I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - chapter 35

Chapter 35

When the two returned to the mansion, it was already evening.

Elisa decided to have her meal in the bedroom to conceal her morning sickness symptoms.

“I’ll bring your meal, madam.”

Anne, who had helped Elisa change, left the room quickly.

Left alone in the room, Elisa anxiously placed her hand on her still flat belly.

Despite her efforts to avoid her predetermined fate, things were unfolding according to the original story.

“Is this child Hanes?”

The original Hanes was a child who received no love from anyone.

Elisa, as the mother, only sought her husband’s love and neglected Hanes, and Richard, the father, abhorred Hanes since he was in Elisa’s womb. He even attempted to abort the child.

A child who grew up without love became a twisted lover in the supporting role. He kidnapped the heroine, confined her, and sought her love.

“… I won’t raise this child like that.”

But Richard didn’t want the child. No, it wasn’t just that he didn’t want it; he would avoid its existence.

The child would hinder his “ultimate goal.”

Elisa had always helped Richard for her own safety, not for his revenge.

She hoped that one day Richard would meet someone he genuinely loved, not because of Albert’s will but for himself, and they would live happily. She didn’t want him to throw himself into revenge. However, the day after Albert’s funeral, Elisa happened to overhear a conversation between Richard and Aaron.

“Though I had to marry Albert, I always sincerely wished for you to marry and have a family. It was for Albert’s sake, not for yours.”

“Or, do you have another woman in your heart? Even if that’s the reason, you can break off the engagement now…”

“You’ve been incredibly faithful. You’ve even instructed your subordinates to follow your will even after your death.”

“…,”

“I won’t live according to his will. There will be no child in my life.”

Elisa remembered Richard’s voice filled with contemptuous emotions.

“Richard won’t give up on revenge.”

The happiness of being with the child was only a value that Elisa herself cherished. She couldn’t force him to give up revenge.

“Perhaps it’s better for both him and this child not to know each other.”

Elisa from her past life grew up in a household with marital discord.

Her father would beat her mother on imaginary grounds, and her mother blamed her unhappy life on her daughter.

Observing such parents, Elisa thought, “If being together leads to an unhappy life, we don’t necessarily have to live together as a family of three.”

“Baby, although I’m still inexperienced, I will definitely make you happy.”

Elisa whispered as she gently touched her still flat belly.

Then she took out a pen and paper.

[Dear my friend, Ancel.]

It was the first step toward divorce.

In his dream, Richard walked across a snowy plain covered in white.

Only his footprints marked the snowy plain.

Richard continued walking without knowing where he was going or why he was there. He couldn’t understand the reason, but it seemed he had to keep moving forward.

How long had he walked?

“… A wolf?”

Richard, who had been walking for a while, discovered a young wolf crouching under a rock.

In this desolate plain where no other living beings were visible, the wolf’s parents were nowhere to be seen.

Seeing the lonely, white fur ball-like creature, Richard felt a pang of sympathy.

“I wonder if Elisa would like this if I brought it to her…”

Richard cautiously reached out to take the young wolf to Elisa.

However, the young wolf only looked at him warily and didn’t allow him to come close.

As they struggled, suddenly, the young wolf approached Richard.

Richard reached out to embrace the wolf. But at that moment, the young wolf bit down hard on Richard’s arm.

Startled, Richard woke up from his sleep.

“… That was a strange dream.”

The room had gradually become dimly lit by dawn.

Richard got up from the bed, prepared to wash and go out. Before leaving, he stopped by Elisa’s room.

Since it was still early and Elisa was deeply asleep, Richard approached quietly and sat beside her.

“It seems like your energy is depleted from the long journey, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

The attending physician had said there was nothing wrong with Elisa’s health.

But Richard couldn’t help but worry. Recently, Elisa had become increasingly frail. Even a gentle touch made her seem as if she might break or fly away, given her delicate stature.

For the past few days since their arrival at the estate, Richard hadn’t had a proper look at Elisa’s face. He had left the mansion early every morning to investigate the mastermind behind the events involving the soulstone of the devil. By the time he returned in the evening, Elisa, who had started sleeping a lot more, was already in bed.

“After this matter is resolved, I need to take care of her.”

