I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - chapter 16
Episode 16
Richard’s departure date was set for one month after the arrival of Emperor Hwangmyung.
Although it was a shorter time than usual for departure preparations, the Emperor hastily set the departure date, citing an urgent matter.
Richard immersed himself in rigorous training in preparation for the departure.
Richard’s abilities were too destructive to be used within the Duke’s estate training grounds. Therefore, the forest on the border of the Jeodo region, where monsters roamed freely, was chosen as the training ground, serving the dual purpose of inspecting security.
Every morning, Richard would venture into the forest right after finishing his meal, only returning to the Duke’s estate when it was almost time for bed.
As a result, Elisa only caught glimpses of Richard before bedtime or in the morning. Even then, there were many instances where she couldn’t see him because he had already fallen asleep.
Today was no different from any other day.
Richard returned to the Duke’s estate only around ten o’clock at night, and his butler, Grayson, greeted him.
“Welcome back, Richard.”
Richard’s expression, marked by monster blood and the weariness of his travel robe, attested to the intensity of his training.
He handed the dirty robe to Grayson and headed straight for the bathroom.
The bathroom had already been prepared with a bath. Since Richard disliked having attendants during his bath, the servants had left the area in advance.
As he undressed, various bruises and scratches, both large and small, became visible.
Although the water stung upon contact, Richard nonchalantly completed his bath, displaying a stoic expression throughout.
Elisa, who had been reading a book leaning against the bed’s headboard, observed Richard and feigned indifference.
“Welcome back, Richard.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re going to bed right away, right? If you are, turn off the lights.”
Elisa promptly closed the book she had been reading.
Richard approached the glowing stone on the nearby table. As he was about to cover it to extinguish the light:
“Wait a moment!”
Richard looked at Elisa with a puzzled expression.
Elisa, who had approached without him noticing, grabbed Richard’s arm as she spoke. The scratches, partially hidden before, were now clearly visible.
Taken aback, Richard tried to pull his arm away, but Elisa didn’t let go.
“What’s this?”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing! You have so many scratches. Doesn’t it hurt?”
Ignoring Richard’s discomfort, Elisa dragged him toward the dressing table.
Reluctantly, Richard followed.
While rummaging through the drawer, Elisa easily found a case containing ointment.
Spreading the ointment evenly over the wounds, she muttered, “Stubborn, so stubborn.”
“…”
Although Richard found Elisa’s thin, small fingers moving across his arm ticklish, he endured it because he didn’t dislike the touch.
After applying the ointment, Elisa closed the case and, instead of turning off the lights, walked towards Richard’s back, leaning against the dressing table.
Suddenly, her hand reached out to his back, startling Richard. He stepped back to avoid Elisa’s touch.
“What are you doing?”
“There might be wounds on your back too. Let me apply some ointment.”
“No, it’s fine here. Just-“
“Oh, stay still.”
Despite Richard’s uneasy protests, Elisa did not withdraw. Eventually, he had no choice but to expose his back to her.
Without seeing the tips of his ears turning red, Elisa applied ointment to Richard’s back, revealing various bruises.
Observing the marks, Elisa’s forehead wrinkled with concern.
Searching through the drawer, she found another ointment specifically for bruises and began applying it to Richard’s back.
“Richard, can you come back a bit earlier tomorrow? Before dinner.”
“Why?”
Elisa hesitated for a moment before answering, “Um… I haven’t fully explored the mansion yet. I want to visit the northern annex too, but they say servants aren’t allowed in. But going alone is a bit scary…”
Duke Rubelin’s estate had three annexes centered around the backyard garden. The east annex was where the servants resided, the west annex was for the knights, and the north annex could only be entered by someone bearing the Rubelin name.
“I’ll try.”
After applying the ointment, Elisa lowered Richard’s clothes and said, “I hope you didn’t push yourself too hard.”
While understanding the fear before an impending war, Richard worried that pushing himself too hard before the departure might have adverse effects.
Looking into Elisa’s eyes filled with concern, Richard hesitated before averting his gaze and saying, “Let’s go to sleep.”
*
Against the backdrop of the night sky, two swords clashed with sharp sounds.
Richard gritted his teeth and blocked the Knight Commander’s attacks, but he was helpless against the relentless onslaught that left him no room to catch his breath.
