I Married a Sick Husband

Before she could properly look at the contents of the paper the Duke of Schwartz handed her, Meredith let out a groan of embarrassment.

 Written Oath 

‘I didn’t really think you’d bring it,’

 

It was a quicker decision than she had thought, so Meredith looked at Duke Schwartz with surprise in her eyes.

 

He was waiting for her to read the contents with a rather nervous expression.

 

Meredith slowly read through the short contents./Meredith read through the not-so-lengthy content slowly.

    

The content was brief, but the first clause itself was enough to prove the nuance of this pledge.

 

Meredith held the oath tightly and glared at the Duke of Schwartz.

 

However, the Duke of Schwartz opened his mouth in a far calmer voice than expected.

 

“I know what you are thinking right now.”

 

“… Is that so?”

 

“I think you are thinking that I joined hands with Her Highness the Dowager Empress and plotted treason.”

 

“If this oath is presented, everyone will think so.”

 

“On the surface, it is so.”

 

The Duke of Schwartz continued calmly.

 

“The order of precedence is important. When His Majesty the Emperor’s health suddenly deteriorated, Her Highness the Dowager Empress came to me first.”

 

“…..”

 

“She said that we should join hands and put Prince Fabian on the throne. If this continues, His Majesty the Emperor will not live long, and it was also beneficial to me.”

 

“So you didn’t refuse and took the hand the Empress Dowager offered?”

 

“I just ‘pretended’ to do so. I thought that if I had refused then, the Empress Dowager would not have left me alone. Even though her family background is poor, she was truly the eldest of the imperial family. I was afraid that I would be at a disadvantage in some way.”

 

“…..”

 

“Also, if I had refused the Empress Dowager’s request, she would have looked to other families, but I judged that it would be less harmful to His Majesty the Emperor if I had falsely joined hands with the Empress Dowager.”

 

“……”

 

“Believe me, Your Majesty. I never intended to cooperate with Her Highness the Empress Dowager from the beginning. If I had even the slightest resentment, how could I have brought this here? I would have been beheaded along with you.”

 

“… What does the Duke have to say make sense?”

 

What does it make sense?

 

Meredith snorted inwardly.

 

I don’t know what the chronological order was, but I’m not stupid enough to take that word for it.

 

“I came to see Your Majesty the Empress because I thought I had to correct what was wrong, even now. Please kindly convey to His Majesty the Emperor. After all, isn’t Her Highness the Empress Dowager an annoying political enemy?”

 

“…..”

 

“If you just have the oath I brought, you will have enough justification to purge Her Highness the Empress Dowager.”

 

“… I understand what you mean.”

 

Meredith, who had been silent, nodded.

 

“I will go see His Majesty and inform him about today’s incident. Whether he will believe the sincerity of the Duke and how he will judge, it is up to His Majesty…”

 

“Please, Your Majesty. I did not come here without any preparation.”

 

When Meredith trailed off, the anxious Duke of Schwartz hurriedly added.

 

“How could you not know that I could be purged along with you for treason? Nevertheless, I have risked my life to prove my loyalty to His Majesty.”

 

“I understand, Duke of Schwartz. Of course, I believe in your sincerity. However…”

 

“As expected, my daughter believes in my innocence!”

 

The awkward honorific that came after a momentary pause.

 

Meredith asked, doubting her ears.

 

“… your daughter?”

 

“The duchess isn’t present now, so I don’t need to be careful anymore. I have not been able to be a proper father to Your Majesty the Empress because of that person, but now that she has been exiled to the distant island of Elta.”

 

“…..”

 

“In fact, since you were young, I have secretly loved Your Majesty the Empress, who was smarter and more beautiful than Catarina. It was just that I couldn’t express my feelings until then because of my wife.”

 

So did you stand by and watch my mother get murdered?

 

Meredith sincerely wanted to ask this question, but it wasn’t the time yet.

 

“I didn’t know you had such thoughts.”

 

“As proof, I have never asked you to forgive Catarina in the first place.”

 

“…..”

 

“Now that my wife is gone and exiled, I will fulfill my duty as a father that I have failed to fulfil until now.”

 

Immediately after speaking, the Duke of Schwartz suddenly knelt in front of Meredith and grabbed her hand.

