Divorce Begins with Remarriage - Chapter 54

The butler appealed to his master as discreetly as possible, hoping to stop his futile obsession even now. It was a plea filled with a desire for his master to cease his pointless attachment.

But Livio paid no attention to it, not even listening to it in passing.

“Does this make sense? Debt collection on House Cornell? This is clearly a scheme concocted by that bastard Cyrilov. Otherwise, why would a mere bank demand repayment from Cornell…”

How dare he take Berenice away from me and now try to press me with money?

Livio’s eyes glared angrily.

“Nonsense. Did he think I would just sit back and take it?”

If his opponent wanted him to be anxious about money, then if he didn’t fulfill that desire, it would suffice. Money was nothing; hadn’t he easily obtained it once before?

A sinister smile crept onto Livio’s lips.

“Contact Viscount Raoul Philidem. Let him know that I will accept the proposal we discussed back then.”

The butler lowered his eyes.

A foreboding feeling seemed to grip his ankles like a chain.

House Cornell was already heading towards the bottom like a sinking ship. Livio, at the helm, was accelerating this process.

It seemed that even the butler, who foresaw things, did not realize them as keenly as Livio alone did.

***

Berenice tried her best to spend more time with Terenzio, as she had promised. Reading him fairy tales whenever there was time was one way of doing so.

“Mom, what did the prince do then?”

“What do you think he did? Did he defeat the dragon or run away?”

Terenzio lay down on the bed after fooling around for a bit. In fact, Terenzio could read books by himself, but having Berenice read fairy tales to him before bedtime was much better. Soon, Roberto would also come to say goodnight to Terenzio.

Previously, there was no one to indulge in Terenzio’s antics. Roberto was always busy, and the atmosphere in the mansion was always somber. But things changed after Berenice arrived.

Laughter always echoed in the mansion, and a warm scent began to fill the air.

Terenzio was the quickest to notice this change.

Terenzio smiled broadly and hugged Berenice’s belly.

“Terenzio?”

“I hope the prince and the dragon can get along. I don’t like fighting.”

“That’s a very nice thought. Let’s make the ending of this story like that. The prince and the dragon become friends.”

“Okay!”

Berenice gently stroked Terenzio’s head as he lay on her lap. His silver hair, similar to Roberto’s, swayed softly under her touch. Terenzio breathed in Berenice’s scent deeply.

“Mom, I like you.”

“I like Terenzio too.”

Berenice hugged Terenzio, who nestled against her like a happy puppy.

Terenzio was deeply moved by Berenice.

As their bond grew stronger, she became addicted to the affection shared by the child. Such blind and pure affection. Berenice kissed Terenzio’s cheek.

“It’s time to sleep now, Terenzio.”

“Okay. Dad hasn’t come yet.”

“When Dad comes, promise me you’ll sleep well, alright?”

“Yes!”
  
“All right. Then, Mom will read you one more book.”
  
Berenice opened a new book. Before Berenice could finish reading the book, Roberto came. Luckily, Terenzio’s eyes were already half-closed.

“Dad…”

“Shh. Have sweet dreams.”

Roberto kissed Terenzio on the forehead.

And so, the day came to an end.

***

Was it because they cleared their schedules to play by the lake? Berenice and Roberto spent some days busily.

Berenice was busy handling the internal affairs of the duchy, establishing a Cyrilov branch of the Valencia Merchantry, overseeing road construction, and even attending tea parties once a week. Roberto was busy taking care of duchy affairs, training the knights, and patrolling the roads for security.

Both of them were diligent individuals in their respective tasks, which made them even busier.

Amidst all this, they managed to have meals together regularly, making it not too difficult to see each other’s faces.

“Bereni…”

Roberto, who entered Berenice’s study with a brief knock, stopped speaking. In the quiet study, Berenice was asleep with her back against the chair.

A warm breeze gently blew in through the open window, and the midday sun lightly shone around Berenice beyond the chair. In the backlight, her sleeping figure looked like a small fairy cradled by light.

Small, fragile, as if she would disappear when touched.

Roberto stood by the door, momentarily gazing at the picturesque scene before him, and then took a short breath. Only then did he start to notice the things around her. Piles of documents stacked up to his elbow, various specialized books, half-drunk tea cups, traces of a recently finished cup…

The scene in her study was nothing special, but thinking that Berenice was working so hard made him feel a sudden wave of pity.

