My Contract Husband Demands a Divorce - Chapter 28

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I did not want to admit it, but I felt a flicker of fear at being trapped in a situation from which I could not escape.
Swallowing hard, my eyelashes trembled slightly, prompting him to pull his hand away.
“I did not mean to frighten you.”
“Who said I was frightened?”
I tried to act as though it were nothing, but my voice shook.
This time, I did not turn away and looked straight at him. Inhaling deeply to compose my features, I forced a smile.
“I did not mean to treat you coldly. I think I was just startled.”
A brief silence filled the room.
His steady gaze made me uncomfortable. I averted my eyes and shifted the subject.
“What happened to the horse?”
“I sent it to the equine veterinarian. And once the treatment is finished, it will likely be sent to find a new owner.”
“Is it really necessary to send it away?”
“Whether it intended to or not, it nearly caused you serious harm. I cannot keep it in this mansion.”
Since when had he cared so meticulously for my well-being?
His unusual behavior only made him more suspicious.
To be perfectly honest, it sounded like an excuse to destroy the evidence.
If I were my usual self, I would have probed further, seeking clues within his words.
But right now, I was simply exhausted and terrified. So I held my tongue, merely waiting for Scheit to leave.
Yet, even after a long while, he showed no intention of departing.
Instead, he made himself at home as if it were his own bedchamber, eventually starting to stroll idly around. His footsteps halted in front of the bookshelf.
“You read a great deal of difficult literature.”
“I can lend them to you if you like. They are all excellent books to read while alone in one’s room.”
“Does that mean I should take the books and get lost to my quarters?”
Scheit asked, a hint of amusement tracing his voice.
He was infuriatingly quick-witted.
Since he understood my meaning, it would have been wonderful if he actually left me in peace.
I forced a smile that carried my true thoughts, but Scheit pretended not to notice. He pulled a volume from the shelf and returned to my side.
In the awkward silence, only the sound of turning pages echoed.
Unable to endure it any longer, I spoke up.
“Are you not busy?”
“Not at all.”
“I wish to be alone.”
“Being alone while unwell only brings sorrow.”
“Sindy will stay with me.”
“Is a husband not preferable to a maid?”
“At the moment, my husband feels more like a stranger than a companion. It is quite uncomfortable.”
Scheit let out a soft laugh without taking his eyes off the book.
I wondered if the book was entertaining enough to make him chuckle, but it was hardly the sort of text to provoke laughter.
When I knit my brows and glared at him, he closed the book and looked at me.
“Now you seem a bit more like your usual self.”
He spoke as though he knew me intimately. Displeased, I frowned. Turning my head, I looked out the window. My reflection rippled in the glass.
Unlike my usual state, my hair was completely disheveled.
Bothered by the sight, I habitually reached up to smooth it, only to wince as a sharp pain shot through my wrist.
Seeing this, Scheit rose from his seat and brought over a comb.
“…Thank you.”
“Do not mention it.”
“Why are you suddenly acting so excessively accommodating?”
Was it out of guilt?
I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized him, but he merely gave a frustratingly nonchalant shrug.
“Is it strange for a man to assist his injured wife?”
“…….”
Left speechless, I clumsily began to comb my hair with my left hand before reaching for the bell to summon Sindy.
But Scheit moved the bell out of reach and took the comb I had set down.
Then, with movements that were somewhat awkward yet exceedingly gentle, he began to brush through my hair.
My body froze at the unexpected turn of events.
He must have sensed my tension, but he continued combing without paying it any mind.
After finishing with my hair, he reclaimed his spot beside the bed and resumed reading.
Remaining by my side for a considerable amount of time, he truly behaved as though he were nursing me.
Whenever I felt a surge of thirst, he discerned it immediately and poured me water, and during meals, he cut the meat and portioned the food for me.
He did not utter a single word to provoke me.
It was only when late evening arrived that he finally returned to his own room.
Only then did Sindy slip inside.
“It feels like the Baron is doing my job for me. How can he be so sweet? He must truly treasure you, My Lady.”
“…What happened to the matter I asked you to investigate?”
“Ah! That. I heard the Baron ordered a change in the horse feed. He even specified exactly where to purchase it from. Apparently, it is a much more expensive variety, so perhaps he wanted to take extra care of them since you love riding so much?”
So it really was Scheit’s doing.
