Eric Oswald handed over the documents and spoke again.

“Also, the count asked me to relay this message. ‘I’ll be having dinner with Estella tonight. She’s the woman I’ll take as my new wife once I divorce you, so please attend the meal on time so you two can be introduced.’”

“…Did Lord Michael say anything else?”

“He also said it is truly sad that bigamy is illegal in this country.”

“Please be sure to tell him I agree with that.”

Yesterday it was Helena, so who on earth was Estella this time? Iris clicked her tongue inwardly and smiled kindly at the butler.

She meant to skip dinner tonight, but it seemed she had no choice but to attend. To keep Michael from dumping the books in his office and causing a scene, it was best to play along with him as much as possible in situations like this.

Recalling the atrocities Michael committed over the past week made her head throb on its own. Arriving at her office, Iris forced the unpleasant memories into a corner of her mind and began processing the documents.

Michael always ate early, so the dinner appointment came much sooner than expected. After loosening her stiffened body a little, Iris rose from her seat and limped to the dining room.

Then, as expected, she had to swallow a long sigh the moment she arrived.

’So that woman is the ‘Estella’ he’s taking as his new wife….’

Right next to Michael sat a blonde beauty Iris was seeing for the first time. Michael kept smiling brightly at her, so she was definitely Estella.

Iris didn’t want the divorce, so Estella’s presence naturally grated on her nerves. Still, she approached, pretending to be unbothered, and pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table.

Noticing Iris belatedly, Michael smiled brightly, showing his front teeth.

“Say hello. This is my love, Estella. Estella, that’s the famous criminal, Iris Oppenheimer. You know who she is, right?”

“My love…? Oh, if you introduce me like that, I’ll be embarrassed, my lord.”

“So what? It’s true.”

Michael briefly kissed the back of Estella’s hand. Then, in contrast to how he treated Iris, he stroked Estella’s glossy cheek and whispered sweetly.

“The divorce is a certainty. I’ll make sure you sit in that seat very soon.”

Soon the cheerful laughter of the man and woman filled the dining room. While Michael exchanged trivial chatter with Estella, Iris chewed and swallowed the steak like a machine.

Perhaps the servants were playing a prank, because the steak was salty enough to sting the tongue. It was so caked in salt that it would have been hard to swallow without the wine.

No matter how thick Iris’s face was, she could only watch with displeasure as her husband and another woman giggled intimately across from her. Moreover, Estella lacked a surname, so she was clearly a commoner without a title.

Since Estella was a commoner without rank, it was proper for her to show ladylike manners before a count. Iris forced the insanely salty steak down her throat and spoke quietly.

“If possible, please cover your mouth with your sleeve when you laugh, Estella. What you’re showing now is not proper behavior in front of a count of this country.”

But the moment her criticism ended, the air around them turned cold at once.

Michael was already silent, staring at Iris over Estella’s shoulder. Flames seemed to blaze in his golden eyes.

“Manners? Manners, you say? A horrible murderer like you dares to lecture about manners?”

Michael rose, his huge frame towering. Deep disgust clung to his steps as he slowly approached Iris.

“A person who even abandoned the bonds of family talks about manners. A passing dog would laugh to hear you.”

“I only thought it would be good in many ways if that woman behaved properly in front of you…”

“Shut your mouth. Iris Oppenheimer, you don’t even have the qualification to discuss manners here. No, I should say you don’t even have the qualification to sit at this table to begin with, right?”

Michael’s rebuke twisted Iris’s brow mercilessly. As always, she glared back at him, then set down her fork roughly so the noise rang in every direction.

The steak tasted vomit-bad, and the mood was already ruined. Even if Michael later came to her office and raged, Iris couldn’t sit here any longer.

Rising from her chair, she glared at Estella and smiled sharply.

“It was nice to meet you, Estella. It’s a pity for a first meeting, but as you can see, the situation has gone this way, so I can’t dine with you. Please spend a pleasant time with Lord Michael.”

Though she limped, Iris’s steps leaving the dining room were fast. Michael’s fierce roar rang out behind her.

The clamor of a glass falling beneath the table and shattering followed noisily. Unable to bear his surging anger at last, Michael pounded the table with his fist, then raked back his golden hair roughly and sneered.

“Iris Oppenheimer, come back right now and fill out the divorce papers! You’re sick of this nonsense too, aren’t you?”

“I clearly told you I will not divorce you, Lord Michael!”

“Then what’s your reason for wanting to live with me? Say it, huh?! Let me hear just how great a reason it is!”

The reason she had to live with Michael Hagbris.

Iris’s steps stopped dead in the middle of the corridor. She turned to look at Michael with eyes bloodshot red from burst capillaries.

Her nails dug mercilessly into her palms. Because of her clenched fists, both arms trembled on their own.

Michael was too far away to see Iris’s eyes properly. But in the eyes he couldn’t bring himself to face, all manner of past memories and emotions were painfully tangled.

‘The reason I want to live with that man even while enduring this wretched marriage….’

She must never say it.

She couldn’t say it.

She was sorry to Michael Hagbris, but that reason alone was Iris’s eternal secret.

***

“Here, take it.”

Michael tossed an envelope onto the desk. It held money, and even at a glance it was quite thick.

“Today’s pay.”

“Excuse me, but overtime pay is double?”

“I know. That’s why I put in double.”

After glaring suspiciously at Michael for a long while, Estella dropped her doubt only after checking inside the envelope. Despite her easygoing personality, she was quite sensitive about money.

Whether Michael was in front of her or not, Estella began tossing off the dress she was wearing. Already used to Estella’s rough behavior, Michael turned his back without any sign of flustering.

Along with the rustle of clothing, Estella’s complaint came from behind him.

“I’ve disguised myself as all sorts of roles while serving in the Knight Order, but playing the count’s mistress is a first. Honestly, it feels a bit disgusting.”

“Helena said the exact same thing last night.”

“No matter that it’s work, no woman wants to be in a romantic relationship with her own boss.”

“It’s just acting anyway.”

“I know. Still, if I have to play the count’s mistress again, I’d rather put on clown makeup and perform in the circus once more. That would be better in many ways.”

By the time the messy rustling died down, Estella was a completely different person from head to toe. Instead of the tavern girl from the dining room, a knight in a neatly worn uniform stood there.

Estella Grace, a knight of the Hagbris Knight Order. Possessing the same gorgeous blonde hair as Michael, she was one of the order’s most beautiful and most skilled members.

Tying her waist-length blonde hair up into one bundle, Estella said,

“But that woman is really tough, isn’t she? Even if it’s a political marriage, how does she not even blink when her husband says he’ll take another woman as his wife?”

“She’s tough enough to suffocate a poor newborn, so no wonder. Also, I’d rather you not call him her husband. It’s maddeningly unpleasant.”

“Please stop this act now. No matter how many women you bring to this mansion, my lord, Iris Oppenheimer seemed ready to never stamp her seal on the divorce papers.”