CHAPTER 4

I clicked my tongue.
 
‘I see, he’s trying to persuade me.’.
 
On the bright side, it was proof that the Serwen story was working on him.
 
So much so that he’s taking time out of his breakfast to try and talk to her.
 
I responded briefly, acknowledging, and after changing clothes, I descended to the dining room. Oscar was already seated, waiting for me.
 
“How odd. You’ve invited me to breakfast.”
 
I laughed with a dry tone in my voice. A hint of displeasure crossed Oscar’s face.
 
Even in a situation where he was trying to express regret to me, he couldn’t manage his expression. 
 
Marlena, how long have you been fooled by this man?
 
I sat down across from Oscar, and water, soup, and salad were placed in front of me.
 
Only one servant was serving the meal. It seemed they didn’t bring other servants to the dining room in case the conversation turned awkward due to Serwen’s stories.
 
Before touching his food, Oscar hesitated and then spoke up.
 
“I want to improve our marriage.”
 
“Improve?”
 
“Yes. I admit I’ve been a very harsh husband, and I understand why you’ve resorted to such drastic measures.”
 
I took a sip of water to hide my smile.
 
Oscar’s address had changed from ‘you’ to ‘you’ (formal) in his speech. Even his soft tone, pretending to understand me.
 
His expression was still stiff.
 
Furthermore, ‘drastic measures’? He still thinks I’m begging him for love, huh?
 
Well, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care if he’s mistaken.
 
It might even be good.
 
“Improving our marriage is what you’ve always wanted, and I now feel the need to do so. Let’s make an effort together now.”.
 
The original Marlena would have been moved to tears, and she would have nodded her head in agreement.
 
Oscar would have skillfully shifted the responsibility onto Marlena, saying they should ‘work together’, without explicitly stating he would deal with that woman.
 
But I’m not a fool blindly in love with him.
 
I slammed the cup down. A few splashes soaked my wrist.
 
‘I need to get him to say the words divorce. Right here, right now, in ten minutes.’
 
The plan began.
 
I decided to humiliate him. A deliberate insult, worse than the one I’d unknowingly delivered yesterday.
 
I stared expressionlessly.
 
“Well, it’s too late for that now, isn’t it?”
 
“Think about it.”
 
Oscar said, trying to soothe me.
 
“This is what you’ve been asking for, a happy married life.”
 
“That’s when I don’t know about your mistress.”
 
I retorted coldly.
 
“Get some sense knocked into your head.”
 
Oscar didn’t seem to get my analogy for a moment.
 
I stabbed a cherry tomato in my salad with my fork and smiled with one lip.
 
“If you want to commit adultery, do it without getting caught. I can’t stand being married to a stupid husband.”
 
Oscar’s face hardened instantly. He jumped to his feet.
 
“Take back that rude remark right now.”
 
His eyes were commanded by authoritarian pressure.
 
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared for a moment, but I stood my ground.
 
“Rude? Are you the one talking about rudeness right now?”
 
Oscar’s eyebrows twitched.
 
I sharpened my voice and snapped.
 
“Is breaking the trust in a marriage a polite action? Moreover, you’re now suggesting we work things out, but you’re not saying anything about dealing with that woman, are you? Don’t rush now. It’s already too late.”
 
But Oscar seemed to have no intention of backing down whatsoever. He put both hands on his hips and took a deep breath.
 
“You’re going to regret what you just said. Apologize.”
 
Of course, I have no intention of apologizing. If I had any intention of groveling and obediently putting my head under Oscar’s feet, I wouldn’t have touched him in the first place.
 
And seeing him demand an apology showed me that my provocation wasn’t enough yet.
 
“You’re the one who should apologize. If you don’t, I might consider preparing for interviews with journalists.”
 
The mention of journalists seemed to be a fatal blow to Oscar, who cared about his reputation. His ears and neck turned red.
 
I continued sarcastically.
 
“Even if you rush to hide her right now, it will be difficult to erase the traces left at 24 Eveleth Street or the eyes of those who saw the woman with brown hair passing through there, isn’t it?”
 
Oscar’s face became very visible as the specific address of Serwen’s residence came out of my mouth. The look in his eyes was questioning how I knew.
 
