IELNDMH - Chapter 60 < Why Are You Trying to Lock Me Up? >
I Ended Up Living Up Next Door With My Ex-Husband
A few days later, during the day.
It was around this time that the carriage started to run through the garden.
“A date downtown just for the two of us! I’m so excited, Your Highness!”
Bianca, who was looking out the window at the mansion gradually moving away, shouted with excitement.
Bianca and I decided to spend some time alone exploring the northern city before leaving for the capital to attend the Emperor's birthday banquet.
It was a promise that was suddenly made this morning while talking with Bianca, who visited the Garden of Darkness.
'If I had known you would like it this much, I would have taken you out often a long time ago.'
I stroked the head of Bianca, who smiled brightly and nodded.
“Me too, Bianca. Today, Bianca can go wherever you want. I would have fun anywhere with Bianca.”
“Hehe, me too! I’m even more excited because we suddenly made an appointment today!”
It was that time when a fern-like hand held my hand tightly.
The running carriage suddenly stopped as it approached the castle gate.
“Could you please open the window for a moment?”
Outside the carriage, the driver knocked on the window and made a polite request.
I heard that security around the castle walls had become tighter recently, and it seemed to be true.
'Anyway, if they knew it was me, they would have let me go right away.'
The moment I thoughtlessly opened the window with that thought in mind.
“Your Highness!”
When the knight saw my face, his face suddenly turned pale.
'Is there still anyone left in this castle who would turn white just by looking at me?'
While I was tilting my head in confusion, the knight hurriedly shouted to the surroundings.
“Her Highness is in the carriage!”
Then a murmur arose around the carriage.
“Her Highness the Grand Duchess?!”
“Why are you procrastinating so much? Without informing His Highness the Archduke right away!”
“Oh, yeah... Yes!"
The junior knight who received the order rushed in his haste towards the Mansion of Light.
Then the knight standing in front of the window spoke again with a troubled expression.
“Your Highness, I am sorry, but you will have to wait a moment. You cannot leave this gate right now.”
“What does that mean?”
The guards don't stop people entering the castle, but rather people trying to leave.
And me, the Grand Duchess?
“Why are you holding onto Her Highness and me? Is something going on in the Grand Duke's castle? Nothing much happened when I left the Mansion of Light this morning....”
Bianca seemed as embarrassed by this situation as I was.
When the child asked with wide eyes, the knight shook his head with a troubled expression.
“No, it’s nothing special, but....”
"Yes?"
“Actually, that’s... This is an order from His Highness the Archduke.”
The knight paused for a moment and glanced at me.
“If Her Highness the Grand Duchess tries to leave the castle, do not let her out, but report to His Highness the Grand Duke right away...”
“It’s not Bianca... Me?"
That was when Bianca and I exchanged puzzled looks.
“His Highness the Archduke is coming!”
A young knight's cry was heard from the garden behind the carriage.
And not long after, the carriage door was violently swung open.
Bang—!
At the same time, what appeared through the open door was Cedric with a very flushed face.
“Rebecca, where are you going?”
After breathing heavily for a while, he asked with gritted teeth.
His tie was a mess, and his hair, which was always neat, was unruly.
Still, perhaps out of frustration, he roughly undid the top button of his shirt and leaned one arm against the doorway, keeping his eyes on me.
Soon, his eyes slowly became sharper.
“There was definitely no going out on your schedule today.”
Although some time had passed since we returned from Gray Zone Village, it seemed that Cedric's anger towards me had not yet subsided.
‘No matter what it is. I made some mistakes that day, so you're trying to lock me up like I'm a criminal?'
It was a time when feelings of injustice were rising.
Bianca, who had been observing the situation from behind, suddenly stuck out her face.
“Your Highness?”
As if Bianca's appearance was completely unexpected, Cedric's eyes slowly opened wide.
“Bianca, why are you here?"
“Why? That’s because Her Highness was going out on a trip out of town with me.”
Cedric blinked slowly as he answered bluntly on behalf of Bianca.
Then, he exhaled lowly with a relieved expression.
“...Thank goodness.”
I raised my eyes towards Cedric, who was mumbling something unintelligible.
“Why are the knights seizing the carriage I’m riding in? I know you’re mad at me, but this is too much!”
When I protested strongly, Cedric slowly blinked his eyes as if he was embarrassed.
“Rebecca, that’s not it...”
Cedric suddenly stopped speaking and bit his lower lip. A look of confusion was clearly visible on his face.
“... Damn it, I don’t even have a good excuse.”
Cedric stroked his forehead a couple of times with his large hand.
Thanks to this, the flowing bangs covered one eye. It looked so disheveled compared to its usual perfect appearance.
The knight who had been holding the carriage all along carefully approached him.
“Your Highness, what should we do? Do you mind if I send Her Highness the Grand Duchess?”
At the same time, an unexplainable feeling of anxiety began to appear in Cedric's eyes again.
***
“Look over there, Your Highness! There are colored sugar cookies!”
Bianca seemed excited by the lively atmosphere of the market and couldn't stop smiling.
“If there’s anything you want to try, let me know. I’ll keep it a secret from the nanny.”
"Really?!"
