Chapter 1.1 Divorce Mediation

Lilliana did not believe in God.

It must have been a spring of tender green, when new shoots sprouted. In that lively season, Lilliana was sold to the Kreuten Duchy. It was the price to pay for her father’s gambling debts.

In truth, Lilliana had always been treated as little more than a nuisance in the Everset Earldom, so this outcome had been somewhat predictable. Ever since her fiancé, Steven, died on the battlefield, her misfortune had begun.

Did she love Steven?

Lilliana loved the stability and peace that Steven could offer her. He owned a wealthy merchant company, and although his title was lower than the Everset Earldom, he had plenty of money.

It was an era where even a title could be bought with enough money, so as long as there was wealth, nothing else mattered. Lilliana was supposed to become Steven’s bride in exchange for him paying off the debts of Earl Everset. So, while she waited for Steven, who had gone off as an officer to fight in a war with the neighboring Duchy of Charlotte, Lilliana was happy.

Lilliana became a blessing to the Everset Earldom. She was the lifeline that could finally free them from their dreadful poverty, so even Earl Everset and the Countess treated her with respect.

But, Lilliana’s tragic life did not end there.

Steven died on the battlefield. He had gone as a strategic officer, and though it was unclear why he would be shot, he died instantly from a gunshot. He had no luck. After waiting three years for Steven, Lilliana became twenty-three, and was left as little more than a burden.

No one wanted to marry a poor Earl’s daughter of twenty-three.

That was when Raven Kreuten appeared.

It was Kreuten’s butler who brought the marriage proposal.

[While I was at war, I lost my wife, and you lost your fiancé who went to war. Such a remarkable coincidence—perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if we filled the empty spaces by marrying each other?]

It was an astonishing proposal, but Lilliana accepted it in order to escape her wretched poverty.

Thus, Lilliana succeeded in both raising her status and escaping poverty, by becoming Raven Kreuten’s third wife.

She shouldn’t have fallen for those words.

Lilliana picked at her nails. It was a chronic habit that flared up whenever she was anxious. Her nails were always ruined because of it, and she had never imagined that even in this luxurious mansion, her nails would end up in such a state. Lilliana let out a dry laugh.

‘It’s my own fault for coveting such things.’

But perhaps her greater fault was not being able to abandon her dreadful family from the Everset Earldom.

In front of her sat a lavish, gold-gilded teacup. Selling just this teacup could feed her family for a month. That was why she married Raven in Steven’s stead. Lilliana barely stifled a sigh.

What she was about to say now was the price of a belated realization.

The door to the dining room, where she sat alone like a statue, opened.

“Lilliana.”

“Raven…….”

It was her husband, Raven.

Raven Kreuten was a war hero. He had wandered battlefields, accumulating countless achievements, and had received immense compensation from the royal family. The overflowing wealth of the Kreuten mansion was all thanks to Raven.

The Raven who entered the dining room now had just returned from the battlefield after two years. Since their wedding, she had not seen her husband even once—he had been away the whole time, achieving military glory.

A husband who left right after their wedding night.

At first, Lilliana had been terrified that Raven would die and return like Steven. She trembled through each day, but every day brought news of Raven’s victories, and she gradually stopped being afraid.

But her misfortune did not end there.

The clatter of tableware filled the dining room.

“The food tastes fine.”

Raven Kreuten ate with the disciplined movements of a soldier. He was completely different from Lilliana, who couldn’t manage a single bite.

For Raven, this mansion was a comfortable haven.

Tap—

“Ah…….”

In the end, her thin skin peeled and blood trickled down her hand. Lilliana’s delicate lashes trembled, as soft as her l*ngerie. She bit her lips.

“Aren’t you eating?”

Raven Kreuten asked in an emotionless voice.

“I’m not hungry……”

“I see. But did I starve you for two years? You were certainly given enough money. Why are you so thin?”

Raven scanned Lilliana’s face with his eyes and asked.

Lilliana touched her cheek and shook her head.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

“Hmm.”

Raven grunted disapprovingly and continued eating. To relieve her tension, Lilliana drank some water. But no matter how much cold water she drank, she couldn’t wash away the anxiety that gnawed at her.

Lilliana squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them.

