Chapter 35
“Why are you being so boring?”
“I stopped finding this amusing the moment I started talking to you. So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to me again. And if you need a lawyer, please find someone else. I specialize in divorce cases, and I refuse to take on clients who approach me with other intentions.”
With that, I turned away.
The man—so skinny and frail that he looked like he’d topple over at the slightest touch—hurriedly stood up to grab me as I tried to leave. But the knights of House Stork blocked him. Unable to even attempt to force his way through, he could only stretch out his hand in regret. Thankfully, he didn’t push things like last time.
“Rabiel.”
We’ve barely met, and he’s already calling my name so casually. It really makes my mood sink.
Whatever. I’ve seen all kinds of people doing this job. Nothing new.
Back in my room, I sprawled out on the bed. Since I hadn’t been able to sleep in because of the man who calls himself my father, I made up for it by enjoying a leisurely nap instead.
That evening.
“Lady Rabiel, Lady Rabiel.”
Someone knocked urgently on my door as I continued napping well into the evening.
“Lady Rabiel.”
Unlike before, I knew that voice all too well.
So I dragged myself up and opened the door, hair a mess.
“Khan?”
“It looks like you were sleeping.”
“What’s going on?”
“Yes… there is something. Ha… I really don’t know how things ended up like this.”
He looked unusually exhausted and worn out.
“What is it? Did something happen?”
“A big job just came into the mercenary office.”
“And?”
“It’s related to you, Lady Rabiel.”
What was that supposed to mean?
Just having woken up, my mind lagged behind reality, and I blinked a couple of times. Then I remembered what Count Avalon had said earlier—how he’d looked like he was about to cause trouble.
“…Don’t tell me Count Avalon made the request?”
“Yes. He commissioned us to drive you out of this place. Our boss values personal connections, so if he’d been here, it might’ve been fine, but… unfortunately, the deputy director accepted the job.”
This was absurd. Driving me out?
“When I found out and confronted him, he got angry instead, saying why refuse when we’d get such a huge sum just for chasing out one woman. With the recent surge of monsters near the capital, most of our staff and mercenaries were dispatched there. In that situation… the request was already… I’m truly sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I guess it’s right that I leave.”
“But it might be dangerous if you go.”
“I’d hate for you to get into trouble, Khan. And honestly, I was already thinking about leaving soon anyway. The last job gave me some financial breathing room, and my father keeps showing up.”
I answered lightly as I packed my bag. All documents related to past cases had already been submitted to the court or returned to the clients after the trials. So all I had were a few changes of clothes and a vial of medicine given to me by the imperial physician.
Just then, loud thudding noises echoed.
“It seems they’ve already forced their way here.”
“I’ll go, Khan. I’ll come visit later. Thank you for everything.”
To be honest, I didn’t want to leave like this. I never thought I’d make a friend. Since the man called my father could show up anytime, I’d never allowed myself to grow close to anyone wherever I went. But Khan at this mercenary office was different.
Khan understood me—me, a female lawyer specializing in divorce, someone no one else understood—and treated me as a friend.
“No. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, Lady Rabiel.”
“It’s fine.”
“Rabiel Avalon!”
Just as our farewell ended, mercenaries began approaching me one by one. I walked toward them proudly.
“What is it? You here to kick me out?”
“Ah…”
Nearly ten people surrounded me just to drive out a single person—an unarmed woman at that. I shook my head at the sight.
“Don’t worry. I’ll leave on my own. We’ve shared some time together, so let’s end this cleanly.”
“We’re not doing this because we want to, Lawyer.”
“It’s orders from above…”
“I know. Take care, everyone.”
It was an unwanted farewell. I’d always known I’d have to leave this place eventually, but I never wanted it to be like this—being chased out. But I had no choice. Simply because Count Avalon was my father.
In the end, I made it down to the first floor. The knights of House Stork were already bound hand and foot by the mercenaries.
“Because of me, even the knights…”
“What on earth is going on here?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just moving to another place. So once I leave, please release them. There’s no reason for them to be tied up like that, is there?”
I spoke coldly as I looked at the mercenaries. Since I wasn’t wrong, they exchanged glances before nodding.
And so, in the dead of night, I was driven out of the mercenary office where I’d stayed ever since becoming a divorce lawyer.
“Rabiel.”
The moment I stepped outside, I saw him—a forty-four-year-old butter-faced man.
“…Why are you here?”
“I thought you’d come out, so I waited. You’ve got nowhere else to go now, right?”
“…How do you even know that?”
“Hah, I can’t do this anymore. You’ve already figured it out, haven’t you?”
“Figured out what?”
Before I could even answer, he grabbed my wrist tightly.
“Let go!”
“Why would I?”
The knights of House Stork, who had come out just after me, rushed to stop him, but the men he’d brought blocked them.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“What does it look like? After putting in all this effort, shouldn’t I get a reaction? Who do you think you are, ignoring me completely? Huh?”
“I told you, I’m not interested in you at all! I’m not interested, so get lost! You don’t look young at all—and even if you did, do you really think I’d ever do anything with you?”
“How dare you speak to me like that! Hah, enough. You don’t have a choice anyway. The payment’s already been made.”
“Payment?”
“Yes. If the money’s been paid, shouldn’t you come along quietly? I’ve been more than generous with you—shouldn’t you have given in by now? I treated you kindly in my own way, and you didn’t comply. So this is all your fault.”
“Money… Don’t tell me—you were sent by my father?”
“Yeah. You were being difficult, so I played along, and now you treat me like dirt? Do you have any idea how much I paid your father?”
“…Ha.”
I’d thought he might be connected to my father. But to think it would really be like this…
“So that’s why Father chased me out of the mercenary office today, and you showed up right on time.”
“Exactly. Now you get it. There are plenty of people smarter than you, and in the end, you’re the one who gets dragged away.”
Even so, I had no intention of being dragged anywhere.
“No. I’m not going. I’ll never marry someone as old as you, who looks even weaker than me.”
That was when someone grabbed my hair hard from behind. Before I could even scream, my neck was wrenched back.
“Stupid bitch.”
“What… are you doing…!”
My neck was bent back so far I couldn’t raise my voice properly. Even so, I immediately knew who was holding my head.
“It’s humiliating and disgusting that someone like you is my father.”
“How dare you—”
“You think I’ll obediently marry like this? I’d rather die than marry that dried-up old anchovy!”
“Do as you like, Rabiel. Do you really think anything will change? You’re going to get married no matter what. You want to die? Then get married and die. You’ll live your entire life exactly as I want.”
“Count Avalon. What if something happens to my future wife because of this?”
With my arm held by the forty-four-year-old man and my hair gripped by my father, I had no choice but to desperately think of a way out.
Should I pretend to give in for now? Look for a chance to escape later? Just as that thought crossed my mind—
“Aaagh!”
Count Avalon, who had been yanking my hair, let out a sharp scream, and the pressure on my head vanished. At the same time, someone yanked me hard from behind. The force was so strong that the forty-four-year-old man fell flat on the ground.
I’d thought there was absolutely no way out of this situation, but once again, the unexpected happened. I hurriedly looked at the person holding me.
And there he was…
“You’ve lost your mind.”
It was the Emperor.
