Leave the Divorce to a Professional Lawyer

“Lydia…”

Claude kissed the back of Lydia’s hand. Lydia, dressed in a pure white dress, was dazzlingly beautiful.

“What do you think?”

“This one will do.”

“What?! You’re not going to look at anything else?”

“It’s absolutely perfect.”

His expression was so firm, without a trace of doubt, that Lydia couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Ah~ seriously, when will this story finally end? Watching them flirt like this is only entertaining for so long.”

Kang Min-joo mumbled as she quickly scrolled through her phone screen.

No, after coming this far, she was determined to see it through to the end, but the way the conclusion was being dragged out was starting to annoy her.

“I mean, the war is over, and all the villains are dead! So why isn’t it ending yet?!”

When she checked the comments, everyone seemed to share her thoughts.

「It’s dragging on too long, lol」

「ㅠㅠㅠ Lydia, walk only on flower paths!!!」

「Author, tell us about the other characters too! What happened to Cassie?」

「This is kinda cringy… lol」

“Romance is always the most fun just before the characters start dating.”

Despite her loyalty to the story, she was starting to get frustrated. Come on, author! Isn’t this too much?

She thought there were only one or two chapters left until the end, but they’d already spent six chapters on the couple preparing for their wedding!

‘Sure, I’m happy they’re happy, but isn’t this a bit much?’

In her frustration, Kang Min-joo couldn’t help but say aloud,

“I’m definitely going to see this ending. Ah, now it’s about proving a point.”

Perhaps that careless comment was what sealed her fate.

When she came to her senses, Kang Min-joo found herself as Estelle Blanche, the villainess in the novel.

Right.

Claude was the male lead.

The one who would marry Lydia and live happily ever after.

So of course, he was a perfect man with a face like a sculpture and the title of a young duke. These were the usual trappings of a male lead.

‘But Claude… is saying he loves me?’

It was too vivid a look of anger to dismiss as a joke.

Estelle had never seen Claude so agitated. He was the type to express anger in a cold manner.

“That can’t be true…”

“Even if I never said it out loud, I can’t believe you didn’t know. Then why did you think I always made time to have dinner with you, allowed you access to my cherished garden, and gave you expensive jewels and dresses?”

“I thought it was just because we were married, even if it was only in appearance! You said so yourself, Claude! That we’d have dinner together three times a week, but it was purely out of obligation, so I shouldn’t think anything of it…”

“That was at the beginning of our marriage…! Damn it.”

There had been so many things that had gone wrong early in their marriage.

“Let me say it clearly again.”

No matter what, his actions had been too excessive to be merely for show. How could she not have realized?

“I love you, Estelle.”

At his confession, Estelle momentarily held her breath.

His blue eyes fiercely locked with hers, undeniably clear.

An inexplicable sense of anticipation filled her heart.

It felt like she was about to soar high into the sky.

‘In fact, I too…’

Everything became clear with his words. To whom her racing heart was truly directed.

Why she hadn’t been able to answer Gideon’s question.

But the heart that had risen so high suddenly plummeted back to the ground.

“Because I love you, I set aside my own desires to protect you.”

“That’s…!”

“Don’t try to make excuses. I heard that under your orders, the ship docked at Medill Harbor. No one knew except you, and so everyone thought the ship had sunk.”

Claude whispered right in front of Estelle’s face.

“But surprisingly, the ship arrived just in time before the deal fell through. Exactly two days after I pulled out the prenuptial agreement and got it notarized!”

“You stole the agreement from me!”

Estelle retorted without backing down.

It was Claude who had stolen Estelle’s contract in the first place! If it hadn’t been for that, she wouldn’t have tricked him like this.

“This marriage was meant to end from the start.”

Her voice trembled, but the resolve in it was clear.

“That’s right. It was.”

His voice was weak.

Yes. It had been a mistake to force together puzzle pieces that were never meant to fit.

“I received the divorce papers.”

When had he prepared them? She had heard he had visited the law firm a few times, but she thought he had given up since he hadn’t gone recently.

“Like you said… from the beginning, this was a relationship destined to end. You’re right.”

He gently stroked Estelle’s cheek with his fingertips.

His touch slowly moved down, brushing her ear, tracing her neck, and finally wrapping around her rounded shoulder. His touch was so tender.

“Not even for a single moment, did you ever love me?”

It felt as if his blue eyes were binding her.

She should have lied and said, ‘Not even for a single moment,’ but she couldn’t get the words out.

“Not even for a single moment? If that’s true… I’ll give you the divorce without any fuss.”

“I…”

My mouth went dry. I just wanted to run away.

Every time I met Claude’s gaze, I wanted to pretend I didn’t know him, completely forgetting that I was ‘Kang Min-joo.’

The desire to achieve a happy ending with the male protagonist I had dreamed of began to grow.

Yeah, there were many novels where the villainess takes the male lead into her hands. Maybe I’m also such a protagonist, I started to think.

