Chapter 1 (Part 3)

The moment she came to her senses, pure pain struck her entire body. It felt like her body was breaking, and she couldn’t move even a finger.

‘…Uh.’

Even opening her eyes was a struggle.

Her throat stung so much that she couldn’t swallow her saliva.

As she grimaced slightly from the pain, someone knocked on the door and then spoke loudly.

“…Madame. Why are you sleeping in so late? It’s already midday.”

It was Sophia’s voice.

It must have been a terrible nightmare.

“Hurry and get up, wash up, and get ready. Otherwise, the old lady will get angry.”

“…Hmm.”

Therese’s eyes grew heavy at the familiar and kind voice.

The pain felt too real.

‘Is this reality?’

“S-Sophia, what day is it today? No, where am I?”

She barely managed to sit up and leaned against the bed headboard, and Sophia smiled broadly.

“Even though you’ve become the Duchess, you still joke like this.”

It seemed Sophia took it as if Therese was joking. Therese stammered, feeling strange.

“……How long has it been since I got married?”

“Today is exactly one month, I believe.”

‘This time, be sure to find happiness.’

Wasn’t that a dream?

Suddenly, her mind felt tangled like a ball of yarn.

“Sophia, I have a bit of a headache.”

“Dear me, no wonder your voice sounds a bit off. I’ll go and fetch some medicine right away.”

Left alone, Therese staggered down from the bed. The unfamiliar woman in the mirror looked back at her.

“…Ah.”

Not the woman who was thin with brittle hair, but someone with glossy, wavy silver hair, jewel-like blue eyes, and rosy cheeks was in the mirror.

“That’s right. I used to look like this.”

She reached out to touch her supple cheeks, feeling strange. It was definitely her, yet it didn’t feel like her.

“……I’ve gone back in time.” 

With a short laugh, she wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

She had realized from the first day that the marriage was a wrong decision. And not a single day in those five years could she smile. She was constantly oppressed by her mother-in-law and neglected in her husband’s indifference.

“What should I do?”

As she stroked her belly with her hand, her eyes were blank.

Therese was very worn out from the continuous mental abuse.

“But I’m alive now.”

She didn’t know who or how someone gave her another chance at life.

But it might be an opportunity to be happy, like the voice she heard before dying suggested.

But the concept of happiness was too vague for her now. As she pondered deeply, she raised her head.

First, she had to get out of this marriage.

“Yes. Divorce first.”

The unfamiliar word slipped from her lips.

Previously, Therese had never even considered such a word.

‘Do you think someone like you can match my son? If only you could divorce, how wonderful that would be.’

‘Madame, I’ll do better. Please take back those words.’

Back then, she had knelt before her mother-in-law, begging because she was afraid of being divorced. The perception of divorced women in the empire was not good.

‘They say that daughter-in-law of that house has completely lost her mind.’

Most women who got divorced entered a convent to quietly end their lives. In the past, Therese was afraid of being kicked out of the Richard family and disappointing her father.

“But what I really should have been wary of wasn’t that.”

To avoid repeating hell, she must not fall in love with Jeremy Richard.

Thinking of the name Jeremy made one side of her chest ache and her stomach churn. Thinking of him brought up both beautiful memories and a past she wanted to forget.

Shaking slightly, Therese clenched her fist.

“I won’t show such a pathetic sight ever again.”

No one would ever interfere in her life again.

The Therese in the mirror gave a dry smile.

As she headed to the first-floor drawing room, Therese tried to recall memories.

‘Nothing special happened within a month after the marriage.’

After the wedding, the Duke had gone off to war and did not return for a year. And that marked the beginning of a terrible cohabitation with her mother-in-law.

‘…Mother-in-law.’

Therese’s shoulders tensed as she walked to the drawing room.

Being alive again didn’t mean she could instantly forget the five years of married life.

Drinking tea at this set time was one of the rules set by her mother-in-law, supposedly to teach her manners, but it was really just a time to nag.

“Originally, elegance isn’t something you can learn.”

