He thought it was simply a pretense to avoid the situation, evade an uncomfortable circumstance, and alleviate guilt.

“I must have been really struggling all this time. Since the carriage accident… I was lonely. But during the time I was alone in the annex, I realized… I was making a big mistake. I was taking out my anger in the wrong place.”

Because while Serena’s expression seemed very regretful and overflowing with pity as she spoke, there was a subtly chilling feeling.

And in fact, Magnus’s beastly intuition was correct about that fact.

But at this moment, Magnus came to think that she must have been very lonely all this time.

“Thanks to you, I’m feeling better now.”

Serena said, lightly waving her hand and detaching herself without any lingering attachment.

Serena felt relieved.

Because no one had ever taken her side during her life as a research assistant.

There was sympathy, but no one had ever been angry on her behalf.

Because being disliked by a professor meant giving up on grades!

‘What a cowardly and filthy bunch!’

Serena thought, completely forgetting the fact that she too had been one of that bunch.

‘What kind of treatment must she have received until now to be so moved by something like this….’

Magnus felt complicated emotions as he kept his mouth shut.

There’s no room for excuses for what Serena has done so far. Of course, she should know well that she was wrong.

However….

‘Does a person who has already repented need to continue suffering like this?’

Magnus was an emotional person.

If Serena had heard this, she would have said ‘of course’ and milked it for another 20 years.

“The Marquis of Lavernia went too far!”

She repeated Magnus’s words exactly and then laughed.

‘It feels better to say it out loud than to think it in my head!’

She clenched her fist with eyes full of emotion, regretting that she couldn’t use the swear words she couldn’t utter because Magnus was there.

“You… why on earth are you laughing? You should be angry.”

“You got angry on my behalf.”

“It’s not me who should be angry, but you! Aren’t you the one who suffered?”

“Ah… I forgot. That it’s okay to say it out loud.”

Because for Serena, keeping her curses inside while maintaining a calm exterior in front of professors had become like a default setting.

Serena said, smiling unusually.

Magnus’s eyes widened.

He had only ever seen her smile with malice, crooked and mocking… honestly, it was a somewhat irritating face, but just now it was a refreshing smile without any such emotion.

‘So she knew how to smile like this too.’

He was a bit surprised.

‘…To the point of forgetting. How much has she been enduring?’

He was also a bit shocked.

Could there have been such a reason for her to become so twisted?

Serena Lavernia might have had very severe discord with her family.

Or, was she abused by a man?

‘Is that why she hated my touch?’

If so, it makes sense.

Every time he tried to touch her, she would recoil in terror as if burned.

‘…Come to think of it, even at the banquet, the young marquis of Lavernia treated her quite roughly.’

As his thoughts reached that point, Magnus’s eyes momentarily turned fierce.

To lay hands on someone of higher status, and a woman much weaker than himself at that.

‘What trash.’

Magnus’s misunderstanding deepened.

“…When the cooling-off period ends and you leave the ducal mansion, I’ll provide you with a bit more support.”

“I don’t want it.”

Serena shook her head, lay back down on the bed, and hugged her pillow.

Magnus now sighed instead of saying anything to her and just pulled up the blanket to cover only her legs.

“Why don’t you want it? You don’t have to pay it back.”

“Well, I don’t like receiving money from others.”

Because there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

And it’s better not to get entangled with money like this with a business partner.

‘It becomes troublesome if they cling to it later.’

Serena thought as she firmly shook her head.

“…Then you can stay at the ducal mansion for a while even after the cooling-off period ends.”

Magnus felt somewhat hurt by her cold rejection, but he didn’t want to send away his ex-wife that he knew for 16 years empty-handed.

“Ugh, I hate that even more.”

“……”

At this point, Magnus felt rather hurt.

He had said it out of concern, but what’s with that expression of disgust to the point of rudeness?

“What would I become if I sent away the former duchess like that?”

“What would your future duchess become if I stayed stuck here even after the divorce?”

Serena said, thinking of the count’s daughter who was currently giving up on her feelings for the crown prince.

“…Just who is this future duchess of mine? I’m not seeing anyone right now.”

