I Thought a Villainess' Divorce Would Be Easy

Richard did not miss the sight of Anthea’s back, which kept drawing his attention, until the end of the hallway. It seemed like a small animal that was clearly walking hard, but couldn’t go very far. Richard, who had been seeing her off with his eyes, suddenly became nervous when the maid suddenly changed direction and even Anthea disappeared. Even if she disappeared in the middle, it would have been in another hallway of the mansion, but he was concerned about Anthea, who suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared. Richard’s hesitation did not last long. He originally planned to just watch her walk to the end of the aisle, but changed his mind. With his long legs, he quickly caught up with the corridor Anthea had passed and entered a side corridor that was obscured by the curtain. Although it was narrow, it was not dark due to the presence of magic stones consistently embedded along the walls. As he took a step towards her, hoping to catch up with her quickly, he felt a figure running towards him quickly.

 

The maid looked embarrassed, but she didn’t scream or call anyone. It didn’t seem like the situation was that serious. He ordered the maid to call the doctor and he headed straight inside. After taking a few steps, he found Anthea sitting in the middle of the hallway.

 

The magic stone powder reacted to the magic stone and created a cluster of light around Anthea. It was a phenomenon that could often be seen in a mansion filled with magical stones, but it was strangely difficult to take one’s eyes off of it. Just by tilting her head slightly and leaning against the wall, her thin hair flowed down, stealing his attention. Even though he only saw her from behind, Richard’s gaze did not seem to fall as he sat down on the floor, acting unbecoming of a nobleman.

 

Looking at the maid’s reaction and Anthea’s slumped appearance, he could tell that she was not in a good condition. Nevertheless, her appearance was pitiful and beautiful, as if trying to show her loveliness. Even Richard, who was not very interested in the woman’s appearance, continued to be bothered by the beauty seen in Anthea.

 

“Ha…”

 

In a place where no one was watching, a noblewoman sat down on the floor and her sighs, which she let out alone, were heartbreaking. Without realizing it, a strange feeling welled up in him, as if he should swear that he would never let that woman’s knees touch the floor again.

 

‘Is this the chivalry the knights were talking about?’

 

It was difficult to understand his feelings as the emotions he was experiencing for the first time and the emotions he had recently discovered were mixed together. In the meantime, Richard’s body steadily moved towards Anthea.

 

He did his best to move his fingers carefully so as not to startle her and avoid hurting her. When he looked down at Anthea, who was being held without resistance, he saw that her condition was so bad that she was breaking into a cold sweat. Wasn’t she the same woman who just a few minutes ago was smiling brightly, saying she was going to meet Nathan? Was that even a façade she put on to hide her own pain and show for her family? Richard’s worries disappeared when he heard Anthea rubbing her cheek on his chest and calling out to him.

 

“Duk…“

 

At Anthea’s call, which was lighter than the severed head of her demon beast, Richard felt a sense that he had forgotten for a while come back to him.

 

He wanted to protect her.

 

For Richard, what he had to protect was his fiefdom and the Gwyntede duchy. The one that had to be dealt with was the Demon Beast, and the one that wasn’t too bad if you dealt with it moderately was the Emperor. It was a type of sensation that had not been present among the sensations that Richard had felt recently.

 

Lovely. Cute. He didn’t want to hurt her.

 

It was a different feeling from protecting his territory and family name so as not to lose them. His heart reacted to the fact that the frail woman, who seemed like she would freeze to death in a few hours if left outside like this, completely relied on him. Richard, who was about to take her straight to the Duchess’s room, stopped when he smelled her scent coming from what he knew to be an empty room. This was similar to the faint scent mixed in Anthea’s perfume on the first night when he unwrapped the robe she was wearing.

 

It was a scent he had never smelled in the North, and along with the pure white anthea, it was imprinted on him as her scent, so he stopped walking. The maids, who happened to open the door and come out, saw Anthea being held by Richard, bowed their heads and stepped aside to them.

 

The scenery in the room seen through the open door was bright as if it were spring. In a mansion with mostly dark colors, the room with a different color looked exactly like Anthea in his arms. The brightly colored furniture has soft curves that make you feel warm even without touching it. The love of the person who prepared everything from the curtains to the bedding and even the cushion on the sofa came together so perfectly that it felt like an obsession. It was clear enough that it was easy to notice even without telling who decorated the room. Richard, who had been scanning her room with his eyes, stopped on Nathan and he slightly lowered his head.

 

“This is the wedding gift I have prepared for Anne.”

 

“Young Count Leslie.”

