Chapter 23…………………………….
After hearing Sharon’s brief explanation, Terrence muttered to himself.
“So that’s what happened.”
For some reason, his voice seemed to carry a faint hint of pleasure. Was that just my imagination?
“Y-You had no idea about this before the marriage?”
I shook my head, and Sharon let out a groaning sigh.
“What a madman…!”
“….”
Though he didn’t speak, Terrence’s expression suggested he felt the same.
“This is clearly a fraudulent marriage! It’s more than enough grounds for divorce.”
“What a despicable human being.”
Seeing them both get more outraged than I expected gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.
…Come to think of it, this was the first time I had confided in someone in detail.
It felt so good and reassuring to have someone on my side.
I wanted just a bit more empathy. I wanted to share more. During previous consultations, I had only briefly and objectively summarized my situation.
“Well, this isn’t directly related to the case… but could this also count as grounds for divorce?”
“You’ve got more?”
“It’s about something that happened before the wedding, when choosing the wedding dress.”
I confessed that I had been forced to pick my wedding dress according to Liena’s taste.
“Insane. Absolutely insane.”
Sharon’s fiery reaction loosened the dam, and other things began spilling out.
I confessed everything that had made me miserable: a marriage where we barely saw each other once a day, the Cassius family’s exclusion, Liandro forgetting our wedding anniversary, and so on.
I left out the mine incident since it involved future matters, but I had told almost everything else.
Suddenly, a wave of embarrassment hit me.
‘How embarrassing.’
I had talked too much. Sharon might not mind, but Terrence had clearly lived a harder life than I had. I felt like a pupa lecturing a butterfly.
“…Haha, I’ve just been complaining too much, haven’t I? You don’t need to worry about it…”
“Don’t say that. You’ve gone through a lot!”
Sharon grasped my hand by the chin.
“It must have been incredibly hard. I can’t fully understand your feelings, but now it’s okay. I’ll help you. You are not alone. And… ah, how do I put it? Choosing the right words while doing this job is always difficult.”
At her clumsy words, her unpolished language, but sincere heart, I suddenly let it out.
“Huh?”
A single tear slid down my cheek and onto the back of Sharon’s hand.
“Ah, where to wipe…”
As Sharon flustered, a navy handkerchief was quietly offered.
The owner of the handkerchief wasn’t smiling as usual. His gaze was serious.
It must have been Terrence Freihayden’s own way of comforting me.
“Thank you.”
Accepting his gesture, I saw the faint loosening at the corners of his mouth.
“You’re welcome.”
The soft cloth carried a faint scent reminiscent of its owner.
A little later.
“I am truly sorry!”
Sharon bowed deeply.
“Oh, it’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. I carelessly committed a huge faux pas due to my personal bias. I never imagined you had such circumstances, Edel…”
Her words referred to the last time she had tried to prevent my divorce. She blamed herself for speaking recklessly without knowing the full story.
“You couldn’t have known. I didn’t tell you everything.”
“Still, I overstepped. Today as well, I refused without really listening to you, didn’t I?”
Hm. The fact that she had intended to refuse made me trust her more.
If Sharon were malicious, she would have pretended to help me while siding with Cassius. She would have been paid by me and also received a fortune from them. Or at least she could have half-heartedly defended me while pocketing the money.
Acknowledging this, Sharon lowered her head, hiding a slightly embarrassed expression.
Finally.
“I will devote myself fully to the responsibility entrusted to me.”
Sharon officially took on my case.
“Thank you. It’s best to be precise wit the payment.”
I pulled a thick pouch from my handbag and placed it on the table.
“This is the retainer fee. I’ve put in more than enough, so you can repay debts and hire trustworthy people.”
No doubt the legal team Cassius would assemble would be lavish, and Sharon couldn’t handle it alone. Even if it cost a lot, she needed colleagues who wouldn’t be bribed by the other side.
‘Farewell, my emergency fund.’
I swallowed tears. The pouch contained money I had secretly earned through side work and valuables I had sold when leaving Cassius.
For reference, the side work was a small money-making scheme using information about the future from novels. Unfortunately, Liena, the time traveler, had already swept up most of the lucrative opportunities, so I never handled huge sums.
‘It’s a bit funny to fund my divorce with jewelry my husband gave me…’
But it was mine to use as I wished. It wasn’t money given for living expenses, just a personal gift.
“…This is so much! Thank you. I’ll make sure not a penny is wasted.”
Sharon checked the pouch and responded energetically.
