I Thought a Villainess' Divorce Would Be Easy

Up to that point, she didn’t pay any attention, simply because she thought the duke had developed an unusual hobby. However, the next day, Richard’s sword became sharper to cut down the demonic beast. Since the location of the magic stone was close to the heart, when encountering a magic beast, he preferred to cut off his head rather than stabbing his vital point. The same was true for Richard, but that day was different. He was unwavering in the path of the sword that boldly pierced his heart. Because he only targeted vital points without touching the magic stone, his stamina wasted less than swinging his arms. This resulted in processing a larger number of demonic beasts than usual. Although it was accurate before, the sharpness and delicacy have increased significantly. Since they were knights who had been slaying demonic beasts together just a few days ago, they were able to clearly notice the change in Richard. There was only one thing she could guess.

 

The knights recalled the image of Richard carefully handling his snow hare. Richard’s incident of fiddling with a snow rabbit, which was considered only a new hobby, spread among the knights as a new training method called snow rabbit rolling.

 

“Tsk, I guess I’ll have to get a new one.”

 

“If possible, catch two.”

 

“This guy doesn’t even bite anymore.”

 

“Eh, the snow rabbits around here have dried up. When can I catch two?”

 

“It’s all training.”

 

The young knight put down the snow rabbit, which was already the third dinner menu item, and headed towards the forest, shaking his head. Several knights also followed suit, handing over the distressed snow rabbit to the driver in charge this evening.

 

“Hey, you ignorant bastards! Rather send me to one room. Now he does it to make the demon beast look pitiful.”

 

The snow rabbit, which had no intention of resisting, looked more pathetic than a vicious beast. It would have been easier to kill it by sticking out its huge teeth and biting the person’s arm. Arthur Mogens also agreed with that statement. At first, the snow rabbit was trying to bite my forearm, but after holding it in my hand for over an hour and massaging it, it seemed to be tired and became calm. Even when he touched its protruding front teeth, it only turned its head and did not bite or run away. As he held the now gentle snow rabbit on his lap, he saw the beast for the first time and thought it was cute.

 

Should he take him in and raise him? When his thoughts reached that point, Richard’s cool voice quieted the noise of the knights.

 

“When dealing with a magical beast, deal with it until the end. Those who have forgotten that this is the basics will have to stand guard today and receive re-education.”

 

“Yes! Dismiss!”

 

As the panicked knights spewed murderous energy at the snow rabbit that was rolling it back and forth in their hands, they started biting at it as if their calm behavior up until now was a lie. As the relaxed, playful atmosphere turned violent, Richard withdrew his disapproving gaze. In just one day, he had learned to control his grip strength enough not to kill a snow rabbit, and suddenly each of the knights was catching a snow rabbit. It didn’t matter what they did since they were demon beasts anyway, but it was annoying to see the knights stroking the snow rabbit’s white fur, saying they thought it was cute and wanted to raise it. He didn’t know why it bothered him, but he really didn’t like it, and after he announced the principle, his agitated mind seemed to calm down a little.

 

“The hunting starts early tomorrow, so take a break.”

 

“Yes. Rest comfortably, Your Excellency.”

 

Richard, who was about to return to the tent after being greeted by the knights, stopped when he heard the sound of horses’ hooves coming from afar. The knights also heard the sound, but when they saw the ducal flag mixed with magical stones visible even in the darkness, they waited comfortably.

 

“See you, Your Excellency.”

 

As expected, it was a messenger sent from the dukedom. The knight, who was able to convey the news quickly by reducing the burden on his horse due to his small stature, jumped off his horse and immediately knelt down on one knee in front of Richard to show respect.

 

“Your Excellency, I have some news from the duke’s residence, so I’ve come running to deliver it to you.”

 

There were not many cases where messengers came to the knights who were out to kill demon beasts. What happened recently was the absurd news that a marriage partner had been decided by the emperor’s order and that a marriage proposal had to be sent. Fortunately, there was no sense of solemnity or urgency from the new knight who came as a messenger. Richard also accepted the letter from the messenger without any worries.

 

“Rosa Miles sent me.”

 

Since it was the head maid’s name, the already tense atmosphere became even more relaxed. While Richard’s eyes were reading the letter, the new knight who came as a messenger waited, looking around with longing eyes. How many seconds have passed?

 

“Did the head maid have a hobby of writing novels?”

 

Not only the messenger but also the knights were puzzled by Richard’s unexpected words. Arthur, who was petting the still limp snow bunny, came up to Richard’s side.

 

“What’s going on at the mansion?”

 

“Oh, right. You must have stayed at Count Leslie’s house, so I must have seen it.”

 

“Yes? What do you mean?”

 

Richard’s eyes slowly lowered the paper and turned to Arthur, shining like those of an animal.

