Leave the Divorce to a Professional Lawyer

It was as if time had completely stopped; the Duke Petrov hadn’t changed at all.

As Natasha followed Denis and Jerome toward the dining room, she was lost in her memories.

“That’s right. Back then, this pattern was at my eye level, but now it barely reaches my waist.”

To the young and small-framed Natasha, the Duke Petrov had always seemed enormous.

She used to follow the patterns on the walls so as not to get lost in the vast mansion.

When Natasha paused to look at the wall, Jerome lightly tapped her shoulder.

“What are you doing? Hurry up.”

Behind Jerome, Denis was opening the door.

He waved off the flustered maids and pushed the massive door open with his own hands.

Whoosh!

A bright light seeped through the crack in the door.

Natasha instinctively blinked her eyes as she entered. The place where the family gathered to eat every day, the central hall, was decorated with much more care than other areas.

It particularly reflected the tastes of the lady of the house.

And as far as she knew, Madame Olga’s taste was…

“…Natasha?”

…exceedingly luxurious.

Unlike the other areas, which were somewhat somber and old-fashioned, the central hall glittered almost as if it was shining.

Amidst the splendid glasswork, Mikhail stood with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

He seemed unable to distinguish whether what he was seeing was a dream or reality.

In a place where the colors were subdued, Mikhail’s black hair stood out conspicuously—a color he had inherited from Madame Olga.

“Hello, brother.”

Natasha greeted him lightly, in a tone that was polite but not particularly so.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Only then did Mikhail’s face contort as he grasped the situation.

His anger was immediately directed at Denis.

“Denis, you…!”

“What’s wrong, brother? Aren’t you happy to see me after so long? Hm?”

But Denis just stared back blankly, as if wondering why Mikhail was upset.

Perhaps sensing that trying to communicate would be futile, Mikhail quickly turned his focus to Jerome.

“Jerome. And you too. What were you doing, not stopping this?”

“I tried. But when has he ever listened to me?”

Jerome shrugged, as if he didn’t care.

Mikhail sighed deeply at his unruly younger siblings’ behavior.

It was one thing for Denis, who had just become an adult, but Jerome was old enough to know better, yet he still acted like a child.

“Is that how it is? I guess you’re not happy to see me?”

Natasha calmly spoke as she looked at Mikhail’s frosty expression.

It was something only a person with nerves of steel could do.

“I’ve missed you quite a bit. Or… maybe not? It doesn’t seem like I particularly missed you, now that I think about it.”

Her tone was almost teasing.

“You… How dare you set foot here?”

His clenched fists trembled with rage.

“How dare you come here!”

“Is there a place I’m not allowed to come? I was invited here as a guest. Is this how the Petrov family treats their guests?”

At that, Mikhail let out a cold laugh.

“Natasha, you should be grateful that I’m not pressing charges against you for insulting the nobility, out of old sentiment.”

Mikhail attacked Natasha’s vulnerability. It was something that Jerome and Denis had tacitly agreed never to mention.

“You’re aware that you no longer have the protection of the Petrov family, right?”

Natasha was nothing more than a commoner, without a title or anything else.

If it weren’t for the bond they had formed growing up together like siblings, she wouldn’t have even dared to dream of sitting at the same table as them.

No matter how talented and smart Natasha was, it was something she could never bridge.

“…If you can, go ahead and sue me. So, you’ve decided to completely turn your back on Madame?”

“Don’t you dare mention my mother!”

Natasha brought up Mikhail’s sore spot as well.

This proud young nobleman still firmly believed that Natasha was entirely to blame for his parents’ divorce.

“Alright, calm down, calm down!”

At that moment, Denis suddenly intervened between the two.

It took a great deal of courage to step in when no one else dared.

“The food is getting cold. Brother, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in advance, but since I invited her, we should at least let her eat before sending her off. Right?”

Mikhail swallowed his frustration at Denis’ words.

He wanted to just kick her out, but since she was his brother’s guest, he couldn’t do so without losing face.

“Brother? Hm? Right?”

“Haa…”

In the end, Mikhail shook his head as if he had no choice.

Then he told the maid beside him to prepare one more set of tableware.

Amidst the cold silence, dinner began.

“Where is Miss Chloe?”

“She said she wasn’t feeling well and would eat something simple in her room today, so I let her do that.”

It seemed that Chloe usually joined them for these meals.

“Is Father not coming again today?”

“Yes. It’s probably for the best.”

Mikhail’s gaze briefly met Natasha’s before quickly turning away.

“He wouldn’t want to see an ungrateful wretch like you.”

His tone was openly sarcastic, but Natasha didn’t mind.

Yes, just as Mikhail said. Natasha was a commoner, and a divorce lawyer specializing in noble divorces at that.

She had already experienced more than her share of unpleasant sights. This level of ridicule was nothing to her.

“Eating at the same table as a beast. How merciful.”

