I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - chapter 4
Episode 4
The next morning, Richard suddenly felt a sense of urgency and opened his eyes. He found himself hanging precariously at the edge of the large bed. Moreover, the blanket was nowhere to be found, and the air against his skin felt chilly.
“Did I thrash around in my sleep?”
While he vaguely remembered turning around during his younger years of eleven or twelve, he had been sleeping like a log since then.
Richard reached behind himself, puzzled by his sleeping habits. His hand touched a crumpled blanket.
“The blanket…is soft?”
Something was off. Richard, upon seeing what he had grabbed, was surprised. It was a human arm.
In the previous night, Elisa and Reichard had fallen asleep on the large bed, maintaining a reasonable distance between them. However, upon waking up, Richard discovered that Elisa was attempting to push him out of the bed, and the blanket had ended up on the floor.
“…How many times did she roll around?”
Surely, with that much rolling, she must have felt nauseous.
“You said you would just hold hands and sleep.”
Richard sighed and pushed Elisa away, getting up from the bed. As his warmth left, Elisa, who felt a chill, shivered.
“Ugh… it’s cold…”
With her already small body curling up even tighter, Richard glanced at her with an expression that seemed to say, “You’re making this annoying.”
“Really, what a hassle.”
Elisa continued to mumble about the cold. Richard, looking somewhat annoyed, approached the bed and stood in front of her.
Elisa was still complaining about the cold, her body curled up.
“…Such a nuisance.”
Richard, with an expression of annoyance, picked up the crumpled blanket and covered Elisa. He didn’t bother straightening the bundled-up blanket; just covering her was already quite compassionate for Richard.
Only after doing so did Richard brush his hand and turn away from the room. However, the door, as if out of nowhere, swung back open, causing Richard to look annoyed. He approached Elisa again, who was still complaining about the cold.
“…You’re really making this bothersome.”
While complaining, Richard picked up the blanket and covered Elisa once more. He didn’t bother to unfold the crumpled blanket. Just covering her seemed like a considerable act of kindness for Richard.
Finally, he smoothed his hand and turned away.
*
After the morning classes, Elisa had nothing specific to do. She spent her remaining time reading books from the library.
As usual, Elisa, feeling bored, brought various books to her room to read. However, there was something bothering her.
Elisa discreetly observed a young maid bustling around behind the bookshelf.
“Her name is… Ann, right?”
Ann was unusually young compared to other maids. According to the butler, Albert had assigned her, considering Elisa’s well-being. However, there was one strange thing.
Usually, maids specialize in one task for each person. It was much more efficient that way.
But today, Ann was doing everything on her own—making beds, carrying laundry, serving meals, dusting, and even mopping.
“Why is she doing everything alone?”
Until a few days ago, Elisa remembered Ann being responsible for bed-making. Something was off.
Elisa pretended to read her book while keeping an eye on Ann. Although Ann was supposed to be good at handling all tasks, it turned out not to be the case.
She spilled the water for mopping, looked around anxiously, and almost fell off her chair while reaching for dust in unreachable places.
Elisa guessed one possibility.
“Is she being mistreated just because she’s young?”
Convinced, Elisa closed her book and approached Ann.
“Ann, why are you doing the mopping?”
“M-Me?”
Caught off guard as if she had committed a crime, Ann looked at Elisa as if seeking forgiveness.
“I asked why you’re doing the mopping. Wasn’t bed-making your responsibility?”
“Ah… uh, today, I said I would do the mopping too.”
“What about carrying laundry and dusting?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Why did you decide to do all these tasks? Carrying laundry is Lena’s job, and dusting is Julia’s responsibility, right?”
“Uh, well…”
Ann hesitated, unable to speak out. Elisa stared at her, waiting for an answer.
When Ann felt Elisa’s gaze, she finally spoke in a hesitant voice.
“The older sisters asked me to help with their work a few days ago. But because I’m not good at it, they got scolded by the lady. So, I apologized and decided to help them today too. But…”
Ann started shedding tears.
“What if the older sisters get scolded again tomorrow because of me?”
Elisa was astounded.
“Handing over their work to a younger girl and getting scolded for it? Or was it just a lie?”
It seemed like they intended to pass their duties to Ann again, claiming they got scolded.
Elisa stared at Ann, who continued to cry, with disbelief.
“Stop working. Eat this.”
Elisa handed half of her sandwich to Ann, who looked puzzled.
“That’s enough work for today. Eat this.”
Elisa left Ann, who was still staring at her, and headed to Albert’s office. With each step, Elisa felt a weight on her feet.
Elisa took a deep breath and knocked on the door of Albert’s office.
“Come in.”
Permission was granted immediately.
Elisa opened the door and entered the office.
Albert, raising an eyebrow at the unexpected visit, showed a hint of surprise.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have a request for Your Excellency.”
“A request?”
Elisa politely but firmly made her demand.
“Please replace my dedicated maid.”
Albert’s expression subtly changed.
“Replace my dedicated maid…
Why?”
“Can you replace my dedicated maid, who is currently only good at bed-making, with a maid who excels in making beds, serving meals, carrying laundry, and mopping?”
“Isn’t there usually a dedicated maid for each task?”
“Really? But… today, one person was doing everything alone. So, it was slow, and the cleaning wasn’t done properly.”
Albert silently watched as Elisa explained her request. He then summoned his advisor, Aaron, who was nearby.
“Aaron, go and find out what happened.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Aaron promptly left the office. Albert’s gaze turned back to Elisa.
“We can’t have any inconvenience in the life of the Duchess.”
“…”
“I’ll handle this matter from my end, so you can leave now.”
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
Elisa responded with a satisfied smile and left the office.
“I’m essential to the Duke. I can be discarded at any time, but I shouldn’t let go of my position without any countermeasure. I’ll make the most of my position.”
Elisa waited in the corridor near the office for Aaron to return. After a while, Aaron came back and reported the situation to Albert.
“Your Excellency, the maids in question are currently out shopping in the square.”
“They went shopping during their designated working hours?”
“What should we do?”
“Summon the steward.”
With a triumphant smile, Elisa turned and headed towards her room.
***
The Rubillin duchy was prosperous. Albert didn’t care whether Elisa spent money or what she bought. Thanks to this, Elisa could comfortably study the laws of this world and plan for her future after the divorce. The business idea that came to her mind was something she wanted to try during her time as a duchess.
While studying alone with her books, Elisa expressed her desire to attend financial classes instead of the bride classes.
Albert was reluctant, but persuading him was relatively easy.
“I want to get closer to Sir Richard by attending financial classes with him.”
Albert immediately approved.
Since Richard had recently started financial classes, it seemed like it wouldn’t be much of a hindrance for him.
“If I learn this, it might be helpful when I start a business letter with alimony.”
Holding a new notebook and an abacus, Elisa arrived at the classroom for financial classes with light steps.
Richard, who had arrived earlier, looked at Elisa, who entered confidently, with a suspicious glance.
“Why are you here?”
“Well, even if I’m the Duchess, I should at least understand some finances, right?”
Elisa dragged an extra chair to Richard’s side and sat down.
She had been dropping subtle hints for a few days, but Richard didn’t seem to mind much.
“Besides, as the rightful mistress of the Duchy, I should know about finances.”
“…Fine.”
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.