how to divorce the male lead - chapter 28

The day of the final match.

For once, the weather was clear. It was a day without a single dark, lingering cloud.

As the nobles, gathered in excitement, peered down at the arena, unable to spot the most important figure, they began to whisper.

"Things seem to be going a bit strangely."

"Yes, indeed. Perhaps His Majesty is feeling a bit mischievous. I never expected the Hillen Duke to be in such a dire situation like this."

"I thought His Majesty would at least consider the reputation of the Hillen Duke. Did he expect the duke to tuck his tail and run like this?"

"Even so, I don't think he wanted him to blatantly flee."

"Seems like he enjoys subtly humiliating others. You really can't discern His Majesty's true intentions. Haha."

"I'm not sure if His Majesty wants to give the empress a blue rose, but—"

"No way. Are you talking about 'her,' the empress mama?"

The nobles exchanged glances cautiously, their lips sealed.

The tense silence lasted only for a moment. Someone chuckled softly. Even in passing laughter, there was a hint of mockery.

The reigning emperor, who had been cautious of appearances, had married the least desirable woman with a swollen belly.

She was a distant relative of the noble lineage, but she had already leaned towards the commoner side, appearing noble only on the surface. Moreover, she even stumbled over her words.

In the imperial palace where the high-flying birds lived, she withered away like a dry orchid. Perhaps what such an empress needed wasn't a blue rose, gossiping luxuriously in the newspapers, but just a glass of water to quench her thirst.

Unfortunately, even the long-awaited attention was unfavorable to the current empress. People compared her ordinary appearance to the beautiful countenance of Yuliana Oven, whispering and pointing fingers.

For the empress, this was an unfair treatment. There was nobody as beautiful as Yuliana Oven, neither in appearance nor in elegance.

"However..."

And yet, the rumored empress, who hadn't yet taken her seat in the stadium stands, was loitering near the back entrance.

Adorned in elaborate decorations that didn't quite suit her petite figure, she fiddled with her hair ornaments and adjusted her sleeves meticulously, contemplating the opportunity to avoid entering the stands with Yuliana Oven. If she could find a quiet corner, she thought she might slip in unnoticed.

Deep down, she had already resigned herself to disappointment. While there were no nobles daring enough to openly disrespect the empress, she knew well enough that gossip would inevitably reach her ears.

"If she were a dignified empress, she would have put her foot down immediately. But..."

Elena, affectionately called 'Eren,' the empress, thought dejectedly.

"Here, no one calls me Eren. They just call me 'Your Majesty.' But that doesn't mean they respect me as their empress. It's all just empty titles. Then who am I? ... I don't know. Why did His Majesty suddenly decide to participate in this competition?"

"Empress Mama?"

"Ah!"

Startled by the sudden voice of Elena, who had been lurking near the back entrance of the stadium, turned around.

And then, unable to calm her racing heart, she clenched her chest. Standing before her was someone who surpassed the rumored beauty, exuding a charm that surpassed the rumors of her beauty.

It was Yuliana Oven.

"...Beautiful."

Unlike usual, Elena felt embarrassed by her efforts to adorn herself. Her head hung low in shame. Her face turned red naturally, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"...Ah. I didn't want to be compared to someone like her. I wanted to look prettier than her. How foolish of me. I can never win against her..."

"Y-Yuliana... M-Madam Duchess?"

Unfortunately, Elena still stuttered, struggling to overcome the inferiority complex overwhelming her.

Meanwhile, Yuliana, oblivious to Elena's state, glanced at the empress discreetly, lost in her own thoughts.

'This person is the so-called "Empress."'

The spoiler, lala0419, persistent as they were, subtly spoiled the story even in their lengthy comments.

They revealed that nobody had ever thought the empress, who might seem kind, would eventually turn out to be nothing more than a villainess. They even went as far as to label her as the future female lead's rival. And they did all this without a friendly warning about spoilers!

[The empress, who might seem kind at first, eventually turns out to be nothing more than a villainess. It's such a cliché to turn initially kind characters into villains. You can clearly see the author's lack of creativity. It's pathetic.]

Following that comment, there were criticisms of lala0419.

