“Rewrite the divorce papers.”

Her clear voice echoed through the small hall.

The moment Siliar heard it, his mind went blank. Without warning, he could not catch his breath. It felt as though the ground beneath his feet had given way. He had no idea how he had managed to walk out of the hall.

“What did you just say? Divorce? Don’t talk nonsense!”

Startled, he shouted at his wife.

Truthfully, he didn’t even know what he was saying. The only thought that had occurred to him the instant he heard those words was ‘No, absolutely not’.

There was no room in his mind for persuasion or explanations. It was pure instinct. The one thing he had never wanted to hear had just come from his wife’s lips.

“Why is it nonsense? Let’s end this here. Let’s break up. Let’s end this. Let’s get divorced.”

These were words he had tried so hard to avoid, even as he distanced himself from her.

He had always feared that this day would come. He had always been afraid that she would become disillusioned with him one day and never want to see him again.

That was why, when he first heard that they were divorced, he nearly collapsed.

His heart truly dropped.

The thought of her leaving him had driven him to the brink of madness. Never seeing you again had seemed unbearable.

He felt this way throughout his search for Eremrus and while he destroyed the documents.

Only when he watched the documents burn before his eyes was he finally able to breathe again. Learning that you had never truly wanted to leave him brought him the same overwhelming relief.

“Divorce…?”

How could you be the one to say it first?

“No.”

How can you do this?

“Not even if I die.”

Silar flared up and stepped forward. If necessary, he was prepared to take her by force.

Continuing this conversation would only lead them in circles. It would be better for them both to return home and talk there, rather than wasting time.

That was what he thought.

But—

“Please.”

At Martiana’s next command, Siliar was compelled to stop.

Her plea held him in place.

Or rather, it was what came after.

“I’m tired now.”

That.

And—

“You’re tired too.”

That.

“…”

It was a truth he could never deny.

It was a feeling he had carried with him all this time.

Hearing these words from her left him speechless.

“Tired?”

“Yes. So let’s stop.”

Her answer was firm.

There was no hesitation in her expression.

Seeing this, Siliar slowly withdrew his hand, which he had been reaching out towards Martiana with.

He could do nothing.

At that moment, he realized that there was only one thing he could do: give Martiana what she wanted.

It seemed there was no other option.

Yet Siliar still did not want to leave his wife. He couldn’t even imagine it. So what choice did he have? For now, the only option was to take a step back.

“Later. We’ll talk about it later.”

It was a pitiful end, but if he wanted to buy time, he didn’t have any other options. Had he stayed any longer, it would have seemed as though everything would end.

“Ha…”

Silar stood in a rarely used passageway outside the small auditorium and let out a long breath.

He had never imagined that he could be such a coward. He had run away from nothing more than the word ‘divorce’.

“Idiot.”

He muttered to himself, lightly tapping his forehead with his fist.

All he had wanted to do was ask her to go home with him, but it felt as though he had walked straight into an explosion.

“How did it end up like this?”

Where had it begun to unravel? When they lost Licorice? Or when they failed to find her?

‘When I grew tired.’

When had she noticed?

He had thought that, since they rarely faced each other, she wouldn’t have noticed. But it must have been obvious.

He was exhausted — as a husband, as a father, and as an investigator.

“Ha…!”

A hollow laugh escaped his lips.

Although he was ultimately relieved they had not separated, this situation did not bring him any comfort whatsoever.

He needed to trace everything back.

At the very least, he had to understand how things had come to this.

Only then might he find something — anything — that could win Martiana’s heart back.

But where should he begin?

‘Mother.’

It would have to start there.

He had been told that his mother had given Martiana the divorce papers.

He did not want to believe it. Now that the suspicion had surfaced, however, he had no choice but to find out if it was true.

“D*mn it.”

Silar strode forward, cursing under his breath.

He could not remain in this state.

Every passing second felt like a loss. The faster he moved, the sooner he would be able to rescue his wife.

“Wait for me. I’ll come for you.”

Glancing back at the small auditorium, he muttered the words.

He was not a man who gave up easily. Anyone who had witnessed his five-year search for his missing daughter would know that.

