I Thought a Villainess' Divorce Would Be Easy

Chef Harmon returned to the kitchen in a huff when he heard the news of the Duke’s visit while bringing in ingredients. The current owner, Duke Richard Gwintyd, has not been in the kitchen since Harmon’s recollection, except when he was very young. He was always busy and quickly ate the dishes served by Chef Hamon without saying a word. It was always amazing to see the Duke finish his meal in a manner that was fast and polite without making a sound, but I also felt a little disappointed because there were no comments about the taste of the food. The Duke himself stopped by the kitchen. It was too early to move after spending the first night. Did the new lady complain about the cooking? Even so, it was not for the Duke to move directly. Could it be that he had come to convey the dissatisfaction that has been building up for so long? 

 

Harmon ran into the kitchen with all sorts of worries. An unimaginable scenery unfolded before Harmon’s eyes.

 

“Hey, chef.”

 

The maids, who were standing against one wall very nervous, spotted Harmon and hurriedly approached him. Harmon swallowed dryly without even giving the maids a glance. The kitchen was Harmon’s workplace where he prepared ingredients and cooked every day to the point of boredom. He was speechless at how his everyday kitchen had changed from usual.

 

Crispy. Wow. Puck.

 

In the middle of the kitchen, countless pieces of food prepared to welcome the Duchess were being destroyed in real time. The Duke was so expressionless that he was dripping with coldness as he carefully touched the fruits placed on the large table one by one. It was understandable that the maids were scared.

 

Kwasik.

 

When the few precious fruits brought from the East were broken, Harmon hurriedly bent down and approached the Duke.

 

“Master, if you are looking for something, this Harmon will help.”

 

Richard, who had been making tomato juice because the fruit wasn’t enough, finally shook off her hands and took the towel that Harmon held out.

 

“I’m looking for something soft.”

 

Soft fruit? Why? Despite the question running through his mind, Harmon was hard to come by at this time of year, he brought peaches that he had prepared for the Duchess. As he carefully held out the fluffy, white peach, Jarishar’s eyes wavered slightly. Of course, it was a slight shaking that no one, including Harmon, noticed. Richard carefully held the peach in his hands and he crushed it in less than three seconds.

 

That one was hard to find!

 

Several days of effort to bring in the hard crust and gently age it according to the previous chef’s secret recipe turned into juice and disappeared in 3 seconds. Harmon, who was suppressing his internal screams, did not notice that his master, the Duke, had darkened his complexion.

 

“Something softer and softer than this… no. I need to get used to this first.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Bring all these.”

 

Harmon, who couldn’t even ask if he was going to crush it again, quietly brought the peach. He was trembling with fear as to whether the fruits would be crushed like that before the morning expedition. And Harmon’s worries became reality.

 

* * *

 

“Hungry…”

 

Anthea excitedly rolled around on her bed in the joy of successfully defending herself on the first night without incident. As some time passed and her excitement subsided, the growling sound in her stomach became louder as she relaxed. Let’s ignore it. She had a vague memory of what she ate yesterday.

 

“What did I eat yesterday?”

 

Come to think of it, she got very motion sick in the carriage, perhaps because of her nervousness, and only drank water. Even when she arrived at the Duke’s residence, she was so caught up in preparing for her wedding that she couldn’t eat anything other than drink. She stood for a long time waiting for the duke, and before she had time to eat her dinner, she was thrown into preparations for her first night. An intense feeling of hunger came over her as she realized that the last solid thing she had eaten was the loaf of bread she had dipped in soup the previous morning.

 

“I’m going to starve to death at this rate.”

 

Even a villain’s actions require energy. She was so distressed that she could not wait quietly until breakfast.

 

‘Is that the fluttering rope?’

 

She grabbed the thick rope at the head of her bed and pulled, but it didn’t budge. In the first place, she had doubts as to whether this thick rope was actually a sling rope. The rope that Anthea used in her countess was made by twisting her silk and tying it together, making it very soft. The sound of her ringing bell was clear and she liked it, so she pulled it several times on purpose.

 

‘It’s an intimidating feeling that even if you succeed in pulling this, the New Year’s Eve bell will ring.’

 

However, other than this, there was nothing to see, so Anthea pulled the rope with both hands, but it was no use.

 

“No, what kind of excitement is this!”

 

Despite Anthea’s efforts, which seemed to be a lack of strength, she threw her whole body at it, but the rope that looked like a tug-of-war rope for her sports day did not show any signs of shaking. She tried to pull it with both hands with all her strength, but lost strength and slid down to the floor.

 

“Shit!”

 

Instinctively, she stretched out her arms and barely managed to stop him from falling on her face, but her weak arms snapped and hit her head-on.

