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Chapter 34 – Divorce… I’ll Do It
‘OMG… You, why are you there? What should I do in this situation, where there’s no escape?’
Firstly, I gently lowered my fists and leg, which I blew towards the air, and put my hands together in a more or less polite manner.
‘What can I do next amid such a dilemma?’
Just to go straight. However, because of the trouble of tangling things like a skein of thread, I was not able to move forward willingly. He already had a lot of suspicions about me, and I was imprisoned because I was suspected of killing. For the first outing, I even evaded the surveillance and deceived, so I was already doomed. As if reading my mind, Gerard held the teddy bear wearing a dress in both his hands and moved the bear’s paw beckoning cutely at me to hurry and move quickly.
My lively steps suddenly became heavy like cotton soaked in water.
‘What’s this? This pressure!’
I moved slowly, one step at a time.
Then,
“What did you enjoy so much?”
Hiiik-!
At the moment, I had no choice but to stumble. Because he whispered in front of my nose.
‘That’s right, this man was like a magician.’
Could it be that the devil in this book in which I entered was Gerard, not Theodor?
I looked at him with a frightened expression as he stared at me coldly with only one corner of his mouth raised.
Clip, clop- Clip, clop~
Silence.
Clip, clop~
Utter silence.
Rattle~
Endless silence.
It was difficult to even breathe properly. I was careful not to even pass recklessly the saliva in my mouth. Besides, I could hear the beating of my terrified heart.
I was like a prisoner caged in a narrow capsule in the middle of the pitch dark cosmos. Compared to the capital, it was a really short distance from the castle to the guild, but now it felt as far as the distance between the sun and the earth.
I was afraid, no, terrified. Why didn’t Gerard let anyone know that I had left the prayer room? Even in the prayer room, he just handed the teddy bear to me and waited outside. When I opened the door, he smiled brightly and stretched out his arms to escort me.
I was anxious.
With what kind of heart did he just wait for me instead of looking for me? Even as we left the monastery, he was consistent with his smile. Why didn’t he ask? As to how I know about the secret passage, and where I went.
There was a wagon and escorts in front of the monastery. Ariel, unaware of all this, faithfully rode on a horse and escorted the carriage.
How did she guard me? Why isn’t Gerard punishing her? Why didn’t he release the knights to catch me? The Dyson Guild’s Bishop, Baden, and the priests greeted us politely and asked us to come often. And,
“I will present the request you mentioned to the High Priest. And our parish will do its best to take care of it.”
Baden bowed his head deeply at us.
“Please do that.”
Gerard maintained the dignity of an Archduke; greeted gracefully and smiled sincerely at Dyson’s Bishop and priests until the wagon departed.
My guild outing and impulsive visit to Dyson Parish ended peacefully and gracefully. Gerard as a loving husband, and I as his faithful wife.
He remained immobile until they disappeared from sight, and then just looked out the window with only the corners of his mouth lowered.
‘Is this the calm and peace before the typhoon? Or am I in the eye of the typhoon right now? No way– you’re not going to take me to some strange place passing by the Shlezen Castle, are you? Or are you going to do a dimension shift in the wagon? No. His magic doesn’t work on me. Is that lucky?’
I had no choice but to glance at him while pretending to look out the window. I felt like I was at school cowering in the corner of the counseling room when my homeroom teacher caught me returning from sneaking out to eat tteokbokki after skipping the night of self-study. At times like this, you have to quickly tell the truth, prevent recurrence, and make a promise for the future.
Oh, how do I say that I have met the enslaved Count Arthur? Besides, if I decide to take over his inventions, wouldn’t Gerard want to cut off my head first? Count Arthur was quite famous. He was a man who jumped in without any hesitation to invent; he was full of talent, and he was even a bit mad, so he devastated the area around his home with numerous experiments… The idea of bringing his belongings into the residence could seem quite threatening and disrespectful to him as an Imperial citizen. Then again, would he be suspicious of me?
But… would you believe me if I said I was being responsible for Theodor’s health with these? No way, it couldn’t be. Aside from distilled and carbonated water, I haven’t shown anything too extraordinary, have I? What if those things drove me into a corner more and more? What if it’s revealed that I’m a witch? Oh, I didn’t even want to think about it.
Gerard. Somehow, one thing led to another, and I happened to have the power to escape from life and death. The best of the best– Maybe I should have captured his heart first? Maybe that would make it easier to break Theodor’s curse?
Naturally, I kept my legs narrowly gathered and my hands neatly clasped as I waited for his disposition. Even though his gaze was blankly directed outside as if indifferent, enraged emotions spewed from his body like bright red dust. Every time the space between the two of us shook, the shards of that burning anger splattered at me, making my hair stand up and goosebumps all over my body. As he crossed his legs and looked out the window, he threw out the first words.
“For how long are you going to peek at me like that?”
“Ah…”
Both cheeks were hot as if on fire, so I quickly turned my head to the other side. Flames burned in his eyes.