 

The space where a level of affection that could easily be called obsession was poured out was, of course, Nathan’s work. Richard felt that Nathan Leslie, who had less than a week to eat, was a formidable opponent. There were many things he could solve by force, but in these matters Richard was worthless, even useless.

 

“It would be good for Anne, no, Anthea, to rest in a familiar place.”

 

Now that she had become a duchess, she was not someone he could comfortably call by her first name. The sound of his wife’s name coming out of Nathan’s mouth again and again had a very beautiful resonance. So much so that she left Nathan Leslie alone with that name in his mouth.

 

“I prepared the same blanket as the one I used while staying at home. She can rest comfortably here.”

 

At Nathan’s recommendation, Anthea was put down on a soft-looking bed, and her pale face was covered in cold sweat. Nathan, who had expected him to make a fuss as soon as he saw him, was unexpectedly calm. As if he was used to it, he covered her with a blanket and had Julie run a few errands. As Richard watched Nathan like that, a small question occurred to him as to why he was here and not in the warehouse.

 

“I think my wife suggested the young Count to go to the warehouse.”

 

“I thought if Anthea fell, she would come this way.”

 

Instead of asking Richard how he knew Anthea would collapse, he took a deep breath, feeling strangely bitter. Nathan answered calmly, as if it was obvious.

 

“If it were Anne, if it were Anthea, she would definitely do her best to protect me.”

 

Even without him asking, it was Nathan who came in with a sharp lunge as if he was salting her. Richard’s hands, which had been careful to hold Anthea, as if squeezing her air, gained strength. Nathan couldn’t have noticed that Richard was shaking, but Nathan just looked at Anthea and smiled as if he was sad but loving.

 

“She would have endured, doing her best to express herself in a strange place, facing a fearful opponent whom she had yet to understand.”

 

“We just talked.”

 

“Yes. I think you put in a lot of effort.”

 

Nathan’s hand twitched as if trying to stroke Anthea’s head, but barely stopped at the edge of the blanket.

 

“She is a kind and weak-hearted child, but sometimes she shows strength that you can’t even imagine.”

 

Just to look at her, she was an adorable child. She was weaker than anyone else, but stronger than anyone who stood in front of Nathan. He had no reason not to like it.

 

“So, are you in love?”

 

Nathan smiled instead of responding verbally to Richard’s question, which he had no way of answering.

 

‘Now it’s your turn.’

 

Nathan’s smile faded, as if he was confident that this was the natural order of things, but also felt bitter that it was happening. While there was an awkward yet heavy silence, the maid who had run Nathan’s errand returned.

 

“Is this the bag you mentioned?”

 

“That’s right. Thank you.”

 

Like Anthea, Julie was in a situation where she would slightly nod towards Nathan, who often expressed his gratitude. She said even if Anthea was sick, there was nothing Richard could do. That was the right place. The place where Richard should be was where the witch was. He cuts off her head, stabs her heart, sees her blood, and takes the magic stone. It was something that Richard was satisfied with, to the extent that he sometimes got nervous when he couldn’t hold his sword for a while due to paperwork or the emperor’s call. But he didn’t even think about holding the sword right now. He could only wait desperately for a faint voice that might come from inside the door behind her.

 

Richard became uncomfortable, not knowing what this frustrating yet dizzying feeling was. He knew there was no use in being around her, but he wanted to watch. At the time, he couldn’t understand his mother, who had sat by his bed and watched him for such a long time while he was sick with a cold or something like that when he was young. Even if she was next to him, he didn’t get better, so why was she there?

 

But he seemed to have a vague understanding now. He couldn’t bear not seeing her.

 

Richard couldn’t understand why he was so desperate for the presence of a woman whose face he had only seen for a few days. Even though she was someone who had already moved his emotions several times, this feeling itself was unfamiliar to Richard, so it was not easy for Richard to adapt.

 

“Huh…”

 

Most of the doors in the ducal mansion were heavy. As thick as they were, his soundproofing was so good that it was difficult to notice the breathy moans made by a petite woman like Anthea. If it weren’t for his acumen trained on the battlefield and defeating demonic beasts, he would have missed it. Richard’s actions as he opened the door were calm, but she had already crushed her handle. What Richard saw through the open door was Nathan clinging to her bed and Anthea being hugged by him.

 

Nathan’s life would probably end just by throwing the broken doorknob that was now in Richard’s hand. Knowing that, Richard tried to remain calm. If Nathan’s fingertips weren’t rubbing Anthea’s lips with difficulty.

 

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