Chapter 30
On the morning of the third day since entering the palace, Philina headed to Velita’s palace for their regular meeting.
One more good thing about living in the palace was that her route to Velita had become much shorter.
Philina planned to tell the group members about what had happened with Lucas yesterday and to divide up the necessary tasks with Stella.
Right. It might be too much for Stella to gather all the materials alone. It’s a very personal matter, after all.
And since all the existing members of this group were divorced women as well, they would surely be of help.
“Oh my, Heine. It’s been a while.”
When Philina arrived at the meeting place, Heine was already talking with Velita.
Perhaps because Velita wanted to treat this as an official matter, she had decided to hold the meeting in her office rather than the reception room. While all the other spaces reflected her taste for warm pastel tones, the office was decorated in calm wood and walnut colors.
“Good morning, Duchess. I came today to officially join the group.”
Heine, who was seated at the conference table, greeted Philina primly, then looked only at Velita again.
“Alright. Welcome. We’re going to have a lot of work to do.”
Philina replied happily, pleased that someone she wanted to befriend had joined the group, and took a seat to the right of Velita, who sat at the head of the table.
“Yes… well… I’ll do my best.”
Across from her, Heine responded shyly yet primly, as if touched by Philina’s genuine welcome.
Once the time came, all the members gathered one by one. The maids set out tea and refreshments, then quietly left the room. The members welcomed the newly joined Heine.
“Now that everyone is here, I’ll tell you something important. Yesterday, I met privately with His Highness the Crown Prince and asked him to propose an amendment to the divorce law.”
As Philina spoke about what had happened with Lucas, everyone except Stella—who already knew—looked utterly shocked.
“His Highness said he would propose a legal amendment?”
Even Velita was surprised enough to ask again.
No one had ever thought of asking Lucas for help.
Though he doted on Velita as her older brother, he strictly separated public and private matters. Moreover, having spent three years at war and the aftermath cleanup, he had always been too busy to concern himself with legal reform. He had never once proposed a legal amendment.
“Yes. He gladly agreed for the sake of the imperial citizens. He will propose it after the diplomatic envoys’ conference ends. I know everyone will be busy, but please help. Stella will oversee everything overall, and I will meet with the temple’s representative to request understanding and cooperation. At that time, I’ll also bring up the consecrated ring and proceed together with the issue of first-night evidence.”
Since Stella would be handling most of the time-consuming work, Philina made sure to mention her own task of meeting the temple so it wouldn’t look like she was doing nothing.
“Duchess… that’s incredible. No one even dared to speak to His Highness about this…”
Diana admired Philina’s decisiveness, having accomplished in one go what she herself had only ever thought about.
“It’s nothing. His Highness is simply doing this because he loves the imperial citizens.”
Philina subtly praised Lucas even more, hoping Velita would pass the words along—and already planning to use him again next time.
If the single-title inheritance right doesn’t pass, I’ll have to ask Lucas again. Nepotism chance!
Blood ties, regional ties, school ties… It really was a world where those worked everywhere.
Heine, overwhelmed by how quickly the meeting progressed, barely managed to process anything—except that the divorce law was being amended.
“This group is amazing! I’ll write about it in my novel and actively promote it!”
How she planned to write and promote this meeting in her spicy red-rated novel, Heine seemed brimming with confidence.
“And… please keep it a secret that I was the one who asked His Highness to amend the law. Just in case… strange rumors start. I only spoke up for the sake of the imperial citizens.”
Philina added this at the end of the meeting, asking everyone to keep it confidential.
Right. I’m still an imperial citizen too. I’m changing the law—for myself.
Indeed. Philina was officially a citizen of the Abel Empire through marriage.
A citizen who desperately wanted to escape.
After a hectic morning, she spent the afternoon catching up on delayed work. Calis was busy as well, so they each ate dinner separately.
Finally, night fell.
The consummation night.
The head maid hummed cheerfully as she dressed Philina in a scandalously revealing nightgown, left only two light stones lit to dim the room, and carefully drew the blackout curtains on the terrace.
“I’ll be bringing the Duke shortly.”
“Understood.”
The moment the head maid left, Margaret and Philina sprang into action. With Margaret’s help, Philina changed into a dress that covered her all the way up to her neck—and even put trousers on underneath.
“Make sure the knots absolutely won’t come undone.”
“Don’t worry. They’ll never come loose.”
She had Margaret tie the front knots in a deliberately confusing way—so much so that even Margaret wouldn’t be able to untie them later.
“The scripture.”
“Yes, madam. Here it is.”
“The hymn book.”
“Yes, madam. Here it is.”
Philina placed a glass of clean water on the sofa table, draped a white scarf over her head in place of a veil, held the scripture in one hand and the hymn book in the other, and sat on the sofa.
All preparations complete. Now all that remained was Calis’s arrival.
As she took a deep breath to calm her trembling heart, there were two knocks, and he entered.
Since this was still the imperial palace, Calis must not have been able to walk the corridors in nightwear. He wore a white shirt and trousers.
Margaret shot a single glare at his back, as if looking at a scoundrel.
Perhaps even Margaret couldn’t bring herself to look at his face that way.
