I Thought a Villainess' Divorce Would Be Easy

“You’re not denying it.”

He didn’t know that this laughter would go unnoticed. But Anthea still laughed.

As Anthea continued to laugh like an angel, Richard’s wrinkled eyebrows seemed to gradually straighten.

Anthea Lanfis. A woman who had married into the dukedom and was now Anthea Gwynted.

She had only recently come to the North, but she had been going around so diligently. Even so, her frail body collapsed several times.

Richard held the delicate Anthea in his hand and realized how delicate and soft she was. No, he realized it. He thought Anthea was even more fragile than that.

Even when such a woman met Bianca, who she had mistaken for Richard’s affair, she didn’t even blink. She even calmly invited Bianca into her house.

Even though he had told her the truth that they had only just met, Anthea was still clearly misunderstanding.

When Anthea, who had fainted from being overworked while riding a horse, did not wake up for a long time, he left the room. As soon as Richard came out, he could hear Anthea’s small voice.

Richard understood Anthea’s suspicions about asking about Bianca. It was a situation that could happen.

He thought he could calmly explain the situation and left the room for the time being. However, Anthea refused the breakfast that Richard had suggested. Later, when he sent snacks through Bianca, he was sure that he had to have a proper conversation with Anthea.

His wife was sure. Bianca was Richard’s lover.

He tried to reject Bianca right away, but Anthea insisted that Richard taste the snacks and brought the plate right up to his nose.

He couldn’t refuse the snacks that his wife had sent him for the first time, so he took a bite, and Bianca explained the food in detail every time. Then, she even picked up the snacks that Richard had put down after taking a bite, saying it was a waste. This kind of casual behavior was something that could not happen even to commoners and ignorant people. It was something that could only happen between very close lovers or between parents and children.

When he asked if the Duchess had ordered this, she just blinked while eating her snack.

She had been annoying from the beginning. Although Anthea could have easily resolved the misunderstanding, she kept getting entangled in it because she strangely avoided it.

Even now, Bianca cleverly made it difficult to distinguish between what Anthea had ordered and what she had not.

If Anthea had wanted Richard to eat the snack, she could have done it. However, if she had sent Bianca on purpose, she had to make her intentions clear.

She wanted to go straight to Anthea, who kept avoiding her and sending Bianca away, and clearly resolve the misunderstanding, but she held back. Since Richard Gwynted had become an adult, it was strange for him to be patient with those who went against his will, except when dealing with the royal family. Above all, it was rare for someone to misunderstand him and cause him to be so emotionally swayed.

He didn’t want to surprise his fragile wife who could only close her eyes and avoid him. That’s why he was annoyed by Bianca’s constant lingering presence, but he let it go because Anthea kept taking care of her.

It was surprising that his emotions were so wild and his self-control was gone. Fortunately, his time as a duke helped him masterfully manage his emotions.

Richard swallowed his seething insides. He waited for an opportunity. He naturally waited for a situation where he could exist, and that was now.

As soon as he met Anthea, he thought that Bianca had nothing to do with him and sent her away immediately to resolve the misunderstanding. However, Anthea’s eyes turned red when she saw the prospective knights who had come back covered in wounds.

He was displeased with Anthea’s tears for the other men, but he wanted to immediately embrace her and hold her in his arms.

“Why do you keep sending me away when you don’t even have Count Leslie?”

He spoke bluntly as if he was talking to himself, but his gaze was fixed on Anthea.

Anthea smiled innocently, as if he had nothing to be offended by.

“I heard that if the Duke goes out to subdue the demons, he won’t come back for about a month. If the Duke is here, who will catch the demons?”

“I’ll stay in the mansion for the time being. I plan on protecting my wife.”

“Huh? Why are you protecting me?”

“Don’t you collapse at the slightest? Don’t you misunderstand the wrong things? And then you don’t even eat together and start shooting at targets.”

Although he had expected it, Anthea was embarrassed because every single word he said reached Richard’s ears.

“Because you need to exercise to stay healthy.”

“Well, it’s not bad to just throw trees with those thin arms.”

