It Feels Like I’m About to be Divorced, But my Husband is My Favorite

Episode 15

“Ugh…”

Only after watching the Crown Prince abruptly turn his back and leave the room did I finally stagger over and collapse onto the sofa.

“I really thought I was going to die.”

Honestly, from the moment I entered the parlor and saw the Crown Prince, I felt the urge to give him a punch.

But I didn’t actually intend to hit him.

Even if I couldn’t completely resolve my bad blood with the Crown Prince before the wedding, I couldn’t risk being arrested as an attempted assassin of royalty!

So, while gritting my teeth and suppressing the anger that surged up, I was half out of it, focusing on a bug, and that’s when things took a turn for the worse…

When the Crown Prince ominously asked if I had just hit him, my vision went white as I feared I might actually leave this life without ever seeing my favorite face again.

Though, in the midst of all that, I did feel oddly relieved to have struck him once, and I was about to force an apology out through stiff lips when…

As the Crown Prince’s cheek twitched in anger, the bug’s corpse twitched along with it.

It was both horrifying and hilariously absurd, and I bit my lip so hard to keep from laughing that it hurt.

I held back, convinced that laughing would spell my doom, and fortunately, it seemed to have passed smoothly.

“But that was strange…”

I expected him to take this as an opportunity to punish me, pleased to finally deal with the thorn in his side.

Yet he let it go without further questioning.

“Even though he sneered, accusing me of lying, did my giving up somehow make him soften up without realizing it?”

But something about it still felt off.

‘I’d like to believe I’m wrong, but…’

No matter how I think about it, there was an inexplicable intensity in the Crown Prince’s gaze when he looked at my hand a moment ago.

And within that intensity, there was even a hint of… euphoria.

“N-No way!”

Could it be that the Crown Prince… is a pervert?!

The thought gave me chills, making it seem all the more possible that he genuinely looked pleased.

The last thing I wanted was to know anything about the Crown Prince’s twisted tastes!

As I grimaced, disgusted, the parlor door opened, and someone came rushing in.

“Sister!”

“Melissa? What are you doing here? It could be troublesome if you run into His Highness.”

“I was worried about you. But I came as soon as I heard that the Crown Prince had left.”

“Good job.”

At my praise, Melissa smiled shyly and asked cautiously.

“Did the talk with His Highness go well?”

“Uh? Well…”

It would be a stretch to call that a proper conversation, but I did manage to say what I wanted.

Although I did receive only mockery and was branded a liar.

“Oh, Melissa. I’m sorry…”

“Pardon?”

“The thing is, I made a bit of a blunder with His Highness and… I ended up giving him your handkerchief.”

I hadn’t intended to hand over the handkerchief.

It was just that, as the lieutenant urged him to leave, I saw the Crown Prince walking out with a bug corpse stuck to his cheek, which felt like a disaster waiting to happen.

It wasn’t enough that I had slapped his cheek; to have him walk around with something dirty on it, too?

So I hurriedly offered Melissa’s handkerchief, which I happened to have on me, meaning for him to clean it off.

**”…Are you giving this to me?”**

When he asked that, I was so flustered.

I couldn’t just come out and tell him he had a dead bug on his cheek, so I cautiously told him to wipe his cheek, yet instead of wiping it, he just stuffed someone else’s handkerchief into his pocket.

At least, as he finally rubbed his cheek at the end, the bug corpse fell off safely, which was a relief…

‘He must have sensed it instinctively, even though I didn’t mention it was Melissa’s.’

Why did he even keep the handkerchief?

It was obvious to anyone that it wasn’t Evgenia’s handkerchief.

But for some reason, an odd unease settled over me.

“The handkerchief is fine.”

Melissa, ever the angel, smiled gently without question, placing a hand over her heart in relief.

“Thank goodness. I was worried about whether I should explain it to him myself.”

Hmm, that actually triggered an odd thought.

Of course, I thought he had summoned me to vent his anger over Melissa rejecting his marriage proposal.

Though he did ask if I had seen the proposal, after that, he didn’t bring it up again.

Even though he came all the way here just before his deployment, he didn’t even ask to see Melissa…

And at that moment, I realized why I felt such an odd tension and discomfort.

‘No way… Could it be?’

Aside from the possibility that the Crown Prince might have strange tastes, the thing that worried me most was the fact that I was a transmigrator.

Isn’t that trope all too common?

When a transmigrated or reincarnated character asks their indifferent fiancé or husband for a breakup or divorce, only for them to suddenly become obsessively possessive?

And just today, I’d made a flag-raising declaration about letting go of my feelings.

If the Crown Prince, slapped today and possibly awakened to some strange tastes, suddenly started obsessing over Evgenia, the villainess?

‘Ugh, how creepy!’

Just thinking about it made me shiver, and I trembled.

Melissa blinked at me, tilting her head in curiosity, but I had no time to explain.

I couldn’t keep this up any longer.

I vaguely overheard that once he left for the expedition, he wouldn’t be back for three months.

It seems I have to go ahead with the wedding and move to the Duchy of Rudion within that time.

…This is absolutely not me making excuses to satisfy my own desires! Really!

The servants at the duke’s residence cast glances at me, looking startled.

I understand.

Anyone would think it strange if the villainess, who had always been distant, suddenly appeared in the lobby just as her father was about to return.

“…Evgenia?”

The person who would find this the most surprising finally appeared.

“E-Evgenia? Are you here to greet me?”

As expected, Duke Basilian was shocked to see me standing in the lobby.

To others, his gaze might have appeared harsh, as if he were glaring at a child who had committed treason…

But by now, I had become accustomed enough to the ducal household to know better.

I could see that he was flustered and even a little moved.

‘I only came out to meet him at the end of the workday because my mind was unsettled after meeting the crown prince, and I wanted to see him as soon as possible.’

Feeling a bit embarrassed that my actions had such an impact, I glanced at Melissa beside me. She was grinning brightly, apparently happier to be with me than to be greeting him alone.

Originally, I had no intention of getting close to Evgenia’s family, but somehow, things turned out this way.

I sighed inwardly and spoke hastily.

“I have something to discuss with you, Father.”

“Yes, I see.”

Whether he took everything I said as shy or embarrassed, the duke nodded repeatedly with a look of sentiment.

I was about to frown, feeling this wasn’t quite right, when—

“Why did you come out when you’re unwell? I would have come to your room anyway.”

Sionel, who had been standing behind the duke, glared at me fiercely.

At first, his tone seemed sharp, as though he were scolding me, but I knew by now that he was simply concerned.

“I told you, I’m fine! The physician even confirmed it.”

Why is everyone so eager to treat me as if I were gravely ill?

“But…!”

“Enough, Sionel. If Evgenia says she’s fine, then she is.”

Surprisingly, instead of siding with Sionel, the duke stood by me and looked at me quietly.

“…?”

But his expression darkened, unlike earlier.

While I was briefly conversing with Sionel, it seemed the butler had reported something to him. Had something serious happened?

As I narrowed my eyes in curiosity, the duke, observing my expression, cleared his throat and spoke.

“It’s good timing, Evgenia. I happen to have something to discuss with you as well.”

The moment he mentioned having something to discuss, only one thought crossed my mind.

It was undoubtedly about the response to the marriage proposal sent to the Duke of Rudion.

My heart pounded wildly, but I forced myself to respond as calmly as possible.