I Ended Up Living Next Door to My Ex-Husband - Chapter 15

That evening, after Rebecca returned to the Dark Mansion.

Cedric and Bianca began a slightly late dinner.

Whether it was because she had returned home after a long time, or because of the surprising conversation she had with Rebecca.

Bianca hummed a tune throughout the meal with a much more relaxed expression.

“Bianca, you seem to be in quite a good mood today. But shouldn’t you finish your meal?”

“Ah, yes!”

Although she had barely picked up her fork, Bianca just stared blankly at Cedric’s face instead of the food in front of her.

“Um… Brother.”

“Hmm?”

At Cedric’s soft question, Bianca blushed shyly.

“Do you think Her Highness’s words to me were sincere?”

“What words?”

As he looked at Bianca, Cedric’s eyes gradually filled with pity.

“…That I’m a child worthy of being loved.”

“Of course. Certainly.”

“Really?”

Cedric slightly raised the corners of his mouth as he watched Bianca, who was genuinely happy.

“I’ve never seen a child as lovable as our Bianca.”

“Tsk. That’s just because you’re my brother, Your Grace.”

Bianca gave her brother a light teasing while smiling happily with the corners of her eyes curving.

Watching Bianca like this made Cedric feel even more complicated.

A child who smiles immediately at a kind word despite having endured harsh treatment until now.

How starved for the warmth of family must she be to act like this?

Cedric felt his heart ache even more.

“…The Duchess has changed a lot recently. So you can stay here comfortably from now on.”

Although it was meant to reassure Bianca, it wasn’t completely contrary to Cedric’s recent thoughts either.

Cedric had to finally admit it.

That Rebecca had really changed into a different person.

And once he admitted that, there was only one question that followed.

‘What on earth made Rebecca change so much?’

It was just as Cedric was about to fall into light contemplation.

Bianca nodded vigorously as if agreeing with his thoughts.

“That’s right, Her Highness seems to have changed a lot. I could feel it just from her expression!”

“…”

“She looks much much more comfortable and extremely happy than before!”

By ‘before’, she meant before Rebecca divorced him.

Why did the image of Rebecca smiling next to Adrian come to mind following those words?

Soon, Cedric’s brow gradually furrowed.

‘What does that have to do with me now?’

He tried to change the subject in an attempt to shake off the thought.

“I hear some noble young ladies who were close to you in the capital will be visiting in a few days.”

“Ah, yes… I heard that too.”

For some reason, Bianca’s voice, which had been very excited until just a moment ago, suddenly lowered.

“They’re good friends, of course?”

“O-Of course. They’re extremely kind friends! Hehe…”

At those words, Cedric nodded absently and resumed his meal.

As soon as his gaze left, Bianca’s expression, which had been forcing a smile, gradually darkened.

* * *

A few days later.

A letter arrived from Camilla, my maid and the villainess of the original story, saying she would soon return to the North.

Upon hearing this news, I immediately summoned Adrian.

“Adrian, how is the additional disposal of art pieces I requested going?”

“I’ve proposed to a few more shops, and plan to deal with the one that offered the highest price.”

“Good. Please proceed as quickly as possible.”

Camilla’s return meant that it would soon be time for ‘that item’ to appear in the gift trading market.

‘As soon as Henry, Robelia’s husband, returns from his adulterous trip with Camilla, he makes a big hit in the gift trading market. He uses that to show off and later mistreats Robelia as much as he can.’

I was planning to somehow snatch that luck away from the adulterous Henry.

Sufficient cash preparation was essential to win the bidding competition against him.

So I decided to trade additional art pieces to stockpile more cash.

As I was conversing with Adrian, Mina entered the reception room.

In her hands was a large box.

“Your Highness, the toys you ordered have arrived! Would you like to check them?”

When Mina opened the box, there were four cute dolls inside.

“They’re pretty indeed, as expected of custom-made items. The children will love them, won’t they?”

“Of course! Princess Bianca will probably be so moved she’ll even cry when she finds out Your Highness prepared them personally!”

After Bianca returned to the North,

Mina, knowing that I was trying to mend my relationship with Bianca, had been gathering various information about her.

One of those pieces of information was that noble friends Bianca had been close to in the capital would be visiting soon.

I immediately ordered dolls as gifts for Bianca and her friends.

And today was the day to give those dolls as presents.

“I heard when I came back earlier that all the friends have arrived and are enjoying a tea party.”

The thought of cute children gathered together.

Just imagining it made me feel good.

‘Of course, our Bianca will be the cutest among them, right?’

Thinking of Bianca’s shoulders puffing up proudly in front of her friends after receiving the gift, the corners of my mouth unconsciously lifted.

“Let’s go now. Where are they all?”

“They should be in the orangery in the rear garden!”

.

.

.

At the same time, in the orangery of the rear garden.

Despite the cold weather of the North, a warm breeze blew around the hexagonal orangery, and various spring flowers were in full bloom.

In the center, in front of a white table placed there,

Young ladies of ducal houses from the capital, about eight or nine years old, were gathered, looking around with curious eyes.

