It was not particularly difficult to arrange a meeting with a lawyer.

Explaining her situation and receiving appropriate advice was straightforward, too. However, the consultation itself made her feel uneasy, as though she were in the wrong or had committed a crime.

Even when sitting beside Jade during the consultation, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that it was somehow her fault.

“I’ll prepare the documents and contact you again.”

Her lawyer, well-known in the field for her competence, spoke confidently and requested power of attorney to handle the paperwork.

Ariadne signed where instructed, and her lawyer reassured her that everything would proceed smoothly.

“There’s nothing for you to worry about. You have no children and your dowry was substantial. There shouldn’t be any complications in the process. If your husband agrees to the divorce, it likely won’t even need to go to trial.”

Determined to finalize this divorce no matter what, the lawyer clenched her fist with enthusiasm.

“If I need anything else, I’ll reach out again. Shall I contact you through the Derayan estate?”

“…Yes. Please do. Jade, is that all right?”

“Of course. If necessary, she can even conduct the meetings at our estate.”

Jade nodded without hesitation. Following the lawyer’s advice that everything must remain secret from her husband until preparations were complete, he agreed to act as her ally.

“Then I’ll contact Young Master Derayan.”

“Yes, please do.”

As a precaution, they decided all communication should go through the Derayan estate, and Jade promised to send coded messages to Ariadne right away.

With that, they concluded the meeting and stepped out of the law office.

“Thank you, Jade. Because of you, everything went smoothly.”

“Think nothing of it. I’m glad I could help.”

As they left the office, the two exchanged a light, casual conversation—polite remarks passed back and forth before Ariadne climbed into her carriage again.

“He said it’ll take some time to prepare the documents, right?”

“Yeah. For now, it’s better to focus on gathering evidence.”

Jade spoke as if reminding her—collect evidence, and watch Kieron more closely.

“You need to be careful. If he finds out first, who knows how he’ll retaliate.”

“I will. I’m not planning to let things spiral, so I’ll try to be discreet.”

Ariadne nodded, trying to keep up the determined expression on her face.

Nevertheless, a quiet doubt tugged at her.

No matter how firmly she spoke, she couldn’t stop wondering whether she would be able to see things through to the end.

Something inside her felt wrong, out of place. An unease she couldn’t name pressed against her ribs, as if she had overlooked something important.

During their consultation, the lawyer had told her that the crux of any divorce came down to one thing: the will of the person seeking it.

Whether she truly wanted the separation. Why she wanted it. And what she hoped to gain from choosing that path.

Ariadne did want a divorce. She no longer saw a future with her husband. By letting go of Kieron Ambrose, she simply wanted a life with a little more peace and a little less hurt.

Her reasons were clear. Her resolve was clear. The deep, frayed wounds she carried were undeniable. So what was holding her back?

Throughout the carriage ride back to the ducal estate, Ariadne could not shake the tight, uncomfortable feeling in her chest.

“Are you all right, my lady?”

Unable to ignore Ariadne’s troubled expression any longer, Jay finally asked her what was wrong.

She said that Ariadne didn’t look well and asked if she was all right. But there was nothing Ariadne could say.

She didn’t know what exactly was wrong, why she felt that way or where these emotions were coming from.

As she was unable to answer these questions, she couldn’t respond to Jay’s question — not until they reached the estate.

***

Meanwhile, Kieron was seething with anger after receiving a response to his letter to House Peyton. He had found out that she wasn’t in her room that morning.

He had almost mobilized the knights to search for her himself.

Without informing the Marquis, he had sent a letter to ask if she was there, and the reply had just arrived.

[I hear Rene is currently with Young Master Derayan. They went out for an errand, but it grew late, so they spent the night nearby. She said she’ll return as soon as she finishes the matter, so she should be arriving around the time you read this letter.]

That was all the Marquis of Peyton had written.

Ariadne had spent the night outside the estate and was now with Jade Derayan.

Why would she stay elsewhere when she had her own perfectly adequate estate?

What business had she gone out to handle in secret without telling anyone?

He had assumed that she had left early in the morning. But the Marquis’s letter said she had slipped out late at night. This meant that she had left immediately after their argument.

