I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - Chapter 58

Chapter 58

The next day, Elisa visited the temple alone, without Olivia. Although she was accompanied by knights, they had to wait outside since weapons were not allowed inside the temple. Only Anne was allowed to enter with her.

Unlike her previous visit, Elisa didn’t wander around the temple but headed straight to her destination. She positioned herself along the path from the West Chapel to the Central Chapel—a route Aiden would take shortly to lead the service in the Central Chapel.

‘I went through the entire worship schedule just to stage this “chance” encounter,’ Elisa thought, determined. Aiden had doubted the sincerity of her intentions to help. She was resolute in her decision to show him her genuine intentions, no matter how long it took.

As she pondered how to make her presence here appear natural, she noticed a withering potted plant nearby. The plant drooped lifelessly, as if it hadn’t been watered in days.

“Poor thing…,” Elisa murmured, lifting the hem of her dress and crouching in front of the plant. She felt pity for the small, nameless flower that had bloomed and was now wilting on its own.

‘If I water it now, maybe it will recover,’ she thought as she gently tried to lift the wilted flower with her fingers. Then, she called out to Anne.

“Anne, could you fetch a little water from the fountain near the entrance?”

“Yes, my lady,” Anne responded, hurrying away to retrieve the water.

As Elisa watched Anne leave, she turned her attention back to the plant. However, something strange had occurred.

“Huh?”

The soil in the pot, which had been dry and parched just moments ago, now appeared damp, as though it had absorbed water.

‘Was the soil already moist, and I just didn’t notice?’ Elisa wondered, puzzled. Just then, she sensed someone approaching.

Turning her head, she saw Aiden coming toward her. Elisa quickly stood up and greeted him with a bright smile.

“Good afternoon, Your Holiness.”

“Good afternoon, Duchess. What brings you here today?” Aiden responded, his tone polite but curious.

When thinking about what happened yesterday, Aiden might not have been expected to be pleased, yet he greeted Elisa with the same kind smile as when they first met.

In response, Elisa smiled gently.

“I’ve come to offer my prayers today.”

“Ah, I see.”

Elisa expected Aiden to ask something like, “What prayers have you come to offer?”

However, just as he had done yesterday, today Aiden again completely dashed Elisa’s expectations.

“I pray that the Lord hears your prayers, madam.”

And with that, I’ll be off to offer my own worship.

With his usual gentle smile, Aiden decisively cut off the conversation and walked past Elisa.

Elisa could only stare after him with a dumbfounded expression, unable to stop him.

‘…He can act so coldly with such a kind face.’

Elisa pouted slightly at his retreating back, but she didn’t let it discourage her.

‘But Your Eminence, I’m not someone who gives up easily.’

Even if it doesn’t work after ten attempts, then I’ll just try eleven times.

Elisa lifted her chin, snorted, and looked toward the central chapel where Aiden had gone. Then, she headed toward the central fountain, where she had sent Anne.

The flowers, damp from the water in the pots, swayed in the spring breeze as if to greet Elisa.

*

A few days later, two carriages bearing the Rubellin family crest stopped in front of the temple.

The carriage doors opened, and Elisa, Anne, and three other maids from the Rubellin household disembarked.

The maids, including Anne, each carried paper bags filled to the brim and followed Elisa into the temple.

Today, Elisa headed toward the eastern chapel.

The eastern chapel was where the children residing in the temple offered their prayers during the day, while the priests prayed there at night.

Just as Elisa arrived at the eastern chapel, the children, who had just finished their prayers, were coming out in small groups.

Elisa stepped forward and approached the children.

The children’s curious eyes turned toward Elisa at the unexpected appearance of an outsider.

“Children, would you like to come here and take one of these?”

Elisa pulled out a small packet from one of the paper bags the maids were holding.

Inside, she took out a piece of chocolate and showed it to the children.

Normally, it was forbidden for outsiders to give gifts to the children, but she had already obtained permission from the priest in charge of their education.

The children, who had been looking at Elisa with wary eyes, widened their eyes in surprise at the sight of the chocolate.

Seeing their reaction, Elisa smiled and handed them the chocolate.

“I brought these to share with you all.”

“Why are you giving these to us?”