He thought about taking care of her health, taking her out to get some fresh air, and other things.

“To do that, I need to handle this matter quickly.”

Richard tenderly kissed Elisa’s round forehead and put on his leather gloves.

The leather gloves were what he wore when dealing with monsters or going to handle something.

As Richard left the room, his gaze was cold and different from when he looked at Elisa.

*

Elisa, who had started sleeping a lot more, took a nap and then went to the mansion’s library. She wanted to find more detailed information about pregnancy and childbirth.

Although the mansion’s library wasn’t as extensive as the one in the castle, it still had quite a few different books.

“I found it.”

As Elisa wandered around looking at the book list, she found the book she was looking for inside the library. However, it was placed at an awkward height.

Elisa reached out with a stepstool.

Suddenly, Anne grabbed Elisa, surprised.

“Let me get it for you!”

Elisa and Anne, who were about the same height, struggled with the step stool for a moment before Anne finally brought a ladder and retrieved the book.

Elisa smiled at Anne’s actions.

Since learning about her pregnancy, Anne had been by Elisa’s side almost all the time, helping her with everything.

There was no better escort knight than her.

“Thank you.”

“Do you need any other books?”

After a moment of contemplation, Elisa headed towards a shelf further inside. This time, it was a shelf filled with books about the power of the lineage.

“Hanes inherited the power of the lineage like Richard.”

However, since the original Hanes had lost his parents at a young age, he had to awaken his abilities on his own without anyone to teach him. He suffered a lot in the process.

“Richard must have been like that too.”

Growing up alone, he must have learned how to handle his abilities by himself through trial and error.

Thinking of Richard’s lonely childhood, Elisa wanted to be there to watch over and teach his child, who would likely resemble him.

“To do that, I need to study in advance.”

The divorce chosen for the happiness of both Richard and Hanes.

Although she couldn’t completely replace their father, Elisa still wanted to make an effort so that the child wouldn’t feel the absence of their father.

Elisa pulled out a book titled “Regarding the Power of the Lineage.”

Anne quickly accepted the book, in case Elisa might overstrain herself.

“Let’s go back now.”

Back in the room, Elisa first opened the book regarding the power of the lineage.

As a result, the accumulated dust on the book flew in the wind, causing her to cough.

“Ugh…”

Elisa waved her hand to clear the dust and started reading the book in earnest.

“There are five lineages that contributed to the founding of the Arancia Empire.

Kairot, the flame wielder; Rubelline, the storm manipulator; Esther, the earth controller; Seriart, the life manipulator.”

Elisa chuckled after reading the first paragraph of the introduction.

“Where were the Esther and Seriart lineages again…?”

While Kairot was of the royal family, and Rubelline was the lineage Elisa was currently affiliated with, she couldn’t recall the names of the Esther and Seriart lineages in detail.

After a moment of thought, Elisa found the answer as she flipped through the bookshelves.

“Esther, the earth controller.

Possessing the ability to read all the memories of this land and foresee the future.

However, as generations passed, the power of the lineage weakened, leading naturally to its decline and eventual disappearance.

The first head of the Esther lineage, Lardin Esther, who was said to have fully comprehended the truth, went to the center of the continent and became one with the World Tree.”

The explanation brought back memories of when she had studied extensively about this world when she was young.

“I remember being fascinated by the fact that a person could become the World Tree.”

Elisa turned to the next chapter.

“Seriart, the life manipulator.

Receiving divine power from the gods to control water and possessing purification abilities.

The first head, Arien Seriart, was said to also have healing powers, but as time passed, only the power of purification manifested.

Arien Seriart, who sealed the contaminated land, poured all of her divine power to create a Lake of Purification and disappeared.”

Now, she remembered about the Seriart lineage as well.

The Seriart lineage had been a household that had been producing successive popes as divine messengers from the gods.

“But I heard that the Seriart lineage declined about twenty years ago.”

After the current pope, it was decided that the heir would inherit the lineage.

“Well, the Esther and Seriart lineages have nothing to do with me, so let’s move on.”

Elisa swiftly flipped through the pages, searching for the chapter explaining Rubelline’s power.

Just as she found the page she had been looking for, a knock echoed.