“I was simply curious, since the horses suddenly fell ill.”
Scheit had deliberately made the horses sick. All except for one.
But Scheit was also the one who rescued me.
If his intention had been to harm me, he would not have saved me like that…….
Could it be that he had just happened to pass by and rescued me by chance? There were far too many suspicious details for that to be the case.
“…Sindy.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“I heard the horse I rode today will soon be sent to the auction house. Do not let the others know, and quietly purchase it back. I do not care how much it costs.”
“Where should I have it kept then?”
“At the nearby villa.”
“Understood! I will see to it.”
Sindy replied, and after arranging my bedding, she departed from the room.
Lying alone and closing my eyes, Scheit’s face surfaced in my mind.
From the dubious circumstances to the very demeanor he had displayed.
Scheit Huniswald.
He resembled a stark silhouette standing atop a hill at twilight, back to the setting sun.
A shadow whose nature as friend or foe remained entirely indistinguishable.
* * *
Following that day, Scheit visited my room every single day for several days.
Whether he truly intended to nurse me or simply wished to keep me under surveillance, I could not tell. But since he came under the pretext of care, I made sure to utilize him fully.
“Scheit, I am feeling a bit peckish.”
“I will have them bring some cream puffs.”
“Scheit, please fetch a book from that shelf over there.”
“Here.”
“Scheit, bring me the letters.”
Scheit paused just as he was about to move toward the desk.
He stood still for a brief moment before stepping forward to bring the correspondence.
“Why not just ask me to open the envelopes for you as well?”
“That is an excellent idea. Would you unseal them for me?”
“Are you not ordering me about a bit too much?”
“Am I being tedious? If it is too difficult, you may go back to your room and rest. Truthfully, I feel much more at ease when the servants attend to me.”
“You certainly have a graceful way of telling me to get lost to my quarters if I am displeased.”
“It is a virtue expected of noblewomen.”
Though he shook his head as if dumbfounded, Scheit unsealed every single envelope and brought them to me.
I perused the letters while lightly massaging my aching wrist.
A few days had passed, so the swelling had subsided somewhat, but a throbbing ache still flared whenever I moved it.
“Hmm……. Would you write a reply on my behalf?”
A soft smile played on Scheit’s lips. His eyes, however, were not particularly warm. Just as I was about to tell him to return to his room if he disliked the idea, he sat at the desk and picked up a pen.
“What should I write?”
“To the esteemed Princess Isoldra.”
Having transcribed up to ‘To the esteemed,’ Scheit stopped his hand.
Before I could even inquire about his hesitation, a knock rattled the door.
“My Lady, a visitor has arrived.”
“A visitor?”
“Yes. The Family Head of Rutshield has arrived for a visit.”
Arpeggio was here?
While I tilted my head in surprise, Scheit stepped away from the desk and headed toward the door.
“I shall grant you privacy so you may converse comfortably, wife.”
And before I could offer a response, he slipped out of the room.
Just now, it felt a bit as though he were fleeing.
Was it merely my imagination?
At any rate, I could not keep Arpeggio waiting, so I dismissed Scheit from my thoughts and spoke to the butler.
“Please bring him to my chamber.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
Before long, Arpeggio stepped into the room.
“Lintis!”
The hands gripping my shoulders and the eyes scanning me were filled with immense worry.
“I was down in the Southern Region, so I could not come immediately. Let me see. Where are you hurt? Are you alright now?”
“I merely sprained my wrist and ankle. I am almost entirely healed now.”
He let out a heavy sigh of relief, pulled over a chair, and sat beside the bed.
“Thank goodness. I thought you might also……. Ah, no. Forget I said that.”
Knowing exactly what he had been about to say, I gave a bitter smile and nodded.
“Is that why you rushed over here in a single breath? Because you were worried about me?”
“Of course! …Actually, there is another reason as well.”
Arpeggio trailed off, his expression uncharacteristically grave.
After a brief silence, he let out a sigh, his countenance turning entirely serious.
“Why did you not tell me?”
I had kept so many things from Arpeggio that I could not fathom which matter he was interrogating me about.
As I tilted my head in confusion, he released another deep sigh.
“About your intention to seek a divorce.”
“…What?”
Before I could even mask my expression, Arpeggio thrust a document toward me.
It was a notice declaring that our divorce trial would commence in a few days.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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