Leave the Divorce to a Professional Lawyer

The old man blinked. He kept adjusting his magnifying glasses, focusing intently, but all that came out of his mouth was an ambiguous “Hmmmmm.”

“Sir, what do you think? Does it seem familiar?”

“Well, I don’t know… there are too many customers…”

Another dead end, perhaps.

Natasha let out a small sigh.

‘Where on earth did that bastard Mikhail stay?’

The day Mikhail claimed he was heading to the estate for a survey, she personally went to confirm with the Petrov duchy, only to find that the reports didn’t match up. It seemed he had diverted somewhere else while pretending to head to the estate.

‘I’ve heard the carriage with the duchy’s emblem was seen around here. If it was that late in the day, he must’ve stopped at a nearby inn.’

There’s no way he, a married man, would have openly checked into a place with another woman.

He probably used a fake name and played around with his mistress…

“Another miss?”

“Yeah.”

“We’ve already checked more than ten places. He must have been wearing a robe or something.”

Ivan subtly hinted at giving up, sounding exhausted.

It was indeed like searching for a needle in a haystack.

“Knowing Mikhail, he would have stayed somewhere a bit more proper. Even if he checked in secretly, he’d have to take off his robe while eating.”

But Natasha had her own reasonable assumptions too.

“There aren’t that many places in this town that would meet Mikhail’s standards.”

“How many are left?”

“About twenty or so.”

Ivan’s face immediately showed his dismay.

“Oh, right. Madam, could you take a look at this?”

“Hmm?”

“This guest… I think I might have seen him, but I’m not sure… It’s unclear.”

The old man shoved the photo towards an old woman sitting in a rocking chair behind him. The old woman squinted her tired eyes, focusing on the picture.

“…Ah!”

“Do you recognize him?”

“Well… about three months ago, I think.”

Natasha’s eyes gleamed. That was exactly when Mikhail had lied about going to the estate!

“Ma’am! Do you remember seeing this man three months ago?”

“I think I did… but maybe not? Hmm…”

“Do you happen to have any guest logs or records from back then?”

“Eh, do you think I’d know where to find a log from three months ago?”

That meant there were logs.

Natasha decided to use her last resort.

Clink.

A heavy pouch of gold coins was placed on the table.

“I’m asking for your help.”

Though they were old, they were still merchants. The couple’s eyes changed noticeably.

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all to fetch it.”

“Dear, I’ll go get it.”

The power of money is indeed mighty.

As Natasha sipped on a cold drink that was promptly served to her, she thought as much.

They thoroughly searched the logs from three months ago, but Mikhail’s name didn’t appear. It was an expected outcome since she had suspected he used a pseudonym.

Natasha clicked her tongue in frustration.

“Get up, Ivan.”

“Huh? Oh?”

Ivan, who was half asleep, clumsily woke up, his eyes still heavy with sleep.

“Yaaawn… Can’t we rest a bit before moving?”

“Then you just lie down and sleep.”

As Natasha got up, Ivan reluctantly followed suit.

After staying up all night searching through logs, they were both a mess.

“Where are we going?”

Natasha didn’t answer Ivan’s question and first expressed her thanks to the elderly couple.

“Thank you for your cooperation, sirs. If you need any help in the future, please contact me. You said you might have seen this man, correct?”

“Hmm, probably? I’m not sure.”

“At this age, I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast.”

“And you didn’t see him with anyone?”

“That, I’m not so sure…”

“Are you sure you didn’t see him with a young woman with brown hair?”

The elderly couple only tilted their heads, unable to give a clear answer.

“If anything else comes to mind, please contact me here.”

Natasha left her business card on the table before exiting the inn.

“Why did you leave your card? They don’t even remember clearly, so it’s unlikely they could serve as witnesses.”

Ivan whispered softly as he followed.

“You never know. Human memory can be easily swayed, like a tree bending in the wind.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ivan, do you remember how the ham sandwich tasted from that new sandwich shop we went to last week?”

“Sandwich…?”

Ivan carefully searched his memory. Did that happen?

“For reference, there’s no new sandwich shop, and we didn’t eat any sandwiches recently.”

“What?”

“Even if it’s false, when you ask someone about it, they start searching their memory. People aren’t always sure of their memories. Most of the time, they’re not.”

No one can be entirely certain about the lunch they ate a week ago or the customers from three months ago.

“So, if someone keeps saying, ‘That sandwich was good,’ or ‘How was that sandwich we had?’ they end up creating a new memory while trying to recall the old one. Isn’t that fascinating?”

“Do you think that’ll happen with them? Isn’t that… memory manipulation? If we get caught…”

“Manipulation? What a scary word.”

