An Incomplete Divorce - Chapter 67
Evangeline’s gaze, which had been sweeping over the audience while catching her breath, once again fixed on the VIP seats.
The cold stares of the haughty noble ladies flew and pierced her.
Evangeline rubbed her aching wrist and clenched her jaw. Then she turned her gaze to the opposite side.
Olivia Blanchet, who had received a new ball, took her serve stance again.
This won’t do.
She had to stop this unfavorable flow.
Sweat poured down Evangeline’s back like rain. It was hot and she was thirsty.
If she felt like this, could that woman be any different? It was just then that Olivia slightly bent her knees to throw the ball.
“Let’s take a short break.”
Evangeline requested a break from the chief referee.
It was time to turn the tables.
A mid-game break was announced.
In the stadium, blending with Dublin’s lush greenery in early July, small exclamations erupted here and there from the audience who had been holding their breath.
If only the flow hadn’t been interrupted, Olivia, who had been pushing forward with unstoppable momentum, would have seized the victory right then.
People who were disappointed by the halt of the refreshing play that could have blown away the summer heat watched the two players taking a break, hoping for the game to resume quickly.
The gazes of Olivia and Evangeline, heading towards their respective benches, naturally met.
Evangeline responded to Olivia’s smile with a soft and sparkling gaze, but the moment she turned away, she wiped off the expression that had been like a mask.
Evangeline, who had been thirsty, drank water as soon as she sat down. Her gaze remained fixed on Olivia Blanchet.
Drink water, Olivia.
She muttered inwardly, as if casting a spell.
Olivia picked up the neatly folded towel on the table.
Next to it stood a water bottle with Lancelot Company’s golden logo embossed on it.
After wiping her forehead thoroughly, Olivia neatly folded the towel again and placed it to one side, then sat on the bench.
Then she bent over and retied her shoelaces.
Evangeline grew impatient.
After tightly tying both shoelaces, Olivia now fixed her hair.
Worried that she might not even touch the water at this rate, Evangeline felt her insides burning black with anxiety.
After taking a moment to catch her breath, Olivia smiled brightly while fixing her gaze somewhere.
Evangeline’s eyes naturally followed in that direction.
Edgar Lancaster Lancelot. The two were smiling while exchanging glances.
Please!
Evangeline was burning with impatience. The remaining break time was just about three or four minutes.
Unable to bear it any longer, Evangeline felt the urge to jump up, run over, grab Olivia’s chin, and force the water down her throat.
Drink it.
As if finally and reluctantly breaking away from their intertwined gazes, Olivia’s gaze at last fell on the water bottle beside her.
“……”
Olivia slowly extended her arm.
“!”
Evangeline’s heart started pounding.
Please……
At last, she lifted the water bottle.
Hurry.
Olivia slowly twisted the cap. After placing the lid on the table, Olivia stared blankly at the bottle for a moment.
Drink it!
Holding her breath, Evangeline stared intently at Olivia.
The hand that had grabbed the towel and brought it to her nape trembled with tension.
Just as Evangeline’s lips turned red, about to burst from being pressed by her white teeth, Olivia brought the water bottle to her crimson lips.
Time seemed to stop, and all of Olivia’s movements were excruciatingly slow.
“……!”
The next moment, Olivia Blanchet’s smooth Adam’s apple moved slowly.
Evangeline shuddered at the sight.
It’s over!
[This is the timeline separator]The port city of Whailo, known as the heart of the navy, was in a festive mood ahead of the launching ceremony of the world’s first dreadnought-class battleship.
Except for that fact, the city he revisited after completing his royal service period seemed unchanged.
Johan stepped out of the carriage.
The HMS King Trafalgar, displaying its majesty towards the azure sea, was the first to come into view.
“You’ve arrived, sir. This way please.”
Johan lightly nodded to the officer and placed the officer’s cap he had been loosely holding onto his head.
The golden laurel decoration in the center of the white dress cap sparkled in the clear sunlight.
On the platform, the officer in charge of today’s event was introducing the key figures.
The admiral, along with the naval commander-in-chief and the captain, took turns climbing onto the platform to give brief congratulatory speeches before taking their designated seats.
“His Grace, Duke Johan Edinburgh Leopold.”
The domestic and foreign dignitaries invited to the launching ceremony and the crowds filling the harbor to the brim began to stir.
“Wasn’t His Royal Highness the Crown Prince supposed to attend?”
Even the navy had only been notified of this matter this morning.
It was a sudden change, but as the unreliable Crown Prince had often missed events like this, his close associates didn’t think much of it.
Amidst the confusion, Johan, dressed in naval uniform, climbed the platform stairs. The sunlight slid over the decorative emblems and the golden buckle of his belt adorning his formal uniform.
Standing in front of the platform, Johan slowly swept his gaze over the crowd looking up at him.
‘Once born into royalty, the only moment one can be free from its duties and responsibilities is death, Johan.’
As an unwelcome voice echoed like an auditory hallucination, a sneer crossed his face.