At first glance, her reaction seemed perfectly fine. But I could feel it.
Sometimes in life, my intuition or perception would become unusually sharp—and this was one of those moments.
“Is there a problem?”
There had clearly been a pause earlier. Before she spoke after eyeballing the gold coins in the pouch—a brief moment of hesitation represented by ‘…’.
“No. There’s no problem at all.”
“Don’t lie. Tell me.”
After a few more proddings, Sharon hesitantly admitted:
“You’re right, it’s not enough to fully repay my debts and hire the best team.”
C-Could it be…
“But you don’t need to pay off my debts! I only need the agreed retainer!”
Her words weren’t wrong, but I still wanted to cover her debts.
Not only so she could work without harassment and show her full ability, but also simply because I wanted to help someone fighting a difficult battle.
‘Damn it, I should’ve brought more jewelry from Cassius Castle!’
When I left the castle for the townhouse, I hadn’t expected this situation and had only brought some of it. Such regret!
I could only reduce my personal savings for future living expenses to cover it. I wasn’t sure if it would be enough.
I was just about to ask how much was lacking.
Thunk.
Terrence took the pouch from the table and handed it back to me.
“Keep this with you.”
He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper.
“Just what I needed.”
He handed the unfolded paper to Sharon.
“It’s a blank check.”
“Use the amount you need and take it to the Royal Bank.”
The bank would withdraw only the amount used from the account of the check’s owner.
“Use it generously, not only for debt repayment but also so you can focus entirely on this case without taking other jobs for now.”
“Ah, that’s more than necessary…”
The lawyer’s instinctive attempt to refuse stopped mid-sentence.
“Fr-Frei…”
It seemed she had seen the signature at the bottom. Of course, it was Terrence Freihayden.
Her eyes darted between his face, his attire, and finally mine, overwhelmed.
“…I apologize for not recognizing you earlier.”
Terrence waved his hand with noble composure.
“You couldn’t have known, since I didn’t reveal my identity. I don’t wish to be recognized for the time being.”
His smile deepened.
“You understand what that means, right?”
Sharon nodded vigorously multiple times.
Later, after discussing the lawsuit with Sharon for quite a while, we left the office building. The streets were dim.
‘I wonder if Sharon will handle this well?’
Before parting, I told her the name of Ambassador Leoc’s daughter.
“I saw a woman named Anna being forcibly dragged by her husband on the street. There may be domestic abuse. Could you investigate?”
In the novels, only her surname appeared, not the current one, so finding Anna in the sprawling capital would be difficult. Anna was a very common name.
Still, if possible, I wanted Sharon to rescue Anna quickly. Having helped women in similar situations before, Sharon might find a way I hadn’t considered.
She promised to do her best, and Terrence offered to mobilize his connections.
‘I’ll trust them with this. Now then…’
I asked Terrence a question I hadn’t dared ask in Sharon’s office.
“I thought you’d take more time to consider my proposal.”
It hadn’t even been half a day since he said he would think about accepting it.
Considering he had revealed his identity to Sharon and even provided financial support, I could safely assume he would accept.
“I don’t take long to think. I’m a simple person.”
A lie. Simplicity doesn’t allow one to play the mastermind.
Still, feeling good, I chose to let myself be fooled.
“Anyway, thank you. You saved me some money. I’ll repay it with interest later.”
If the Andalra mine hits big, interest is nothing—I could easily repay multiples of the principal.
“Don’t worry. It’s far less than the value of the recipe for the medicinal tea.”
…Haha, it’s profitable for me, but it feels awkward to benefit from a recipe developed by someone else.
That’s why I said:
“If you’ll help with the divorce, the recipe doesn’t matter. I can personally make the medicinal tea for you for life.”
“I see.”
The man’s red eyes showed surprise.
I tilted my head and clapped my hands.
“Ah, I should move my lodging. If I stay there, who knows when the Cassius people will come again. I’ll just go quickly and grab my things.”
Thanks to the saved money, I could afford a better hotel than I had originally considered.
Meanwhile, Terrence hailed a passing carriage and guided me inside.
I assumed we were heading to my lodging. But the address he gave was unfamiliar.
“Where are we going?”
“To my house.”
The Freihayden Marquis residence?
Earlier he said he would continue to guard me—had he changed his mind and decided to return home?
“I think you can get out when we reach the Eliness District.”
“Get out? No, you should come with me.”
“…Excuse me?”
“You said you were moving your lodging. My house has plenty of vacant rooms.”
