CHAPTER 17………………………………………
Elnes — Commoners’ District Street.
“Wow! The weather’s great!”
As I walked down the street, I stretched and enjoyed the brilliant sunlight.
“Indeed it is.”
Terrence beside me agreed.
“Mm-hmm.”
A hum escaped me without thinking.
Honestly, even if it were raining with thunder crashing down, it would have looked lovely to me.
That was how good my mood was. The reason was…
‘Because the divorce petition was accepted!’
This morning, while reading the newspaper placed in the hotel lobby, I saw an article saying that a large number of Central Court officials had been arrested for corruption.
Just in case, I headed straight to the Central Court after breakfast — and there it was, the good news that my divorce filing had been received.
The clerk even hinted that the trial would likely begin soon.
Apparently, the higher-ups were taking an interest.
‘It must be thanks to Terrence.’
It hadn’t been long since he met the person presumed to be the Emperor.
As far as I knew, nothing like this happened in the original story.
‘Though it might simply not have been mentioned since it wasn’t related to Riena.’
It couldn’t be a coincidence that the Emperor’s direct inspection unit suddenly conducted a surprise audit of the Central Court.
Originally, getting the divorce filing accepted was something I planned to request during negotiations with Terrence, but it ended up happening sooner than expected.
The unpleasantness from meeting Riena the other day seemed to melt away at once.
I steeled my resolve. Today, I would definitely make Terrence acknowledge the effectiveness of the medicinal tea.
‘All right! I’ll make him drink plenty and close the deal quickly!’
That was when we arrived at the hotel.
Something caught my eye.
Tables and chairs set out in the hotel courtyard.
“Since the weather’s so nice, shall we have tea outside?”
Terrence readily accepted my suggestion.
“Sounds good. I’ll go borrow a tea set. Please have a seat here, my lady.”
With that, he headed toward the teahouse he usually visited.
He disappeared into the alley before I could even say I’d go instead.
I picked a suitable seat and sat down, muttering,
“I feel bad making a marquis run errands all the time…”
Still, it was comfortable.
While we’d been traveling together, he’d shown a lot of consideration for me in many ways.
Put nicely, he was attentive. Put less nicely, he seemed like someone who’d grown up constantly watching other people’s moods.
‘I wonder what he was like as a child?’
Maybe because he was a villain, the novel only briefly described Terrence’s background.
As I was imagining his upbringing, I noticed a very unwelcome sight.
Like yesterday, the massive Cassius family carriage stopped in front of the hotel.
This time, the one who stepped out wasn’t Riena — it was Leandro.
My first reaction wasn’t irritation, but confusion.
‘…What is he doing?’
His hair was neatly combed and swept to one side, and he was dressed so elaborately it looked cumbersome.
Most of all, he was holding an enormous bouquet — almost the size of a child — in his hands.
“My lady!”
Leandro, who had been heading into the hotel, spotted me and strode over.
He came right up to me, then dropped to one knee with a tense expression.
He held out the bouquet of pink roses.
“I was wrong about everything. Please give me just one more chance.”
“What is this—”
“Please come back, my lady!”
This was a total disaster.
A headache started to build. Fortunately, the hotel I was staying at was inexpensive.
Which meant it was located on the outskirts of the Elnes district. There weren’t many passersby.
The only witnesses to Leandro’s absurd performance were a couple of pedestrians and an elderly hotel guest seated at the table next to mine.
I sighed deeply as I looked at the kneeling man.
“Leandro. Stand up first.”
“No. I’ll remain like this until you forgive me, my lady.”
“That’s enough. Stop talking and get up.”
“My knees and pride aren’t so fragile that this would hurt them. Please don’t worry.”
Who said I was worried about his knees and pride? My irritation spiked.
“Hey. Get up.”
Even to my own ears, my voice was ice-cold.
“M-my lady…”
Sensing something was wrong, Leandro slowly rose.
“Follow me.”
With trouble in tow, I headed behind the hotel.
‘I should have changed lodgings!’
If Riena could find me, of course Leandro could too.
Once I got rid of him, I’d find a new place to stay — somewhere outsiders couldn’t just walk into.
Behind the hotel, where no one was around.
Laundry lines hung with bedcovers and blankets stretched overhead. I spun around to face him.
“Why are you here?”
Still holding the ridiculously large bouquet, Leandro hesitated.
“Why else? Of course I came to ask your forgiveness…”
“Wow. That’s truly amazing.”
“What is?”
“That you still have the nerve to ask me for forgiveness.”
A faint crease formed on his handsome forehead.
“Why is that amazing? If you do wrong, you apologize and ask forgiveness. Isn’t that the natural order?”
