I’d been told it took roughly two days to travel here from the Duchy of Balthazar. Shasha and Eric had said they would summon the guarantor on the day of the trial itself, so the fact that the Grand Duke was already here was nothing short of astonishing.

Had he arrived in advance?
If so, when, exactly?

If I’d received even a hint beforehand, it might have been different—but all I’d heard was that they would bring a guarantor. No more than that. So I could only stand there, stunned.

Of course, I’d expected the guarantor to be someone from Balthazar. That much was obvious, given that Shasha and Eric were both from there. But I’d never once imagined the Grand Duke himself would come in person.

People of his rank—high nobles like a Grand Duke—were not known for stirring themselves. They didn’t spare so much as a glance for minor trials like this.

Even knowing that the Grand Duke was helping me, I couldn’t understand why he would go this far. Was he truly planning to lock me away and make me write for him? No matter how I thought about it, this went far beyond mere goodwill toward an author whose work he admired.

The murmurs in the courtroom grew louder.

“A Grand Duke as the guarantor…”
“You really do see everything if you live long enough.”
“Isn’t the Duchy on bad terms with the Empire? How did this happen?”
“To think the Duke of Balthazar would appear at a divorce trial…”

Their disbelief mirrored my own.

The chamber was instantly filled with overlapping voices.

“What’s the next step?”

The Grand Duke asked the judge in a detached tone. Even so, the murmuring didn’t subside, and even the judge—who should have been at the center of it all—was whispering urgently with his aide.

Only then did I finally turn my gaze, wearing a bored expression, toward the guarantor’s seat.

Contrary to the frightening rumors surrounding him, the Duke of Balthazar was astonishingly handsome.

Snow-white silver hair, sharp and elegantly shaped eyes, a straight nose rising with strength, lips neither thin nor overly full but firm and well-defined, and smooth skin unmarred by a single scar. Everything beautiful seemed to have gathered in the Grand Duke’s face.

Most of all, his golden eyes were aloof—like a solitary moon hanging in the night sky, pouring down its light.

He was so striking at a glance that it was hard to tear my eyes away. I found myself staring at him for quite some time, half-dazed, as though admiring a sculpture carved with a master’s very soul.

When I finally managed to snap out of it, I realized the Grand Duke was looking in my direction.

“…Ah.”

Strangely enough, his face felt familiar.

No—rather than his face alone, the atmosphere he carried was familiar. It was on the tip of my tongue… as though I’d seen him somewhere before.

If someone with such outstanding looks had been around me before, I would have remembered him clearly. And yet, today was the first time I had ever met him. His voice, too, was unfamiliar.

So why did he feel so strangely familiar to me?

I searched my memories, wondering if we might have crossed paths in a previous life. No matter how many times I’d regressed, there was no way I would have forgotten a man that handsome.

But I didn’t know him.
Truly—this was the first time I’d ever seen him.

“Hm.”

At some point, the Grand Duke withdrew his gaze from me and turned toward the judge. The judge was still whispering with his aide, occasionally pointing back and forth between the Grand Duke and Louis with his index finger.

“Is that all for the guarantor?”

Not long after, the Grand Duke spoke again. At that, the judge stopped whispering. He soon settled into his seat on the dais and looked down at the Grand Duke with a solemn expression.

“Grand Duke, have you reviewed their documents?”

The question, however, came not from the judge, but from one of the jurors.

“There are several points in this agreement that are rarely seen in an ordinary divorce petition. And if you examine the handwriting closely, you can see signs of hesitation in the signatures.”

The juror who had demanded a guarantor earlier narrowed his eyes.

Needlessly sharp, this one.
What if he uncovers the fact that the documents were written under coercion?

“Of course. If I’m here to guarantee that this divorce is justified, why would I not have read them?”

Unlike me—who could only swallow dryly—the Grand Duke remained utterly composed.

“Then you must also be aware that these documents place Count Simon at a considerable disadvantage, do they not?”

“Disadvantage? In what way?”

The Duke of Balthazar twisted the corner of his mouth upward at the juror’s words.

