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

Episode 83

Evgenia couldn’t overcome Euclid and the children’s concern for her.

The mercenary group ‘Black’ watched Evgenia’s retreating figure with strange expressions, unable to voice further objections.

However, as soon as Evgenia completely disappeared from view, a sharp gleam appeared in the mercenaries’ eyes.

They had hidden their true selves from their master, but now they revealed their real nature, observing Euclid with sharp gazes.

Since he was chosen by their master, they were determined to remain loyal to her, regardless of the reason, as long as he did not go against their master’s will.

However, since this was their first meeting, they wanted to observe her closely.

As they felt through her tone, expressions, and actions, their master’s insight had not failed them, and they collectively felt relieved.

Except for Richard, who remained an enigma—difficult to read and understand.

Richard had been in turmoil ever since hearing about Evgenia’s marriage.

When I become a master… If I pass Evgenia’s test, I thought I’d see her again. But I never imagined I’d end up joining a noble knight order like this.

Despite his confusion, Richard, like the other members, participated sincerely in the test.

He didn’t reveal his full strength but performed well enough to pass without issue.

As a result, every single member of the mercenary group ‘Black’ passed the first test, and the procedure to verify their identities began in Euclid’s office.

Delano, who arrived late after spending the entire day handling funds with the ‘Gold’ trading company, was initially overjoyed to hear that everyone had passed. But upon reviewing the personal information documents, he sank into deep despair.

“Th-This… Is this right? This feels less like a knight order and more like a gang of ruffians!”

Though mercenaries often lived rough lives, most of them came from slums, fallen nations, or had criminal records involving theft and embezzlement. Their lives had been marred by hardship and crime.

Even Delano, who had already made up his mind to accept non-northerners into the ducal family, found the list troubling.

When he flipped to the next document, he became even more shocked.

“Hah…! This person is even listed as a former slave?”

A person traded illegally in the black market, according to rumors!

Curiosity and repulsion about a person from such a different world washed over Delano as he asked cautiously, “Your Grace, have you confirmed whether the slave mark was truly removed?”

Euclid recalled the pink-haired man who had looked at him with sharp hostility, the only one among the otherwise unusually friendly group, and nodded.

“Yes. There was a large scar on the back of his left hand where the mark had been erased.”

Delano, who had never seen a slave mark before, rebuked himself for feeling strangely regretful and replied, “It seems he had a good master. I heard that slave marks remain even after being burned unless special tools are used to remove them.”

And those special tools cost hundreds of gold coins.

Of course, the pain was the same regardless, but who would spend such a fortune on a slave?

Considering that the man had been freed and still ended up in a mercenary group, it was clear he had been released as a free man.

Euclid made a subtle expression at Delano’s admiration.

At that moment, one of the rumors Delano had muttered disapprovingly before Evgenia’s marriage resurfaced in his mind.

It was the story suggesting that she might have participated in underground auctions.

But Delano seemed to have forgotten that he’d ever spoken such words.

“Huh? But none of them plan to move their families to the North, even after joining the knight order.”

Instead, noticing a common oddity in the documents, Delano rubbed his chin.

Becoming a knight of the ducal family came with benefits, including opportunities for family members to secure jobs or lead more stable lives.

The fact that none of them intended to move suggested their current living conditions were good enough that relocating didn’t seem appealing.

It was a little strange, but…

“They must have earned a good amount of money while working as mercenaries. Given that they passed the test, their skills must be quite refined.”

“Yes, it seems that way.” Euclid agreed.

Even with his limited knowledge of swords, he could tell that they were all highly skilled.

In fact, according to Gressel, most of the mercenaries were on the level of intermediate or advanced knights.

But among them, the pink-haired man stood out.

His movements seemed casual, yet his attacks carried an immeasurable destructive force.

He might even be stronger than the knight commander.

It was just an unreliable hunch, but Euclid felt a strange certainty.

“What will you do, Your Grace? Of course, we’ll proceed with secondary identity verification, but based on the submitted documents, it doesn’t seem like they’re lying.”

Delano subtly asked if Euclid would formally accept the mercenary group into the knight order.

“What do you think, Delano?”

“I… I had prepared myself to accept non-northerners, but…”

Given their origins and backgrounds, Delano couldn’t easily bring himself to say they should be accepted.

After some hesitation, he spoke cautiously.

“To be honest, I worry they might bring harm to the ducal family.”

“I see.”

Euclid nodded, fully understanding Delano’s concerns.

After a moment of deep thought, he spoke slowly.

“Strangely, I feel as though they wouldn’t harm the Rudion ducal family.”

He couldn’t explain the reason, but he had a strong feeling.

‘Damn it.’

So, this moment has finally come.

With both Black and Gold visiting the ducal estate on the same day, I knew it would be inevitable to avoid this situation…

Still, I held onto the faint hope that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t come to this.

I intentionally entrusted the crucial task of reviewing the dowry list and negotiating the assigned amount to Delano and the butler. Even when Gold’s deputy mentioned wanting to meet me under the pretext of presenting the new shoes they had ordered, I flat-out refused, telling them to just leave the shoes and skip the pleasantries.

‘I thought they’d back off unexpectedly easily.’

Even Gold, and even Black—who was waiting for the results of the knight order admission—left the ducal estate before evening, saying they’d stay at a nearby inn.

I started to hope that maybe, just maybe, I could avoid meeting them altogether.

But now, here I am, standing in the secret chamber connected to the dressing room—a place I never wanted to step foot in again—accompanied by Anne and Gressel.

And then—

“Master!”

“Commander!”

The two knelt before me the moment they saw me.

No, even Richard behind them—making it three people—knelt as I stared at them, utterly dumbfounded.

“Hah…”

A sigh escaped my lips before I could suppress my emotions.

‘What on earth have they done to the ducal estate!’

Surely, they didn’t dig a tunnel connecting the estate to the outside, right? At the very least, tell me they used a teleportation artifact…

I just wanted to deny the situation I was in—a situation where being caught by someone from the duke’s family would instantly brand me as a spy or, at best, a potential troublemaker.

But the reality was too vivid to deny.

‘What is even going on here?’

I lamented inwardly, though I knew the truth.

‘Yes, I expected this.’

I had sensed something off many times before.

The clearest moment was when Gressel swore allegiance to me before the wedding.

When I began to suspect that Anne might not be an ordinary maid, it was only natural to have my doubts.

If that were the case, then perhaps Anne’s master, Evgenia, wasn’t simply the cruel and thoughtless villainess I had always thought—chasing after the crown prince like a shadow.