“Explain yourself,” he said, staring at me with cold eyes.
He was polite, but there was clear contempt in his voice.
Normally, his stunning gaze would captivate any woman, but now it only made me feel afraid.
“You have one minute. Speak... my wife.”
He could barely get out the last word, as if it was too disgusting for him to say.
“My wife,” my husband spoke.
Although it was the first time I had seen his face, there was no doubt about his identity. This situation mirrored a scene from a novel she had read countless times.
Ethan Dumont, male protagonist in “I Became the Daughter of a Skeptical Duke”
Unfortunately, I am not the heroine of the novel.
I'm Camille Dumont, his ex-wife who was caught cheating on her husband with another man and then divorced.
Indeed, this “other man” was standing next to me.
His jacket and vest were off, and two of his shirt buttons were open.
I was caught red-handed, there's no denying it.
Seriously, of all times, why did I pose as his wife at this moment? Isn't this too much?
This second life began so suddenly and in such a ridiculous and cruel way that it made me want to laugh in disbelief.
***
In Becoming the Daughter of a Skeptical Duke, Camille appears only briefly in a flashback scene.
After his failed marriage to Camille, Ethan developed a deep distrust of women, especially beautiful ones, because Camille was a stunning beauty.
As a result, Ethan decided to remain celibate for the rest of his life.
But, due to some circumstances, he ended up adopting a little girl named Elodie, who became the heroine of the story. It was a typical fairy tale romance story about child care.
Like all fathers in such stories, Ethan fell completely in love with Elodie, and eventually passed on the title of duke to her.
The novel was captivating, with Elodie's attractive young character in the first half, and Elodie's mature character dealing with various events in the second half. It was very popular, and I re-read it countless times.
Well, it's okay to move on to my favorite novel.
To be an extra character? This is possible.
Being faced with a life-threatening situation? It is a kind of repetition, and in a future that will not happen yet.
But still, this is exaggerated, isn't it?
At the very least, I should have been transferred before the accident happened, or at least had the opportunity to manage things before I was arrested.
What was I supposed to do, when I suddenly found myself in this situation with no way out?
'Honestly, I've read a lot of romance fantasies, but this is the first time I've seen such a desperate scenario...'
When people are in extreme despair, they laugh instead of crying. That's what I was like now.
When Ethan saw the bitter smile on my face, he frowned.
“Do you find this situation amusing?” He asked, his words restrained but carrying deep anger.
True, this is no laughing matter.
I felt a strange calm, as if I was watching this scene from outside my body.
Perhaps it was because the reality of my transition into this body was not fully absorbed, and I did not feel like it was mine.
But of course, I couldn't stay silent forever.
In the original story, Camille was pale and babbling incoherent excuses, eventually breaking down in tears and begging Ethan for forgiveness.
However, even after all that, Ethan divorced Camille without mercy.
Camille's brother, the master of her family, collapsed in shock and eventually died. He was already ill, so the news of his beloved sister's adultery and expulsion was a fatal blow.
The alimony that Ethan demanded for tarnishing the duchy's honor was more than her poor family could afford.
In the end, Camille wanders the streets with no money, dying alone and unnoticed.
So, if I sit here dumbfounded, a miserable death awaits me as well.
It was clear that I had to find a way out of this situation.
But honestly, I had no idea how to proceed.
I looked at the man next to me.
His name is Liam Bernard, Camille's partner in her relationship.
He's handsome too.
But not as much as Ethan.
And it seems a bit trivial...
Liam was sweating and moving his eyes around, clearly trying to find a way to escape.
After her marriage to Ethan, Camille became plagued by a lack of affection.
She had an angelic beauty, was loved at home and loved by the men in the community.
But her husband never cared for her.
Although some say that Ethan developed a distrust of women because of Camille, the truth is that Ethan has always been cold and uninterested in women. He married out of duty, to preserve the family line, nothing more.
As a result, Camille naturally began to seek solace abroad.
