I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 6

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Even if we’re caught, I’ll take the blame on my own. You don’t have to worry, big sisters.”
“Bella, you would really go that far…”
“Exactly. I’m going this far, and you two don’t have a single thought to spare for me?”
“…Hm?”
What is she going on about now?
My eldest sister widened her eyes and studied my face. She was probably thinking that I’d gone strange again, but this was only the beginning.
“You just saw my belongings, right? I’ve lived in this house for twenty years, and this trunk is all I’m leaving with. Don’t you feel anything about that, as a human being?”
“W-well, that’s because you’ve never really cared about that sort of thing, Bella…”
“Isn’t that just what you need to believe so your hearts can feel at ease?”
“….”
“Doesn’t that seem a little odd? We’re sisters born of the same blood, yet one of us is greedy and the other isn’t.”
I took out a neatly folded handkerchief and fiddled with it. The knights standing off in the distance probably thought my tears were about to be dabbed away, but my sisters before me looked utterly flustered.
“S-so what do you want from us? We were only worried about you…”
“That’s purely for your own peace of mind, isn’t it? It won’t bring me any peace, so since we’re on the subject, I’d like to get things straight.”
“Get what straight!”
“What do you think? Collection… no, I mean accounting.”
The moment money came up, I shyly lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile. As one sister stepped back, I didn’t let her slip away and took an equal step forward.
“Working for free in this house for twenty years might be settled by sisterly loyalty, but this matter is different. There’s such a thing as a life bounty, you know.”
“Oh, come on… You were the one who said you’d go! That you had to go so everyone could live…”
“Yes, that’s right. The person I’m marrying in your place is exactly that sort of man.”
“….”
“The embodiment of evil. The master of murder. The Blood-Soaked Grand Duke. And… the cursed beast.”
One by one, and clearly.
With each of his gloomy epithets I recited, my sisters’ faces drained of color. Even if two blades had been swung at them right before their eyes, they wouldn’t have looked this terrified. Yet Melanie, who had regained her wits, still clung to her pride to the very end, even as her breath came in ragged gasps.
“So what are you going to do about it now? If you don’t go, Bella, we’ll all be ruined together. Including Rose, whom you love so much, and Father.”
“How funny. Then why are you two excluded?”
“…What?”
“You’ll die just the same as me. Whether I go or not, the outcome is the same, so what does it matter? Rather, since we’re all going to die anyway, it’d be nice to have a companion on the road to the afterlife, don’t you think?”
Nice to meet you, sisters of this world.
I made a beckoning gesture, as if standing at the threshold of the road to the netherworld. My sisters kept swallowing again and again, their faces showing they had no idea what was going on.
“B-Bella! Is this really who you are?”
“Yes. Now that you know, hand over everything you have.”
“Oh, come on! As if we have any money…”
“The five thousand gold you tucked into the book ‘The Economy and Chaos of the North’ on the second shelf of Melanie’s bookcase, and the three thousand gold you hid at the back of ‘Practical Imperial Accounting.’ And eldest sister, instead of money, bring me the emerald brooch pin and the ruby brooch you got from your former lovers.”
“…How did you even know that!”
“What do you mean how? Who do you think has been tidying up this house all this time? Don’t tell me you think it’s a cleaning fairy?”
How naive.
I hid my snickering smile and fixed my eyes sharply. I couldn’t stall any longer.
“I’ll give you one minute.”
“…Bella! Even so! If you’d told us earlier, we could have gotten ready in advance!”
“Yes. If I’d told you beforehand, you’d have smuggled everything out that very same day. Do you think I don’t know you?”
“You…”
“Are you really that thoughtless? Fine. Over there, Lord Jerome! I never properly told you my name earlier, and…”
“Ah, fine! We’ll hand it over, all right!”
My sisters dashed inside as quick as lightning. Who would ever imagine they were the same people who had been clinging to the bed and floor like melted pudding?
When Lord Jerome started toward me to ask what was happening, I shook my head pitifully to wave him off.
“No, it’s all right. I’m just a bit overwrought from saying goodbye to my sisters… I only want to say a farewell to Father, and then I’ll be done.”
“B-Bella.”
When I clutched his collar tightly, Father froze stiff.
He had apparently been shocked by the collection from my sisters as well, standing silently by, and now that it was his turn, the words seemed to be stuck in his throat.
Tsk, tsk. With a heart like that, what on earth were you thinking, gambling away everything like that?
“…Don’t worry. I won’t ask you for money.”
“Bella.”
“There’s no money to give anyway. But do remember this one thing for certain: no matter where in the world you go, a parent who sells their child will never be treated as a parent.”
“….”
Sniff. Since Lord Jerome was watching, I dutifully dabbed at the corners of my eyes with the handkerchief. No matter what Father’s expression was, it was a farewell to the one who had created my life, so I could hardly say I wasn’t sad.
“Then goodbye, Uncle.”
“…….”
Tap, tap. With my head resting against my father’s empty pocket, twenty years of neglect came to an end. From here on, whether I leave behind only my hide or my soul as well is entirely up to me.

