how to divorce the male lead- chapter 22
Evan watched in silence as Yuliana, who had been comfortably sprawled with her nose buried in a book, rose from her seat when the firmly closed door opened.
It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was still scorching. It wasn’t the time for her husband to return from the palace knights.
Nevertheless, the person who appeared among the bookshelves was Evan Hillchen. Yuliana slammed the book shut.
It was an exaggerated gesture, but even so, Evan didn’t flinch as he approached. Leaning against the wall of thick bookshelves, he spoke.
“I heard you were in the library.”
“Is it surprising that I’m here?”
Yuliana replied curtly, but at the same time, her glance, subtly assessing the situation, was as obvious as a puppy sniffing around and checking its owner’s mood.
Evan, standing where her round belly was clearly visible, took a step closer.
Sensing her husband’s approach, Yuliana instinctively folded her legs inward, tucking them neatly under her skirt, as if trying to reduce the volume of her body.
‘Cute.’
Suppressing the recurring thought, he smiled gently.
“Am I disturbing your studies?”
“Of course. Why are you here now? Do the palace knights give vacations so often?”
“It hasn’t been long since I returned from the expedition. The effect of bending the barbarian chieftain’s head still lingers. Our young queen, you know how assertive she is, puts great effort into it.”
“Hmm. So, where are we going to have fun?”
“That’s why I’m here. To have fun with you.”
Evan spoke sweetly, like candy rolling in his mouth, as he settled into Yuliana’s jurisdiction.
It was a distance too far to hold a conversation, but too close to exchange glances.
Evan, like Yuliana, settled into his seat with his back against the cushion, secretly stealing glances at his wife while pretending not to notice her gaze.
His black hair swayed in the gentle breeze that flowed through the partially open window. Sitting amidst the dignified bookshelves, where the wood grain was clearly visible, Evan was truly beautiful, like a painting.
Yuliana forcibly averted her gaze, which she had been stealing glances with stealth.
She had deliberately slammed the book shut, but her mind was spinning with thoughts on how to escape. Suppressing her trembling breath, Yuliana retorted sharply, “Then, I’ll go back to my room. I actually came for some books. I have some things to look into.”
“Then you should get permission from the owner of the library.”
“Who is that?”
‘Isn’t it me?’ Evan gazed gently at Yuliana, who tilted her head in confusion.
“Of course, it’s me. All the books in the Duke’s library were collected by the Hillchen ancestors.”
Yuliana laughed incredulously, then placed the book between the cushions and said, “So, does the library owner allow books to be taken out? Mr. Library Owner?”
“In principle, of course. Everything I have is jointly owned with you. But there’s a little catch.”
“What is it?”
“I hope you’ll withdraw your talk of divorce or whatever it is.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
Yuliana firmly extended her hand, clutching her skirt and mockingly bowed before saying, “Then, I shall take my leave. Mr. Library Owner.”
But just as Yuliana turned to leave, a voice stopped her in her tracks.
“I heard you’ve been looking into the fencing competition all day.”
Yuliana froze, her shoulders stiff. She glanced sidelong at Evan.
‘How did he know?’
Sensing her bewilderment, Evan smiled with his eyes closed and whispered, “You’ve never been good at being honest. You were always allergic to pretense or hiding anything.”
“What, what do you mean by spying on me?!”
“Think about this morning.”
‘This morning?’
Yuliana and Evan, who had breakfast together regularly, sat at the same table today as well. Yuliana couldn’t think of anything else except that, so she racked her brains.
‘What did I do?’
No matter how hard she tried to remember, no one could have noticed her secretly scheming.
Proudly boasting about her quick wit, Yuliana boldly puffed out her chest. Then, she mumbled and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but today you and I just had breakfast, right? What did I say to make you say this? What does the fencing competition have to do with me? Oh. Surely you’re not mistaken? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I have absolutely no interest in the fencing competition—”
“Then why did you ask everyone visible such questions? Especially why did you give instructions to your youngest maid to gather information from people? She looked drained and pale. It’s rather pitiful.”
“Well...”
Yuliana blinked.
But after swallowing her words, she didn’t seem all that scary. She tried her best to catch the thoughts swirling in her head and answered, “We don’t need to know what the servants are doing and gathering information for, do we? The fencing competition is a very popular event even among commoners, so I asked around out of curiosity.”
