How To Divorce A Male Protagonist

”Episode 1”
“Everything’s ruined.”

 

Yuliana Oben, who realized her past life through a dream last night, murmured. She watched absently as a sparrow perched on the windowsill preened its feathers and fluttered its wings.

 

“What am I supposed to do?”

 

Yuliana, or rather, Ishian, who had emerged as a confidant of sorts for her troubles with her past life, sighed. But the sparrow only chirped, as if mocking her. Indeed, to Yuliana’s eyes, even the sparrow seemed to be laughing at her, asking, “Why, what’s wrong with your current life?”

 

“Yeah. It feels like my current life is ruined again.”

 

Yuliana shook her head and muttered to the indifferent sparrow, as if answering its unasked question.

 

It was just yesterday when she heard the news of her husband returning from the battlefield, where he went to fight against the barbarians. Despite it being a year since they last met, Yuliana, a woman who had almost completely forgotten her husband’s existence, felt no excitement.

 

That day, Yuliana was irritated by the harsh sunlight, scolding the servants around her. Eventually, after shooing away the servants who brought the news, she spent the day alone, enjoying herself, eating delicious food, and going to bed early, just like she did last night.

 

If only she had slept deeply, would she not have recalled her past life? Unfortunately, Yuliana Oben had only a shallow sleep and dreamed vividly.

 

About her past life.

 

In her past life, Ishian was an orphan.

 

She had grown up in an orphanage, and as an adult, she lived each day diligently, trying to find hope in life. But as she recalled, in the words of a human who had suffered greatly…

 

“She was smashed to pieces by a car.”

 

Yuliana, or Ishian, shuddered at the thought of the terrible pain.

 

 

It felt vivid even now.

 

It was the day she finished her part-time job at the convenience store, heading home in the morning while everyone else was heading to work. Crossing the pedestrian crossing on her way home, she was hit by a car and killed instantly.

 

Well, maybe not instantly, as being hit by a large car meant that the pain of her body breaking into pieces was inevitable. She checked the traffic light and crossed the street, knowing that it wasn’t her fault. The vivid image of the swerving car that had staggered towards her left no doubt in her mind that it was a case of drunk driving.

 

“Damn it… Why drink in the morning…”

 

She sniffled, her eyes slightly swollen. Remembering her miserable past life made

her shiver all over.

 

Fortunately reincarnated amidst misfortune, Yuliana had been given another chance at life as a noblewoman. Lost in thought, she contemplated her noble status as Yuliana Oben, the illegitimate daughter of the Oben Marquis family and a fire mage. Though her physical prowess was lacking, she was born into a wealthy family, which was fortunate enough.

 

She glanced at the sparrow still perched on the windowsill. The chubby bird was pecking at the rainwater collected on the sill, chirping contentedly. Seeing such a peaceful sight made her stomach turn. Yuliana covered her mouth.

 

But why did she have to be reincarnated into a romance fantasy?

 

“That too… Why! Spoiling the ending of a romance novel!”

 

Yuliana whimpered to the sparrow, seeking advice as if it were her confidant.

 

The sparrow chirped back mockingly, “That’s your destiny,” and flew away.

 

“Eek!”

 

Just waking up, Yuliana screamed with her swollen eyes. As she buried her face in the pillow, sobbing, she couldn’t help but feel pitiful for herself, even while thinking, ‘I should have had dessert last night…’ It felt like just yesterday when she cursed and scolded herself for being spoiled with spoilers from the romance fantasy novel <Fate’s Strings>. Although she had only vaguely remembered seeing some spoilers in the comments and hadn’t watched it completely, it seemed clear that she had been reincarnated into the detestable leftover villain, Yuliana Oben.

Yuliana Oben was a selfish villainess who only valued herself, often venting her boredom by despising her husband, the bastard son of a duke’s family she married, and trampling on his self-esteem. Her daily routine consisted of gossiping about her husband, gossiping about people around her, and insulting her father for marrying her off to the bastard son.

 

Of course, from Yuliana Oben’s perspective in the novel, there was also an unfair aspect. Originally, Yuliana was not the bastard daughter of the Hillen Marquis family, but the engagement was supposed to be with Kelten, the eldest son and heir of the family.

 

Although Yuliana thought Kelten couldn’t match her noble lineage, she was somewhat convinced that being the heir of the prestigious Hillen family, a recognized noble family since the early days of the empire, would be acceptable. Even from the age of 10, she had occasionally interacted with the Hillen family.

 

Until then, she had no idea that the Hillen Marquis family had a second son, or rather, that there existed a bastard son considered the most favored in the empire of Ariaque. However, Keltan died in his first battle against the barbarians, and the Oben Marquis family, along with Yuliana, decided to withdraw from their relationship with the Hillen Marquis family in search of a new political ally and marriage partner.

 

However, the shrewd Hillen Marquis secretly revealed that he had a second son and pleaded with Yuliana to proceed with the marriage. Considering it too wasteful to sever ties with the Hillen Marquis family, the Oben Marquis reluctantly accepted the proposal to marry Yuliana off and proceed with the engagement, despite the existence of the hidden second son. At first, Yuliana herself, with her weak constitution, did not suspect the existence of the second son, who was never publicly acknowledged.

