Chapter 7 – Shaken Trust (Part 3)

“What do you mean? A marriage alliance? That’s absurd. Shouldn’t Killian’s opinion be considered too? I won’t divorce until I’ve spoken with him.”

Hearing about a marriage alliance made Sophia agitated. There was no reason for a marriage discussion between Killian and Lady Aeri when they hadn’t even divorced yet.

“Stop saying such nonsense. I don’t know how that guy deceived you, but didn’t you hear that he has long been in love with Lady Aeri?”

Killian had clearly said he didn’t love Lady Aeri, yet people around her insisted he did.

What was the truth? Did Killian lie to me?

If she viewed Killian as just another member of the Loden family, he might have lied like Clive. But if she saw him as separate from the Loden family, as Liam suggested, he didn’t seem like someone who would lie.

What should I believe?

Sophia wanted to trust Killian, but the constant doubts sown by those around her made it difficult to discern the truth.

“No. Killian said he never loved Lady Aeri.”

Despite her confusion, Sophia relayed what Killian had told her to Duke Dveshi, wanting to believe in him.

“Sophie, do you believe him?”

“Of course. He’s my husband.”

“How can you believe him just because he’s your husband? He’s from the Loden family you despise so much. Has your heart changed after just two months of marriage?”

“Yes. It has changed.”

Seeing Sophia’s firm stance, Duke Dveshi shook his head in frustration.

“Forget about him. I, too, am considering pursuing a new marriage alliance.”

“Does it make sense to push for a new marriage proposal without even consulting me?”

“The Loden family is also pursuing a marriage proposal, so why shouldn’t I? Fortunately, there’s a young noble who wants to marry you.”

“A man who wants to marry me, a divorcee?”

“Yes. It’s the young noble from Valkeres.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve already ended all relations with him… Besides, even if I were to divorce, would the Valkeres family accept me?”

“The young noble from Valkeres earnestly wants you, so the Marquis of Valkeres has given his permission.”

At that moment, Sophia recalled the last time she saw the young noble from Valkeres, with tears brimming in his eyes as he turned away.

He had said he was moving on, but perhaps he hadn’t. While she was thankful that he still liked her, it felt burdensome, making Sophia’s voice slightly agitated.

“Why do you make decisions on your own without listening to me?”

Sophia felt suffocated by a future being decided without her input. She was the one directly involved, so why was her opinion being ignored?

Her marriage to Killian was the same, and now her divorce and remarriage were being decided without any consideration of her views. How could this be?

“Do you remember what you said when I first told you to marry the young noble from the Loden family? You wanted to marry the young man from the Valkeres family back then. I don’t know what’s come over you now, but I believe your feelings back then were genuine.”

“No, my current feelings are genuine.”

“You’re a victim swept up in political circumstances. So I’m just setting the direction for your future since you’ve temporarily lost your reason. So you won’t be hurt later when you hear about the marriage between that Loden bastard and Lady Aeri.”

“No!”

“I don’t want you to be hurt anymore.”

“I’ll wait until Killian returns. I’ll talk to him directly! After that, I’ll make my own decision. Why do you keep taking away my right to choose?”

“It will be too late once he returns. That’s why I’m acting now. If you continue to refuse to listen, I have no choice.”

Duke Dveshi approached Sophia, lifting her onto his shoulder against her will.

“Don’t think about leaving the room until you’ve sorted out your feelings. Since the plan was to divorce from the start, nothing in your room has been touched. You won’t be uncomfortable.”

“Put me down. Why are you trying to imprison me?”

Even as she struggled and hit his back, it was to no avail. The more she resisted, the tighter his grip became.

Sophia was forcibly taken and confined in the room she used to use.

“Lock the door from the outside and don’t open it except during meal times!”

After roughly placing Sophia on the bed, Duke Dveshi hurriedly left the room. Sophia quickly got up and ran to the door, but she was too late.

“Father, please wait!”

Before her voice could reach outside, the door closed, and she heard the sound of a lock clicking from the outside.

“Open the door! Why are you acting so hastily? Why won’t you listen to me?”

No matter how much she banged on the locked door, no one came to open it.

