'Why the hell is he here?'
I was lost in thought for a while
“What do you think you're doing?”
I was drenched in cold sweat at his terrifying question.
'The play will start again...'
Judging by Eric's expression, he must have seen me almost hit Madeline's hand.
As usual, he will be angry with me because I hurt Madeline, and Madeline will cry and stop him.
It was a familiar pattern by now.
Sure enough, his voice was full of anger.
“I asked you what you think you are doing now.”
But I couldn't help but be surprised, it was because I was the one who was hugged by Eric.
'What?
Why did you leave your lover behind...'
Then Madeleine called his name in a low voice.
“Eric...”
Madeleine's crying look was pathetic even to me, which I hate.
However, Eric's voice was as cold as it was
“Have you forgotten, Miss Arjen?
She is not alone now.”
“Eric, I...”
I could see that Madeleine was about to say something, but he cut her off at once.
“If you want to get your hands on her, I won’t stand by and watch, do you understand..?”
He quickly stared at me.
“My wife...”
My eyes widened at the nickname that came out of his mouth.
'Did this guy eat something wrong today...?'
No matter how you looked at it, it was completely different from usual…
The problem was that Eric went too far.
“I'm here to pick you up because you're late.”
Is he crazy!?
However, the worried eyes looking at me, the polite way he spoke, and his look when he hugged me a moment ago…
It was like seeing him when he was my first love,
So I couldn't get over it.
Then he extended his hand.
“Let's get back together”
The hand that was extended to me when I was alone in my childhood and the current situation intertwine like déjà vu.
I knew in my head that it wasn't.
So I was hesitant to hold his hand.
Then he held my hand and whispered in my ear,
“Don't forget, we are in the Imperial Palace.”
In other words, since there were eyes around us, he wanted me to match the rhythm.
I was a little upset, but I still didn't get rid of that hand.
It's also because…
'Wow, her eyes look evil'
It was because I saw Madeline staring at Eric and me.
Madeleine had eyes like she would stab me if she had a knife in her hand.
'Then I can't stay still either…'
So I put my hand in Eric's hand as if I was showing off.
“Let's go, baby.”
I smiled softly, as I did so to tease Madeleine.
"Yes."
When I heard that beautiful voice, I gave my hand strength without my knowledge.
'No, it's just because there are too many eyes'
After a while, when we reached the entrance of the Imperial Palace, he stopped walking.
“I will bring a cart, so please wait here for a moment.”
Finally, as he walked away, I let out the sigh I'd been holding back the whole time.
'What do I do?'
I was certain that Eric had tried to get rid of me and my baby before I went back in time.
But when I saw him protecting me, while I was pregnant today, a question I had not thought about kept popping up in my head.
'At that time, did Eric really try to try and kill me?'
It was Eric's henchman who tried to get rid of me and Damien...
The duke's seal on the submitted letter was proof, but even that could be forged.
Besides, there is no other evidence of the marriage to Madeleine than that letter.
Is it because I never saw him cheat with my own eyes?
Questions that had been buried for a long time came to my mind one after another…
'Was this all a misunderstanding?'
Then talk to someone.
“Are we leaving now?”
They were the knights of the Brant Family who accompanied me when I came to the Imperial Palace
“Yes, but where is the Duke?”
“Your Excellency the Duke?
I haven’t seen him, but did the master come to the palace as well?”
I said as I moved my feet to where Eric was going.
“Please wait here for a while.”
Yes, this I decided to research because I know the geography of the Imperial Palace better than them.
“Ah, there he is.”
After finding blonde hair remotely familiar, I tried to go for it.
But it soon stopped.
'Oh?'
Madeline, the silver-haired woman standing in front of Eric, was smiling unlike before.
“Eric, you came to see me now, right?”
As for Madeleine's question, I was hoping he would deny it.
It was because the desire to disappoint Madeleine, whom she hated,
I experienced a lingering feeling from his attitude a little while ago.
However, despite my wishes, Eric nodded.
“Yes, I have something to tell you.”
At these words, Madeline's expression became sullen.
“You want to tell me about it...?”
Soon after, I questioned Eric.
“What are you going to say to me after you were angry with me a little while ago?”
Then Eric asked as if it was ridiculous.
"I?"
“Yes, you are angry with me because of Cornelia!
In your palace as well as in the Imperial Palace!”
Then Eric raised one corner of his mouth as if he had been shocked.
“Because of her?
You have a big misunderstanding.”
At these words, my heart began to beat with anxiety.
Moments later, Madeleine was astonished and mocking.
“You warned me before not to touch your pregnant wife, but now you say this is a misunderstanding?”
Deep down, I was hoping Eric would deny this question.
It was because I still had a faint feeling that he wanted him to think of me.
But the words that came out of him were harsh.
“I don’t consider her my wife, it’s just because of people’s eyes.”
I started laughing, because I was stupid to expect that.
'Yes, that was real...'
After going back in time, I was convinced that I had been betrayed based solely on my memories.
So whenever I thought about him, I hated him, and the resentment towards him kept rising.
For this reason, I thought that the old feelings about my love were settled.
But this was my mistake.
I didn't feel great about it now, but I was still aware of it.
The nicer he was to me, the more I liked him sometimes.
It was only because I thought a moment ago that it was a misunderstanding.
I even convinced myself that,
I wanted to deny the past, and say that maybe he didn't want to kill me...
To be more honest, my real reason was that I had hope that the 10+ years of hard work would not be in vain.
He may not have been a good husband, but he was a loving father who took care of our child.
Even if he didn't love me, he recognized me as a family member.
I don't know why, but he keeps clinging to me while I'm trying to get a divorce.
I gave meaning to his trivial actions and had vain hopes.
I was hoping it was all just my misunderstanding, and that the family I had been trying to protect for over 10 years wouldn't fall apart.
But the man I was trying to cover for was telling another woman that he didn't consider me a wife.
'In the end, it was all my individual thinking,
If you expect too much, you will be disappointed...'
I laughed bitterly for a while, and the truth that had come upon me was engraved in my eyes again.
“Then why are you angry with me?
Do you know how upset I am?”
Her voice sounded like she was in a tantrum.
“Madeleine..”
Eric called her name and brought his face close to hers.
I didn't have to look any further.
'He kisses her...'
He turned away.
Although the steps were heavy, there was no longer any regret,
This was the reason why I couldn't even catch my lingering emotions and my mind was disorganized.
'It doesn't matter what the truth is in the first place'
In the first place, the problem wasn't that he tried to kill me, nor that he hated me.
It was something a little more fundamental than that.
'No matter how hard I try, I can't be your wife...'
A cold and indifferent husband, a prickly mother-in-law, and servants who silently ignore me.
I thought the reason for all of this was because he didn't look at me, so I acted human, and even if I became a bad person, I wanted to be Eric's wife but this idea was wrong from the beginning.
This marriage was originally made due to the emperor's greed and coercion, and his will was absent.
No matter how hard I tried to change his mind, he would not consider me his wife.
'Because he must be upset with me..'
Returning to the carriage, I spoke with the knights and the driver.
“Let's go back to the Duke's Palace.”