“Look at this. Romanoff really went all out this time, huh?”
Natasha read through the weekly magazine with an exaggerated tone.
“Listen to this: ‘Has the Duchess of Richard completely cleaned up her arrogant past? All the swirling rumors seem to have vanished since she got married. Could it be the power of love, or is it the power of the House of Richard? One can’t help but wonder…’ This is pretty much an insult to her face.”
“Well, it’s the ‘Duchess of Richard’ after all.”
“That’s true.”
“What did they say? Suddenly reformed after receiving threats of poisoning? Who’s going to believe that?”
Ivan added with a sarcastic tone.
“She’s probably been sued for defamation several times.”
“I remember. I wrote a few complaints myself.”
She was the noblewoman infamously known as ‘the disgrace of the House of Blanche,’ or simply ‘the villainess.’
That damn brat!
‘I heard she completely changed after becoming the Duchess of Richard, as she always wanted.’
Almost like she turned into someone else.
Natasha soon lost interest entirely.
Why? Because Natasha was a divorce lawyer. And in the history of this empire, only one duchess had ever divorced.
‘Like I’ll ever meet her…’
Bang!
Almost simultaneously as she had that thought, the door burst open with such force that it slammed against the opposite wall and shook for a while.
“Is this ‘Natasha Law Office’?”
The figure wore a dark robe, and though her hands were bare without gloves, it wasn’t hard to guess who she was.
The hem of the dress peeking out from beneath the robe was far too luxurious for a commoner.
Even without flashy jewelry, Natasha’s keen eye didn’t miss the details.
“Welcome to Natasha Law Office, ma’am!”
The pipe she had been puffing on vanished without a trace.
Natasha pushed Ivan behind her with a capitalist smile on her lips, silently urging him to serve tea.
“What brings you here today?”
“Ahem, the person I serve asked me to come for a private consultation.”
‘The person she serves,’ huh.
But it was unlikely for a mere maid to wear such elegant clothing.
‘She probably doesn’t want to reveal her identity.’
Natasha had had clients like this before, so she easily played along.
“That shouldn’t be a problem. It would be better if they came themselves, but…”
At those words, the woman flinched.
“Well, keeping secrets is important, right?”
“Y-Yes! It’s very important!”
It was common for noble families to have their own dedicated lawyers.
Even small, insignificant noble houses typically had a legal advisor or consultant on retainer.
But coming to an independent lawyer like this instead of using their family’s lawyer meant they didn’t want their family to know about this issue.
And such matters were usually highly personal. Like… a divorce.
“Shall we at least discuss it through a representative? You know my fees, right?”
“…Roughly.”
Naturally, Natasha’s fees were quite high, to the point where only nobles could even dream of affording them.
“As you know, I’m one of the top lawyers in this field. Legal consultations are 10 gold per minute.”
The woman hesitated briefly, perhaps taken aback by the amount, but she soon nodded.
“Then, an hour’s fee upfront.”
Thunk.
The leather pouch placed on the desk spilled gold coins, clearly exceeding 600 gold.
“Please, have a seat, ma’am.”
Natasha pulled out a chair for her with a kind smile.
Click.
Ivan skillfully brought out the tea.
Since this was a place frequented by noble ladies, the office was lavishly furnished, and the tea leaves were of the highest quality.
Natasha herself, though not dressed as lavishly as a noble, wore a dress that was far more refined than what a commoner would wear.
But even that didn’t compare to the woman in front of her. The silk that shimmered as she moved was unmistakably the finest imported from the Eastern Continent.
‘She’s no ordinary lady.’
Her movements as she lifted the teacup and took a sip were exceptionally graceful.
“Ugh!”
Let’s pretend not to notice that she spat out all the tea.
“So, you wish to get a divorce?”
“Yes, that’s right. But my hus… I mean, the husband of the person I serve… doesn’t want a divorce.”
Her disguise was pitifully inadequate, but Natasha decided to play along.
Natasha’s face remained unmoved, a testament to her professional demeanor.
“If a mutual agreement isn’t possible, we’ll have to move on to a contested divorce… Does her husband have any fault that could be used against him?”
“Fault?”
“Anything she can use to convince the judge to grant the divorce.”
Ivan subtly stepped on Natasha’s foot, signaling her to be careful with her words.
“A fault…”
“It just needs to be something plausible. Maybe he’s unsatisfactory in bed, neglects the family due to work, or has a ‘secret lover’.”
“That’s not it!”
Clang!
The woman shot up from her seat, protesting so vehemently that Natasha had to respond quickly.
“Why are you so startled? You must be very loyal to the person you serve.”
“Ahem.”
Finally, as if trying to keep up appearances, the woman sat back down.
