It was a reaction that made her want to kick off the blanket.

What did he mean? What was he thinking?

She was afraid to even imagine what misunderstanding he might have gotten.

“I told you I didn’t want to wear it…”

Her trust in Larie, who she thought understood her best, seemed to be misplaced. It was Larie’s fault.

Larie was bad, and Rublier was bad.

Maybe the timing was just off. Why did he have to pass by at that moment? Or come out at that moment? When did he even arrive at the house? How did he get in without a sound?

Everything seems to align perfectly with someone you get along with, but with someone you don’t, nothing ever aligns. That’s why it’s always like this.

Satin buried her face in the pillow. Her cheeks were burning, and she couldn’t stand it.

She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t, fearing that Larie and the other servants would rush in. Covering her mouth with the pillow, Satin groaned.

“Aaaah…”

Her insides were burning. Satin suddenly sat up and drank the cold water from the bedside table. She felt a bit better but still not enough.

Satin glared at the room where Rublier was.

He’s probably sleeping soundly while I’m tossing and turning.

Clutching her rising anger, Satin made a firm resolution. She resolved and resolved and resolved again.

She had to prove that she had no intention of seducing him. It won’t be possible with ‘that’ Rublier. Not even in her imagination. It was too unfair to be misunderstood.

She would get a divorce.

Tomorrow morning, she would draft the divorce papers and stamp them immediately.

Then she would submit them as soon as the three months were up.

Feeling slightly better with her firm decision, Satin pulled the blanket over her head.

* * *

The next morning, Satin appeared with a pout and dropped a bombshell.

“The three months we agreed upon are almost up. Let’s get divorced as we promised.”

This was before they even had their first bite of breakfast.

Rublier picked up the paper that Satin had placed down. The first word that caught his eye was at the top.

Divorce Papers.

There was no need to read the content. Satin had surely crafted it appropriately. The reasons listed in such documents were usually the same.

Differences in personality. After living together, they realized their personalities didn’t match, making it hard to adjust to each other, so they decided to divorce and return to their previous lives. It was the most common reason chosen by couples who wanted an amicable separation.

At the bottom, the seal of Del Mare was clearly stamped. Satin had prepared the document so that all Rublier had to do was stamp his seal.

Rublier put down the divorce papers and looked at Satin, who sat with a triumphant expression. The first news he received from his wife the morning after returning from a two-and-a-half-month business trip was the divorce papers.

His jaw twitched momentarily. Still, Rublier was better at hiding his emotions than Satin.

He set the divorce papers aside for a moment and slid them toward Satin.

“Let’s eat first.”

“Let’s talk about this first.”

Satin pushed the divorce papers back toward Rublier, reopening the first page. Rublier, seeing her stubbornness, finally tapped the papers with his fingers.

Satin waited anxiously.

Even as Rublier’s eyes scanned the divorce papers, time ticked by steadily. Not even enough time to drink a cup of tea had passed, but the silence felt excruciatingly long.

Rublier looked up. Satin did not avert her gaze.

Wasn’t this the divorce they had agreed upon? Their marriage had a set deadline. Once Rublier stamped the divorce papers, it would be a complete divorce.

But…

“…I can’t agree to this.”

Isn’t this difficult? How can this be happening?

Satin’s eyes widened. Rublier often had a knack for leaving her speechless. She was dumbfounded. After a moment of being frozen, she questioned back.

“What did you say?”

In contrast, Rublier was calm. He shrugged and pushed the divorce papers back to Satin.

“I can’t agree to this divorce.”

“But we agreed to get divorced!”

“When did I?”

“Before your business trip!”

Satin retorted with a sharp voice.

“I didn’t agree. I just said I understood.”

…Did he? Did he really?

Her memory was hazy. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, but it was too long ago to have any evidence.

However, Satin wasn’t about to back down quietly. Rublier had provoked her, and he remained calm. She couldn’t just let it go out of spite.

Satin leaned over the table, pointing to the signature line on the divorce papers. In her focus on the papers, she didn’t realize how close she had gotten to Rublier.

Rublier’s face slightly hardened. Unaware, Satin urged him.

“Here.”

She pointed to the empty signature line.

“Let’s stamp it peacefully, okay?”

“Who says?”

“Oh, come on!”

Her old habit of losing her temper came out. She had been taught never to show anger or reveal her expressions, but her emotions won.

No, this isn’t right.

