CHAPTER 48

                                    

                                          
'F*ck, I'm screwed'
When I woke up after having passed out in the male lead's aka my husband's room, I was back in the room where I first woke up. I must have passed out from the stress. 
I may be lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling blankly. But internally, I was screaming.   
I need to calm down and think.
Let's rewind time back to when we were talking below the gigantic portrait. What was he saying?
"The man in the portrait is..."
No no this is too front. 
Let's fast forward a little bit.....
" is also the madam's fa...."
Right there! Now, let's amplify this a bit more.
"...fa..th..er..in..law..."
'Ya gotta listen when people talk to you Angelica!' 
I banged my head repeatedly on the pillow.
There was a valid reason as to why I was panicking like this. It was because in the book Edward Frost's introduction started with the death of his wife. 
Edward, who had been cursed, went into a coma. Priests and healers from across the continent were brought in to treat him. 
But it was all in vain. 
At the same time, there was a rebellion in the north initiated by the Marquisate house of Esdel. It was pretty much the same case as the Moores and Ashfords. Except we handled it peacefully (mostly because of Clive) and these two went on an all-out war.
In order to weaken the Duchy's defenses, the Marquess Esdel targeted their strongest commander, the future Archduke Edward Frost. 
After immense effort and a lot of losses, they were able to successfully curse him.
Not that it was helpful since he had plot armor. Anyway, he fell into eternal beauty sleep. 
The Duke and Duchess had to leave the capital to defend the Duchy leaving their only son in the capital regarding his safety. 
Since the sole heir of a powerful house was in a life or death situation naturally his position was also in danger. If Edward were to die without an heir his position would be passed onto his cousin Count Vesser as per the imperial law.
Vesser was in cahoots with Marquess Esdel and played a major role in Edward's curse. He was the man on the inside and was also the lover of Marquess Esdel's sister, Nian. 
Alt hough it was still a secret at this point, Vesser had a number of spies carefully planted in the Frost residence. This also includes one of Edward's secretaries.
When I went to Edward's room I did see a bunch of people who seemed like secretaries. But they were clustered with the priests and healers. 
As of now, I have yet to spot the black sheep but I will soon. I have to. 
'I'm behind enemy lines now. I need to thread this carefully'
Anyway coming back to the point, Edward needed something to anchor his power. And the fastest way for that was a political marriage. But since Edward was already in a coma, his closest aides chose a suitable partner for him, and the marriage was sealed. 
Political marriages were common among the nobility, so there was no account of feelings or love. 
It did not matter anyway since Edward's marriage was short-lived. The newlywed bride was killed by assassins within a month's time of her wedding.
Edward continued to be in a coma till the appearance of Helen Layton, the female lead of this cursed book. She was the daughter of Baron Layton, who had strong holy powers which were on par with the Saintess of Kal, who disappeared a few months prior. 
Along the same time, Helen's family was on the verge of collapse. They were nobles in name only. 
To save her family from ruin, Helen decided to head to the capital in search of employment. There she came across a call for healers and alike. She applied for the job and headed to the Frost Estate. There she met the Ducal couple who were desperate for their son's survival. 
Helen used her holy powers and accomplished what was impossible by the best sorcerers on the continent. She broke the curse in her first attempt much to everyone's joy. 
When Edward opened his eyes, he was greeted by Helen's serene beauty. He who was never interested in marriage or dating fell in love with her at first sight.
Simultaneously, Helen became popular overnight and was invited by the imperial family. Her natural personality and kindness helped her gain more supporters. 
Edward became one of her strongest supporters. Later along with the support from the other male leads, Helen became the most influential person in high society within a matter of months. 
Edward on the other hand had a cold and manipulative personality. He only had two options for everything. It was either with him or against him. His cruel face was exposed to everyone other than Helen. 
Though the war between Frost and Esdel was neutralized by the Imperial family's intervention, Edward used the assassination of his wife as an excuse and massacred the Esdels. He later killed his cousin Vesser and weeded out all his spies in the residence to establish his authority. 
And that wife was me.
.
.
.
.
.
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'F*ck, I wanna cry'
Love at first sight my ass! The manipulative b*stard can go screw over with Helen or hell's spawn for all I care!
Right then, there was a knock on the door. 
I immediately sat up and corrected my posture.
"Come in"
The door opened and a familiar person came in. It was the butler with his usual polite smile.