Johan lightly shook his wrist to glance at his watch. Eleven o’clock in the morning. It was time for Olivia’s match to have ended.
Did she win?
He had been curious about the result of the match he would have leisurely watched had he boarded the ship last night from Le Monde as planned.
Meanwhile, the audience was curious about the reason for the Crown Prince’s absence.
What could it be? As various speculations were exchanged, Johan slowly raised his head. The massive warship came into view straight ahead. The Rondos national flag, the red royal flag, and the naval flag fluttered vigorously in the sea breeze.
‘Fulfill your duty.’
“Dear citizens of Whailo.”
Johan’s speech began. His voice, unhurried yet weighty, carried on the sea breeze.
As always, Johan concluded his speech briefly.
The godmother of HMS King Trafalgar was the admiral’s daughter.
A young woman with a youthful face who had just come of age and hadn’t completely shed her girlish appearance threw the champagne bottle tied to a rope against the ship’s side.
With a loud noise, sharp glass shards reflected the afternoon sunlight.
Amidst applause and cheers, HMS King Trafalgar slid down the shipway.
Flashes went off from all directions to capture this spectacle for history.
The warship, raising huge sprays of water as it entered the sea, teetered as if about to capsize before quickly regaining its balance and standing upright.
Under the hot summer sun, the eardrum-rattling cheers shook the earth.
Did she win?
Johan, who had been gazing at the vast ocean, turned away.
“The next schedule is the unveiling ceremony of former Prime Minister Rumsfeld’s memorial. Your Grace. …Here’s the speech.”
It was on the train heading back to Leiden. The aide involuntarily flinched and stepped back at Johan’s gaze.
While Crown Prince Christian was quite tall, Duke Leopold added an unapproachable aura that sent chills down one’s spine.
Johan skimmed through the speech he had received and cast a sharp gaze out the window.
Feeling a migraine coming on, he rubbed his eyes. He unbuttoned the collar of his uniform that was choking him.
In the view of the capital turning golden, the bridge spanning the Daphne River could be seen in the distance.
The statue of Arche, goddess of love, was displaying its graceful figure under the ripe sunlight.
‘…I want to kiss.’
‘Right there.’
That day, if I had stopped the running carriage and kissed you in front of the goddess Arche. If I had done that, what would have become of us?
It was a meaningless assumption.
Even if that had happened, Johan Leopold would not have fallen in love.
For he did not know what form it would take.
The carriage that he had transferred to at Leiden Central Station stopped at Greenwood Park.
Johan silently rebuttoned the buttons he had undone.
Entering the venue, Johan gave a speech in front of the public.
Cutting the tape, taking commemorative photos, drinking celebratory drinks while engaging in appropriate small talk. And then on to the Royal Hospital charity party venue.
Clever bastard.
Johan closed his tired eyes and cursed as he got into the carriage. It was already fully evening beyond the window.
He couldn’t help but admire the Crown Prince who managed to lead such a dissipated life amidst this murderous schedule.
Did she win?
Even in his fatigue, he thought of that woman, Olivia Blanchet.
For the first time since meeting his wife, he wanted to see someone but couldn’t.
[This is the timeline separator]It was strange.
Was it due to nerves?
“……”
Evangeline’s heart suddenly started beating rapidly. As she reached out to hit the incoming ball, she suddenly felt dizzy and her legs wobbled.
Her limbs felt heavy as if all strength had left her body.
Olivia, who had the serve for the second set, quickly hit the ball she had tossed up.
Evangeline shook her head vigorously. The ball appeared to split into two, no, three.
What’s wrong with me?
She swung her racket, but the ball had already passed her by. Her breathing became rapid.
“Haa, haa……”
This is weird.
Cold sweat began to break out all over her body.
That woman seems fine, so why am I……
Evangeline shook her head violently to clear her mind. Her hair, fixed with pearl pins, swayed.
Strands of hair that had come loose stuck to her sweaty forehead and cheeks like cobwebs.
Haa! With a beast-like roar, another ball came flying.
Her vision blurred with a ‘ping’ sound. Evangeline’s legs lost strength as she ran towards the ball, her steps tangled, and she collapsed.
Oh, my! Exclamations poured from the stands. The buzzing noises sounded muffled, like mockery and ridicule.
‘I believe Miss Seymour has sufficient skill to join our group.’
Princess Anblyn’s kind voice faintly echoed in her ears.
I can’t be humiliated like this here.
Evangeline tried to stand up using her racket as support. Or rather, she tried to, but her half-raised body tilted helplessly.
No way.
Lying on the grass, Evangeline felt her heart, which had been racing, suddenly slow down dramatically. She could see the blue sky.
The intense sunlight that seemed to pierce her eyes gradually darkened.
It can’t be…
That woman suddenly entered her fading vision. In the woman’s eyes, as blue as the sky, bewilderment and concern were intertwined.
They were eyes that looked utterly harmless.
“Are you… right? Miss……”
With the woman’s voice, breaking off in fragments, as the last thing she heard, Evangeline lost consciousness.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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