I Thought a Villainess' Divorce Would Be Easy

A stalker.

A stalker who was so bold that he followed and stared at her.

Duke Gwynted, whose presence seemed so stern that he could burst, didn’t blink an eye as if he would not miss his wife’s appearance sitting as far away as possible across the table.

When Anthea got up without even touching her teacup due to frustration, he immediately followed her and approached her.

“Where are you going?”

Anywhere he was not.

Instead of revealing her true feelings, she answered with a soft smile.

“I’m frustrated, so I thought I’d move around a bit.”

“If you’re going to hit the target today, let’s go together. I’ll check your posture from the side.”

Richard, who seemed ready to pierce Anthea with just his eyes, was calm in his voice. In fact, unlike his usual bluntness, he even felt relaxed. Furthermore, he didn’t hesitate at all to reveal that he knew Anthea’s daily routine, even though he had never seen it before.

“No. My arms are sore, I think it’ll be tough today.”

“Is there anything in your stomach after just eating soup and grass? Come to think of it, I haven’t heard the food you want to eat yet.”

It was an awkward, blunt tone that was too affectionate, but the sincerity in it was clear.

The servants who were standing like statues wavered at Richard’s actions, who was paying only attention to Anthea.

“Your Highness, please put your hand on my waist.”

“I think my wife will collapse if I leave her alone.”

Anthea had a hard time guessing what Richard was thinking last night, but it was even harder now.

Yesterday, he stood far away and watched Anthea until she fell asleep, and when she woke up in the morning, he was so close that she woke up in his arms. And then, from morning until now, in broad daylight, he didn’t leave her for even a moment except when he was washing. She sighed.

Ever since she saw Richard’s smile last night, Anthea kept thinking.

In the original, the first smile was caused by Bianca. So what Anthea saw was Richard after he had already revealed his true feelings to Bianca.

Richard might have smiled in front of Bianca without Anthea knowing.

‘There’s no way Anthea, a mere supporting actor, would have taken over the big event that the heroine should have.’

Thinking like that, it made sense. It was proof that Richard and Bianca were feeling good about each other, even though their feelings of love hadn’t fully blossomed.

If Bianca made excuses for Richard and clashed with him often like last time, more feelings would definitely arise.

Anthea made up her mind to try. However, Richard didn’t even know Anthea’s anxious feelings and stuck to her tightly. If this keeps up, Bianca would see them like that. It was difficult to show the heroine the male protagonist who was clinging to his wife.

“Let go, Duke, I need to rest.”

“My wife is weak and needs to rest often. Sit down.”

“No, I’ll go back to my room now.”

“I’ll send you back when you’ve rested enough, so sit down.”

Between Richard, who tried to hold her in his arms all day, and Anthea, who was holding on, it was only Anthea who was lacking in stamina.

When Anthea got tired of holding on and was dragged away, Richard sat down on the sofa without hesitation, still holding Anthea.

Richard on the sofa, and Anthea on her husband’s thigh, which was like a solid rock, far from the softness of the sofa.

They weren’t lovers who were overflowing with affection, to the point of burning, so she wondered what they were doing.

When she stared at them in shock, Richard raised the corners of his mouth and laughed without a care. It was a pretty good laugh, as if he had practiced laughing all night.

Of course, it only seemed that way to Anthea, but to the servants, it was a distorted level of arsenic, which rather aroused new fear.

First, she had to leave Richard aside for a moment to bring Bianca.

“Duke. Aren’t you busy? Didn’t you stop by the Demonic Beast subjugation and come back? Or do you not need to look at the documents regarding the territory?”

“There are capable butlers and adjutants, so just check the report that will come up in the evening. More than that, Madam, I want to see you eat lunch properly.”

She didn’t know why he kept feeding her and was causing a fuss.

Richard, who was measuring Anthea’s wrist and waist with his hands, seriously thought about how to make Anthea fat.

“Isn’t it because you don’t eat that your body is so thin and you fall easily? The attending physician also said that I need to increase my wife’s stamina.”

“Hmm, Duke. There must have been information about my physical condition in the report about me.”

Anthea gave up on being coy when she failed to get rid of Richard, who was persistently clinging to her. Instead, she let out her uncomfortable feelings.

“Have you already forgotten about the Duke’s background check?”

Richard just watched as Anthea, who had been trying to avoid him, reacted sharply.

“My weak body can’t be cured with medicine. I have to take medicine to be able to move. If I take this and that with my weak body, my body will only get weaker. You don’t necessarily have to remember me.”

Despite Anthea’s sharp reaction, Richard didn’t let go of his arms that were holding her.

The ones who didn’t know what to do about the fact that the Duke had been background check on the Duchess and the situation in which Anthea had mentioned it were the servants in the room.

