how to divorce the male lead - chapter 4
'what , Did i fall asleep?'
Yuliana woke up from a shallow sleep, feeling as if she had just been in a daze in the drawing-room. She had been lost in various thoughts and worries, avoiding even having dinner, after treating her husband coldly moments ago.
Is it really morning?
Or perhaps, did she get drawn into some fantastical events and return to the past? Yuliana looked around anxiously.
However, the drawing-room was exactly the same as she remembered from yesterday, and her husband was calmly sipping tea. Yuliana closed her eyes briefly in thought.
"...Aha, this must be a nightmare."
The confrontation with Evan in the drawing-room felt like a nightmare to the current Yuliana Oven.
If things continued like this, she would be misunderstood as one of those foolish lovers plotting a murder, and he would use self-defense as a valid reason to eliminate her as the villainess. Just thinking about such a future made it clear that this had to be a nightmare.
"Whether it is or not..."
"Yuliana."
"Yes, yes?"
Yuliana, still lost in her thoughts, was startled when Evan suddenly spoke. It felt so realistic that she hadn't expected him to initiate a conversation. This was like a truly remarkable nightmare.
"Is this to your liking?"
"What?"
Yuliana tilted her head and shuddered at the cowardice of the dream that made her recall the events from yesterday twice. There was no need to replay such mistakes, even in a dream!
"Oh my, it seems the servants made a mistake. I distinctly told them to get rid of this tea set because I thought you would dislike it... It's true!"
Unfortunately, the tea set the servants had prepared was a gift from one of Yuliana Oven's many lovers, and it was even engraved with both Yuliana's and her lover's initials. Her unique behavior had made her the subject of gossip not only within the mansion but also in high society. Of course, Yuliana herself paid no heed to such social chatter.
However, Yuliana, who now believed that she had fallen into her own trap, broke into a cold sweat even in her dream, meeting the chilling gaze of her husband. She sweated nervously.
"I-I'll get rid of it right away."
"No need for that."
Was it because it was a dream? Unlike the previous afternoon, her husband seemed to have a somewhat sad expression.
Yuliana hurriedly tried to explain herself.
The text you provided appears to be in Korean. Here's a translation into English:
"I, I am a married woman. It's been two years since we got married."
"If you continue to taunt me with this, I can't bear it anymore."
"W-what are you talking about?"
Yuliana glanced at him nervously. Evan, speaking with an expressionless face, seemed to have nothing more to say.
And then, he gently spoke as he set down his teacup.
"Yuliana."
"Yes?!"
Yuliana stood up straight like a soldier with her posture rigid. She stared intently at her husband with bright, deep blue eyes, just as she had in her dream. In her dream, too, Evan Hillen was wearing his uniform.
"But, it's getting harder to endure. You've come this far, enduring countless humiliations just so I won't feel ashamed of you, as if you could ever achieve anything with your humble background. All you're good at is killing people, so why not die while facing the savages for the Empire? Then you can naturally become a hero's widow, isn't that glorious?"
"Oh my. Did, did I say such things? I, I can't believe..."
She tried to deny it, but Yuliana remembered saying those words. The insults she had hurled at him had suddenly become clear to her.
"Ugh."
Yuliana anxiously covered her lips.
Evan, who hid his emotions so well that they were almost imperceptible, leaned back on the couch nonchalantly. With one hand, he lightly traced the surface of the teacup. It was a subtle and calm touch, like when Evan had brushed his fingertips across Yuliana's cheek, leaving a faint mark when his nails scraped her skin.
"But what should I do?"
"..."
Yuliana anxiously bit her lower lip. Even though she recalled memories from a past life, it was not easy to forget the past when she had lived it, even though she tried to suppress her temper and control herself to avoid confronting Evan.
Evan looked at Yuliana, who appeared to be struggling to maintain her composure, and for the first time, he smiled brightly.
"I couldn't possibly turn such a lovely wife like you into a widow."
Yuliana raised her chin as if threatened by the silent warning.
"I, I’ll throw it all away right away immediately."
"What are you talking about?"
Although she knew what he meant, Evan feigned ignorance, tilting his head as if he had no idea. Unknowingly, he used his nails to scratch the gift given to his wife by her lover. When Evan's smooth nail grazed the surface, it left a long scratch like a scar on her gift.