With her hand on the doorknob, Margaret turned back and sent Philina a resolute look.
Madam. Fighting!
Don’t worry, Margaret! I can do this!
And with no choice, Margaret left the room, leaving Philina alone with him.
I can do this! Fighting!
As Philina steadied her racing heart, Calis sat beside her and stared straight into her face.
The moment of battle had come.
She took a slow, deep breath and looked into his red eyes.
“Philina. What is all of this?”
Calis gazed into her dark eyes, struggling not to smile.
Her intentions were so transparent that he found them rather adorable, and decided to play along.
“Calis, the night between husband and wife is sacred. So I prepared something. Tonight, let us perform a sacred ritual. You just need to stay still. I’ll… take care of everything.”
Avoiding his intense gaze, Philina dipped her fingers into the clean water on the sofa table and touched the moisture to Calis’s forehead.
She’d seen this sort of thing plenty of times on TV in her past life.
She wasn’t sure if it would work on someone like Calis, who never went to the temple—but she decided to try anyway.
“May all worldly afflictions disappear, may desire disappear, may urges disappear, may lust disappear, and may only purity remain.”
Reciting what sounded like a fairly convincing but utterly strange incantation, Philina subtly checked his expression.
Oh! It’s working. He doesn’t look displeased.
Encouraged by how calmly he stayed still, she moved on to the main act.
“Calis. I’ll read you the scripture now.”
Holding the scripture with both hands, she began reading from the very first page.
The book was incredibly thick. If she played her cards right, like Scheherazade of One Thousand and One Nights—who survived by telling stories—she might survive by reading this sacred text all night long.
“In the beginning, there was darkness, and Solesin appeared and created the sun…”
Calis found her voice pleasant to listen to. Leaning lazily against the sofa, he closed his eyes and listened.
Listening to a voice like this, without any interruptions… isn’t bad.
No one had ever read him fairy tales or scriptures before.
The former ducal couple had given birth to him solely as an heir, never offering parental love. Others treated him only as the future duke.
Born with a naturally stoic temperament, he had never felt sorrow over it, nor had he longed for their affection. To him, all relationships were simply those of master and subordinate.
You’re the complete opposite of me… loved by everyone around you, giving love to everyone…
When he opened his eyes again, his vision was filled with the sight of her holding the book in both hands, her small lips moving as she read. She looked surprisingly serious, as if truly absorbed in the scripture.
After listening to her voice for a while, Calis reached out and took a lock of her black hair.
Perhaps she had used the same scented oil as on their first night—there was a sweet fragrance. He inhaled deeply, as if trying to memorize it.
Philina flinched. When her reading stopped, Calis tugged on the end of the scarf draped over her head like a veil.
Black hair suits you better. Just like everything about you is the opposite of me…
As the scarf slipped down, she turned her head and looked at him with wide, startled eyes.
Calis… why… are you looking at me like that…?
Philina couldn’t interpret his gaze.
If it had been a frightening glare, or a look filled with desire, she could have understood it—but his eyes were tinged with loneliness, and that made it impossible for her to decipher.
“If the ritual is over, shall we perform our own sacred ritual now?”
Calis pulled her by the waist and wrapped her tightly in his arms as he leaned back against the sofa.
He held her so tightly that he could feel her heart racing—and he hoped that, like him, she could feel his heart pounding just as fiercely.
As she tried to make sense of Calis’s gaze, he suddenly embraced her so tightly she could barely breathe.
At such close proximity, her hand pressed against his chest, clearly feeling his heartbeat. She could even see the veins on his neck throbbing.
To break the awkward, suffocating atmosphere, she placed both hands on his chest and pushed him away, deciding to move on to Plan B.
“Just a moment… the next step is the hymn.”
Her voice trembled slightly, but she pretended nothing was wrong, putting some distance between them and sending him a solemn look—suggesting they should remain pious tonight.
“A hymn?”
Hah. It seemed he hadn’t expected that far. A faint crease formed on his brow. Good thing she’d prepared Plan B.
She opened the hymn book to the first page and began to sing.
Of course, if she sang every hymn in this book, she’d probably collapse coughing up blood—but she intended to sing all night if that’s what it took to protect herself.
So what if she coughed up blood once? She could claim she’d achieved vocal enlightenment. Famous singers had experienced vocal nodules multiple times, after all. In short, she wouldn’t die.
“You are my master… I am your servant… ahem. Let us turn to the next page.”
The lyrics… were not what she had expected. Flustered by how different they were from the Luna Empire’s hymns, she hurriedly flipped the page.
“Praise Solesin. I praise only you… I will follow only you… let us turn to the next page.”
Why were the hymns in this empire written like this? Why did every lyric refer to the god as “you”…?
She skimmed through the hymn book rapidly.
Oh! She finally found one.
“O our one and only Solesin, our sun. Within your embrace… your lo— I’ll stop here.”
She simply couldn’t continue.
Calis, apparently familiar with the song, was smiling broadly.
If you know it, you could’ve stopped me!
“Hahaha. Philina, come here.”
When she shut the hymn book and looked at him with a sulky expression, he burst out laughing and pulled her into his arms.
