The Duchess Is Looking for Her Husband

Chapter 11

Bibi supported Artia as she covered her mouth because she suddenly felt like vomiting.

“Are you all right?”

“No. I was looking at something so beautiful that it was almost magical, and then I had to look at something ugly. It’s hard to hold it in.”

Royd and Lirika’s faces twisted at being called ugly.

But strangely, Lirika, who would normally have said something to provoke Artia, stayed quiet.

It seemed that after Artia had put her in her place once, Lirika had become afraid of her.

‘She had so little courage, yet she used to keep calling the Duchess “sister” and acting however she wanted.’

Artia laughed quietly.

Royd spoke.

“You seem to be in a good mood after visiting the Imperial Palace.”

“……!”

“You didn’t think I’d find out, did you? Of course I would. I’m the Duke of Edenberg. I know everything you do.”

Royd had already walked over and lightly tapped Artia’s forehead with his finger.

“Whoever you met at the Imperial Palace and whatever you said won’t change anything. You’re still just a bug beneath my feet. No matter how hard you struggle, you couldn’t even bite the tip of my little finger.”

Royd laughed as if Artia were ridiculous.

But that smile disappeared the very next day.

Along with a single document from the Imperial Family.

Royd entered Artia’s room without even knocking.

He was holding a white document with the Imperial seal on it.

“What the hell is this?!”

Artia put down the book she had been reading.

“You may not be very smart, but you can read. It’s confirmation that the Imperial Family received my divorce application.”

“Then why did this come?!”

“Because I submitted a divorce application to the Imperial Family.”

“What?!”

Royd looked as if someone had hit him hard on the back of his head.

Unless someone was an extremely powerful noble or closely connected to a high-ranking member of the Imperial Family, even submitting a divorce application was difficult.

The fact that everything had been processed in only one day was thanks to Kilian.

‘I didn’t expect him to handle it so quickly… He was frightening, but I’m really glad I asked him for help.’

Artia smiled with satisfaction.

Royd shouted at her.

“I don’t know which crazy member of the Imperial Family helped you do this, but go there right now and beg them. Tell them you were temporarily insane and said something stupid. Tell them you’ll cancel the divorce application.”

“No.”

“……!”

“And just so you know, once the official divorce process begins, it falls under His Majesty the Emperor’s authority. No one can simply stop it. Not even the Duke of Edenberg.”

Artia continued while looking directly at Royd.

“So it would be better for you to agree to the divorce quietly. If both spouses agree, we only need to sincerely ask His Majesty to approve the divorce.”

“But if the two spouses disagree, things become much more complicated.”

Both sides would have to argue in front of the Emperor about why they should or should not get divorced.

“Then I’ll have to tell His Majesty everything disgusting you’ve done to me. Even you must feel embarrassed about that, right?”

“You really…”

Royd was furious and raised his hand.

But he couldn’t bring it down.

Violence was one of the reasons that could be used to request a divorce.

Even though it had almost never actually been accepted before.

Instead of slapping Artia, Royd grabbed her thin wrist.

‘It hurts.’

Artia frowned at the painful grip.

Royd looked down at her.

“His Majesty has never approved a divorce during his entire reign.”

Artia immediately answered,

“Did you really think that someone like Artia, who was treated worse than a bug, could submit a divorce application to the Imperial Family?”

“……!”

“And did you think the fourth son of a Viscount family, who lived almost like a commoner, could become the Duke of Edenberg?”

Royd’s handsome face twisted horribly.

Artia felt pleased seeing his expression.

“Whether something is possible or impossible can only be known after you try.”

For the first time, Artia saw fear in Royd’s eyes.

After a moment, Royd tightened his grip around her wrist.

“I think my wife is not in her right mind because of what happened when she fell into the lake. It seems you need to rest.”

“……!”

Royd threw Artia onto the floor.

He left her there and opened the door.

“Get plenty of rest, Artia. Don’t think about useless things.”

Bang.

The huge door closed firmly behind Royd.

A doctor held Artia’s wrist while she lay in bed.

“Your pulse is weak, so it seems that neither your body nor your mind is healthy. You need to rest.”

Artia couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Her body was healthier than it had ever been.

Artia asked,

“How much are you being paid to give me a false diagnosis?”

“……!”

The doctor’s face immediately twisted.

Artia continued,

“No matter how much you were paid, you’ll pay ten times that amount for lying to me.”

“I-I don’t know what you mean. I am only thinking about Madam’s health.”

The doctor quickly left the room.

Once she was alone, Artia sighed softly.

“I expected him to react strongly after receiving the divorce application confirmation, but I didn’t expect him to lock me in my room…”

Immediately after leaving Artia’s room the previous day, Royd had said,

“Artia needs to rest. From now on, no one is allowed to enter without my permission.”

All the servants had bowed their heads.

Except Bibi.

Bibi stepped forward and said,

“I am Madam’s personal maid. Please allow me to stay by her side.”

“Ah, so you’re the one. The maid who failed to properly serve her master and allowed my wife to become like this.”

“……!”

“You need to be punished for failing to do your job properly. Grab that woman immediately!”

Artia had heard everything from inside the room.

“Run, Bibi!”

She heard several people running outside.

Then the footsteps gradually became more distant.

That evening, Artia asked the maid who brought her dinner,

“What happened to Bibi?”

Royd had ordered the maids not to respond to anything Artia said.

But he had overlooked one thing.

The maids who would dare treat Artia so disrespectfully had already been fired.

The maid hesitated before answering.

“The master sent servants to look for her, but they couldn’t find her. It seems she left the mansion.”

Artia felt relieved.

‘Royd tried to go after Bibi because of me.’

He wanted to show Artia what would happen to anyone who followed her.

Artia imagined Bibi covered in wounds from Royd’s whip.

Her entire body went cold.

Thankfully, Bibi had escaped such a terrible fate.

Artia clenched her fist and whispered,

“Don’t come back, Bibi.”

Until I drive Royd out of this mansion.

And if I fail, then stay away forever.

Just then, there was a knock.

The door opened.

Apart from the doctor, the only person who entered Artia’s room was the maid who brought her meals.

But the person who appeared was not the maid she saw every day.

It was Elma.

“The master ordered me to tell you that Madam is not feeling well and will have trouble digesting food, so your meals should be kept as simple as possible.”

Of course, that wasn’t the real reason.

Royd simply wanted to punish Artia by pretending she was sick.

He probably also thought that if she stayed hungry, she wouldn’t have enough strength to fight back and would remain quiet.

“My heart aches just thinking about you having to eat thin soup all day.”

Elma’s eyes filled with tears as she placed a plate of soft bread and fresh vegetables on the table.

“Please eat. I brought your favorite foods.”

Artia looked at the carefully prepared meal before speaking.

“You’re still the head maid, Elma.”

When Artia had fought with Lirika, Elma had locked Lirika in her room.

Artia had thought Royd would punish Elma severely after learning about it.

But Elma was still the head maid.

Elma smiled.

“I knelt before the master and begged him with all my heart. I told him that I only locked Lady Lirika in her room because I was afraid I would receive an even worse punishment if I disobeyed Madam’s order.”

“Thankfully, the master understood my situation and generously forgave me.”

No way.

Royd was not a generous man.

‘The reason he kept Elma as the head maid was…’

Artia stared directly at Elma.

Then she said,

“You told Royd about Bibi, didn’t you?”

“You told him that I finally had a maid I cared about, so he should use that girl to threaten me.”