I Thought a Villainess' Divorce Would Be Easy

While she was wondering who the hard body touching her back and the warm body temperature belonged to, the hand holding her waist loosened and pulled the blanket up.

 

“Duke?”

 

Richard was nervous without even realizing it, fearing that Anthea, whom he was holding in his arms, might call someone else’s name. Fortunately, Anthe1a called Richard, and her tense body relaxed. Richard, who didn’t even know he was nervous, was puzzled by the change in her body, but carefully hugged Anthea, who was only a handful.

 

“Oh, duke. Why am I here?”

 

“The door is broken.”

 

Anthea remembered Richard holding her door handle before falling asleep. While she was wondering if she had to move to the room that much, Richard’s calm voice added an explanation.

 

“I’m a little angry. I accidentally broke the door when I was closing it.”

 

‘How come the door accidentally breaks when you close it?’

 

“Why are you angry?”

 

Even as she asked, she seemed to know the answer. Instead of receiving an answer right away from Richard, his breath touched Anthea’s shoulder. The vivid touch of another’s breath in this way was something she had experienced many times in friendly embraces with people in the count’s family. It was the first time, other than the animals she was raising, that she was defenseless and touched by another person’s breath in the personal space of a bed. Anthea belatedly noticed that the clothes she was wearing had changed because the body temperature felt through the palm touching her stomach and the breath close enough to warm her shoulder were so vivid. Her thin indoor dress was different from the one she wore before going to bed.

 

An official married couple lying in the same bed in perfect bedtime attire. Even if she tried to stay calm, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

 

“I didn’t know you had this tendency either.”

 

She really didn’t want to suddenly confess her tastes in bed.

 

“Ma’am.”

 

Anthea’s shoulders shrank at the low cave bear voice. Richard’s body temperature touched Anthea’s trembling shoulders as if to calm her down, but she was so nervous that she froze.

 

“I find it very unpleasant to share what is mine.”

 

Here, Richard did not do the foolish thing of asking what ‘mine’ was, but he steadily gave the answer.

 

“My wife is mine. It was hard to bear it because you kept getting into someone else’s hands.”

 

‘But I can’t destroy your brother.’

 

Anthea tried to pretend that she didn’t hear the sound, which was so secret and almost inaudible, as if he was whispering inside her mouth.

 

“The night is just beginning, so you’d better get some sleep, wife. I will protect you from thieves in the night.”

 

He wanted to change the mood by jokingly telling people not to worry because the thief would never come that night.

 

“By the way, ma’am. Is this scent only coming from my wife?”

 

“Oh, no. All I need is a sachet that was often used by the count’s family. It is a very common flower in the East.”

 

“Do flowers smell like this?”

 

“Sure. It’s easy to make and anyone can use it. It’s a scent that’s nothing special at all.”

 

Anthea’s desperate wish to break the strange atmosphere of her bedroom space rarely came true.

 

“I think the East is going to get better.”

 

Rather than arguing with Nathan, perhaps he came here to receive advice or training. Anthea laughed awkwardly, expressing reasonable doubt at the uncharacteristic comments made by Richard.

 

“Haha… good, yes, great… East. It’s warm, there are a lot of flowers, the people are nice, there are a lot of flowers… Yes, it’s a flower, flower.”

 

Anthea wanted to somehow break this tickling atmosphere. But she couldn’t even avoid the warmth that immediately brushed the back of her neck.

 

“If you can’t sleep, I can make you a little tired.”

 

Richard, attacking her like this… Anthea couldn’t even imagine. Anthea could not come to her senses due to the change in Richard, who should have had no interest in anything other than exorcizing demons until the appearance of the main character. Richard waited while she hugged Anthea, who didn’t know what to do.

 

Richard Gwinted had no need to consider others. Of course, he was bothered by the hassle of dealing with the emperor, so he mostly agreed. That was different from consideration. For Richard, it was rare to check on someone else’s mood or worry about their health. Most of it was none of Richard’s concern. The Duke and Duchess, who went to recuperate to treat the former Duke’s illness, were concerned about each other. All of the duke’s family’s affairs, large and small, were maintained thanks to the efforts of the head butler who had been together for a long time and the head maid who led by example. The Knights of the Black Knights also had a rather strong desire to win, but in front of Richard, they were no different from an obedient dog. Rather than examining the opponent’s emotions, he was accustomed to giving effective battle instructions and approving them after checking the report. Therefore, even though Nathan’s actions of worrying only about Anthea were unfamiliar, he focused on his words. Although he was displeased with Nathan’s excessive interest in Anthea, he recognized that his concerns were valid. In fact, Richard even unintentionally created bruises just by touching his wife’s slender body.

