I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - chapter 15
Episode 15
Several days have passed since then.
One day, while Elisa was dozing off, engrossed in reading a book she borrowed from the library, she was abruptly awakened by the sound of urgent voices.
“Who is it?”
Elisa hastily looked out the window.
A man in the uniform of the Imperial Knights was urgently entering the mansion. Something felt off about his expression, giving Elisa an ominous feeling.
She left her room and descended the stairs. The man was heading into Albert’s office, and Elisa followed him.
Perhaps due to his urgency, the man didn’t close the office door completely. Through the crack, Elisa could hear his voice.
“My lord, a war has broken out with the Pyran Kingdom on the western border as of yesterday evening.”
“…A war?”
“Yes. Therefore, Her Majesty has issued a decree.”
Suddenly, a war. Elisa’s eyes lost focus for a moment.
Inside the office, the knight’s solemn voice reading the decree echoed.
“I, Roam Kyroth, shall fulfill the brotherly alliance with the Pyran Kingdom. Viscount Richard Rubellin, uphold this oath and defend the Arencia Empire.”
Upon hearing the decree, Elisa finally understood. Why Christian, who had been perfectly fine, suddenly fell ill and pretended to be so.
From the gathering of nobles at the Rubellin mansion after the hunting incident, Christian’s sudden illness, and now the unexpected war—every clue fell into place.
The emperor, displeased with the growing power of the Rubellin family, sought to eliminate the source of that power, which was Richard’s demonstrated abilities in the hunting grounds.
He spread the news of Christian’s illness to avoid sending an ailing heir to the battlefield, which was the duty of princes during a war.
“The emperor intends to use the war as an excuse to get rid of Richard.”
Because leaving him alive would pose a future threat to the imperial family.
Albert, realizing the emperor’s intention, shouted angrily, “Ha! Trying to dry up the blood of Rubellin!”
The Pyran Kingdom was a neighboring country to Arencia, situated on the western border, originally a nation formed by roving bandits. Unable to shed their old habits, Pyran’s bandit groups frequently raided the people of the Arencia Empire, leading to strained relations between the two nations.
The emperor planned to settle two troublesome issues at once.
“It’s okay. Richard won’t die in this war.”
According to the original story, he comes back unharmed and eventually becomes Hannes’ father. So, there was no need to worry.
“But why does my heart feel so uncomfortable…?”
Elisa realized Albert was trying to use the war as a pretext to kill Richard, not just because he was the heir to the Rubellin estate.
Feeling this truth, Elisa’s tears flowed uncontrollably. In the eyes of those who considered him just a chess piece, there was no one else to empathize with his difficult fate.
“I don’t want to send him there.”
With this realization, tears streamed down her face.
“Elisa?”
Caught off guard by Elisa’s sudden burst of tears in front of him, a bewildered-looking Richard, Elisa finally broke down into loud sobs.
*
No matter how powerful the Rubellin family may be, they couldn’t resist the imperial decree. Currently, Richard, despite being a Rubellin, wasn’t a formidable opponent, and given the instability in the succession, there was no strength to rebel.
Therefore, Albert redirected his arrow to a different direction.
“Both of you, focus on producing an heir from tonight.”
Richard’s expression twisted at Albert’s words.
“I refuse.”
“Can the duties of an heir be refused based on likes or dislikes? If you sit in that position, you should fulfill the duties that come with it.”
“If that’s your will, then I will step down from the position of the heir.”
Without needing to hear more, Richard took Elisa and left. That’s when it happened.
“When you die!”
Elisa, stunned by Albert’s enraged voice, halted their steps.
She glanced back at Albert, but Richard remained with his back turned, seemingly unaffected.
After a moment of collecting himself, Albert spoke in a more restrained tone.
“What will happen to Rubellin if you die? The emperor will absorb Rubellin, and without inheriting Rubellin’s strength, some incapable successor will take over. That name, I can’t allow it as long as I live.”