"You know what it is."
Yuliana made a conscious effort to suppress her voice that was about to break. Despite the memories of her past life coming back, it was difficult to forget her past actions. Yuliana, who was on the verge of losing control, tried not to confront Evan.
Looking closely at Yuliana as if dissecting her, Evan murmured.
"You're becoming more and more peculiar."
"What do you mean?"
Yuliana pretended not to understand and quickly drank the tea that felt like it would never go down.
Evan muttered as he examined her carefully.
“I can’t even guess what cruel thoughts you have this time.”
“It’s not like I’m just thinking about turning you inside out.”
Yuliana said grumblingly.
Evan smiled strangely and answered.
"but. It doesn't matter how cruel you become No matter what you do, Yuliana, I can endure it.”
“You said that again.”
Yuliana said lightly, as if she was joking. And she drank all the tea with difficulty in one gulp.
Evan answered, casually holding the teacup gifted to him by his wife's lover.
“Yuliana, you already know that I can do that.”
oh my god… … .
Yuliana was inwardly discouraged.
Because it was obvious that he was honestly crazy about her, even in her flashback scenes in her dreams. I love you no matter what insults I receive. In some ways, it was pure love, and in other ways, it was obsession.
Thanks to that, Yuliana had to wake up the next day without even feeling like she had slept at all completely drained from the previous night's events.
*****
"Is there anywhere that hurts you?"
Yuliana, with a pale face, struggled to eat her soup and then looked up.
It would have been fine for her to sleep a bit longer after returning yesterday, but her husband had been up since dawn, writing reports for the knights and training with them. He had incredible stamina.
Yuliana tried to respond in her usual tone as she touched her slightly flushed cheek and said, "I guess I just didn't get enough sleep."
Do we really need to bring dreams into this? This darn protagonist... Lost in her thoughts, she took another spoonful of soup, then stopped. She had no appetite.
Evan frowned as he observed Yuliana in that state.
"It seems like it doesn't suit your taste. I told you that I would take good care of you when I'm not around."
"Oh, it's just today. I usually eat well. After all, it was you who suffered on the battlefield. Why bother?"
"Even on the battlefield, I was always concerned about your health."
"Ugh!"
Yuliana hurriedly swallowed her water, her chest pounding with nervousness.
'No wonder...'
The butler, who seemed to be recording everything he ate or drank, had apparently sent a letter to her in the midst of all this chaos.
Yuliana Overn was a fire mage, but she was very fragile. Part of it was due to her upbringing as the illegitimate daughter of a minor noble, and she had even had a time when she was so frail that she couldn't even lift a teacup. She had improved somewhat as she grew older, but if she didn't take care of herself a little, she would fall ill immediately. Even in the midst of that chaos in the war, Evan had been concerned about Yuliana's health. Knowing that, she found her husband truly remarkable.
"You didn't need to worry. I was really eating well and living well."
"Yeah, I thought so. But you know, you also know that I'm always worried about you."
"You're kind."
"That's not necessary either."
Yuliana smiled awkwardly.
There was no need to keep asking him to be like this, as it was clear he was planning to ask for a divorce soon. And there were too many things she knew to act as coldly as she used to.
Evan, who was watching Yuliana with an amused smile as if he knew everything, suddenly burst into laughter. Yuliana was taken aback by his laughter, which seemed to say that he knew what she was plotting.
"Why, what's wrong?"
"Why have you been saying strange things since yesterday? Hehe!"
Yuliana laughed exaggeratedly, like an actress. Then, she confidently picked up her spoon, which she had put down due to her lack of appetite, and began to eat casually.
"It seems like the chef has put in some extra effort. It's really delicious!"
"I've been wondering why you're acting. I've thought about that."
"...What?"
Yuliana ate her soup awkwardly, out of sync with her normal rhythm, and then froze. It was because she had seen the letter in his hand.
Normally...
If this were Yuliana Overn before realizing her rebirth, she would have gone into a fit, asking how he dared to hold someone else's letter. But the current Yuliana could only stiffen her body like a pitiful little bird and say nothing.
She cursed silently in her mind as if she were screaming.
"Why is that in your hand! My letter that should be in my mailbox! I'm really going to faint from curiosity!"
"Those audacious people! I really don't know who they are. Trust me."
Yuliana protested slightly.