Divorce. Divorce, of all things.

Lost in thought, Lacy reached for the letter sitting before her and broke the seal.

It was from House Lennon — asking her to meet on the appointed day on Rix Street.

In reply, she wrote a short letter and handed it to Siz.

“Send this to the ducal house. By today.”

“Yes, of course.”

* * *

Rix Street was where the capital’s most beloved dessert shops were gathered. As such, it was also a popular spot for people to make plans and go on dates.

Lacy made her way into one of the older establishments along the street.

Felix and Julien were already waiting inside.

“Lacy!”

“Have you both been well?”

Felix and Julien were Lacy’s twin older brothers — the two pillars of House Lennon, one might say.

“You look like you’ve lost even more weight. Are you eating properly?”

“You’re not ill, are you?”

At the worried looks from her brothers, Lacy only smiled.

Accompanying Lacy on her outing were Siz and the knights of the Grand Ducal house. They were required to keep watch over her at all hours.

As a result, she hadn’t seen her father — the Duke of House Lennon — even once since the wedding.

“Actually, something has come up.”

“Something? What do you mean?”

“His Highness the Grand Duke…… has asked for a divorce.”

“What?”

The word hit them just as hard.

Lacy and Rafez divorcing would be a shock not only to them, but to noble society at large.

Because her marriage to Rafez was not a personal matter but a matter of the house, Lacy had thought it right to consult her brothers — and so she had moved up the date of their meeting.

“Divorce — why?”

“I don’t know. I suppose he no longer wishes to continue the marriage.”

Felix and Julien had come out in the happy anticipation of seeing Lacy — and now the mood had grown heavy without anyone quite noticing.

Neither of them could find words easily.

“……We would be overjoyed to have you back, of course — but I’m not sure what Father will make of it.”

“That’s right. This was a marriage commanded by His Majesty the Emperor.”

Everyone in House Lennon knew that the Emperor had arranged the marriage to Rafez as a means of keeping him in check. It had been discussed as such from the start.

So if they were to divorce — would the Emperor be pleased?

“Father might actually see it as a good opportunity.”

Lacy spoke as though she had arrived at some kind of resolve.

“Lacy.”

“I’ll need to ask again — why he wants a divorce, and what he intends to do. If it isn’t in our house’s best interest, then I’ll have to refuse.”

Unwanted as the marriage had been, it was the Emperor’s command.

As loyal subjects of the Emperor, House Lennon had an obligation to carry it out.

“……You’re right.”

* * *

Returning to the estate, Lacy had started toward her own room — then stopped, and turned in the direction of Rafez’s instead.

The sudden change caught Siz and the others off guard, and they looked after her in surprise.

Arriving at Rafez’s door, Lacy came face to face with Mollys.

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

Mollys was startled as well, but kept his expression composed and greeted her.

“Is His Highness the Grand Duke inside?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Then please let him know I’m here.”

Mollys knocked and spoke through the door.

“Your Highness, the Grand Duchess has come to see you.”

Silence from within.

Then, a moment later, Rafez’s voice came through.

“Come in.”

Mollys opened the door, and Lacy stepped inside.

Rafez appeared to have been in the middle of work — he was seated at his desk, papers spread open before him.

“Lacy.”

“……Why are you calling me by my name, Your Highness?”

Rafez was caught off guard for a moment.

But he realized it quickly. Since returning, he hadn’t once called her by her name.

“Ah — my apologies. I wasn’t thinking.”

“I came because I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“What is your reason for wanting a divorce?”

He hadn’t had any idea what question she might come with — but hearing it, he understood it even less.

Did the reason matter that much?

Lacy, like Rafez, had been forced into a marriage she never wanted because of the Emperor. There should have been no reason for her to refuse a divorce.

“Didn’t I say as much? That we’ve done enough.”

“And that’s your reason?”

“Don’t you want a divorce from me as well? Do you need another reason?”

“Then what grounds will you cite? A marriage commanded by His Majesty the Emperor — you intend to dissolve it now, simply because neither of us wishes to continue?”

Ah. So that was why she was hesitating.

Rafez let out a hollow laugh.

