Responses
Like I said, novel Edric is the scum of the earth. I hate him SO MUCH. The manhwa actually softened him up a bit and he doesn't save half as much the hurtful things his novel counterpart does.
wait no, tell me more. Im too lazy to read the novel
During the tea scene where Millie asks why did they get married, Edric in the novel says, "If you stop whining like a child and play the role of a wise wife like you are now, I think I can believe the feeling (of love) I felt back then wasn't an illusion." When Millie says nothing in response, he shoos her off and says if she has nothing else to add, he would like her to leave him alone. His reasoning? He was stressed out from subduing the rumors and newspapers of Millie's infertility. He had to fight the royal family to get the articles removed. And he ended up taking his frustration on Millie (kinda implying she doesn't even know the difficulties he had to go through in order to keep her happy. She should be grateful~)
Millie's disappearance:
Felton gifted her an estate. It was an apology for his harsh words when she asked about why they got married. However, right before she got the papers of ownership, she overhear Felton and her MIL talking and found out she's infertile, so the MILk suggested Felton get a mistress. Millie assumed Felton wanted to her to move to the countryside so he can have a mistress at the main house. While she goes to his office to tear up the paper, she finds Felton's drafted divorce papers. She signs it, tucks it back into its secret place, and immediately runs away. She lies to the staff and said she's taking a carriage to the Marchioness (the art patron). No one thinks anything of it. Felton comes home, exhausted, and asks where is Millie? The staff replies and Felton is like okay. Takes a bath, relaxes, and when a few hours pass and Millie is still not in sight, does he then realize something is wrong. He thought Millie was late from coming home bc of the rain. Instead of being worried of her safety, he was annoyed at first. He thought he needed to give Millie a firm warning about come home on time and ordered a carriage to be ready so he can go pick her up himself. When he arrives at the Marchioness', she says Millie never arrived at the appointment, which isn't like her. Millie actually got off the carriage halfway through and decided to walk the rest of the way. And it's during this time she goes missing with the staff being oblivious and inattentive to Millie.
Another scene that wasn't included during Millie's run away arc is that Felton goes to Millie's academy friend's house to see if maybe Millie was there. He finds out the friend was just using Millie so decides to ruin the husband's business.
Felton starts to feel guilt and wonder if what he said to her about "it was love" and if she acted more obedient befitting a duchess was too harsh. But then he is like Millie wouldn't leave home bc of that. She's not so weak to be hurt by his words...right? Even if he was hurtful to hear, Millie smiled the day after and fixed his clothes, and said she would do better. He convinces himself Millie wasn't such a weak and narrow minded woman to leave him over something so minor. He convinces himself that Millie probably fell asleep somewhere while taking shelter from the rain. She's probably home by now and fidgeting while waiting for him. He'll be magnimous enough to forgive her and nod scold her for making him worry. Then he'll apologize for what he said about not loving her anymore.
A month goes by, and his life goes on as normal. He secretly is searching for her but does not put any news or ads out bc he doesn't want to ruin his family reputation.
As he's rummaging through his paper, he finally finds the divorce papers with millie's signature. It is then he realizes why millie ran away. He puts out an ad finally about her disappearance.
3 more months go by since he started advertising for Millie. By now, Millie has been gone 4 months. And I should clarify here. I misremembered the events. It takes about 6 months before Felton finds out "Millie" is dead. Not that he didn't try to find her for 6 months.
Anyway, oh poor, wittle Felton~ His impeccable manners and reputation goes down the drain bc he's pining for Millie. The women of the aristocracy swarm to his home, hoping to become the new duchess, but he's being mean to them! Kicks them out of his home and threatens to ruin their family if they try to seduce him again. He bans women from entering the dukedom ever again. Woe is, Felton! Ppl are gossiping about how crazy he's become.
He goes to Milrod Square, the place where he stood Millie up in the rain. He stands alone in the square and FINALLY, after 4 months, regrets standing Millie up. He starts crying.
5 months after Millie's disappearance, Felton begins to deteriorate (oh boo hoo). He becomes listless, making more mistake at work. He broke his glasses (bc in the diary, Millie said she wanted to be his glasses and so he broke his glasses in some convoluted reasoning Millie needs to be the one to help him see). He was losing contracts and being excluded from important political deals. His entire life's work was unraveling, but Felton didn't care bc only Millie mattered. Nothing else did. Without his glasses, his falls down the stairs, but even as his head is bleeding, he has no reaction (okay, so?)
He orders for a carriage so he can go back to the square to hopefully even find a trace of Millie. But then, when he mistakes someone for her, he gets disappointed. He decides to injury himself. He got a thought in his head. If he gets hurt, wouldn't Millie show up? No matter how much she hates him, she would come back if she heard about his accident right? He thinks maybe Millie regrets leaving him, but is too embarrassed to come back. That made him feel better. Millie will come running back to him with tears on her face and blame herself for his injury. The idea of dying didn't deter him. After all, he is good as dead without Millie (barf!!). So Felton PURPOSELY runs into traffic and gets run over by a carriage.
Anyway, Felton almost died. His body was crushed and he needed 5 blood transfusion. Then the infection almost kills him. 2 months goes by after his accident before he is able to walk again (So this is about 7 months after Millie's disappearance). His accident was a big deal, to the point the imperial family cancelled events. But of course Millie didn't visit him. Felton gets angry. How dare Millie abandon him! He will find her and bring her back, even if it means chaining her up.
The events of Felton confronting his mother is a little different, but essentially he finds out his mother has been poisoning Millie and she is the reason Millie miscarried. He banishes his mother from the estate and revokes the title of duchess from her. Also, while yes, the mom wants him to remarry a noble, the countess didn't play a big role. Francis, also does not have a big part either. He felt sorry for Millie, and he felt like he was the reason Millie ended up marrying Felton and living a miserable life bc he purposely provoked Felton's possessive jealousy. So, like the manhwa, he offered to be her wingman and provoke Felton's jealousy again to respark their passion. When Millie refused him, he told her to watch what she's eating bc she's showing signs of poisoning. That's the extent of his part in the manhwa.
About a week goes by after he kicks the mom out and a man visits the estate and says he cremated Millie. It is only "confirmed" as Millie bc the driver said recognized Millie, and that the person he cremated wore Millie's ring. Once Millie's urn arrived, Felton looked relaxed and relieved, much to the staff's shock (and disgust).
Unlike Felton, Oz did not believe the urn belonged to Millie. She questions and badgers the guy until the guy confessed that he doesn't remember the face well. Only that she was petite, had brown hair, and had a ring on her middle finger. Oz brightens up, realizing then the corpse that was cremated CAN'T be Millie, bc the ring should be on her ring finger. Millie keeps the news to herself, and even pretends to cry when they received the urn bc she feels Millie is finally free from this miserable life.
As Millie is tiding up Millie's room, the butler interrupts her with a funeral invitation he received from Felton. Felton wrote a funeral invitation for both Millie's and HIS funeral. Realizing his intention, the run to Felton's room and they find him with a gun to his temple, ready to kill himself.
Aaaand this is about where the manhwa is. So I'll stop here to avoid spoilers