“From the documents alone, it appears Madam Simon is seizing all of the assets. Moreover, given that Count Simon seems unable to speak, it could be said these documents were drafted unilaterally—”

“Are you saying I’m mistaken?”

The Grand Duke cut the juror off mid-sentence. His expression sharpened. Though he was smiling with a furrowed brow, it was not the smile of someone in a good mood.

Perhaps because of that, the juror—who had been rattling on so eagerly—clamped his mouth shut.

“All documents were prepared fairly. There was no room for doubt to begin with, and yet you insist on being so obstinate.”

The Duke clicked his tongue.

“Surely you don’t mean to suggest that I, who governs an entire duchy, am incapable of properly reviewing a mere set of papers.”

For an instant, anger flashed across the juror’s face. He seemed to be forcing himself to suppress it.

“If any issues arise in the future,” the Grand Duke said coolly, “I will take full responsibility.”

With those words, the Grand Duke was the first to leave the courtroom. Ordinarily, it was customary to ask a guarantor why they had agreed to serve in that role—but for some reason, no one dared stop him.

“W-with the guarantor present, this trial is hereby adjourned!”

The courtroom was in utter disarray, and the judge hastily brought the proceedings to a close. Thanks to that, I was able to follow after the Grand Duke and leave without difficulty.

Of course, I didn’t forget to keep hold of Louis as we exited. After what had just happened in the courtroom, I knew all too well that he might try to seek help from anyone he could.

“Milady!”

Outside, Shasha greeted me with a bright smile.

“You’ve finally settled it! Congratulations!”

Seeing her happier than even I was made it feel real—that this truly was the end of Louis for me.

“Can you take this idiot back to the estate?”

The Grand Duke grabbed Louis by the collar at my side and shoved him toward Shasha.

“Yes, milady.”

“He might try something stupid. As soon as you arrive at the estate, tie up his arms and legs.”

“Yes.”

Shasha replied briefly and headed for the carriage with Louis. Almost the moment they climbed aboard, the carriage set off.

When I return to the estate later, I’ll strip him of everything and throw him out—just like he did to me in a previous life. That way, he can learn, at least a little, what it feels like to be cast out with nothing.

“For now… the divorce is done.”

I tore my gaze away from the carriage disappearing into the distance and glanced to the side.

“That just leaves deciding how I should repay you.”

The Duke of Balthazar was standing there.

“Doesn’t it?”

My tone came out a little sharp, but the Grand Duke merely widened his eyes slightly before breaking into a smile.

“What is it that you want from me, Your Grace?”

I opened the fan in my hand and lightly fanned myself, hiding my mouth.

“What is it that I can do for you?”

I asked twice, yet the Grand Duke remained silent, doing nothing but smile pleasantly.

“Well, it’s not urgent. I’ll send you a letter later. There are too many eyes here, after all.”

He didn’t seem inclined to speak just yet, so I gave a small nod and started down the steps first. I could see the jurors beginning to file out right behind us.

“Lady Agatha.”

At that moment, the Grand Duke called out to me. I turned my head to look at him—and saw his lips move soundlessly.

What was he hesitating over like that?
If it had been anyone else, I would’ve told them to speak later and walked off without a second thought. But considering that he had helped me, I waited.

“Um, well…”

Even after waiting for quite some time, he still couldn’t bring himself to speak, hesitating again and again.
He isn’t about to ask for something strange, is he? Surely not.

“Brownies—”

After what felt like an eternity, the Grand Duke finally spoke, sounding oddly shy.

“Do you like them?”

The question was so unexpected that I had no idea how to respond. I’d never even seen brownies in my life, let alone tasted them. Unsure what to say, my eyes darted about.

What should I answer?

“I heard you say you wanted to try them after the trial, so I thought I’d ask.”

At some point, the Grand Duke had stepped closer. He stopped right in front of me, dipping his head slightly as if to meet my eye level. As a result, my reflection was clearly visible in his clear, radiant golden eyes.

Wait—don’t his eyes look a bit like Eric’s?

Strangely enough, at that moment, Eric was the name that surfaced in my mind.

“B-brownies are… a dessert I’ve been wanting to try.”

I answered quietly, avoiding the Grand Duke’s gaze.