I Am Trying to Divorce My Villain Husband, But We Had a Child - chapter 82

**Chapter 82**

“Elisa?”

Richard looked at Elisa with a puzzled expression.

It seemed like she had broken the window just to call him.

It was a bit of an extreme and absurd action, but somehow, it felt very much like her, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Richard swallowed his laughter and asked, “What’s going on?”

However, Elisa tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what he said.

Only then did Richard realize that the room he was in was on the third floor, and he raised his voice. “What’s going on?”

At that moment, Elisa looked around, then raised a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

It seemed she wanted him to be silent since it was nighttime.

‘After making such a racket by breaking the window…?’ Richard let out a bemused laugh at Elisa’s contradictory behavior but decided to follow her lead.

After quieting Richard, Elisa held up a sketchbook she had brought with her. Then she crouched down near the garden, scribbled something, and showed it to him again.

Anne, who was beside her, held up a lantern with difficulty, following Elisa’s lead.

[Were you sleeping?]

Richard shook his head.

Elisa flipped to the next page and started writing something else.

[Did you have dinner?]

In truth, he hadn’t eaten much due to some unresolved issues and his worries about Elisa, but he nodded, knowing that if he told the truth, she’d be concerned.

Seeing his response, Elisa’s face lit up with a satisfied smile.

She wrote something else in the sketchbook and showed it to him.

[Is there anything bothering you?]

The only thing bothering him was not being able to see her.

Again, Richard nodded.

Elisa wrote yet another message and showed it to him.

[I’ll get you out of the annex soon! Hang in there a little longer.]

The determined look on Elisa’s face as she held up the sketchbook was striking.

Although the situation didn’t seem optimistic, given that they hadn’t found any information despite going through all the books and records day and night, just seeing Elisa made him feel like things would be resolved soon.

Her efforts to cheer him up were overwhelmingly endearing.

Richard gazed at her, nodding in acknowledgment.

Elisa, pleased with his response, began writing once again in the sketchbook.

Richard, watching her crouch down with a full belly, felt concerned and wished she would stop, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

After a short wait, Elisa held up the sketchbook once more.

[Little Love says she misses her daddy.]

Elisa hid her true feelings behind the mention of their baby. She felt too shy to express her feelings directly.

Richard gazed at her quietly for a moment before turning back into the room.

He soon returned to the window with a paper airplane.

With a gentle breath, Richard sent the airplane fluttering down.

As Elisa held out her hand, the hastily folded airplane landed perfectly on her palm.

Elisa alternated between looking at the airplane in her hand and glancing up at Richard, then carefully unfolded it.

On the note, in familiar handwriting, was a short sentence.

[I miss you too.]

Though she knew the message was meant for the baby, her heart began to race.

Elisa couldn’t hide the smile creeping up on her lips as she beamed at him.

Richard quietly watched her radiant smile.

How could I not love you?

Before he knew it, a faint smile had spread across his lips as well.

*

To the northeast of Akaroa, on a quiet seaside facing the Enril Sea, stood a tall, imposing tower made of black stone.

It was a place where those who sought knowledge and truth gathered.

People called this structure the “Tower of Truth.”

The Tower of Truth was situated along the coastline, and during high tide, the sea water would rise, submerging the bridge that connected the tower to the mainland.

Because of this, access to the tower, whether voluntary or not, was not always free.

The constant sound of waves and the sea breeze made it the perfect place for those who were dedicated to exploring knowledge and seeking the truth.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve experienced such stillness.’

Agyle sipped his coffee as he gazed out the window at the vast, open sea.

He had arrived here three days ago, on Richard’s orders.

His mission was to find information related to Richard’s power and the corrupted lands.

The Tower of Truth, true to its name, was a repository of knowledge from all over the world.

It housed not only books that weren’t available to the public but also ancient texts from distant continents across the seas, including books made from carved tree bark.

Among the countless books here, Agyle believed at least one would contain information about the corrupted land and the mysterious power tied to it.

