I Want a Divorce, Please Stop Obsessing Over Me!

Episode 1 – I Have Come To Keep My Promise (1)

It was a dark and stormy night. Edelis was making her final preparations as she was leaving her beloved home the next night.

‘I almost forgot the most important thing.’

She remembered that she had not packed her gold.

Gold was essential, as she might not be able to exchange the jewels for gold immediately.

Edelis bent down to get the bag that was tucked under the bed.

But at that moment, the window suddenly opened and a strong gust of wind blew in.

The heavy curtains were swaying wildly in the wind.

Edelis’ curly golden hair, which reached down to her waist, was also blown wildly by the sudden wind, covering her eyes.

Edelis brushed her hair aside with one hand, and a figure of a man appeared in the gap between the curtains.

She was startled and tried to scream, but her voice was too hoarse.

She quickly got up and reached for the bell to call the maid, but a large hand grabbed her wrist before she could.

It was the man who had appeared from between the curtains.

Edelis trembled and looked up at the face of the man who held her wrist.

The room was dark, and the man was facing away from the window, so she couldn’t see him clearly.

But her eyes, which were used to the darkness, soon saw his red hair and his beautifully shining golden eyes.

Edelis’ eyes widened as she recognized the man’s eye and hair color.

“Is that you, Lehan? It’s you, right?”

“You… still remember me?”

“Of course I do!”

He used to be about her height, but now he was a head taller than her, with broad shoulders. He clearly must have become a knight.

Edelis was surprised to see him, if it wasn’t for his red hair and golden eyes, she might not have recognized him.

But even with just that little characteristic, she knew it was Lehan. She had not forgotten him.

“How have you been?”

When Edelis greeted Lehan by his now unfamiliar name, he smiled gently and sat down on the bed next to her.

She had so much to say to him.

She wanted to know what he had been doing, if he had been well, why he had not sent her a letter, and… if he could help her.

Edelis, who couldn’t wait for Lehan’s answer, quickly continued speaking.

She didn’t have much time because she was going to leave this place tomorrow. So she had to say what she had to say before she could wait for his answer.

“Lehan, do you remember? The promise you made to me before you left…?”

On that young day, they promised.

That Lehan would save Edelis.

He said he would protect her from anyone, at any cost.

“Not once, not for a moment have I forgotten.”

Edelis, who had been tense, smiled brightly when she heard his determined words.

“But, can I… still keep that promise?”

“Of course!”

In contrast to Lehan’s hesitating attitude, Edelis stood up happily and hugged Lehan by the neck.

Lehan, who was surprised by the sudden warmth of the delicate body that had touched him after a long time, opened his eyes wide and was unable to move a hand. After a while, he finally hugged her back and buried his face in her neck.

The smell of sweet perfume mixed with Edelis’ scent filled his nostrils.

“Ah!”

Edelis laughed with relief, but then remembered her dire situation and pushed him away.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

Edelis said urgently, her hand on his shoulder.

“Take me and let’s run away!”

“What?”

“A man came a while ago. The Emperor said he would make me his Empress; I don’t want to!”

His eyes, which had felt like they had the whole world in them when he held her in his arms, were shaken in confusion.

Lehan, with a dark expression, opened his mouth a few times and then opened his lips with difficulty.

“To be wed to the Emperor… are you really so opposed to it?”

Edelis hates it. Of course she doesn’t want to.

Ever since she found out that this place was a novel, and that she was the same person as ‘Edelis Brill’ in the novel, her goal had always been to get away from the emperor.

It would be an incredibly glorious position for some, but if she were to become the empress, Edelis would be stabbed to death by the emperor’s sword.

So she vowed that she would not become the empress and just live a long, long life as a young lady of the Earl family.

“I want to be with you, Lehan, not the Emperor.”

Before coming here, Lehan had to constantly worry that Edelis would forget him.

Even though he had never forgotten her for a moment, Edelis might not feel the same.

It was too much to expect her to not forget him, who was just a commoner.

But Edelis said she wanted to be with him, and not with the emperor…

Lehan was overwhelmed with indescribable emotions and couldn’t speak.

“You want to be with me?” Lehan said, as if he was chewing on his words.

Edelis couldn’t help but shrink in response to his voice, which sounded like he was holding something back.

“Y,yeah! It’s not all bad! I’ve studied a lot of pharmacology, agriculture, and commerce, so I won’t be so clumsy and get in trouble even if I live as a commoner… I hope so?” 

At least that is what she thought of, but she didn’t know what Lehan would think.

‘There is no reason for Lehan to be chased by the Emperor just to save my life.’

Thinking about that, her voice became less confident.

If it had been the old Lehan, he would have said without hesitation that he would follow her in a heartbeat, but… it had been 7 years since they had been apart.

She was worried that Lehan, who had changed so much in appearance, might have also changed his thoughts.

“I have a lot of jewelry and gold coins that I received as a betrothal gift from the Emperor, so we’ll be fine even if we live a little greedy.”

Lehan raised his hand and stroked Edelis’ cheek lovingly.

Even though it was something he had been doing to Edelis all the time before he left, for some reason she blushed, feeling embarrassed.

The hand, which was much larger and calloused than before, felt unfamiliar to her.

Lehan put his forehead against hers, just like he did the day he left.

“Be selfish. A lot. I want to give you everything.”

“If I am selfish, Father will not be able to handle it. I don’t want to be too greedy while running away and not being able to figure out the situation.”

“The situation…”

Lehan smiled strangely and continued to stroke her reddened cheek. 

His behavior was not much different from when he left her before, but his mood was very different from then.

So Edelis turned her head and dodged a little, and continued.

“Any,anyway! Do you think it will be easy for me to give up what I have enjoyed so far?”

Lehan, who was still feeling the warmth of her body that had just left his hand, stared at his hand for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her waist, who was still in his arms.

“You don’t have to give it up. I’ll pick you up no later than tomorrow, so please wait for me.”

“I was actually going to leave by myself tomorrow night.”

Lehan breathed a sigh of relief.

He almost lost her while he was hesitating whether she had forgotten him.

Without even thinking about it, he tightened his arm around her.

“If you don’t come tomorrow afternoon,” Edelis said, gripping his arm tightly, “I’ll leave even if I have to go alone. Then I’ll never wait for you again. Do you understand? So you have to come and pick me up.”

Her words sounded like a threat, but in fact, Edelis was in desperate need of him, and her tone was filled with quite a bit of desperation.

But Lehan, who was even more desperate than her, nodded and vowed to come early.

“Don’t worry, my Lady. I will come for you tomorrow no matter what. It will be a long journey, so please rest.”

Lehan laid Edelis on the bed and covered her with the blanket up to her neck. 

He told her to go to sleep, but she couldn’t sleep because she was anxious and kept looking at him.

Although she felt secure when Lehan agreed to be with her, the anxiety about the future that she had tried to ignore when she was preparing to leave alone raised its head.

If he didn’t come, it would be even harder than she thought it would be to leave alone.

“You must come tomorrow.”

“I will come and pick you up early.”

Lehan’s large hand covered Edelis’ green eyes.

The warmth of his body, which was transmitted over her darkened vision, gave her a sense of security.

Edelis fell asleep, satisfied only after hearing him say that he would come back to her a few more times.