Anthea turned her head because she felt burdened by Richard’s persistent gaze at her, and then witnessed the reactions of the maids standing by the wall.

“Yes, yes. Then how about a fruit tart?”

“Yes, it sounds delicious.”

It was an obvious answer, but Anthea nodded with an innocent yet lovely smile. The servants also relaxed their stiff faces and smiled faintly at Anthea’s friendly response.

Richard took advantage of the softening atmosphere and pulled Anthea closer.

“Tell the chef to get ready. Then, ma’am, you still look tired, so how about going to the bedroom and resting until it’s ready?”

Since the master bedroom was just a door away, Richard’s indifferent tone felt rather secretive.

Anthea immediately shook her head.

“I’m not tired enough to lie down.”

“It wasn’t written like that in the report I received.”

Richard openly mentioned the report that Anthea had mentioned sarcastically. Before the atmosphere that had barely begun to loosen up froze again, Anthea meekly admitted it.

“If the Duke goes to the office or the training ground, I’ll lie down.”

“Oh. Then the lady will have to sit uncomfortably.”

How ridiculous. Where on earth did this rascal come from? It was ridiculous that he insisted on making Anthea sit on his lap like a child, even though he knew she was uncomfortable.

Just a day ago, Richard and Anthea had some distance between them. Of course, Richard often carried Anthea, but there was a reason for everything. Unlike the original, Richard’s behavior of not leaving Anthea’s side was completely incomprehensible.

The only changes were Bianca’s early appearance and Anthea’s behavior of going shopping instead of staying in her room.

There must be a reason for Richard’s changed behavior here.

Rather than just guessing, Anthea decided to be bold and ask outright.

“Duke. Why are you trying to be so nice to me?”

It was a bit awkward to say why he was so clingy, but when she asked him indirectly, Richard’s lips twitched slightly and he formed something similar to a smile.

This time, judging from the expression on the servant’s face darkening, it didn’t seem like a proper smile.

Unlike the way his fingers that were holding her waist twitched a few times as if he was nervous, Richard spoke in a calm tone.

“I’m worried about my wife.”

It was an unexpected answer.

He was worried about his wife.

And the voice that said that was a soft, low voice that she never imagined could come from Richard. He already had a great voice that rivaled a voice actor’s, but when he added emotion to it, she felt embarrassed and her face heated up.

“Madam?”

While Anthea was flustered, Richard called her even lower and softer than before.

‘Wow, I almost fell for Richard because I was so excited for a moment.’

Richard seemed to be genuinely worried about Anthea.

Worry was an emotion that arose when you had affection, favor, or even interest in the subject. However, Anthea had a hard time believing that Richard had any feelings for her. Of course, on the day Nathan visited the duke’s house and Richard, who had gone out to subdue the demons, returned halfway through. Richard had acted like a jealous husband, saying harsh words that were too embarrassing to hear.

‘Ah. That’s where it all started.’

The early appearance of the heroine Bianca.

That wasn’t the only problem.

If it had been the original, Richard should have distanced himself indifferently after Anthea’s rejection. However, Nathan, who would not have appeared in the original, visited the duke’s house for Anthea.

Also, the letter from the head maid who had malicious intentions toward Anthea created a new perception of Anthea in Richard. Even if there was no love, he might have felt possessive.

In any case, this series of events changed Richard’s thoughts. A low-level noblewoman who accepted the emperor’s order because she had no reason to refuse. Anthea, who was just a formal wife and had no reason to care about, began to look different. In addition, Anthea played the role of an understanding duchess who misunderstood Bianca and Richard’s relationship and worked hard to create opportunities for the two to meet.

It was completely different from the original where she was locked in a dark room and depressed that the world had abandoned her. As Anthea’s behavior changed, Richard’s behavior also changed.

‘It’s possible that emotions arose because of the change in behavior.’

The problem was that it didn’t seem to be just Richard. The moment Anthea was about to cover her blushing face, Richard’s careful hand gently caressed Anthea’s cheek a step ahead. Thanks to that, her temperature rose visibly.

“Call the doctor.”

“No! If you call him, I might die of shame.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s just that the duke is too hot. Your body temperature must be quite high.”

“In that case, I’ll tell them to prepare a cold dessert.”

Despite Anthea’s grumbling attitude, Richard still acted affectionately. He was gentle enough to sway her heart.

Since he acted differently from the original in many ways, it was a situation that could have been predicted in advance. But Anthea couldn’t do that because she believed in the power of the original work.

She thought it was natural for the female protagonist Bianca and the male protagonist Richard to meet and fall in love. But now, the situation began to flow in a different direction.

Richard, who had Anthea sitting on his lap and hugging her waist, seemed unwilling to let her go, clearly had warmth in his gaze toward Anthea.

‘That can’t be right, male protagonist. You have to fall in love with Bianca. Look at me like an inanimate object!’

 

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