Chapter : 04
Smack!
The moment she heard those words, Griselda strode forward and slapped Iona across the face.
“Oh, Baldur, forgive us. A demon has entered this household.”
Iona’s head snapped to the side, and she let out a dry little laugh.
“If you call me a demon, then my husband must be a man who sleeps with demons.”
“How dare you… how dare you!”
Griselda trembled in shock.
Glancing around, Iona pushed through the crowd and picked up a porcelain flower vase overflowing with blossoms.
“You! Put that down this instant. I’m warning you nicely—do you want to be thrown out of this house?”
“I’ve already been thrown out once, so what difference does it make?”
Crash!
Murmuring indifferently, she let the vase fall to the ground right in front of them.
“No… no, no!”
The instant Griselda saw the shattered remains, she collapsed backward.
While the maids panicked trying to support the pale-faced elder madam, Iona spoke clearly.
“From now on, if any of you lay a hand on me again, I’ll destroy your precious belongings one by one right in front of your eyes.”
The vase, now reduced to useless shards, had been one of Griselda’s most treasured possessions.
Apparently it had been one of the few gifts she’d received from her late husband.
For the dowager of a count’s family, it was an awfully pitiful attachment.
Not that Iona cared.
‘Ah… I feel completely refreshed.’
Her cheek still stung, and her palms hurt, but her heart felt lighter than ever.
“I’m going to my room to sleep, so don’t wake me. And I won’t be attending evening prayers either.”
Snapping the words sharply, Iona turned away.
‘I should’ve acted like this from the start.’
A thrilling sense of exhilaration spread all the way to her toes.
She already felt like she knew exactly how she would use this second life she had been given.
But when she opened her eyes again, Iona’s mood instantly soured.
“Aren’t you going to apologize?”
Her husband—who had visited her bedroom fewer than five times throughout their entire marriage—was standing before her.
Felix Teresia sat rigidly in a chair, his beautiful face hardened coldly.
Moonlight poured over him.
Yet half his body remained swallowed by shadows, making him seem less holy than usual.
“So it truly was your birthday after all. Consider this your present. If you apologize for the things you did today, I’ll let them pass. But do not ever repeat such behavior again.”
That was when it happened.
Her vision shook violently, and the “messages” appeared again.
[The Constellation ‘Dead Serious About Punishing Cheating Trash’ is greatly enraged.]
[The Constellation ‘#1 in the Revenge Service Industry’ is eagerly waiting for you to do something.]
[The Constellation ‘<Help!> My Husband Broke Into 14 Pieces’ is anticipating something spicy.]
[Many Constellations rattle diamonds in their hands.]
[▶ Current Donation Amount: 10 Diamonds]
[Preview Channel ‘Likes’: 6]
[Preview Channel ‘Viewers’: 5]
There were five viewers, so why were there six likes?
The numbers didn’t match.
Holding her head, Iona found herself thinking nonsense like that instead.
The overwhelming situation was giving her a splitting headache.
‘Or maybe it’s just because I’m looking at this bastard’s face.’
Blaming all unpleasant things on her husband as usual, Iona calmly pointed something out first.
“I just woke up, and yet you barged in and made yourself comfortable. Are you some kind of pervert?”
“…What sort of language is that?”
“Language? You’re certainly very elegant in the way you speak to your wife.”
“……”
“You sat there watching me sleep the whole time? That’s disgusting. Apologize for that first. Isn’t it improper for even a husband to enter a noblewoman’s private bedroom without permission?”
There wasn’t a single flaw in her argument.
Stubbornly rigid Felix couldn’t refute it.
“I should’ve woken you by throwing cold water on your face.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
Yawning lazily, Iona pushed aside the incomprehensible messages floating before her for the moment.
‘Judging by the sky, it’s probably evening now. They’re not going to feed me, are they?’
So she’d have to starve?
She really didn’t like that idea.
“I apologize… for failing to observe proper etiquette.”
Diamonds.
Did those messages really mean actual diamonds?
‘If so, I could sell them.’
