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

Episode 6

The man’s eyebrow twitched as he stared at me with an odd look.

‘Could it really not be Alexis?’

Suddenly feeling my confidence fade, I panicked, but luckily, Alexis sneered as he raised the corner of his mouth.

“I heard you were put on probation. So why are you wandering around here? Are you saying even Father’s orders are trivial to you now? You’re really something, Evgenia Basilia.”

Every word he uttered grated on my ears, but feeling relief that I hadn’t made a mistake, I clamped my mouth shut without any excuse.

Though, of course, I did feel a bit sorry.

‘Damn it, I just wanted to get through this quietly.’

I’d been planning to slip into the main building unnoticed and then quietly bribe the guard at the door to keep silent. He probably wouldn’t want it known that I had slipped out of my room either, so I figured he’d agree to keep it quiet.

‘But of all people, I had to run into him…’

I sighed, feeling a deep sense of frustration.

Then, suddenly, Alexis’s mocking expression became bewildered.

“Hey, why…?”

“…?”

“I heard you hit your head against the wall like a madwoman. Have you really lost it?”

“What?”

Wasn’t he being a bit too harsh, even for him?

Since the moment I’d encountered Alexis, an inexplicable sense of irritation had started gnawing at me. But I’d held back, enduring his comments, as they were all things I was at fault for anyway.

“Lost it? Did you throw chivalry out the window? Is that any way to talk to your older sister?”

I’d expected him to scoff and snap back, but Alexis’s expression changed strangely again.

This time, Alexis, looking more puzzled than ever, took a step closer, positioning himself just in front of me. He leaned in, scrutinizing my face intently.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Is this that instinctive repulsion real siblings feel?

I frowned, pulling back, but Alexis kept observing me closely, then suddenly asked,

“What did you just say?”

Evgenia was by no means short, but Alexis, being much taller, intimidated me with his looming presence, which made me feel both slightly scared and increasingly annoyed.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“…Not that. What did you say?”

“Hmph. I asked if you threw chivalry out the window.”

“And after that?”

After that?

Not understanding his intent, I tilted my head and retraced my words.

“Is that any way to talk to your older sister?”

“Ha! Older sister? Did you just call yourself my older sister?”

“Well, yes.”

Feeling unexpectedly flustered, I stumbled over my words. Then, frustrated at my own hesitation, I raised my voice boldly.

“That’s right! From earlier, you… is this how you’re supposed to treat your older sister?”

Meanwhile, Alexis’s expression turned completely bewildered, and I started wracking my brain.

Was Evgenia not his older sister? No, that couldn’t be right. Alexis was definitely two years younger than Evgenia.

But Alexis’s reaction was so cold that I felt myself growing timid.

I was an only child. Although I had cousins, I wasn’t particularly close to them, so I had no real understanding of typical sibling dynamics.

Yet, based on what I knew, Alexis’s attitude seemed far too disrespectful.

Pouting in dissatisfaction, I noticed Alexis glaring at me, then roughly raking his hand through his hair.

“When did I ever treat you like my older sister? And when did I ever not blow up at being called that?”

I knew they had a rocky relationship, but to this extent?

Surprised by this unexpected revelation, I was taken aback.

‘Could he actually be realizing I’m not Evgenia?’

Honestly, I’d only planned to be cautious around Anne; I hadn’t thought anyone else, especially the Basilia family, would notice anything.

Yet I suddenly felt uneasy, reminded that family was still family.

“Evgenia Basilia.”

Alexis called out to me in a displeased tone.

Unable to bring myself to tell him to call me ‘older sister’ again, I shot him a look, as if to ask why he was staring at me, which made his expression grow even more serious.

“Did you really hit your head badly? You’re just sitting there even when I address you formally.”

“…Of course! I hit my head and even fainted; do you think I’d be okay?”

Gripped by a fear that he might see through my identity, I shouted back shamelessly.

“Of course, you’d have no idea since you didn’t even check on me once.”

“Hey, that’s…!”

“So don’t pretend you care now!”

With that final, icy, and dismissive statement from me, a silence settled over us.

It almost felt as if a cold breeze had swept through the place.

‘Ugh!’

It wasn’t an illusion.