That marriage, commanded by His Majesty the Emperor. As though it were something so sacred.

Then again — Lacy was someone who had thrown her life away for her family and the Emperor.

“I’ll make sure no harm comes to you, so don’t worry about that. Shouldn’t that be enough?”

“If this marriage is dissolved without proper grounds, I will be cast out by my own family — and beyond that, our house will have no way of escaping His Majesty’s wrath.”

Cast out by her own family? He hadn’t known it went that far.

And House Lennon — so devoted to the Emperor — would truly face his fury over something as small as a broken marriage?

The more he heard, the less sense it made. They endured treatment like that, and still gave their lives for the Emperor?

“I won’t agree to a divorce.”

Lacy looked as though her mind was already made up.

Even a marriage like this — spent under surveillance within the estate walls. Even in the house of an enemy. She would endure it all and carry on?

As Lacy turned to leave, Rafez spoke.

“Our house is in need of an heir. If you won’t agree to a divorce, will you cooperate in producing one?”

Lacy’s footsteps stopped.

An heir?

“What do you mean by——”

“You asked for grounds for the divorce. I can hardly say it’s because you failed to bear children, can I?”

Lacy went rigid with shock.

So the sudden talk of divorce — it was to find another woman who could give him an heir?

“Would you have me use that as the grounds? Wouldn’t that cause harm to your house and to you?”

Rafez spoke with complete composure.

Though he didn’t mean a word of it.

It was true that House Felista currently had no clear heir. Rafez had no brothers, no close relatives. And it was also true that the house wanted an heir.

But the heir the house wanted — it was not Lacy’s child. Who would want an heir born of an enemy’s womb?

There was a reason Rafez was an only child.

Lacy would understand perfectly well what he was implying.

In truth, he had never expected her to refuse the divorce.

But right now, divorce was the best course of action. If Lacy died again like this, he would be branded a murderer again — and then he would have no choice but to keep regressing, over and over.

Why? Because of that damned contract.

That damned clause — guaranteeing each other’s safety, holding the other responsible should one of them die.

And he did not want to watch Lacy drink that poison again and die vomiting blood.

No — if he was being honest, he simply did not want to watch Lacy sacrifice herself for her family and the Emperor.

“……”

Lacy had absolutely no intention of bearing an heir.

Struck speechless, she walked out of the room and made her way back to her own, her steps quick and urgent — as though fleeing.

Bang.

The moment she was inside, she shut the door with her whole body and sagged against it, all the strength gone out of her.

Knock knock.

“Your Highness? Your Highness the Grand Duchess?”

Siz had followed after her and was tapping at the door — but at Lacy’s words, she fell quiet.

“I want to be alone. Please.”

Slide——

Lacy’s legs gave way beneath her and she crumpled to the floor.

“Our house is in need of an heir. If you won’t agree to a divorce, will you cooperate in producing one?”

An heir.

“You asked for grounds for the divorce. I can hardly say it’s because you failed to bear children, can I?”

“……Pfft.”

Failed to bear children — as grounds for divorce?

It was a reason she had never once considered. The sheer absurdity of being blindsided like that forced a hollow laugh out of her.

“Would you have me use that as the grounds? Wouldn’t that cause harm to your house and to you?”

But she couldn’t laugh anymore. Because he was right.

If Lacy were truly to be served with divorce papers on the grounds of failing to produce an heir, it would be devastating — for House Lennon, for Lacy herself, and perhaps even for the Emperor who had sent her to the Grand Ducal house in the first place.

“Haa……”

The reality of it settled over her, and a long breath escaped.

It wasn’t as though she had never thought about an heir before.

When talk of marriage to Rafez had first arisen, she had thought long and hard about why she had to marry and what was expected of her afterward — and had discussed it at length with her family.

The question of an heir had naturally been part of those conversations.

But the conclusion had been that Rafez would have no desire for an heir from Lacy either, and that such a relationship between them was never going to happen.

And yet now, out of nowhere — divorce because of an heir?

Lacy felt as though her head might split open.

Trying to endure the pain, she reached into the folds of her clothing without thinking and closed her hand around the bottle.