“Is the food not to your liking?”

The circumstances that led to her ending up eating face-to-face with Jin were simple.

Unfamiliar with both the ducal estate and this world, Rayenne had been wandering around unable to find the dining room when she ran right into Jin, who had come down for a meal.

When Rayenne, confronted with the very situation she’d been most eager to avoid, barely touched her food, it seemed to draw Jin’s attention instead.

Rayenne shook her head slightly.

“Everything is delicious.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. The food was all delicious and suited her taste, but she simply had no appetite.

“The portions don’t seem excessive.”

Why was this person, the very embodiment of indifference, so interested in someone else’s meal today of all days?

Rayenne ate a few more pieces of salad and fruit before finally putting down her utensils with a troubled smile.

“I don’t have much appetite today. I’m sorry, but may I be excused first?”

Instead of an answer, only Jin’s steady gaze returned.

After a brief silence, he stood up as well.

“I’ll get up too.”

Rayenne nodded again. She bowed more deeply than before in lieu of a proper farewell and took the lead, but neat footsteps followed behind her.

“My lady.”

She’d intended to go on her way without caring whether he followed or not, but at the unfamiliar form of address she’d heard again after last night, Rayenne had no choice but to stop in her tracks.

“If you don’t have other plans, would you take a walk with me?”

Rayenne deliberated quickly in that brief moment.

However, if she refused even the walk proposal on top of barely eating and just returned to her room, Jin might find it strange.

To divorce as promised a year from now, maintaining a proper relationship might be better than continuing to keep this distance.

“Alright.”

When Rayenne turned around after agreeing, their eyes met directly, like he’d been waiting for it.

It must have been her imagination, but somehow Jin’s expression seemed to brighten.

Following behind Jin as he took the lead, Rayenne tried hard to recall the original story’s contents.

She roughly remembered the major events, but for the early part of the novel, only the calm atmosphere came to mind—nothing concrete.

The reason Rayenne was trying to recall the original contents was simple.

The current Jin was more considerate than she’d expected, unlike the image she had of him.

‘He doesn’t talk much, so he does feel taciturn.’

Still, the atmosphere he conveyed wasn’t cold. And most importantly, unlike the original Rayenne who had made every effort to encounter Jin, they weren’t using separate rooms or eating separately.

‘All these changes are because of the one fact that I signed a divorce contract with the duke?’

That was the only thing Rayenne had done differently from the original.

‘Being alone at the banquet hall and then being guided to a room by Stark was exactly the same as the original… Ah.’

Rayenne recalled drinking wine, thinking she might as well drink and have fun since she’d be alone anyway.

‘That wasn’t in the original.’

The original Rayenne had been too busy chasing Jin with her eyes.

On top of that, unlike the original, she’d met Dante Droit and had her hidden thoughts discovered.

‘The duke saw that too. He even held my hand.’

All things that hadn’t happened in the original. There hadn’t even been a mention of a man named Dante Droit attending the banquet originally.

‘More than one or two things have gone off track.’

Checking them one by one, there were more deviations than she’d thought.

“Haah.”

She’d only let out a truly tiny sigh, but Jin whipped around.

His bright blue eyes examined Rayenne.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Though not clearly visible, worry was definitely rippling faintly in those bright blue eyes.

While wondering what this change was all about, Rayenne couldn’t guess which of her actions had made Jin change.

“No. The flower fragrance is lovely.”

The scent of the red flowers blooming profusely all around really was wonderful.

Thanks to that, Rayenne breathed easier after making an appropriate excuse, but instead of withdrawing his concerned gaze, Jin stood beside Rayenne.

‘He didn’t seem too pleased about me being with that person named Dante.’

Rayenne, recalling last night, narrowed her eyes.

‘Do they know each other?’

But as far as she knew, Jin at this point had only been at the border before coming to the capital not long ago, when he had no connections except people from his household.

So he and Dante probably weren’t acquainted.

Looking purely at yesterday’s situation alone, it was nothing more or less than a husband keeping another man who was hitting on his wife in check.

But for Rayenne, who knew the original story, she couldn’t just believe what she saw.

Jin had been truly, terribly indifferent.

The more she thought about it, the more complicated her head became, so Rayenne glanced up at Jin.

His profile as he walked looking straight ahead was quite handsome.

On top of that, with his status as a duke, if their hollow marriage life were revealed, anyone would covet him.

‘And eventually that woman who joined hands with the emperor became his mistress.’

The indifferent Jin was a problem, but the biggest problem was that woman.

Jin’s mistress who killed Rayenne in the original.

Roughly recalling the mistress’s appearance, it was after the two had spent about a year of married life.

‘Then it has nothing to do with me. I’ll be leaving the ducal estate in a year.’

