I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - chapter 81

**Chapter 81**

“I am Viscount Magenta, who personally wrote this ledger.”

“I, this lowly body, bow before the radiant sun of Arencia.”

Viscount Magenta trembled as he bowed in front of the Emperor.

The Emperor, with a deeply displeased expression, looked down at him and asked,

“Viscount Magenta. You must swear before the goddess and speak only the truth.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Duke Rubellin claims that you wrote this ledger. Is that true?”

“Yes, y-yes. This lowly being committed an unforgivable sin after being deceived by the devil for a brief moment. Your Majesty, please have mercy… mercy…”

Richard looked at the confessing Viscount Magenta with indifferent eyes in front of the Emperor.

It was Elisa’s idea to track down Viscount Magenta.

After hearing from Richard about Onyx’s characteristics, Elisa had her suspicions and ordered Thompson to search around the temple for anything suspicious.

When Thompson arrived at the temple, he found Onyx’s eggs and the droppings of other monsters in the nearby bushes.

The smell of the young monsters’ droppings misled the situation, making it seem like the young were present, which lured the mother monster to the temple.

‘If Viscount Magenta orchestrated this, he would come to retrieve the eggs to prove the effectiveness of the monster repellent.’

Elisa instructed Thompson to hide instead of retrieving the eggs.

Late that night, as Elisa had predicted, mercenaries arrived to collect the eggs.

Once they were captured, catching Viscount Magenta and uncovering those behind him became easy.

Richard frightened him enough to confess in front of the Emperor.

“You dared to participate in a plot that endangered His Majesty, the Emperor. You will be charged with treason.”

“I-I was only following orders!”

“That doesn’t erase your crime… However, your punishment will differ depending on whether you were the mastermind or merely a pawn.”

The current situation was a result of that persuasion.

Marquis Dion, who had been accused of treason due to Viscount Magenta’s confession, was in denial, refusing to accept this sudden reality.

“This is a conspiracy! It’s slander! You’re framing me to cover your own crime, aren’t you?!”

He rushed at Richard, ready to grab him by the collar.

However, Richard easily subdued him by kicking his knees, causing him to collapse.

The Emperor looked coldly at both Richard and Marquis Dion.

He was disappointed with Marquis Dion for handling matters so poorly and equally dissatisfied with Richard for exposing his son-in-law as a traitor in front of the nobility.

“Marquis Dion, this incident is entirely your responsibility. You will be held accountable for all the damages caused by it.”

Richard frowned at the Emperor’s unfair judgment.

Even though the Emperor was displeased with Marquis Dion, he was still trying to protect his son-in-law.

Punishing Marquis Dion would also tarnish the reputation of his daughter, Michaela.

“Your Majesty, the Marquis tried to harm you and your subjects. He deserves an appropriate punishment.”

“But none of my subjects were harmed, were they? Besides, it was a joyful day for the entire Empire, so I may choose to show mercy with a generous heart.”

Richard was so stunned by the Emperor’s words that he almost let out a bitter laugh.

“No one was harmed?”

Several people from the slums had died because of Marquis Dion’s actions, and many more had been seriously injured, with some left disabled for life.

And yet, the Emperor spoke of mercy.

‘Are those who were hurt not your ‘subjects’?’

Richard’s eyes grew cold as he gazed at the Emperor.

While the lives lost could never be restored, he wanted, at the very least, to ensure that the person responsible for their deaths faced a fitting punishment.

“Marquis Dion endangered Your Majesty’s life. Isn’t that clearly an act of treason?”

“…..”

“If you show mercy in this matter, it will set a dangerous precedent. Future traitors who threaten Your Majesty’s safety will expect forgiveness as well.”

“……”

“If another traitor emerges in the future, will you show them the same mercy?”

Richard’s voice, cold and biting, questioned the Emperor with each word, as if slicing through the air.

His sharp gaze fixed on the Emperor was chilling. It was as if Richard’s eyes were warning that, should the Emperor pardon Marquis Dion now, he himself could be the next traitor.

The Emperor hesitated, rubbing his forehead, before reluctantly speaking.

“As the Duke said, the crime of threatening the safety of both myself and the nobles is grave. The punishment will be fitting.”

