Chapter : 01
Revenge Requires an Axe
To him, I was like an old house that couldn’t be sold, never increased in value, and only drained money in taxes.
— From Iona’s Diary, September
How had things ended up like this?
Iona stared blankly ahead as the thought echoed in her mind.
“Could you repeat that?”
His voice was tightly restrained, but she could still hear the anxiety he hadn’t managed to suppress.
She hadn’t meant to make him this uneasy, so she felt slightly flustered.
“No, I just meant maybe you could take another lover—”
Before she could finish, she was suddenly lifted and seated on the desk.
Usually he was endlessly gentle, but the moment she brought up the idea of him seeing someone else, he became unbelievably difficult.
‘Even though that was the arrangement from the beginning.’
And yet, looking down at the man kneeling before her, she felt herself melting all over again.
Honestly, this was all because of his face.
Or maybe because of the muscles threatening to burst through his shirt.
Or perhaps his taut thighs, or the sharp line of his Adam’s apple.
To put it simply, Dionhart glancing up at her with his head tilted slightly was exactly her type.
“Do you need another lover?”
His low voice slid into her ear.
It wasn’t threatening. If anything, he looked like a wolf desperate not to lose its master, and Iona almost found herself promising to give him anything he wanted.
‘Ah, no. I can’t fall for this. The Constellations want a reverse harem genre.’
But before she could continue her thoughts, Dion gently took her hand and pressed it against his cheek. Then he rubbed against it affectionately, like a man starving for love, and her heart nearly burst from her chest.
‘I-Is this shameless man serious?!’
Black hair like it had swallowed darkness itself. Long, deep-set eyes. A sharp nose and strong jawline that seemed sculpted in elegant strokes.
Using a face like some premium demonic collector’s item like this was completely unfair.
Worse still, Dionhart knew exactly how to use his appearance to his advantage.
“Darling.”
Their eyes met for a brief instant, and he curved his eyes into a smile.
Speaking in a low, honeyed voice that made her heart drop, he continued slowly.
“Your ex-husband is standing in front of the entrance again.”
“…!”
“Don’t you want to provoke him?”
Dionhart mischievously gestured toward the open window.
The weather was warm, so she had left it open to enjoy the spring breeze. She never imagined it would be used like this.
Iona’s ex-husband was a complete bastard, but he was capable.
The distance between this bedroom and the front entrance of the Grand Duke Kaelas estate was considerable, yet he would still be able to hear every sound through the slightly open window.
Dionhart slipped a hand beneath her back as though ready to carry her straight to the window.
The veins standing out on his hand climbed along her spine, devilishly seductive, and her struggle lasted only a moment.
After ending the broadcast, Iona wrapped her arms around Dionhart’s neck.
“Make sure he hears every last bit of it.”
[▶ The viewers are flooding the chat with complaints!]
[Several Constellations are seriously reconsidering whether this route might actually be better than a reverse harem.]
Messages of protest filled her vision, but Iona ignored them with practiced ease and blinked rapidly three times to disconnect the stream.
“If your goal was seduction, then congratulations. You succeeded.”
“If that’s how you want to interpret it.”
She snickered as she imagined her ex-husband outside, drowning in betrayal all on his own.
Even though her relationship with Dionhart had only developed after the divorce papers were signed, her ex still insisted she had cheated on him.
‘Ridiculous. If that mattered so much, he should’ve treated me better while we were married. Especially considering he was the one actually cheating.’
Thinking cheating only meant physical affairs was naïve.
Before the divorce, Iona had endured her bastard ex-husband’s emotional affair for years.
Then one sunny afternoon, she made a decision like a lightning strike.
‘Fine. Let’s see this through to the very end.’
If they were going to pull hair, then someone was going down with it.
There was no way she intended to die quietly and gracefully alone.
Not twice.
And so, Iona no longer intended to endure anything.
Anything at all.
Iona’s husband had been a holy knight.
Ascetic and handsome, with dazzling silver hair and violet eyes like blooming violets.
Whenever he walked the streets in uniform alongside the other knights, women would clutch at their hearts.
His stoic face, tall stature, and sturdy physique looked especially striking in the uniform of the Holy Knights.
A man who showed kindness to the weak and immediately punished wrongdoing to uphold justice.
The light and sword of the Empire, Felix Teresia.
The only blemish on the universally admired man was the fact that his wife was Iona.
Extravagant. Frivolous. A woman obsessed with luxury because of her beauty.
Those were the words used to describe her.
