I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - chapter 79

Chapter 79

The members of the imperial family who attended the Founding Festival safely arrived at the imperial palace, escorted by Marquis Dion.

The emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief and praised Marquis Dion’s efforts.

“Thanks to you, we’ve returned safely. I appreciate it.”

“It was nothing, Your Majesty. Since you are the father of Her Highness, the Princess, you are like a father to me as well. I simply did what was expected as a dutiful child.”

“Accepting you into the royal family was truly a blessing for us.”

“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”

At the empress’s praise, Marquis Dion smiled awkwardly, then spoke with a worried expression.

“By the way, this is quite troubling. The atmosphere in the capital will be uneasy for some time. While the imperial palace, guarded by the empire’s finest knights, will be safe, I wonder about the nobles and the common folk…”

As he trailed off and glanced at Michaela, she seized the opportunity to speak.

“Dear, didn’t your uncle recently create something new? It emits a scent that repels monsters, preventing them from approaching…”

“A scent that repels monsters?”

Christian immediately showed interest in Michaela’s words.

Marquis Dion, as if suddenly remembering, explained.

“Ah, yes! My uncle, Viscount Magenta, recently developed a perfume that repels monsters. If we distribute it, we might ease the public’s anxiety.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Tell Viscount Magenta to sell it as soon as possible.”

“I will carry out your command immediately.”

As soon as the emperor issued his order, Marquis Dion signaled to his aide, indicating that the order should be conveyed to Viscount Magenta.

Understanding his master’s intent, the aide bowed to the emperor and the other royals before leaving the room.

Once the door closed, Marquis Dion returned to the main topic.

“What could have caused this? Monsters attacking human settlements…?”

“There hasn’t been anything like this for a while. What could be going on? Unless the monsters suddenly decided to commit mass suicide…”

“Oh, that’s right. Isn’t Duke Rubellin in charge of handling the monsters around the capital?”

The emperor had not stationed knights or soldiers in the outer areas of the capital in order to save the national budget. As a result, monsters occasionally appeared in these regions, but the nobles, who lived within the heart of the capital, were never affected. It was always the powerless commoners living on the outskirts who suffered.

Since his time as a young duke, Richard had voluntarily taken on the task of clearing the monsters from the outskirts. He did this to protect the people, elevate the reputation of House Rubellin, and train his knights.

When Richard stepped forward, the emperor quickly assigned him the responsibility of managing the outskirts, as if it had been his own idea to take care of the people by having Richard act.

“Yes, I certainly issued that command to the duke.”

“Yet, despite receiving the imperial order, he handled the matter so poorly that it reached this point…”

Marquis Dion, unable to tolerate injustice, expressed his anger.

“Your Majesty, you must hold the duke accountable. His failure has put you in danger, and innocent citizens have suffered because of him.”

“Hmm, now that you mention it, you’re absolutely right. It’s all that man’s fault, isn’t it?”

Christian eagerly agreed with Marquis Dion’s words. It was the perfect opportunity to tarnish the reputation of Rubellin, whom he regarded as a thorn in his side, and he couldn’t let it slip by.

The emperor, who had been quietly listening, also nodded in agreement with Marquis Dion’s reasoning.

“The marquis is right. Tomorrow, I’ll summon Duke Rubellin and demand an explanation for this.”

“That would be a wise decision, Your Majesty.”

Hearing the answer he had hoped for, Marquis Dion grinned slyly. Things were unfolding exactly as he had planned.

The monster attack had been mostly resolved thanks to Aiden and several knights from noble families who banded together. Aiden brought the injured to the temple and used the Fountain of Purification to create a protective barrier around the area, which was guarded by the holy knights.

Aiden then accompanied Elisa and Richard to a separate annex to check on Richard’s condition. Before entering, Richard, noticing Elisa’s anxious expression, said to her:

“Elisa, go relay my orders to Thompson. Tell him to return to the mansion ahead of us and lead the knights to finish clearing out the remaining monsters.”

“But…”

“You said you wanted to save people.”

Elisa bit her lip, unable to respond to his words. He was right, but she didn’t like the idea of leaving him, even for a moment.

“I’ll be back soon,” she finally said, and headed toward the central chapel where Thompson would be waiting.