Agyle picked up one of the books he had borrowed from the library yesterday.

‘I thought I’d never come back to this place.’

For him, the Tower of Truth was both his hometown and the site of painful childhood memories.

When Agyle was six years old, his mother, realizing that he had better learning abilities than other children his age, abandoned him at the tower.

She likely thought that since he was bright, he could study there and earn his keep.

However, what his mother failed to consider was that many other parents had the same idea.

There were many children abandoned at the Tower of Truth.

But the scholars, who were entirely absorbed in their studies, didn’t have the means or the resources to raise all those children.

So, they gave the children monthly tests.

Those who scored well were allowed to stay, while those with poor scores were sent to orphanages either in the capital or nearby.

Agyle, being more successful academically than other children his age, remained at the tower, but he grew up in loneliness.

It was never a place to form emotional attachments.

The scholars were obsessed with their studies, and it was exhausting to see his friends change every month.

After ten years, when he turned sixteen, Agyle intentionally scored poorly on a test and left the tower, seeking a place where he was truly needed.

That place turned out to be the Duchy of Rubellin.

It was there that Agyle first realized that not everything could be solved through studying.

He also learned what it meant to belong somewhere.

For him, Rubellin was like a second home—cold, yet filled with the warm, bustling presence of people.

‘It’s strange that I don’t feel as repelled by this place as I thought I would.’

Agyle found it odd that returning to the tower, which he had once been so desperate to leave, didn’t fill him with the expected dread.

Perhaps it was because he now had a place to return to.

‘This book isn’t one either.’

Quickly skimming through the borrowed books, Agyle closed another one.

Even the books he had borrowed yesterday didn’t contain the information he was seeking.

Since arriving at the tower, Agyle had spent every moment, except for sleep, searching the library for any clues about the corrupted land and Richard’s power, but so far, he hadn’t found even a small lead.

With a stack of books in hand, Agyle made his way back to the library.

The library of the Tower of Truth had two sections, one at the base of the tower and the other at the top.

Agyle headed for the library at the top of the tower.

The center of the library was open all the way to the top of the tower’s roof, with sunlight pouring in through the glass ceiling, creating an imposing and grand atmosphere.

Before heading up, Agyle examined the floor directory.

The library, consisting of a total of 11 floors, was organized by category, so he had to check the directory carefully before ascending.

After reading the directory, Agyle furrowed his brow.

‘Of course, it had to be on the 11th floor….’

The materials he was looking for were on the top floor.

While he could ask the librarian on the 11th floor to send down the books using the pulley system, the amount of material he needed to review was too extensive for that to be practical.

In the end, he decided to climb the stairs himself.

“Did they build this library with stairs just to make the old bookworms get some exercise…?”

Grumbling under his breath, Agyle finally reached the 11th floor.

Being the highest floor, it was almost empty, with only a couple of librarians quietly working.

Agyle passed the nodding librarians with a brief acknowledgement and made his way between the dusty bookshelves.

Perhaps because this floor was so rarely visited, most of the books were covered in a thick layer of dust.

“Mythology and history…”

Muttering to himself as he wandered through the shelves, Agyle eventually found the section he was looking for.

The first book that caught his eye was one titled “The Power of the Gods.”

It referenced the founding myth of Arencia, where the goddess was said to have bestowed her powers upon the four founding families.

It seemed to contain related content.

‘Will there be any new information?’

However, the contents were nothing new to Agyle—it was simply a rehash of the myths he already knew.

Sighing, he placed the book back and began to examine others.

At that moment, another bookshelf caught his attention.

Unlike the others, which were arranged horizontally, this one was positioned vertically.

Drawn by curiosity, Agyle approaches and began to skim through the titles.

One book in the far left corner grabbed his attention.

Despite having no title on its spine, Agyle felt compelled, as if entranced, to pull it out.

As he did, the title on the cover appeared:

**”The First King, Geneide”**

As Agyle absentmindedly flipped through the pages, his gaze slowly began to waver, unsettled by what he was reading.