 

But…

 

“He was a bastard!”

 

Yuliana, burying her face in the pillow, couldn’t contain her anger and pounded her fists. Then she abruptly lifted her face, shooting fiery glares into the empty space.

 

“If he wasn’t a bastard, I wouldn’t feel cheated! These rotten people…”

 

As mentioned earlier, Yuliana Oben had always been full of pride since she was young.

To put it nicely, she had tremendous self-confidence, but to put it bluntly, she was a narcissist who lived for her own self-importance. However, she had enough noble sense to accept the marriage negotiated between families.

 

However, the revelation during the marriage negotiations that Evan Hillen, who was actually a sickly second son, was hidden as a bastard, was simply unacceptable.

 

Moreover, the fact that the Oben Marquis, swayed by the Hillen family’s political influence, murmured nonsense like “Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for bastards to be accepted into families, and being related to the Hillen Marquis is quite decent,” in an attempt to console his daughter, was also unacceptable.

 

This revelation shattered Yuliana Oben, who had lived for her own self-importance, but the marriage with the faceless bastard proceeded smoothly.

 

Thus, Yuliana Oben, who had never feared anything since she was born and had no need to fear anything, slapped her groom’s cheek on the day of the wedding ceremony…

 

“Uwaaah!”

 

Now remembering her past life, Yuliana Oben, or Ishian, screamed in agony. Why! Why! Why do I only remember now! After committing all those atrocities! After insulting the protagonist with all sorts of nonsense!

 

“Ueeung…”

 

Meanwhile, the maids, who didn’t understand a word, only gathered outside the door of the dowager, who was wailing in distress.

 

And time continued to march mercilessly on. Today was the day when Ishian, now remembering herself as Yuliana Oben, relived her memories. It was the day her husband, who had been away on the battlefield for a year, was returning.

 

—

 

The servants of the Marquis’s mansion were busy cleaning and decorating the mansion from early morning to celebrate the Marquis’s return.

 

Usually, it would be the duty of the Marquise to exert her efforts on such occasions, but the current Marquise was not an ordinary person. Therefore, as usual, the steward was pondering how to prepare for the Marquis’s return ceremony and instructing the servants accordingly, reminiscing about past cases.

 

And as time passed, it became morning. Throughout the morning, the door of the Marquise’s chamber remained closed, and the mansion’s servants, with their tongues clicking, did not express any dissatisfaction. The negligence of the Marquise was always a common occurrence, and they were used to not expressing their complaints.

 

So, as they diligently polished every doorknob until it sparkled, they were taken aback when they encountered the Marquise descending the stairs as if they had seen a ghost.

 

“L-Lady Marquise?”

 

“It’s the day the Marquis returns, isn’t it? Could you prepare some tea? We should celebrate his return.”

 

Unlike usual, the Marquise was not dressed up extravagantly. She even seemed a bit pale. Her dark red hair and bronze-colored eyes, whose shades varied depending on the light, were still beautiful, but her cheeks were slightly hollow, and her eyelids were a bit swollen. Even that seemed to indicate some story behind it, so the servants quickly prepared the tea while feeling puzzled.

 

“Tea? Has the Marquise ever given anything directly to the Marquis?”

 

As the Marquise disappeared into the kitchen, a few curious servants whispered to each other. Before they could finish heating the teacups and neatly arranging the tea leaves, they exchanged glances.

 

“Maybe she feels sorry for the guests who have been wandering around the mansion all this time?”

 

“No. Can you imagine the Marquise doing that? She wouldn’t bat an eye even if rumors spread across the entire country.”

 

“That’s true. Still, it’s a bit too much. The Marquis has been working tirelessly to turn the tide against the barbarians and bring honor and prosperity to the Marquisate.”

 

 

“The Marquise has no interest in the Hillen Marquisate at all. She should be grateful just for marrying into it. She’s so talkative about everything. You know about that, right? When it was revealed that the Marquis was a bastard, the great Lady Marquise, from the first encounter, raised her hand and…”

 

 

One of them, who had been secretly giggling, checked the time and quickly spoke up. “Oops, the Marquise must be waiting. Let’s hurry and bring it up.”

 

After swallowing their words out of fear that the Marquise might hear them, thinking she might even have ears like a hawk, they carried the tea set into the parlor.

 

 

—

 

Meanwhile, the Marquise, Yuliana Oben, was seated gracefully in the parlor. Never before had her heart pounded and trembled as much as it did today. She stirred her tea with a clink of the spoon, dismissing all the servants who had politely served her.

 

 

Thunk—

 

As the door closed and she confirmed that no one was around, Yuliana pinched her cheek hard.

 

“Ouch!”

 

She pinched so hard that her cheek quickly turned red. Then she began to lightly slap her own cheek.

 

“If only it were a dream!”

 

 

Seeing everything so vividly made it clear it wasn’t a dream but reality.

