I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - chapter 42

Chapter 42

“Goh, Your Excellency. Please spare him!”

Rohas Zajak trembled with pain seeping from his broken arm, sweating profusely.

Richard, looking down at him in silence, dispersed the clouds.

“Finally felt like talking, huh?”

“I-I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“You were the one who entered the contaminated land, weren’t you?”

“I was there, but I didn’t enter!”

“Then who did?”

“That’s…”

Just as Zajak was about to speak, two assailants appeared behind Richard. They rushed at Richard with swords drawn.

But Richard was much faster.

After distancing himself from them, Richard swiftly summoned lightning.

The assailants narrowly dodged the lightning, then turned and began to flee.

Richard paused his pursuit. He couldn’t imagine being subdued by just two opponents.

But the attack seemed too sloppy to gauge his own strength.

Having reached this conclusion, Richard realized their intentions.

‘It wasn’t me they were after.’

From their perspective, killing the weaker Zajak to silence him would be more efficient than subduing Richard.

Richard quickly turned his head to look at Zajak.

Sure enough, more assailants were approaching Zajak.

Richard tried to summon wind quickly, but a sudden pain from his backside blurred his focus.

The pain had been worsening over the two days since leaving the Duke’s castle.

‘Of all times…!’

The assailants approached Zajak with their swords raised.

Richard snarled at them. At that moment, a black aura rose from his body.

Simultaneously, the black aura beneath the assailants rose up and engulfed them.

“W-what’s this… *cough*!”

“770.9…”

The engulfed assailants groaned in agony and writhed before collapsing.

Terrified, Richard glanced past the cowering Zajak to assess the assailants.

There wasn’t a scratch on their bodies, but they weren’t breathing.

‘Did I kill them?’

Richard looked at his hands in disbelief. The black aura that had surrounded him moments ago was now gone.

‘What was that just now?’

As he pondered the mysterious power, an urgent voice broke in.

“Your Excellency!”

Thomson, arriving a moment too late, gasped for breath as he approached Richard.

“Sir, something terrible has happened.”

“What happened?”

Thomson caught his breath.

Richard expected Thomson to scold him for constantly disappearing alone, as usual.

But what Thomson said next was completely unexpected.

“Madam, she’s gone.”

*

In the capital of Arencia, there was a massive temple in the slums on the outskirts of Akaroa.

True to the saying “the gods descend to the lowest places,” all the temples in various regions of Arensia were located in the impoverished and sickly areas where the poor lived.

So that those most in need of the gods could always find them.

Therefore, the temples were always open to those in need of assistance.

However, being open to all at all times didn’t mean lawlessness. Even the Emperor couldn’t act against the will of the gods in the temples.

The person who governed these temples was the Pope.

“Your Holiness. It’s time for morning prayers.”

A dazzling blond man sitting in the center of the prayer room rose from his seat at the voice of the priest.

Upon his entrance into the temple, the novice priests brought the Pope’s ceremonial robe and helped him put it on.

With his tall stature and broad shoulders, when he put on the pristine white robe, he looked like an angel descended to earth with a divine mission.

Pope Aiden Seriyat.

He was the last remaining bloodline of the Seriyat family and the current leader of the temple.

Outsiders who saw him for the first time were often surprised.

Most people thought the Pope would be an elderly man with graying hair, but Aiden, in his late thirties at most, was quite handsome.

“Let’s go.”

Aiden left the prayer room with the priests.

The Seriyat family was one of the deeply rooted families known as the “Lives of Seriya.” They had been producing popes for generations.

When several children were born, the one with the strongest divine power among them became the next pope, while the others led the family.

Sometimes, if there was only one child, they would become the pope and still be able to start a family, as passing on divine power to descendants to worship the gods was considered a duty.

However, in times of peace, the power of the gods was no longer necessary. It was enough for them to exist only as a formality.

Furthermore, the imperial family was wary of the growing power of the Seriyat family.

Meanwhile, trouble arose once again in the ravine.

At that time, Aiden was the only current head of the family and the Pope who inherited the family’s power.

For that reason, he headed to the ravine to protect the imperial citizens, but he was attacked by monsters and fell into a coma.

Meanwhile, the Sun Emperor was assassinated.