As soon as she entered the drawing room, her mother-in-law, who was already there, coldly remarked.

It was a voice she had heard every day for the past five years without fail.

Therese’s mother-in-law, Maria Richard, was known throughout the empire as a lady of elegance. Having lost her husband to war, she had raised her two sons admirably. Maria Richard’s only wish was to bring in a refined daughter-in-law to ensure the prosperity of the family.

‘But how dare they marry my son to a merchant’s daughter like that?’

If it hadn’t been for the Emperor’s command, she wouldn’t have followed it even if a knife was at her throat. Though the marriage was forced, she couldn’t be pleased with a daughter-in-law who didn’t meet her standards. As expected of someone from a merchant family who only cared about money, she was sure to be extravagant and ignorant of etiquette.

“I apologize for being late, Mother.”

Maria calmly watched her daughter-in-law sit down in front of her.

“…’Mother’?”

Since the mother-in-law did not acknowledge Therese as a daughter-in-law, she had ordered that she be called ‘Madame’ in the ducal residence.

“Isn’t it strange to call family members ‘Madame’?”

While sipping tea lightly, Therese responded.

“Not only do you not apologize for keeping me waiting, but now you’re trying to teach me?”

Stunned by Therese’s bold reply, Maria gasped for breath.

“Forgive me. Mother.”

……I was never taught properly, after all.

She swallowed the words she really wanted to say.

She hadn’t yet found a way to divorce, nor had she properly planned for the future.

‘The tea is quite fragrant.’

It seemed like the first time Therese was leisurely enjoying tea since her marriage.

“I should die early. Why live to see such a thing! Such a thing stealing my son.”

Despite Therese clearly hearing her, the mother-in-law referred to her as a ‘thing.’

‘That doesn’t even make me angry anymore.’

Moreover, her mother-in-law was very mistaken.

She had never once captured Jeremy Richard.

“I have something to do, so I think I should leave first.”

“…?”

Leaving the astonished mother-in-law behind, Therese hurried upstairs.

“Sophia, prepare the carriage.”

“Suddenly?”

Therese had stayed only at home after her marriage, fearing she might cause trouble for the Richard family. After all, the Richard family was a high-ranking noble family under the empire’s scrutiny.

It was all unnecessary consideration.

As she smiled bitterly, Sophia tilted her head.

“Madame. There’s nothing wrong, right?”

Even Sophia, who had been with her since childhood, seemed to notice something different. After tying the ribbon on her bonnet, Therese spoke.

“Do you trust me, Sophia?”

“Of course. I’m always on your side, Miss. Oh dear, I shouldn’t call you Miss.”

“No, it’s okay.”

I might be called that again soon.

Therese arrived at the largest library in the capital.

‘I must verify something with my own eyes.’

She found the shelf with the imperial law books and scanned the spines of the books. Finding the book she was looking for, she quickly went to a corner and opened it.

‘The empire recognizes various grounds for divorce, but it stipulates that mutual consent is necessary.’

“…Ha.”

Her face darkened instantly as she confirmed the contents of the book.

Even if Therese decided to divorce, it was not possible without the other party’s consent.

Nobles, who valued honor more than life, often didn’t divorce even if one or both sides had affairs.

‘I was afraid of divorce myself.’

If divorce hadn’t been seen as a flaw, her mother-in-law would have driven her out long ago.

‘I’ll make sure he wants to divorce.’

On the carriage ride back to the Richard ducal residence, Therese repeated her resolution. But she hadn’t yet found a way, and anxiety gnawed at her.

‘Can I really do this?’

Suddenly feeling a severe headache, she had the carriage stopped.

“Sophia, I need to walk a bit.”

“I’ll accompany you.”

“The castle is just ahead; what danger could there be? I need some time to think alone.”

Having served her for nearly twenty years, Sophia nodded at her mistress’s unusual demeanor.

“I’ll go ahead and wait for you there, so please come carefully.”

The carriage kicked up dust as it sped away, and Therese was left completely alone.