“…”
“I’ve protected and raised this family with my own hands. I absolutely can’t allow it to crumble like that. I absolutely won’t allow it.”
A glint of bitterness crossed Richard’s lips.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to face Albert. The look in Albert’s eyes was ice-cold.
In a firm tone, Richard said, “I won’t die.”
Albert’s expression softened slightly at Elisa’s unexpectedly obedient response.
Richard, looking surprised, turned to Elisa.
But Elisa, in her natural manner, asked, “Can we leave now?”
The conversation ended there.
After leaving Albert’s office, Elisa disappeared, leaving Richard with no chance to ask her what she meant.
Later that night, Richard, feeling uneasy, stood in front of his room.
‘Elisa, it seemed like you had something on your mind…’
After a brief hesitation, Richard entered his room. As soon as he did, Elisa’s unexpected presence caught him off guard.
“Following Your Excellency’s command, I will do as you instructed.”
Unexpectedly, Albert’s stern expression softened at Elisa’s compliant answer.
Richard looked at Elisa with astonished eyes.
But without giving Richard a chance to say anything, Elisa briskly left, leaving Richard behind.
After that, the night fell without Richard seeing Elisa.
Having finished his bath, Richard stood before the door with a lingering sense of discomfort.
‘Elisa seemed to have some thoughts…’
After a brief hesitation, Richard entered the room. Elisa, having bathed earlier, was lying on the bed.
As Richard entered the room, Elisa lifted her head slightly, then patted the space beside her, calling out to him.
“I’m tired today, so let’s sleep.”
There was no tension in her face.
Seeing that Richard hesitated to approach, Elisa got up and looked at him with an inquisitive expression.
“You promised not to eat me. Come here.”
Richard was dumbfounded, but he reluctantly followed Elisa to the bed.
Elisa, sitting next to him, showed him something.
“Ta-da! What’s this?”
It was a small black vial.
“What is it?”
“It’s chicken blood. If you sprinkle this, it looks somewhat like blood.”
“Chicken blood?”
“For now, let’s sleep. Tomorrow morning, we’ll sprinkle this on the bedsheet. This way, Duke Albert will stay quiet until you leave.”
It was only now that Richard realized where Elisa had been during the day.
Elisa, seeming to have something to say, cleared her throat, then spoke with a somewhat serious expression.
“At first, don’t be swayed by anyone’s intentions and be with someone you genuinely love.”
“Why?”
“Huh? Well… because you want to share every precious moment with the person you love, right?”
Richard stared intently at Elisa as she spoke like that.
Caught off guard by his persistent gaze, Elisa belatedly felt a bit uneasy and averted her eyes.
Somehow, those usually indifferent eyes seemed to be filled with an unknown emotion, more intense than usual.
“W-Well, let’s sleep now!”
Elisa tumbled onto the bed as if it were a matter of course.
Richard followed suit, lying down beside her.
Before long, the quiet room echoed with Elisa’s sleeping breath.
Elisa, naturally, rolled around and snuggled up against Richard’s arm.
Richard turned his body to get a better look at the sleeping Elisa.
A moment ago, Elisa’s words came to his mind.
‘Love…’
The word ‘love’ was an unfamiliar one to Richard.
An emotion he had neither received nor naturally given.
His mother died when he was too young to remember, his stepmother raised him just enough to bleed money from the ducal family, his father never sought him out, and his grandfather tried to kill him as soon as he acknowledged his existence.
Having lived a life where everything was taken for granted.
One day, a girl appeared before him.
Someone who worried about him, stood by his side, fought for him, and shed tears for him.
The emotion called love was still unknown to Richard. But one thing was clear…
‘I don’t want to lose my only person…’
Watching the sleeping Elisa, Richard cautiously embraced her warmth. The warmth of someone he had embraced for the first time in his life was comforting and gentle.
Slowly, Richard’s blinking eyes closed.