Chapter 001
Chapter 1: The Beginning
When Cordelia woke up in the morning, she realized that her birthday was useful. On her seventh birthday, she wished for a big teddy bear. At ten, she wanted to become a happy princess from a fairy tale. And at fifteen, her wish was to escape the suffocating poverty that weighed her down.
“O sacred star that grants wishes,”
She clasped her hands together and made a wish on her twentieth birthday.
“If you have even a shred of conscience, just this once, please grant my desperate and sincere wish.”
“Please, kill my husband.”
***
“He’s alive.”
She looked at her husband with eyes filled with sorrow, and the doctor offered her gentle condolences.
“Please don’t worry too much, young lady. The gentleman will wake up soon.”
“Yes, he must.”
She tried to force a smile on her face.
The maid wet the towel and began cleaning the motionless man lying before her, like a corpse. Five months had passed since Craig Abrams, Cordelia’s husband, lost consciousness after a fall.
The doctor who examined Craig said he wouldn’t live for ten days, but time passed without his death, and five months had gone by.
“It would have been better if he had died right when he fell. How long will we keep clinging to this lifeless body?”
Cordelia muttered this troubling sentence to herself. Sometimes, when they slept in the same room, she was consumed by an urge to press her face into the pillow.
***
“So, you’re Vasquez’s daughter? Your face is pretty, but I don’t know what your body looks like…”
On their first night, Craig licked his lips and looked his bride up and down with his filthy eyes.
Cordelia’s face turned bright red when she faced this insult for the first time in her life. Craig’s mistresses burst into laughter when they saw this.
“Tonight is our first night as a married couple. How could you bring other women into this room…”
“Well, I know. I brought them here especially for you. Say hello. This is Alicia. And this is Elizabeth.”
It didn’t take long to figure out who Craig Abrams was.
On the first night of their marriage, he wasn’t ashamed to invite his mistresses into the bedroom and fool around in front of his bride.
“You need to wake up quickly.”
“You…”
As she muttered words she had no intention of saying, the door opened without her noticing.
“Oh!”
The maid was startled to see her and spilled the water she was carrying. The water soaked the bed’s blanket and splattered on the floor. The maid’s face turned pale.
“My goodness, are you alri—”
“What are you doing?”
A woman’s angry voice came from behind.
Cordelia quickly rose from her seat.
“Madam, you’re here.”
“Did you spill water on my son’s body because I wasn’t around? You’re truly insane!”
“Madam, actually…”
The maid hurriedly tried to admit her mistake, but Cordelia stopped her.
“I’m sorry, Madam. It’s my fault.”
“If you’re sorry, is that all you’ll do? Craig’s body is completely soaked! Oh, my poor son. Because of this wretched woman called his wife… Get up now, my dear, this mother is burning with pain to the point of turning to ashes.”
A woman dressed in splendid clothes wiped her eyes with a beautiful handkerchief. Cordelia stood silently with her eyes lowered.
If anyone saw this, they would think he was her biological son.
Despite pretending to care for him, Helena and Craig actually despised each other.
Helena, who became Count Abrams’ mistress shortly after Craig’s mother’s death, openly mocked Craig.
However, when the former duke died suddenly, leaving her with no one, Helena’s attitude completely changed.
“Why are you standing like that? Can’t you move quickly and wipe the water? My dear Craig must be feeling cold now!”
In response, Cordelia bowed and wiped the wet blanket. Helena, still angry, grumbled at Cordelia.
“You won’t eat anything today. Instead, you’ll go to the temple and pray until tomorrow morning. For Craig to wake up safely.”
“Yes.”
“Utterly useless. I didn’t want to let you into the mansion from the start. Everything has been a mess since you entered this place!”
“…”
Helena glared at Cordelia with contempt in her eyes, as if Cordelia were the cause of all misfortunes.
“What are the eight sacred families doing? Hmph, everything is falling apart. Do you know how much money Abrams spent on your family?”
“…I’m always grateful, Madam.”
Cordelia smiled and tried not to reveal her resentment. This was the only way she could survive in this family.
***
The Eight Sacred Families.
The eight families are those who founded Ershe with the first king, Wilhelm. They are also called the Electors because they have the right to vote for the king of Ershe.
However, Vasquez, one of the eight families, had long lost its shining glory and was now a mere shell.
‘If it weren’t for my father, I would have escaped this miserable situation.’