At first, she did not intend to have an affair. Rather, she enjoyed being complimented by handsome young men, as she had done when she was single, to fill a void in her heart.
And here Liam Bernard appeared.
Liam skillfully targeted Camille's heart, which was filled with loneliness and resentment.
With a friendly smile, sweet words, and affectionate looks, it didn't take long for Camille to fall in love with Liam.
'In fairness, Camille was a victim too. Liam approached her with the intention of exploiting her from the beginning.
While I was thinking about this, suddenly an idea came to my mind.
Wait a minute. I am waiting.
An idea came to me, and I started thinking about it deeply.
Is this exaggerated? No, it has a basis.
Even if there are discrepancies, I can improvise to hide them...
My mind quickly put together the pieces of the puzzle.
Before I had Camille's body, I was a successful saleswoman.
I was often ranked first in performance, and was often called a “champion,” so I was very confident in my speaking skills and dealing with situations.
Although I became terminally ill at a young age due to overwork...
I have cursed the void because of my misfortune countless times.
Perhaps this second life was compensation for that.
Yes. It doesn't matter if it works or not, I just have to make it work somehow.
No matter how desperate the situation was, it was much better than being sick.
At least I could resist with my strength.
I cleared my throat a little and stepped forward.
“It's a misunderstanding, Ethan.”
“So, you finally decided to speak up, and that's all you can say?” Ethan replied coldly.
His eyes clearly indicated that he would not believe any nonsense.
“Come on. Explain exactly which part of this is a misunderstanding.”
“Everything. I know it sounds like I did something inappropriate, but that's not true.”
Ethan let out a sarcastic laugh, “Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“I have proof,” I said quietly. “I knew you were coming here today.”
“What?”
“You began to become suspicious of my frequent outings about ten days ago. You have been following me for a week. You became convinced of it the day before yesterday when you intercepted the letter I sent to Baron Bernard.”
“……”
For the first time, Ethan's eyes twitched.
“You intercepted the letter from the maid, Marie, who sent it on a mission. That is how you knew that Baron Bernard and I would meet here today. But you allowed the letter to reach him in order to catch us red-handed, which ensured that he would not deny it.”
“……”
Ethan stared at me in silence, completely stunned.
It was clear that he was more shocked now than when he first witnessed his wife's infidelity.
'Well, actually, I was just repeating the lines from the original story.'
Camille vehemently denied her guilt even when she was caught red-handed.
These were the words Ethan used to interrogate her.
Liam was surprised too.
His eyes were wide as he stared at me.
Of course he is shocked.
Maybe he thought I was a foolish woman who would take his sweet words.
I took control of the situation.
Now it's time to move on to the next step.
While looking around, I noticed an office in the corner and immediately headed over to it.
"… What do you do?" Ethan's voice came from behind me, but I ignored it as I examined the books on the desk.
Even though the books were written in a font I had never seen before, I miraculously was able to read and understand them without any problems.
“He has to be here somewhere... Ah, this is him.”
I picked up a leather bound book with no title on its cover.
“Camille...I mean, Duchess Dumont!” Liam screamed in horror as he stood up.
However, he was quickly restrained by the knights who charged at Ethan's signal.
I turned back to Ethan and held out the book to him.
But he didn't take it. He didn't even seem willing to open it.
Ethan focused his gaze on me and asked in a low voice, “Why is this here?”
“I took it from your library safe earlier,” I replied.
"You slut! Do you realize what you've done? This book…"
“A list of people in debt to the Duchy of Dumont...or rather, a camouflaged fake list. The real list is not in your library safe, but in the VIP safe of the Imperial Bank.”
Ethan's eyes widened in shock.
He looked at me like he couldn't believe what he just heard.
“How did you know that?”
“I've been your wife for five years. At least I know that.”
“It's impossible. The only one who knows about it other than me is my secretary Mathias. He will never reveal it without my permission.”
I shrugged, “But I know, right?”
I had no intention of letting fate lead me to a helpless death. Not this time.