“Please open the door. I’m begging you!”

No matter how much she cried out, it seemed Duke Dveshi had strictly ordered not to open the door under any circumstances.

“Why on earth is he going this far?”

Exhausted from banging on the door, Sophia slumped down on the spot. She couldn’t understand her father’s attitude.

He claimed to want my happiness, so why was he acting like this?

Sophia finally realized how deep her father’s resentment towards the Loden family ran. In this state, it was impossible to change Duke Dveshi’s mind immediately.

She decided to wait until his anger subsided to talk to him again. She thought that after some time, he would calm down as well.

But that was a misconception on Sophia’s part. Duke Dveshi was also waiting for Sophia’s feelings to change, so she remained confined.

Apart from a maid coming and going at meal times, there was no sign of the locked door opening.

Sophia no longer knocked on the door or shouted to be let out. She simply sat on the bed, waiting calmly for the door to open.

Once things quieted down, Duke Dveshi would occasionally come into the room to ask if she had changed her mind, but Sophia consistently responded that she did not want a divorce.

They say even shallow love grows stronger when faced with obstacles, and the more the Duke tried to sway Sophia’s heart, the more her feelings for Killian only grew.

Her desire to see Killian as soon as possible intensified, and her mind was filled with thoughts of him. She realized she couldn’t stay like this any longer and needed to find a way to escape the mansion to meet Killian.

On the seventh day of her confinement, Sophia approached the window. Looking down, she was relieved to see no guards specifically stationed outside.

If she tied together curtains and bedding like a rope and lowered them out the window, she thought she could escape, even from the third floor.

“That’s good.”

Though the idea of escaping from her own home seemed absurd, she needed to leave to contact Killian. Since she hadn’t received any news despite sending letters, she realized she needed to find another way.

To do so, she first needed to check the bedding in her room. Sophia gathered up the bed sheets to see how many layers there were.

When combined, it was five sheets.

“Will this be enough?”

After tying all five together, Sophia found it a bit short, so she also tied an extra dress to make a rope. Just as she was about to throw the makeshift rope out the window, the locked door suddenly opened.

It wasn’t a usual time for the door to open, so she looked on in confusion as Duchess Dveshi and Annette entered the room.

“Oh my, Sophie!”

“Sophia!”

Startled by Sophia’s appearance, the Duchess quickly closed the door and approached, while Annette stood behind her, wide-eyed.

“Were you really planning to tie the sheets and escape out the window?”

“Ah… yes.”

Caught in the act of trying to escape, there was no point in lying. So Sophia put the sheets down on the floor and answered truthfully.

“That was dangerous.”

The Duchess checked Sophia’s body to see if she was hurt.

“I hadn’t jumped yet, so I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

While the Duchess sighed in relief, Annette’s expression hardened.

“Why were you trying to jump? Were you planning to defy Father?”

She snapped at Sophia.

“Annette, don’t be too harsh on Sophie. It’s your father’s fault, so why take it out on an innocent child?”

After scolding Annette, the Duchess looked at Sophia with a sympathetic gaze.

“I’m sorry. I tried to persuade your father, but it didn’t work.”

“I understand Father’s feelings.”

“Why are you trying to persuade Father, Mother? What are you saying? Are you saying you won’t let Sophie divorce? No, Sophie, you must divorce as Father said.”

Annette looked confused by the Duchess’s words.

“Sister, I actually don’t want to divorce.”

Sophia conveyed her true feelings to Annette.

“Why? What are you saying? Why suddenly?”

“I’m just being honest about my feelings. So please, Sister, help me. I really don’t want to divorce.”

“Sophie, you need to face reality as Father said. Why maintain a marriage that won’t make you happy? For your happiness, you must divorce.”

Suddenly, Annette’s eyes changed.

“No, I won’t.”

“Listen to me. You’ll be unhappy living like this.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because Sir Loden doesn’t like you.”

“…”

Sophia wanted to refute, but strangely, she couldn’t open her mouth. All she could do was stare at Annette with wide eyes.

Then, suddenly, there was a slap, and Annette’s head turned to the side.