Who was sending those messages anyway?
She had no idea.
But… did it matter?
‘It kind of feels like they’re on my side.’
At least her head was clearing up a little now.
Barely listening to Felix’s forced apology—or was it a demand for one?—Iona carefully read the floating text instead.
She had clearly died and awakened younger.
So if strange words floated before her eyes now, what was so surprising about that?
‘All this time, I wished I had even one person on my side. Maybe that’s why I’m hallucinating. Maybe it’s just my imagination.’
Her thoughts growing complicated, Iona simply decided to accept it that way.
Right now, she didn’t want to think too deeply about anything.
“My lady. You seem completely incapable of understanding the situation. I am restraining my anger.”
“No, I think you’re the one failing to understand the situation. There wasn’t a single moment during our marriage when I wasn’t angry.”
“…!”
What exactly was he expecting her to do about that?
If Felix had ever treated her kindly, even out of basic courtesy, perhaps she wouldn’t have become so arrogant.
No—even once would have been enough.
If he had ever once taken her side when she was treated unfairly.
But Felix Teresia, the supposedly righteous and impartial man, had always been merciless only toward her.
“If you want an apology from me, return the paintings your sister stole first.”
Not “please return them.”
Not “give them back.”
But “return them.”
To Felix, her tone sounded shockingly rude.
Yet he couldn’t immediately point it out because of the strange sense of unfamiliarity crawling over him.
‘Who… is this woman?’
Even in the darkness, her hair stood out vividly, the color of honey mixed with cream.
The long style cascading freely to her waist was one he had always found distasteful.
Recently, thanks to the Saintess, he had become somewhat accustomed to seeing women wear their hair down…
But according to his mother, a proper and virtuous lady ought to keep her hair neatly pinned up.
Following that household custom, Iona had always worn her hair properly arranged after their first year of marriage.
At least during the daytime whenever she might encounter him.
‘Seeing her this disheveled feels strange.’
That had to be why this felt so awkward.
He had simply chosen the wrong time to visit.
His mother had collapsed earlier, so he’d come to mediate things as quickly as possible, but visiting at dawn had clearly been a mistake.
And yet Felix couldn’t bring himself to leave.
The blue eyes glaring at him burned fiercely.
Not like a lake or the sea—
But like blue flames.
The vivid intensity swirling within those irises seemed capable of seizing the breath of anyone who met them.
‘Why is she acting so confident?’
Frowning slightly, he suddenly realized that Iona was holding her head high.
Until now, he had never properly looked into those eyes because she always lowered her gaze first.
“I will never apologize until I get my paintings back.”
“Haven’t we already discussed that matter?”
“I never agreed to anything. Correct the record and announce that every painting released under the name Blanche Teresia actually belongs to me.”
How fitting for a woman born into a family that worshipped Isis.
To deliberately dig up a matter that had already been settled peacefully and stir it up again.
Suddenly exhausted, Felix brushed a hand through his hair and sighed.
“Will you only be satisfied if you go that far? Show some mercy. If people learn now that the paintings were yours, what will they think of Blanche? It will damage your image as well.”
“Don’t talk to me about mercy. Don’t pretend to care about my image. You’re just annoyed because this is troublesome for you. I’m simply demanding what rightfully belongs to me.”
“My lady… you truly never know when to concede a single word, do you?”
Those blue eyes stared directly at him.
For some reason, Felix felt strangely overwhelmed and loosened the button at his collar.
His chest felt tight.
He didn’t know why.
Was it because of the screaming Iona had done while smashing the Saintess statue?
Or perhaps because he truly hadn’t known today was her birthday.
Even for him, forgetting his wife’s birthday felt somewhat regrettable.
Not enough to overlook all her insolence, of course.
“There is no point continuing this discussion. The mansion must be cleaned after the destruction you caused, so you are forbidden from leaving your bedroom for the next three days. This is an order from the head of the household. Think carefully, and when your mind has calmed and returned to proper order, we will speak again.”
“No. Sit down and shut up, Felix Teresia.”
