I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 1

Chapter 1. The Duchess Doesn’t Hide Her Temper

When I opened my eyes, I was on the floor.

“So it’s all lies that expensive liquor doesn’t give you hangovers.”

Beneath my fallen cheek, I felt the texture of a luxurious carpet.

Such an expensive item was a luxury that someone like me, a poor low-ranking official, could never dream of, so I must have gotten completely drunk, lamented my fate, and collapsed somewhere to sleep.

Thinking this as I scratched my chin, a dark red mass like blood stuck to my fingertips.

“What is this…? Blood?”

But this couldn’t really be blood, so I must have gotten too drunk last night, vomited everything I drank, and passed out.

My stomach felt like it was burning with nausea.

I staggered to my feet and looked around with blurry vision. First, I needed to figure out where I was.

‘Maybe senior officials’ quarters or something like that.’

But the scene that came into view was very different from what I expected.

On a bed without a single wrinkle, white orange blossoms and red roses, herbs and dried herbs were scattered.

And at the head of the bed, pure white linen sheets were neatly folded.

These were clearly items symbolizing a wedding night.

“Why are these here?”

As I looked around in bewilderment, my gaze caught the vanity.

In the distant mirror stood a woman so gorgeous and beautiful that even a rose in full bloom would bow its head in shame.

Hair as smooth as if it held moonlight and eyes as transparent and blue as a winter lake.

Features so distinct you could believe she was a doll, down to her crimson lips.

It was a beauty that would captivate anyone who saw her.

“This is… me?”

The face I remembered wasn’t like this…

Confused, I approached the vanity closer.

And the moment my gaze met with myself in the mirror, a skull-splitting pain rushed through my head.

Unbearable memories crashed over me like a tsunami.

‘Don’t give the criminal even a drop of water until she opens her mouth! If you disobey orders out of pathetic sympathy, I’ll rip out all your fingernails and toenails just like that wench. Understood?!’

Moldy, damp stone walls, a dark space where not a ray of sunlight entered.

I was collapsed in an underground prison.

How long had it been since I was dragged here?

Unable to distinguish day from night, my sense of time completely collapsed, and I simply desperately wished for this painful life to end as soon as possible.

‘Ah, that’s right.’

The original me was an ordinary official.

Actually, to call it ordinary… my status was so humble that I faced many bitter experiences, but I had a dream.

I wanted to become an excellent official, following in the footsteps of my parents who died early. I really worked myself to death to achieve that dream.

‘But…’

Lombard’s secrets were being leaked to the outside.

Having discovered this fact, I was secretly investigating the leak route when the culprit caught my tail, and I eventually met a terrible death in the underground dungeon.

The culprit cruelly tortured me until the moment my breath stopped.

‘Shall I tell you a secret? Don’t resent me, resent that person. The one who threw you to me was—’

At the last moment of my life, the face of the culprit holding a heated branding iron and curling crimson lips was vivid in my mind.

“Right, I definitely died…”

I stared blankly beyond the mirror.

The Emperor’s only niece who ruled the great empire of Baldin, the wife of Duke Lombard, the great lord of the north, and above all, the woman I saw at the last moment of my life.

Elisia, whose appearance was beautiful like a pure white lily but whose interior held a cruel demon, was facing me.

I didn’t want to curse, but the curse came out naturally.

“What the hell.”

Was I lacking in good deeds during my lifetime?

Though I didn’t particularly remember doing anything bad either, what kind of terrible curse was this?

As I stood there blinking in bewilderment, I suddenly thought to quickly check the calendar.

“Imperial Year 874…”

It was roughly 4 years before the year I died.

It was utterly unbelievable, but nonetheless, summarizing the situation roughly yielded this result.

I, who had died in the underground dungeon, came back to life and became the Duchess of Lombard. And on the very morning after holding the wedding mass with the Duke and spending the wedding night.

“My lady is still not awake. Please come back later.”

“I came on the lord’s orders. It’s urgent, so step aside!”

“That’s not possible.”

Just then, a commotion arose in the corridor outside the bedroom.

It seemed the servants were blocking the castle’s chamberlain who was trying to meet me, causing an argument.

Standing there blankly, not knowing what to do, I suddenly became aware of the reality I was in.

‘What happens to me if people come in?’

My spine went cold in an instant.

A dead person traveling back in time and even possessing someone else’s body?

Anyone could see this was demonic or heretical. If I made a wrong move, I would definitely be dragged to the Inquisition Court.

‘As terrible as my previous life… no, perhaps even more horribly than then.’

I had seen an inquisitor from the Dominican Order who presided over religious trials when I was young.

It was only once, but it was a chilling madness I could never forget for life.

“My lady, this is Bertol. I’ll be coming in for a moment.”

“What rudeness is this?! I told you my lady is sleeping right now!”

The arguing voices in the corridor grew louder.

The door wasn’t locked. If Bertol insisted on opening the door, people would immediately face me standing bewildered in the middle of the bedroom.

Becoming urgent, I rushed to the mirror to check my appearance.

I vigorously rubbed the corners of my mouth where dark red liquid had dried and covered the stained negligee with a fur shawl.

Then I threw myself into the bed.

“What’s all this commotion from the morning?”

At my voice, the commotion outside the bedroom instantly stopped.

After a long silence that made me wonder if something was wrong, chamberlain Bertol hesitantly spoke.

“Uh… my lady?”

For some reason, the chamberlain seemed very flustered.

Just moments ago, he was trying to barge in claiming it was the Duke’s order, but now he immediately became respectful at my single word.

