Livio remembered the hundreds of pairs of eyes that had envied him on the day he married Berenice.

“Berenice. I still love you. We are young, and time is on our side. We can have new opportunities anytime.”

Berenice chuckled softly.

“Why should I waste my youth with you? Sign it now, Mr. Livio Cornell.”

“But, Berenice…!”

Livio tried to speak to her again. The judge, who had been observing their argument for 30 minutes, declared irritably.

“Livio Cornell, if you do not agree to the divorce immediately, the divorce settlement will be doubled.”

Berenice gestured her thanks to the judge. The judge shook his head in disbelief, and only then did the reluctant Livio Cornell sign the divorce papers.

The three-month-long dispute had finally come to an end.

Berenice watched with cool eyes as the divorce papers passed into the hands of the judge.

Now, Berenice Cornell has become Berenice Dante.

She took a deep breath with her eyes closed.

December 28th, 670.

Berenice would never forget this day in her lifetime.

The day she started a new life.

Chapter 1. How do I get this leech off?

“Berenice, have some more to eat.”

“I’m fine, Father.”

Berenice shook her head. Bilter looked back and forth between Berenice’s plate and her face.

‘She’s gotten thinner.’

While she had matured over the past three years, she had certainly lost more weight recently. Her wrists looked fragile enough to break if you held them.

It seemed like it was all his fault.

He should have stopped Berenice when she decided to marry Cornell. To think that he couldn’t discern people properly even at his age.

If his late wife found out, she would have been devastated. He wanted to take revenge on Cornell for hurting Berenice so much, but as a nobleman, he couldn’t act recklessly.

Noble trials were known to be more petty and messy than other trials.

He didn’t want Berenice and Cornell to be involved any further.

Berenice lightly smiled when she felt Bilter’s gaze.

“Really, Father. I’m fine.”

Bilter swallowed the words that she was far from fine. He also swallowed a sigh along with it.

“Alright. Will you have dessert?”

Bilter asked hopefully, and Berenice had no choice but to nod. Even if she meant forcing herself to eat sweets, it felt bitter and her appetite was gone, but she didn’t want to worry Bilter anymore.

Especially with how Bilter still thought of Berenice as a child who would cry if she was given something sweet.

***

After returning from the meal, Berenice swallowed the digestive medicine and headache medicine prepared by Selphine at once. After swallowing the medicine with water, she sat down heavily on the chair and let out a long sigh.

“Miss, are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

In fact, saying she was fine was a lie. She was far from fine.

Despite the fact that the cause of Berenice and Livio’s divorce was entirely Livio’s fault, the social atmosphere had turned Berenice into a villain.

She knew that while some people comforted Berenice in front of her, others pointed fingers behind her back. Even though Livio sincerely regretted and wanted to reconcile, Berenice refused.

Livio acted as if he were the victim.

Berenice was not the type of person who enjoyed being in the spotlight in the first place, so she found it difficult to endure their malicious gazes.

‘I’m tired.’

Berenice suppressed a sigh.

Thinking back on what Livio had done in the past month after the divorce made her head throb. He started sending letters, flowers, and gifts to her family’s house under the pretext of reconciliation and even began attending parties and looking for her, showing a strange obsession.

Livio’s actions only deepened misunderstandings among people and made Berenice a public villain. He even demanded meetings through the top trading partner of the Dante family.

Not only Berenice, but also people from the Dante family suffered because of him.

Why didn’t she know he was that kind of person?

Berenice reduced her outings. She didn’t want to run into Livio or cause harm to others. She had nothing more to say to Livio.

I don’t even want to face him.

Berenice chose seclusion.

“Ugh… all because of that guy, our lady.”

Even as Selphine muttered profanities that could only be heard in the lowlands, Berenice could only weakly smile and say nothing. Selphine tapped Berenice’s chest as if to calm her down.

Livio was gnawing at Berenice’s soul.

After cursing Livio for a while, Selphine cautiously spoke while glancing at Berenice.

“But miss.”

“Hmm?”

