I Married a Sick Husband

“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).

 

“You will be sent to a monastery.”

 

“… what?”

 

“And you will spend the rest of your life there.”

 

Catarina’s mouth fell open at the ridiculous punishment.

 

She stared at her father, her face stunned, forgetting to breathe.

 

“Father, ho-how…!”

 

“His Majesty the Emperor was about to sentence you to death, but Her Majesty the Empress showed mercy and stopped it.”

 

Her Majesty the Empress!

 

How could her father change his attitude like that?

 

Catarina glared at the Duke of Schwartz in shock.

 

“You should be thankful that you survived.”

 

“You are telling me to… Meredith, are you telling me to be grateful that she saved my life?”

 

Catarina screamed.

 

“A monastery, where I’ll live my whole life! No, no! I’d rather die!”

 

Seriously, for Catarina, it was a punishment worse than death.

 

Living her whole life in a monastery meant that she would never get married and fight bugs in a toilet that stank of excrement every day.

 

Catarina kept screaming, clutching her head.

 

“I can never go! Just kill me instead! I… I can’t live like that!”

 

“Be quiet, Catarina.”

 

Duke Schwartz silenced his daughter with a stern voice.

 

“I can’t thank Her Majesty the Empress for her kindness! How dare you be so reckless.”

 

“Reckless? You’re the one who’s reckless! How could you abandon your only daughter? What are you going to say to mother when she comes back?”

 

“Your mother will surely be grateful for Her Majesty the Empress’s kindness. She can see her only daughter at the monastery sometimes.”

 

Duke Schwartz said to Catarina without blinking an eye.

 

“Anyway, when you go to the monastery, I’ll visit you often. It’s where you’ll spend your whole life, so you should change your mind about it now.”

 

“How! How!”

 

She was so angry that she couldn’t even finish her sentence.

 

Catarina gasped heavily and her voice sounded like scraping metal.

 

“How could you…!”

 

In the end, Catarina was completely consumed by her anger.

 

“…!”

 

She tried to raise her voice, but ended up falling over.

 

The Duke of Schwartz clicked his tongue in pity as he watched his daughter, who couldn’t even control her emotions properly.

 

‘Even if I had made her the empress, she wouldn’t have been able to keep her position for long.’

 

He left his daughter unconscious on the cold prison floor and left her without showing any mercy.

 

***

 

At that moment, Meredith told Theodore about the conversation she had with the Duke of Schwartz.

 

“The Duke of Schwartz has decided to reveal the collusion between himself and Her Highness the Empress Dowager to all the nobles at the council meeting tomorrow.”

 

“He must have been in a hurry.”

 

Theodore sneered at the Duke of Schwartz.

 

“He has been so mean and rude to his daughter that now he’s been bowing down to me and giving me his lifeline.”

 

“It seems like he has completely decided to switch over.”

 

After saying that, Meredith thought for a moment and asked.

 

“You wouldn’t accept a repentant sinner, would you?”

 

“He hasn’t truly repented anyway.”

 

Theodore replied as if to tell her not to worry.

 

“I have a promise with you, after all. Are you worried?”

 

“I just…  asked, just in case.”

 

“Nothing. There’s no benefit in keeping a bat like that by our side. If the opportunity arises, he’ll change his mind again.”

 

“Even if you look at my matter separately, he’s the same kind of person. However, I wonder if Her Highness the Empress Dowager will take it easy… That’s the question.”

 

“Even with this, there is more powerful evidence to prove innocence?”

 

“I don’t know for sure, but I thought Her Majesty the Empress might have noticed by now. If so, she must be preparing a weapon to defend herself.”

 

“Even so, there is no harm to us.”

 

Theodore shrugged his shoulders as if it didn’t matter.

 

“So let’s just wait and see. What kind of weapon the Dowager comes out with tomorrow.”

 

However, no matter how things went, the Duke of Schwartz’s downfall was destined.