A deep breath made her feel a little better. Thanks to Kreuten’s past misdeeds, her self-esteem had been utterly destroyed, dragging her down into the mud.

Lilliana’s lips trembled.

“Um…… Raven.”

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Aren’t you going back to the battlefield for a while?”

Unable to say what she truly meant, Lilliana changed the subject. She hated herself for being so stupid, but didn’t know what else to do.

‘Are you just going to keep living like this?’

She didn’t want that. Now, Lilliana was someone who would do anything just to have a single peaceful day.

“……That’s not what you were going to say, is it?”

“It is, it is!”

Lilliana forced herself to raise her head. But Raven’s cold, hardened face seemed to crush her courage. Under the table, Lilliana clasped her hands together.

‘This is your only chance, Lilli.’

Encouraging herself, Lilliana slowly parted her lips.

“Divorce…….”

“What?”

“I want a divorce, Raven Kreuten.”

Once she spoke, it became easier. Perhaps because she’d uttered the hardest word. But the moment her eyes met Raven’s, her head dropped again. His cold, indifferent eyes were staring her down.

“What’s this? Is this how you welcome your husband after two years?”

“Raven!”

Lilliana cried out in a thin, desperate voice.

“I—I’m serious! I really want a divorce!”

Her heart pounded as if it would burst from her chest. Terrified, Lilliana’s pale blue eyes met Raven’s. Her husband felt like a massive darkness ready to swallow her whole.

“Lilliana. I don’t know what’s gotten into you right now…….”

“Divorce me, Raven Kreuten.”

Lilliana stubbornly repeated herself.

“Lilliana.”

“If you refuse, then I will end my own life as well.”

Grinding her teeth, Lilliana threatened Raven with a trembling voice. Raven’s previous two wives had died. Both ended their short, tragic lives by s*icide. Rumors spread that the Kreuten Duchy was cursed, and Raven had resorted to buying a new bride.

That bride was Lilliana.

“Lilli!”

Raven spat out, grinding his teeth.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden!”

‘Suddenly? Suddenly?!’

That word ignited Lilliana’s fury. He had no idea what she had endured all this time!! In her rage, Lilliana’s eyes landed on a knife—not very sharp, but enough to serve as a weapon.

“I am! Truly serious!!”

In an instant, Lilliana stabbed herself in the lower abdomen with it. A sharp pain choked her throat. As her vision blurred, she saw Raven go pale. She had succeeded in driving home her seriousness to Raven, so this act of self-harm was worth it.

Lilliana let go of the knife, having pushed it in just deep enough not to kill herself.

Her vision turned white.

***

“D*mn it!”

Raven cursed, kicking the desk. Having lived his whole life as a soldier, he hadn’t learned any other way to express his anger. Grinding his teeth, Raven gripped the desk. His hair, usually slicked back with pomade, now hung loose and messy.

“……I don’t know why Her Grace made such a choice.”

The butler spoke in a slow voice. He had worked for Kreuten for thirty-five years. He would know everything happening in this mansion. Raven took a deep breath and raised his head.

“Has anything happened to my wife?”

“Nothing.”

“Is my wife ill?”

“She is healthy.”

“Has something happened in her family?”

“No.”

“Then why on earth would she do such a thing!”

Raven slammed the desk. But answers don’t come just because you demand them. Raven clenched his teeth.

“I’m sorry. It’s our fault for not serving her properly.”

With elegant courtesy, the butler apologized.

“It’s not your fault. I’ll have to find out what’s going on. For now, since my wife acted so drastically, I must show some response. Call a lawyer.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The butler left, and Raven, left alone, slumped into his chair. He leaned back and sighed deeply.

“Whew…….”

It was already his third marriage. His previous wives had ended their lives by s*icide while he was away.

Even when he asked his mother or sister, all he got was “I don’t know.” The butler and head maid didn’t have any real answers either.

‘What is happening in this mansion?’

Raven covered his throbbing forehead with his palm. And so, he welcomed his third wife.

After losing his second wife, Seraphine, Raven had sworn never to marry again. The elders of the family pressured him to remarry, but he refused. Thanks to the rumors of a cursed family, no young lady wanted to become Duchess.

Then, he happened to attend a banquet hosted by the King.

It was the first day he saw Lilliana.

The memory of that day was still vivid, as if it were yesterday.