“A letter has arrived. Would you like to open it?”

“A letter?”

Berenice tilted her head. Right now, she was sorting out all the invitations that came to her house. In addition, Berenice’s close friends chose to visit her in person to console her instead of sending letters. So, there didn’t seem to be any letters coming directly to her.

Berenice reached out her hand. Selphine placed an envelope with a bright smile on it on top of it. The envelope had the word Serena written on the outside.

‘Serena?’

Berenice certainly had a friendly relationship with her, but it had been a long time since they had any contact. For one, Serena lived in a province, not the capital, and unlike the cautious Berenice, she was impatient.

No.

‘Considering I chose to marry Livio, I don’t seem that cautious.’

Berenice chuckled and opened the letter. At the very top of the letter, there was an awkward greeting written by Serena, along with Berenice’s name in her handwriting.

Selphine glanced over Berenice’s shoulder at the letter.

She hoped that this letter would be a source of energy for Berenice, who didn’t even want to go out and rejected all invitations. That’s why she brought it after confirming that it was a personal letter, not an invitation.

“What does it say, miss?”

Berenice took her time to read the letter slowly.

‘I would like to seek your advice on household matters.’

She especially read that sentence several times.

There was no way Serena wouldn’t know that Berenice had only been divorced for a month. Even Berenice knew that provincial socialites were sensitive to capital gossip. When Berenice went down to her family’s territory and spent the summer there, she attended a social party with Serena and was quite surprised at how different it was from the capital’s social scene.

But of all times, and to Berenice.

Even Berenice had heard that Serena got married two years ago.

‘Is she… considering divorce?’

That’s the most ideal reason.

Since she has already been through a divorce, she might think she might be able to give her the best advice.

About the current divorce system, or finding a lawyer.

Of course, the aftermath was a mess. Berenice folded the letter again with a bitter smile and put it back in the envelope.

“Selphine, I need to write a reply.”

She strangely felt a sense of camaraderie. If she was in the same situation as her, she wanted to help Serena. As a woman, and despite having grown apart, as a friend.

That was why Berenice decided to go out for the first time in nearly 10 days.

Besides, since Serena had business in the capital and was coming up, it was easy for them to meet. As Serena had suggested, Berenice chose the meet-up location. It’s a members-only restaurant located in a bustling area.

With it being a members-only place, there were only a few people coming and going, so it was a suitable place for a discreet meeting.

Having made up her mind, Berenice began to write the letter.

「Dear Serena.」

She carefully crafted the letter to ensure Serena’s feelings were not hurt and it was completed after a full two hours.

***

Livio Cornell sent a flower basket the next morning.

The servants were hesitating, not knowing what to do with the flower basket. They couldn’t just present the gift to their mistress, but then again, bringing what Livio sent to Berenice without warning…

“Bring it here.”

Berenice, unable to resist Selphine’s urging for a morning walk to regain her health, came down from the second floor and discovered it. The servant holding the flower basket awkwardly offered it with a forced smile.

Berenice accepted the basket.

Looking at its weight, he must have spent quite a sum on this.

Before getting married, she had thought this was Livio’s true feelings. That he sent it out of love for her. Surely, it must be filled with love.

But now she had discovered the vile truth hidden within the beautifully wrapped bouquet.

Berenice dared to assert that even at that time, Livio’s feelings for her were not genuine.

Does he even know what true sincerity is?

Berenice walked slowly with the flower basket in hand. Her movements were so relaxed that they drew everyone’s attention.

Her rigidly upright back exuded an air of composure.

There was a roaring fireplace where Berenice was heading. The light from the fire flickered over Berenice’s pale face.

Crackle!

As Berenice threw the flower basket in, the flames roared and blazed frighteningly.

Berenice stood in front of it, silently watching the basket burn.

I wish that burning figure was Livio Cornell. In fact, if Livio hadn’t acted so stubbornly, I would have easily forgotten about the divorce. It was Livio himself who fueled my anger towards him, not anyone else.

Berenice smiled coldly.