I Thought a Villainess' Divorce Would Be Easy

He suddenly came to his senses as the body of Anthea silently and warmly wrapped his hand. Nathan smiled softly, holding Anthea’s hand and comforting her.

 

“I can’t believe you’re making Anne feel uncomfortable. We need to hold the duke responsible for failing to properly look after you. So I hope you don’t get too upset.”

 

“I’m not upset. Not at all. I just asked about what might happen.”

 

Even though he knew that everything had already been discovered, Nathan nodded his head obediently when Anthea turned to him.

 

“Then can you tell me what bothers you the most? I think my brother will feel at ease if I resolve at least one thing and then go back.”

 

She couldn’t keep her mouth shut as it seemed like something unimaginable would happen as Anthea gave an answer. Nathan looked at Anthea with a faint smile, as if he would wait forever. Accumulating evil deeds was important to Anthea. In the original work, even after Anthea was locked away, the Duke only left her alone and did not abandon her or drive her out. Even after becoming closer to her after the appearance of her original mistress, Bianca, the duke did not ask for a divorce from Anthea. He mentioned her exaggerated vices towards the Duchess, which he heard about through the servants only after Anthea inflicted her wounds on Bianca. He said that although he would forgive the useless things, he had no intention of living in the same house with the evil woman as he had no idea what harm it might cause, which quickly led to a divorce. What was surprising was that there was no interference from the emperor.

 

It was mostly an exaggerated rumor that she was an evil woman, but it didn’t seem like even that rumor would spread now. Anthea’s useless and fragile body alone made it difficult for her to get divorced as planned. Whether it was her evil deeds or gossip, all she had to do was pile them up and get to the duke’s ears later, but what Anthea was doing right now was so trivial. Suddenly, Anthea noticed Nathan looking at her with kind eyes and a shadow wandering behind him, trying to somehow look inside. Their curiosity-filled speculations would inflate and spread today’s events. It was much easier to hear her being a villain with Nathan than with her own clumsy villainy. If Nathan was with her, even difficult tasks felt easy. Sorry Nathan, but scandals were only bad for women. 

 

“I will apologize properly later.”

 

She smiled brightly, praying for her forgiveness, and Nathan smiled back. Still, she couldn’t hold on to Nathan forever. It seemed like there were more and more people wandering around the greenhouse, so I started to get nervous. It was good to create a scandal with her villainy, but it was difficult to be too distorted during Nathan’s stay. If the impact grew too large, it seemed like the barely growing seeds of evil would be uprooted by Nathan’s hands. Besides, she didn’t want Nathan to hear bad things about her.

 

“There is no such thing.”

 

“Anthea.”

 

“Really. After all, it’s only been three days since she arrived.”

 

“So? Then, even the head maid…”

 

“No! The head maid is just a bit strict. I plan to leave all the major and minor matters of the duchy to Rosa for a while and go out and have fun.”

 

“So? Anne, if you say so.”

 

As long as Nathan was around, she couldn’t even act like a clumsy villainess. It seemed like if she tried to do something, advice several times stronger would come out. To distract Nathan from muttering about Rosa, Anthea came up with a suitable excuse.

 

“Brother, then shall we go shopping?”

 

“That’s fine, but how about checking the trousseau items instead?”

 

“Ah! I forgot something important.”

 

Fortunately, Anthea succeeded in changing the topic and quickly grabbed Nathan’s hand and led him away. As Nathan and her came out holding hands, the eyes of the maids wandering around her all focused and then dispersed. It was a hand that was held out of habit, but it seemed to look different to the users. When Anthea tried to let go of her hand, Nathan gently squeezed Anthea’s hand and pulled her. She didn’t want to shake off Nathan’s kindness.

 

‘Okay, okay. I took a good look at it. After Nathan goes away, she spreads the word.’

 

Maybe she could be kicked out early due to Nathan’s visit, which wasn’t in the original. Anthea’s quiet anticipation made her steps become lighter without her knowing.

 

“I didn’t know they would send the wedding gift so quickly,” she said. “Mother had a hard time, right?”

 

“Anne, mother was so excited to prepare it that you would write it.”

 

“I’m happy. I can’t wait to see what she sends.”

 

As soon as she saw herself, Anne Shea, who had been running around in tears, smiled brightly and was happy, and she couldn’t help but notice the smile on Nathan’s face.

 

“I’m glad, Anne.”

 

“Yes? What?”

 

“I think I can put the plan to kidnap you on hold for now.”

 

“That… You’re kidding, right?”

 

“Of course. No matter how much money the Leslie family has, it takes time to offset the duke’s powerlessness.”

 

“Brother?”

 

“There is nothing to be surprised about. It’s just my brother’s immature wish.”

 

It didn’t seem like a joke, but it must be a joke. Her happy heart was mixed with a little worry. Anthea’s worries disappeared the moment she arrived at the unfamiliar room under Julie’s guidance. As she entered the large room decorated with brightly colored furniture and fabrics with ornate patterns rarely seen in ducal houses, Anthea was greeted by Ellie, who was carrying her dress from inside.