“It’s really amazing! Just with magic power, cold weather can instantly become warm!”

“I know! It’s so fascinating that it’s warm only here when it’s cold winter just a few steps away!”

Erica, Mary, and Judith.

They each looked at the flower petals scattering from the trees with excited expressions.

Bianca smiled awkwardly at her friends.

“I’m really glad you all like it…”

Her voice was small and weak compared to her friends.

Judith stared at Bianca intently.

“Bianca, why do you sound so weak? Are you not happy we came?”

“Huh? Th-That’s not it…”

Judith, the young lady of the Montrand ducal family, was a pretty but somehow irritating-looking little miss.

As Judith’s gaze continued to be directed at her, Bianca’s head dropped as if it would drill into the ground.

Then the rest of the children chimed in with indifferent expressions.

“Is that so? But Bianca is originally timid.”

“That’s right! It’s not particularly unusual.”

At the children’s words, Judith made a contemplative expression and tapped her chin with her finger.

“That’s not it. Bianca seems particularly low-spirited today… Ah! I think I know the reason!”

The children’s attention focused on Judith’s dramatic attitude.

“What is it? What is it!”

“I’m curious, Judith!”

Then the corners of Judith’s mouth curved up smoothly.

“Bianca is upset about leaving the civilized capital and returning to this uncivilized North!”

“Eh? Really?”

The children’s gazes turned to Bianca at once.

The subtle disdain and mockery of the capital’s noble young ladies was already familiar to Bianca.

However, it was hard to bear even her birthplace and home becoming the subject of their ridicule.

Bianca, who had been clutching her skirt tightly with her small hands, soon closed her eyes tightly and raised her voice.

“Th-That’s not true! The North has many good things…!”

However, the words she had barely mustered the courage to say couldn’t continue further due to friends who didn’t pay attention to Bianca’s story.

“Well! Judith’s words make sense! The North feels somewhat backward.”

“I, backward… All the technologies currently famous in the capital were developed in the North…”

“…”

“Rather, it’s the capital and southern regions’ technology that’s more backward, while the North is the opposite…”

Although her tone lacked confidence, Bianca clearly conveyed her point.

Judith and her friends’ chatter stopped momentarily, struck by those words.

After a long silence, the children, noticing Judith’s discomfort, hurried to speak.

“So what! The North is close to the demon realm!”

“That’s right, that’s right! Being close to the demon realm is somehow creepy!”

Bianca’s face hardened at once, surprised by the children’s sudden attack.

On the other hand, Judith, who had regained her composure, blinked her eyes exaggeratedly as if on a theater stage.

“Mary! How could Bianca be afraid of the demon realm?”

Then she forcefully flipped her blonde hair behind her shoulder.

“Bianca is a half-demon after all. Not a human born with God’s blessing like us…”

Judith quickly covered her mouth with her hand after saying that far.

“Oh my! I’m sorry, Lady Bianca.”

Her expression was apologetic for the slip of the tongue, but it still seemed exaggerated.

Bianca could only bite her lip tightly and hold back her tears.

The children exchanged glances in the suddenly awkward atmosphere.

“J-Judith just made a mistake, Bianca.”

“Yeah, that’s right. If you don’t let it go, you’ll be the only narrow-minded person.”

“And to be honest… Judith didn’t say anything completely wrong.”

“That’s right… Our mothers often say the same thing.”

Words that could never be said by Bianca’s friends poured out of their mouths.

The children maintaining even a superficial friendship with Bianca was the result of their parents urging them to do so.

It was intended to leave a good impression of their families on the Emperor and Cedric.

Perhaps that’s why.

It was hard to find pure affection for each other among the children.

There were only roles of queen bee, handmaidens, and the bullied on the stage of friendship.

“Honestly… I think the reason Her Highness hates Bianca is because she’s a half-demon.”

“I think so too. It’s harder than you’d think for a human to treat a half-demon without prejudice.”

Bianca’s arms, tightly hugging a rabbit doll, tensed more and more.

“N-No… Her Highness definitely said I was a lovable child…”

Bianca, who was trying hard to explain, soon bit her lower lip tightly.

‘R-Really… Has Her Highness disliked me all this time because I’m a half-demon?’

It was then that Bianca lowered her head with a gloomy expression.

A gentle voice suddenly pierced the children’s ears sharply.

“My, my! Our young ladies are having such an interesting conversation?”

When they unconsciously turned their heads towards the sound,

The children’s faces instantly turned pale.

“Y-Your Highness!”

“…Gasp! Cough, cough!”

The surprised children saw Rebecca approaching them slowly.

Her face was clearly full of smiles.

However, Rebecca’s eyes flowed with a subtle chill like that of a predator before a hunt.

She, who had somehow come right next to them, slowly put her arms around Judith and Mary’s shoulders.

“I’ve been listening for a while, and it seems quite an interesting conversation was going on?”

Rebecca’s gentle smile even gave off an inexplicable sense of pressure.

Just as the young ladies’ lips, frozen stiff, began to tremble,

“Now then… would you like to tell me who dared to make our Bianca cry?”

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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