“You have three months at the most.”
Baroness Cassia Greze quietly closed her eyes as she recalled the physician’s words.
It had been four months since she was diagnosed with an incurable disease of unknown cause. She had stubbornly survived a month longer than expected. In that time, she had accomplished more than she had in her entire 27 years of life combined for the sake of those she would leave behind. A part of her wished she could have spent her last days happily living for herself.
However, she had no regrets. She still didn’t feel like she had done enough to leave behind a territory where her son and daughter could live comfortably. All she could do now was trust in her butler, Paul, who would take over her role as lady of the territory.
‘Have I ever lived for myself these past 27 years?’
At the age of 17, she was sold as some kind of war trophy to Baron Greze, a war hero who had the disgraceful nickname of the ‘Emperor’s Dog’. Her father, Count Ruberno was unable to resist the emperor’s thinly veiled threats and sent her off with only one thing to say:
『If only you weren’t so beautiful』
With a noble lineage and a beautiful face, she had once been praised as the Empire’s finest bachelorette, but her fate was to be sold off to a commoner-turned-noble mercenary. Regardless, that part hadn’t been so bad. She had dreamed of a happy married life and traveled to the Greze territory with hope in her heart.
But no heart-fluttering romance awaited her.
Her husband wasn’t just the Emperor’s dog; he was everyone’s dog as long as they had money. Whether he was a war hero or just a mercenary was hard to say. From minor rebellions to national wars and even territorial wars in distant regions, he left for anywhere that paid.
He never stayed at the territory.
Was it because he had grown up poor as a commoner and was obsessed with accumulating wealth? Or did he simply enjoy beating, slashing, and killing people?
Either way, Zester Greze was not a good husband. Even on the rare occasions he stayed in the territory, their relationship was strictly that of a married couple in name only. In ten years of marriage, he had never once expressed affection, not even the words ‘I like you’ or ‘I love you’. Even for a politically arranged marriage, it was all too much.
“Hng, M-Mother… Don’t go…please stay with me…!”
“Mommy… Waaah!”
The Baroness swallowed her sorrow as she looked at her two children, who were sobbing and sniffling beside her bed.
The reason she was able to endure this hellish married life was because of her children who were so precious to her.
Her eldest son, Rael, who looked exactly like his father but had a completely different personality, and her youngest daughter, Lucy, who was full of charm and loved by everyone in the territory.
They were only eight and five.
They were far too young to be left behind.
Everything she had done with the last of her strength was for their sake.
She had found a tutor for Rael and a nanny for Lucy, trained the servants to treat the young masters with utmost respect, and even left her husband a will for the first and last time, pleading, ‘Please love the children’.
“M-My sweethearts… Even if Mommy is gone, you’ll… kuh!”
“Ahhh!”
“Mother! Mother!”
Just as she was trying to leave a touching final farewell, blood spurted from the Baroness’s mouth. Rael and Lucy cried harder and clung to her in fear.
“Madam… You can’t go like this…”
“Madam! Please stop talking! Save your strength! Please!”
Her cherished maid Clara and the butler Paul also wept. In the end, only four people remained by the Baroness’s side. Her heartless husband never showed his face. It had been a month since he left to support Viscount Viche’s territory war, and he had yet to return.
‘If I told him I was terminally ill, would he have stayed by my side?’
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, the Baroness inwardly shook her head firmly.
Even if she told him she didn’t have much time left, she could practically predict his response:
[That’s unfortunate.]
Then followed by:
[I’ll be heading out to war soon. By the time I return, you’ll likely be dead. Let me say my goodbye now. Thank you for everything.]
It was just her imagination, but it felt way too realistic. Anyone who knew Baron Greze well would likely nod and say, ‘yeah, that sounds about right’.
Thinking this, the Baroness nodded to herself. Choosing not to tell her husband she was dying was, perhaps, the best decision of her short 27-year life. She didn’t want to leave with one last bitter image of her already detestable husband.
“Was I a good mother to the children?”
“Mother!”
“Mommy!”
“What are you saying, Madam?! There’s no one in this world who thinks of their children as much as you do!”
The maid Clara cried out as she held Rael and Lucy tightly.
“Was I a good madam to you?”
“How can you even ask, Madam? Who else remembers even the name of the new cook in the kitchen? So many of us would’ve left the territory the moment you’re gone. If not for your will… sniff!”
Even Paul, who had barely been holding back his tears, finally broke down. It looked awkward seeing him remove his monocle to wipe his tears.
“And to the people of the territory… was I a good acting lord…?”
“Oh, Madam! Calling yourself ‘acting lord’ is nonsense! You know very well that when the people call for the ‘territory lord’, they’re calling you, Madam, not the Master!”
“You are the one who has governed Greze, Madam!”
In the end, Clara and Paul knelt at her bedside, wailing like children.
“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever lived for myself…”
“Madaaam…”
“Mommyyyy!”