‘Damn it, this is so unfair.’
And that very same Iona was currently wandering the streets penniless.
‘If I’d known I’d get thrown out like this, I should’ve stopped worrying about appearances and spent money like crazy!’
She had tried so hard to save every last coin because he always claimed they were short on money.
‘I shouldn’t have endured it. I should’ve gotten angry and called those rumors what they were—bullshit. Honestly, you need leftover money to live extravagantly in the first place!’
No. Forget that.
She should’ve exposed the truth—that the man everyone worshipped was actually a pathetic mama’s boy.
A man who cried for his mother every time something got difficult wasn’t a man at all. Just a child.
‘And that wasn’t even the worst part.’
She should’ve leaked gossip articles about how he ignored his wife while obsessively trailing after the Saintess.
Yet because he was still her husband, she had covered everything up for him.
‘A political marriage forced on me the moment I turned twenty.’
She thought he’d at least be better than her own family, so she’d tried desperately to grow attached.
She had nowhere else to go anyway. She’d tried to think of them as her new family and make things work.
And this was all she got in return.
“Cough, cough…!”
It was useless to fume about it now.
She had already been cast out from the Teresia household.
‘I don’t want to go back to my family. I’d rather die.’
Breathing raggedly, Iona pulled her hood tighter around herself with trembling hands.
Her body had always been weak, and now that she’d caught a feverish cold, she felt even worse.
‘Ah… I’m dizzy.’
Her husband had thrown her out like she was filthy trash, not even allowing her to take a proper coat.
Something about how she needed to learn the value of the family that protected her.
And since she didn’t even have emergency savings, she couldn’t afford a cheap inn room.
He had probably assumed she would eventually swallow her pride and return.
But this time, she didn’t want to bow her head.
“If you wish to return home, apologize to the Saintess for your rude behavior.”
“Ha! Why should I? I’m the mistress of this household. Not that damn Saintess!”
“Still as insolent as ever. Once you’re ready to reflect on your behavior, kneel before the estate gates. Until you correct your attitude, you are no longer a member of the Teresia family.”
What she had seen was the Saintess practically tearing open her husband’s shirt.
Even if the room was rarely used, it was still the marital bedroom in the Teresia estate, and she was Lady Teresia. Didn’t she have every right to question it?
And her husband’s response, spoken with a weary expression, had been unbelievable.
“You’re misunderstanding something unnecessary. The Saintess was merely examining my injuries.”
Examining injuries, my ass!
The Saintess had looked so excited her nostrils were practically flaring!
The entire time Iona argued with her husband, the Saintess hid behind him.
If she was so innocent, why not come out and face her directly?
Why hide?
When Iona pointed that out, Felix looked at her with naked contempt.
“Your thoughts are utterly depraved. Are vulgar fantasies all you ever think about?”
At that point, she felt something beyond shock—something close to awe.
If there were a competition for turning someone’s life upside down, her husband would undoubtedly win first place.
‘He’s the one in the wrong, and he talks about correcting my behavior.’
The world really ought to know what a petty coward he was.
‘They really should…’
Her vision blurred.
Staggering weakly, Iona suddenly looked up as something cold touched her skin.
Sleet drifted down from the gray sky.
Other people probably called this kind of weather romantic, hurrying home or enjoying dates together.
But she had nowhere to go.
Neither her family nor her in-laws were on her side. She had no friends after being hounded by vicious rumors.
What a miserable existence she had become—
Crash!
Before she could finish the thought, her body was suddenly thrown into the air.
A carriage had barreled straight toward her, wheels skidding wildly.
She had no strength left to dodge.
The impact hit her head-on, and she scattered across the street like falling sleet.
‘Did someone… hire them to kill me?’
The coachman’s eyes, meeting hers for an instant, sent chills through her.
As though he had wanted her dead from the beginning, he showed no sign of shock. Instead, he backed the horse up and ran over her a second time.
‘Ah… I should’ve caused chaos while I still could. If I was going to die this pointlessly anyway…’
That was her final thought as she watched the coachman flee.
She thought she heard someone mutter, “Oh? This should be entertaining,” but perhaps it was only her imagination.
Then came darkness.
A darkness steeped in unbearable resentment.
And then—
[▶ An unidentified contractor has used on you!]
[All the Constellations are watching you!]
[Several Constellations savor your thirst for revenge.]
[Several Constellations have bestowed upon you the blessing <Amazing Adaptability!>]
Cold air slowly pulled her consciousness awake.