Richard’s breathing, barely holding on, became increasingly labored. Even the arm holding the sword showed signs of weakening, but Richard tenaciously held on.
The Knight Commander, examining Richard’s expression beyond the clashed swords, spoke.
“Let’s stop here for today. If we continue in this state, you’ll undoubtedly get hurt.”
“…Not yet.”
Seizing the opportunity, Richard attacked the Knight Commander.
The Knight Commander, taking the blow, seized the chance and aimed his sword at Richard’s neck. It was a swift counterattack.
“Normally, the Richard I know would have avoided even this.”
Looking at the sword pressed against his neck, Richard, with a swift motion, pushed the Knight Commander’s sword away.
“Once more.”
“That ‘once more’ has already happened ten times.”
The Knight Commander grasped the sword again, preparing to engage in the upcoming attack, but he tripped over Richard’s foot.
“Ugh…”
Richard collapsed, touching the ground with his sword and showing no signs of strength.
Sweat droplets from his forehead fell to the ground as he stared blankly at what had transpired.
He wanted to refute that there was more to give, but even the strength to stand had left his legs. He could only support himself with the arm holding the sword.
“While training is good, it’s also important not to excessively deplete your stamina before leaving. You never know what might happen, so you should be prepared.”
“…”
“Before leaving, it’s better not to do anything and take a good rest.”
Only then did Richard break the sword and sit down on the spot.
The knights who had hoped for a break in the rigorous training upon hearing Richard’s words showed disappointment.
Richard, who had trained rigorously against the nearby monsters and even practiced swordsmanship in preparation for inevitable close combat, had mental strength that astonished everyone more than his skill.
‘Is that the mental strength of a human…?’
From morning till late at night, the exhausting training had already drained his stamina. Nevertheless, his mental strength to endure so tenaciously was remarkable.
Tomson, who unexpectedly joined the conversation, approached Richard, gasping for breath.
“Take a sip of water.”
Richard accepted the leather water bottle offered by Tomson and drank.
Sitting next to Richard, Tomson asked, “Why are you training so hard?”
Richard, taking a moment to catch his breath after drinking, responded a beat later, “Because I want to live.”
Growing up in proximity to death from a young age, Richard feared death. However, it wasn’t because he had thoughts of wanting to live; he simply survived out of fear of death.
But now, for the first time in his life, he wanted to live.
Someone had appeared whom he wanted to meet after coming back alive. Someone he wanted to protect and be with.
“Isn’t that the case for everyone?”
“Everyone, yes.”
Tomson agreed with Richard’s question and added, “But most knights before setting out for a mission want to spend time with their loved ones more than focusing on training.”
“Even if they don’t die, they don’t know how long they’ll be separated.”
“So, Sir, don’t just focus on training too much; spend some time with the Duke and have a meal…”
Unexpectedly, Elisa’s voice overlapped with Tomson’s voice.
‘Richard, can you come back a bit earlier tomorrow? Before dinner.’
Listening to Tomson’s story, Richard, who had been absent-mindedly paying attention, abruptly stood up.
Tomson, who had been surprised by the unexpected words, stopped mid-sentence and looked at Richard.
“Today’s training stops here.”
“Huh?”
Worried that Richard might scold him for wanting a break from training to have some fun, Tomson’s eyes widened at the unexpected statement.
“I’ll head back to the estate first.”
Richard, leaving behind a bewildered Tomson, mounted the horse that had been tied nearby.
The time was already well past ten at night. Elisa was likely sleeping.
Richard hurriedly headed back to the Duke’s estate.
*
Upon arriving at the Duke’s estate, Richard headed straight to the bedroom instead of the bathroom.
“Elis-“
Entering the bedroom and about to call Elisa, Richard fell silent.
As expected, Elisa, who had fallen asleep waiting, was visible. However, instead of the bed, she was leaning against the sofa. It seemed like she had fallen asleep while waiting.
Richard, who had hurriedly climbed the stairs, approached Elisa, trying to suppress his heavy breathing.
‘A cake?’
A small cake was placed on the table in front of Elisa. Next to it was a small card.
Richard alternately looked at the sleeping Elisa and the card, picking up the card to unfold it.