Did she really not want to stay after they had argued?

Had she spent the night at the Count of Derayan’s estate?

And that wasn’t the only thing gnawing at him.

The Marquis had written that she should have arrived by now, yet she still hadn’t returned. She didn’t enjoy attending endless social gatherings. In fact, she didn’t even enjoy meeting people.

So why wasn’t she here yet? And why did his chest burn with anger the more he thought about it? Was it because Jade Derayan was involved again? Had Ariadne gone out alone, without an escort, and thrown caution to the wind? Might her actions cast a shadow over the family?

Whatever the reason, one thing was clear: he had no intention of letting this matter pass quietly.

“Is the lady still not back?”

When he asked, Herald stood before him like a criminal awaiting punishment.

Derrick—wearing a similarly guilty expression—answered first.

“There has been no report of her arrival yet. We instructed the servants to notify us the moment the lady returns…”

“The knight order was told to go out and look for her, so we should receive word soon, Your Grace.”

Derrick cast worried glances toward the door, and Herald answered in a low voice. If the knights were already out searching, news would arrive shortly.

Kieron was on the verge of ordering the two of them to go out and look as well.

“Your Grace. The lady has arrived.”

A knock sounded, followed at last by the news he’d been waiting for.

Kieron shot to his feet.

“Where is she?”

He demanded the moment he stepped forward, and Dean—the knight waiting outside to report—opened the office door in time with his approaching footsteps.

“We received word that she just passed through the main gate. She should arrive in the lobby shortly.”

“Was she alone?”

“They say she was with Jay, the maid.”

‘And no one else?’

Kieron swallowed the question before he could speak.

The moment he voiced it, he had the unsettling sense that something irreversible would begin. So he clamped his jaw shut and strode down the corridor in long, forceful strides.

As he descended the stairs, he saw her.

Ariadne stepped into the lobby, her face as calm as if nothing had happened. She was wearing different clothes to the night before.

The moment he saw her, everything he had been holding back erupted at once.

“Ariadne Ambrose!”

The shout tore out of him before he could stop it.

***

Her mind was already in turmoil by the time she returned to the estate. And the sight that greeted her made her slow in surprise: far more servants were waiting outside than usual.

On ordinary days, only Derrick and a handful of maids bothered to come out.

“There must be something going on, my lady.”

Jay murmured quietly after peering out of the carriage window, seemingly just as puzzled.

What was happening, indeed?

Her thoughts had been heavy and tangled on the way back, and being greeted by a crowd only made her feel more disoriented.

However, she couldn’t ask them to disperse now that they had gathered.

When the carriage finally stopped, Ariadne stepped down, deliberately avoiding eye contact as she made her way inside.

The vast ducal lobby, which had never felt like home, welcomed her with cold, echoing silence. Perhaps it was because she had already decided to divorce him.

There had been a time when she had tried to convince herself that she belonged here. But now, this place felt like nothing more than a temporary shelter that she would abandon the moment the divorce papers were signed.

Feeling awkward and out of place, she swept her gaze around the hall, then started towards the stairs, intending to retreat to her room.

And then—

“Ariadne Ambrose!”

A thunderous voice cracked through the lobby.

Ariadne froze mid-step and snapped her head up in shock.

Kieron Ambrose was storming down the stairs toward her, his expression terrifying.

“Have you completely lost your mind? You leave the estate without an escort or a word of warning?”

Kieron descended the stairs in long strides, taking them two at a time. Before she could even think to dodge, he reached her and seized her wrist.

It happened so quickly that neither Ariadne nor Jay standing beside her could react.

“What are you doing?!”

Realizing what had happened, Ariadne tried to pull her hand free at once but he had no intention of letting go.

“If you knew what happened because you disappeared last night, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

He gestured sharply toward their surroundings, reminding her of the chaos she had caused. Only then did Ariadne notice it—the servants gathered around them, all looking at her with anxious, reproachful eyes.

“Do you have any idea how many servants are facing punishment because you left the estate without a word? Or how many people spent the night fearing something had happened to you, all because of you?”

Kieron’s voice dropped to a harsh whisper, laden with accusation.

A quiet, cutting reminder of just how far the consequences of her actions had spread.