‘She must be tired.’

Besides, didn’t he often bring work with an excuse to ask her to have meals together? To hear her opinions.

With a sigh, Roberto placed the document he held in his hand on the table.

Snore, snore—.

His sensitive ears picked up slightly different breathing sounds than usual. Even considering that she was napping, it was shallower and had shorter intervals.

‘Berenice?’

Roberto cautiously approached her side while wondering if she would wake up. Her defenseless sleeping face looked angelic, but this time he wasn’t enchanted by that sight. Roberto focused carefully on her condition.

‘Her breathing is definitely off.’

It was strange that she didn’t wake up even though he had come so close. He was usually sensitive to movements and would briefly open his eyes when he sensed someone entering at night.

Hesitating, Roberto reached out towards her face. When his fingers finally touched her soft skin after brushing through her feather-like hair, Berenice opened her eyes.

“Roberto? When did you come?”

Berenice blinked her eyes in a drowsy state and realized the distance between them, snapping out of her daze.

‘Why so close?’

In contrast to his usual demeanor, Roberto’s expression stiffened, which also made Berenice tense up. But Roberto was not paying attention to her reaction at that moment.

Roberto urgently rang the bell hanging in the study and called out to the maid who rushed in.

“Quickly, fetch a doctor!”

***

“It’s 37.5 degrees. You have a slight fever.”

Melvin, the duchy’s personal physician, who was urgently summoned, checked her temperature.

“It seems that you have caught a cold recently due to overworking. I will provide you with medicine, so please take it three times a day after meals.”

“It’s nothing much…”

“Still, you should take the medicine to recover quickly.”

“Alright.”

Berenice reluctantly agreed. There were two people who didn’t like seeing Berenice and Melvin conversing. They were none other than Roberto and Terenzio. Berenice had a tendency to be too indifferent to herself.

Even in Roberto’s view, there were clearly moments when she seemed on the verge of exhaustion, but she seemed unaware of it. Perhaps she had been under a lot of stress because of Livio. Even diligent Berenice, who needed some rest time, had no way of postponing her work to others.

“I will make sure to provide you with the medicine.”

Selphine said and clenched her fists. She felt that Berenice being unwell was partly her fault for not taking good care of her.

“Then you will recover soon.”

Melvin smiled reassuringly to calm down the patient and the caregivers.

“I will take my leave now.”

With his bag in hand, Melvin left Berenice’s bedroom. Roberto and Terenzio quietly followed behind. There were still many things left to say and discuss, but they couldn’t press Melvin in front of Berenice.

One cannot burden a sick person.

“Wait, let me see her.”

“Me too!”

“You…”

“I’ll tell Mom everything.”

Roberto’s attempt to send Terenzio away failed miserably. Roberto allowed Terenzio to accompany them.

In the end, Melvin was reluctantly led to the reception room by Roberto and Terenzio.

“Exactly how is Berenice’s condition?”

“Is Mom very sick?”

It was not yet time to pour tea. Melvin, who was reaching out for a teacup to moisten his dry throat, quietly withdrew his hand. It seemed like he couldn’t even drink water until he answered all the questions from the two wealthy men.

“Madam’s immune system has weakened due to exhaustion. There are no major health issues.”

“…She endured such a demanding schedule with such a fragile body. Can you recommend good food for Berenice’s health?”

“Good things for the body! Good medicine too!”

Terenzio interjected.

Clutching paper and a pen tightly, he seemed determined not to miss a word of what Melvin said. Melvin wiped his sweating forehead with a handkerchief.

Melvin had certainly heard that the household staff were quite taken with the new lady of the house. However, to see even the serious Roberto and meticulous Terenzio in such a state was surprising. But instead of trying to stop them, even the attendants…

“If you could inform me of the good food for the Madam, I will definitely convey it to the chef. This is all my oversight. Not knowing that Madam’s health was deteriorating…”

Seeing Sebastian pressing his temples, Melvin clicked his tongue.

There were only those who added fuel to the fire gathered here.

Of course, at the forefront was Roberto, with a serious expression on his face and his arms crossed.