Ignoring the criticisms directed at them, lala0419 even mocked those who criticized them, then stirred up more trouble. They even declared, "Writers who use characters so flatly like this are unforgivable." Just as reader 1, Ishian, was about to give up reading due to exhaustion from their late-night job.

"I'm already struggling to think critically about real life, and now I have to fight with keyboard warriors over web novels. Ridiculous."

In retrospect, she should have fought back a hundred times more. Now, as the real-life Yuliana, she felt gloomy. With an anxious expression, she turned to the empress and said:

"Empress Mama."

"Why, why are you...?"

After the empress stammered out a response, Yuliana glanced at her for a moment before speaking again.

"Originally, the lance competition was meant to showcase the skill of knights. After conquering, our ancestors used to enjoy watching the best knights compete. But over the years, the competition has deteriorated. It's because I allowed it to happen."

"The... blue... rose..."

The peerless beauty, likened to a blue rose, gazed faintly with shimmering eyes before Elena.

She was breathtakingly beautiful. Elena felt so nervous that her eyelids trembled slightly.

She was only called the empress by name; she had never had a long conversation with nobles like this before.

Since coming from her rural estate, the empress's coronation ceremony had taken place hastily, and there had never been a social party held for her. Elena only now realized how lonely and dried up she had become.

"S-so, what is it?"

She couldn't trust the Duchess just because she seemed kind.

Elena's eyes trembled and became stained with caution. Yuliana knelt down beside the little empress and spoke tenderly.

"To be honest, I didn't want or need the blue rose. I was just interested in the intrigues and fights. Watching them struggle was merely a fleeting pleasure."

Recalling an unwanted past, Yuliana suddenly brightened her eyes and continued speaking.

"For my amusement, naive knights were hurt, and now my foolish husband is caught in the emperor's gamble. But my husband doesn't want to openly tarnish the family's reputation. More precisely, he doesn't want to tarnish the reputation of the position I hold. He's as stubborn as they come."

"S-so, the reason for this conversation is...?"

Yuliana didn't miss a beat and got straight to the point.

"If Empress Mama would help me just a little, I think we could resolve this issue."

"Y-yes...?"

Help? The empress widened her eyes in surprise.

"I, I can't do anything."

"No, you can. Only Empress Mama can. If you would help me with my plan..."

"B-but... I can't possibly interfere with the emperor's gamble..."

Despite stumbling over her words, the empress expressed her thoughts. Yuliana spoke to her in a tender voice.

"I heard that the Emperor participated in this competition publicly to present a rose to the Empress Mama."

"..."

That was a lie from the emperor. Just a brief lie to see how the duchess would react.

Even though it was an unknown fact, Yuliana spoke lies as if they were true without batting an eye.

Suddenly, Erin, feeling hurt by this fact once again, spoke gloomily.

"T-that's..."

"It's from Her Majesty's mouth. Even if it's a joke, I can't ignore it."

"What does the Duchess want from me?"

Erin still furrowed her brows gloomily. Yuliana barely restrained herself from gently stroking the young empress's forehead.

'I can't do that. She's still the empress mama. Even though she looks so cute and fragile, she'll soon become a villain... No, according to my plan, the empress mama won't become a villain now.'

"Why do you think only men can obtain the blue rose?"

"?"

"After the conquest war ended, the people of the Hill Chen Duchy revived only the men's jousting competitions. But, there are ways for women to obtain the blue rose with their own hands."

"W-what are you... saying?"

"I heard Empress Mama is very good at riding horses in her hometown."

"O-our estate is..."

Erin's face turned red.

It was too poor and barren a land. It was a land in the northern region so barren that one could only find enough food for a day.

Relatives of the lord's family had to work in farming, and they couldn't avoid tending to sheep and horses. Moreover, Elen, the daughter of the lord who was a stuttering noble, had to work several times more than others. This was because her father didn't pay attention to his stuttering daughter and let her be.

Recalling the past, Elen realized how small she seemed in front of the beautiful duchess.

It was strange. Wasn't dignity and nobility something that came from the position she was maintaining?

"Why, why are you saying such things? I just, I just... ride horses a little..."