It’s a common story. That’s just how it usually goes with marriages among the nobility.
Noble marriages based on love are extremely rare.
Most people married someone of an appropriate family if the conditions were right and built a family that looked respectable enough.
In fact, it wasn’t particularly surprising for nobles to have lovers on the side.
Because while God only allowed one official partner, monogamy was the rule, but there were no restrictions on the number of secret lovers.
So, in truth, it wasn’t all that surprising that Mikhail had a lover besides his wife.
“It’s not uncommon to have a mistress behind the scenes.”
“I know. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt me.”
“Do you want a divorce?”
“Let’s just say yes.”
It meant there were other reasons as well. However, Natasha didn’t press the client, respecting her wishes.
“Do you have any solid evidence?”
Clack.
“I can gather a few letters they exchanged.”
Clack.
“That’s not enough… Do you know who the mistress is? Her name or family?”
Clack.
The chess pieces moved swiftly.
For someone who claimed not to play often, Chloe was quite skilled.
Clack.
“…I know. Probably.”
“If you tell me, I can assign someone to follow them. If we catch them meeting in secret, it could be useful. And it would be better if you could secretly collect a few more letters.”
“It’s no use.”
Chloe responded coldly.
“She’s a professional manager. That woman.”
“What? Oh…”
Natasha bit her lower lip lightly. This made the situation more complicated.
Nobles who wield significant influence in the political sphere prefer to reside in the capital rather than their own territories. This led to the creation of the ‘professional manager’ system.
Hiring a competent professional manager to run one’s estate smoothly was also a widely known method recently.
Naturally, they were in a position where they frequently exchanged letters and held conversations with the owner of the estate.
“They meet regularly every month, and they exchange love letters disguised as reports. It’s hidden pretty well, so it’s not easy to notice.”
“…What made you so sure it was an affair?”
Clack.
“You’re not married, are you?”
It was an abrupt question.
But it was a fated question for a divorce attorney. Sometimes clients doubted Natasha’s qualifications simply because she had never been married.
Though she never understood why it mattered.
“Yes. I’m single.”
“Although it wasn’t a marriage for love, when you become a couple, you share a lot. There were times when I tried to get along with Mikhail. Even without trying, we’ve spent a lot of time together.”
Mikhail and Chloe had been married for about two years. It could be seen as both a short and long time.
“You just know, Attorney. You just know.”
Chloe’s voice turned self-deprecating.
“Because I know him well, it hurts even more.”
“You haven’t seen direct evidence, have you?”
“No, I haven’t.”
While Natasha was thinking that this case might not actually be about infidelity, Chloe continued.
“But when he meets her, he comes home late, dresses more carefully, the atmosphere is soft, and his tone changes. There’s an unfamiliar perfume smell… and flipped underwear. That’s enough.”
Clack.
It was checkmate.
Chloe’s knight was positioned in front of Natasha’s king.
“Were you just being modest earlier? You’re quite skilled. I lost.”
“I should be the one saying that. You’re quite the skilled host at chess.”
“Did you notice?”
“I saw the chessboard before it was cleared away.”
Despite knowing that Natasha had let her win, Chloe’s face remained unchanged.
“Oh. My introduction was late. I’m a divorce attorney, Natasha. Feel free to call me Natasha.”
“Chloe… Richard.”
She uttered “Richard” instead of “Petrov.”
“I want to get divorced as soon as possible. Is it possible?”
“The quickest way is mutual consent divorce. But I’m not sure if Mikhail will agree… If not, it will go to court.”
“How long does the trial take?”
“If it drags, about two months.”
“That’s too long.”
For the first time, Chloe revealed her emotions.
Her eyes darted nervously. It was the moment when the seemingly well-made doll of a woman came to life.
“Other than mutual consent, there’s no other way. Especially without definitive proof of the affair.”
“If I have proof?”
“Mikhail would likely propose a mutual consent divorce first. He would know that dragging it out would only harm him.”
If Natasha knew Petrov’s lawyer, they would definitely take that route.
Just thinking about that sly smile made her feel sick.
“Fine. Then I’ll need to get that ‘definitive proof.’ I’ve heard that they wouldn’t hesitate to sneak into the house. Is that possible?”
“If necessary, absolutely. But in this case, sneaking into the mansion doesn’t seem like the smartest choice.”
If waiting here could catch the evidence of the affair, Natasha would stay silent for days, but…
“…Do you have a connection with Petrov?”
It seemed Claude had informed her to that extent.
“Yes. And as you said, he’s ‘thorough.’ It seems even the maids in this mansion don’t know, so I don’t think sneaking in will reveal any evidence.”
If the maids had known, Nikolai Petrov, the head of the Petrov family, would have already known as well.
‘If Nikolai knew… he wouldn’t have just left it be.’
A hollow laugh escaped her lips, but anyway, that was the case. Jerome and Dennis showed no signs of knowing either.
‘Madame Olga should have an eye and ear in this mansion, but she seemed unaware as well.’
