IBOMLEW Ch 1 — Becoming the Obsessive Male Lead’s Ex-Wife (I)

hi! i’ve picked up a new webnovel !! it’s currently being serialised by naver webnovel, click here to read the synopsis!

---

A woman with black hair that fluttered down to her waist and exquisite blue eyes that shone like stars, was sitting in the centre of the garden.

She was the Duchess Carlisle.

She was beautiful rather than pretty, arrogant rather than docile; she was a goddess who was overflowing with decadent beauty.

Several middle aged aristocrats who were sitting across from each other, couldn’t hide their impatience with their awkward expressions as they sat in front of the woman.

The Carlisle Dukedom, to which they were tied to by blood, was a branch from the imperial family that was founded by Ervin Carlisle, who received the dukedom from the 30th emperor as his youngest prince.

Contrary to the emperor proclaiming that the family would be blessed with fertility, starting from the first duke who only had one son in his old age, the Carlisle Dukedom had barely managed to make it to the 6th generation.

From generation to generation, although the Dukes of Carlisle were all married at an earlier age compared to other nobles, each time a new head would succeed their predecessor, their relatives would still struggle with concerns regarding their successors and giving birth to a child.

This too was the case for the current Duke Carlisle.

They, the blood relatives of the Carlisle household, had just yesterday, had a conversation with Duke Carlisle that in the end, had amounted to nothing.

When they went to meet the Duchess, they suddenly recalled yesterday’s discussion.

The topic of the conversation had been that there was no heir to succeed Duke Carlisle.

And it had been like that for a full four years already.

To the relatives who had questioned him about his heir, or lack thereof, Duke Fervin Carlisle had shot them all with a piercing glare.

“The marriage period, which is an agreement between two countries, is not over yet, but everyone is already so impatient.”

“There are concerns as there hasn’t been any news or signs of an heir during this marriage of four years. If you are not on good terms with your wife, please tell us. Or have you reached the point where you can no longer bear to put up with your wife? If that’s the case…”

“I think you should ask Irwen this, not me. Since it seems as if she’s always avoiding me.”

A shadow of anxiety flashed across Duke Carlisle’s handsome face.

His shiny platinum hair was nervously messed up, and a shadow was cast in his sharp green eyes.

The men all nodded their heads, acting as if they knew how he felt.

It was a well-known fact in the Carlisle family that the Duchess of Carlisle was always anxious, and although she would never take the initiative to meet her husband, would occasionally hurl abusive language from time to time.

There were times when the servants had occasionally said that she would devour her husband with her vicious gaze.

“Who can withstand the Duchess’ fiery temper? We all know it too well. We can file a petition with the Emperor, urging him to allow a divorce and pursue a remarriage with someone else. Since everyone knows that the Carlisle Dukedom’s sons have always been extremely valued, His Majesty would also…”

“A divorce within five years is a diplomatic disrespect. There is still a year left, yet you’re telling me to violate this national treaty?”

“But the situation is that you need to see an heir as soon as possible! From generation to generation, the Dukes of Carlisle have rarely seen the birth of a successor after the age of twenty-five, and Your Highness is turning twenty-five this year! Even the astrologers have said that if you don’t have any children by next year, there will be no permanent heirs. Therefore, you must meet a proper duchess and have a child quickly.”

“But I know that I was born to my father when he was forty.”

“However, the former Duke had already made love with several ladies before that…he even made friends. But the Duke continues to lead a life of integrity and abstinence, like a monk…”

The vassals all sighed as they watched Duke Carlisle’s figure.

Everyone in the empire knew about the wild beauty of a beast that was hidden within his neat uniform, so why couldn’t he make full use of it?

Just look at that sharp neckline, the strong and firm muscles that were revealed by his sleeves that were rolled up to his forearms, and the dizzying pectoral muscles that hid underneath the collar that had been folded downwards.

There were hundreds of women who were eager to enter his gaze, yet it was still a work in progress.

Of course, the fact that Duke Carlisle had a wife who stabbed at him like a knife, was also a work in progress.

To put it simply, it was not hard for him to seduce a woman and make a child with her if he really put his mind to it.

However, Duke Carlisle, like always, would respond indifferently to the lectures of his relatives.

“I still have the ability to sire a child. It is just not the right time to welcome a successor yet.”

“But the astrologer…”

“I have already heard it once, I don’t want to hear it anymore, so get out!”

In the end, receiving only Duke Carlisle’s fiery wrath, the men of the Carlisle family left without seeing any results.

And today, the Duchess Carlisle had called them all together.

The Carlisle clansmen all gulped collectively.

The Duchess, who had called them to announce something important, had a different temperament from her usual brutal one.

[ / / / ]

The people only sipped tea for a while.

After a moment of heavy silence, one of the vassals finally spoke up.

“Madam, may I ask why you wanted to see us?”

Irwen Lillias, the Duchess who had married in from a foreign country, nonchalantly turned her gaze away from the teacup and onto the men.

The middle-aged men all trembled at her cold gaze.