Marquis Dion looked up at the Emperor in despair, but the Emperor avoided his gaze and continued.

“Marquis Marcel Dion is hereby stripped of his title.”

*

The Emperor took away Marquis Dion’s title and had him divorce Michaela. After all, he could not allow someone without a title to be the consort of a princess.

And so, peace returned—except to the House of Duke Rubellin. Since the founding festival, Richard had been staying in a separate residence.

This was because they had yet to find any clues about the power that went out of control during the festival.

“Richard—”

Elisa, after finishing her bath, instinctively called out to him as she returned to her room, but she froze upon seeing the empty bed.

“Oh, right…”

Only then did she remember that he was staying in the separate residence.

Sighing, Elisa sat on the headboard of the bed and pulled a stretch mark cream from the nightstand drawer.

Richard used to apply it for her every night, but now that he wasn’t here, she had to do it herself.

It felt awkward since she wasn’t used to doing it alone.

“My love, tonight, I’ll read you a story.”

After finishing the massage, she picked up a storybook from beside the bed.

“Blue went to the witch’s house to save a friend who was captured by her. But then…”

However, reading alone didn’t bring the same joy. Even the baby in her belly seemed less responsive than usual.

Elisa gazed down at her swollen belly and gently stroked it.

At six months pregnant, her stomach had grown noticeably, and the baby’s movements had become stronger.

The baby was growing every day, but the person who should be sharing these moments wasn’t by her side, which made her feel lonely.

As she gently rubbed her belly, Elisa murmured,

“My love, don’t you miss Daddy too?”

It was almost like talking to herself.

But then, *tap tap*, a response came from within her belly.

That small movement brought a smile to Elisa’s face, lifting her mood instantly.

It might have just been a coincidence, but whenever the baby seemed to respond to her, it felt like they were having a conversation, and that made her happy.

Pressing lightly where the baby had kicked, Elisa rose from the bed and approached the window, which overlooked the backyard.

The faint light from Richard’s separate residence was still on.

Elisa smiled as she looked at the glowing light.

Inside the dimly lit, quiet room, softly illuminated by a small glowing stone, the only sound was the turning of pages.

Richard sat propped up on the bed, reading a book. Next to him lay what seemed like dozens of books, scattered across the massive bed.

“This book doesn’t have it either.”

With a somewhat serious expression, Richard sighed as he closed the book.

Since the founding festival incident, Aiden had once again tried to purify Richard’s power.

While the dark energy had weakened, it had not completely disappeared.

Richard had been searching for information related to *this power*, hoping to find a solution, but so far, he had found nothing.

Frustrated, he placed the book over his face, letting out an exasperated sigh.

As he closed his eyes, he suddenly recalled the eerie voice he had once heard.

“I’ve waited… for so long… my…”

*Longing…*

For some reason, he felt that the voice had something to do with this power.

Yet, despite searching through numerous books on the corrupted lands, there was no mention of that dark presence anywhere.

“Elisa…”

With each passing day, his anxiety grew.

He didn’t care what happened to his own body. That didn’t matter. But thinking of Elisa, bearing their child and enduring difficult days alone, tore at his heart.

Since the day he returned from the war, he had vowed never to leave her side and to always protect her.

He had promised to be a good father when he caught her fleeing with their child.

Yet here he was, causing her nothing but worry.

He felt frustrated by his helplessness.

“…I miss you.”

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, yearning for Elisa, he heard a light tapping on the window.

Then again, *tap*. A soft brushing sound followed, but Richard thought it was just the wind blowing a branch against the window.

He didn’t pay it much attention until—

*Crash!*

The sharp sound of breaking glass filled the room as a large rock rolled in through the shattered window.

‘What?’

Startled by the sudden commotion, Richard quickly removed the book from his face and sat up.

There were no children in the manor who would play pranks by throwing rocks, especially not at this late hour when everyone was either resting or asleep.

As Richard looked at the large stone rolling beneath the window, bewildered, he heard a shocked voice from outside.

“Oh my, madam!”

It was Anne’s voice.

Curious, Richard walked over to the window.

Outside stood a flustered Anne, and next to her was Elisa, looking up at him with a bright smile spreading across her face.