“After investigating, it appears the barony has no remaining blood relatives who were particularly close to her.”

“I see.”

Disappointment visibly crossed Hemian’s face.

“However, while not family by blood… there is one person who had deep ties to the Dauer barony.”

At those words, a glimmer entered Hemian’s eyes.

“Who?”

“A commoner woman named Sophie Bovary. She served as a maid for the Dauer family for many years. After retiring due to health issues, she relocated to Edent and now runs a ghostwriting shop.”

“Sophie Bovary… Edent.”

Edent was a large northern city built around a major trade port.

And the entire city belonged to the Winches duchy.

It was located quite far from the Roswell territory, so Hemian had never personally visited before.

Searching through his memories, Hemian vaguely recalled Ophelia mentioning a maid named Sophie Bovary once.

He remembered Ophelia preparing gifts for her, saying there was a maid who always took good care of her.

Elliot spoke carefully.

“To confirm the matter, I can leave for Edent immediately—”

“No.”

Hemian cut him off.

“I’ll go as well.”

He needed to find Ophelia quickly and return everything to how it was before.

If the divorce could not be reversed, then they could simply remarry.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, a new sense of hope filled Hemian completely.

‘Nothing has changed.’

After all, Ophelia was undoubtedly living miserably in Edent by now, a harsh northern land, and in the home of a commoner woman, no less.

Perhaps she had finally realized through this experience how painful it truly was to live without the Roswell name.

‘By now, she’s probably regretting it already.’

Thinking that way calmed the anxious pounding of his heart somewhat.

***

“Hemian went where?”

The voice of Grand Duchess Roswell, Eveline Roswell, sharpened immediately.

“He departed for Edent, Your Grace.”

“For what reason?”

“H-He instructed me to say it was for business…”

Sweating nervously, the head servant answered exactly as Hemian had ordered him to.

After all, Hemian had explicitly forbidden anyone from revealing the divorce.

The reason he hid the matter was simple.

The moment his mother learned about it, the divorce would become an irreversible fact.

She had already been constantly pressuring him to throw Ophelia out, so if she heard about the divorce, she would undoubtedly use it as an excuse to completely settle the matter for good.

More than anything Hemian still did not believe his relationship with Ophelia had truly ended.

To him, her departure was merely a temporary act of rebellion.

And with a little more time, everything could still be restored to its rightful place.

Hearing the servant’s explanation, Eveline narrowed her eyes.

Edent was a place entirely unrelated to the Roswell territory.

‘What kind of business would take him all the way out there?’

At this point, merely hearing the word business made her furious.

Just remembering the mountain of debt left behind by her late husband, the former Count Roswell, made rage boil inside her chest.

Perhaps he truly had inherited his father’s blood.

Hemian had absolutely no talent whatsoever for business or investments.

Still, she had at least been relieved he was not reckless the way his father had been.

Staring irritably at her perfectly manicured nails, Eveline clicked her tongue inwardly.

She had already been displeased lately because Ophelia had not been seen anywhere.

‘It’s about time that girl took her medicine again.’

Counting the days anxiously in her head, Eveline grew irritated.

Once a week, she secretly made sure Ophelia drank medicine to prevent any chance of her becoming pregnant with Hemian’s child.

And tomorrow was that day.

Whenever she questioned Hemian about his wife’s whereabouts, all he gave her was the vague response that ‘her health was poor, so she was sent away to recuperate.’

‘Where exactly did he send her to recuperate? If he has money to spend, he should be using it on his mother instead.’

Though hurt, she did not show it openly.

But now he had gone all the way to a distant city like Edent ‘for business’ without even consulting her first.

She could no longer tolerate it.

“How long does he plan to stay in Edent? And where is he lodging?”

Faced with the endless barrage of questions, the head servant broke out into a cold sweat as he carefully continued answering.

He remained on edge the entire time, terrified he might accidentally reveal the divorce.

After what felt more like an interrogation than a conversation finally ended, Eveline elegantly lifted her teacup and took a sip before smoothly changing the subject.

“By the way, it feels like Miss Blanche hasn’t been visiting as often lately. Is it because of that Ophelia girl again?”

Even speaking Ophelia’s name seemed to irritate her, judging by the way her brows furrowed.

“I-I’m not entirely sure about that either…”

While the head servant struggled to respond, a maid cautiously entered the room.

“Your Grace, Miss Blanche has come to visit.”

“Oh my, has she? I’ll go down immediately.”

Delight instantly brightened Eveline’s face.

Rising from her seat at once, she swept past the head servant, still drenched in nervous sweat, and briskly exited the room.

These days, Laura Blanche was the most important card in her hand.

‘If Hemian remarries properly, our family might finally be able to breathe again.’

That wretched Ophelia girl should never have remained tied to their family for this long in the first place.

They had already secured the pension they needed.

She should have been thrown out long ago.

And the fact that this entire situation kept dragging on because Hemian could not let go of his pointless attachment and lingering feelings irritated Eveline more with every passing day.

‘Still… why did Laura Blanche come to see me? Normally she would’ve gone straight to Hemian first.’

The moment Eveline entered the reception room, she immediately understood why.

Laura Blanche, who usually wore nothing but lovely, charming expressions, was biting her lip tightly today, her eyes rimmed red.

The sight of Laura’s delicate appearance naturally stirred sympathy in Eveline.

“Miss Laura, you look terribly upset. Has something happened?”

“Grand Duchess…”

The moment she saw Eveline, Laura spoke in a voice nearly trembling with tears.

Crystal-clear tears shimmered in her innocent eyes.

“The count hasn’t been seeing me at all lately.”

One of Eveline’s brows rose sharply.

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“I’ve come to visit repeatedly these past few days, but he won’t even show himself to me…”

Dabbing at her tears with a handkerchief, Laura continued,

“Do you think perhaps he’s reconciled with the Countess…?”

“No, of course not.”

Eveline wrapped an arm gently around the young lady’s shoulders.

But even while comforting her, her thoughts raced rapidly.

The Roswell family had long since become little more than an empty shell.

The debts left behind by her husband, along with one failed business venture after another, had ruined the family beyond recovery.

Without the pension stolen from the Dauer family, they likely could not have maintained their current lifestyle at all.

The Blanche family, on the other hand, was one of the most prestigious and prosperous houses in high society.

This opportunity for Hemian to marry into such a family might very well be his last.

The only flaw her son possessed was the fact that he was already married—

Yet Laura Blanche had fallen completely and utterly for Hemian’s appearance and the title of ‘Count Roswell.’

Eveline had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.

Which meant she needed to make another move.

“Miss Laura, don’t be so heartbroken. I heard Hemian has simply been extremely busy lately with various business matters. That must be the reason.”

“You really think so?”

Laura’s tears quickly subsided as she blinked her lovely eyes innocently.

Eveline nodded reassuringly.

“Of course. In fact, he left for a distant business trip today as well. It seems he’s terribly occupied expanding the projects currently being handled by the Roswell family.”

In reality, the Roswells had barely managed to involve themselves in any worthwhile investments at all.

But since Miss Blanche knew nothing about the family’s declining finances, Eveline lied smoothly without the slightest hesitation.

Thankfully, relief spread across Laura’s face immediately.

“I see… He really must be busy.”

“Or perhaps you should go visit him directly? Come to think of it, he traveled to Edent, which isn’t very far from the Blanche territory.”