◇ ◆ ◇

The carriage looked menacing from the outside, but inside it was surprisingly comfortable. Everything, from the velvet seats to the handrails, was the best money could buy, though everything was black, which was the only thing I couldn’t overlook.
If someone asked how I could tell the finest goods when I’d never seen them before, well, I simply couldn’t imagine anything in the world being any better than this.
“……Ugh.”
As I leaned back into the plush backrest, my whole body seemed to melt. Is it really acceptable to ride to my death like this? Dismay and a sigh rose in me at the same time.
Still, if this place was more comfortable than home, it was easy to guess just how hard my life had been up until now.
“My lady, it’s a journey of at least three days. There are no villages along the way where we can stop or stay the night, so you’ll have to sleep inside the carriage. I hope that will be all right.”
“……Sir Jerome.”
“We’ve prepared blankets and food inside the carriage. If you find anything lacking, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”
Sir Jerome’s voice drifted in from outside the window.
He’s surprisingly attentive, I thought, with a small note of admiration as I sat up. This was no time to get lost in sentiment about leaving home.
“I’d like to rest quietly for a while now. Is that all right?”
“Of course.”
He was so meticulous about his manners that he probably wouldn’t fling the door open without warning, but there was no harm in being certain. Even after I heard Jerome’s horse hooves moving away, I checked outside just in case.
“Wow…….”
Wide plains and the scent of green grassland.
I had lived ten years as a cottage house-elf and had never experienced anything like this. Only now did the reality that I was truly leaving this place fill my entire body. I confirmed that the knights were lined up in a row far in the distance, then firmly locked the door.
Gulp.
I swallowed, trying to wet my throat, which grew drier by the moment. Careful not to make a fuss, I crouched down beneath the carriage, pretending to rummage through the snack parcel they had prepared for me.
With a nervous heart, I threw open the travel bag I had loaded in advance, and a silver wave lit up the inside of the carriage.
“……Sis.”
“Shh, Rose.”
It wasn’t a loud sound, but I pressed a finger to my lips to make sure she was quiet. Rose clung to the edge of the bag like a cat, so small that a single puff of breath might have blown her away.
“Come here.”
She was so light that I could lift her with my slender arms in one go, and my heart ached at it. I had begged her again and again to stay silent until she was called, but she was still only a five-year-old child.
This little thing had been holding her breath like this just to survive, and my heart went tight.
“Let me see you, sis. Weren’t you stuffy in there?”
“……Yeah. I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to whisper so softly, Rose.”
Rose’s voice, whispering so only I could hear it right by my ear, tickled my cheek. How cowed must she have been to end up like this? Out of pity, I pressed whatever bread and drink I could grab into her hands, but the youngest shook her head.
“What’s wrong? You were hiding and didn’t even get breakfast. We still have a long way to go, so you have to eat at least this much.”
“……Then eat with me. You didn’t eat either, sis.”
Oh, my baby. My puppy. My treasure!
Unable to hide the overwhelming feeling of being a big sister, I patted the clever Rose on her bottom, and the youngest’s face turned red.
I guess I haven’t lived my life that badly after all, Bella.
Still, there’s one person in the family who thinks of me.
I tore off a piece of bread myself and put it in her small mouth, and the skinny Rose chewed carefully. She’s only five, but she’s so underfed that she could pass for three or four and no one would doubt it.
“…….”
In other words, I hadn’t been eating much either, and I was just as scrawny. I had more or less shouldered the whole household’s livelihood alone, so, to be precise, I had been feeding them with my own flesh and blood. On top of that, being a nobleman in name only, I couldn’t easily ask anyone for help without losing face.
Hmph. To hell with that kind of face.
Now that I’ve left that house, I no longer need to read anyone’s expression. Apart from the man who will become my husband, there’s nothing left in this world for me to fear.
What more could they possibly strip from me if I stayed there any longer? Only my hide, I suppose.
I don’t know where this nerve came from, but when I first thought about going to the Grand Duchess post, my vision had gone dark. Strangely, though, my confidence grew with each passing day. In the end, whether I stayed home after sending off my eldest sister or went over there and made a mess of things, the only difference would be a few days’ head start toward my death.
If that’s the case, it would be far more rewarding, and far less unjust, to commit a deadly sin with my own hands and die for it.
“……Sis, what’s wrong? Did I eat too much?”
“No, no.”
I cheered up Rose, who had eaten barely a finger’s worth and was already anxiously watching my face. Anew, my blood boiled at the sort of man our father was, the kind who could leave a child neglected like this.

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