The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 83
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The man, who had just stepped onto solid ground after a long time, was greeted by an empty house.
Philipp Lucerne blinked in confusion. He searched every nook and cranny of the cramped home, but there was no sign of his family anywhere.
He dashed out of the house and went to find Mr. Schinkel, the landlord of the shared housing. If anyone knew something, it was likely him.
“Mr. Schinkel, it’s Philipp Lucerne. Are you there?”
He knocked on the door and called out for a long time. When the door finally opened, it wasn’t Mr. Schinkel who appeared, but his son.
Adolf, Mr. Schinkel’s son, was an unemployed man without a decent job, who leeched off his parents and had never once held a woman’s hand—a lifelong bachelor.
Upon seeing Adolf’s shabby appearance, which suggested he hadn’t bathed in who knows how long, Philipp almost reflexively let his expression harden, but he forced a smile instead. A foul odor stung his nostrils.
“It’s been a while, Adolf. Is your father home?”
“……”
Despite his attempt to speak warmly, Adolf only glared at him with a sullen expression. If he couldn’t even manage to function as a proper human being, he could at least be polite, but he was a fool who lacked even that.
Philipp had to muster all his strength to keep his facial muscles from twitching. Adolf eyed him up and down, then snorted before finally opening his mouth.
“What took you so long to come back? Your wife died, what, two months ago?”
“What…?”
Philipp’s eyes shook uncontrollably as he heard the news he had never imagined. Adolf Schinkel could hardly contain his laughter as he watched the man’s face go pale, frozen in shock. He smirked openly, taunting him.
“You didn’t even know your wife died? Then you probably don’t know your daughter’s been selling herself to Alphas either.”
“My wife… Agnes is dead?”
“Oh, please, she’s been dead for a while. It’s been two months already. We’ve already held the funeral.”
“…My, my daughter—”
“Your daughter’s been playing the field with this Alpha and that Alpha, then she managed to catch a noble and got married. Filthy girl.”
“My daughter would never do that!”
It was at that moment, enraged by the continuous insults, that Philipp shouted out.
“What’s going on here? What’s all the noise?!”
Mr. Schinkel appeared at the end of the hallway. He looked back and forth between his son, half-stuck in the doorway, and Philipp, who stood facing him, and quickly seemed to grasp the situation, his mouth dropping open.
Rolling his eyes, Mr. Schinkel hurried over to stand between the two men, letting out a heavy sigh. He shot a fierce glare at his son before turning to Philipp, his face full of regret.
“I apologize, Mr. Lucerne. My son is… rather immature.”
“…No, it’s fine.”
Philipp wanted to hurl a string of curses, but he held back. He didn’t want to cause any more commotion. He was a timid man by nature.
Mr. Schinkel sent Adolf back inside. Even as the door closed, Adolf continued to mutter under his breath.
Once they were alone in the hallway, Mr. Schinkel began explaining to Philipp what had happened.
“…So, Johanna is now the Marchioness of Neubitz and living in their estate, while Daniel attends the Bamberg boarding school. Agnes has been cremated, and her ashes are kept at the national cemetery. They said the first three years are free.”
“I see… Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. We are neighbors, after all… we should help each other out.”
Though he wasn’t particularly known for being helpful, Mr. Schinkel had never pressured them for rent, so he felt he deserved some credit. He offered a self-satisfied smile, feeling like a good person. Then, noticing Philipp’s gloomy expression, he cautiously asked something that had been on his mind.
“By the way… what have you been up to all this time?”
“Well, I… I was trying to find some money.”
“Oh… So, did you manage to find any?”
“I did manage to scrape together a bit.”
“That’s good to hear. But I suppose you won’t have to worry about money anymore. Your daughter has married into a great noble family… I’m sure they’ll help you out.”
“Haha… Yes, our daughter always was so considerate of her family…”
Philipp, desperate to leave the conversation, mumbled something about suddenly remembering an urgent matter and quickly made his way down the corridor.
Once outside the shared housing, he headed straight for the public cemetery where his wife was laid to rest. To enter, he had to provide proof of identity at the administration office at the entrance.
Following the path shown to him by the caretaker, he arrived at the spot where his wife rested. His eyes fell on a modest, unremarkable headstone engraved with the name Agnes Lucerne. A fresh bouquet of white flowers lay before it, left by someone recently.
‘Did the kids come by…?’
Overwhelmed with emotion, he rubbed his eyes and placed a small, paper-wrapped bouquet next to the fresh flowers. He then took a moment to pray for his wife.
The moment he finished his prayer, tears he had been holding back began to fall. Unable to contain himself, Philipp collapsed in front of the grave, sobbing uncontrollably.
