Chapter 45 ……………………………………………….
Just a coincidence?
Since Riena herself had acted differently from her previous life, it was possible that fate had shifted through a chain of unknown consequences.
Even so…
Something about it didn’t sit right.
Riena, too, had been searching for the ambassador’s daughter for years.
And yet, even with House Cassius’s intelligence network and her own connections, she had only managed to learn the girl’s name and the fact that she lived in the capital.
That was how scarce the information was.
In her previous life, the ambassador had not wanted his daughter’s tragic death to become public entertainment, so he had revealed only the bare minimum to the press.
And back then, Riena had been nothing more than a commoner.
There was no way she could have known anything that hadn’t appeared in the newspapers.
And yet Idel found her.
At the exact moment, just before the divorce trial.
And as a result, she pulled the ambassador’s goodwill in the most advantageous direction possible for herself.
Was it really just coincidence?
A chilling suspicion flashed through Riena’s mind.
‘Don’t tell me… she returned to the past too, like me…’
Her thoughts, racing endlessly, suddenly stopped.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
Her second brother asked with concern.
“Huh? Why?”
“You look kind of scary…”
“Oh! It’s nothing. I was just wondering how Sister-in-law found the ambassador’s daughter. No one could find her for decades.”
“If that’s what you mean, it’s written right here.”
Leheim pointed to the corner of the newspaper.
“Sister-in-law’s lawyer specializes in divorce cases, right? Apparently he often consults with people who want divorces but don’t have the means.”
According to the article, the ambassador’s daughter had been among them.
And Idel happened to see Diana when she visited the law office.
Because Diana resembled Ambassador Leoc, Idel thought of him and helped reunite her with her parents.
“Did Sister-in-law know the ambassador personally?”
“Not sure.”
Leandro tilted his head.
“Brother… how much do you even know about Sister-in-law?”
The question came out sharper than intended.
Leandro looked startled, and Riena quickly added a gentle smile.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to accuse you. I’ve just been tired lately.”
“When we go home, get some rest. And this is just my guess…”
“She probably saw him in passing when she visited the capital for family gatherings. Idel used to go out alone sometimes.”
Leheim nodded along.
“Nobles all visit the same places when they go out for fresh air anyway.”
“But Ambassador Leoc barely attends social gatherings. Maybe because of losing his daughter…”
“It’s not like he cut ties with the world entirely. You exchange greetings with him too.”
In truth, that had been deliberate—
Riena had approached him in advance, hoping to build familiarity for the future moment when she would “find” his daughter.
Riena relaxed slightly and lowered the newspaper.
Idel’s luck seemed remarkable…
But the explanation wasn’t inconsistent.
‘Of course. What was I even thinking?’
Regression wasn’t something common.
And in the past two years of dealing with Idel, Riena had never once gotten the impression that Idel remembered a past life.
She didn’t seem blessed by the goddess like Riena was.
And above all—
Even if someone regressed, it wouldn’t magically give them a better way to find the ambassador’s daughter.
If such a method existed, Riena would have found her sooner.
Still…
‘Just in case… I should look into this more later.’
There was no harm in being cautious.
“It’s almost time for it to begin.”
At the duke’s words, Riena stood up.
No matter what, right now she needed to focus on the trial just ahead.
* * *
Twenty minutes before court began.
I sat in the plaintiff’s waiting room, taking deep breaths to calm myself.
I had waited so long for this moment…
But now that it was right in front of me, I was nervous.
I’d thought I could borrow some composure from someone who’d been through trials until sick of them…
But—
“I… I can do this. I can do this.”
Across from me, Sharon looked twice as tense as I was, muttering to herself nonstop.
I understood why.
From the start, Sharon had felt an enormous sense of responsibility for this case.
And besides…
I stood and cracked the door open slightly.
“Where’s Courtroom Two?”
“This way!”
People streamed endlessly toward the courtroom.
So many.
Even Sharon had probably never seen a trial with this many spectators.
Because the divorce itself was such a hot topic, countless people wanted to attend.