After my earlier struggle with Richard in the underground prison, my body had already felt ice-cold, and now with the actual cold wind blowing…

‘Oh no. I think I’m going to sneeze!’

This was an intensely serious moment, and I’d just delivered an exceptionally cold-hearted line.

But to sneeze here? That’s unacceptable; absolutely not.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem like any mucus would come out, but my nose was so itchy, I was going crazy.

Determined to protect my pride, not to mention uphold my ‘Evgenia-like’ dignity, I clenched my fist tightly and scrunched my face.

And somehow, with a fierce frown, I managed to hold back the sneeze…

Then, through narrowed eyes, I caught a glimpse of Alexis staring at me with a strangely blank expression.

There was a clear look of surprise and confusion in his gaze.

‘Oh… could he have noticed?’

That I was awkwardly holding back a sneeze right now!

At that moment, an immediate crisis struck.

Hastily covering my face with my hand, I turned away sharply.

And then…

“Achoo!”

…I ended up sneezing after all.

Thanks to pinching my nose tightly, no sound came out, but my shoulders gave a noticeable twitch, making it impossible to hide.

‘Damn it, it’s fine. They say love and sneezes can’t be hidden, after all.’

I tried to comfort myself, but a wave of embarrassment crashed over me.

“Hey, you…”

At that moment, Alexis seemed like he was about to say something to me.

‘This cruel jerk, is he trying to humiliate me here?’

Determined not to suffer any further disgrace, I spun around and hurriedly fled.

Well, I say fled, but in reality, I stormed off toward the main building, letting my anger show with every quick step.

I didn’t realize it then, too preoccupied with suppressing my embarrassment.

“Wait… Is ahe actually tearing up because she was upset I didn’t go to see her…?”

I never would have guessed that Alexis would be muttering something so absurd while watching my retreating figure.

“Achooo!”

Damn it. I ended up getting caught.

Caught by none other than a nasty cold!

“Actually, I had a feeling this would happen… Achooo!”

If I had known, I would’ve listened to Anne yesterday when she told me to bundle up.

It was too late for regrets now.

After leaving Alexis behind, I went straight into the main building, intimidating the astonished knight at the entrance before diving right into bed.

I drank the warm tea that Anne prepared and wrapped myself tightly in blankets, hoping to warm up, but even as dawn approached, the chill didn’t go away.

When I woke up in the morning, my throat felt like it was being ripped apart, and the headache that had already been bothering me was making my head spin with dizziness.

Even in my groggy state, the commotion outside caught my attention. I pulled the covers over my head, blinked at my bleary eyes, and shuffled over to the window.

“Oh no, are they here already?”

Actually, the reason the mansion had been noisy and chaotic since the morning was because a message had been received: the Duke, who had been away from the capital, was returning shortly.

Out in front of the mansion, lined up to greet him, stood the servants, with Alexis and the heroine, Melissa, visible among them.

Did he sense my gaze at that moment? Alexis turned his head toward my window.

It was too far away for him to have spotted me, but it felt like our eyes met, so I instinctively stepped back.

‘It’s not like I remembered how embarrassed I was yesterday or anything…’

I muttered, trying to make excuses to myself.

‘The more I think about it, the angrier I get. I was the one punished with confinement, not him.’

Though I had said those things recklessly yesterday, looking back, I really did feel slighted.

I could understand the Duke and his son, Basilia, being absent since they weren’t in the capital. But Alexis? He commutes from the mansion to the palace daily.

Even if Evgenia was treated like a stranger, couldn’t he have checked on me at least once after I had passed out?

Honestly, I even thought he might chase after me yesterday, but instead, he didn’t even try to stop me.

Sure, maybe he was just exasperated by me throwing a fit when I’d ignored the Duke’s orders… but still.

It was clear he had no real interest in Evgenia.

‘And yet, here I am, feeling hurt.’

Maybe it was because I was feeling ill, but I couldn’t help feeling resentful, even though he wasn’t truly my family.

At the same time, though, I wished—rather contradictorily—that Alexis would feel no guilt over what I said yesterday and continue ignoring me as always.

And, if possible, turn a blind eye to my little rebellion yesterday too.