Leave the Divorce to a Professional Lawyer

Leon Illyhad.

As the rightful heir of the royal family symbolized by the golden lion, Leon possessed beautiful golden hair.

He had eyes that shone with a deep green like the plains where lions roam, making it obvious to anyone that he was the crown prince just from his striking appearance.

A ruler who embraced the weak but showed no mercy to the strong—he was a perfect crown prince, as if drawn by hand.

He was leading a flawless life.

That was, until he discovered his fiancée indulging in reckless behavior.

“Hah…”

Their engagement had been arranged when they were children, and soon after, young Lydia had gone abroad, so there were no sentimental memories between them.

In fact, he had nearly forgotten about her over the years, but ever since her return…

‘She’s surrounded by Denis Petrov and Aidan Winchester, both unmarried young lords from ducal families.’

Leon scrutinized the photos spread out across his desk.

They showed Lydia smiling brightly and mingling with other men.

Crack!

No matter how superficial the engagement may have been, watching his fiancée interact with other men was enough to make his stomach turn.

Love? It wasn’t that.

This was a severe blow to the noble pride of Leon Illihad.

“What’s the response?”

“Both have hired divorce attorneys,” his aide replied.

“Even after receiving the lawsuit, Denis Petrov had dinner with Lydia Dorothea.”

“Persistent, isn’t he?”

Leon frowned slightly. Even after being served, he still hadn’t come to his senses.

“And my fiancée?”

“No contact has been made.”

“She’s being quite stiff-necked, isn’t she…?”

He had expected her to come to the prince’s palace, begging for forgiveness by now. But Lydia Dorothea remained a mystery.

“Shall we prepare to break off the engagement?”

“…Bees are naturally drawn to flowers, aren’t they?”

His aide gave him a strange look.

“Of course, it’s an unforgivable sin to have flirted with other men while holding the title of my fiancée. But something valuable is always recognized and coveted, isn’t it?”

What nonsense is he spouting now?

The aide’s expression subtly shifted.

“Indeed, there’s a certain unforgettable charm.”

Leon nodded slightly to himself as he stood alone.

Ever since Lydia’s return, Leon had been meeting her periodically under the pressure of the Emperor and Empress.

Initially, these meetings had been nothing but a nuisance, but now, he found himself… anticipating them, just a little.

“Ahem!”

Anticipating? No, not at all. Leon quickly rejected the thought.

‘She’s a peculiar individual… Yes, I simply want to observe her. I’ve never met anyone like her in my life.’

That boldness—unflinching even in front of a perfect crown prince like him!

While other noble ladies would flutter their fans and send subtle glances with the strong scent of perfume, Lydia focused solely on the dessert in front of her.

It was a disregard like no other.

‘A rose always comes with thorns, doesn’t it?’

Moreover, wasn’t there an unexpected side to Lydia, who had seemed dull?

At a ball not long ago, Lydia accidentally drank a high-alcohol cocktail and became drunk, and then…

…Well, the crown prince, who had been too preoccupied with his duties to notice, got completely…

“Ahem! Ahem!”

“Shall I fetch you some water?”

“No! It’s nothing!”

Just thinking about that incident made his face flush involuntarily.

His aide, who had been looking at him as if he were crazy, soon delivered an important piece of news.

“It’s almost time to meet the Empress. You should prepare.”

Tap, tap, tap.

Her fingernails clicked rhythmically against the tea table.

Thud!

Finally, Leon, with visible discomfort, spoke.

“So, you wanted to talk.”

A mischievous smirk formed on his lips.

“I’m only here out of respect for the Empress. If not for her, we wouldn’t be facing each other like this.”

“I understand, Your Highness.”

Aidan responded stiffly, his face rigid with tension, which only made him more irritating in Leon’s eyes.

‘There’s not even a hint of regret on his face.’

This was truly an unpleasant situation. They were in the middle of a lawsuit over a woman.

And to top it off, one of them was her fiancé, while the other was the adulterer. Aidan couldn’t even lift his head.

“I deeply regret my immature actions that have caused Your Highness such dishonor.”

“Indeed, you should be sorry.”

“I believed it was only right to meet in person and beg for your forgiveness, which is why I requested this meeting. Please, do not be angry.”

“Forgiveness, you say…”

Leon let out a small scoff.

“Does someone seeking forgiveness bring a lawyer with them?”

He muttered quietly, eyeing the woman standing silently behind Aidan. Aidan flinched without realizing it.

