how to divorce the male lead - chapter 23
Evan sensed a strange foreboding building up in Yuliana’s trembling bronze eyes.
The recent days, fulfilling even the once-difficult moments, seemed like a dream to him, swallowing even her fears. Evan couldn’t help but feel afraid of himself for swallowing even her fear.
“You misunderstand me,” Evan said.
“Me? I couldn’t possibly misunderstand the intentions of someone as obvious as you,” Yuliana replied briskly.
Raising his hand above the book cover and meeting Yuliana’s gaze, Evan spoke.
“I’ve always wanted to legally kill those who hover around you,” Evan said.
Yuliana didn’t avert her gaze. She simply shook slightly as her hand trembled, the tremor spreading from her fingertips to her entire body. Yuliana felt a chill.
Evan’s eyes, unfamiliar to her, were blue and cold. He was already an imperial hero, having slaughtered barbarians under the vast black sky. How would the barbarians who were trampled under the giant’s feet or had their throats cut by Evan’s sword feel? Yuliana recognized the sporadic emotions.
He doesn’t forgive those who betray him. Despite knowing this story already, Yuliana was sometimes surprised and pained by the fact.
Her husband had eagerly anticipated the opportunity to kill her followers. But he couldn’t carry out the killings as easily as he wanted without her permission—the weak and foolish husband.
That was you.
“Why are you trembling?” Evan reached out, brushing aside the stray locks sticking to Yuliana’s stiff cheek.
Yuliana’s slightly sweaty face looked pale and smooth. Looking at his beautiful wife, even slightly moist, Evan murmured.
“It pleases me to imagine how you’ll kill the fools who jump to you like moths. But your way of worrying about me unexpectedly is also nice.”
Yuliana moved her stiff fingers slightly and traced her finger along the bold title on the cover.
“[History and Adventures of the Empire]”
She understood why she couldn’t remember the lines written from the first page. It was because the book was a lie.
Evan, tilting his head down as Yuliana’s moving finger indicated the book title, smiled brightly.
“You know? The content of this book is all lies. It’s a fairy tale meant to teach children about the empire’s pride.”
“It seems like a boring fairy tale indeed.”
Watching her finger move along the book title, Evan spoke kindly, like a gentle teacher.
“It was the barbarians of today who once occupied the empire’s land. No, they weren’t even disorderly barbarians; they were people who lived with their own systems and cultures. But our ancestors, who were looters, took their land away.”
“They coveted the land, right?”
“Exactly. They coveted the land.”
“We won.”
“Yes, we did. The ones who led the charge in that shameful war were my ancestors.”
Yuliana suddenly felt the book she had placed on her knees become unexpectedly heavy.
She pushed the book she had placed on her knees next to Evan. Looking up from observing her every move, Evan spoke before Yuliana could.
“After finally driving out the original owners, our ancestors found it difficult to control the violence within as we entered the stabilization period. We lived by borrowing and using things from here and there, but we were nothing more than looters. Before distinguishing between nobles and commoners, we were essentially cutthroats who had been doing the same since before the empire’s history began.”
“So, this tournament is like romanticized thievery?”
“Exactly.”
“You mean you’ll go thieving for my sake. How romantic.”
Yuliana sneered.
Yet, despite that, his verdant eyes glistened affectionately towards Yuliana. Meeting his gaze, Yuliana felt embarrassed.
If she were to sculpt him at this moment, it would be a masterpiece. Suddenly, her smile faded at the thought.
Evan, shining with unfortunate beauty, still whispered with a smile.
“If you understand, allow me. I’ll take care of the things that bother you, bring peace. You need someone skilled in thievery, even for romanticized banditry, to avoid any mishaps.”
Yuliana lowered her head.
Then, with a surge of rebellion, she spoke. However, the words that slipped out lacked half of her inner thoughts and were devoid of strength.
“...Stop talking nonsense.”
Looking at his wife who turned her head away without meeting his gaze, Evan spoke calmly.
“There will be many who will offer you roses at this tournament too. What’s certain is that you no longer want those attentions.”
Evan noticed the fleeting practical worries on Yuliana’s face.
Without missing a beat, he leaned in and kissed the back of her hand, like a victorious knight at a tournament.
“Let me help you. It’s a request.”
His plea felt bitter. Despite the fact that his love, which had vowed to endure humiliation and death, might disappear like a piece of paper, she couldn’t grasp it.
“I don’t know. Evan, I...”
Yuliana rose from her seat without affirming or denying, took a few steps back, leaving her kneeling husband behind, looking as beautiful as a genius’s masterpiece.
• * *
On the day of the tournament of the fencing competition.
The weather was bleak, and mud clung to everything, making the scenery look ancient and weary.
Even though it was just a preliminary round, the nobles seated in the highest seats were gathered in large numbers, exchanging whispers and casting judgmental glances, occasionally tutting at the commoners who would erupt into cheers.
Among the murmuring crowd, a gentleman wearing a wide-brimmed hat, supposedly brought from a distant land, leaned over to his wife and spoke, observing Yuliana with a smirk.
“Look there. The Duchess of Hilchen.”
His wife, yawning as she waited for the preliminary round to begin, glanced at Yuliana with a raised eyebrow and remarked, “She’s certainly beautiful. It’s no wonder so many men are vying for her attention.”
Unaware of his wife’s mockery, the gentleman spoke indignantly, “There will surely be knights overflowing with roses for the Duchess today.”
Casting a glance at her oblivious husband, the lady replied, “Risking their lives just to give her roses that she’ll casually discard. It’s foolishness.”
The gentleman, removing his hat due to the inclement weather, grumbled, “And they say even the Duke participated in such foolishness.”
Smirking behind her shawl-covered shoulder, the lady chuckled, “Oh dear. Is the Duke finally joining the fray? A Duke participating in battle to protect his wife. The ancestors of the Hilchen dukes must be wailing in dismay.”
“Though it may be an old saying, isn’t the current Duke’s lineage also nothing more than that of a bastard?”
The gentleman chuckled sardonically. As the couple bantered, Yuliana approached, dressed resplendently as if to flaunt her radiant beauty even under the gloomy sky, nodding her head solemnly.
‘They... they can hear everything.’
Yet, without any inclination to engage, Yuliana said nothing and made her way towards the highest seat, which had been difficult to obtain a few months ago but now effortlessly fell into her hands after some money changed hands.
Guided by the usher, Yuliana took her seat with a somber expression. Despite the drizzle mixing with snowflakes, the arena was ablaze with the fervor of the commoners seated at the lowest tiers, piercing the sky.
On the contrary, the genteel nobles, pretending to be polite, exchanged nods and whispers, masking their tranquility.
“It’s all just a facade,” Yuliana observed the nobles coolly, unfolding her fan to hide her ambivalent expression.
She had long been weary of the nobles who engaged in strategic marriages while secretly yearning for freedom and indulging in extramarital affairs.
“Sigh. Yes. It was truly my world until I recalled my past life,” Yuliana sighed, becoming aware of her past and present.
If only she could disdainfully regard those who secretly envied her freedom and whispered behind her back.
But Yuliana Oban was different now. She was aware of her modesty, her discretion, and the fact that she might die as a mere extra before she could seize control. Hence, her naturally shrinking heart was inevitable.
Yuliana gazed up at the sky with melancholic eyes. The clouds of a murky color seemed thick enough to pour down heavy snow any moment.
It was a very ominous color.