It meant Mikhail was being very careful, even to the extent that the maids didn’t know. In a way, it was typical of Mikhail.
“Then what do we do?”
“Well… They don’t meet often, do they?”
“They officially meet once a month, but it seems like they meet at least once every two weeks.”
“Where do they meet officially?”
“That woman comes to this mansion.”
As she expected.
There are eyes watching even within this house, but at least they can be controlled.
With Mikhail being so cautious, he likely didn’t take her around to different places.
“Proving infidelity is more difficult than you’d think. The most certain evidence would be proof of a sexual relationship… but if that’s not possible, a conversation or photo that makes them look like lovers could suffice. But those can easily be explained away.”
“It’s especially difficult to prove when it’s a relationship tied to work.”
In a previous trial, they presented a poorly taken photo of a mere shoulder pat as evidence, and we spent an entire day arguing about it.
‘This part often divides opinions depending on the judge.’
Luckily, the judge at that time was somewhat conservative and had traditional views on male-female relationships, which worked in our favor.
“Do they only meet in the office? Even on the day when… their underwear was turned inside out?”
“I only witnessed it once.”
Chloe recounted what she saw with a very calm demeanor.
“It happened when something urgent came up in the estate, and he said he needed to go there himself. He left and returned after about four days… and that’s when I noticed. I don’t even know if he really went to the estate.”
“How was his outfit?”
“It was something I had never seen before. But he could have bought something new.”
“…When exactly was this?”
Natasha’s eyes lit up. This was a good chance to get some solid evidence.
***
Dennis whined, burying half of his face into Natasha’s shoulder.
“Are you leaving already? At least have lunch with me…”
“I have to go to work. Even though I’m the boss.”
“Can’t you just take the day off?”
“No.”
When she firmly refused, Dennis leaned even more heavily on Natasha, practically melting into her.
With his massive frame of over 180 cm leaning on her, Natasha found it hard to breathe from the pressure.
“Hey, what are you doing!”
Just in time, Jerome rushed over and pulled Dennis off her.
“He still thinks he’s ten years old! He needs to be aware of his size!”
“That’s so mean.”
Dennis looked like he was about to cry, but Natasha felt like she had narrowly escaped death.
“You’re going to visit again, right?”
“Mikhail’s going to raise a fuss.”
“Who cares.”
It wasn’t exactly something to be said with a carefree smile. The more she thought about it, the more Natasha realized how strange he was.
“I’ll come if I have time. Oh, here’s my business card.”
Natasha rummaged through her coat and handed him a card.
“It has my office address. Drop by if you feel like it. But don’t come too often.”
“Really? I wanna go, I wanna go! I’ll come every day!”
“If you come every day, I’ll lock the door and not let you in.”
Watching Dennis jump around with joy, Natasha suddenly regretted it deeply.
She could already feel the exhaustion creeping up just thinking about how annoying he would be if he visited often.
“Can I go today?”
“Not today.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m going on a business trip.”
Natasha replied shortly. To be precise, she was about to head out to gather evidence for Mikhail’s successful divorce.
As Natasha was preparing to leave, someone happened to come in.
“Oh.”
The person let out a small exclamation.
His silver hair, with a hint of blue, swayed slightly as his clear gray eyes looked at her intently.
He smiled brightly at Natasha.
“Natasha!”
“…Noel.”
“What brings you here?”
“I came to see Dennis and do a few other things. What about you?”
“I’m on my way to report to the young duke. I see the young lords are here as well.”
Noel scanned the room with a fresh smile.
He was a man with a dazzling appearance. More fitting to be called a beauty than a handsome man.
Yes, it was Noel. Simply Noel, without a surname.
A fellow lawyer of commoner origin like Natasha, and the chief of the legal team for the Petrov family.
If Natasha took on Mikhail’s divorce case, this man would be standing on the opposite side.
“Today’s starting off well, seeing Natasha in the morning.”
Natasha unknowingly rubbed her arms at his cheesy line.
“Ugh. That’s creepy.”
“I can hear you, you know~.”
“That’s why I said it.”
Natasha let out a deep sigh on purpose.
“Aren’t you tired of it by now? We’ve been doing this since law school.”
“Huh? Tired? What are you talking about? You’re new every time I see you.”
Anyone hearing this might misunderstand, but Natasha swore she had no feelings for Noel whatsoever.
They had just studied together at the national Ilihad Law School and had a tedious rivalry, constantly competing for the top spot.
That manner of speech was merely a tool Noel skillfully used because he was well aware of his own looks.
Knowing this made Natasha’s expression even colder.
‘Yeah. My opponent is Noel.’
Natasha knew better than anyone that he was a formidable adversary.
“Anyway, I’m leaving now.”
“Bye, sis~.”
“You’re leaving already? That’s a shame.”
Natasha started walking away and raised both hands.
She waved her left hand at Dennis and raised her middle finger with her right.
She could hear Noel chuckling behind her.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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