how to divorce the male lead - chapter 11
"......This method is doomed."
Yuliana had to withdraw all her orders that day.
He was on the verge of storming the palace and declaring his proposal to the emperor.
Yuliana shuddered at the thought of how many times she had to cling to him and say, 'It was all a joke!'
"Ugh. I can't live with my name."
She walked through the winter garden, brushing off the stiff snow. She had tried to finalize the divorce in one way or another, but things hadn't gone smoothly.
Today, too, the winter garden she had escaped to, avoiding Evan's persistent advances, was a mysterious sight with flowers blooming as if it were spring, covered with a light layer of snow.
Yuliana lamented her situation, where she had to run away from Evan's aggressive courtship.
The impending execution ending became clearer with each passing day. She took out a piece of paper from her pocket as she swallowed dry saliva.
It was a record she had kept after cleaning up and disposing of the gifts given by her lovers a few days ago.
The gifts she had kept were truly diverse. Yuliana, who had lived freely without hindering the flow of relationships, had a ridiculously insufficient number of fingers and toes combined to count even the passing acquaintances.
She regretted attending every social gathering, dancing and playing as soon as her face lit up.
Yuliana clutched the piece of paper tightly and shivered.
"Darn it..."
It's so unfair that the reward for living an enjoyable life is an execution ending! It's probably because I didn't have much fun in my past life. Ah, it's all useless...
"So, who's the one talking nonsense about planning with me? I don't have any―"
Rustle...
At that moment, Yuliana finished mumbling as she noticed someone approaching from the outskirts of the garden. She stiffened her body and turned to look in that direction.
As expected.
"...Aren't you supposed to be at work today?"
"I took a day off."
Did the palace knights even have the concept of a vacation? Was there a law that allowed heroes who defeated barbarians threatening the empire to take a break?
Feeling her head spinning, Yuliana quickly stepped aside.
Yuliana was irritated, wondering how to avoid her husband's more passionate courtship.
Whether or not he knew her feelings, he held a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
Even under the overcast sky with dark, heavy clouds, the golden flowers sparkled as if they were made of pure gold, beautiful and enchanting.
Although Yuliana, who was no stranger to precious things, saw these flowers for the first time, she tried not to show interest, pursing her lips.
But perhaps he noticed her gaze or read her mind because Evan spoke up.
"I heard you've been having trouble sleeping lately."
"Do you know whose fault that is?"
Yuliana blinked.
Then, she instantly swallowed the words that were about to follow. She had been trying to stop her old habit of getting angry and annoyed for no reason.
'They say old habits die hard for a reason.'
Yuliana's next move, after immediately burning the letters and gifts sent by her foolish followers and visiting the temple every weekend to make a "purity oath," was naturally divorce.
In the newspapers, it was reported that a previously frivolous "certain duchess" had suddenly come to her senses, so one could argue that half of the plan was proceeding steadily.
So, if he just quietly agreed to the divorce, the leading lady who would soon appear and the person she would love would be him, but he didn't know that yet.
'Now, I might seem fine, but soon, the interdimensional traveler leading lady will appear. And the person who will be happy with that leading lady is you. I'll be happy with my money. How am I going to explain this...'
Yuliana shot him a discontented look, but even in her gaze, Evan extended the bouquet of flowers.
"Was I somehow related to your insomnia?"
"Of course."
Yuliana, unsure of what to do with the bouquet he willingly offered, hesitantly reached out her hand.
There was no real reason to reject it outright. Besides, the nameless flowers that shone as brightly as the sun under the heavily clouded sky seemed like sunshine that couldn't be seen.
As soon as she received the bouquet, the subtle fragrance of the flowers was delightful. She buried her face in them and closed her eyes, and her troubled heart eased even more.
"Do you have any worries?" Evan asked while looking at her.
She seemed calm, like someone without a care in the world as she brushed her cheek against the golden flowers.
But in reality, he knew she was half-concealing her thoughts in her small head.
She had been unfaithful to their marriage only in the sense that she outright betray him for the sake of her own desires, she didn't adhere to it due to annoyance.
Evan loved even her desires. He couldn't help but smile when he recalled her past actions, visible betrayals that she committed while still by his side.