 

“Nathan Leslie. He is rumored to be my wife’s ex-fiancé.”

 

No one could bear to ask why she had the same eyes as when she met the demon beast.

 

* * *

 

Nathan brought most of the trousseau items. They were Anthea’s personal items. There was so much that it was exhausting just to tell them where to put it and decide on the order. Items for the work could be found even if you washed your eyes. She looked at Nathan wondering if this was what trousseau items were supposed to be, and he gave me the answer with a smile on his face.

 

“Since we took you in, shouldn’t we be the ones who should receive a gift?”

 

“Yes? Is that so?”

 

“I would like to have you back if possible.”

 

“Ahaha…”

 

Fortunately, if there had been a gift for the duke, Rosa would have taken the opportunity to bite it. He probably criticized me for bringing such a trivial thing as a gift. Of course, she stopped by a little while ago and started nagging her about how she hadn’t packed a single item for her husband-to-be, but she just ignored it. If she got into an argument with Rosa right now, Nathan could be in trouble.

 

‘For the time being, Nathan’s presence is enough.’

 

Still, after Anthea’s conversation with Nathan about her evil deeds, she decided to give up her greed by ‘getting a kick out of being a bad girl’. Hurting people or ruining someone’s life was impossible for modern people who were ordinary citizens. By the time Duke Richard returns a month later, just by Nathan’s appearance, a huge scandal will have greeted him. But since she couldn’t just ignore her, Anthea continued her evil deeds with the mindset of picking up even a small point. It was so petty that she would just join in on the maids’ snack time when she didn’t have to interfere.

 

“Julie, Ellie. What are you doing here?”

 

“It is a space for workers to rest.

 

“The snacks should have been served by now.”

 

“Snack? Something like cookies?”

 

“Yes, ma’am. The assistant chef makes it for practice… my lady?”

 

Anthea’s hand was already opening the lounge door. When the door opened, the maids who had been sitting close together at the small table eating cookies stood up quickly as if startled.

 

“It’s not going to happen. I stopped by because I was curious because I heard there were cookies.”

 

‘So give it to me, cookie.’

 

She could see the maids’ pupils shaking. An employer who covets his employees’ snacks because he has nothing to eat. Strictly speaking, Anthea was not even an employer. Moreover, it was incongruous that she wanted the only snacks from her maids while barely touching any of the dishes prepared for her. In other words, anyone could see that this was grumpy and mean-spirited. The skinny maid closest to her placed a plate of her cookies in front of Anthea. Without hesitation, Anthea picked up her largest cookie and brought it to her mouth.

 

Poseok. Chew chewed. 

 

She chewed it, but she didn’t know what she chewed. What was this unidentifiable food that was crumbly but moist and the only thing other than the taste of flour was a faint taste of salt? Anthea mechanically moved her jaw a couple of times, but was unable to swallow. Knowing that Anthea was picky about food, Julie, who was nearby, held out her handkerchief to him without hesitation.

 

“Ma’am, spit here.”

 

She wanted to swallow it as much as possible, but putting this in Anthea’s sensitive stomach was sure to upset her stomach. The thing in her mouth when she saw Anthea spitting out the drink into her flower pot, she became restless.

 

“Are you okay, ma’am?”

 

“What is this sour water? Isn’t it spoiled?”

 

“It tastes a bit sour, but that’s because the assistant chefs mixed things together to make it taste like fruit ade.”

 

There wasn’t even a single piece of fruit in it. There was also a sigh mixed in with the small sound. The maids felt like they had no choice but to eat it rather than eating it because they liked it. No, the duke’s maids ate snacks that even dogs wouldn’t eat? Were they saying that Chief Maid Rosa was just leaving this alone?

 

Anthea bit her cheek and held back the words that were about to come out at that moment. If she chose the wrong word, she would be misunderstood again. Anthea took the plate that her skinny maid was holding and poured it into the flower pot. She made a quick decision that it would be difficult to clean up if she spilled it on the floor, but the important thing was that she threw it away.

 

“Not even a dog would eat this.”

 

“Ma’am, if you throw it away, we won’t have anything to eat.”

 

“Why? Are you dogs? Eat something like this? No, dogs don’t eat either, so they’re worse than dogs.”

 

The maids’ expressions were strangely distorted. She couldn’t bear to get angry, but she wouldn’t be so scared of the Duchess in front of her that she would hide her emotions completely. The older maid, who was managing her expression well, carefully stepped in front of her and lowered her head.

 

“Ma’am, no matter how insignificant it may be, if I don’t eat something, the afternoon work will be difficult.”

 

“You can have dinner later.”

 

“We can eat dinner after we finish our work.”

 

Anthea was greatly embarrassed by the old maid’s words.

 

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