“On some day when you’re upset, you might meet eyes with someone, hold hands in bed for a night, and wake up to find her.”

“…Do I look that frivolous to you? I’m… quite the romantic, you know.”

“Oh, I know.”

She said with an expression that suggested she wasn’t listening at all.

Only Magnus, who had uttered embarrassing words in self-defense, felt his face burning.

“No, well… There’s such a thing as fateful love that suddenly comes one day.”

“In short, should I understand that being half-n*ked means wanting to be eaten?”

Magnus asked with his arms crossed and an uncomfortable expression.

“Half-n*ked… I’m properly dressed!”

“Exposing more than half of your body is not described as being dressed.”

“Old fogy.”

“…Old what?”

“Ah, it’s annoying, so please leave. Let’s live as strangers until the divorce, okay?”

“……”

She looked genuinely annoyed. Magnus was now at the point of feeling a bit hurt.

There was no reason for it, but Serena’s attitude made him feel that way.

“…Don’t you want to protest to the imperial family and stay with the Lavernia family?”

“No? You cursed them out for me, so I’m fine now. I feel relieved.”

“If you lose the surname ‘Lavernia’, you won’t even be a fallen noble, but your status will be downgraded to a commoner. I don’t think you’ll be able to live a safe and peaceful life.”

“It’s okay, someone trustworthy will protect me.”

Serena was now wriggling into the blanket that Magnus had covered her with.

Magnus looked at her pathetically, then lightly rubbed his brow and shook his head.

‘She’s like this because she received a big shock.’

Magnus tried to understand her behavior of constantly wanting to run away.

‘But a trustworthy person?’

He frowned as he mulled over those words.

“Who is this trustworthy person?”

“There is one, you don’t need to know.”

“…Whoever it is, you shouldn’t trust them carelessly.”

“They’re trustworthy. We’re going to do business together too.”

“…What business now?”

This was the first he’d heard of it.

But she answered smoothly as if she had been thinking about it for a long time.

“I’m going to try doing business with the 30 million gold.”

“What kind of business?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“……”

“Hey, I’m really tired. Can you leave?”

“…Don’t tell me, is it a man?”

Serena narrowed her eyes and smirked. Somehow it looked like she found it ridiculous, which made Magnus a bit upset.

She soon closed her eyes with a comfortable expression and only moved her lips.

“Yeah, quite a handsome person.”

“……”

Magnus felt a bit uncomfortable at that answer.

‘Is it… an affair?’

No, of course, it might not be that kind of relationship.

But is there a need to make such a comfortable expression in front of me?

“…Well, I hope whatever it is goes well. I hope it’s not a scam.”

“Mm, goodbye.”

Magnus briefly considered probing a bit more about this unknown man, but seeing Serena quickly waving her hand with an expression of finally being freed from something annoying, his mood sank again.

Magnus turned his body sharply.

‘Don’t come crying to me if you get scammed.’

Magnus firmly made up his mind and turned to leave.

He decided to lose interest due to Serena’s unpleasant attitude.

‘She should have asked me instead.’

Magnus could say that he would be much better than some random dog bone from who knows where.

Anyway, he decided to lose interest.

“I’d like to see the face of this trash-like bastard.”

…He decided to lose interest.

“Tsk.”

The ignited interest didn’t easily extinguish.

* * *

“Hello, nice to meet you. It’s an honor to meet you, Guild Master.”

“……”

The shadow of the empire, the information guild is known for its amazing skill that can find out even the number of moles on a target’s bottom if desired.

“My name is Serena, I’m 26 years old, 168 cm tall, and I like money.”

And the Guild Master running this information guild couldn’t take his eyes off the woman who had barged in without even making an appointment, while letting her words go in one ear and out the other.

‘…Why is she here?’

The master of the information guild became curious.

“I’ve done the greetings and self-introduction… now for the main point. I’m sure you don’t like wasting time, so let me get straight to the point… Let’s start a business together.”

The woman said.

“……”

It was the moment when Magnus von Kelahinum, the information guild master and Duke of Kelahinum, faced the identity of the ‘trash-like bastard’.