It was an elegant turn of phrase, but the underlying meaning was clear: “We’re both at the same table, so what’s the big deal?”

Mikhail, who caught the implication, once again hardened his expression, while Jerome choked on his drink.

“I don’t know if I ate with my mouth or my nose…”

Jerome muttered, filled with regret.

Thud.

The dinner had been a complete mess.

Whenever Mikhail tried to pick a fight, Natasha would retort without backing down, causing the atmosphere to grow colder and colder.

By the end, Denis even asked if they had left the windows open, as the chill in the room made their hair stand on end and goosebumps rise. It seemed it wasn’t just his imagination.

“How could it have gotten that bad?”

Thud, thud.

Natasha continued their conversation as she moved a chess piece.

“Except for you and Denis, no one really got to eat properly.”

“You mean only you and Mikhail didn’t eat properly.”

“I’m the normal one. You and Denis are just… how should I put it? You lack a bit of humanity.”

Jerome tried to get Denis’ agreement, but he didn’t seem to care at all.

“Umm…”

Dennis sighed as he stared intensely at the chessboard, racking his brain to find a way out of this situation but failing to come up with anything.

“Hey, Dennis!”

“Could you be quiet for a moment, bro? I’m trying to concentrate…”

Jerome looked at him in disbelief.

The idea of just having dinner and leaving was long gone; Dennis was now spending late into the evening playing chess with Natasha.

They’d had dinner, so they had to drink tea; after tea, they felt full, so they took a break; during the break, they got bored, so they started playing chess.

And so, naturally, time flowed until the moon was high in the sky.

Clack.

“If I do this…!”

As soon as Dennis made his move after much thought, Natasha immediately picked up her queen, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Checkmate.”

“Ahhh! No, no! Let’s do it again!”

Dennis pouted, but Natasha was firm. Unless they started a new game, she wasn’t one to take back a move.

“Aren’t you tired of this? You lose every time.”

“If I want to beat Natasha, I need a game that’s completely based on luck. Your skills are still top-notch…”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Natasha took another sip of her now-cold tea. Despite being cold, it had a deep aroma and a clean taste, unlike someone else’s tea.

“How long are you going to keep playing?”

“Just one more game! Is that okay with you, sis?”

Natasha smiled silently and began rearranging the chess pieces on the board.

With her approval, Dennis’s face lit up, while Jerome grimaced, clearly fed up.

“I’m heading to bed first.”

“Oh, are you bored? Should we play something else?”

“No, I’m done. It’s gotten boring. I’m going to sleep.”

Jerome yawned slightly and waved his hand as he left.

“Aren’t you sleepy? Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I’m fine.”

But despite his words, his eyes were full of drowsiness.

Natasha had heard that the Tower imposed a strict schedule on underage wizards.

She’d heard they went to bed at 10 p.m. and woke up at 6 a.m. Being awake this late must be unfamiliar to Dennis, who had been conditioned to such a routine.

‘How long will it take?’

Natasha mentally mimicked the ticking of a clock.

‘An hour?’

She roughly estimated the time and began the chess game again.

Clack.

The first piece to move was a white pawn.

Flip.

As she turned a page in her book, Natasha noticed that Dennis had become unusually quiet.

She glanced over to see him asleep in the same position he’d been in while pondering over the chessboard, his arm propped on the desk.

“Dennis. You should go to bed.”

She whispered to him, but he didn’t budge.

“Dennis.”

She called out a bit louder, but there was no response.

If he slept like that, his back and shoulders would surely ache. Natasha roughly slung Dennis over her shoulder and laid him down on the nearby sofa.

“Mmm…”

He stirred slightly during the process but settled back into steady breathing once on the sofa.

‘…45 minutes.’

He had passed out in less than an hour.

For Natasha, who was used to pulling all-nighters, staying up this late was nothing.

Flip.

As she turned another page, the visitor she had been expecting arrived in the room.

“…Would you like to play a game with me?”

“Of course.”

Natasha set the book she had been reading aside and began rearranging the chess pieces.

The woman sitting across from her was wearing a light dress that could double as nightwear, with a shawl draped over her shoulders.

Her silver-gray hair and red eyes created a unique combination of colors not found anywhere else.

Natasha silently admired her. Perhaps it was because of the overly surreal color palette, but she felt like she was gazing at a painting rather than facing a person.

Chloe Richard. Or rather, Chloe Petrov now.

She was the central figure in this mission.

The ultimate goal that had brought Natasha back to this mansion.

“Shall we start? Will you make the first move?”

“I won’t hesitate. I haven’t played much chess, though.”

Her tone and gestures revealed a well-bred background. The description “elegant lady” suited her perfectly.

She was the complete opposite of Estelle, exuding a dry and somewhat desolate atmosphere.

Clack.

As the chess pieces moved, the consultation began.

“…I knew from the start of our marriage.”

A gloomy light shone in her red eyes.

“That he doesn’t love me, at least.”