 

Yuliana choked back her emotions internally. No, if she was going to remember her past life, she should have remembered from the beginning! Does it make any sense for memories of her past life to come back just as she’s about to ruin her life playing the villain?

 

 

“It doesn’t make sense!”

 

 

Yuliana yelled quietly, staring at the tea where black swirls danced.

 

 

Just a few days ago, she would have laughed at her absent husband, who didn’t return even after dragging a bunch of lovers to the mansion.

 

 

At that time, she truly had no thoughts. That was when she didn’t know that this was a world inside a romance fantasy story with a 4.4 star rating! Back then, she was just Yuliana Oben herself, nothing more than a foolish supporting villain fixated on her husband, the bastard who married her.

 

But everything changed last night with a dream. Now Yuliana Oben knew that she was nothing but a parsley… stuck next to a steak…

 

Yuliana couldn’t hide her frustration and covered her face with both hands. Just as she was getting overly emotional, even to the point of jumping out of her chair, she heard the sound of knights approaching, riding on horses. “He’s finally here.”

 

Yuliana jumped up and pushed open the window.

 

Indeed, her husband, accompanied by elite soldiers, was striding confidently down the central path of the mansion. The cheers of the estate workers could be heard from outside the tightly closed mansion gates.

 

Yuliana swallowed hard.

 

Leaning forward as far as she could beyond the window, she noticed her husband lifting his head and gazing in her direction. But she inwardly denied the possibility. He was just passing through the central path. There was no way he could see her leaning out from the window of the furthest parlor.

 

 

Yuliana quickly closed the window and took a deep breath.

 

 

Her real husband had arrived.

 

 

Soon, the husband who would kill her.

 

—

 

Yuliana, accompanied by servants and with an older butler standing in front in place of the Marquise’s duties, anxiously walked to the mansion’s entrance. Holding hands with trembling fear as the approaching knights seemed unnaturally large, Yuliana tried to push back her fear and grabbed her hands tightly.

 

 

“What was Yuliana supposed to do originally? No, no. If I’m going to act like my usual self, why am I out here doing this? I’m out here doing this because I’m not going to act like my usual self! I’m trying to avoid death!”

 

 

Yuliana struggled to push away the repetitive thoughts of her foolishness. And right after she made up her mind, she acted immediately.

 

 

As the knights halted their horses with a “Whoa,” Evan Helchen, wearing a deep-set helmet and black armor, stopped the black horse. If they had met on the battlefield as enemies, his imposing figure would have been enough to intimidate her.

 

 

Yuliana’s head spun. Still, she forced a smile.

 

 

“E-Evan. Welcome.”The surrounding people gasped in shock, swallowing imaginary air.

 

 

“The Marchioness greeted him!”

 

 

“To the Marquess!”

 

 

Before the murmurs could grow louder, Yuliana raised her voice.

 

 

“I’ve been waiting.”

 

 

Silence followed, only interrupted by the sound of Evan Helchen’s breathing behind his helmet. His deep inhales and exhales felt heavy.

 

 

Eventually, Evan Helchen dismounted from his horse. Without waiting for Yuliana to object, he swiftly removed his helmet and handed it over to the hands of the servants who came forward with her. As he removed his helmet, the scent of sunshine and freshly washed rose soap emanated from him, hinting at a recent bath at some inn. Yuliana froze beneath his imposing figure, as if she were thawing beneath a giant shadow.

 

 

Evan Helchen closed the distance step by step. And then, when Yuliana least expected it, he reached out and caught her waist before she could react.

 

 

Gasping, Yuliana found herself face to face with him.

 

 

Her entire body felt trapped against his firm armor. Yuliana couldn’t tear her gaze away from his scrutinizing blue eyes.

 

 

Evan Helchen, reminiscent of a black hawk, exuded a sharp and cold demeanor. The pupils in his deep blue eyes were as dark as an abyss. His gaze, too intense and dark, seemed to pierce through her cheeks.

 

 

“My wife…”

 

 

Yuliana trembled as he whispered.

 

“You still detest me, don’t you?”

 

 

“N-No!”

 

 

Yuliana shook her head vigorously. Evan narrowed his eyes at her unexpected response, showing signs of being wary of what new insult she might deliver. 

 

 

After several failed attempts to find words to reassure him, Yuliana finally spoke.

 

 

“I-I said I’ve been waiting.””Ah, I see. Are you angry because I made you wait?”

 

 

Evan nodded in response to Yuliana’s answer.

 

 

“We need to fix this ground right away. Your dress might get dirty.”

 

 

“Umm, okay?”

 

 

He was suggesting to redo the ground, even though it only needed a tidy-up, just to avoid Yuliana’s dress from getting dirty. This man… Is he crazy?

 

 

“You don’t have to… I mean…”

 

 

“I’m happy you came all the way here to greet me.”

 

 

He said with a hint of embarrassment, avoiding her gaze.

 

 

“He’s blushing!”

 

 

Yuliana was astonished. All this fuss just for greeting him once?