Leave the Divorce to a Professional Lawyer

Philip muttered under his breath without realizing it.

“…A real lawyer…”

“I don’t understand why everyone is acting like this. Do I not look like a lawyer?”

It was an inappropriate remark, considering the killer tied up at his feet.

“Well, anyway. You’re Philip Jean, who worked as the physician for the Count of Blanche, right?”

He nodded heavily.

“That’s right. After three years with no visitors, someone finally shows up….”

He relaxed his tense body. His hand, gripping his cane, was drenched in sweat.

“The Count of Blanche is really too much. To think he’s trying to send away a physician who’s devoted his life without a second thought.”

His tone was subtle. Natasha stepped forward, standing in front of Philip.

“Don’t you want revenge?”

“…Even though I’m like a dog abandoned by its master…”

There was a flash of anger in Philip’s eyes.

“I’m not desperate enough to betray my former master so easily…!”

“You’re exaggerating, old man. Betray? This might actually be for Blanche’s sake.”

“Nonsense.”

“It’s true. We work for Blanche too, you know. More precisely, we work for Miss Estelle Blanche.”

At the mention of Estelle’s name, Philip flinched.

“Miss Estelle…?”

It seemed like he was holding back the question, “Why would she be with ruffians like you?”

His narrowed eyes were unmistakably those of someone worried about a granddaughter hanging out with the wrong crowd.

Natasha shrugged.

“I’m a divorce lawyer, you know.”

“Miss Estelle… wants a divorce? That can’t be. She was so fond of that young duke….”

“Marriage is reality. Come on, you know better.”

Divorce is something people choose when they grow so sick of each other after getting married because they were madly in love.

“My client wants a divorce. And to do that, we need your help.”

Natasha extended her hand to him.

“For Miss Estelle’s sake. Can you help us?”

Philip stared intently at her outstretched hand.

Then he shook his head and muttered in despair.

“No, no.”

He brought his wrinkled hand to his forehead, bowing his head.

“For the sake of the young lady, it’s better not to know.”

“That’s your opinion. But my client is in a hurry to get divorced, you know?”

“There was a reason the Count of Blanche wanted to bury the truth with me…. For everyone’s sake, it’s better to keep it buried forever….”

Natasha glanced at Ivan as she watched Philip mumble nonsense.

She wanted to threaten him into testifying by holding a knife to his throat, but she restrained herself.

If they were caught coercing him, not only would the evidence they had painstakingly gathered be rendered invalid, but there was no point in intimidating an old man who had little time left anyway.

“Old man, cut the crap about ‘doing it for her own good.’ I’m not here to have a philosophical discussion with you about whether it’s better to reveal or conceal a painful truth, okay?”

If he wanted to have that conversation, he should visit a temple instead.

“I don’t know exactly what the truth is, but I’m not planning to tell Miss Estelle immediately. I’ll listen to it first, and as a lawyer, if it’s legally useful, I’ll use it. If not, I’ll pretend I don’t know.”

Natasha declared clearly.

“What Miss Estelle needs right now is a professional lawyer like me, and I’m the one who can judge whether that truth, whatever it is, is necessary for her or not.”

Abstract and emotional responses were unnecessary right now.

What mattered to Natasha was whether this “truth,” which the Count of Blanche had gone to great lengths to hide, could become a variable in court.

“I’m not here out of a sense of justice to reveal the truth….”

Her sky-blue eyes sparkled coldly.

Something seemed to glimmer inside them. The glare in her eyes right in front of Philip’s nose was chilling.

“…I’m here to win. Miss Estelle wants that too. To win and seize freedom.”

Philip’s eyes clouded slightly.

It was difficult for him to decide which was the right choice.

Should he support her divorce by revealing the truth he had kept hidden, or should he take the secret to his grave?

Claude pleaded with a now pale Estelle.

“If I could, I would want to forget all my memories too. And start anew. Just you and me, alone. Forget everything that’s happened.”

Estelle remained silent.

“Up until now, everything went wrong because of that day…. No, there’s no need to bring up the past.”

Claude knelt on one knee before Estelle.

“Can’t we just pretend it’s all forgotten… and start anew?”

This was probably Claude’s best offer.

“Please.”

He pleaded with her, having swallowed the last of his pride. It was a humiliation and disgrace he would never experience again in his life.

Just as he had chosen Estelle’s desire over his pride that day, this time too, he chose Estelle over his pride.

Estelle’s lips trembled.

“I….”

Her mind was a mess, like a tangled thread.

‘I’m not that Estelle. But from Claude’s perspective, I’m the same Estelle. Forget and start anew? Is that even possible? We’ve already come too far. After we exposed each other like that in court. Is it even possible to forget everything and start over now?:

Both Estelle and Claude knew.

What had happened couldn’t be undone. Just as spilled water can’t be gathered back.

But Estelle just wanted to pretend she didn’t know.

‘Maybe it’s possible.’

Seeing how desperately he was speaking, perhaps the memory of ‘Kang Min-ju’ was a lie, and it had all just been a long dream?

‘Lydia’—could she be nothing but a fictional character? Yeah. Being possessed in a novel—that’s ridiculous.

‘…Was it all just a dream?’

All those over 20 years spent laughing, chatting, and having fun on Earth?

Estelle unconsciously clenched her fists tightly.

That couldn’t be. I even read about Lydia’s marriage….

But still, Claude was so sincere. Maybe… No, but still….

Throb!

Suddenly, a splitting pain tore through her head.

“Ugh…!”

“…Estelle?”

“A-Aah…! Aagh! It hurts…!”

Estelle grabbed her head and collapsed into Claude’s arms.

“What’s happening all of a sudden…! Get a doctor, now!”

“Huff, ugh… Aah…!”

The unbearable pain overwhelmed Estelle.

“Aaagh!”

“That was… when Miss Estelle was still infatuated with the young duke…”

Philip began to speak cautiously.

It was the truth that everyone had hidden for three years.

“I’m not saying what she did was right. Because she grew up being so foolish, she didn’t know how to be considerate of others, and she was just a no-nonsense person…..”

Natasha gestured with her hand as if she was annoyed because she had heard about Estelle’s previous evil deeds.

“So?”

“The Little Duke… He didn’t like that kind of girl.”

“It just wasn’t at that level. It almost seemed like hatred.”

Ivan lightly tackled him, but Philip continued without even listening.

“We don’t know the details either. However, that day, the young lady followed the Duke into the glass garden….”

That damn glass garden. There was no place left out.

“They say there was friction after running into Princess Chloe. Then the Little Duke was so angry… He said some harsh words….”

A feeling of regret filled his eyes.

“Everyone thought nothing of it. Everyone thought ‘It’s worth it.’ and ‘Isn’t this something you brought on yourself?’”

Estelle was the forbidden child of Count Blanche’s family, but she was also an outcast.

She was very obedient to her nanny and her doctor, Philip, who had taken care of her since childhood, but she was even more vicious towards other employees.

Everyone didn’t think it was a big deal that she was harassing her fiancé and saying bad things to her.

“But… … How can a person get used to hearing harsh words often? People aren’t cast iron.”

He pulled his glasses off the tip of his nose and wiped away a few tears.

“Human muscles become stronger and stronger as they recover from injuries, but the human mind does not. It just falls apart.”

He muttered lowly.

“Not everyone knew that…”

As the sun set, darkness fell outside the window, and the sounds of wild animals waking up from their sleep came in.

“…..It wasn’t an attempted poisoning.”

Every time the flames in the fireplace glowing on the wall danced, Philip’s shadow staggered along with it.

“It was suicide.”

—Agh…..

A mournful cry rang out. When I came to my senses, I found myself wandering aimlessly in the dark.

‘Where am I?’

Estelle looked everywhere around her, but she couldn’t see anything.

—Huh… too bad… How can you say that? Just because of such lowly bloodlines…! too bad…!

‘Who on earth is this voice?’

My head hurt slightly, feeling like there was a buzzing in my head.

—Okay. If you hate me that much, i can just disappear completely! okay! You think I can’t do it?

I saw someone from far away.

It started spinning left and right like crazy, then ran to one side as if it suddenly remembered something.

He waves his hands in the air and pretends to look for something.

Then he took out a glass bottle, put it in his palm, and shook it out.

—Like you said, I can’t hang myself to death, but I will do as you wish, my love…!

At first, the person seemed so distant that it was difficult to make out their faces, but as i got closer, she gradually became clearer.

Lovely pink hair, green eyes filled with tears.

A sleazy face with dark circles under the eyes. It was a nervous expression, but I recognized it right away.

‘…It’s me.’

Estelle Blanche, she was herself.

No. To be precise, she was the ‘real’ Estelle Blanche.

—please… I hope you regret it…

‘No…!’

Suddenly!

The ‘real’ Estelle quickly stuffed what she was holding in her hand into her mouth.

She wanted to stop her, but her cries could not come out as a sound, and she hummed inside her.

—Ugh… Ugh…!

She stumbles, clutching her stomach as if in pain.

‘Just a little more!’

Estelle continued running. The ‘real’ Estelle was staggering at a distance that seemed almost out of reach when she stretched out her hand.

—Huh….!

The ‘real’ Estelle’s falls backwards as if collapsing.

Estelle, who rushed to support her, felt a very strange sensation the moment her body overlapped with hers.

Her five senses become dull, and at the same time, she and the real Estelle overlap as if they were one.

‘Uh…?’

When she came to her senses, the ‘real’ Estelle was nowhere to be found and she was standing alone.

‘Uh oh…?’

Her strange fears poured out upon her.

“Huh!”

At that moment, the cold dawn air filled her lungs. I suddenly woke up as if I had been struck by water.

“Huh, huh, huh….”

Estelle took a deep breath.

My dream was shattered…