how to divorce the male lead - chapter 3
As Evan Hillen rushed in like a storm, even after a few minutes, Yuliana, who had stood dazed, suddenly snapped back to her senses. She followed him into the mansion.
Hurriedly reaching the entrance of the reception room, she pressed her pounding heart and peered through the crack in the door.
However, something was strange. The reception room remained exactly as it was a few dozen minutes ago when Yuliana left it, despite the maids having just informed her that he was here.
"Where did he go?"
"Right here."
"Ah!"
Startled by the sudden voice, Yuliana jumped in her place. Evan had not entered the reception room but was standing behind her. Perhaps he had been waiting in the small room next to the reception room, as the warmth from the fireplace emanated from him.
"Oh, why were you there?"
As she spoke with an effort to steady her voice and be polite, Evan faintly smiled and replied, "I wanted to come in with you."
"You didn't have to..."
"I was afraid I'd wake up from this dream."
Evan Hillen, who said such words, exuded a refined atmosphere typical of a tall figure approaching 190 centimeters. It didn't quite suit him to have such a delicate voice with his well-trained physique.
As Yuliana hesitated to respond, she closed and opened her eyes firmly. Anyone would wish this were a dream!
"It can't be a dream."
In the end, Yuliana's tone, which hinted at reproach, made Evan feel relieved in some way, and he whispered, "Yuliana. Why are you being so kind? Did something happen during the year I was absent?"
"Oh, my! Of course not. Thanks to your tireless efforts, Duke Evan, everything has been very peaceful, and well..."
"Is it because your lovers were running around the mansion that you feel guilty?"
Yuliana froze.
How could she forget? This was a world inside a romance fantasy novel, and until she found out that she was the villainess number one, Yuliana Oven thought she was the protagonist of her own world.
However, the once high-spirited Yuliana had disappeared far away. Now, the present Yuliana, who had grasped her own theme through the twists of fate, shrugged her shoulders and replied,
"Oh, you knew? Well, yes. I'm so sorry to you..."
"Why lie to me?"
Evan spoke in a tone that was hard to decipher his emotions. At first glance, it even seemed kind.
And as soon as he finished speaking, he reached out and brushed her chin. It was a very gentle touch, but Yuliana shuddered momentarily because she couldn't fathom his intentions beyond the touch.
“Well, it’s not a lie ... How difficult it must have been for you on the battlefield.”
“I don’t want to hear those lies. I'm just curious as to why you're so carelessly kind. Have you ever thought about running away at night? ... Are you really planning to take those idiots of yours and say goodbye to me forever?”
“W-Who am I running away with?!”
Yuliana burst out in anger.
She had to bury the memories of those vague humans who were obsessed with her. Soon, a true heroine would appear in this novel, and she would probably cause chaos.
I don't know what kind of situation I'll face as the villain next to Evan Hilchen, but I can't believe that i will run away at night.
Even if I run away alone at night, it won't be cool!
"Well, can't you just accept it? I can be kind too. At the very least, on the day my husband returns!"
"That's deeply moving."
Evan chuckled and briefly traced under Yuliana's chin before letting go.
Then he said, "As you know, I'm one of Yuliana Oven's wretches too."
He said it almost self-deprecatingly. And while Yuliana was frozen in place, he entered the reception room ahead of her.
*****
"…I messed up."
Around the time when the night had fallen, Yuliana, now, gazed at the empty window frame where not a single sparrow perched, muttering to herself.
Soon after, she wrapped her trembling shoulders and closed the window. Anxiously pacing back and forth in the room, she bit her lip.
Then, as if she couldn't take it anymore, she threw herself under the blanket as if diving, flailing her arms and legs, letting out a tired scream into the pillow.
"Ugh!"
Her scream, restrained to a certain extent, not wanting to hear the sound of the Duchess going mad in the middle of the night, was still far from soothing her. Yuliana buried her face in the pillow.
"I knew Evan liked me from the start, but who could have guessed he'd like me so obsessively, without any restraint..."
She had initially tried to show some welcome to her husband's return and establish their relationship in the right direction. But upon reflection, Evan had been, from the beginning, someone who had his eyes set on Yuliana Oven, someone who had dedicated himself to her.
"If I suggest divorce, he'll never agree, will he...?"
Yuliana mumbled gloomily.
In the novel, it had been said that he had fallen in love at first sight, right? She vaguely remembered frequenting the Hillen Duke's residence during her childhood, and it seemed like she had met the male protagonist Evan Hillen back then.
"No, what did I do to make him fall head over heels for me at first sight?"
Yuliana sat up and stared intently at the mirror in front of her.
"...It's quite pretty."
Even though he was the illegitimate son, the hidden child who had suffered abuse and barely even existed, it was Yuliana Oven, of all people, whom he fell for at first sight.
Moreover, even if it wasn't Evan Hillen, anyone with eyes could see that Yuliana Oven's appearance was truly beautiful. Her dark red hair cascaded like waves of a river down to her waist, and her petite face with delicate features exuded balanced beauty. In addition, her mysterious bronze-colored irises sparkled with superior charm.
What was important, however, was that despite having such an angelic face, she was essentially a demon inside. Yuliana Oven had been self-centered since childhood, and there was no reason for Evan to be kind to her. So why did he like Yuliana Oven so much?
Yuliana examined herself with detachment, turning her head this way and that. No matter how she looked at it, there was nothing else that could attract him except her appearance. Then, was a face all it took to make someone fall for another person at first sight?
"…Ugh, I don't know."
She continued to regret the days when she had committed all kinds of sins and had followed the death flags one after another. Yuliana blinked her eyes heavily as she immersed herself in her thoughts.
"What's important is that the male protagonist is madly in love with me. I just wanted to test the waters today to see how much he likes me... But he's showing his affection more blatantly than I thought. Oh, right. He went to the battlefield to earn my approval and returned after a year... I can't figure out why. Is it really because of my face?"
Yuliana suddenly jumped up from her seat. She pinched her chin and furrowed her brows. Stretching her legs out in all directions like a frog, she looked like a martial artist. Of course, due to her vague knowledge of the future, she was more confused than ever, just like a bewildered martial artist.
"A person who likes someone but wants to murder them? There's no way I'd want to kill him!"
Yuliana said, burying her face in agony.
She couldn't follow the novel's plot. She didn't want to get involved in the attempted murder incident of Duke Hillen. At the same time, she had no intention of being remembered as the male protagonist's painful past.
"It's fortunate that I realized I was reborn before the events in the novel started..."
Even if it meant staying up all night, Yuliana pledged to come up with a plan. However, as she began to think and deliberate earnestly, she soon fell asleep.
By that time, her eyelids were heavy. So, wanting to rest for just a moment, she lay down on the bed and unknowingly drifted off to sleep.