Chapter 18
Divorce.
I had to divorce him.
Well, given his feelings now, I donât think he would accept the decision easily, but I had to give it a try. There was one hope thoughâBleon listens very well to me. He obeyed my words well, so if I gave a plausible reason and said it in a good way, Bleon might be swayed.
âAnd what will I do if he doesnât understand?â
I donât want to live with him, what should I do? Where there is a beginning, there is also an ending. If you are married, you can get a divorce. And now that he has almost lost all his addiction and has returned to normal, Bleon will be able to become a full-fledged Duke if the butler takes good care of him.
Without me, heâll be fine from now on. Heâll just have a good life. Heâs still young, but heâll get a better wife and live a much better life than he does now.
âAh,â
My heart was aching again.
âAstell. Iâm really sorry, but I think this is it for me.â
Just like the last time, I stroked the painful part of my heart and turned out and made a fence from Bleon. But from a little distance, Bleon was watching me silently.
âBleon?â
When I called him, Bleon came up to me at once.
âWifeâ¦â
âWhy did you come? When did you come out?â
âYes. My wife left and I went out right away. I missed you, Wifeâ¦â
âReally?â
No, how long have we been separated�
He was like a puppy waiting for his master to come home, and I laughed for a moment. Bleon followed me and smiled very sweetly. But when I saw him smiling at me, his back to the setting sun, my heart pounded faintly.
âAstell liked Bleon a lot, too.â
Her sincerity continued to be felt through the condition of my heart.
Then you should have done a good job. Why did youâ¦
It would be useless to think like this until now, but I felt so sad for the two of them.
âYes, there is no Astell anymore.â
Because I entered her body. So where did the real Astellâs soul go?
âDid you go to my body?â
That could have been the case. There was a possibility that her soul had changed. Or did it disappear? I hoped it was the former. Itâs so sad to disappear from this world.
So I prayedâplease. Please, if sheâs gone somewhere, let her be in my body. There sheâll be loved by my family. Because my mom and dad loved me so much. Because Iâve always been told I was the best daughter they could have.
Since they had only one child, my parents poured all their love and affection to me. But if Astell had not gone into my body, I would have died, and the thought of my parents grieving made me very sad.
So for everyoneâs sake, it would be better if Astell had become me, just as I became Astell. Instead of me, I wanted her to live happily where I had lived. I hoped that she would be happy with her unrequited love there.
Of course, I am a terribly selfish person, so I desperately wanted to go back to where I was, if there was only the smallest possibility.
âLetâs not think in vain.â
I didnât want to lose my willpower just because I felt depressed. I had already cried so much when I came here, I shed so many tears every time I remembered my family without Bleonâs knowledge. Now, Iâve accepted my new reality.
âWifeâ¦?â
Bleon called me and roused me from my thoughts. He looked at me with a worried expression on his face.
âAh, just thinking for a moment.â
I smiled slightly at him as if nothing had happened.
âEverythingâs okay⦠right?â
âHmm. Iâm okay.â
Despite my straightforward answer, Bleon was nervous, so I grabbed his hand.
âShall we go in?â
Saying so, I grabbed his hand and tried to walk to the mansion. But Bleon didnât budge, so I turned and looked at him.
âCanât you go for a little more walk with me?â
âWalk?â
âYes. Canât we just go round and round?â
âSure. Alright.â
So we headed towards the garden. It was summer, but it was slowly getting cooler, and his warm, large hand was wrapped around my hand. It felt pleasant.
We walked around the garden holding hands like that. But I had something to say to Bleon, so when should I? I was still thinking about what to say. So he talked about this and that, but I couldnât concentrate. Then, as if Bleon noticed it, he suddenly stopped his steps and looked at me.
âMaybe there is⦠something?â
âHuh?â
âAre you tired? Shall we go in?â
âHmm. Itâs a little tiring. Shall we go in now?â
âYes. Alright. Do you want me to carry you, Wife?â
I spoke with a look of being quite tired from thinking about various things, and then Bleon suddenly said that he would carry me.
âWhat?
âMy wife is tired, so Iâll carry you.â
Then, Bleon put his wide back in front of me and sat down so that he could lift me up on his back.
âNo. itâs okay.â
I refused, saying Iâm fine, and I approached Bleon to make him stand back up.
âCome on. Iâve always wanted to carry my wife once I grew up. Wife carried me a lot when I was young.â
At that time, I remembered Astell walking around the garden carrying the ten-year-old Bleon. At that time, Bleon was definitely smaller than his peers. So Astell seemed to often carry Bleon.
âHurry up. Wife⦠Itâs hard for me to stay like thisâ¦â
As I stood frozen, Bleon urged me more. Obviously, seeing a tall person sitting with his body crouched down, he looked unstable because he was afraid he might fall forward. I had no choice but to wrap my arms around his neck and lean on his back.
Then, Bleon easily picked me up and carried me. But he was so tall that I went too high, and in a moment of dizziness, I hugged his neck tightly.
âToo highâ¦!â
âShall we go lower a bit then?â
Saying so, Bleon bent his knees slightly.
âNo. Letâs just go.â
Even at my words, Bleon started walking with his knees bent.
âItâs fine now. Itâs because it is too high for a while. And if you keep walking like that, itâll get harder for you.â
When I told him to straighten his knees again, Bleon straightened his knees.
âWife is very light, so it is not difficult at all. You can stay like this all day.â
âWhatâ¦?â
At Bleonâs cute bluff, a peal of laughter came out of my lips, and I embraced him tighter.
Bleon carried me into our bedroom on the second floor. And Bleon carefully put me down on the floor.
âThank you. Thank you for making me feel comfortable.â
After I said thank you, Bleon stared at me. Then he suddenly turned his face to me.
âI want to⦠kissâ¦â
Just before our lips touched, he asked me for permission. But I pulled back right away. At my rejection, Bleonâs expression suddenly crumpled. I went to the sofa, sat down, and called Bleon.
âCan you come over here and sit down?â
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