‘Was I just that dignified?’

I was admiring my own acting talent I didn’t know I had when Bertol stammered to continue.

“A-alive… no, that’s not it.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t because of my dignity but just because his mouth was frozen from the cold.

The winter in Lombard, located at the Empire’s northernmost region, was harsh enough to freeze even beasts to death, so that said it all.

“I apologize for disturbing your rest. I’ll come back later.”

I remembered the elderly chamberlain suffering considerably from knee arthritis. It would be difficult for him to go up and down the stairs several times in a cold wave like today.

My heart softened and I made a suggestion with goodwill.

“You mean you’ll disturb me again later?! Just tell me your business quickly and get lost!”

“I-I apologize.”

Of course, since I couldn’t be caught by inquisitors, I considered the original Elisia’s way of speaking a little.

The door opened carefully, and even more carefully, Bertol poked his head in.

When his eyes met mine as I sat on the bed, his face turned deathly pale as if he’d seen a ghost.

“How on earth did you….”

“What nonsense have you been spouting since earlier?”

“Oh, it’s nothing at all. Go, go, good morning, my lady.”

Bertol hesitantly entered the room with documents in his hands.

Thanks to that, I could easily guess the reason for his visit.

Currently, Lombard Castle had no mistress.

Since the Former Duchess had passed away early, the head butler Bertol had been managing the household affairs until now, but with a new mistress arriving, he had to transfer authority to Elisia.

But considering Elisia’s reputation….

‘There’s no way he could hand it over.’

She was a celebrity in Imperial High Society. Of course, not famous in a good way.

‘She was notoriously terribly stupid, squandered the Imperial Palace’s finances like water, and had a rotten personality to boot.’

Elisia was the only legitimate daughter of the Crown Prince who had died without ascending to the throne, and received special favor and protection from her uncle who later became Emperor.

The Emperor never restrained Elisia even when she acted arrogantly, and covered up whatever trouble she caused.

Even when she cut off a servant’s hand with an axe for brushing her hair wrong, pushed a noblewoman who spoke truthfully to her off a balcony, or made a renowned knight crawl around the banquet hall like a dog with a collar around his neck.

‘If I entrust the household management to such a scoundrel….’

Perhaps Bertol had similar thoughts, as he seemed to steel himself and held out the documents with a resolute expression.

“These are the official duties you must handle from now on, my lady.”

“Are you telling me to work right now?”

“Though it may be unfamiliar to you, my lady, having grown up as a precious jewel in the Imperial Palace, you must now personally attend to the affairs of the territory as the mistress of Lombard.”

I was somewhat acquainted with Bertol as well.

He was the Duke’s closest aide, always taciturn and serious, making it difficult to read his true thoughts.

That’s why I couldn’t understand why he was trembling earlier as if he’d seen someone rise from the grave, but now he’d finally returned to his original self that I knew.

Ah, so Lombard’s bitter cold even freezes the tongue of a tiger-like head butler….

“Please read it yourself.”

Lost in thought, I looked up in surprise.

Among nobles, there were quite a few who couldn’t read. Even high nobles and royalty were no exception, and the past Elisia was the same.

There’s no way a head butler wouldn’t know this fact.

‘But he’s telling me to read it outright. Is he planning to break my spirit from the start?’

Or perhaps it was a calculated move hoping I would completely withdraw from official duties.

Either way, the head butler’s check seemed laughable to me. I had no intention of doing anything anyway.

Would I, who died for Lombard’s sake, work for Lombard again?

‘But being too disrespected would also be troublesome.’

Since I’d become Elisia, I planned to just play and eat for the rest of my life, but to do that, I first needed to warn them not to take me lightly.

I slowly traced the cover of the documents with my finger.

“Isn’t this material unrelated to the mistress’s duties?”

“What do you suddenly….”

“Population census report of Lombard Territory.”

When I recited the title, the indifferent head butler’s shoulders stiffened with a start.

“It’s interesting, but I don’t see what this has to do with me. Bertol, to confuse even such simple documents—perhaps it’s time for you to step down?”

“Th, that is….”

Bertol’s complexion quickly turned pale.

I stared at him intently and chuckled.

“No need to be so tense.”

“Yes, yes?”

“I have no interest in Lombard’s internal affairs. I’m saying you don’t need to play such childish tricks. Just do well as you have been doing.”

As long as you don’t bother me unnecessarily.

Did he catch the hidden meaning? Well, he’s not just any noble but the head butler of a great noble family, so he should have at least that much sense.

At my warning, the head butler’s expression grew even darker.

“I’m tired, so please leave now.”

“I’m grateful for your ladyship’s generosity.”

Once permission was granted, Bertol hurriedly left the bedroom as if fleeing, seemingly forgetting even the documents.

After sending out all the servants and being left alone, I stared down at the documents on the side table.

Unlike my memory, it was an incredibly shoddy report.

“Who was in charge this time to make the content this terrible?”

Population census report of Lombard Territory.

It was a report that I, as a former bureaucrat of Lombard, had spent an entire year running around on foot to compile.

But the report before my eyes now differed in thickness from the past one.

The population within the inner castle walls was roughly estimated, and especially the outer castle walls had many incorrectly surveyed areas.

‘This will cause problems with tax collection.’

I clicked my tongue at whoever submitted such a thing calling it a report.

At the same time, I sneered.

Without me, they end up receiving such childish play-like reports.

“Hah, how amusing.”

I didn’t need to bother receiving reports about the castle’s household management either.

After all, everything was already in my head.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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