“Well, you see… I used to love chocolate a lot, but now that the baby in my belly doesn’t like it, I can’t eat it. So I thought you might be happy to eat it for me.”

Elisa said, placing her hand on her still-not-very-visible belly.

Fortunately, the presence of the baby and the sweet treat broke down the children’s initial wariness.

However, the older children remained cautious and did not easily relax their guard. Instead, they stopped the younger ones who tried to approach Elisa for the treats.

‘These kids have been well-educated. They won’t easily fall for tricks.’

Elisa felt a bit relieved by the children’s caution but was also feeling a bit awkward when she sensed someone approaching from the side.

“Lady Rubellin?”

Turning toward the voice, Elisa saw the high-ranking priest who always accompanied Aiden.

And next to him was Aiden himself.

The priest walked up to Elisa.

“Oh, you’re not in the best condition, yet you keep making these valuable visits. And today, you’re extending such a great favor to the children.”

“It’s really nothing special.”

“That in itself is quite remarkable. Thank you, madam.”

The priest repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Elisa and called the children over.

The Rubellin maids distributed the snack bags to the children in line.

The children, receiving the snacks, beamed with joy.

As Elisa watched the children with a usual fondness, she suddenly realized Aiden’s presence and went over to him.

Before Aiden could greet her, Elisa abruptly asked:

“Does Your Grace not like sweets like chocolate or cookies?”

“I don’t indulge in them often, but…”

“So you do eat them then?”

Before Aiden could respond, Elisa thrust a bag of treats toward him.

“Will you accept the chocolate?”

With Elisa smiling and asking, Aiden found himself unable to refuse and took the bag.

Elisa handed him the bag and immediately returned to the children.

He stared at the bag of snacks Elisa had given him. Suddenly, he recalled what Olivia had said a few days ago when she visited the temple.

‘No one can protect this temple with their own strength alone… If you truly care about the temple, I believe some decisions are necessary.’

And Elisa’s words.

“Use my name, the name of Rubellin.”

Elisa, handing out snack bags to the children, looked genuinely happy. The children gathered around her were also smiling.

Aiden watched this quietly, fidgeting with the necklace of Julia around his neck.

*

The news of Elisa’s pregnancy, revealed at the hunting festival, spread throughout the realm in just a few days.

Christian tried to silence the tongues of the nobles who had been present, but it was futile.

No matter how much one tried to suppress rumors, they would leak out and eventually reach everyone in the realm.

Including the imperial family.

The imperial family was already concerned about the lack of an heir between the crown prince and crown princess, who had been married for four years.

The emperor was displeased with Elisa’s pregnancy news.

Although Christian was still young, the fact that the Duke of Rubellin, who was of a similar age, had already provided an heir would surely lead to discussions among the nobility.

The emperor and empress summoned the crown prince and princess upon hearing the news.

“You summoned us, Your Majesty?”

Christian and Roze stood before the emperor and empress, who were in an unusually bad mood.

The emperor, with a stern expression, didn’t look at his son and daughter-in-law even once. He only tapped the armrest of his chair.

Tap. Tap. Tap…

The sound further aggravated Christian and Roze’s anxiety.

After a long silence, the emperor finally stopped tapping the armrest.

“Are you two… having conjugal relations?”

“Once a month… we do.”

“Only once?”

The emperor’s expression grew icy at Roze’s response, and he turned to the empress.

Internal affairs of the imperial family were entirely under the empress’s jurisdiction.

The emperor’s gaze seemed to reproach the empress, asking how things had come to this state.

Sensing the crisis, the empress raised her voice even more and scolded her son and daughter-in-law.

“And when do you plan to have an heir? It’s been over four years since your marriage! Some people start making children right after returning from war.”

At the empress’s reprimand, Roze bit her lip and lowered her head.

Although it seemed that the emperor and empress were reprimanding both Christian and herself, Roze knew deep down that they were blaming her alone.

She felt unjustly accused. It was Christian who was refusing to engage in conjugal relations, not her.

But since Roze couldn’t redirect her anger at the empress or Christian, her resentment naturally turned elsewhere.

If only Elisa weren’t around…

Elisa had been a thorn in her side since she was young and continued to be a source of irritation as she grew. Like a thorn in her eye.

At that moment, the emperor seemed to recall something and opened his mouth.