Natasya let out a small laugh.

“I was just asking, that’s all. ‘Have you ever seen this man with any woman?’”

If she was going to play innocent, there wasn’t much more to say. After all, that’s exactly what she had done.

“I’m not sure. He might not reach out. And if he does, I’ll have to think it over. Without any testimony, it’s not like I’m in a position to be picky. By the way, where’s my pipe?”

“You didn’t bring it?”

“Damn it.”

It seemed she had left her pipe behind. Her head was throbbing from staying up all night, and now she didn’t even have her herbs.

“Ugh…”

“You’re addicted, you know.”

“There’s nothing you won’t say to your sister.”

“Sister, huh.”

Ivan bent slightly to meet Natasya’s gaze.

“Is your head hurting a lot?”

“…Forget it.”

Natasya brushed Ivan off and walked away with determined steps.

“Where are you going?”

“To the center. It’s going to be hard to find clear evidence just poking around.”

“So?”

Natasya replied calmly.

“I’ll have to set a trap.”

This was her area of expertise.

“Something that will leave undeniable evidence.”

The western region was a hub of commerce.

Unlike the east, it didn’t have fertile land, and unlike the south, it wasn’t known for producing many artists or scholars.

However, it wasn’t as barren as the north, so the focus on developing trade early on had paid off.

The Petrov dukedom, holding sway over the west, was deeply connected with merchants.

While it was forbidden to directly run a merchant group, they regularly held meetings with the Merchant Council to discuss various issues.

Now, in place of Nikolai Petrov, the young duke Mikhail was the one engaging with the Merchant Council.

Merchants always pursued their own interests. Though they appeared united under the Merchant Council, silent wars were inevitable within.

Recently, the biggest issue was none other than… the massive merchant group, “Montchan.”

Mikhail had been troubled by them lately.

As the name suggests, this group had started in the east and expanded to the west, intent on devouring small and medium-sized merchants whenever they had the chance.

‘They should know when to stop. Just stop.’

Despite the warnings he subtly issued, their greed led them to eye nearby merchant groups hungrily.

Tap, tap.

Mikhail drummed his fingers on the desk.

‘I want to replace their leader…’

Wasn’t there any opening?

Among the empire’s laws, commercial law was the strictest.

Merchants would often have their own legal advisors, as this law determined whether they could absorb other merchant groups, pay penalties, or nullify contracts.

‘Even when I talk to the legal team, they just say they’re still looking.’

It was beyond frustrating.

At that moment, why did Natasha’s face suddenly flash through his mind?

Mikhail shook his head. That was impossible. To the woman who ruined his family and plunged his father into despair?

‘I’d rather make a deal with the devil…!’

Even as he gritted his teeth, another thought crossed his mind.

‘There was no lawyer as good as Natasha.’

During her time at law school, Natasha had been associated with the Petrov dukedom, so she naturally chose to specialize in western commercial law.

Natasha was particularly skilled at finding loopholes in merchant group regulations and exploiting them. With her around, Petrov had nothing to fear.

‘Noel is a capable lawyer, but… I’m still cautious about giving him a task like this.’

After Natasha abruptly left Petrov, Noel was chosen as her successor.

He was a lawyer from a certain western marquess’s family, and Petrov had cleared his debts and even paid him extra to bring him on board.

Noel was considered the best lawyer in the west after Natasha.

‘I think he’s capable, but…’

His smiling face somehow didn’t inspire confidence. Who knew what was going on in his mind?

As Mikhail’s brow furrowed deeper, there was a knock on his office door.

Knock, knock.

“What is it?”

“Well… Natasha… has come to see you.”

“What?”

Why was she here? Before Mikhail could even ask, Natasha answered from beyond the door.

“Denis invited me. I guess he didn’t tell you?”

“That fool again…”

These reckless siblings were of no help at all!

“Still, with Duke Nikolai absent, I thought I should at least pay my respects to the acting head of the family. Won’t you let me in?”

Natasha asked teasingly. Though he wanted to shout for her to leave immediately, he held back.

No matter what, it would be an insult to Denis if he were rude to a guest his brother had brought.

“Ha… The greeting is enough. You can leave now.”

“I should at least see you before I go.”

“What’s your game now?”

“What game? That’s a harsh way to put it.”

Natasha continued in a subtle tone.

“Didn’t you think I might miss this place too? I’ve been pretending not to care, but being here brings back a lot of memories.”

Her sweet words lured him enticingly.

“…I want us to get along again. Even if not like before, I hope we don’t end up as enemies.”

Her tone was like that of a young girl longing for his affection.

Mikhail found himself curious about the expression on Natalie’s face beyond the door.