The news of Viscount Ross’s departure had been brought to him by the Blanchette’s servants. He must have left without seeing Isabelle’s face. Well, if it was for her sake, it was right for him to disappear without saying anything.

Eden was gone, but his cold war with Isabelle remained. At first, Richt thought it was just a matter of time, but as the days passed, his anxiety grew.

When he first heard about Isabelle’s divorce declaration, or when she left their house, he had confidence that he could return things to normal. But not anymore. He was genuinely scared, and that fear made him impatient. The uncontrollable anxiety overwhelmed Richt.

Isabelle acted as if she didn’t want to see him anymore.

Was our relationship really irreparable now?

He had ruined everything.

The day he had to go back to the capital as called by the imperial palace was approaching, and Richt was getting more and more anxious. It was only a day before he left that he saw Isabelle’s face again.

Isabelle, who had locked herself in her room, eating only a few simple meals, came down to the first floor in a change of heart. For a moment, Richt thought he was seeing things.

“Isabelle.”

She sat in a delicate posture on a chair, arranging flowers. As she trimmed the roses with gardening scissors, the hard stems snapped off. A small pile of cut stems and leaves formed on the table. She was concentrating as if nothing had happened.

“Isabelle.”

His subdued voice echoed again. This time, too, Isabelle showed no reaction. The air around her was silent and still. The face of Isabelle, whom he had longed to meet, somehow seemed unreal before him. He even felt a strange sense of discomfort.

She was dressed in clothes that didn’t reveal much, but she looked fierce. Her cheeks had lost volume, making the contours of her jawline more pronounced, and her expression was dry and cold. Richt quickly scanned her changes.

“Isabelle.”

He took two steps closer this time. Isabelle remained silent. No matter how many times he called her name, there was no response. She behaved as if Richt didn’t exist, acting as if everything were normal.

She no longer expressed her anger outwardly. However, that didn’t mean she had softened her heart. Despite wearing a calm face, the pent-up anger inside her remained tightly coiled. She simply chose not to reveal it.

Richt had a hunch. He sensed that Isabelle’s firmly locked heart wouldn’t easily open. He also learned for the first time that she could maintain an emotionless gaze. It was the strangest look he’d ever seen in his wife.

Isabelle continued to focus on trimming the roses. Snip, snip—the rose stems were neatly cut. Just as she was about to place the freshly trimmed rose into the vase, Richt approached closely, blocking the opening of the vase. Only then did her blue eyes focus on him. They were chillingly blue.

“I have something to say to you.”

“Go ahead.”

Having resolved to follow Fabian’s advice unconditionally, Richt found his lips sticking together as he faced a cold expression he had never seen before. Isabelle’s red lips parted before she could choose his words.

“Do you want me to lift my skirt and spread my legs?”

“……what?”

Her tone was steady and precise. Isabelle nonchalantly reminded him of what he had done. Richt was speechless. His facial muscles stiffened at the unexpected assault. The words and resolutions he had prepared were easily broken.

“Isn’t that what you’re here for?”

“…….”

“What you want is my body.”

“No.”

“Be honest. Besides that, you have no business with me, right? But what should I do? I have no intention of being your cum receptacle anymore.”

“Please, Isabelle. Don’t say it like that. I’ve never thought of you that way.”

“Really? I find it hard to believe. So, spare me the nauseating expression of pretending to be sincere.”

Her words sounded even colder due to her calm demeanor. Isabelle had turned into a different person in a matter of days.

There was nothing else he could do. To make Isabelle turn back to him, he would have to kneel a hundred or a thousand times.

“It was a mistake.”

“What?”

“I’m talking about what happened with Viscount Ross.”

“You’re truly shameless. Using the word ‘mistake,’ how can you…”

“…”

“You trampled on me, your wife. What do you mean, a mistake?”

Isabelle clenched her jaw. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly. A gleam of pain flickered in her eyes as she stared straight at Richt.

“Do you resent me?

“Are you expecting me to say no?”

Isabelle snorted in disbelief.

“I was insecure and afraid.”

His voice cracked. He meant it.

“I was afraid you might leave me for Viscount Ross.”

Isabelle meant so much to Richt that the idea of her disappearing from his life seemed unimaginable. It was something he had never considered. His actions, driven by a desperate desire to keep her, only inflicted wounds on her that couldn’t be erased, making their relationship a mess. It was truly pathetic.

“Have you ever trusted and believed in me?”