‘What sort of orders is she going to give out today?’

Until now, every time the Duchess called for them altogether, the reason for doing so was always clear.

‘Orders to collect and offer gold to the Verma Duchy?’

‘Orders to collect and offer precious jewels to the Verma Duchy?’

‘Orders to collect and offer the specialties of the Carlisle estate to the Verma Duchy?’

Wasn’t she the Duchess who always wanted to give everything to her maternal home, the Verma Duchy? ¹

‘Why does His Highness, the Duke, who knows of his wife’s illegal actions, still choose to turn a blind eye to her?’

Just as everyone let out a sigh, Irwen spoke up, as if nothing had happened.

“Please stop offering monthly specialties to the Verma Duchy from now on.”

“…Sorry?”

“I told you to stop sending all the jewels, specialty items, and gold so far, to the Verma Duchy every month. And tell the peasants in particular, that this will never happen again. In the meantime, please forgive me for acting so foolishly in regards to my maternal home.”

The men glanced at each other and communicated with their eyes.

It was extremely good news, but at the same time, it terrified them as well.

‘Why is the Duchess suddenly having such rational thoughts?’

‘Did she finally find out that it’s illegal to pay tribute to the Verma Duchy without going through the normal process?’

‘Did the Duke have a word with her?’

‘No, madam is definitely not the type to listen to others.’

‘Then why did she suddenly make such a normal decision all of a sudden?’

They were all men who were bursting with curiosity, but they still bowed their heads when they met the frosty eyes of the Duchess.

“I will carry out your order.”

“I’ve finished speaking, you may take your leave now.”

Irwen sighed after watching the men dash out.

All the tension drained from her body as she rubbed her stiff neck.

Her disheveled appearance right now contrasted greatly with her charismatic charade earlier.

“I feel refreshed now that I’ve stopped it. I should be able to survive if I stop all the stupid things she did before. “

[ / / / ]

It was not too long ago that I was living an ordinary but tiring life.

In my previous life, it was not an uncommon occurrence for me to faint once or twice due to my irregular meals, non-stop part time jobs and arduous daily routine that continued until dawn.

But this time, it was different.

I felt like I was going to die when I fainted, but when I finally managed to get up, I sensed that something had changed.

The fragrant smell of flowers that tickled the tip of my nose, the luxurious pajamas that I was wearing, and the soft blanket that hugged my body.

It was the first time I had ever seen everything so western-inclined and old fashioned.

I looked around in bewilderment at the splendour that seemed to only be described in the noble mansions of novels.

The moonlight shone through the cracks of the slightly opened curtains, illuminating the room.

Confused, a large bed surrounded by red curtains, a huge blanket covering me, and a man kneeling at the edge of the bed, resting his face on one arm at an angle came into my sight.

I squinted my eyes which were not used to the darkness around me.

His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, his slender upper body that was revealed by his unbuttoned shirt and his luscious platinum blonde hair that moved regularly with his breathing, looking as if he had fallen asleep.

Full of vigilance, I rushed to the other side of the bed in order to avoid him and covered myself with a duvet.

Everything was confusing to me.

What was it with this western-style bedroom, why did I come here, and who was this man who was sleeping on the same side of the bed as me?

It was then, when I had unconsciously begun trembling in the bed, full of anxiety.

The sound of the man getting up along with a yawn that seemed to be held back sounded from outside of the duvet.

As if he was taking care of a child, the man carefully removed the duvet from my head with his hand.

I closed my eyes and stayed as still as a dead mouse.

After stroking my hair for a while, his heavy voice resounded.

“Just wake up, please…”

There was a mixture of resignation, exasperation, affection, and obsession in the voice that sounded.

There was a tenderness in the hand that had lifted off the blanket and straightened out the pillow, as I started to wonder who the man was, still keeping my eyes tightly closed.

As I trembled with anxiety, all sorts of thoughts rushed through my head.

Judging by the good-looking voice I heard earlier, I could roughly assume that he probably would’ve had a good-looking appearance to match as well.

I closed my eyes and just waited for him to leave.

As I tried to figure out what was going on and what to do when he left, hot lips suddenly landed on my cheek.

I opened my eyes in surprise, my eyes making contact with the man’s.

“Irwen?”

The moment his dazzling cold green eyes, as if shaking, locked onto me.

The moment the name ‘Irwen’ was engraved deeply in my heart.

Heavy anxiety and confusion struck me, as my vision suddenly faded into black.

---

[1] the korean word is actually 친정, which is a word that refers to the former home of a married woman, and since parental home doesn’t sound quite right, i’ll be referring to it as ‘maternal home’ from now on.

---

AHHHH the chapter is rlly long so i’ll be splitting chapters in two!

also i’ve read up to about chapter 22 in the raws and let me tell you it get’s really good plus the art is *chefs kiss* !!! ml is super possessive as u can guess from the title so if you like possessive mls this is ur story SDLFKJFD also,,,unfortunately it does not get snu snu scenes /cries in korean age restrictions but the kISS SCENES GET SUPER HOT HEHEHE