It wouldn’t be easy to decide. For her, this might be a huge resolution.

“I’ll think about it.”

Determination appeared on Sallen’s face. I took her hand.

“No one can say anything to Sallen. You’re more than qualified to do this.”

I said these last words.

“If Father had said this to me, I could have endured.”

Sallen lowered her head. She seemed like she wanted to cry.

I cast magic on the tea she was drinking.

Soon after taking a sip of tea, she shed a few tears.

As expected, casting magic on food weakens the magic power a bit. Which means she shed just the right amount of tears.

Sallen stood up for now.

I just needed to wait for her choice.

* * *

Sallen got out of the carriage. The method Annelia suggested was tempting, but fear came first when it came to executing it.

Just like Annelia said, she only gave advice – the results and responsibility for actions were Sallen’s burden.

But living like this…

Sallen opened the mansion’s front door. But at the door, Alline and Amon were standing with their arms linked.

“What? Where have you been? You should be doing work at home.”

At Amon’s words, Sallen’s lips stiffened. Alline and Amon seemed to be going out together. That’s right, they always went out leaving her behind.

“Let’s go.”

Alline smiled at Sallen with her eyes. She was mocking her.

Come to think of it, she could see her own shabby dress. She’d always been working for her husband and son, so she had no memory of buying even one outfit for herself. Unless it was a special occasion, she didn’t particularly care.

‘So shabby.’

Sallen recalled Annelia’s words. She smiled bitterly watching them go out.

‘Spend that money on me.’

The money she gave her husband was meant so he wouldn’t be looked down on outside. She’d been doing this for over a decade, so it had become natural now.

Sallen wrote a letter for now.

She needed to meet her father.

Ah, before that, she should ask Annelia to introduce her to a suitable man.

* * *

“I wonder if Sallen is doing well.”

I smiled gently while looking at the documents for a moment.

“I’ve organized the documents as you ordered, but…”

I put all men who had connections to the Charlot and Rosaline families and held titles on the document list. From there, I excluded men whose relationships with women were too messy. 

Men who were extravagant were also excluded! Since I was looking for a man who would suit Sallen.

In the process, I found a decent person.

‘Oh.’

He was handsome and similar in age to Sallen. Marriage had been delayed because he was struggling to save his household due to difficult circumstances. These days he was apparently meeting potential matches.

There was quite an age gap with Father, but they were friends. He’d come to Luden and my wedding, and I had a good impression of him.

“It’s Count Kale.”

Andre smiled seeing him.

“He has connections with the Charlot family too. He’s a good person, and when he dated, he only had one girlfriend at a time. He’s endlessly caring toward those close to him.”

My ears perked up at Andre’s words.

“Really? But I heard his household had difficulties, so I need to know the reason.”

Andre was a knight but also handled information gathering. Luden told me this, saying only his wife should know.

I worked Andre hard to thoroughly investigate Count Kale’s past.

The reason his household became difficult was because of his birth mother’s extravagance. His birth mother poured money into her lover, causing the household to falter. After his birth mother passed away, Count Kale lived a hard life paying off those debts.

He himself lived very frugally and quietly.

And after a few days passed, Sallen, who hadn’t visited the counseling center for a while, came. Tension hung on her face.

“It’s been a while.”

Sallen smiled.

“It’s been a week.”

Sallen sat in the chair.

“First, I organized everything under my name. There were quite a few things worth money. These are things I brought when I got married, so even if I divorce, they won’t be subject to division. I met with a lawyer and confirmed it, just like Annelia said.”

At Sallen’s words, I nodded.

“And Father said if I become another noble’s wife, I can divorce.”

Sallen’s father had a desire for honor. So rather than his daughter’s happiness, whose wife she was mattered more.

I noticed this and told her to talk with her father. Though she didn’t love her father, Sallen had no intention of cutting ties for life, so she needed to compromise with her father.

“Good.”

I handed Sallen a document.

“What’s this?”

“A remarriage candidate?”

Sallen opened the document. Inside was a portrait.

“He’s handsome.”

“He’s Count Kale, and he’s looking for a wife. As his first wife, of course.”

“Would he meet with me?”

“Who knows. If you do meet, I’ll arrange it for you. He’s a man with connections to the Rosaline and Charlot families.”

Sallen made an expression like she was about to cry.

* * *

Sallen wiped her tears.

“Is it really okay?”

Just like Annelia said, I went shopping with a friend and spent money on myself. Then strangely, I felt good and I mulled over Annelia’s words. I decided to try resisting once.

Meeting Annelia, who listened to my story gently, I had a new experience.

She was someone who saw me as I was. She didn’t criticize and listened by my side. She made no judgments about me, didn’t criticize, and just stayed calmly present.

That experience was a first. The feeling of having my existence acknowledged.

Because of that, coming to the counseling center and then going home became harder to endure.

* * *

Annelia said this kind of treatment was natural. She said people had the right to receive this kind of treatment.

Through time with Annelia, Sallen acknowledged how difficult a situation she’d been in.

Before, she just lived thinking this was life, but now things were a bit different.

She wanted to meet someone who treated her like Annelia did.

So she took one step forward.

While returning from shopping, Sallen caught her breath for a moment.

“I endured so much.”

She wanted to be a daughter acknowledged by her father and wanted to be loved by her husband. But she didn’t live that kind of life.

Even when she had a child, she wanted to be a good mother. But what came back was cold neglect.

No one listened to her story. She didn’t even have a common friend.

She visited the counseling center and met a lifelong friend there.

Annelia said she listened because it was work she got paid for, but she felt that her advice was for her sake.