She hadn’t been happy, but she had lived well in her own way. She had fulfilled her duties faithfully. Her only regret was that she never cared for herself. If she had just been a little more selfish, a little lazier, a little worse of a person, maybe she could’ve been happier.
But her life was already rushing toward its end.
What use was regret now?
Baroness Cassia Greze, reflecting on her hollow life, quietly resolved to accept her approaching death. She closed her eyes.
“…Cassia!”
It was then that an unexpected intruder burst into the Baroness’s modest deathbed scene.
“…Master?”
Butler Paul looked stunned.
There stood Baron Greze, clearly just returned. His armor was still on, his face caked with dust and dried blood. He must’ve come running the moment he heard the news.
His reaction was strange. He looked like a man in shock, hollow-eyed and staggering as he dropped to his knees at her bedside. As if his wife’s death had shaken him deeply. That couldn’t be possible.
“Why…”
Everyone knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to ask why she didn’t tell him she was dying. But the Baron swallowed those words.
“Uck…!”
“Madam!”
The Baroness vomited blood again, sending everyone into a panic.
“Madam! The master is here, say everything you wanted to say! You always said you had so much to tell him!”
Clara sensed that the end was near and wanted to help the Baroness leave this world with no regrets. Secretly, she hoped her lady would slap that awful husband across the face.
“Yes, go ahead. Say whatever you want.”
The Baron muttered in a daze.
“…Whatever I want?”
“Yes.”
“Then…”
The Baroness closed her eyes. A tear welled up and fell.
“I’ve… always wanted a pearl necklace…”
“Why are you asking my permission? If you wanted one, you should’ve just bought it!”
“You worked so hard to earn that money…how could I dare…”
Raised in a wealthy household, she had grown up without want, but after marrying a husband obsessed with money, she had tried to live frugally. Despite changing fashion trends, she owned only five dresses and two coats, all from her wedding. Everyone knew how unlike a noble she lived.
The Baron, his eyes bloodshot, shouted.
“A damn necklace is a splurge?! Damn it, why the hell do you think I made all that money!”
“Kh—!”
“Aaah! Madam!”
The Baroness vomited more blood. Her pale face was stained with red from repeated hemorrhages.
“And… I wanted to visit the capital one day…”
“Then go!”
“You’re always away at war… How can I… leave the territory…?”
“Haa…”
“There’s… one more thing…”
“Say it.”
“When I die… don’t bring… a new wife…”
“There will be no such thing!”
“I-if you do… I’ll haunt you… for life… you bastard…”
She must’ve held in a lot. Her usually demure, bowed demeanor was gone, and the Baron sat in stunned silence at this raw, unfamiliar side of his wife.
“You’ll grant all this?”
“Of course. Damn it, I’ll buy you a hundred damn necklaces. I’ll take you to the capital. And I swear on the name of Greze, there will never be another wife but you.”
“Y-you’re… suddenly so kind now that I’m dying… I like it… Then one more thing.”
“Name it.”
With a skeleton-thin arm, the Baroness reached for a sheet of parchment on the bedside table.
She had wanted to shove this in his face for a long time, but had held back, for the children, for the people, for her position as Baroness Greze.
“S-sign this…”
It was divorce papers. The Baron’s face froze as he read them. The worn-out sheet must’ve been kept in her drawer for years.
Even knowing it was meaningless now, she looked at him with fierce, desperate eyes, seeking his approval.
She was trying to show him, her unhappy life had all stemmed from him.
“Khuk…”
“M-Mother!”
The Baroness vomited again. Rael, sensing something, gripped her shoulder in alarm.
“…Mother?”
“Madam!”
“Ohh… Madam! No, not like this!”
“Moooom!”
It was a pitiful death.
Unable to get the words of agreement she sought from her husband, her eyes still open in regret, the Baroness’s 27-year life came to an end.
The Baron, with dry, lifeless eyes, stared into her vacant ones.
As everyone wept, mourning the tragic loss of their lady, the Baron slowly rose from where he knelt.
Rip.
The divorce papers in his hand tore clean down the middle.
With a cold, sunken voice, the Baron answered her final request, and, just like always, turned and left her behind.
“Only this, I can’t agree.”
Ruby’s Corner:
**And that’s a wrap for Chapter 1. I plan to update this like 3-4 chapters a week(Monday thru Thurs) as I’m almost done with ETL. The words used in this novel are simple-ish, somewhat like Forget My Husband so this is a much easier brain grind for my translating skills.
**If I can’t handle the load, I’ll let y’all know but 3/week sounds about right. This will also be available for early access on Patreon if you’re interested. Anyways, hope you enjoy!
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 35 - October 10, 2025
- Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 140 - October 7, 2025
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 34 - October 7, 2025
In Miss Ruby we trust! Looking forward to the new novel~
Just like many times before a story that would have ended if one side or the other just talked about the situation. Still gonna read it though XD
Thanks for translating this Miss Ruby ♥️♥️♥️