It Feels Like I’m About to be Divorced, But my Husband is My Favorite

Episode 62

– You heartless thing! Do you want to live happily after devouring your parents and their money?

– If your father were alive, he would’ve helped us for sure!

After my parents passed away, my father’s company was divided among our relatives. But surprisingly, the company collapsed within three months.

In the end, the scattered relatives each struggled to start new businesses or small shops, barely managing to make ends meet.

Then one day, perhaps rumors spread about the success of the investment company I had founded, and the relatives began showing up one after another.

‘If they at least prepared a decent business plan and asked for investment, it would’ve been tolerable.’

But just like they had once latched onto my father’s company, some demanded positions, while others outright treated me like a walking wallet, shamelessly asking for money.

The fact that the word “family” could sometimes be used as a shield to display such brazen and ugly faces only made me more concerned.

However…

– I heard Lady Biers visits every day. Do you have a good relationship with your aunt?

When I couldn’t hold back and asked directly, instead of subtly hinting, the children’s responses were unexpected, though they seemed slightly flustered.

– Yes, we do.

– …Really?

– Really.

Marianne answered firmly without wavering, and Dior nodded vigorously in agreement.

But whether it was because I had already grown suspicious, something about their response still felt off and weighed on my mind.

“I think I need to investigate this further.”

I was muttering to myself as I opened the door to my room.

“Ah, madam! You’ve returned!”

“Welcome back, madam! You’ve worked hard!”

I had assumed Anne would be alone, but to my surprise, Gressel—the knight who was supposed to guard me yet was rarely seen in the duchy—was there to greet me.

I had planned to scold him for vanishing after making such an earnest vow of loyalty, but the way his eyes sparkled as if he’d reunited with a long-lost master left me speechless.

Nodding briefly, I stepped inside. Gresel quickly closed the door behind me, while Anne spoke up sharply.

“But madam, what do you plan to investigate further?”

“…”

Wow, I had muttered that so quietly outside—she actually heard me?

I was genuinely impressed by Anne’s sharp hearing. I was about to brush it off as nothing, but then a memory resurfaced.

The morning after Euclid had departed, when I was waiting in Grace’s room, Anne had entered seamlessly with the other maids of the duchy.

‘Honestly, I had been grateful that she managed to adapt to this unfamiliar estate without causing any trouble.’

At Basilian Duchy, where she had worked for a long time, I had never even seen her interacting with other servants. Yet here, despite my notorious reputation, Anne had blended in effortlessly and alarmingly quickly.

No matter how kind and simple the people of Rudion Duchy might be, forming such close relationships within a single day was nothing short of impressive.

On top of that, I recalled the oddly detailed reports she had given me before—far too thorough for an ordinary maid.

It made me wonder if she had access to information I wasn’t aware of.

‘Well, might as well ask her.’

Of course, I didn’t have high expectations. She had been busy tidying my bedroom all day and night, after all.

“It’s about the Biers Count family. They’re the maternal relatives of the duke’s nephew and , and something doesn’t sit right with me.”

But as I spoke, an issue I had pushed aside as something that would resolve itself suddenly slipped out.

“The Rudion Duchy sends money to the Biers family every month under the pretext of ‘distribution costs.’”

“Distribution costs?”

“Yes. And while transporting goods to the north is indeed challenging, the amount seems excessively high—as if someone’s playing tricks with the numbers.”

It was a suspicion I couldn’t bring myself to voice directly in front of Euclid, who had faithfully paid the invoices sent by the Biers family without question.

Especially upon learning that the one who mediated on behalf of House Rudion when the discontent of the territory’s people had grown severe under Count Biers’ tyranny a decade ago was none other than Euclid’s late older brother.

‘I can’t say for certain… but maybe it was an unfair agreement from the start.’

I didn’t want to admit that my favorite character was being taken advantage of, but more than anything, it was a topic that seemed uncomfortable for Euclid, so I didn’t want to bring it up.

Perhaps because neither Euclid nor Delano had ever run a merchant guild before, they didn’t seem to know whether those distribution costs were reasonable.

And honestly, I, too, was a stranger who hadn’t been in this world for long, so I wasn’t sure I had the right to say more.

But perhaps because I had been lucky with money and dealt with finances more often than others.

I was more sensitive to numbers than most people, and especially during the height of my wedding preparations, when Anne would occasionally bring me documents to sign, I managed to grasp a general sense of luxury item prices and the costs involved in running a merchant guild.

Anne, who had been listening to me intently, nodded in agreement.

“If you’re pointing it out, Miss, then there must certainly be a problem.”

‘No, it’s not that certain…’

Before I could voice my hesitation, Anne continued.

“Well, the House of Count Biers has been responsible for supplying necessities to the North for a long time, yet their guild hasn’t grown much. I didn’t think they were particularly capable, but to think they’ve been receiving distribution fees from House Rudion…”

I was stunned by the flood of information coming out of Anne’s mouth as if she had been waiting for this moment.

Wait, how on earth does she know all this?

But I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

“There’s a high chance that there was some kind of deal during the initial mediation process, or perhaps some other issue at play.”

Anne voiced the very suspicion I had been harboring.

Especially since shortly after agreeing to the distribution fees, Euclid’s older brother had married Count Biers’ daughter, which made the whole thing feel even more suspicious.

‘But no matter how you look at it, would the heir of a duchy sign a contract that would harm his family?’

It was deeply unsettling, but questioning a dead man wasn’t possible, and in any case, it was an issue that would disappear once a branch of the Basilian guild was established.

At this point, I thought it was better to just let it go.

It really was the right decision, but…

“It’s infuriating.”

Thinking about how Euclid had struggled and stressed himself out every month to produce money to hand over to Count Biers made my blood boil.

Even if there wouldn’t be any more payments in the future—that was only natural. If there had really been foul play, I wanted to get back all the money that had been paid so far.

I had casually mentioned earlier that a branch of the Basilian guild would be established soon, so it was obvious they would come running to House Rudion before long.

I wanted to give them a harsh lesson at that moment, but as I bit my lip in frustration, wondering how to do it, Anne spoke up.

“In such a case, I think it would be best to inform Young Duke Sionel.”

Huh? Why is Sionel suddenly being brought up here?

As I frowned in confusion, Anne glanced at me cautiously and said,

“I know you might not like the idea of asking the Young Duke for help… But he’s part of the Ministry of Finance, and he happens to be responsible for overseeing unfair and anti-competitive economic practices like monopolies and collusion.”

Wait, what? Sionel is part of the Ministry of Finance?

The heir to Basilian isn’t even thinking about taking over the guild but is instead monitoring guilds? I was utterly bewildered.

‘But… isn’t this perfect? Almost too perfect.’

“All Madame would need to do is send a few documents proving the distribution fees paid by House Ludion to Count Biers to Young Duke Sionel.”

Unaware that I was already planning to write a hefty letter to Sionel, Anne continued to explain that Sionel would immediately dispatch investigators to the Biers merchant guild, and they would be able to compare the actual ledgers and determine whether fraud had occurred.

‘Wait, they can even send investigators to inspect this?’

I thought they would need solid evidence before taking action, but this was incredible.

Oh, wait a minute!