My Wife Waited in the Wheat Fields

T/N: I put the wrong chapter link in NU for Chapter 9, so scroll to the bottom and click “previous” if you haven’t read chapter 9. The next two chapters should come out in 2 hour intervals.

There was such a thing that some people called a person’s impression on their surroundings.

Alternatively expressed as ‘aura’ or ‘atmosphere’.

It had no concrete form, but no one doubted its existence.

This was because people knew how impressions were formed.

For example, a person with a bitter temperament will have wrinkles that reflect that bitterness, developed over their years of being a bitter person.

On the other hand, someone who had laughed throughout their life would have dimples on their face that created a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Ultimately, one’s aura was like a sculpture that was carved through the person’s entire life experiences.

From this perspective, Elric’s aura after his change in expression was remarkable.

To the Wyvern couple, Elric’s aura was sharp. It was not just sharp, but it took it far enough to resemble a sharp razor blade that could slice through a person right in front of their eyes.

His aura gave off the feeling as if he was going to kill someone, or had killed people before.

It was true though.

Elric had killed many, many people before.

After all, he had spent more than half of his remembered life in a place where the concept of life was deemed unimportant.

He had learned to survive by taking the blood and flesh of the living during his formative years.

He had learned to weigh money and human lives.

He had learned that such things were no big deal.

Strictly speaking, he was a murderer.

In fact, he had wielded his sword so viciously that he had been nicknamed “The Sword Demon”.

It was not surprising that the Wyvern couple, who had never been associated with such things in their entire lives, were tense around the transformed Elric.

After all, wasn’t the concept of “aura” ultimately an extension of the thought of “that person seems kind” or “that person seems dangerous” when looking at someone?

The ability to perceive such traits becomes stronger as one experiences society and meets more people.

As nobles who had lived their entire lives scrutinizing the expressions of others, the change in Elric’s temperament was even more palpable to them.

“I’ve already asked you, what can you do to me? Are you going to answer?”

Although he was still smiling, his countenance had a gloomy feeling to it…

And in this situation, there was a certain trait of his that stood out.

It was due to the differences in the environments that they had lived in.

The soldiers on the battlefield where Elric was active were afraid of him.

Knowing that they would die if they were stabbed by his sword, and that his uncontained violence was far from merciful, they, knowing how sharp Elric’s sword was, panicked and ran away whenever he appeared.

But not the Wyverns.

They were people who had lived their entire lives far away from violence.

They lived in a society where even if they criticized someone with informal language, they did not harm them physically. They lived in a society that considered violence as vulgar, and even if there was any conflict, they lived in a society that resolved it with words.

They didn’t know how terrifying violence was.

They didn’t know how easily people could die, how simple it was to kill someone, and that there were people in this world who do these things for a living.

A young puppy doesn’t know how scary a tiger is. Why would such a saying have been made? Would a puppy bark at a much bigger and fiercer tiger like him?

In the end, it felt strange to be alive.

It was not fear that gripped them, it was their sense of pride that was wounded by the sharp atmosphere that made their bodies tense up.

Having lived their whole life within the confines of a secure fence, like a sheltered dog, they assumed that a tiger, like any other large human, would not harm them.

The Wyvern couple responded with,

“You’ve said enough!”

The shouted words were the loudest and most abrasive yet.

The wide-eyed scowl on their faces were an unmistakable threat.

Their act of cowering had been instinctual, and thus, shameful.

So, they had responded in anger, likened to a puppy’s way of showing off how scary it was.

And so, it was an act of licking and soothing their wounded pride.

This was the biggest difference between Elric and them.

“What will you do if you’ve done everything you possibly can and you still can’t take the estate from me?”

Elric was calm.

His voice was gentle, his expression was not fierce, and his ass was still buried in the sofa.

Elric, unlike Joseph, did not attach any meaning to the act of raising his voice.

He just knew a more concise and surefire way to get what he wanted.

You just needed to draw your weapon and shoot your opponent.

And so, he didn’t show unnecessary anger.

In Elvus Grayman’s words.

“A beast does not flaunt its authority. Only those that don’t have true authority need to flaunt it.”

This was what Elric had heard one day when he had escorted him to a hunting festival.

Now, unlike when he was a boy, Elric knew that composure could be a great threat.

“Let me ask you, do you have any actual grounds for claiming the inheritance? I mean legal grounds, not emotional ones.”

In reality, Elric had the advantage.

He was aware that he had the right to inherit this estate.

Who were these outsiders to interfere with the will of the deceased?

Their intentions were already clear.

Compared to ten years ago, their dress has become more flashy, their eyes widened in pursuit of the inheritance, and there was a sense of restlessness about them.

They were desperate for money.

“Do you have any?”

Even if this conversation wasn’t about the inheritance, Elric still would have had the upper hand over them.

“No.”

The Portman Family was the entity that funded the Wyverns.