He did not know how to give up.

The same applied to his wife.

***

“Ha…”

As Siliar’s figure receded into the distance, someone else let out a quiet sigh.

Wearing a priest’s robe and sporting the same silver hair and violet eyes as Martiana, her older brother Lawrence appeared.

“What am I supposed to do with those two?”

He had been near the auditorium for quite some time. In fact, he had seen Siliar enter, so it would be more accurate to say that he had been waiting there the entire time.

Some might call him a fool for that. But what else could he have done? After all, it was Lawrence who had let Siliar into a place where outsiders were never supposed to go.

“Ha…”

Lawrence let out another long sigh as he looked up at the auditorium where his sister was still standing.

Initially, he had never intended to let Siliar enter the temple.

After all, the man had rejected his sister.

Why would he willingly allow someone like that to set foot inside?

Truthfully, he hadn’t even wanted to hear his name. He hadn’t wanted to concern himself with him at all.

This was why he had instructed the junior priests to stop Siliar if he came looking for him and prevent him from entering the temple under any circumstances. Yet the man had barged straight into Lawrence’s office.

He had underestimated the skill of the kingdom’s Chief of Security.

Siliar was not someone that a handful of junior priests could stop.

“Is Martiana here?”

He appeared before Lawrence, his breathing not having altered at all.

The sight of him infuriated Lawrence. His expression seemed to suggest that all this resistance was futile.

Lawrence openly shook his head in response.

“No.”

He cut him off without hesitation.

“The woman you’re looking for isn’t here.”

Do you know what he did then?

“Then where is she? I heard she was injured. Is she all right?”

He pleaded.

It was just like all those years ago when he had knelt down and asked her to marry him.

It was a pitiful sight.

He was so desperate that it was almost painful to watch.

The longer Lawrence looked at him, the angrier he became.

“What are you trying to do here? Is this some kind of joke? You drove her away, so why are you looking for her now?”

In a fit of anger, he grabbed the boy by the collar.

Violence was forbidden for a priest, but who cared? He hit him as a brother would.

“Get out. How much more do you plan to hurt her? If it’s over, then leave her alone!”

Before he could stop himself, his fist flew out.

Face. Stomach. Side.

He hit him everywhere.

Yet this bastard did nothing.

He simply endured it.

With his skill, he could easily have dodged every blow.

As he took the hits, he said—

“We never broke up.”

He claimed that they weren’t divorced. He hadn’t done it. There must have been some kind of misunderstanding.

When Lawrence heard this, the strength drained from his fist.

He no longer had a reason to hit him.

In fact, he felt relieved.

“You didn’t divorce?”

He found himself thinking, Thank goodness.

He wouldn’t have opposed his sister’s divorce, but nor would he have welcomed it. He believed that the best outcome would be for them to go back to how things were before.

Anyone who had witnessed their deep love for each other would agree.

They had been beautiful together.

They had shone.

His sister most of all.

So Lawrence told Siliar where Martiana was.

Regardless of how things had unfolded between them, she deserved to know that they had never officially divorced.

Lawrence could have delivered the message himself, but they needed to face this together and resolve it.

That was what he believed.

But—

“Once something’s broken, is it impossible to mend?”

The hope he had quietly nurtured was shattered.

From the voices that had drifted out, it seemed certain that she wanted to leave him.

If Martiana truly wanted to leave, then, as her family, he would have no choice but to support her decision.

And yet—even so—

“What about reconciling with Siliar?”

Nevertheless, Lawrence found himself saying it.

This happened after Siliar had left and Lawrence had stepped inside the small auditorium, where Martiana remained alone.

He sat down next to her sister and looked at her steadily.

He could see that he had startled her.

“What are you talking about?”

Martiana looked at him as though he had said something ridiculous.

“Your face is a mess, too.”

Seeing how dark her expression was — no less than Siliar’s — Lawrence gave a small shrug.

He felt an unpleasant dryness in his mouth as he realized he had unintentionally upset her.

Still, there were things that needed to be said.

So he spoke calmly.

“Ramelata is with Duke Vandyk.”

Above all, it was news Martiana had long wished to hear.