I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - chapter 43

Episode 43

There, a fair-haired lady with a pale face stood with her red hair elegantly tied up.

Alongside her were the knights who followed her.

“Hello, Yeongae. Do you have a moment?”

Elisa checked the emblem on the uniform of the knight standing beside the lady.

Although there were numerous noble families in the empire, Elisa, who had memorized the emblems of the families for estate business, could easily recall this emblem.

Marquis Valentine.

The family to which the princess, the step-sister of the current emperor, was married.

As far as Elisa knew, Marquis Valentine’s wife was still a minor and unmarried. That meant…

“This person is Princess Olivia.”

Now she was both the wife of Marquis Valentine and Princess Olivia, who didn’t have a good relationship with her stepbrother, the current emperor. She had been ousted by her older brother, the former emperor, who was dubbed a tyrant, and she took his place on the throne.

However, it was uncertain whether she would be friendly to someone from the Duke of Rubellin’s household.

“No, more importantly… I’m in a situation where I should avoid meeting anyone.”

Fortunately, Olivia addressed Elisa as “Yeongae” as if she didn’t recognize her.

Understandably, Elisa had only seen her when she was young, as she had mainly lived in Rubellin and hadn’t met her since she grew up.

Setting aside that reason, Elisa couldn’t turn away someone with such a desperate expression.

“Hello, madam. What can I do for you?”

Upon this, Olivia opened her mouth as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

“Did you bring a doctor by any chance?”

“Oh, yes.”

“My daughter is very ill. She was always healthy, but she suddenly started running a fever last night… If it’s not too much trouble, could you spare some time?”

“The nearest village was this one, and fortunately, the village doctor is away in the neighboring village on his rounds. So, I’ve come here despite the inconvenience.”

A knight beside her added.

Elisa then understood why they had come all the way to this secluded mansion.

“They might have gone to the neighboring village to see a doctor, but it would have been too risky to take the sick child to a village where the disease is spreading.”

They must have heard that nobles were here at this mansion while their carriage was passing by.

Nobles usually come to these small village mansions for recuperation purposes or when they are not feeling well and need care.

“But it’s not a time when many people go for recuperation during the summer.”

When they come for recuperation, there is a high probability that they bring their personal physician, so they must have hoped for that probability.

Elisa couldn’t bring herself to disregard that hope.

“Of course, madam. Where is the child?”

Without a moment’s hesitation in Elisa’s response, Olivia’s face turned pale. At the same time, tears welled up in her eyes.

In the meantime, the knight came out of the carriage holding the child.

In his arms was a girl who looked about six years old, breathing heavily with a flushed face.

“Please come in.”

“Thank you, Yeongae. Thank you so much…”

Olivia, with tears of relief streaming down her face, grabbed Elisa’s hand.

Elisa took her trembling hand and instructed Setil, “Sir Setil, please examine the child’s condition.”

“Yes, understood.”

Elisa entered the mansion with Olivia.

As soon as Setil laid the child down, he began the examination right away. Anne prepared a damp cloth according to Setil’s instructions.

“The fever is too high. We should bring the fever down first and monitor the situation further…”

Setil, after examining the child’s condition for a moment, looked at Elisa with a clouded expression as he spoke about the examination results.

She was silently asking Elisa if it would be alright to delay their departure due to the child’s condition.

Although Elisa was in a hurry, she didn’t hesitate to respond.

“That would be best.”

It wouldn’t be a problem to stay for just one more day.

Only the head of the estate and the people in this mansion knew of her presence here.

“I’m sorry, Yeongae. I might be holding you back from urgent matters…”

“No, it’s alright. I also wanted to take a break. It worked out well.”

Elisa smiled and comforted Olivia, who was apologizing.

While observing Elisa, Anne had an anxious expression, but Elisa was too preoccupied with Olivia to notice.

—

Luckily, Setil had some fever-reducing medicine left for Elisa. Setil gave the child the medicine and wiped her body.

By late night, the fever subsided, and the child’s condition improved significantly.

Seeing the child fall asleep with a more relaxed expression, Olivia finally let out a relieved sigh.

