[CHAPTER 113]
The two of them left for the sea alone, saying they would spend time together as a married couple, but they did not return on the scheduled date.
Two more days passed after that, yet there was still no sign of them returning, and Anna felt quietly happy, wondering if things between Lincia and Harvich had improved.
Regardless of how she felt about Harvich, she wished for Lincia’s happiness.
As soon as Anna heard the sound of a carriage while watching the child, she went to the window.
In the distance, she saw the carriage the Imperial Princess had taken returning.
“It looks like Her Highness has arrived.”
Two people got down from the carriage.
However, the Grand Duke who had escorted the Princess to the villa, no, the man who was now the King Duke, did not come inside and instead mounted his horse again.
Anna’s expression stiffened as she watched the King Duke leave the villa behind.
Even after waiting for a long time, there was no sign of the Princess entering the villa.
“I’ll go and escort Her Highness.”
Swallowing her rising anxiety, Anna hurried down the stairs.
“Your Highness!”
Lincia turned her head while standing in front of the villa.
Anyone could tell she did not look well.
Her lips were badly chapped, her face pale, and above all, she carried the same atmosphere as when she had given birth and refused to see anyone for a week.
Forcing herself to sound calm, Anna asked Lincia a question.
“You’re back. How was the sea?”
“…The sea was nice. It was pretty.”
Despite her words, Lincia looked deeply depressed.
“Weren’t you cold?”
“I decided to get a divorce.”
“Oh.”
Tereo, who had followed Anna outside, froze in place, clearly flustered by the sudden news.
Anna and Tereo’s gazes tangled in midair.
Their helpless expressions quickly vanished as they took in Lincia’s appearance, which looked as though she might collapse at any moment.
“You did well!”
Anna tightly grasped Lincia’s hand.
“Once the divorce procedures are finished, where should we go?”
“…I wonder.”
Where should she go now.
Lincia’s murmured voice was bleak.
Anna swallowed her breath after realizing where Lincia’s gloom stemmed from.
She immediately thought of her own family, but they were far from adequate to host an Imperial Princess.
Yet Anna had nowhere else to suggest, as the Imperial Palace and the academy she had followed the Princess to were the only places she knew.
“How about the southern sea?”
Tereo tactfully interjected, as if he had sensed Anna’s dilemma.
“If you liked the northern sea, the southern sea is even better. It’s famous as a resort.”
Anna squeezed Lincia’s hand tightly and guided her into the villa.
The weather had warmed somewhat, but standing outside was still cold.
“Let’s travel. We’ll go see the southern sea, and then head to the Istan Territory. The climate there is mild all year round, and flowers are always in bloom.”
Lincia’s expression eased noticeably.
Relieved, Anna led her to the bedroom.
“Traveling sounds great. I’ll take responsibility for looking after the young master.”
“…No. I won’t be taking the child.”
It was a careless remark.
As Lincia’s expression darkened again, Anna glanced at Tereo.
Sensing her desperate plea to change the subject, Tereo cleared his throat and spoke.
“May I ask why?”
You idiot.
Anna shot him a murderous glare at his complete lack of tact.
“Wouldn’t it be better for the child to live as the King Duke’s son, rather than follow an Imperial Princess whose position is uncertain?”
“If you return to the Imperial Palace, the child would still be the next Emperor.”
Anna pinched Tereo’s thigh hard, and only then did he shut his mouth.
Lincia looked at the two of them before turning her gaze away.
“I want to be alone.”
Driven out of the bedroom by the unmistakable dismissal, the two quietly headed toward another room.
The very last room.
Entering the room that Lincia had once used, which barely let in any light, they shut the door tightly and spoke almost at the same time.
“Do people of high status usually take farewell trips too?”
“What happened? Are you seriously asking that?”
Anna looked at Tereo with utter disbelief.
“I mean, think about it. They left like they’d work things out, and came back divorced.”
“What if Her Highness wants to die again?”
Anna was genuinely afraid.
She remembered the Lincia who had withered and faded day by day after giving birth, before Harvich arrived.
The most vivid image from that time was Lincia perched on the terrace railing.
The best room had a terrace facing the mountains, with a terrifying drop below.
Seeing her white feet dangling in midair had left Anna breathless.
She remembered approaching carefully, afraid that even a loud sound might make Lincia fall, and coaxing her down.
The Princess had no idea such a thing had ever happened.
The reason Anna never changed the Princess’s pitch-dark bedroom was because there was no window there from which one could throw oneself.
* * *
A week later, Harvich returned.
The man who had left alone came back to the villa with his aide-de-camp, Hugh.
With trembling hands, Hugh presented a single sheet of paper.
On the stark white page were words formalizing the end of their marriage.
“Do I just sign?”
“Yes.”
Lincia looked down at the document bearing her signature.
Lincia Durland.
It was a name she had not seen in quite some time.
“Are there any additional procedures?”
“There are none, as this divorce is being carried out after the Cassius territory gained independence as a duchy. We will provide documents from His Majesty the King Duke acknowledging the divorce. You will likely need to submit separate paperwork once you return to the Empire.”
“I see. Thank you for taking care of it.”
With a single signature, the marriage ceased to exist.
Lincia found that fact strangely sobering.
She had imagined this ending before, yet it felt hollow that her long unrequited love and stagnant marriage were reduced to a single sheet of paper.
So where do I go now?
“Then I will take my leave. His Majesty said you may stay as long as you wish before departing.”
“May you be well.”
After Hugh left the bedroom, Lincia wept silently, overwhelmed by an inescapable emptiness.
The reality of having nowhere to return to pierced her heart that day more than ever.
That evening, the man who had sent the divorce papers through his aide requested a meeting.
There was neither a reason to meet nor a reason to refuse, but Lincia opened the bedroom door.
Because it was the last time.
“What is it?”
Her cracked voice could not hide anything.
When Lincia raised her head, a haggard-looking man stood there.
He looked as though he had not slept properly, or perhaps was ill, his condition visibly poor.
“There is something I wish to give you.”
Harvich handed Lincia a sheet of paper.
“I apologize for being late. It took time to prepare.”
It was a deed to land in the south.
The land was located at a suitable distance from both the north and the Imperial Palace.
“…What is this?”
“Please accept it.”
She had already received alimony through Hugh.
“This is too much.”
“It will be better than living in the Imperial Palace.”
Even though he had told her to return there.
“I am sorry. Please be happy.”
Leaving behind those plain words, Harvich exited the bedroom.
It was truly the end.