 

“Ma’am, the dress is really pretty!”

 

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen such bright and pretty colors.”

 

“Why here and not in my room?”

 

“We decided that it would be difficult to bring in the furniture and dresses that were sent, so we asked the house manager for permission to use the empty room.”

 

Actually, there would be at least an empty room left in this spacious ducal house. Still, if she had gone to her maid, Jang, she could have made all sorts of excuses to put it off. Fortunately, Julie was able to get the head butler to do something that originally required the head maid’s permission. In response to Julie’s wise choice, Anthea took her light-hearted steps in her stride.

 

“Ha… This is so… I love it.”

 

As she entered the space, close to but much larger than Anthea’s room, she felt as if she had returned to the countess’s home. The familiar scent of wood, as if soaked in sunlight, could be smelled faintly from the brightly colored furniture. Anthea was overwhelmed with emotion as she looked at the furniture that showed the meticulous attention to detail of Hilda, the hostess of the countess. She was on the verge of tears because she already regretted having to leave it behind in half a year.

 

‘I must pay you back when I return. If I can’t pay them back with money, I will definitely repay them for their kindness, even if it means letting them know what will happen in the future.’

 

Even the furniture and fabric were all of the colors and materials Anthea mainly used in the count’s household. A letter from her countess, full of affection and longing, came to mind and she tried to get her mind together. Meanwhile, her scent wafted from her dress as her maid took it out to straighten it out.

 

“Ah, this smell.”

 

Before the flowers that bloomed in her garden withered, she could guess that Mary had touched them by drying their petals and making a sachet for Anthea. Strictly speaking, even though they were now strangers, she still keenly felt their affection. Anthea, who had been looking around her room with her thrilled face, eventually looked back at Nathan with her tear-filled eyes.

 

“I feel like I’m home, brother.”

 

“Okay. The maids’ work skills are better than I thought.”

 

Anthea didn’t show it because she was in front of Nathan, but she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to save even half of the wedding items even if they arrived. She obviously thought that Rosa would be kicked out for reasons such as not being worthy of her status. Luckily for her, it seems that even the most courageous Rosa could not ignore the presence of Nathan, who was pushing her in the name of her family. As Anthea looked around her room, she was truly surprised to see that she even had a bed.

 

“Brother, did you even bring the bed with you?”

 

“It wasn’t difficult because the workshop specially made it so I could fit it together.”

 

“But it’s so big and heavy… and… It’s really amazing.”

 

Anthea continued to be amazed as she looked around at the furniture properly arranged in her room. She was amazed that there was no damage to the furniture that had traveled such a long distance.

 

“Ma’am, I’ve sorted the dresses. Can you check them?”

 

“Yeah, I’ll go see it.”

 

Anthea was about to run straight to Ellie’s call, but then looked back at Nathan.

 

“Brother, I think we should go inside there.”

 

“Okay. I’ll come back after checking my other luggage, so take your time.”

 

“Is there still more?”

 

“Well. There’s a lot of luggage that hasn’t been unloaded yet.”

 

“Wow… There’s more. Nonsense.”

 

Now she was beyond thrilled and began to worry that their affection might have gone too far.

 

“Ma’am, you need to check so I can sort the other boxes.”

 

“Anne, go ahead and see.”

 

“Ah, yes. Then I’ll go in.”

 

Anthea disappeared with a dazed look on her face as she heard a voice calling from inside her. Seeing Anthea’s innocent look of joy and surprise at her gift made Nathan proud, as if he had been rewarded for her unreasonable journey.

 

* * *

 

“Shit! Don’t bite, you bastard!”

 

“Tsk tsk, there are no tricks. You should have taken her hand out before she bit you.”

 

“Ugh, they killed me again.”

 

Untimely snow rabbit rolling became popular among the Black Knights who went out to hunt demon beasts at the request of a nearby territory. To be precise, it was more about how long you could keep it alive in your hand rather than rolling it. Since only elite knights were gathered together, the slaying of the demon beast itself was instantaneous, but since they were searching the mountains, when the night fell, they lit a bonfire and took a rest for efficiency. Since the month was shortened to 15 days, the more intense days passed and the tension eased at night. Most of the time he spent his free time sleeping or repairing his weapon.

 

Richard also spent time in his tent at night.

 

In this subjugation battle, the duke sat in front of the bonfire and began to capture the approaching snow rabbits. The knights were puzzled by the Duke’s behavior as he fiddled around with his bare hands, even without his gloves, for a long time. At first, the snow rabbit could not survive in Richard’s hands for even 5 minutes before it was killed. After that, Richard caught a snow hare and rolled it in his hand. After sacrificing several animals, the last one did not die. Instead, he lay limp overnight, completely exhausted. He survived without dying at Richard’s hands. The knights who watched Richard’s satisfied smile at that moment were so unfamiliar that they shivered with chills.

 

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