I Was Meant to Be the Evil Wife, But the Cold Marquis Fell for Me - Chapter 41

In the council chamber at night, Leivis, lord of House Elsdean, pressed the tip of his staff to the floor, his golden eyes fixed on Elina.

“—Your story is missing something fundamental.”
“Eh?”

Elina blinked in confusion, panic flickering in her gaze. Leivis exhaled.

“You claim you did everything under orders. But what benefit would Liliana gain from that?”

Liliana herself was startled.

—But it was true.
Bullying servants, embezzlement, infidelity…

“All of it only harms her position. What motive could she have?”

No ordinary reason could explain such contradictions. Elina’s testimony lacked any logic.

“Speak. But if your words are false, meant to defame Liliana.”

He paused, tightening his grip on the staff.

“—then consider your life forfeit.”

The chamber grew heavier. Even the magical lights seemed frozen.

Leivis’s quiet fury demanded only truth. He stood like judgment itself.

—In the novel, though the words differed, the same question was asked: why had the “wicked wife” acted so? Her motives baffled him.

And the wicked Liliana had answered:

“—Out of spite.”

Elina echoed that line now.

Leivis’s face remained unchanged, watching her. Elina’s expression grew fevered.

“Madam tormented me out of spite! Because you didn’t love her! Out of jealousy of me!”

Tears welled as she cried out.

“She knows you don’t love her, even when you share a bed! Your heart belongs to me, so she bullied me out of jealousy!”

“……”

Leivis’s silence was icy. His aura sharpened.

“—Be glad this is not a battlefield.”
“Huh?”
“On the battlefield, I would already have killed you.”

He sighed, weary, then glared at her again.

“I have never touched you. I never wished to. There is no point in hearing more.”

—The judge’s decision was made.

“Disrespect toward your master, neglect of duty, abandonment of tasks, destruction of property, repeated harm to my wife—you will be punished. Regret your deeds for years to come.”

His cold voice filled the chamber. None dared speak.

—Except Elina, the “heroine” of her imagined story.

“How can you say such cruel things—we love each other! I was meant to be your marchioness! By now I should be carrying your child—!”

She leapt up, pointing at Liliana.

“I am the saint! My magic is stronger than hers!”

Leivis’s eyes gleamed with scorn.

“Perhaps your magic is higher. But where did this claim of sainthood come from? If you insist, show proof.”
“P-proof?”
“Proof you are a saint. If you are so certain, you must have evidence. Or are you falsely claiming it?”
“It’s not false! Because I will be!”

“…Then there is a way to test it.”

Her face lit briefly.

“They say saintly blood contains ether the source of demonic power. Demons attack saints on sight. Shall we test it?”

Leivis’s gaze pierced her. She froze, trembling.

“Y-you’re joking, right? You wouldn’t endanger a saint?”
“Without proof, we must test. It is the surest way.”

He was unwavering.

“But even if your magic is higher, the one I love is Liliana.”

His quiet words made Liliana’s heart race.

—Love.

She could hardly believe her ears. Yet his earnest face proved it true.

(Don’t misunderstand…)

It was not a confession. She was his wife by contract, protected by duty. Nothing more.

—And yet.

Her chest burned with warmth.

She bit her lip, lowered her eyes, afraid of her own longing.

“You love her…?”

Elina’s eyes widened.

“Wake up! She will betray you! She was bought for money, only to bear children!”

Her plea was desperate, not malicious—she truly believed her “story.” But no one else did.

Leivis stepped closer, eyes blazing.

“I warned you. Insult my wife again, and I will not forgive you.”

Elina’s knees buckled. She collapsed, trembling. No one reached to help.

—It was over.

“…Yes, at first it was so.”

Liliana looked up, startled. Leivis’s gaze met hers.

“But now, I would die to protect her. Liliana is my destiny.”

His words carried no doubt. His eyes shone like the sun, enveloping her.

“I swear by my name and crest to guard her with all I am, and to love her all my life.”

—She, once meant to be discarded as a wicked wife.

Leivis’s vow shook her heart. Tears welled, warm against her cheeks.

And in that moment—

She felt the chains that had bound her break apart.

—The “story” itself collapsed.