 

Thanks to the training he received while fighting the demon beast, he was no longer afraid to hold it in his hands. However, Anthea was much weaker than Richard expected. She was so weak that she felt cold just from the slight chill coming in through the crack in her broken door. While Anthea was moved to her couple’s bedroom and her maid was getting ready, Richard also washed her body, which had become dirty from her trek through the mountains. When she came out wearing a robe, the bedroom was filled with warm heat. The wood in the fireplace was burning brightly, and there was even a small stove next to the bed. For Richard, it was hot.

 

The warmth was so excessive that he wanted to open the window, but he persevered while looking at Anthea’s rosy cheeks as she slept soundly. As he slowly practiced, he placed his hand on Anthea’s cheek and unconsciously rubbed her face. It was like the innocence of a small animal unaware of danger.

 

– It’s warm…

 

Even though she was full of warmth, Anthea clung to the body heat coming from Richard’s hand as if it wasn’t enough. Without even thinking about it, Richard untied the straps of the gown he had just put on. When he got into the thick blanket, it was even warm from Anthea’s body temperature. Even though it was a temperature he wouldn’t normally cover with a blanket, the warmth wasn’t bad for Richard. As he hugged Anthea, who was sleeping, from behind, the soft hair tickled the tip of her chin. When his hand touched her small abdomen, which was large enough to fit in one hand, Richard tensed without realizing it. He had practiced touching the snow bunny again and again, but when he actually touched Anthea’s body, it was softer than he remembered from the first night.

 

It felt like she would crumble like jelly in his hands if he held on to her with all his greed. As he tried to relax his hand as much as possible, she actually gained strength in her body. He still lacked his training. If he joined the subjugation of demonic beasts tomorrow, he would definitely master power control even if it meant obtaining all the snow rabbits. While that determination was engraved in his mind, Anthea woke up. He felt happy again when he heard the voice calling him. He listened to her small voice coming from under her chin.

 

Anthea had a unique sweet scent. As she spoke in a stream of consciousness, he noticed that her small body was squirming in his arms and kept trying to move away. Not wanting to let go, he pulled her into his arms and pressed her chin against his round shoulder.

 

“If you can’t sleep, I can make you a little tired.”

 

He could feel her body vividly stiffening under her chin. Ashe lightly tapped her chin as if to make her relax, the scent lingering in his nose became stronger. It was a scent he wanted to smell more properly. Before he knew it, Richard was rubbing Anthea’s shoulder with his nose and his lips, not her chin.

 

Anthea’s eyes were shaken by Richard’s unimaginable actions.

 

‘Is the Duke acting cute? It’s not really like that, is it?’

 

It would be acceptable if it was a real sundae. Since the duke’s unexpected actions made no sense to her, she decided to avoid him for now.

 

“I’m sleepy. You don’t have to worry.”

 

Anthea tried to get away by shrugging her shoulders in response to Richard’s actions as he pressed against her shoulders. Of course she thought it was just a thought and she couldn’t get away with one of Richard’s arms wrapped around her waist.

 

“Ah~ I’m sleepy~ haaam.”

 

Anthea even pretended to yawn, appealing to her fatigue. Meanwhile, Richard’s face brushed against her, and her dress, which had been pushed aside little by little, finally exposed her bare skin. Anthea twisted her body at the vivid sensation, which was completely different from what she felt between the thin fabrics.

 

“Well, the duke must be tired too, so please go to sleep soon.”

 

It was a movement to move her exposed shoulder away from Richard’s lips, but while she was tossing and turning, her eyes met. His bright blue eyes were motionlessly focused on Anthea, and his breath that was moistening her shoulder became thicker. If it weren’t for the familiar blue color, his eyes were so emotionless that she might have felt the fear she had before being bitten and eaten by a beast.

 

‘And. That thing is an absolute beast.’

 

Anthea’s sentiments could not even be heard in her head. His bright blue eyes got closer to her in an instant, and without a moment of surprise, their lips overlapped. The perfectly overlapped lips were soft and hot, incomparable to the light touch and fall during their informal marriage. The moment Richard saw Anthea’s lips, he vividly remembered the shape of Nathan gently pressed against her hand, and he became uncomfortable. His body, more than his head, responded to his desire to cover up any traces of another man’s touch that might have remained on Anthea’s lips. It was a gentle kiss compared to his hasty attack. Her lips were so soft and sweet against his that he wanted to bite them. Knowing full well his violent nature, Richard calmed the churning feeling in his stomach as he carefully explored her partner with only his lips.

 

At this, Anthea’s head went crazy.

 

‘He must be crazy!’

 

No, they were a couple too crazy to call it crazy. Legally, they were married, this was their bedroom, and it was true that they were lying in the same bed. 

 

But if things go there, he would fall in love with her.

 

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Translator Note: