Leave the Divorce to a Professional Lawyer

Clink.

A teacup was placed in front of Natasha, who was flipping through documents. She thought it was the usual overly bitter black tea, but surprisingly, a fragrant aroma of coffee wafted up.

“Why coffee?”

“Miss Estelle gave us enough to last a year.”

At Ivan’s words, Natasha nodded as if she understood.

Although coffee was generally considered a luxury item, it wouldn’t have been difficult for Estelle to acquire coffee grounds.

Slurp.

Natasha cautiously took a sip of the coffee.

“How is it?”

Ivan asked, his voice tinged with a bit of nervousness.

Natasha smiled faintly.

“It’s disgustingly bitter.”

“Another failure?”

“It’s much stronger than black tea, isn’t it? You didn’t put poison in it, did you?”

The taste was so startling that it made her wonder if it was an assassination attempt. Natasha paused for a moment, reflexively swallowing the saliva pooling in her mouth.

“What does the Romanov Weekly say today?”

What Natasha had been looking at for a while was none other than the Romanov Weekly. It hadn’t been long since the Duke Richard’s divorce lawsuit had concluded, so it was still a hot topic.

“The same as always. They say I’m the first in the empire to make a second ‘former’ duchess and that I should be thrown in jail.”

“That’s harsh.”

Of course, in the lawful state of the Ilihad Empire, an innocent lawyer wouldn’t be jailed.

Probably.

“Miss Estelle sent a letter as well.”

Ivan handed over a particularly noticeable letter from among several pieces of mail.

It had various stamps from passing through several checks coming in from abroad.

Natasha cut the sealing wax on the letter with a knife and checked the contents.

“Dear Natasha,

Natasha, how are you? I am currently at the border between the Kingdom of Dripolk and the Kingdom of Drishey.

Have you ever been to these twin kingdoms? It is such a beautiful place. I can’t help but admire it.

Oh, by the way, I found a spice called ‘mint’ that grows naturally here, which seems quite marketable. I’ve enclosed a leaf in the letter, so why don’t you try smelling it? Here, they often add this mint to drinks or food.”

Natasha dug into the envelope and found a slightly dried leaf. As she sniffed it, a refreshing scent came up.

“The scent isn’t bad, but they put this in food or drinks?”

She couldn’t quite imagine it.

“Traveling around and seeing other countries is always a joy. The merchant business is going well, too. I know that I owe much of this life to you, Natasha. I’m always grateful.

I might never return to the Ilihad Empire, but if I ever pass by, I will definitely come to see you.

With souvenirs, of course!

Take care of yourself until then.

With love, Estelle.”

“Cash would be better than souvenirs.”

Natasha muttered under her breath without realizing it.

Well, she could always sell the souvenirs for money. She decided to think positively.

After the divorce lawsuit concluded, Estelle left the country immediately with Marie.

With ample funds, they must be living comfortably without envy.

“Duke Richard… didn’t he go without food for about a week?”

It was said that when he appeared in public a week later, his complexion was extremely pale.

People openly gossiped that the divorce had deeply shocked Duke Richard.

“Maybe he’s past his prime and a bit out of it now.”

Recently, the scandalous talk of the town was about a certain count from the south who deceived several noble ladies.

Despite being married, he pretended to be single and dated as many as five women simultaneously!

His enraged countess filed for divorce, demanding a large alimony, and also sued the women he had been involved with!

Initially, they thought there was only one mistress, but as the number exceeded five, noble families with eligible daughters were anxious, fearing a lawsuit might reach their homes too.

And naturally, the lawyer handling the case was none other than Natasha.

Natasha, smiling contentedly as she read the scandalous Romanov Weekly, suddenly checked the time and got up from her seat.

She began preparing to leave in a hurry.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s that day.”

Ivan seemed to understand what she meant and helped her put on her coat.

His hands moved skillfully.

“Don’t fight.”

“Oh, you’ve got some nerve talking to your sister like that!”

“Who’s my sister, really…?”

When Ivan made a disgusted face, Natasha burst into a light laugh.

“I’m off.”

Madame Olga set the condition that in exchange for providing the recommendation needed to infiltrate the House of Duke Richard, Natasha would have to meet Jerome alone for a minimum of two hours, at least three times.

After meeting him once before, she had been delaying further meetings under the pretext of court cases, but she could no longer put it off.

As a result, Natasha and Jerome faced each other and sighed.

“Whew…”

“…Hah.”

They glanced at each other with eyes that showed just how fed up they were.

Clink.

In a quiet restaurant that Olga had reserved for them, the only sounds were the silent movements of forks and knives.

Noticing that Natasha had only glanced at her documents during their previous meeting at a cafe, Olga ensured there was nothing else for them to do.

“Hey.”

Natasha was the first to speak.

“How is Denis… doing?”

– Denis is looking for you. He just returned from the Magic Tower! He… doesn’t know anything.

Denis Petrov, the third son of the Petrov family, had shown a talent for magic early on and was sent to the Magic Tower.

She had heard he returned to the Petrov family on the day he became an adult, but she hadn’t heard anything since, which bothered her.

“Him? Don’t even ask. Lately, he’s been so preoccupied with something that he hardly stays at home and is always out wandering.”

He wandered around with a strange, sly smile on his face.

“Has he asked about me?”

“…Well, yes, he did ask.”

Until just before Denis left for the Magic Tower, it was almost certain that Natasha would be adopted into the Petrov ducal family.

While he was inside the Magic Tower, cut off from the outside world, he probably didn’t know that Natasha eventually left the Petrov family.

“It looks like he doesn’t know the details. Mikhail… would get furious just at the mention of your name.”

“Hah.”

A dry laugh escaped her lips.

Natasha let a cold sneer linger on her lips. Mikhail had always looked down on Natasha.

“He hasn’t changed.”

At her blunt mockery, Jerome glanced cautiously at Natasha.

Jerome wasn’t particularly close to Mikhail either, so he wasn’t all that offended.

“Arrange a meeting with Denis for me. I want to explain things myself.”

“… It might be better if he doesn’t know.”

“It’s not something that can be hidden forever.”

Natasha replied coldly.

She had never once regretted taking Madame Olga out of the Petrov household.

However, the fallout with the brothers of the Petrov family, with whom she had grown up like siblings, was quite a painful matter.

Especially considering that Jerome and Natasha were the closest of friends before that incident.

As he recalled those days, Jerome bit his lip, feeling the anger rising once more.

“… It’s probably better than hearing it from someone else.”

“Bring him to the next meeting.”

“What? But Mother said we should meet alone….”

“He’s like a long-lost brother. If we happen to run into each other, wouldn’t we just end up sitting together?”

Jerome quickly realized that Natasha’s words meant “Bring him along under the pretense of it being a coincidence.”

“… You’ve become quite the lawyer.”

“Just realizing that now?”

Natasha chuckled softly and took a bite of her steak.

“By the way, didn’t Denis return to find a fiancée? Yet, there’s still no news.”

“Thanks to that, Father is also having a hard time. Even when introduced to a decent lady, he dismisses them all as unsuitable….”

“And what about you?”

Jerome abruptly lifted his head at the sudden question.

“It’s about time you got married too. You don’t even have a fiancée yet. I bet you’re more of a headache to the Duke than Denis is.”

“… Don’t even talk about it. They’re pressuring me these days.”

“Are you not thinking of getting married?”

“Hey, do you think that’s something I can decide on my own?”

Of course, Jerome, being the second son, faced less pressure to marry than his elder brother Mikhail, but it wasn’t insignificant.

To make matters worse, as they searched for a match for Denis, the topic of Jerome’s marriage was being brought up more frequently.

“What about you, then?”

“Knowing my job, do you think I’d say that?”

Natasha smirked subtly.

“Marriage is madness. As a divorce specialist, that’s how I see it.”

This was a conclusion she had reached after observing countless couples.

“Love is an illusion, and marriage is a grave. How about that? I just came up with that quote.”

“That’s a bit exaggerated. While I’m not particularly religious, I don’t see marriage in such a negative light when it comes to finding a life partner.”

Tsk, tsk.

Natasha clicked her tongue inwardly. What should she do with this naive young man?

“A life partner? Only legally. Is there even a single family in this entire Illyhad like that? The reality is everyone’s busy playing around with their lovers.”

“I’m not like those bastards!”

Jerome suddenly shouted.

“When I get married… I’ll only look at one person, and even if it’s nothing special, I’ll share an ordinary life with them. I’ll dedicate my first and last love to that person.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Natasha looked indifferently at Jerome, who was suddenly expressing his views on marriage.

“Well, I hope you find a woman who thinks like you and live happily ever after.”

Jerome looked as if he wanted to say “That’s not what I meant,” but eventually buried his face in his steak plate.

“What could I possibly expect from you….”

“Even when I wish you well, you complain.”

Jerome let out a deep sigh.

“Well… I guess what you said isn’t entirely wrong.”

Jerome muttered self-deprecatingly.

“My parents are like that, and my brother too….”

Natasha perked up her ears without realizing it.

“Mikhail too?”

Given his temper, it was no surprise his married life would be rocky. But Natasha had never heard any rumors of discord between Mikhail and Chloe, the Duchess, so she found it a bit puzzling.

“I think living alone isn’t so bad.”

Natasha maintained a nonchalant exterior, though she was harboring her doubts.

Phew. With Jerome’s sigh, the meal finally came to an end.

When Natasha returned to her office late at night, she noticed that the lights were still on.

“Is Ivan still not off work?”

The recent trials hadn’t been that demanding, so there should have been no need for overtime.

Puzzled, she headed up to the second floor.

Bang.

“Ivan, do you still have work to do? Why are you here so late….”

Natasha stopped mid-sentence.

For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming.

She even rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing clearly.

But the scene before her didn’t change.

A man with stunning blonde hair and deep blue eyes was elegantly sipping coffee.

A coffee that must have tasted terrible.

“… What brings the Duke of Richard here?”

Claude Richard.

The man had come to Natasha’s law office.

“The office is rather modest.”

“If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared.”

Behind Claude, Ivan gestured wildly, as if to say, “Why did you take so long to come!”

‘Is he here to get revenge?’

Occasionally, clients like that would come around. Those who blamed their divorces on their lawyer.

If Claude had come to hold her responsible for his divorce, she was indeed in a dangerous situation. After all, the Richard ducal family was renowned for their martial prowess.

No matter how skilled Natasha was, against a knight with overwhelming strength, she was powerless.

Cold sweat ran down her back. She discreetly grabbed the doorknob behind her, ready to bolt at any moment.

Then Claude said something completely unexpected.

“I’m here to request your services.”