I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - Chapter 59

Chapter 59

“Christian, was there no woman carrying your child?”

At the Emperor’s sudden question, Christian responded with a bewildered expression.

“Well… I’m not sure about that either…”

The Empress and Roze’s expressions hardened as they immediately grasped the Emperor’s intention from his question.

He intended to find and bring to the palace any possible illegitimate child of Christian’s that might exist.

The Emperor gave an order to a nearby chamberlain.

“Chamberlain, send someone to find any child with the imperial bloodline.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Empress, in a hurry, stopped him.

“No, Your Majesty! How can you bring a child of unknown origin with lowly blood into the palace?”

“I do not mean to make them the heir just by bringing them into the palace.”

“Then…?”

“They might be used as a temporary substitute. And if they are in the palace, it will be easier to handle them when an heir is born.”

Hearing the Emperor’s words, the Empress nodded as if she had never opposed his intentions.

“Well, that’s true. Indeed, Your Majesty, you have the foresight to see a few steps ahead.”

“Then understand it as such, and from today, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess should work harder on producing an heir.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

After the evening greetings with the Emperor and Empress, Roze left the audience room with Christian, chewing on her lips.

It seemed the Empress was satisfied with the Emperor’s plan, but Roze was not.

Even though it was a temporary measure, until her own child was born, this unknown child would be occupying the position of the heir.

During this time, she would be subtly despised as the Crown Princess who had not produced an heir.

Already, there were whispers among the nobles about whether she should take a concubine.

‘Elisa, they will look down on me even more where that girl is.’

Roze clenched her teeth at the thought of being compared to Elisa.

Not only the heir issue but also during the hunting festival, she had flaunted Rubellin’s influence by bringing up business matters.

‘I am the Crown Princess. In this empire, after Her Majesty the Empress, I should be the most honored and influential woman!’

She could not remain idle like this.

Recalling the Emperor’s words from earlier, Roze turned to Christian.

“Your Highness, if you are not busy tonight…”

“Hmm, I’m quite tired today.”

Christian turned abruptly before Roze could finish her sentence.

Roze looked at Christian’s retreating figure with a sense of despair before turning toward her bedroom. Her steps felt heavy.

‘If, indeed, he has an illegitimate child…’

Roze, nervously biting her nails, came up with a plan and stopped in her tracks. Her steps quickened.

Arriving at her room in a hurry, Roze called her closest aide and gave an order.

“Commission the guild. Search the red-light district and find children with the imperial bloodline. We must find them before the Emperor does.”

“What should we do if we find them?”

“Dispose of them. Without anyone knowing.”

As if they had never existed in the first place.

Roze’s eyes gleamed confidently as she spoke.

*

It had been a week since Elisa had visited the children to give them snacks.

In the meantime, Elisa came to the temple again to deliver summer clothes to the children.

It seemed that she was delighted since Aiden had not stopped her from giving out snacks.

The children also appeared to be genuinely happy about Elisa’s visit.

Not only was she making donations, but she was also personally visiting, making eye contact, and listening to their stories. The children were won over by her kindness.

Aiden could not prevent the children from favoring Elisa.

‘Was today also the day the Duchess was supposed to come?’

A few days ago, Aiden remembered hearing Elisa talk to the children. He reviewed his memories and checked the date.

At that moment, a knock and the voice of a priest could be heard.

“Your Highness, it is time for prayers.”

Aiden snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the voice and was startled.

Such useless thoughts.

He quickly set aside his thoughts about Elisa and stood up, heading toward the chapel.

Just as he arrived at the east chapel, he saw the children gathered in a huddle in front of the chapel.

Aiden approached the children with a puzzled expression.

“What are you doing here?”

“We’re waiting because the pretty lady is coming today!”

When they mentioned the “pretty lady,” Aiden took a moment to think about who that could be and then realized with a delay that the ‘pretty lady’ referred to Elisa.

He considered correcting the term from ‘lady’ to ‘Duchess’ but decided to leave it as is.

This meant that Elisa felt familiar to the children, and the fact that she hadn’t corrected them indicated that she was comfortable with it too.

At that moment, one of the children, looking at Aiden, suddenly asked,

“Are you here to wait for the lady too?”

Aiden hesitated and was momentarily taken aback by the question.

A priest standing nearby responded with a smile, as if to imply that such a thing would not be possible.

“His Highness is on his way to the prayers.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Be sure to thank the Duchess if you get to see her.”

“Okay!”

Leaving the children behind, Aiden proceeded to the chapel.

At that moment, one of the priests approached the children and delivered the news.

“Kids, the Duchess won’t be coming today because she’s not feeling well.”

“What? Really?”

“Is she very sick?”

“It’s not that bad; she just doesn’t feel well.”

Aiden, heading toward the chapel, stopped abruptly upon hearing the priest’s words.

It could simply be that she was too busy to come, and the excuse of illness was just a convenient cover. Yet, the news of Elisa’s condition made his heart sink.

At the same time, he recalled what the priest had said to Elisa a week ago.

“Oh, you must be having a hard time, not being in good health, yet you keep coming here.”

Elisa’s visits to the temple every few days were to win him over.

To gain his favor and achieve her objectives.

He had been ignoring that fact even though he knew it.

He wondered if her frequent visits, particularly during such a delicate period, might have strained her health.

“Your Highness? What’s wrong?”

The priest, observing Aiden’s tense expression, called out to him.

It was unusual for Aiden to show such a stern face, which made the priest uneasy.

Reading the priest’s anxiety, Aiden quickly composed himself and continued walking.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

*

At a time when the Emperor’s birthday and the national foundation ceremonies were approaching, the noble council in the palace convened daily for meetings.

At the center of these meetings was Richard, the head of the only ducal family in the empire and the leader of the noble council.

“We will conclude today’s meeting here.”

Despite the declaration from Richard, the Emperor’s faction seemed to have more to say but remained silent and left the meeting room under the pressure of his authority.

Richard also stood up and exited the meeting room.

Ancel, who had been observing him, followed suit and left the room.

Richard had already taken long strides and was at the end of the corridor. Ancel quickened his pace to catch up.

Richard exited the palace building and boarded the waiting carriage of the Rubellin family.

Ancel, maintaining a certain distance, also left the building and got into the carriage of the Arden family. He then instructed the coachman.

“Follow the Rubellin carriage.”

“Yes, sir.”

The coachman complied and began to follow the Rubellin carriage.

The carriage followed the Rubellin carriage as it entered the slums where the temple was located.

‘Is he going to the temple again today?’

As Ancel was contemplating this, the coachman suddenly turned the carriage in the direction opposite to the temple.

Surprised, Ancel saw the carriage come to a halt.

Soon, a flustered voice from the coachman’s seat was heard.

“Sir, the Duke has exited the carriage.”

Ancel straightened up from where he was leaning and looked out the window.

As the coachman had said, the Rubellin carriage stopped in front of an alley, and Richard was getting out of the carriage.

Richard glanced around briefly before heading into the alley.

‘Where is he going?’

Observing Richard, Ancel immediately got out of his carriage and entered an alley that was in a straight line with the one Richard had entered.

From the direction where Richard had gone, Ancel saw Richard’s figure disappearing into the distance.

Ancel quickened his steps to follow him into the alley.

However, as he turned the corner, Richard’s figure was no longer in sight.

‘Did I miss him?’

Ancel furrowed his brow and looked around.

At that moment, a chilling voice came from above him.

“Are you look

ing for me?”

The voice came from above his head.

Ancel felt a shiver run down his spine and slowly raised his gaze towards the source of the voice.

There, floating in mid-air, was Richard, looking down with cold eyes.

“Count Arden.”