 

“Aww, my nose.”

 

So, were all the items in this town made to suit the Duke’s strength? It seemed like that fluttering rope was a craft-specific rope that couldn’t be used by ordinary people.

 

Anthia, who had come to that conclusion, raised her head, thinking that it would be faster to move directly. Just as she was about to stretch her legs out of bed, warm liquid flowed down onto her lips.

 

“Uh?”

 

As the blood dripped down onto her slip, she hurriedly raised her head and then lowered her head again.

 

“I think they said it’s not good to raise your head. Oh, I’m really having a nosebleed that I didn’t have even when I was weaker than I am now.”

 

She gently touched the bridge of her nose, just in case, and it didn’t seem to hurt much. 

While she was looking around for a towel, blood stains remained here and there on the bed sheets. If it had been a count family, they would have been busy trying to stop a worried Mary from calling a council member, but this was a duke’s house. She thought that a nosebleed of this magnitude would probably go away without any problems, but she didn’t want it to be misunderstood as a trace of the first night. There’s no way the Duke, who basically has no interest in anything other than defeating demon beasts, would mention anything about the first night, and it would only lead to unnecessary misunderstandings. The presence or absence of the first night could be a bit of a stumbling block in her divorce, so as soon as Anthea’s nose stopped bleeding, she rolled up her sheet and hid it under her bed.

 

She wanted to destroy the evidence by immediately throwing it into the fireplace, but she didn’t want to end up being accused of being an arsonist.

 

“I’m going to get some scissors, cut it into pieces, and then burn it little by little.”

 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Her path to becoming a villainess also had to be taken step by step.

 

Growling.

 

She was so hungry that she felt sick to her stomach.

 

“Before I become a villain, I’ll become a ghost.”

 

Anthea was about to put on a robe, but since she was going around the duchy, she wanted to take some care, so she went into the small dressing room next to the bedroom. Perhaps because she was from the North, there were dresses hanging that looked luxurious and made of thick material. Even as she was choosing a dress that was easy to wear without any help from a waiter, she chose the brightest color. It definitely helps her maintain her good looks, which is her only advantage, anytime and anywhere, so she had no intention of neglecting her appearance.

 

“Someone is watching this early in the morning. This is enough.”

 

Anthea felt like she was going to collapse if she continued to decorate further, so she left the bedroom immediately. As she pushed open the heavy door with her body, she was torn between resenting her own poor physical strength or criticizing the excessive stamina of the entire dukedom. She barely made it out into the hallway. She couldn’t even walk a few steps before she went back to the bedroom. It seemed like her asa and her verbs would come faster, so she pulled all the pretty and thick things she could see in her dressing room and wrapped them around her body. One big polar bear. Anthea, looking like a baby penguin covered in snow, was too small to say the least, and diligently moved around in search of the kitchen.

 

‘No matter how big it is, the structure of the mansion will be bigger.’

 

Anthea’s thoughts were complacent. She was clearly a Duke whose family was so large that she had to first come in by carriage. If she had met someone along the way, she would have at least asked, but while she was walking around this spacious mansion, she did not encounter anyone. The external intrusion and vigilance seemed great, but wasn’t it too lax? 

Anthea had to walk down the hallway and stairs for a long time while clutching her hungry stomach. Just when her legs were sore and she thought about giving up, she finally found a way out.

 

“You’re leaving earlier than expected.”

 

“I know. Let’s hurry.”

 

Anthea’s steps quickened at the sight of at least three or four people just around the corner. Once she asked to call the maid to ask for the location of the kitchen, she had to be held back unconditionally. As she turned down the hallway, the large door was closing. When she saw a bright light and several people through the gap, Anthea ran as if she was almost throwing herself. With her stamina at rock bottom, she didn’t have the confidence to open that door again once it closed.

 

“Ugh!”

 

Anthea threw herself with a sound that was neither a cheer nor a groan. He barely managed to get inside before the heavy-looking door closed and was busy trying to catch his breath. Even though it was only a few dozen meters, her legs were shaking from all the effort she had put into it. Anthea, who had raised her head in a hurry out of fear that people might leave while she was catching her breath, was so surprised that she couldn’t even manage her facial expression at the sight in front of her.

 

Bear. Black bear. Polar bear. Black bear.

 

Numerous bears were lined up in full armor.

 

Anthea, overwhelmed by the sight of the beasts standing side by side, unknowingly took a step back. It was very difficult because her shaking legs were not responding, but with all the bears’ eyes on her, she had no time to hesitate. Her struggling hand touched a cold weapon, and Anthea came to her senses and raised her head to check whether what she was holding was a lifeline or a bomb. Only after raising her neck as if it would break did she meet familiar bright blue eyes.

 

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