Chapter 26: The Villainous Wife… Never Actually Exited⁉
The moment the meeting ended, I shot to my feet.
“I have work at the tavern!” I declared, and promptly slipped out of the headquarters.
I could feel Adolphus’s gaze on my back, as if he wanted to say something, but I pretended not to notice and made my escape.
I returned to the Lycoris Tavern just before the lunch rush and resumed my usual routine, darting between the hall and the kitchen.
But even as I worked, my thoughts refused to settle.
(There’s no way… Liliana isn’t a saint?)
In the novel, the condition for Liliana awakening to holy magic was exchanging love with Adolphus—becoming mutually in love.
I had assumed they’d already reached their happy ending and arrived in Diudo as newlyweds.
But apparently not.
Well, I did think things seemed ahead of schedule compared to the original timeline. Chronologically, it wouldn’t be strange if they hadn’t reached their ending yet.
(Wait. Then what was that rumor the young lord mentioned?
That “General Duar is devoted to his wife”…?)
I’d believed without question that Adolphus had remarried Liliana.
Maybe they hadn’t officially remarried yet, but were essentially husband and wife in practice? And he was devoted to her in that sense?
But not mutually in love yet?
I must have looked troubled, because Hanna peered at me and said, “Rosy, you look a bit tired, don’t you?”
I hurriedly forced a smile. “I’m fine! Just a little overwhelmed with all the new things since yesterday…”
She still looked concerned.
Showing a gloomy face during service—how embarrassing.
Rumors are just rumors.
They’re not always truth.
I, of all people—whose reputation was once shredded by baseless gossip—should know that.
There’s no point dwelling on it.
I plaster on my service smile and refocus.
Still, my thoughts circle back to them.
If those two haven’t reached their happy ending yet… that’s not good for me.
I may have already divorced and exited as the villainous wife, but what if I get dragged back in as the former wife—the rival obstacle necessary to push their romance forward?
(There’s no way I’m becoming a sacrificial rival! And I absolutely must avoid any route that leads to condemnation!)
Ideally, I’d have zero involvement with them.
But with my duties as a saint, that’s impossible.
This evening too, I’m scheduled to be in the infirmary.
(I’ll avoid interfering with their romance at all costs! Especially Adolphus. Under no circumstances will I end up alone with him!)
I clench my fist in firm resolve.
But as a seasoned consumer of light novels, I know exactly what this is.
A massive flag.
(I wasn’t planning to trigger a flag, okay!?)
That very evening, while on saint duty at the defense headquarters—
I found myself alone with Adolphus in the storage room near the infirmary.
There was a brief lull between patients when Adolphus appeared alone and said,
“Saint Rosy, may I have a word?”
(Preferably not!?)
But I couldn’t exactly say that.
“It would be better if others did not overhear. For both your sake and mine,” he added.
And so we stood facing each other in an empty storeroom.
He stared at me silently, his expression rigid.
Anxiety and tension tightened in my chest.
“Saint Rosy… no. Rosalind.”
My real name, spoken in that low, velvety voice, made my heart jolt.
How long had it been since he called me that?
Just hearing it drags back memories—our wedding ceremony, that first night—
A sharp ache twists in my chest.
But I’m likely the only one drowning in sentiment.
“Do not worry. I have told only Nathaniel who you are. I have no intention of revealing it to others.”
He exhales softly, brows knit tight.
“For three years, I have searched for you.
At last, I have found you, Rosalind.”
“…!”
The words hit me so unexpectedly that I can’t respond.
He… searched for me?
“W-why…?”
The question slips out before I can stop it.
His eyes flash.
“Why? You ask why? Did you truly believe I would not search for my wife who vanished without a word? Did you take me for such a heartless man?”
Eek!
Why does he sound angry!?
The pressure radiating off him makes me instinctively step back.
He steps forward, closing the distance.
“B-but… we’re divorced…”
“We are not.”
“…What?”
“We are not divorced.
You are still my wife.”
The air leaves my lungs.
I freeze.
We’re not divorced…?
(W-w-wait what!? Then I never actually exited the story!?)
Which means—
As the villainous wife, as the obstacle to the hero and heroine’s romance—
I am still fully eligible for condemnation.
My blood drains cold.
“W-why? I left intending to exit properly! I left the divorce papers! And a letter!”
“I tore up the divorce papers immediately.”
“T-tore them…?”
His expression darkens further.
Step by step, I retreat until my back hits the wall.
“Our marriage was decreed by royal order. Did you believe a mere sheet of paper could nullify it?”
“That royal order didn’t need to be upheld…”
I lower my gaze, unable to meet his eyes.
It wasn’t a strategic marriage with purpose.
Just the king pushing off a defective princess.
All because I foolishly fell in love with him.
And yet, he upheld that meaningless decree, searched for me for three years instead of dissolving it…
The guilt is suffocating.
(I have to formally propose divorce again. I need to free him. Otherwise he can’t reach his happy ending with Liliana…)
Partly for self-preservation.
Partly because I genuinely pity him.
I steel myself and lift my head.
“Um, about the divorce—hya!?”
Both his hands slam against the wall beside my face.
I’m boxed in.
Trapped.
And his face is dangerously close.
My heart rockets.
(GYAAAH! Is this… a kabedon!? My favorite is kabedon-ing me!?)
This is bad.
My pulse is out of control.
Even his angry face is devastatingly handsome.
My poor heart can’t take this.
I whip my face aside.
His frown deepens.
“…If a royal decree cannot bind you, then what can?”
“Huh? I-I mean, you don’t need to bind me at all. We can just divorce—”
The decree is meaningless anyway. It’s not like he’d be punished for dissolving it.
“Divorce… so that is truly your wish.”
His voice drops, low and ominous.
His fingers slide beneath my chin.
(HOLY—kabedon into chin lift combo!?)
It’s not forceful.
But I can’t resist.
I slowly turn back toward him.
“Look into my eyes and answer me, Rosalind.”
He whispers.
Our gazes lock at close range—his blue eyes tinged with something like sorrow.
My emotional bandwidth hits critical overload.
“I can’t… this is too much…”
My favorite is too precious.
The stimulus is excessive.
My otaku brain is imploding.
His fingers tremble slightly against my chin.
“…I see.”
His voice is hoarse.
And for some reason—pained.
“Even so, I—”
Creak.
The storage room door opens.
A gentle breeze slips in.
And with it, a voice like chiming bells.
“So this is where you were, Lord Adolphus.”