If she’d only counseled looking at money, she wouldn’t have gone. Annelia truly treated her sincerely, beyond money.

“It’s a mysterious place.”

And there, she could cry. It was a charm that couldn’t be bought with money.

For now, she should grant her husband’s request.

“It might get messy.”

She might need to prepare for a legal battle.

Sallen entered the mansion. There, she briefly pounded her chest. She was already suffocating.

She hadn’t felt this before.

“Count, today’s opera was so fun.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Amon and Alline were coming in. Sallen saw them, turned her head, and walked.

“What? You seem to be running around a lot lately? You should know your place.”

Amon looked at Sallen and sneered.

“So when are you going to divorce me? I want to live with beautiful Alline.”

He smirked. Then Sallen nodded at him with determination.

“I’ll divorce you.”

When she spoke quietly, Amon’s eyes widened. Alline also looked at her with surprised eyes.

“You’ll divorce?”

“Yes, I’ll do as you wish. Are the divorce papers in your office?”

Wasn’t he the husband who always threw divorce papers at her?

“Why did you change your mind?”

Amon asked her.

“Just because I want to.”

Alline was excited. She seemed to think she could finally become a countess.

“Ah, finally free from you. You couldn’t let go of the countess title even if you died.”

Amon said that and went to his office.

Sallen didn’t say anything and lowered her head.

Things were going according to plan.

No need to provoke her husband. If he signed the divorce papers, they’d become strangers to each other, and she’d escape from here.

Her husband could file a lawsuit, but fortunately there was no trace of her husband being involved in the assets.

Amon brought the papers. Sallen confirmed her husband’s signature was on the papers.

“You sign and submit it to the court.”

At his words, Sallen took the papers and went upstairs.

Amon was happy imagining marrying Alline. Sallen looked at them and smiled slightly.

Those who ignored her, those who weren’t interested in her. They had no idea what was happening now.

She’d always been hurt by Amon’s behavior. But now she thought it was fortunate.

“I lived in a place like this.”

Sallen smiled bitterly.

She used to tell herself everyone lived this kind of life. Thinking about it now, that seemed to make her sadder.

‘Let’s not do that again. Let’s cherish ourself.’

Sallen thought that.

That’s how she got divorced.

* * *

Kale received a letter from the Charlot family and was riding in a carriage heading to the location written in the letter. If it was Sallen, she was a woman he knew too. Her husband was famous for being trash, and apparently she’d recently divorced.

To think he’d meet such a woman.

As someone whose household had faltered due to his mother’s wasteful habits, he felt sorry for her.

“Welcome.”

The waiter greeted him.

Since it was a meeting arranged by the Charlot family, they decided to meet at a restaurant managed by the Charlot family. Since Sallen wanted quiet handling, Kale also had no intention of meeting ostentatiously.

Opening the door and entering, he realized no one else was in the restaurant. The Charlot family seemed to have thoroughly stopped accepting customers so only they could meet.

Annelia Charlot.

Originally the Lady of Duke Rosaline’s house, she became the Marquis’s wife by capturing Marquis Charlot’s heart. Her influence in the household was said to be tremendous. Since it was a meeting she arranged, he had expectations.

As Kale sat down, the door opened and a woman entered. She was a woman with a subtle feeling and charm that drew people’s attention.

She was Sallen. He thought he’d met her in passing before, but he didn’t remember well since he’d never looked closely.

Meeting her like this, he could see her fully.

“Am I late?”

At Sallen’s words, Kale shook his head.

“I just arrived too.”

“That’s a relief.”

Her subtle smile looked sad somehow.

Kale threw various words at Sallen. And Sallen also kept up the conversation, leading the atmosphere. After getting to know each other appropriately, Sallen picked up a paper.

“If we marry, I’d like us to write down what we want from each other.”

Sallen wanted this marriage to go well. So she intended to have a contract marriage. She was sick of her husband treating her carelessly. She wanted to prevent such things in advance.

“This is awkward to say, but thinking about when we divorce, I wanted to organize the conditions first. It’s not that I don’t trust Count Kale, but all sorts of things happen in life.”

Hearing those words, Kale agreed. He also needed something definite when marrying.

Neither was meeting thinking about divorce, but since they might divorce, they decided that if their conditions matched each other’s thoughts, they’d marry, and if their thoughts didn’t match, they’d just greet each other and end it.

“When we divorce, I’ll take back all the assets I brought.”

At Sallen’s words, Kale thought carefully then nodded.

“Of course. It wasn’t mine from the start, was it?”

Hearing Kale’s words, Sallen smiled bitterly.

“What do you want to do about children?”

At Kale’s words, Sallen hesitated. She recalled when she had a child before, the child looked down on her.

“Do we have to have children?”

When Sallen became scared, Kale smiled.

“Not necessarily, but you never know how people’s hearts will change.”

A contract should be written assuming all things will happen. So the two discussed all possible events between them and drafted a contract.

Kale glanced at Sallen. She looked very elegant and pretty as she pondered carefully. Though he’d agreed to meet looking at conditions, after talking briefly, they communicated well and their thoughts aligned well.

‘A woman like this…’

He couldn’t understand how her current husband, Amon, neglected his wife.

After finishing writing the contract, both smiled with satisfaction.

“It was nice meeting you.”

At Sallen’s words, Kale extended his hand to her. Shaking hands naturally, Kale moved his mouth.

“The divorce is complete, and is the asset division finished?”

“Asset division will proceed from now on.”

“If your ex-husband gets messy, please tell me. I know plenty of capable lawyers.”

“Thank you.”

Sallen smiled at his words.