the day when her mother was beaten unconditionally.

 

Of course, whenever he did, the Duke of Schwartz tolerated his wife’s anger and violence.

 

No matter how much Meredith cried, and begged, she didn’t even pretend to listen.

 

She even ordered her servants to get her out of sight.

 

‘There is no way a mother would have tried to give birth to her father’s child.’

 

Meredith sat there and cried for a long time.

 

‘Why didn’t I have doubts all this time?’

 

Even though there was enough doubt, Meredith had believed that her mother had left her.

 

When she was a little older, she lived holding on to the hope that her mother was not going to die, but that she would be eating well and living well somewhere.

 

Knowing how distressed her mother was at the Schwartz mansion, Meredith thought she’d rather be.

 

For more than a decade, she had no doubt about her mother’s absence.

 

“……”

 

At one point, Meredith stopped crying.

 

She stopped crying so suddenly that she stared blankly into the air where no one was there for a while.

 

And slowly lifted herself up.

 

While doing so, Meredith even wiped the tear marks off her cheeks after straightening out the creases well.

 

Then she started heading somewhere.

 

But it was not the original destination.

 

Meredith’s steps were heading towards the central palace where the emperor was.

 

* * *

 

By sunset, the emperor had recovered some strength.

 

Having stayed in bed all day, he got up to see the backlog.

 

It was time to change his clothes and finally sit at his desk and start working.

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

Someone came into his office.

 

It was obvious who it would be without having to check.

 

With the exception of a very few, no one could enter his own space without permission.

 

“Oh, you were awake.”

 

“Sir Felix, what’s going on?”

 

“Her Majesty the Empress is here.”

 

“The Empress?”

 

He quickly recalled what he had ordered in the morning.

 

Did she come here to express her gratitude?

 

A smile flashed around his mouth.

 

“Tell her to come in.”

 

“Well, by the way…”

 

At that time, Felix spoke carefully.

 

“Her expression was a bit strange.”

 

“Expression?”

 

He asked with a grin.

 

“Why? Did she look like she was touched by my gift?”

 

“It didn’t feel like that.”

 

The emperor’s eyebrows narrowed slightly at the unexpected answer.

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“She looked… determined.”

 

“Determined?”

 

“Yes. I think she was crying…”

 

“Crying?”

 

After hearing the unexpected report, the emperor asked in an embarrassed voice.

 

“What happened at the tea party today?”

 

“I’ve been briefed that there was no particular disturbance. I heard the atmosphere was rather good… “

 

After hearing the report, he couldn’t understand more.

 

Anyway, Felix withdrew, and after a while, he heard Meredith walking towards him.

 

The emperor stared at the door, waiting for her to appear.

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

Meredith, who appeared before the emperor, called him in a low voice.

 

The emperor looked at Meredith with a blank face.

 

Her expression was grim as was reported by Felix.

 

Her eyes were red and her face looked rather rough.

 

‘She cried.’

 

The emperor instinctively noticed something was going on with her and asked.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

Meredith did not immediately answer.

 

Instead, she opened her mouth after a brief silence.

 

“I’m here to tell you something.”

 

“Tell me.”

 

“With me…”

 

Meredith said, moving her plump lips.

 

“Make a deal with me.”

 

“A deal?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Meredith said in an unhesitating voice.

 

“Help me destroy the Schwartz family.”

 

The sudden request surprised the emperor for a moment.

 

After the tea party, she suddenly comes to me to destroy the Schwartz family.

 

“What happened at the tea party?”

 

He couldn’t help but ask.

 

“……..”

 

The Emperor’s question reminded Meredith of the painful conversations she had heard earlier.

 

Once again, there was an illusion that one side of her chest was falling off.

 

To control her emotions, Meredith gently bit her lips and shook her head.

 

“The tea party ended safely, Your Majesty. The atmosphere was great.”

 

“But why all of a sudden?”

 

“It just happened after the tea party.”

 

Meredith continued with a slightly struggling voice.

 

“I’ve heard such a terrible story.”

 

“…..”

 

“I cannot forgive the Schwartz family, Your Majesty.”

 

Meredith said with a determined look.

 

“Help them lose everything and become miserable.”

 

Looking at Meredith’s expression, the emperor became curious.

 

What the hell has she been through, making this request with a grim look that he’s never seen before?

 

‘Even on the night of the wedding, it wasn’t like this.’

(t/n: he’s referring to her expression.)

 

But it occurred to me that asking the reason was not appropriate for their relationship, which was dotted with dry deals.

 

He also thought there was no reason to wonder about it.

 

I didn’t know if you’d answer.

 

After a while, he slowly opened his mouth.

 

“……Okay.”

 

The emperor looked seriously at Meredith and asked.

 

“What will you do for me if I help destroy the Schwartz family?”

 

“What Your Majesty wants the most.”

 

“Healing me was already promised on the first day of the deal.”

 

“I am not talking about treatment.”

 

Meredith shook her head and said the answer.

 

“Divorce, Your Majesty.”

 

“……divorce?”

 

“Yes. Once the Schwartz family is down, it will be difficult for me to use Schwartz’s name.”

 

It certainly was.

 

It was burdensome to have the wife of a family, that had fallen, as the empress.

 

For whatever reason.

 

It’s going to be unpleasant to the eyes too.

(t/n: he meant it would be eye-catching but in a bad way.)

 

Meredith said as if she was well aware of the fact.

 

“Your Majesty will one day have a woman you love.”

 

“…….”

 

“You will want to have someone you truly want as your empress.”

 

Meredith smiled as if not to worry.

 

“I’ll step down before I get in the way.”