And Elric, Portman’s eldest son, was the one who controlled that money.

If Elric had the intention to, starving them to death would have been nothing to him.

Of course, Elric had yet to decide on whether he would stay in Wiven, but they had no way of knowing that.

The Wyverns had become dumb with honey. [1]

Elric smirked.

“Excessive greed, as expected of you two.”

“You rotten….”

“You should be careful with what you say.”

Joseph Wyvern’s body shuddered.

Fear and a sense of crisis were sometimes directly linked to reason.

When your head cooled down and you were not swayed by emotions, your head would whisper things you didn’t know before.

He had thought that he could win by revealing Elric’s immature side or by appealing to him emotionally, but now that he appeared so rational, it was obvious that Joseph had to be scared.

It was only then that Joseph realized this fact.

Elric stood up, leaning on his cane.

“I may have been missing for 10 years, but I am still a Portman. My father designated me as the inheritor of the estate, and you are living off of Portman’s money. Even if I don’t say it all out loud, I think you should understand,”

Suddenly, Elric felt a bitter chuckle escaping his lips.

“Come to think of it, it’s ridiculous. In the first place, the only person who has the right to inherit the estate in my place is my wife, isn’t it? What makes you think it’s yours? Oh, wait. Did you want to receive compensation for raising her?”

A phrase suddenly occurred to him.

The words that had convinced Elric to run away ten years ago.

‘Repay me the cost of raising you.’

Although they hadn’t actually said those words directly to Tyria, there was something in their demeanor that hinted it.

Even if it wasn’t expressed in words, Tyria would have sensed such an indication from their attitude.

And this similarity between them and that man was a good ingredient for empathy.

What had come to his mind then was a sense of revenge that was closer to self-satisfaction.

“Pay me what I’ve fed you. Don’t be greedy for no reason.”

The most humiliating words he knew were those of his father.

Ironically, in this moment, Elric was imitating his father who he had despised so much.

“I’ll be going then.”

With a thud, Elric stood up and was about to leave the reception room, holding his cane.

It was at that moment.

“How dare you think you can get away with this! Do you even know who I am…!”

Joseph cried out, still unable to swing his fists.

Elric turned his head to look at him.

His flushed face looked somewhat pathetic.

Elric smiled and said.

“Go ahead. Try something, anything. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Throughout it all, Elric had remained calm and composed.

Even though he was being threatened, he didn’t feel any sense of danger.

Even if they did try to stab him in the back, he didn’t think that….

Well, he doubted that they’d be any worse than the battlefields he had fought on in the West.

“Just remember this one thing… I don’t give second chances.”

With those words, Elric left the reception room.

The door slammed shut behind him,

“Aaahhhhh!!!”

A thin scream rang out, like that of a young girl’s.

The carriage headed back towards the Portman Mansion.

Elric watched the passing scenery and thought about his time in the Wyvern Estate.

Shame and self-loathing flooded him.

His face burned red.

‘Shameless.’

Honestly, when Elric had judged them, this was what they were, but he didn’t think he was any better than them.

After all, he was just as guilty as they were when it came to Tyria.

Even if he thought that she had already left the mansion, that was no excuse.

Because she hadn’t, this was nothing but a cowardly act of self-defense.

What could he do to be different from them?

“…Please stop for a moment.”

As Elric spoke, the carriage came to a stop.

They were in the wheat fields of the Portman Mansion

Tyria was there.

She looked up from examining the wheat and her eyes met Elric’s.

Almost immediately, she quickly bowed her head and turned back to her work.

Elric got off the carriage and approached her.

The dirt of the wheat field was different from the carriage path, making it quite uncomfortable for him to walk on it with his cane.

“Tyria.”

Feeling that it would be inappropriate to call her “lady” again, he called her by name.

Tyria looked at Elric once more.

Her answer was filled with doubt.

“Yes?”

His blunt demeanor was worlds different from the aura around him when facing her parents a mere hour ago.

It was a strange feeling.

Maybe that was why she felt less nervous than usual around him.

Elric spoke with a much softer smile than usual when dealing with her.

“Why don’t you join me for dinner tonight? There is something important that I must speak to you about.”

“Something that cannot be said here?”

“I don’t want to interrupt your work.”

He was a little nervous.

He was worried about being rude or if she thought that he was simple minded.

So, Elric waited anxiously for her to speak, feeling relieved when she finally gave her answer.

“If you don’t mind dinner being a little later than normal, then I would love to.”

Elric’s face expression brightened a little.

“Thank you. I’ll see you this evening then.”

He had been the one to get married.

And thus, he who tied the knot must untie it.

Tonight, Elric wanted to apologize for his departure ten years ago. [2]

[1. Sucking the honeypot is a Korean idiom meaning something like being a sugar baby.]

[2. F-f-finally?]

PR: Dazed

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