‘I can’t help it.’ It will be difficult to turn a blind eye to it anymore. Let’s break through. That would be a much better choice for the future.
“Thank you for not asking me where I’ve been or who I’ve met.”
“Because it’s pathetic.”
“…?”
‘Pathetic?’
‘No, why pathetic? Am I the pathetic one?’
Gerard bit his lip and stared at me, then he returned his focus out the window, groaning low.
“If you get caught on the spot, neither you nor he will be safe.”
“…!”
‘No way, did he know that I had met Count Arthur? How?’ For a moment, my whole body trembled.
“Have you used an eavesdropping spell or tracking device magic on me?”
“Ha… my magic doesn’t work on you, does it?”
Gerard glowered at me terrifyingly.
“That’s right.”
“You don’t want to be caught.”
“Yeah– What…”
“Isn’t it nice to go out dressed as a man?”
“It was surprising.”
‘What the hell, I should tell the truth about my plans.’
“I’m going to bring the things I got from him soon.”
In an instant, his face darkened.
“What?”
“These things– it’s exactly what I need.”
“How can you be so open about it? Shamefully I… Hu…”
He couldn’t keep talking, perhaps because he was too excited, and he started to catch his breath roughly.
“These things, they will be useful in the future.”
“Ha… Will it be useful for you too?”
“It’s useful for me, for Theodor, and won’t it be useful for you, too?”
Gerard’s voice was growing higher, and he shut his mouth as if shocked by my reply. His breathing became heavy. Eventually, he bit his lower lip, put one hand on the window frame of the carriage, touched his forehead, and looked out the window again.
“Didn’t you say until the curse is lifted? Your marriage life with me?”
‘Why are you suddenly talking about that?’
“Did I?”
“Then, you shouldn’t do this.”
‘What?’
“…”
“Why would the person I will divorce snoop into my mother’s confinement issue?”
“That…”
I was trying to find an answer, but he interrupted me and continued.
“Why would a person who is leaving change the management of Shlezen Castle at her own will?”
“Because….”
I was trying to come up with something reasonable, but he paused for a moment and rushed in again.
“Why did you steal Theodor’s heart?”
He wasn’t waiting for my answer. Within Gerard’s low but resolute push, I tried to understand the implications of his questions.
“You are not going to take responsibility for the people of the Castle, me, or Theodor until the end…”
For a moment I was perplexed.
“Why are you doing something you can’t take responsibility for?”
“…!”
He straightened his spine and looked at me intently. I tingled as if I had been hit in the back of the head.
“Divorce… I’ll do it. If your goal was to escape your family through marriage, then you have achieved it, so leave.”
At that moment, the wagon rattled. Was it because I was shocked by his words? Out of nowhere, I lost my balance and fell into his arms as he sat on the other side. His shoulder and mine collided.
“Ah!”
Rattle! Again, the wagon shook. Gerard wrapped his arms around my back as I was about to bounce back. His bewildered breath tickled the tip of my nose. Suddenly, a shiver ran through my body. And then… the sound of his erratic heart pounded in my ears. In addition, it felt like fire was rising from the palm of his hand that rested on my back. Confused, I looked at him in surprise. His emerald eyes shook. In an instant, Gerard released his hand, and I fell to the floor of the wagon with a thud.
“Ouch!”
Stunned, I tried to regain my balance and return to my seat. I tried to get up somehow, but are we on a downhill road?
“Wai– wait, wait!”
My body slipped and collided with his knees.
It hurt.
Gerald quickly reached out and tried to lift my upper body up.
Rattle!
Suddenly, my head hit his chin.
“Ugh!”
“Ah…”
I slumped to the floor again. Tears welled up and flowed down.
‘What do you mean about divorce?’ That declaration hurt more than the hit. But Gerard was right so it hurt even more. Was I extremely selfish?
“Ha…”
Somehow I had to keep my balance. But I couldn’t. Then,
My body swung up as if I were flying. It was Gerard. How strong he was, and suddenly my body was sitting on his lap before I knew it. His face was in front of me, and his hot breath was already pouring into my nose and pharynx, becoming one. His emerald eyes burned me, so I struggled to figure out where to direct my own eyes.
‘Why is his body burning?’
Suddenly, rattle again!
‘Oh my, my, my!’ This time I took a step back, and Gerard, who was startled by me, also lost his balance. I fell back into my seat, this time with Gerard on my stomach. His forehead almost touched mine. His breath brushed past my cheeks. My heart was beating wildly. But blood dripped from his lips.
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‘I guess his lips were torn when I bumped into him earlier.’
Oh… My hand moved toward his face. But he turned his face away from my hand. I reached out again and turned his face around. I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and pressed it against his lips.
He looked into my eyes as if to pierce me. His emerald eyes flared up like copper, elemental symbol Cu, atomic number 29.
Then my heart started beating like crazy. Just as it had fluctuated caught in his gaze on our wedding day.
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