Thinking of what that woman had done to Rayenne out of desire to win Jin’s love or monopolize him, she didn’t want to get entangled with her even by a hair’s breadth.

So once she divorced Jin after a year, she wouldn’t get caught up in the mistress’s schemes and could live the peaceful life Rayenne desired.

Just as Rayenne finished her thoughts—

Jin stopped walking right on cue.

The tree-lined path that had continued like a corridor, with low garden trees arranged on both sides, ended and a round space with a fountain in the middle appeared.

“Would you like some tea?”

Let’s take a walk, let’s have tea.

No matter how she looked at it, his attitude was clearly different from the original, making his intentions hard to grasp.

Rayenne smiled, closing her eyes prettily to avoid being caught with narrowed eyes.

“Alright.”

***

There happened to be a pergola in a spot with a good view of the fountain, and underneath it, a tea table that someone had set up was neatly arranged.

For a coincidence, it was remarkably convenient.

Jin took a seat at the tea table first, and Rayenne, sitting across from him, suddenly burst into laughter.

Jin’s questioning eyes shone blue.

“Was this all planned in advance?”

Instead of answering, Jin lifted his cup. Like the day they exchanged divorce contracts, his lips were hidden behind the teacup.

A moment later, an answer came from beyond the slightly lowered teacup.

“Stark is a perceptive person.”

It meant this wasn’t something he’d ordered, but something Stark had prepared on his own initiative.

At the plausible excuse, Rayenne let out a clear laugh and lifted her teacup.

With spring approaching, the day was quite warm, and the breeze blowing through the garden was refreshing.

With a warm cup of tea added to that, her edgy mood settled considerably.

“Thanks to this, I feel much better.”

Again. Jin quietly examined Rayenne’s expression.

“I’m glad.”

Only after letting out that belated answer did Jin lower his gaze and drink his tea again.

After quietly watching that series of actions, Rayenne also focused on drinking her tea.

“One thing…”

At the sound that suddenly came, Rayenne turned her gaze from viewing the garden to look at Jin.

Before she knew it, he’d set down his teacup and was tapping the table with his fingertips.

“May I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

His fingertips struck the table. The feeling came across as slightly irritable.

“Is there a real reason you want to divorce?”

It was a question he’d already asked when they exchanged divorce contracts.

Since they’d both finished signing the divorce contract, there shouldn’t be a big problem, but he kept asking about the reason, which was awkward.

Rayenne didn’t know what Jin’s intention was in asking, so she couldn’t readily answer and fell silent for a moment.

‘I need to give a truly convincing reason.’

Otherwise, he might ask again.

“The biggest reason is…”

Rayenne bit her lip slightly then released it.

“We don’t love each other.”

As she said that and lifted her head, their eyes met directly.

His usually calm blue eyes slowly disappeared and reappeared repeatedly.

Actually, that was a fact that wouldn’t change even if Jin’s attitude changed differently from the original.

***

Thanks to the heavy atmosphere, Rayenne had gotten up from her seat like she was fleeing, and now had nothing left to do.

Worried she might end up eating lunch together with him at this rate, Rayenne ate lunch early and returned to what was originally Jin’s room but had now become both of their room.

“No wonder Rayenne only stuck to the garden.”

Recalling that the original Rayenne’s hobbies were reading, gardening, and embroidery, Rayenne deeply realized that had been the best option.

No matter how hard she looked, there was absolutely nothing to do in this excessively spacious ducal estate.

She’d merely obtained the hollow position of duchess.

Rayenne rolled around on the bed and looked up at the sky through the window.

She’d felt it when she was in the garden too, but the weather was really nice.

Rayenne was looking at the bright blue sky when she suddenly thought of the taciturn husband she’d acquired.

“The most entertaining thing here is my husband’s face. No wonder Rayenne fell head over heels.”

Honestly speaking, he was handsome enough to make her heart pound every time their eyes met. Enough that as a first-day wife, she desperately needed an adjustment period.

After lying there for quite a while, Rayenne tried to think of something to do and remembered her luggage bag.

It was a perfectly timed task to occupy her just as she was debating whether to take a nap instead.

But no matter how much someone loves reading, it was too much to read only books from noon until dinner time.

Even Rayenne, who had initially read with concentration, couldn’t help but let out a long yawn when she got to the third book.

Her eyes, overworked from reading only books for several hours, closed on their own.

“Should I sleep for just a bit?”

Rayenne, who knew very well how cozy the bed beside the table was, stood up from her seat like she was entranced.

Rayenne, who walked straight to the neatly arranged bed, wriggled her way under the covers.

A smile formed naturally at the coziness that instantly enveloped her whole body.

“Just a little. I’ll sleep just a little…”

Her consciousness fading like she was passing out happened in an instant.