It was a piercing question. Richt remained silent, unable to deny that he couldn’t trust her, just as she said.

“What was your real reason for wanting a divorce?”

“Then why won’t you let me go?”

“I love you.”

He uttered the words with heartfelt sincerity, but Isabelle looked at him as if she heard nonsense.

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“Yes.”

He had to turn things around somehow. The thought of needing to reverse the situation dominated his mind.

“I didn’t know you loved me. I thought you were forced to marry me because of your family. I saw you crying in Viscount Ross’s arms on our wedding day, so I thought you were marrying me reluctantly.”

“Don’t try to justify your bratty and oppressive actions!”

“I’m not trying to justify it. I’m trying to clear up a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstandings? What misunderstandings? Do you mean that you treated me like an animal and enjoyed it?”

The cold resentment filled her blue eyes and pierced Richt’s heart. Explanations that it wasn’t like that held no meaning.

“Do you suddenly feel a pang of guilt now? Do you want to apologize and pretend it never happened?”

“Damn it! No! You don’t understand my feelings. You have no idea how I feel right now.”

Unintentionally, Richt let a loud voice burst out. He didn’t expect Isabelle’s anger to be easily resolved, but the conversation kept veering off course, making him feel frustrated. It was challenging to convey his sincerity.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t convey a single piece of his heart. He had rehearsed and practiced his words countless times, but when he spoke them out loud, he sounded awkward. The more he tried to explain, the deeper the hole became.

“Ha. Let me say what I want. Do you, of all people, understand my feelings? In our entire marriage, you never gave me a single warm word or a single tender expression, but I thought that at least you respected me as a wife. Even if there wasn’t love between us, there was trust, and that’s where I was wrong. It was my foolish misunderstanding.”

“…”

“My trust was betrayed. Looking back, I didn’t know anything about you as a person.”

There seemed to be no sign of recovery in their strained relationship. The gap between them didn’t seem to be narrowing. He was getting impatient.

“I have to go up to the capital tomorrow. The schedule can’t be delayed any longer.”

“Good. Don’t come down here again. There’s no place for you here.”

“Come with me.”

“Why should I?”

“I can’t part with you like this. We need to talk.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Think about it again, Isabelle.”

As Richt approached, Isabelle stepped back in disgust.

“I hate this side of you! Pretending to apologize, pretending to be sorry. But if things don’t go as planned, you quickly become oppressive. Don’t try to control me as you please.”

“I’m not.”

“I’m saying it’s not just in words; your actions show the same. You can’t stand refusal. My home is here! If there’s somewhere you want to go, go on your own and if I don’t want to go, I won’t move a muscle.”

“I’m not forcing you! We didn’t understand each other’s hearts and feelings well. We need to unravel this tangled mess.”

“No. What feelings? I don’t want to, and we’re not tangled. We’re over, don’t you see?”

That couldn’t happen. Isabelle couldn’t end this relationship alone. Regardless of what happened, we are a married couple.

“If I go up to the capital as I am, will you come to see me?”

“Why should I? Even if there were feelings between us that we didn’t know about, what good would it do now? You insulted me, and I can’t forgive you for that.”

“…”

“What woman, after being treated like that by her husband, can still love him unwaveringly?”

“…”

“Don’t try to turn things back. It’s all pointless.”

As Isabelle tried to leave, Richt grabbed her. Isabelle screamed reflexively, and Richt had no choice but to let go of her pinned arm

“Touch me once more. I’ll stab even deeper this time.”

Isabelle picked up the gardening shears on the table and ran her eyes over the sharp blades.

“Stop it.”

“They’re very sharp. This time, I can stab even deeper.”

“Don’t treat yourself so recklessly.”

“Is this the only way you’ll listen to me?”

“If you want to stab, then stab me. I can endure it as much as you want.”

“You like it, don’t you? Breaking me, trampling on me indifferently, and using that to fill your pitiful pride.”

“Isabelle.”

“Oh, it must be boring without Eden around.”

Isabelle raised the corners of her mouth sarcastically. She seemed like a different person after a few days. She wasn’t someone who enjoyed such mocking conversations.

Richt wanted to correct what went wrong, but it seemed she wouldn’t give him the chance. It never occurred to him that their time together would be limited. He wasn’t prepared for it to end, but it seems Isabelle is intent on cutting him out of her life.

Isabelle turned and left. In the space where his wife disappeared, Richt was left alone.