Satin stopped herself from getting angry and closed her mouth. Getting worked up would only play into Rublier’s hands. She needed to stay rational.

She had to stay calm. First, she needed to understand why Rublier was opposing the divorce they had already agreed upon.

“Why?”

Rublier answered her question with another question.

“Whose fault is this divorce?”

He had read the divorce papers but was still talking nonsense. Satin gathered her patience.

“I wrote it as mutual fault. It’s not really anyone’s fault, just differences in personality. Isn’t that the easiest and best way to separate?”

“That’s why I can’t agree.”

“Are you saying I’m the one at fault?”

Satin, shocked, pointed at herself.

People who want a quiet divorce often cite differences in personality. If one party is at fault, they have to pay a hefty alimony to the other. The wealthier the family, the more the assets are divided.

Satin was the sole heir of Del Mare. If it was mutual fault due to personality differences, they could offset the costs of the marriage and part ways. If things went wrong, even her family’s assets could be at stake. Her parents had high expectations for this marriage. A divorce dispute was out of the question.

Rublier countered.

“Do you know why there’s a three-month cooling-off period before a divorce?”

Satin neither nodded nor shook her head. She just waited for him to continue.

“It’s to give the couple a chance to try living together. But we haven’t tried. If you demand a divorce now, you’ll be the one at fault.”

Satin tilted her head.

“It’s a divorce we agreed on, and neither of us did anything wrong, so isn’t it easier to go with mutual fault?”

Is he trying to take advantage of someone else’s assets? The wealth of Ka Dillon wealth is certainly no less than Del Mare’s, if not more abundant.

Rublier’s smile widened at Satin’s rebuttal. His smile made Satin even more uneasy.

“We can’t use personality differences as a reason. We haven’t lived together.”

“What…?”

“I’ve been on a long-term business trip for almost three months. Since it was a trip reported to the Papal Palace, His Holiness the Pope knows about it. If the Paladin of the Holy Knights says he’s getting divorced after three months because of his duties for His Holiness, the Pope might personally intervene instead of approving it.”

The thought of the Pope getting involved in their divorce was chilling. Handling her parents was already challenging, but if the Pope got involved, it would be a losing battle. This is why marrying an overly accomplished man can be a headache, with so many high-ranking clergy attached.

Satin bit her lip. She had no way to counter Rublier bringing up the Pope. So, she decided to take a step back for now.

“…Fine. So, what do you propose?”

“Let’s extend it. Three more months. We’ll try living together, and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll part ways cleanly.”

“…Okay, let’s do that.”

It’s not 30 years, not even three years, just three months. It was a manageable proposal.

“But Satin, you also have to try to fulfill your responsibilities as a wife.”

What responsibilities as a wife?

Satin’s mind was busy trying to figure out Rublier’s intentions. She kept her mouth shut. Rublier pressed on.

“If you don’t, won’t the fault for the divorce fall on Del Mare?”

“Alright.”

Just as a dramatic agreement was about to be reached, a realization flashed through Satin’s mind. There was indeed a clear reason for divorce.

‘There’s no quicker way for a couple to bond than this.’

Satin raised her hand and waved.

“Wait a moment. We do have a reason for divorce.”

“What is it?”

“We…”

It took a bit of courage to say this. Satin held her breath for a moment.

“…We can’t, you know, have physical contact.”

Holding hands, looking into each other’s eyes, kissing, and beyond that.

A slight smile formed on Rublier’s lips upon hearing Satin’s answer.

“Are you willing to try?”

“Huh?”

“Shall we see if it’s really impossible?”

What, what is he talking about? Why is the conclusion like this?

Her face instantly flushed with heat. The confusion she felt when he said he couldn’t agree to the divorce was nothing compared to this. Her mind went completely blank. Satin froze in shock.

Rublier, with a leisurely gaze, straightened his back from his relaxed position.

“We’ll find out now if we can indeed have physical contact or not.”

In an instant, Rublier closed the distance between them.

The table in the middle posed no obstacle to him. Satin found herself face-to-face with Rublier’s intense eyes. The bright morning sunlight streaming in made her startled expression even more pronounced.

Unlike the frozen Satin, Rublier showed no hesitation.

In the blink of an eye, he was within a finger’s breadth. Maybe even closer.

In the brief moment, their noses lightly brushed against each other. A sudden unfamiliar sensation struck Satin.

“…Wait!”