“I doubt commoners would be curious about things like how people died in past fencing competitions and who the surviving knights were, statistically speaking. Commoners just cheer when nobles kill each other. It’s a foolish competition for fools.”
“I, I am well aware of what kind of competition it is.”
“Are you interested in the history related to the fencing competition, by any chance?”
Evan picked up the book Yuliana had been looking at among the cushions.
He turned his head, eyebrows furrowed.
“This is a textbook for first-year students at the academy.”
“!”
“A first-year student? Do you think I couldn’t handle that?!” Yuliana retorted, feeling unfairly judged, her head held high.
“I did study before, but I can’t remember. No, I don’t know why I can’t remember. I was a very diligent student. Maybe the teaching skills of our home tutor were inadequate,” Yuliana rambled, feeling perplexed.
Ignoring Yuliana’s flustered response, Evan murmured to himself, momentarily reflecting on his memories of her. He was faintly smiling.
“Yeah. You didn’t attend the academy, did you?”
Finally relieved that the subject had changed, Yuliana crossed her arms.
“I... I’m not fond of crowded places. Crowded places tend to have a lot of germs, and my health wasn’t good enough to withstand that.”
“I see. Every time the Hillchens visited the mansion, you were always bundled up. You wore long shawls regardless of the weather.”
Evan’s face, the male protagonist reminiscing about the past, was adorned with a faint smile.
A warning alarm blinked in Yuliana’s mind at the sight of his nostalgic and affectionate smile.
It was time for the unstoppable bulldozer-like flirting to come pouring in! Unfortunately, Yuliana was still immune to his flirting.
“Alright, alright. Honestly, I don’t even remember such things. Stop beating around the bush and either lend me a book or decide to play the role of the nosy lord eavesdropping on servants’ gossip.”
“Hmm. Can’t I choose something else?”
“What?”
Yuliana grumbled inwardly.
‘He’s just like that bulldozer-like male lead....’
Ignoring Yuliana’s crossed arms, Evan proposed.
“You sit here and read a book while I satisfy your curiosity. I guarantee I’m the most knowledgeable person about the Blue Rose Fencing Competition. After all, it was devised by the ancestors of the Hillchen family, the bloody romanticists.”
Curiosity kills the cat, they say. Eventually, Yuliana reluctantly took her seat.
This morning, immediately after getting out of bed, Yuliana heard the news that Evan Hillchen had submitted an application for the fencing competition scheduled to take place in two weeks.
Several knights had sent blue roses to Yuliana, but honestly, she had simply pinned them to the back room without even bothering to look at them. She had no interest in the Blue Rose Fencing Competition, which was said to have claimed more than a dozen lives. Like the numerous letters of admiration sent to her, the blue roses were just common things.
But why did it bother her so much that he, who insisted on accompanying her to the fencing competition, caught her attention relentlessly?
“I don’t know. But I guess I’ll have to wait and see,” Yuliana said as she opened a book.
According to her memory, the fencing competition had been held for generations since the empire’s inception. Even in turbulent times and in the era of stability following conquests.
Yuliana, who was struggling to read the unfamiliar text, looked up.
“Are you really just going to watch from the sidelines?”
“I don’t understand why you’re looking into the origins of the fencing competition. Honestly, I want to go out and find the likelihood of dying.”
Yuliana flipped through the pages hastily, feeling a silence choking her throat, then reluctantly spoke.
“...Yeah. I’m just worried that if you die, you’ll become a ghost and haunt me.”
“I hadn’t thought of that as an option. It’s a good idea.”
“Don’t joke! I don’t believe or like the idea of risking your life because of me. It’s too much to think that you’re going to such a dangerous competition just to control my followers. I asked people today, and I heard that people are dying even in the tournament qualifiers. What if an imperial hero dies there?”
Yuliana snapped harshly.
“Of course, you might not die as the novels predict. But remembering my past life wasn’t in the novels either. If you become disabled or die—”
Yuliana emphasized, not avoiding Evan’s gaze, which was quietly fixed on her.
“I don’t want to cause any misunderstandings. In fact, I might get hurt. And that would be too much for me to bear.”