I Thought a Villainess' Divorce Would Be Easy

The sadness kept appearing in the playful words they exchanged, and they tried to smile at each other. The breakup was so painful that even Anthea, who knew she would see each other in half a year anyway, felt heartbroken.

Nathan seemed to have guessed that Annthea would not call him, and there was sadness in his smile.

“I can’t keep the Duke waiting any longer,” she said. “I have to go now.”

Even though she said she was going, Nathan couldn’t let go of Anthea’s hand. As Anthea just stared at her and did not let go of her hand, Nathan tried to control his emotions and laughed at her.

“You can send it in a letter, but if you have something to say to your father or mother, do it now. I will do my best to convey your feelings.”

Even in moments like these, Nathan did not forget to take care of his parents. Although she was thankful for Nathan, she hesitated because she couldn’t believe that if she let go of this hand, it would be farewell.

“I have too much to say, so I can’t say it.”

“Anything is okay. Anne, I will carry your words with me the entire time I go, so please feel free to say anything.”

Maybe Nathan could say a word prettily like this. It would be nice if he could stay for one more week and give Richard a special lecture on saying pretty words.

While Anthea was thinking these trivial thoughts, she saw Richard, who was standing not far away, getting on his horse.

Now the time was up.

Anthea’s heart suddenly became urgent. So much so that she even forgot her playfulness and bright smile that she had shown until now.

“I love you.”

She was so sad that she couldn’t tell who her words were directed at.

“I love you, forever.”

Any favor a person could have for a person, whether as a member of her family or not, was the love Annethea had for Nathan and the Counts in one word.

“You can’t forget.”

Over Nathan’s shoulder, she saw Richard jumping off his horse. Whether he misunderstood or not, it wasn’t easy to even let go of Nathan’s hand right away. He couldn’t let go because he knew that if they separated now, they wouldn’t see each other for half a year.

“There is no way I could forget.”

Nathan’s hand slowly relaxed. Her emotions were so high that she could barely hold back the tears that threatened to burst out at any moment. As long as my vision was blurred by tears, it was a welcome relief after Nathan left.

Anthea, who was desperately holding back her tears, jumped into Nathan’s familiar arms without hesitation. Now she couldn’t even open her mouth. Because she would burst out crying. It was okay because she could see him in half a year, but it wasn’t. Since she hadn’t seen him for half a year, she couldn’t accept the breakup easily. She thought and acted lightly, and now she was resentful of herself, but she could not turn back. She held on desperately, suppressing the tears that threatened to burst out of her body.

Nathan’s arm slowly wrapped around Anthea’s back, who was shaking slightly from holding back her tears. Anthea gave strength to her hand holding Nathan as her embrace was as affectionate as always, but increasingly deeper.

Even though Richard came very close to her, Anthea’s hand did not let go. Only after Nathan’s arms, which had been hugging her deeply, loosened, Anthea also reluctantly let go of her hand. Nathan lightly touched the bridge of Anthea’s nose, which was red from holding back her crying, and showed a smile that was as sweet and deep as anything else.

“I will protect the only words I have in my heart until the end.”

“I want you to tell that to the Countess.”

Richard added as if he didn’t misunderstand what Anthea said, and Nathan nodded with a friendly face. Richard’s face slightly hardened at Nathan’s unexpected reaction. In fact, Nathan held out his hand to shake Richard’s hand, as if he didn’t care at all about Richard’s reaction.

“Your Excellency, I will see you off here.”

“Are you refusing the Duke’s favor?

“This would be a good gift for the Count family.”

Nathan lightly shook his head to Richard, who said with his eyes that it was too early to shake hands. Then, she looked kindly but sadly at Anthea, who was shedding tears without saying a word.

“The only gift I ask for is not to make Anthea cry.”

“It seems that the young Count is unique in many things. Besides, wasn’t that the one who made her cry?”

“Now that you are a Duchess, His Excellency will have to wipe away your tears, not your brother’s hands.”

Nathan, who had always called Anthea by her first name, called her Duchess for the first time in front of Richard. At this, Richard’s blunt face relaxed a little.

Richard, who was fumbling in his pocket, quickly noticed her and took the handkerchief handed to him by the head butler and handed it to Anthea. Of course, Nathan’s handkerchief was faster, but she intentionally avoided it.

Anthea covered half of her face with the handkerchief Richard gave her, but her eyes did not miss Nathan. Now it was really time to part ways.