'I wonder if it would have been less troublesome if she had stayed as she was in the past.'
Her recent actions had been peculiar.
After clearing out the gift room, she had rejected the visits of her anxious lovers and even openly mocked them, going as far as to visit the temple and take the purity oath.
People laughed at her actions, but she didn't care. It was as if repenting for her past indulgence and entering a monastery, and Evan observed Yuliana's next move with interest.
"You're thinking of divorcing me? Still?"
Yuliana, who had been contemplating her response to his previous words, finally removed her face from the bouquet.
There were golden petals stuck to her cheek. She seemed not to have even noticed that. Yuliana hesitated.
Then, it seemed like she found the fact that he intentionally asked her about her worries, knowing them beforehand, irritating, as she opened her eyes wide.
"Well, then?"
However, her words, although they came out as usual, had a slight tremor of fear, unlike her usual demeanor.
Evan found her emotional shift unfamiliar.
Yuliana Ovend had never cared about his emotions.
In essence, she treated him as if he were furniture. A presence that existed but didn't affect her at all. So why was she suddenly afraid of her husband, who was little more than furniture now?
He was curious now.
Evan reached out and removed the flower petal stuck to Yuliana's cheek. When he did, she flinched.
Watching her trembling hand loosely holding the bouquet, Evan raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
"Why are you so afraid? I'm on your side."
"..."
Yuliana sent a look that said, "What a pointless thought."
It was as if she had regarded herself as a betrayer who had turned against him long ago. Evan found it somewhat uncomfortable.
"Why?"
You were the one who never worried about all the troubles that could arise from not loving me.
"Yuliana."
"Don't say such things. If you say that..."
"Why? Even a non-existent conscience bothers you?"
"How did you know I have no conscience?"
Yuliana grumbled, then buried her face in the bouquet again and savored its fragrance.
"The fragrance is nice..."
Her heart felt lighter, but her mind once again plunged into a whirlpool of worries.
After a long silence, Yuliana mumbled.
"...All my worries are things you've given me."
"Well, then maybe i should be a bit grateful. Before, i couldn't have any influence over you."
Yuliana pursed her lips at his words. Then, she removed her face from the bouquet, rustling within the bouquet in his arms.
"If you just divorce me, everyone can be happy! Why would I make a fuss about these visible deeds? As you know, I'm someone who doesn't do troublesome things!"
"I know you're begging like the person just before entering a monastery. You can't visit the temple with the sudden desire to pray to the gods. Your actions may seem like those of a faithful person on the surface, but it's quite separate from you tidying up your little dogs."
"...My little dogs?"
"I'm talking about your usual playful little dogs. I once wondered what would happen if one of those rascals really stole your heart. Of course, there's no possibility of that."
"What if that happened? What if I had an affair with one of those idiots and runaway?"
"No way. That would never happen."
"Do you think I'm incapable of love?"
Yuliana and Evan had never had a conversation like this before.
To be precise, Yuliana Ovend had never intended to have a conversation with Evan Helchen. She had never fully accepted her husband, who always confronted her with sincerity.
In this moment, as they exchanged glances and smiled at each other, they seemed far from being a married couple. They merely circled each other, as if wary of each other.
Without yielding to her gaze, Evan replied.
"You don't know how to love."
"...And you say that with such confidence?"
At that statement, Yuliana's bronze-colored eyes, which had previously shown an indistinct sense of unease, flickered.
She had never yielded her side to anyone before. He knew that well, and that's why he knew his love would always be a failure.
Yet, he chose to love her, no one else.
"I've always watched you, Yuliana. Love is a bother for you. Still, I have no regrets about loving you. And if you were to love me, I'm sure you wouldn't regret it either."
Confidently confessing like someone who had never feared failure, Evan remained relaxed. Yuliana mumbled in response.
"If I loved you, it would only bring trouble to me."
With half-threats and half-resignation, Yuliana mumbled and went upstairs to her room, knowing his gaze was still following her.
Perhaps that's why. Normally, she would have taken the bouquet to her room and discarded it immediately, but this time, Yuliana carried it to her room without throwing it away.