9 - My Husband is My Favorite, But I Think I'm Going to Get Divorced
9
Avoiding his ardent gaze, I lowered my head to one side.
“I trust Father will choose wisely, but still, a family that’s too far below our station……”
“Evgenia.”
I was feeling somewhat intimidated and hesitant when the Duke suddenly called my name.
“There’s no need to say such things. You are, no matter what anyone says, the Basillian Duchess.”
“……Is that so?”
I looked at the Duke at his obvious statement, and he cleared his throat before continuing.
“The Ducal House has its pride. I’m saying we would never choose someone who doesn’t meet our standards.”
It seemed my intention to become at least a Duchess, since I had aimed for the Crown Princess, was well conveyed.
“Yes, that’s right. If the status is right, I don’t care about things like wealth. After all, you’ll provide a generous Dowry and trousseau so I won’t have to suffer. Isn’t that right?”
I said that to make it even more certain, and to squeeze out as much money as possible if I could.
From the start, instead of possessing the body of an ordinary noble lady or maid, I possessed the body of the wealthiest Basillian Duchess in the empire, so my financial luck seemed to be working even in this world, but just in case.
Sparkling, the Duke, under my gaze attack, nodded, saying, “Y-yes, that’s right.”
I already knew from the novel how grand Evgenia’s Dowry and gifts were, but I was satisfied to get confirmation once again.
However, I still wore a melancholic smile on the outside. And since I had heard all the words I had prepared and the answers I wanted, I was about to turn around and leave the office.
“…….”
But my feet wouldn’t move.
Strangely, I felt an urge to say something.
As the Duke’s questioning gaze landed on me, my mouth moved reflexively.
“I admit that I’ve been acting selfishly all this time.”
“Evgenia.”
“I’ve been very unpleasant to my family too.”
“…….”
Looking at the Duke, who was staring at me with an expression that was hard to describe, the heavy feeling that had been pressing down on me all along, the conscience I had been forcibly ignoring, raised its head.
“That won’t happen anymore.”
Because the Evgenia you were all so worried about and cherished, no matter how much trouble she caused, is no longer here.
I could apologize instead, but I didn’t have the courage to tell the truth.
Cowardly, I turned around quickly to escape the office.
At that moment.
“Huh……?”
My head spun, and my body tilted to the side.
“Evgenia?”
“E, Evgenia!”
“The doctor! Call the doctor immediately! Evgenia……!”
\ \ \
After Evgenia collapsed.
The servants who found the Duke bursting out of the office and calling for the doctor felt a sense of déjà vu, even though it was a scene they would rarely see in their lives.
It couldn’t be helped. A very similar situation had occurred less than a week ago.
The only difference was that this time, Evgenia had quietly lost consciousness, and.
“Oh my, her forehead is burning hot! How could you call her out without knowing her condition?”
“Be quiet, Alexis. Take your hand away and step aside.”
“The doctor! Where is the doctor?”
“Father, please calm down. The doctor will be in Evgenia’s room right away.”
The new faces around the Duke, who was panicking and shouting as before, were the main characters.
Lionel, carrying Evgenia and heading quickly to her room, and Alexis, following behind him, were the main characters.
“Actually, the Princess said she had a cold, so I prescribed some medicine. Y-you don’t have to worry too much.”
The doctor, who had been suddenly summoned to the Princess’s room and rushed over, said, feeling pressured, and only then did the Duke relax and slump into a chair. Then he shouted angrily.
“No, how can she catch a cold when she’s been in her room for days!”
At the same time, Ann and Alexis, who knew about Evgenia’s short outing, flinched.
Lionel, looking at his sister’s pale face and cold sweat, frowned.
“Could there be a problem from the last accident?”
“Yes? Absolutely not! I reported to the Duke as well, but she only suffered a minor bruise on her forehead. She fainted then because she was too angry.”
Ann pursed her lips at the doctor’s words.
A minor bruise? The accident caused the young lady to lose some of her memory!
She was beginning to suspect that the Ducal House’s doctor might be a quack, though that was unlikely.
As if she wasn’t the only one with such doubts, the Duke snapped.
“Then why is our Evgenia in this state!”
“W-well, I think it’s because the Princess’s mind and body have weakened a lot…….”
The doctor trailed off, sounding unsure, and the Duke was about to frown and continue nagging.
“Oh, so why do you leave the house when she’s sick! She fainted and woke up, but none of her family came to see her, so how disappointed and sad would she be? That’s why she doesn’t get better even after taking medicine, and it gets worse!”
Alexis shouted at the Duke.
“What? Who did what?”
Disappointed? Sad? The Duke looked dumbfounded at the words that didn’t suit Evgenia at all.
Lionel, who was equally dumbfounded, was about to say something when he heard a sound of “Ah.”
Lionel, who didn’t miss the subtle sound, looked at the maid.
Ann, who was now the focus of attention from the young Duke, as well as the Duke and Alexis, carefully opened her mouth.
“Actually, the young lady, after waking up, asked why the Duke wasn’t coming. When I told her you were away, her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at the door.”
“……!”
“……!”
At those words, the Duke and Lionel gasped in surprise and looked down at Evgenia’s face as if they had made a promise.
“See! I knew it.”
Alexis’s triumphant voice echoed in the ears of the two men.
\ \ \
A long silence flowed between Duke Basilian and Lionel, who had returned to the office. It was the Duke who broke it.
“That child…… Evgenia was looking for me, and was even sad. I really can’t believe it. I thought it would be a relief if she didn’t make a fuss about dying like last time…….”
He was sincere. The Duke’s heart still dropped when he thought of the time when Evgenia, enraged by the existence of the marriage proposal sent to Melissa by the Imperial Family, banged her head against the wall, bleeding from her forehead, and collapsed.
Even while away from the capital, he had been hearing news of his daughter, but the fact that Evgenia was living without causing a big stir made him feel heavy, like the calm before a storm.
And as soon as he returned to the mansion, she sent a maid, and he thought to himself that what was coming had come.
She would probably act up as she had done until now.
So, he called Lionel, even though he knew Evgenia would hate it. He couldn’t bear to see his daughter get hurt again before his eyes.
But…….
“Father.”
Lionel didn’t laugh at the Duke, who was as moved as if he had heard the word “Dad” for the first time from a babbling baby.
In fact, he felt a similar emotion.
Evgenia had hated her family extremely since she was young. She kept her distance from her father, him, and her younger brother Alexis, treating them like mortal enemies, except for her mother.
‘Even when her mother passed away, she endured stoically until she went into her room alone and burst into tears…….’
Lionel, who had seemed calm on the outside but was actually quite taken aback by his sister’s tears, was savoring his complex emotions.
“They clearly said there was nothing wrong with her health…….”
Duke Basilian muttered suspiciously, as Evgenia, whom he had seen with his own eyes, was so different from usual.
“It must have been a shock to Evgenia that the Crown Prince proposed to Melissa.”
At Lionel’s words, the Duke immediately gnashed his teeth at the Crown Prince, who had trampled on his daughter’s pride.
Our Evgenia has such a strong pride!
How much time has Evgenia spent clinging to and courting the Crown Prince until now.
Of course, I admit that Evgenia’s behavior of obsessing over the Crown Prince is excessive, but isn’t she a precious Duchess from a family of founding merit?
But he sent a marriage proposal to Melissa, who isn’t even Evgenia, but even her cousin!
“It’s unfortunate that Evgenia was hurt, but in the end, it’s a good thing.”
The Duke agreed and nodded.
He was only worried that it would be difficult to persuade Evgenia, but it was even better that she offered to get married first.
“We should proceed with Evgenia’s marriage right away.”
“Right away…… you say?”
But even though he had already decided to marry Evgenia off, and even taken the initiative, he hesitated at the thought of proceeding with the marriage talks.
“Father. Evgenia is stubborn, but she’s also fickle. She’s overwhelmed with betrayal now, but she might change her mind at any time.”
“That’s true, but…….”
“Besides, it’s not like there isn’t a suitable candidate.”
Only then did the Duke recall the handsome young man with a tall height, slender physique, and gentle appearance. None of his eldest son’s words were wrong.
“Yes, we must hurry.”
Before Evgenia changes her mind.
A marriage with a man who matches the Basilian Ducal House, who cannot refuse Evgenia despite her bad reputation and rumors.