I smiled for a moment as I saw Bianca cupping her cheek as if she was thrilled.
"However...”
I turned my head to the side and continued speaking.
“Why are you here?”
I looked at him without hiding my bewildered expression, but Cedric just calmly shrugged his shoulders.
“I thought I would take a look around the city for the first time in a while.”
“You often visit the city because of the futures exchange. You came here a few days ago, so what was that..."
Pretending not to have heard me, he winked at Bianca.
“Bianca, is it okay if I join you two on a date?”
Then Bianca seemed to think for a moment, but then smiled and nodded.
“Of course. Actually, I like it better!”
“But Bianca....”
When I tried to stop her, Bianca stuck out her lower lip.
“Actually, I... I felt so lonely while I was living in the capital. I was so jealous of my friends standing between her parents, holding hands and looking at the city...”
After saying that, Bianca ran to stand between Cedric and me and grabbed both of our hands.
“Your Highness. Can you please grant me just one wish?”
Bianca looked up at me, blinking her sorrowful eyes.
"My wish was to just walk down the street holding my family's hands with both hands."
It was too simple a wish to be from a Princess of the Twins Grand Duchy.
When I thought of that, the tip of my nose wrinkled, and I had no choice but to nod in the end.
"All right. Instead, is it just today?”
“Hehe, yes! Thank you, Your Highness!”
I felt sorry for Bianca, who was smiling so brightly.
'Yes. If the truth about my divorce is revealed, I will have to leave soon, but until then, let's grant at least one wish of Bianca.'
I tried to erase my bitter expression and smiled brightly.
“Let’s go, Cedric.”
Then, a pleasant line was drawn at the corner of Cedric's mouth.
"Good. If you go a little further, there’s a shopping street frequented by noble ladies, so I’ll take you there.”
The street Cedric mentioned was near the south gate of the futures exchange.
As I entered the street, I could hear the lively voices of merchants here and there.
Bianca's eyes were everywhere, but she tightened her grip on Cedric and me.
The child's face showed signs of wanting to show off to people.
“Bianca, is there anything you’d like?”
"Yes? Oh, no...”
Bianca smiled shyly and pursed her lips.
“... I was wondering if there were ladies from other families who showed up. I want to show up holding your hand with His Highness the Archduke?”
"Yes? Ah....”
Bianca, her face blushing, slowly nodded her head.
“Hehe, yes… … .”
Seeing her cute yet pitiful appearance, I lifted my finger and tapped her chin.
"Hmm. I think we came out before the birthday banquet... But there are a lot of people here, and Bianca is still short, so you won’t be able to see well, right?”
Bianca lowered her head sullenly at my words.
“Of course, that’s right... ?”
I smiled at Bianca and raised my head towards Cedric.
“Cedric. When I say one, two, three, you lift Bianca's arms. Okay?”
“Bianca’s arm? Why?"
"One, two... … three!"
At the same time, Bianca's body floated.
Bianca, who was startled and screamed, landed on the ground and immediately burst into laughter.
“If you go up this high, won’t you be visible to other ladies?”
Bianca nodded vigorously.
"Yes, yes! Your Highness! This is so much fun!”
"Fun? So, shall we try one more time? One, two, three!”
It was a time when Cedric and I were smiling happily while looking at Bianca who was happy.
Along with the noise of the crowd, a man's voice full of anger was heard from somewhere.
"Please, please! Shut your mouth, Camilla!”
“I would have told you so many times! I will no longer tolerate your crazy behavior!”
An aggressive voice cut through the surrounding air one after another.
I couldn't help but be surprised when I turned my head to where the sound came from.
'That person... He's Count Dmitry, right?'
There were many onlookers gathered around the Count, but they seemed to be invisible to him, who was already furious.
Even though he accepted his wife's evil ways, he always showed a gentle side.
'What on earth is going on for a man like that to be so angry?'
I approached little by little, carefully pushing aside the onlookers.
“Honey, please... Hey, don’t do this! Just this once, with this one future investment, I can repay the entire debt I owe from sugar cane?”
I couldn't believe it, but the woman pleading at the feet of the enraged Count was really Camilla.
That wasn't the only surprising sight.
Her dress and shoes, which must have been shiny, had all lost their shine, and other than that, not even one of her usual accessories was visible.
A shabby behavior that is incomparable to before.
Camilla cried out desperately to her husband.
"Please... Honey, please just give me this one chance! I can make up for everything!”
But Count Dmitry only looked down at her with his disgusting eyes and gritted his teeth.
“Not only did you arbitrarily borrow money from a usurer without asking my opinion, you arbitrarily invested that money in useless places!”
The Count shouted like that and roughly shook off Camilla's hand that was holding on to him.
Camilla fell helplessly on the dirt floor, her blue handkerchief barely in her grasp.
“Ugh! Honey... !”
Camilla rolled around on the floor and groaned in pain, but Count Dmitry paid no attention.
No, on the contrary, he started pouring out even harsher words.
“What are you going to do with our family’s wealth that was squandered because of you? They are loan sharks who visit my mansion every day, and farmers who protest to pay compensation for damages...! Now even looking at that shameless face of yours disgusts me!”
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