 

Meredith narrowed her eyes and looked at the Duke of Schwartz.

 

“Please forgive this worthless father.”

 

Forgiveness? It wasn’t even funny.

 

‘You shouldn’t expect that now.’

 

Meredith pulled away from Duke Schwartz’s hand with a blank face.

 

“I’ll decide that after seeing Duke Schwartz’s future actions.”

 

“Of course, Your Majesty. You will never be disappointed in the future. I will sacrifice my life for Your Majesty!”

 

I’m sure he would have sworn that kind of loyalty oath in front of Blair too.

 

Meredith looked down at Duke Schwartz with a blank face and asked.

 

“Then can you grant me one favor?”

 

***

 

Meanwhile, Catarina, who was imprisoned in the dungeon, was waiting for something with her teeth chattering.

 

“Hey, hey!”

 

In the end, Catarina, tired of waiting, couldn’t stand it anymore and called the guard.

 

The guard who had been called by Catarina approached her with a very annoyed expression.

 

“Haven’t you heard anything about me being released yet?”

 

This was because Catarina had been repeating the same question several times already.

 

Even though she had been imprisoned yesterday, she seemed to have no patience.

 

“No. You look exactly like your mother, the Duchess of Schwartz.”

 

“What? What does that mean?”

 

“The Duchess of Schwartz kept asking the same question as soon as she was imprisoned.”

 

The guard continued as if the incident was still vivid in his mind.

 

“But you are better than the Duchess. She asked the same question every hour for several days, and I thought my ears were bleeding.”

 

“What? Are you insulting my mother now?”

 

“Insulting? But nothing has changed since then. You dared to insult and slander Her Majesty the Empress, right? This time too, there will be no good results, so don’t expect anything and just wait quietly.”

 

“Hoeuk-how dare you…! You! I won’t let you off once I leave this place, so just wait and see!”

 

The guard decided to stop himself from telling her that he had heard the same thing from the Duchess Schwartz.

 

If he did, she would yell and make a fuss again, which would be a pain in the neck.

 

“Anyway, if you don’t have any more business, I’ll leave.”

 

“Don’t go! If you haven’t heard any news, call for my father!”

 

Surely that sly woman, Meredith, didn’t block the visitation this time? That’s not why my father couldn’t come to see me, is it?

 

‘If this keeps up, I’ll end up in exile like my mother without even being able to do anything?’

 

Meredith didn’t like her to begin with, so she might even be sentenced to death.

 

It was then that Catarina was thinking arrogantly and starting to feel anxious.

 

It was then.

 

“Princess Schwartz, there is a visitation.”

 

Another guard who came in from outside told Catarina some good news.

 

“Duke Schwartz has come to see you. Please wait here for a moment.”

 

Catarina quickly smiled as if she had never been sad before.

 

‘Father would never abandon me!’

 

Catarina tidied up her messy clothes and waited for her father.

 

After a while, Duke Schwartz appeared in front of Catarina.

 

Catarina called him in a voice that was almost like a scream.

 

“Father! You came to save me after all!”

 

However, Duke Schwartz’s expression as he looked at Catarina was extremely cold.

 

“Come to your senses now, Catarina.”

 

“… Yes?”

 

“Do you expect forgiveness after doing something like that?”

 

Catarina looked at Duke Schwartz with a face that seemed to question if she had heard something wrong and asked.

 

“What the heck… Why are you suddenly like this, father?”

 

“I didn’t come here to save you. I came here because I thought you might be feeling resentful that I couldn’t come here because of Her Majesty the Empress.”

 

“Wh-what did you say?”

 

“Your Highness the Empress Dowager said the same thing. If you fail this time, it’s really over! And yet you ask for forgiveness, how shameless.”

 

This wasn’t the development she wanted.

 

Catarina raised her voice as if she was being wronged.

 

“Father, I was just fooled by Meredith’s trick! How could I have known there were people there?”

 

“If you fell for such a shallow trick, you really don’t deserve to be the empress. You’re far inferior to Meredith.”

 

Catarina was shocked by those last words.

 

“Are you comparing that bastard Meredith to me, father?”

 

“Now, admit and accept your sins, Catarina. I have come to tell you what punishment you will receive.”

 

Finally, the words hit Catarina like a bolt from the sky (at the realisation).