Richard’s large hand, which lightly grabbed her arm, felt hot as if it had been holding lava.

“…Are you having a fever?”

“You don’t seem to think that your wife is cold.”

Richard naturally took Anthea’s back and hugged her with both arms crossed.

Anthea was embarrassed as she was instantly surrounded by heat as if she had been turned over by a giant fireplace doll.

“Hey, Duke? It’s a bit stuffy.”

“You’ll have to get used to it.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s have dinner together for now. I heard that I’m going to bring you the hwachae you wanted.”

That hwachae. There was no way she could refuse the hwachae that was the cause of everything.

Anthea nodded in Richard’s warm embrace.

In conclusion, the hwachae was delicious. Thanks to the special magic stone that even created bubbles, she could feel the slight carbonation, making it much more similar to the original hwachae than when it was made by the count.

Just every time she took a sip of the soup and the fruit, she was under the gaze of the chef, the servants, and even the knights, so she couldn’t swallow it.

In addition, the slurp of the slurp that she swallowed along with the cool northern air made Anthea shiver.

When she unintentionally put down her spoon, Chef Hamon collapsed as if he was about to sacrifice his hand.

“It’s because of my poor skills that I can’t satisfy your taste, Madam!”

“That’s not it. I’m going to eat it as a midnight snack. Bring it to my room later tonight.”

“Yes, Madam. I’ll recreate the recipe more perfectly. Just leave it to me.”

“Yes. I’ll look forward to it, Hamon.”

“Ugh… Thank you, Madam.”

If it were any other time, she would have left it alone to do something bad, but when she thought about all the sincerity put into this slurp, she couldn’t do it.

At Anthea’s laughter, Hamon’s face, which had been stained with despair, brightened.

The knights, who had been like dead bears, finally regained their energy and quietly disappeared behind the pillars.

Determined to eat whatever was given for the time being, they couldn’t bring themselves to eat fatty meat dishes, so they just ate soup and bread.

After a short dinner, Anthea returned to her room and enjoyed the warm air in the room thanks to the fireplace.

Anthea, who was rolling around in anticipation of eating Hwachae in the warm room, sighed involuntarily when she heard the message from Richard that the servant brought.

“The Hwachae has arrived in the master’s bedroom, so come and eat it.”

“The Duke? To the master’s bedroom?”

“Yes, master.”

Richard, who had been waiting for half a year, kept dragging Anthea into the master’s bedroom for some reason. Last time, it was because the door was broken, but today, he tried to lure her with food.

‘Lure. Why would the Duke have to seduce the Duchess who didn’t like him?’

He wondered if he was trying to express his gratitude to the generous Duchess who had let Bianca be close to him. Or maybe he was just being nice to his wife after cheating on her.

In either case, there was no reason for Anthea to go to the master bedroom.

“Haam… I’m so tired because I worked out too much today.

“It’s late for a midnight snack, so tell the Duke that he’d like the hwachae.”

The servant hesitated and cautiously suggested it to Anthea, who smiled faintly while yawning.

“If you’re tired, my lady, it would have been rude to escort you.”

“Luke, even if you brought the Duke’s message, it’s presumptuous to express your opinion to my lady.”

“You should be thankful that my lady is generous.”

Just looking at Julie and Ellie, who immediately objected, you could tell that the servant who brought the message had crossed the line. However, the servant called Luke was still sweating profusely, but he didn’t apologize or show any sign of backing down.

‘Yes. This is my position in the dukedom.’

Julie and Ellie, who were close to him, Harmon, the chef he saw every day, and Rosa, who was openly hostile, clashed with Anthea so often that he momentarily forgot his position in the dukedom.

Of course, if Anthea got annoyed, the servant would immediately apologize until his head was on the floor, but he didn’t want to bother calculating and worrying about small things.

Since the duke called, he could just go.

“I’m tired. I won’t move an inch. Call the escort and bring the stretcher and carry it for me.”

“Yes, yes. Then the escort will carry it for me…”

“Who is carrying whom?”

Everyone froze, forgetting to even breathe, at the appearance of Richard, who was supposed to be in the master bedroom.

 

—————————————————————

Translator Note: