The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 23

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

In Search of the Duke’s Husband – Episode 23

“….”
Killian had anticipated this.
The moment I stepped into the Grand Chapel, the sight of Artia and Lloyd told me everything I needed to know.
But there was one thing that defied my expectations.
Her face, radiant with boundless joy, was simply….
‘There she goes again.’
My chest tightened with an unfamiliar sensation.
Killian’s brow furrowed ever so slightly at the sensation that was both familiar and foreign.
This was precisely why I despised Artia.
A woman so delicate she seemed as though a single finger could topple her—yet she possessed an uncanny ability to provoke me in this manner.
Shamelessly.
Killian buried the emotion completely and uttered a single word.
“Congratulations.”
Artia’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Divorce meant the failure of a marriage.
Something unfortunate and shameful.
Even she, who had desperately longed for a divorce these past months, had never imagined hearing the word “congratulations.”
Yet in this moment, that single word brought her the greatest joy.
Pffft.
Artia laughed like a child, forgetting entirely that she stood before the mad prince.

* * *

Killian ate his meal.
The image of Artia smiling came to mind.
Killian swung his sword.
The image of Artia smiling came to mind.
Killian took a bath.
The image of Artia smiling came to mind.
Killian furrowed his brow.
‘Why do I keep thinking about her?’
Could it be that Artia possesses magical power just like I do?
Did she perhaps curse me with that power?
Yet soon enough, Killian realized that thought held no credibility whatsoever.
‘Artia has never shown the slightest interest in me.’
So there was no reason for her to curse me.
It was only when darkness fell that Killian finally found his answer.
‘This is the first time I’ve ever seen Artia—who always stares at the ground and trembles—laugh so loudly.’
That’s why she keeps crossing my mind.
It’s rarer than a hundred-eyed monster attending a social gathering in a lace-adorned dress.
Having reached his conclusion, Killian rose to his feet.
It was to calm his turbulent thoughts by breathing in the cool night air.
As Killian walked through the Open Corridor where the wind blew, his eyes widened ever so slightly.
A woman was approaching from the other direction, accompanied by her attendants.
The woman with somber eyes that contrasted sharply with her ornate crown was Felicity—Killian’s biological mother and the Empress.
The distance between the two of them grew steadily smaller.
The Empress standing before Killian opened her mouth.
“So you’ve agreed to formally accept the Duchess’s divorce petition?”
“Yes.”
“And you even sent the Golden Knights to the Duchess.”
“That’s correct.”
The Empress furrowed her brow.
“Why do you waste your time on such pointless matters? It’s unlike you.”
Killian looked down at the Empress and spoke.
“The Duchess came to me and pleaded to be freed from her worthless husband and to live happily.”
“….”
“It’s both audacious and admirable, don’t you think? There are countless people who lack the courage to do what they truly desire.”
The Empress’s perfectly groomed eyebrows rose sharply.
“You’re overpraise her. She can afford to divorce because she has nothing to lose. If she had something precious she couldn’t possibly abandon, she would have no choice but to endure—even a husband more repulsive than garbage. Like a mother would?”
Like Mother, you mean?
Instead of voicing that thought, Killian simply gazed at the Empress in silence.
The brief conversation had ended.
The Empress passed by Killian without so much as a farewell.
Today, she didn’t look at her son’s eyes even once. As if she had encountered some repulsive insect.
Killian placed his hand over his left chest.
When he met Artia, it seemed like there was something inside here, but it was merely an illusion.
It was empty.
Still.

* * *

The approval of the divorce was not the end.
Complex procedures remained, such as the division of assets.
However, this was hardly a concern for Artia.
After all, Lloyd had brought not a single coin with him!
Nothing in the Edenberke Estate belonged to him.
Artia spoke with unwavering resolve.
“Leave with nothing. Right now.”
The servants seized Lloyd and dragged him away.
Caught in the servants’ grip, Lloyd thrashed and cried out.
“I am the Duke of Edenberg! I am the master of this estate!”
As Lloyd receded into the distance, Artia spoke.
“No. I am Edenberg. I am the master of this place.”
Bang.
The door closed.
With merely one person gone, the mansion fell into profound silence.
Gazing down the empty corridor, I found myself drifting into memories of the past.
Whenever Lloyd failed to return until late at night, I trembled with anxiety.
“What if I’m left alone in this place?”
I waited for Lloyd through the entire night without sleep.
He returned in the late hours of dawn, reeking of alcohol, cradling an unfamiliar woman in his arms.
Even as my heart shattered with unbearable pain, I felt relief.
Relief that Lloyd was here with me in this vast mansion.
But in this moment, I felt something entirely different.
It was as though I had excised a festering tumor from within my own body.
Lightness. Joy.
I stretched my arms above my head and cried out.
“Finally, I’m alone!”
Finally, I’m alone.
Finally, I’m alone.
Finally, I’m alone.
My voice, brimming with happiness, echoed through the quiet corridors beyond.

* * *

Despite having cast him out, Lloyd had not left the Edenberg Estate.
He stood beyond the massive iron gates, shouting.
“Open the gates at once!”
The gatekeepers, who once followed his every command like loyal hounds, now stared only at the sky as though they heard nothing.
Before long, his furious demands transformed into desperate pleas.
Lloyd knelt before the iron gates, sobbing as he cried out.
“Artia, I was wrong! Please forgive me!”
Artia, lying in bed with a book in hand, furrowed her brow and muttered.
“How tiresome.”
She had not struck Lloyd, nor demanded an astronomical sum in compensation.
It was not even a bare minimum of consideration for the man who had been her first love. It was merely a reflection upon her own failure to see a person clearly.
But perhaps my reflection had been excessive. He shows no sign whatsoever of returning to his own residence.
“If he refuses to leave of his own accord, then I shall have him removed…”
The next day, a woman stood before Artia.
It was Lirika.
The Lirika I had not seen in months bore a corpse-like visage, utterly devoid of her characteristic charm.
‘They say she has been in a state of derangement ever since Lloyd cast her out, and it certainly shows.’
Even consumed by sorrow, fear remained within her.
Lirika trembled violently, her small frame quaking with terror.
‘And well it should. You nestled in Lloyd’s embrace and inflicted countless wounds upon me.’
Now that the barrier of Lloyd had vanished and she stood alone before me, she must be terrified of what punishment awaited her.
The moment Artia opened her mouth, Lirika dropped to her knees.
The impact was so violent that one might have thought her kneecaps had shattered.
“I was wrong, my lady.”
Lirika, who had replaced the title of sister with my lady, continued through tears that streamed down her face like a child’s.
“I never harbored ill will toward you, my lady. I simply adored the Duke so much, and I envied you for being his wife, so I behaved wickedly.”
Though her plea was fervent, Artia felt only irritation.
“Listen, I have no desire to hear your hollow words of repentance now, so be quiet and listen to what I have to say, will you?”
Her gentle tone carried an irresistible authority.
Lirika hastily bit her lip.
Finally, she had fallen silent.
Artia looked down at Lirika and continued.
“I divorced Lloyd. You know that, don’t you?”
The shocking news that the Emperor had approved the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Edenberg had sent the entire Empire into upheaval.
The whole world spoke of nothing else, and there was not a soul who remained ignorant of it.
Even Lirika, confined like a criminal in a small village far from the Convent, was no exception.
Lirika nodded, her face growing even more pallid.
“Yes, I know…”
Why did she summon me just to say such things?
Was she trying to blame me for the divorce?
Artia spoke to Lirika, who was trembling far more violently than before.
“As a divorce commemoration gift, I’ll give him to you. Take that man.”
“…!”

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