Courtroom Two of the Imperial Central Court was already large—
And yet they had received more than a hundred times the number of applications the seats could hold.
‘Normally they’d select spectators purely by lottery…’
But not today.
I barely managed to swallow the sly grin threatening to appear.
If they picked randomly, the gallery would be filled with Riena fan club members or Cassius loyalists.
This trial was clearly being held under the emperor’s influence.
And the emperor was displeased with how powerful House Cassius had become.
According to a quiet tip Terrence gave me, applicants favorable to Cassius had been filtered out in advance.
Even the selection of the judge had the emperor’s hand in it.
Of course, officially, trials were conducted according to principle, by an unrelated magistrate.
And the judge was expected to remain neutral.
‘But judges are still human. They have feelings.’
Today’s presiding judge was from House Valhail.
Valhail had long been close with Duke Virode—
And Virode’s fortunes had declined because of Cassius.
An uncomfortable relationship, naturally.
Not hostile enough for Cassius to protest unfairness…
But for me, it wasn’t a bad thing.
Still…
That was simply me interpreting things as positively as possible.
There were plenty of anxieties.
‘What the emperor wants isn’t for the divorce to succeed…’
He wants Cassius dragged into a public mudfight over family matters.
The emperor had only “coincidentally” heard of the young duke couple’s discord through his son, and arranged for the trial.
Terrence had apologized that he couldn’t help more regarding his father—
But he was right.
It would do no good if the emperor realized his son and a married woman were entangled.
‘In the novel, the emperor tries to pair Terrence with noble daughters…’
Not that the shadowy mastermind ever cared about love.
In other words—
This trial being slightly unfavorable to Cassius was the limit of what could be arranged.
And the Valhail judge had never presided over a divorce case before.
So no one knew what view he held on divorce itself.
Sharon said he was more flexible than rigid…
I could only hope that flexibility extended to divorce.
‘More than anything, the biggest problem right now is…’
Suddenly, a handsome face slipped into view.
“May I come in?”
Terrence leaned into the room from the hallway.
“O-of course! Come in!”
I’d noticed this before—
Everything about this man was fine, except that sometimes he startled people half to death.
Terrence entered and removed his hood.
“There are so many people that even if I blend in, no one will notice.”
“Blend in? Weren’t you supposed to be busy with something else today?”
“It’s finished. I hurried here because I wanted to see this trial.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“A spectator?”
He answered with a bright smile.
“Yes. I applied, and fortunately, I was selected.”
“Was it really luck? And you didn’t tell me!”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
Then he pulled out a neatly wrapped box from inside his coat and held it out.
“A gift.”
“Chocolate? Wow… isn’t this incredibly hard to get?”
I recognized the brand of a dessert shop that had become wildly popular in the capital.
“I was fortunate as well.”
…Was he really?
“Soon you’ll be heading into a fierce battle. Consider it sugar for strength.”
“Heh. I’ll enjoy it.”
The moment I took a bite, it melted in my mouth.
Now I understood the hype.
Somehow, my tension eased.
When I offered one to Sharon, she hesitated.
“Am I really allowed to eat something like this…?”
She glanced nervously at Terrence.
Terrence opened the door again with a nod, and his attendant Jack entered—
Arms full of identical boxes.
Only then did Sharon relax, tasting it with shining eyes.
“So this is what high-end chocolate tastes like!”
She looked less tense too.
The others, including Laura, also took snacks, and the stiff atmosphere softened.
“This is so much… Thank you, Tay.”
“It’s nothing. I was merely fortunate.”
One thing was certain:
This was absolutely not luck.
The man, smiling as though hiding secrets, glanced around the room.
“But… I don’t see that person.”
“Ah… I was thinking the same thing.”
My face hardened.
The Cassius head butler still hadn’t appeared.
“It’s strange. We sent a carriage two hours ago.”
When there was no word past the promised time, I asked Robby to check—
But even Robby hadn’t returned.
Then—
The door burst open.
Robby, pale as paper, shouted:
“It’s terrible! The witness was on the way here, but the duke’s people caught him!”
Something was starting to go very, very wrong.
