Chapter 2. The Principles of Divorce

For a while, I spent my time eating well and resting well.

Fortunately, after that, there were no instances of bleeding, including nosebleeds. There were no headaches, and my temperature was normal. My body felt light, and my mind was clear. The occasional sentences I read weren’t particularly concerning.

No one came to visit me. Despite being a Duke’s wife, albeit from an unremarkable family and with little presence in the ducal household. It was somewhat disheartening.

‘It’s not troublesome, so that’s good.’

I decided to think positively.

Rashid came to see me once more after that.

“Are you feeling a bit better today?”

He asked in a somewhat softer tone compared to before. The aura of contempt that had surrounded him like a blade had also faded, making it easier to face him. I don’t know what wind brought about this change, but it was fortunate for me.

“Yes… It’s good. The weather is nice, the food is good, my physical condition is good, everything is good.”

It was a bit embarrassing, considering this was our first meeting since the nosebleed incident. I found myself avoiding eye contact, perhaps because it felt awkward to look at him directly.

“Has your anger subsided?”

“Yes, well…”

As he suppressed his demeanor, I nodded my head obediently in response.

“The nosebleed.”

“…That too, well… yes.”

Rashid smirked. The curve drawn by his twisted lips was smooth, but to me, it just looked like mockery. How could he laugh when his wife was ill…

I pretended to be in pain, holding my head.

Having made up my mind about how to live from now on, I needed to sort out the situation as soon as possible, but I wasn’t sure when and how to bring it up. It was difficult to predict how Rashid would react to my request.

Let’s imagine…

Q. Choose the likely reaction Duke Penvernon will have when asked for separation by his puppet wife.
① We can’t because marriage is sworn before God.
② We can’t because the Emperor would mind.
③ We can’t because it’s troublesome.
④ We can’t because I love you. (This is just a guess, but it’s really absurd.)
⑤ Do as you please.

I wonder what the correct answer would be?

‘It would be nice if a sentence would appear at times like this.’

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Well, if I had that kind of luck, I wouldn’t have ended up here in the first place. I wouldn’t have even fallen into the water to begin with.

‘I need to think slowly.’

After that, Rashid and I exchanged a few more trivial words before parting.

Given how busy he was, there wasn’t much time to face each other in the first place. Whenever he had a chance, he would enter the imperial palace, attend Privy Council meetings, take care of territory affairs in his office, and so on. He seemed to have a mountain of work to do.

After Rashid left, Louise would make a fuss as if on cue.

“For His Grace the Duke to visit like this, I suppose this is what they call a blessing in disguise. It’s fortunate that you fell ill.”

“How is that fortunate?”

I retorted grumpily.

“It is fortunate. When else would you receive His Grace’s attention, my lady? It’s truly a joyous occasion.”

Louise said with a sparkling smile, and I almost believed it was really a joyous occasion.

Louise was saying, ‘You are merely such an existence to His Grace the Duke.’ A Duke’s wife in name only, who couldn’t even get a glance unless she was ill. It was a remark that bruised my pride.

In this situation, if I were the Alisa that Louise knew, I would have smiled along and said, ‘Yes, that’s right.’ And then I would have felt intimidated, thinking that I was merely such an insignificant existence.

But I will no longer live submissively. I can’t, because the Alisa of the past is gone.

Nevertheless, this is my revenge for myself.

‘What should I do about Louise?’

It seems impossible to get along by adjusting to her personality. To block information from reaching the Emperor, I needed to send Louise out of the ducal household. For that, I needed a perfect excuse so that the Emperor couldn’t object, saying, ‘How dare you drive out the maid I assigned!’

‘I need to find a way.’

As I pondered various ways to send her away with minimal trouble, the afternoon faded.

While I was watching the vast garden of the ducal residence and the spires beyond it as the sun was setting through the window, Sylvester, the butler of the ducal household, came to me.

“My lady, His Grace has requested to dine with you for dinner.”

* * *

The ducal residence is quiet at sunset.

Not just in the evening. The Duke’s residence was always serene and desolate as if submerged in water. I swam through it like a slow-moving fish.

As befits one of the five ducal houses ruling the empire, the Penvernon residence was enormous. Each of the hundreds of rooms had its own purpose and was uniformly spacious and elegant.

Throughout the mansion, the family emblem of the camellia flower was present. As I returned to my room, I etched those flowers into my eyes like I was playing a hidden picture game.

The Camellia of Penvernon.

This was the alias of this family.

Long ago, in the era when evil dragons ruled the continent. The founder of the Grandia Empire received a divine call and gained the power to rule over dragons, establishing the country with five sworn friends. The heroes killed the dragon kings and took their hearts, each gaining miraculous dragon powers.

Thus, they became beings close to dragons while still human, and their ancestors’ abilities were passed down through blood to the five ducal houses. Some members of each family possessed special abilities unlike ordinary people. This was why Rashid could wield magic-infused swordsmanship.

Among them, Rashid was unprecedentedly strong, comparable to the first Duke. That’s why there were whispers that he might be closer to a dragon than a human. In the long years that had passed, as the dragon’s power gradually faded, his existence was distinctly different.

And in this mansion, only Rashid and I bear the surname Penvernon.

Before marrying me, Rashid was the only Penvernon of his generation. Although all nobles of Grandia know this, there’s a reason no one mentions it.

The conflict over the Penvernon dukedom a few years ago is called the Camellia Civil War. Rashid was the victor of that war.

The protagonist of a tragedy who killed his siblings and confined his mother. The demon of the west who dyed the sunset with blood. But they say he’s so captivating that anyone would be enchanted.

Strong and beautiful but with deep wounds in his heart, it was truly a setting fitting for a male protagonist in a romance novel.

People thought that Rashid, the second son, had struck his older brother to aim for the dukedom after their father’s death.

But the reality was slightly different. It was the older brother who, out of jealousy for Rashid’s abilities and appearance that fully inherited the family’s characteristics, tried to kill him.

I knew the inside story because I had read it in a book.

Alisa’s memories and my memories intertwined to complete my understanding of Rashid. Perhaps I am the person who knows him best in this world right now.

As I passed by, I saw the sunset through the large window. I entered the dining room, leaving the purple-tinged sky behind.

Rashid was already there.

“You’re late.”

“You’re early.”

I retorted clearly, not backing down.

Considering my thoughts of leaving this mansion, it was comfortable not having to consider his mood. It was like thinking, ‘If you’re displeased, just cut my stomach open.’ Though I was a tiny bit worried that he might actually do it, just a tiny bit….

As I sat down opposite Rashid, plates were immediately brought out. Soon, a simple appetizer was prepared.

I bit into the grilled asparagus drizzled with wine sauce. The crisp texture pleased me, improving my mood a little.

“By the way, what’s the sudden occasion for calling me?”

“Do I need a reason to dine with my wife?”

“Well, not really…”

“Let’s say it’s for the sake of strengthening the bond between husband and wife.”

“Ah, I see…”

What an outrageous lie. How can he say such things with such a bored-looking face?

“The doctor said you can now eat proper meals. I thought we might as well have dinner together from now on when possible.”

“Why?”

I asked with wide eyes at this unexpected proposal. Rashid stared at me as if my question was the unexpected one and replied.

“Because there’s someone who wants that bond.”

Rashid answered bluntly. There was no need to ask who he meant. I could quickly guess that his own wishes weren’t much reflected in this situation.

It was difficult to add anything more, knowing this was a forced arrangement. With him exuding such an air of doing something unnecessary because of me, I really don’t know how to respond.