‘But I can’t risk my life on such a possibility.’

Her love was too cowardly and selfish for that.

She didn’t have the courage to sacrifice her life.

“You don’t really love me.”

Estelle abruptly changed the subject. Claude’s face twisted with frustration.

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“You’ve just been momentarily mistaken because you haven’t met your true partner yet.”

“True partner? I don’t believe in fated love. The only thing I believe in is what exists in front of me, the feelings I have right now.”

Claude’s face was full of conviction as he said this.

“…Of course, you might think that, but I’m sure your thoughts will change once you meet true love.”

Because this world was created entirely for the love between those two.

“Estelle, is that your answer? You still haven’t said that you ‘don’t love me.'”

“That’s…!”

Just saying that would make everything easier. But strangely, Estelle couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Claude, who had been looking down at Estelle as she kept her mouth shut, released his grip on her shoulder.

“…I understand. You should go in and rest now.”

“Wait…!”

“The trial is set for four days from now.”

Before Estelle could stop him, Claude had already half-exited the room.

“Tell the defense team to prepare with everything they’ve got.”

Slam.

The door closed behind him.

Estelle collapsed to the floor, her legs giving out unconsciously.

“So, you came here at 6 a.m.?”

“W-where else could I go?”

She didn’t have the nerve to face Claude and have breakfast with him, so she had come outside without a plan.

‘But to come to a lawyer’s house? You could have gone to another friend…’

Realizing that someone as infamous as Estelle likely had no friends, she looked a bit pitiful.

“Come in for now.”

Though Natasha looked exasperated, she opened the door for her.

“What were you planning to do if I hadn’t been home?”

“Well… I was going to wait by the door.”

“And just leave you there?”

Natasha threw the question at Gideon with a scolding tone, making him fall silent, seemingly embarrassed.

“Since Ivan isn’t here, I can’t offer you any tea… Just wait inside for now.”

“Thank you, Natasha. I’m sorry for suddenly showing up like this…”

“As long as you understand.”

In the end, Natasha let her in. The place was in disarray, with stacks of documents covering the floor and the desk.

“Seems like you’ve been busy. Is this coffee?”

The mug on the desk still had traces of coffee left in it.

She had heard that coffee, once a luxury of the nobility, had become popular among students and overworked officials due to its stimulating effects. This was the first time she had seen it used for that purpose.

“I drink it sometimes. With the trial coming up… I haven’t had much time to sleep.”

Natasha, who seemed to have just woken up, was dressed much more comfortably than usual.

The dark circles under her eyes seemed to speak of her hard work.

“Would you like some water at least?”

“I’m fine! Since I came unannounced, just pretend I’m not here and go about your usual routine.”

“Let’s just say I started work early today. I don’t have any other cases except yours at the moment anyway.”

Estelle awkwardly smiled and cautiously asked,

“Um, not that I doubt your abilities… but Claude said he’s going to mobilize the entire legal team of the Duchy of Richard…”

“Of course he would.”

“I’ve heard the legal teams tied to noble families are highly skilled… Is that not the case?”

“They’re certainly skilled. Their salaries are quite generous, after all.”

“R-right? But you don’t seem nervous at all?”

Natasha chuckled softly.

“Client, who recommended me to you?”

“I wasn’t recommended, I just… read your name in a weekly magazine…”

“Damn Romanov.”

The curse that slipped out startled Estelle.

“Ah, sorry. I don’t have the best relationship with that magazine.”

Natasha absentmindedly rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a pipe.

“Don’t worry, it’s just herbal leaves. Smoking this in the morning helps clear my head and ease the pain. I hope you don’t mind.”

Seeing Natasha act so differently in her home environment, Estelle quickly waved her hands, saying it was fine.

Natasha had always had a unique aura, but seeing her act freely in her own space made it even more so.

Puff.

As Natasha exhaled a cloud of smoke, the area around her seemed to blur, as if she were in another world.

The atmosphere became mysteriously dreamlike, as if in a trance.

Perhaps the headache wasn’t a lie, because after a few puffs, Natasha’s face relaxed noticeably.

“I thought you knew who I was, so I didn’t bother to introduce myself properly. Most of my clients come through word of mouth… though I guess that doesn’t quite apply to your age group.”

“Is that so? I guess there are more divorces than I thought…?”

“These days, it’s much more common than it used to be.”

Compared to the time when divorce and remarriage were legally forbidden for religious reasons, things were indeed much more liberal now.

Natasha, still holding her pipe in one hand, dug through the drawer with the other and pulled out a brochure.

It had a brief resume written on it.

“Here. This is my resume. Take a look.”

“Huh? Oh, okay…”

Estelle looked at it and exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow, you graduated from Iliad Law School? I heard that’s the top law school.”

As Estelle continued to read, her eyes widened in surprise. But nothing changed.

“You were… the dedicated lawyer for the Duke of Petrov’s family?”