“Some apologies are better left unsaid. Not showing your face at all would be much healthier for my mental and physical well-being.”
“That can’t be…”
He looked mildly shocked that I didn’t even want to hear his apology.
“And what kind of manners are these — barging in and putting someone on the spot? Is that how the Cassius family asks forgiveness?”
Perhaps because he was an aristocrat who lived and died by reputation, he tried to defend himself.
“If I hadn’t done it this way, you wouldn’t have agreed to meet me.”
“Of course not. Refusing your visit is my right.”
“We are husband and wife. Is it so wrong for a husband to come see his wife?”
“Ha. Were we ever truly a husband and wife in the first place?”
He clamped his mouth shut, unable to respond.
Genuinely curious, I asked,
“Leandro, do you really think your wrongdoing can be forgiven?”
“…If you mean the mine matter, I heard Riena explained it well.”
“Oh. That lie about how you first approached me because of the mine but later developed feelings and proposed?”
“It’s not a lie! It’s the truth. I was flustered when you first mentioned the mine and failed to explain it properly.”
Oh please — so they coordinated their stories to fool me?
“Then explain this too. If you had feelings for me, why did you treat me coldly for the past two years?”
Just like last time, he was speechless at that question.
“That’s…”
He fidgeted with the ribbon on the bouquet in his hands.
I waited patiently, wondering what grand excuse he might produce.
After a long hesitation, he spoke in a tiny voice.
“I cannot tell you.”
He hadn’t even bothered to prepare a plausible excuse.
“Then we’re done here. Leave or don’t — do whatever you want.”
As I tried to walk away, Leandro blocked my path.
“Then I’ll promise you this one thing at least!”
He dropped to one knee again and held out the bouquet again.
“If you come back, it won’t happen again. I’ll make sure of it. I swear I will fulfill my duties as a husband sincerely and treat you with care!”
“…”
I took the bouquet of roses — the same color as my hair.
For a brief moment, hope shone in his glossy blue eyes.
Right up until I walked a few steps and tossed it into the large trash bin against the building wall.
Sorry, flowers.
You did nothing wrong, but may you be reborn into a life where you won’t be thrown away.
“It’s already too late.”
That was an unchanging truth.
Even if Leandro knelt, made desperate vows, and looked at me with pleading eyes—
All he gave me was discomfort. Nothing stirred inside me.
Yes — just as those trembling eyes and pale cheeks failed to evoke even the slightest sympathy.
It was truly, completely over.
“Stop wasting your effort and go back.”
I tried to pass him.
“Wait!”
He scrambled up and grabbed my wrist.
“Please, just one chance! Just once!”
I really couldn’t understand it.
He had plenty of money — was the mine really worth going this far?
Or was there some other reason he absolutely had to keep me?
Not that my curiosity was strong enough to give him the chance he wanted.
“Let go!”
“I’ll let go if you promise to have an honest conversation with me.”
“No. Why would I?”
“What’s so difficult about having one conversation?”
“I said no!”
I was just about to kick him hard in the shin when—
“Ugh!”
Leandro let out a short groan and fell forward.
A man holding a tray came into view. Terrence was suddenly right behind him and seemed to have kicked the back of his knee.
He shifted to stand slightly in front of me, as if shielding me with his back, and said,
“You shouldn’t grab someone who’s clearly telling you no.”
His gaze toward Leandro was openly contemptuous.
“I apologize for being late. The teahouse owner stepped out, so I had to wait.”
In contrast, the look he gave me was warm and polite.
“Who are you?”
Leandro quickly got up, wary.
“You don’t look like a waiter…”
His eyes moved from the tray with the teapot and cups to the sword at Terrence’s waist.
Only a small number of nobles had ever seen Terrence in person. Unless it was Duke Cassius himself, it made sense Leandro wouldn’t recognize him.
“I’m good at making tea — but I’m even better at other kinds of work.”
Terrence shrugged.
“For example, labor that’s far more helpful to a lady than a bunch of useless flowers.”
As he sneered, I answered instead,
“He’s my bodyguard.”
“Body… guard?”
“Yes. I hired him recently in case you came looking for me like this.”
Leandro stared blankly between Terrence and me standing side by side.
After a moment, his expression twisted.
“What is your relationship with this man?”
Clear displeasure and suspicion filled his face.
I could already guess where this conversation was heading.
“I told you — he’s my bodyguard.”
“Does your ex-husband happen to have hearing problems? Why does he keep asking about something he just heard?”
Terrence murmured to me as if whispering, though loud enough for everyone to hear.
“My hearing is perfectly fine,”
Leandro snapped.