 

***

 

The next day, Theodore attended the state council early in the morning.

 

He entered the Great Hall with his face clearly pale as usual, but his eyes were frighteningly alive.

 

“I greet the Master ofValtejain, His Majesty the Emperor.”

 

“Greetings to the Sun of the Empire, the son of the Great Lord.”

 

The nobles greeted him from all sides.

 

Theodore ascended the throne, lightly supported by Felix.

 

“Your Majesty, I will tell you of today’s agenda…”

 

“Wait a minute.”

 

Just as the political meeting was about to begin as usual, Theodore raised his hand to stop it.

 

Everyone looked at him with puzzled eyes.

 

“Before that, the Duke of Schwartz has something to confess in front of everyone.”

 

Everyone murmured at the unexpected situation and looked back and forth between Theodore and the Duke of Schwartz.

 

The Duke of Schwartz stood before everyone with a face that seemed calm, even proud.

 

“Her Highness is plotting a rebellion.”

 

And with those words, the Duke of Schwartz took out a piece of paper from his bosom and showed it to them.

 

“This is the proof.”

 

Soon, everyone turned to the evidence presented by the Duke of Schwartz.

 

“No, this is impossible…!”

 

“How dare you do such a big thing…”

 

“But why is the Duke of Schwartz digging his own grave?”

 

The nobles were shocked by the clear evidence of treason, and at the same time, were very surprised that the Duke of Schwartz had admitted his guilt himself.

 

Naturally, the Duke of Schwartz did not miss a single hole in his own evidence.

 

“When I first received the request from the Empress Dowager to join her cause, I was so afraid. Since she is the eldest of the imperial family, I could not even imagine what kind of revenge she would inflict on me if I refused her offer.”

 

He repeated the excuse he had made to Meredith yesterday without missing a single word.

 

“Also, if I had refused the Empress Dowager’s request, she would have turned to another family, but I judged that it would be less harmful to His Majesty if I had falsely joined hands with the Empress Dowager. So….”

 

“You are lying too much, Duke.”

 

At that moment, a voice that should not be heard here was heard.

 

Duke Schwartz was startled and looked in the direction of the voice.

 

The door opened and a woman walked through the gap.

 

Her graceful figure, combined with the woman’s measured gait, created an extremely dignified and splendid appearance.

 

“How can you say such things when the person concerned is not present?”

 

It was Blair Vatlejane.

 

Duke Schwartz looked at her with a surprised face.

 

“The Empress Dowager… How is Your Highness here?”

 

“Of course, I knew that the Duke would blame me for his sins.”

 

Blair approached Duke Schwartz and whispered as if it was an easy guess.

 

“Ingratitude is a limit. How dare you betray me?”

 

“….”

 

“You will realize the price now.”

 

Blair uttered an eerie warning in a voice that only the Duke of Schwartz could hear, then walked forward, past him.

 

Her footsteps were now heading towards Theodore.

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

Blair stopped a suitable distance away.

 

“This is evidence that will prove my innocence and expose the Duke of Schwartz’s cunningness.”

 

Blair also took out a piece of paper from her bosom.

 

She handed it to Felix, who was assisting Theodore.

 

Soon, Felix’s expression hardened slightly as he confirmed the contents inside.

 

“…..”

 

He handed Theodore what he had received without saying much.

 

Soon, Theodore’s expression, after checking the contents, became the same as Felix’s just now.

 

‘… As expected.’

 

He had thought it wouldn’t be easy, but he didn’t expect her to bring this.

 

“Your Highness, I think you need to explain a bit.”

 

“Of course, Your Majesty the Emperor. What I just gave you.”

 

Blair turned her gaze to Duke Schwartz and looked straight at him.

 

When their eyes suddenly met, Duke Schwartz was startled and stiffened without realizing it.

 

‘… What on earth did you bring?’

 

“What I just gave you…”

 

Soon, words that shocked everyone flowed out of Blair’s mouth.