Aiden quietly watched as Elisa walked away, then turned his gaze to Richard, who stood beside him. Though Richard was the one in pain, his eyes were filled with concern for Elisa. It was likely the reason he had sent her to Thompson.

“Let’s take a look then.”

Richard, who had entered the annex with Aiden, removed his top to reveal his back, where the pain was located. However, aside from scars from the battlefield, there were no visible abnormalities.

“On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be any major issue. When did you first notice the symptoms?”

“…It started around late March, after I arrived in the capital. The pain came and went only once or twice, so I assumed it was a muscle problem.”

“Was there anything else that happened before that?”

After thinking for a moment, Richard seemed to recall something.

“Earlier in the spring, I went beyond the canyon to investigate contaminated land. It’s possible I may have come into contact with something harmful then.”

“That’s certainly a plausible explanation.”

Aiden placed his hand on Richard’s left shoulder.

“Let me try purifying it first. If the energy you come into contact with is from the contaminated land, this might be painful.”

After explaining, Aiden focused his purifying energy into Richard’s back. As expected, Richard felt a sharp, tearing pain and clenched his teeth to stifle a groan.

As the purifying energy seeped in, the black energy subsided somewhat but didn’t disappear completely. After a while, Aiden removed his hand.

“…I wasn’t able to purify it entirely.”

At the moment, Aiden was using his power to maintain the protective barrier outside the temple, so he couldn’t exert his full strength on the purification.

“Once things stabilize, we should attempt this again. If it still doesn’t work, we’ll have to look for another method.”

Aiden then recalled Elisa, who had been hovering anxiously nearby, and added, “The purification should have handled most of it, but just to be safe, keep your distance from the duchess for now.”

“That would be wise.”

Richard dressed and stood up. Aiden accompanied him outside the annex, and they spotted Elisa approaching from a distance.

“I’ll take my leave then,” Richard said.

“Take care. And if anything happens, don’t hesitate to come see me.”

Richard gave Aiden a nod of gratitude before walking away. Elisa, who had been approaching him, overheard their conversation and stopped, keeping her distance from him.

As Aiden quietly watched Elisa from afar, he suddenly recalled something Leon had said a few days ago.

“Sister’s hands had water coming out of them.”

At the same time, he remembered the scene he had witnessed earlier in front of the temple. That power had undoubtedly been holy energy. The faint light emanating from Elisa had suppressed the black energy surrounding Richard.

But holy power was a gift only inherited by those of the Seriart family, and the Viscounty of Roengreen had no known connection to that lineage.

“Could she be a child with mixed blood from a collateral line?”

It wasn’t entirely impossible. In fact, while rare, it seemed more likely than the alternative—that the child was his and Julia’s.

But why? Why did Elisa’s smiling face keep overlapping with the now-faded memory of Julia?

“Julia…”

When Aiden discovered Julia’s body, he noticed signs that she had recently given birth.

It was only later, after hearing from Olivia, that Aiden realized Julia had been pregnant. However, at the time of her death, she hadn’t even reached seven months of pregnancy. Based on the timing, the baby had been born prematurely, at less than six months.

“The chances of a child surviving at six months are practically nonexistent with the current state of medical knowledge,” the doctor had said, concluding that the baby must have been stillborn.’’

Despite the doctor’s certainty, Aiden clung to the slim hope that the child might have survived. He retraced Julia’s steps, trying to find any clues. But no one had assisted Julia in childbirth, and those who had seen her said she hadn’t been with a child.

After searching for years, Aiden had no choice but to accept that the child had been stillborn.

He never met anyone new, nor did he consider starting a family or continuing his lineage. Even though he knew that carrying on his family’s line was the best way to exact revenge on the emperor, he simply couldn’t do it.

How could he be with someone else? How could he move on from you? Aiden swallowed hard as memories of Julia filled his mind.

Still, if this child inherited the power of the Seriart family, it was something that needed to be uncovered.

It might even be the hope he had longed for—the one who could fulfill the revenge he had been unable to achieve. And if the child indeed inherited the power of Seriart, there was a high chance they could purify the dark energy within Richard as well.

Aiden decided to put aside his expectations about Elisa’s true identity and focus on the possibility that this power might be the key to solving everything.