Nathan bowed his head in greeting to her and headed to the front of the carriage. He took a hesitant step and Anthea’s knees buckled as she tried to follow him.

As if he had expected this to happen, Richard grabbed Anthea’s waist and pulled her.

As soon as Nathan got into the carriage, he picked up Anthea, who was collapsing. Anthea didn’t even make a sound, even though she felt such strong emotions that she thought she might be struggling or crying. Anthea knew that if she cried here, Nathan would never be able to leave, so she desperately tried to swallow her cries. She just watched the carriage slowly drive away and blinked her eyes as tears welled up in her eyes, as if trying to see them a little more clearly.

Richard held Anthea in his arms and waited.

“Well… Ugh…”

Only after the carriage was completely out of her sight did Anthea begin to sob. Her thin body seemed to have difficulty even crying. Richard realized that even if it wasn’t Nathan’s last words, he needed to be by Anthea’s side for now. However, even before the tears she shed as she saw off Nathan, who was like her family, Anthea tried to act like a Duchess.

“Duke, shouldn’t you go? I will see him off.”

Anthea, who had been sobbing just a moment ago, had a red face, and her voice sounded like she was choking. Nevertheless, she tried to see Richard off, as if she would do her duty as a Duchess. At any other time he would have left without hesitation, but leaving behind Anthea, who showed her deep sorrow, did not put him off his feet.

“There is no need to leave in such a hurry.”

In fact, the escort knights waiting for Richard were ready to rush out at any moment. The spirit of those waiting for the Duke, who returned from subjugating the Demon Beast, to leave again, was heavy. Returning to the dukedom at this time was not an option.

“You have been very considerate for my brother and the Count. Thank you so much.”

Anthea smiled at Richard and his knights, who had already wasted enough time, even though her face still had tears in it.

“You came back while subduing demonic beasts. I heard that the nearby territory is safe thanks to the Duke. You are really great.”

Anthea, wiping her red, flushed eyelids with the back of her hand, continued to chatter, clearly looking like she was overdoing it.

In the first place, Richard had suddenly left the area while subduing demonic beasts, so he was about to replenish his knights and rush back. It was an ideal situation for Anthea to quickly understand such an operation and try to see him off. Still, he hardly lost his steps.

“I’m fine. Head to where the Duke needs to be.”

Such a small and delicate woman continued to send off the Duke, reminding him of what he had to do. Therefore, Richard mounted his horse as she wanted.

“One week. I’ll be back sooner than that, so don’t cry.”

Anthea did not hide her worried expression at the Duke’s determination to complete the work that would have taken a month within a week.

“Yes. Duke, don’t overdo it either. You can’t get hurt.”

What she meant was that please don’t move differently from the original work and come back after completing the deadline as planned.

Richard, who had no way of knowing Anthea’s true intentions, felt a strange, unusual tingling near his heart. Would this delicate woman show her tears if he were hurt? Just letting Nathan go made her cry so sadly, and she would definitely cry if Richard got hurt. Just thinking about her made the area around his neck tingle. Richard was taken aback by the expectations that he had unconsciously raised, but he did his best to maintain a straight face and get on his horse.

Unlike the numerous servants, who stood unwaveringly on guard to see off the Duke as always, Anthea’s delicate presence, as if she might stumble at any moment, caught his eye more than anyone else.

“Bye.”

“…I will come back.”

It felt quite different from when he was seen off by employees standing in an orderly manner. He wondered why it felt so different even though he had only added one person.

His forced feet felt heavy, as if they had been poisoned by a magical beast. Although his preparations must have been perfect due to the frequent expeditions, he kept wanting to look back, as if he had left something behind.

“We will cross the mountain before the sun sets. Those who fall behind should be prepared.”

“Yes!”

Enough greetings have already been said. Nevertheless, Richard, trying to ignore his own persistent clinging to her and his disappointment, drove his horse and left the mansion. As the sound of dozens of warhorses leaving and pounding the ground faded away, Anthea let go of the smile she had been trying to put on.

“Whoa… It’s harder than I thought.”

After sending Richard off late as planned, her sadness over sending Nathan came flooding back. Right now she just wanted to lock herself in her room and cry in bed all day. When she got sad, she cried, and when she wanted to see him, she cried again. She thought it would be a good idea for her to control her emotions by consuming drinks provided by the maid to prevent her from becoming dehydrated. It would be better if word spread about the Duchess’ shock at the return of her former fiancé.

“Oh, I don’t know. Let’s not think about plans for today.”

 

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