The current Emperor, Roam, executed his stepbrother, who was accused of the murder, and ascended the throne.

During the process, his wife, Yulia, was implicated in a conspiracy.

According to the pact between the brothers, the Seriyat family did not perish, but the internal structure of the family collapsed.

By the time Aiden miraculously regained consciousness, Yulia had fled after being acquitted of treason.

Aiden searched for her, but she returned as a lifeless body a while later.

Losing his beloved wife overnight, Aiden lost his reason to live.

He could have remarried and had children to continue the family line, but he didn’t.

All he desired was revenge, but the priests and the imperial citizens didn’t wish for his death.

“We still need Your Holiness.”

“Aiden, please don’t abandon us.”

Unable to turn them away, Aiden decided to live for them, the people he loved and cherished, especially Yulia, the orphan girl he adored despite having nothing.

So, for the past ten years, he had been protecting the people.

There had been no remarkable incidents during this peaceful period.

Until a moment ago, when he felt a threatening energy before it disappeared.

As Aiden prayed with the priests in the early morning, he suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“What was that just now…?”

He felt a strong force from a place slightly west of Akaroa, then it vanished.

It was brief, but Aiden clearly felt it.

It was the same energy he had felt twenty years ago, beyond the ravine.

A priest who noticed Aiden’s expression approached him.

“Your Holiness? What’s wrong?”

Aiden hurriedly left the temple with a stern expression.

“Silica, could you please summon the Holy Knights?”

*

Outside the window, the chirping of birds seeped into her ears.

For the first time in a few days, Elisa woke up feeling unusually light-hearted.

Anne, as if waiting for this moment, hurried over and asked, “Madam, how are you feeling today?”

“Mmm, very good.”

With half joy and half concern, Anne gently touched Elisa’s forehead.

Elisa had been suffering from a fever for the past few days, but now it seemed to have subsided.

Anne, relieved, spoke with a quiver in her voice, “Thank goodness. The other night, you had such a high fever, I thought something was seriously wrong…”

“You must have been very worried. I’m sorry for causing you concern.”

Feeling apologetic, Elisa comforted Anne, who had started to cry.

After calming down, Anne asked Elisa, “Will you be having breakfast, Madam? Shall I bring it?”

“Yes. And please summon Setil as well.”

“Of course!”

Anne promptly left the room.

Setil was the physician assigned to Elisa when she arrived at this country estate.

Three days ago, upon learning of Elisa’s condition, the estate manager guided her to this secluded estate located in a small village below the mountain.

“No matter how urgent, it’s not wise to travel in this condition. If a minor cold isn’t treated promptly, it could lead to serious illness.”

“That’s true…”

“I happen to have a private estate. You can hide away there for a few days. It’s a secluded village, rarely visited by outsiders.”

Though Elisa was in a hurry, she ultimately chose to follow the manager’s advice.

Considering the baby in her belly, she couldn’t afford to push herself too hard.

As the manager had feared, Elisa suffered greatly that night, writhing in agony from the fever.

Anne had worried, but she was grateful that Elisa hadn’t collapsed on the roadside while suffering.

“Now that my condition has improved, let’s leave as soon as possible.”

They had already delayed for quite some time and needed to hurry.

Fortunately, there were no more symptoms of weakness, and the doctor’s opinion was positive.

“The baby seems fine as well, so you can leave soon.”

“Then we should depart today.”

“Nevertheless, why don’t you rest and take it easy until then? Pushing yourself suddenly might not be a good idea. The puddles haven’t dried up yet.”

Elisa, pondering for a moment, agreed to her suggestion.

She instructed Anne to prepare for departure at any moment.

Following the doctor’s advice, Elisa ate her meals and snacks, took naps, and rested.

And the next day it dawned.

“The weather is nice.”

Under the clear sky with no clouds, the warm spring sun shone down, and a gentle spring breeze blew—a perfect day to leave.

Elisa, ready to depart, descended to the entrance with Anne.

Two mercenaries provided by the manager and the physician Setil were waiting along with Setil himself.

“Then let’s depart.”

Elisa was about to step into the carriage when suddenly, a sound of hooves was heard at the entrance of the estate.

Elisa looked over in surprise.