But you’ll never know how I knew. I just memorized the address that was mentioned in the ‘original story’ and spit it out.
 
I spoke clearly again.
 
“You owe me an apology, Oscar.”
 
Oscar’s face turned red with anger. 
 
With all the grace and dignity of an aristocrat, he crumpled up his napkin and threw it at me. His breathing was ragged and unsteady.
 
“I’ll give you the divorce you want so badly. I’ll even give you alimony because, like you said yesterday, I’ll be able to quickly make money.”
 
His voice was filled with the familiar contempt and disgust.
 
“Are you sure you won’t regret this?”
 
Oscar pointed his index finger in my face and leaned over the table.
 
I smiled at him innocently, as if I knew nothing.
 
“What’s there to regret?”
 
“Really?”
 
Then a twisted smile tugged at the corners of Oscar’s mouth.
 
“I’ll give you alimony, but you won’t be able to spend a dime in the capital. What do you think you’ll have left without the title of Duchess of Crestwell when even the Marquis of Rowissum has abandoned you?”
 
I took a deep breath.
 
Really… It’s not deviating from my predictions at all.
 
“Gentlemen will despise you, and ladies will avoid you like the plague. There’s no area in the capital, from the palace to the farthest south gate of Arothel, where the influence of the Duke Crestwell doesn’t reach.”
 
An unexpected display of power followed. Of course, it was a power worth boasting about, but it was obvious and boring.
 
I almost yawned, but I couldn’t. I had a plan to execute.
 
My eyes widened, and I dropped my fork. Like a stupid human being who hadn’t thought of that.
 
“T-That’s… absurd…”
 
My voice dropped to a whisper.
 
Oscar chuckled coldly, completely taken in.
 
“I guess your brain didn’t make it this far, huh?”
 
I gave him a shameful look. Oscar looked even more smug.
 
Okay, it’s working.
 
Acting was my forte.
 
In a previous life, I’d learned to act, and I was remarkably good at it, especially improvisation.
 
So I was pretty good at pretending to be obsessed with Oscar after taking over Marlena’s body.
 
Oscar didn’t seem to notice the slightest hint of weirdness.
 
“Uh, honey.”
 
I stammered, feigning embarrassment. He flashed me an awkward smile.
 
“Let’s sit down and talk a little more. I was hasty.”
 
“You’re the one who cut off the room for that ‘talk’, you foolish woman!”
 
Oscar’s tone gradually became more assertive and aggressive. Exactly as I planned. He believed he was in control of the situation.
 
The more I seemed to shrink, the more his confidence grew, and the more vehemently he would shout for a divorce.
 
Because he thought that would be the ‘punishment’ he could give to his detestable wife, who insulted him.
 
If he were in a cool-headed state, there was a high probability that he wouldn’t think about it that much. Just looking at this breakfast setting, doesn’t it seem like it was prepared to avoid a divorce from me?
 
As I was reminded yesterday, a cold-headed Oscar is not stupid. I can’t give him too much time to think.
 
The divorce process had to be swift and over in the blink of an eye.
 
So I threw a bomb called an insult.
 
The heat radiated through Oscar’s hair, making him lose his cool.
 
Sensing victory, he laughed coldly.
 
“There’s nothing more to talk about. Let’s proceed with the divorce. Now!”
 
Oscar turned his face toward mine and spat out the words.
 
“That’ll take away the last reason I have to be as polite to the likes of you as I am now.”
 
Oh, I know I’m acting, but those words pissed me off.
 
Instead of venting my anger, I drew it in. Naturally, tears welled up in my eyes.
 
Seeing my tears, Oscar emptied his glass of water as if he were relieved, and he left the dining room without touching his food.
 
I looked back at my husband, who was playing puppet in the palm of my hand, and…….
 
I buried my face in the napkin he threw at me and shook my shoulders. In front of the butler.
 
“Hhgggg!”
 
Oscar will definitely ask the butler what my reaction was after
he left. 
 
And when he hears from the butler that I cried, he will be convinced that he did the right thing.
 
He will solidify the idea of divorce.
 
My fake sobs hang in the dining room, alone with the butler and me.