Anne placed some sandwiches and juice in front of Olivia.

Elisa encouraged Olivia to eat.

“Please have some, even if it’s just a little. You didn’t have dinner. Taking care of someone who is sick requires looking after yourself even more.”

“Oh… thank you.”

Olivia, feeling the sudden hunger, picked up a sandwich.

Elisa drank warm milk and stayed by her side.

After finishing the simple meal, Olivia emptied her glass of juice and suddenly looked thoughtful.

“Come to think of it, I didn’t even ask for your benefactor’s name.”

“Oh…”

Elisa hesitated to answer immediately.

“If I say my name, she’ll find out who I am.”

Just in case Olivia might recognize her, Elisa had instructed Anne to address her as ‘Miss’ in front of Olivia.

After a moment of hesitation, Elisa decided to lie since she wouldn’t see Olivia again.

“I’m Elisa Thayart.”

“Oh, you’re from the Thayart family of artists?”

As expected, Olivia immediately recognized Elisa’s family name.

As a prominent noble, although she didn’t know everyone’s faces, she knew all the family names.

The Thayart family of artists was a minor noble family from the eastern border and had little presence in the central regions.

Therefore, Olivia didn’t seem to have much doubt about Elisa not recognizing her.

“I’m Olivia Veltane.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of your distinguished family crest. You’re the princess, right? I haven’t been in the capital for long, so I didn’t recognize you.”

Elisa already knew, but now she pretended to find out. It would make the other party feel better.

As expected, Olivia’s expression brightened considerably when Elisa mentioned her family name.

“Thank you again, Elisa. I’ll definitely repay this favor someday.”

“No, if anyone saw a sick child, they would act the same way.”

Smiling inwardly, Elisa looked at Olivia, who was grateful.

“By the way, how old are you?”

“I turned of age this year.”

“Oh, my. You’re about the same age as my son.”

“Oh, right. I’ve heard a lot about your son. They say he’s a prime candidate for marriage, and he’s raised you as a splendid mother.”

Elisa subtly brought up her son to please Olivia.

Indeed, her son Cedric was quite a coveted groom among the nobility, so it wasn’t just empty words.

“Is that so? Then don’t you want to meet the prime candidate?”

“What?”

But when the conversation unexpectedly took a different direction, Elisa blinked in surprise.

“Although my son is a year younger than Elisa, he looks like an adult. He’ll be an adult next year, so why not meet him?”

“Oh, well…”

“Although I hesitate to say this, my son has been raised to be modest under my guidance.”

Olivia sincerely liked Elisa.

She had stayed here willingly, despite having urgent matters, and instead of showing signs of discomfort, she had taken care of her attentively.

Moreover, her appearance was comparable to any beauty in the capital, so Olivia was even more inclined.

“And it’s better for a man to be a bit younger. That’s what I’ve learned from experience.”

Awkwardly, Elisa smiled as she tried to connect her son with Olivia’s words.

“Thank you for the kind words, but I have a child.”

“A child?”

Noticing the meaning of Elisa’s words a beat late, Olivia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Oops, sorry. I thought you were unmarried because you’re so young, and I liked you too much, so I overstepped.”

“No, it’s okay. I appreciate your intention to introduce me to your son.”

“Hmm, but at this critical moment, where is the future husband going, leaving his wife alone?”

“Oh, well… He… he wanted a divorce.”

Olivia was taken aback by Elisa’s answer. Then, she quickly contorted her expression and asked cautiously.

“Can I criticize your husband?”

But before Olivia gave Elisa a chance to respond, she criticized Richard.

“If he were my son, I would have just… beat him until he was covered in dust and thrown him out of the family. No, how could he divorce his pregnant wife?”

With her face heated in anger as if it were her daughter’s matter, Olivia scolded Richard while Elisa chuckled.

After fleeing from the ducal estate, Elisa burst into laughter for the first time in a long time.

Seeing Elisa laugh, Olivia, who had been angry, calmed down and asked curiously.

“So, is the husband coming this way now?”

“No, he probably doesn’t even know I’m here.”

Elisa smiled faintly and added, “It’s better that way.”