I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The day of the hunt.

Michaela arrives at the hunting grounds with her husband, the Marquis of Dion.

A carriage bearing the Marquis of Dion’s emblem pulled up among the nobles.

The carriage door opened, and a tall, lean man stepped out first. It was Michaela’s husband, the Marquis of Dion.

Following him, Michaela alighted from the carriage with her escort.

Michaela was adorned from head to toe in dress and jewelry of the latest fashionable designs.

At the sight of her, the noble lords and ladies gathered around her.

“It’s been a long time, Your Excellency, Marquis of Dion. And Lady.’’

“Oh my, isn’t this necklace very fashionable these days?”

“Your dress is beautiful, too. Indeed, you’ve always been at the forefront of fashion, My Lady.’’

Having been a princess for over twenty years, Michaela took their attention and admiration for granted.

But their interest didn’t last long.

“Look, isn’t that the carriage of the Duke of Rubellin?”

“Oh, that’s right, the Duke is also coming today, isn’t he?”

“He didn’t even attend the celebration of his safe return, so it’s his first time attending an official event.”

“The Duchess is always holed up in the estate, but I’m sure she’s excited to see her husband back.”

Michaela resented the attention Elisa and Richard were taking away from her, but she knew it wasn’t in a good way.

And she was also somewhat curious about Richard.

He was the man who was briefly considered as her match in the imperial court when she was young.

And also because Michaela had once been one of the many girls who had been swept off her feet by Richard’s good looks.

As everyone watched the Duke of Rubellin’s carriage, it finally stopped at the entrance to the hunting grounds.

The carriage doors opened, and Richard stepped out first.

His long, elongated frame and broad shoulders, the muscles in his arms that glimpsed with every movement, and the distinctive features beneath his slightly disheveled hair were enough to draw the attention of any woman.

Ignoring the gazes gathering towards him, Richard reached out his hand to Elisa.

In her pale blue dress and lace hat, Elisa looked refreshingly fresh for a spring picnic.

Richard wrapped his arms around her protectively.

Michaela, as well as other noble children and ladies, admired her.

A girl who had been a modest daughter of a minor noble suddenly married the most affluent and powerful duke in the empire, a young and handsome husband. It was understandable they found it hard to watch.

Michaela stepped forward as their representative to greet Elisa.

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness, Duke and Duchess, so long that I’ve almost forgotten your faces.”

“I’d forgotten the sigil of the Dukes of Rubellin, too.”

“It’s not like we’ve committed any crime, please grace us with your presence occasionally. Both of you.”

Elisa returned the jealous glances and words directed at her with a wry smile.

Until one person appeared in front of her.

“Elisa, is that you?”

“Miss, are you Lady Valentine?”

Elisa looked at Olivia, who seemed quite surprised, with bewildered eyes.

Oh, right, she was supposed to be part of the delegation!

She was unaware that she was the Duchess of Rubellin.

If she opened her mouth, it would reveal that she had tried to run away from the Duchy of Rubellin, which would lead to gossip among the nobles.

As Elisa was about to speak urgently to Olivia, she heard the sound of hooves and carriages in the distance.

It was the knights of the imperial court and their carriages with the imperial emblem.

Elisa whispered to Olivia while everyone was distracted by the imperial procession.

“My lady, I’ll explain everything later.”

Olivia stared at Elisa in surprise for a moment, then nodded in understanding.

Meanwhile, a carriage carrying members of the imperial family arrived.

The Emperor and Empress, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess stepped out of the carriage, and the nobles paid their respects.

“Greetings to the radiance of Holy Arencia.”

“It is good to see you all here at such a busy time.”

“And it’s good to see the faces of old friends I haven’t seen in so long.”

Christian’s gaze, contradicting the Emperor’s words, was directed towards Elisa and Richard.

Richard merely stared at him impassively, but made no reply.

Instead, his arm around Elisa tightened a little tighter.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the nobles returned to their respective carriages to prepare for the hunt.

Elisa scanned the nobles with a quick glance. But the one she was looking for was nowhere to be found.

Perhaps Ancel has not yet reached the Isles.

Before leaving the ship at the port of the Ardens, she gave a letter to the mercenaries who had briefly escorted her to Ancel.

However, it felt insufficient to simply apologize lightly for the effort of a friend who had waited for her.

‘I should formally apologize when he returns after waiting for me in Soreneti ….’

With that thought, Elisa turned to help Richard prepare for the hunt.

But unlike the other nobles, who were checking their bows and hunting falcons, Richard was doing nothing.

Elisa looked up at him in wonder.

Then his large, worried hand touched her forehead. She felt nothing but the usual low-grade fever.

“How are you feeling?”

“Huh? I’m fine.”

“No upset stomach, dizziness, or anything like that?”

“No.”

Elisa nodded that she was fine, but he was still not reassured.

“If you’re at all uncomfortable or tired, don’t force yourself in there, just rest in the carriage.”

“I will. Don’t worry about me and take care of yourself. Don’t forget what I told you yesterday.”

In truth, Elisa was worried about Richard, not herself.

She still vividly remembered Richard being severely injured in an attack at the royal hunting grounds when they were young.

Even knowing now that he had the strength to easily subdue several men, she was worried. As the two of them worried about each other, a voice came from behind them.

“So it was the Duke who stole my son’s place as husband?”

It was none other than Olivia. Unlike Elisa, who was pleased to see her, Richard’s face hardened.

“Losing my position as a husband? What nonsense is this?”

“Richard, it’s……….”

Elisa was about to explain herself, but Olivia spoke up first.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’s not that my son’s fault, it’s just that I wanted to introduce her as a potential daughter-in-law.”

“I was graced by the Duchess not long ago, and thinking she was unmarried, I wanted to introduce our son, that’s all.’’

Richard’s expression softened a little, but he remained as cold as ever in the presence of others. Olivia smirked at him.

Being close to Richard, whom even noble parents feared, was possible only for her.

“I suppose the hunt is about to begin.”

As Olivia finished speaking, a knight of the Imperial Knights blew his whistle. It signaled that the hunt was about to begin.

“Take care, Richard.”

Elisa waved Richard off, but he hesitated, then turned reluctantly.

“I’ll be back.”

As she watched him walk away, Elisa was the first to speak up.

“Madam, I apologize for lying about my identity, but at the time… I was sneaking out of the house, and I didn’t want to run into anyone, so I lied.”

“Well, that could happen. Elisa… No, it’s not for the Duchess to apologize. It’s the fault of a husband who made his wife want to leave. Isn’t that right?

“It’s not your fault, Your Excellency. It’s just, I think we had a misunderstanding.”

Elisa laughed at Olivia’s playfulness, but quickly corrected her. Then Olivia’s eyes softened as she looked at Elisa. It was like looking at a cute niece.

“Oh, you still defend your husband? How could you run away from him when you love him so much? The Duke must have done something very wrong if you left him behind.”

Elisa’s eyes began to waver at the words.

Love….? Me? Love Richard?

She liked him a lot. As an old friend, and as family. But that was it.

Even a dear friend or family member is supposed to stick up for you in times of trouble.

Elisa answered, her momentary confusion giving way to conclusions.

“No, it’s just that this whole thing was a misunderstanding.”

“Well, I’m glad it worked out. Being pregnant is hard, and of course your husband should be there to pamper you.”

At the mention of ‘pamper’, Elisa burst into laughter. Seeing Elisa laugh, Olivia, who had been looking at her with a casual gaze, then glanced at the palace maids preparing for the tea party in the distance and extended her hand to Elisa.

 “Well, now that we’ve cleared up any misunderstandings, shall we go?”