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Cordelia’s wish to become Craig Abrams’ wife.
Because her father needed money to pay for her sick brother’s medicine, or, to be more precise, because her father was blinded by gold and sold his daughter “to earn money for the medicine.”
The Vasquez family’s problems grew due to their barren lands and foolish investment failures. The wheat fields from their few remaining estates were their only source of income.
With only a handful of servants, the Vasquez castle gradually turned into an old, shabby-looking fortress. Even the meat on the table became scarcer over time.
Nevertheless, her father, Elector Vasquez, never let go of his pride.
Instead, he sold his daughter.
“Cordelia, my daughter, you’re finally doing something worthy of praise.”
“What do you mean by that? Impossible. Are you sending me to Abrams?”
When the topic was first brought up, Vasquez was furious.
Even that small pride was easily crushed in the face of 500,000 linquets, a large sum for Vasquez but a trivial amount for Abrams.
“Your wedding date has already been set, so prepare quietly.”
“But, Father!”
“How dare you defy your father’s orders?”
“No, I don’t want to. The rumors say he already has five mistresses. If it’s about the cost of the medicine, I’d rather talk to Baron Nixan…”
“Annoying! How can you pretend to know everything like that? Tsk tsk. If you read useless books, you’re just wasting your time. All of this is your mother’s fault.”
Her father clicked his tongue and looked at a portrait of her late mother.
They seemed to forget that her mother’s money, which was relatively substantial when she was alive, had run out.
“Sister, listen to Father. You know this is for the best.”
“For the best? Dennis, how can you say that to me?”
“I’m saying this because it’s you. Why are you so selfish, sister? How will we pay for Father’s medicine? It’s a marriage that has to happen anyway. Can’t you do it for your family?”
Her younger brother Dennis, two years her junior, shouted in frustration.
Cordelia was more shocked than angry at the word “selfish.”
The money Dennis spent to hire a fencing tutor was equivalent to the salaries of many servants for several years. To gather that money, Cordelia had to mend her torn dress over and over again.
“Don’t even think about coming back.”
Fearing his daughter would run away from home, her father wedged a bolt at the bottom of the door.
“Even if you die, it’s better to die there. This is no longer a place for you to return to.”
‘Father…’
It was too cruel for a father to marry off his daughter like this.
Clinging to the small window of the carriage, she watched the home she had lived in her entire life fade into a tiny speck.
She cried from sorrow, but her tears soon dried. Cordelia, sold to a scoundrel for a few pennies, realized something that day.
“The only person I can trust in this world is myself…”
***
“Hey, you, don’t press so hard on Craig’s arm. Ugh, do I have to tell you everything?”
“…Yes, Madam.”
“Don’t get lazy just because I’m leaving.”
Only after a bout of shouting did Helena leave. After the door was completely closed, the maid hesitated before speaking.
“Young lady, I’m really sorry because of me…”
“No. I’m used to being scolded like this anyway, Emily. If they found out it was your fault, you could be fired, and it might ruin your wedding…”
“But it’s not your fault, young lady. Now you won’t be able to eat because of me, and you have to pray until tomorrow morning…”
“I’m fine.”
Cordelia reassured her with a very faint smile. Emily’s eyes immediately turned red.
“Thank you so much, young lady.”
“Stop crying and tell me how you’re preparing for the wedding.”
“Sniff… Yes. I have a dress that Kevin’s mother wore at her wedding, and I’m thinking of using it as my wedding dress.”
Cordelia was miserable enough to earn sympathy and support among the servants.
Her mother-in-law who hurt her and didn’t let her eat enough, her husband who spent every day with his mistress, and even the Abrams relatives who looked at her with contempt.
After learning that such sentiments were widespread among the servants, Cordelia deliberately played the role of the “poor and miserable lady.”
‘Anyway, if I’m in a situation like this, I have to make the most of it by any means.’
She thought very realistically.
It was important to gain favor in any way possible, and more importantly, to avoid being criticized as weak.
Fortunately, Cordelia had a talent for balancing the role of the pitiful lady and the quiet lady.
Behind the face of the gently smiling lady, Cordelia assessed the situation more calmly than anyone else.
‘If this man dies, I’ll be free.’
If Craig died, the Abrams family would pass to another heir, and after that, no one would care where Cordelia went.
So, Cordelia prayed every night.
Please, kill my husband, I beg you.