“Anyway, that’s not the case. My hus… the person I serve’s husband has no mistress, and we… I mean, they eat together every day and even… share a bed.”
“I see.”
Natasha cut her off quickly. She had no interest in hearing about their happy marriage.
“So, why does she want a divorce?”
The woman hesitated for a moment at Natasha’s question.
“Don’t worry, I’m not judging her. Just tell me, even if it’s something trivial. It could be helpful in court.”
Natasha’s professional response seemed to put the woman at ease.
She finally spoke.
“It was a marriage intended to end in divorce from the start.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
A sigh, almost like a breath of despair, escaped her.
“We signed a prenuptial agreement. It stipulated that we would divorce three years after getting married.”
Coincidentally, it was a reason similar to the case Natasha had just resolved today, though the details were different.
“A prenuptial agreement…”
In the Illyad Empire, where Verdioism was the state religion, ‘marriage’ was a highly sacred ceremony that pledged a lifetime together, binding souls.
Therefore, the empire’s law officially mandated monogamy, which applied even to nobles and royals.
Writing a ‘contract’ for such a marriage was often seen as an affront to the chief deity, Balda.
It was a very sensitive issue.
Of course, nowadays, with the influence of the Holy Nation waning, contracts were officially being used in legal battles, but…
It was still a shameful secret better left hidden.
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“I’ve seen it happen before. In this line of work, I encounter all sorts of cases.”
Of course, this was the first time Natasha had encountered such a case in a ducal house, but she decided not to mention that for her client’s sake.
Her response seemed to put the woman at ease, as she exhaled a deep sigh of relief.
“More importantly, I’d like to verify the contents of the prenuptial agreement. Do you have a copy? You can redact the names if you prefer.”
“That’s…”
At her words, the woman’s face fell once again.
“That’s the problem.”
“Sorry?”
“The prenuptial agreement… has disappeared.”
Natasha stared at her with dry eyes for a moment.
“Not even a copy?”
“No.”
“Any witnesses who can testify that it was written?”
“No one besides my husband. But there’s no way he would testify… oops.”
Realizing her mistake, she quickly covered her mouth.
“Ahem. I mean the person I serve… Sigh. Forget it. You figured it out, didn’t you?”
It seemed she knew her acting skills were terrible.
Natasha smiled.
“Didn’t you act that way hoping I’d catch on? Oh!”
Ivan stepped on her foot again.
“That hurts.”
“I’ll bring another cup of tea.”
Ivan masked Natasha’s irritation as he cleared away the barely touched teacup.
The woman’s face turned pale, undoubtedly remembering the awful taste.
“You don’t have to drink it. It’s just for show.”
Her expression brightened visibly.
“So, besides the prenuptial agreement, your husband has no other faults?”
“Not really…”
Natasha hummed softly.
“Without that prenuptial agreement, you won’t even make it to the courthouse.”
“Is it that serious?”
“Mutual consent would be one thing, but a contested divorce is difficult.”
The woman’s face twisted in dismay.
“I-Isn’t there any way?”
“I don’t think so.”
“But you’re a divorce lawyer!”
“I’m a lawyer, not a judge.”
Natasha subtly hinted at pulling away.
“Aren’t lawyers supposed to be resourceful?”
“That kind of stereotype is what corrupts society.”
“Ugh…! I’m sorry. But… I absolutely need to get a divorce…”
She said there were no particular faults, but why was this woman so desperate to divorce?
“That’s unfortunate, but under the empire’s law, it’s unavoidable. Without a significant reason, a divorce is impossible. Especially a contested one.”
Click.
As if on cue, Ivan returned with the tea. It was brewed so strong it looked more like molten metal than tea.
“Is this finally the moment you poison me?”
“It’s just tea, Natasha”
“How dare you call your sister by her name so casually.”
Ivan was visibly upset but managed to hold back, aware of the eyes watching them.
“If divorce is so difficult, then there’s no reason for me to stay and have tea here.”
She stood up naturally, using this as an excuse.
As she was about to leave, Natasha called out to her.
“Duchess of Richard.”
The hand that had just reached for the doorknob froze.
“…How did you…?”
Her tone suggested that while she might have expected her noble status to be discovered, she hadn’t anticipated that her exact identity would be known.
Yes, Duchess of Richard.
The “Disgrace of the Count of Blanche,” a wicked woman like no other. That was exactly who she was.
‘She doesn’t seem like the kind of person to deserve such a notorious reputation, though.’
Perhaps, as some claimed, she truly had undergone a change of heart.
Looking into her innocent eyes, one might even be inclined to believe it.
It was as if she had become a completely different person, transformed entirely.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