“…I only brought her along out of caution, in case I make another mistake. If her presence offends you…”

“No, it’s fine.”

Every word Leon uttered was dripping with irritation. Natasha, the lawyer, bit her lip in silence.

‘So much for dropping the lawsuit.’

It was clear from his ill-tempered nature that the crown prince had no intention of withdrawing the lawsuit.

“So, you specialize in divorce cases, do you?”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

At Leon’s call, Natasha respectfully bowed.

“Defending scoundrels like this must be quite the task. I fear the empire’s morals are slipping.”

“…”

“Well then, tell me. How do others handle men who have flirted with their fiancée?”

Leon’s cold gaze landed on Aidan’s bowed head.

“Do they explode with rage? Yell for them to get lost because they can’t stand the sight of them? Or do they warn them that life won’t be easy from now on?”

Leon looked at Natasha with a curious glint in his eye.

Through her light lemon-colored hair, her clear, ocean-blue eyes shone briefly. Despite facing the crown prince, she showed no sign of nervousness.

“Usually, when facing a lawyer, people don’t threaten to abuse their power.”

Before Leon could even respond, there was a barely suppressed chuckle from his aide in the background.

“Ha.”

“Oh, of course, I wouldn’t think His Highness the Crown Prince is such a person. After all, you are the one and only Crown Prince of the great Illihad Empire. Moreover, I have heard much about your generosity and wisdom.”

Her speech was smooth, as if her tongue had been oiled.

“I only show mercy when it comes to the weak and powerless subjects.”

“Exactly. It is the emperor’s virtue to love and care for all of his people without exception.”

The Crown Prince wasn’t someone who would miss the subtle sarcasm, implying, “Isn’t the second son of Duke Winchester also a subject?”

“How dare you.”

His gaze turned cold and threatening.

“Are you lecturing me on the virtues of monarchy?”

“Of course not. How could I dare? It’s just that with my limited knowledge, that is the only virtue of an emperor I know, so I mentioned it out of necessity.”

Though she lowered herself humbly, her excuse was carefully crafted so as not to be caught in a mistake. It was truly the eloquence of a lawyer.

“…What is your name?”

“It’s Natasha.”

“I’ll remember that.”

His icy gaze lingered on Natasha for a moment before shifting away.

Though he said that, the Crown Prince wasn’t likely to take direct action against Natasha.

He’s not that kind of person.

Arrogant and conceited, yes, but he wasn’t the type of trash who would abuse his power to crush others.

Besides, she’s used to dealing with tough situations.

Adding one more enemy like Natasha wasn’t a big deal, as the royal family wasn’t part of her potential clientele anyway.

It seems like he has no intention of breaking off the engagement.

Lydia’s conduct was more than enough to disqualify her as the crown princess, but the Holy Empire was involved in royal engagements and marriages.

One of the pillars of the Illihad Empire was “faith,” specifically the Berdio religion, which worshipped the god Varda.

In Berdioism, marriage was seen as the binding of souls, so the Kingdom of Berdin always served as a witness in royal marriages.

Naturally, according to the traditional doctrine of Berdioism, divorce was equivalent to the destruction of the soul… Therefore, the Kingdom of Berdin applied very strict standards to royal divorces.

Of course, the Kingdom of Berdin would have no choice but to allow a divorce if she’s been involved with other men, but it would still give them an excuse to interfere.

The idea of a great empire being swayed by a mere religious state was already unpalatable, so why offer them an opportunity to reaffirm their influence by begging for a divorce?

Considering all these factors, no matter how dirty and unpleasant it was, breaking off the engagement wasn’t an option.

As the icy exchange between Natasha and the Crown Prince ended, Aidan, who had been momentarily forgotten, spoke up.

“Your Highness, please hear me out. I truly didn’t know that Miss Lydia was your fiancée…!”

“Do you expect me to believe that?”

He didn’t know that Lydia Dorothea was the future crown princess? That a member of the great Winchester ducal family wasn’t aware? It was pure nonsense.

“It’s true! Miss Lydia… She didn’t reveal her surname and only gave me her first name, so I… I thought she was a commoner.”

So that’s how Aidan, who looked like an upright knight, had gotten involved in this mess. In the end, it must have been Lydia’s scheme.

“You thought she was a commoner? Surely you could tell from her appearance that she was from a wealthy family.”

“I thought she was the only daughter of a rich merchant.”

“The excuses keep piling up.”

When Leon put his teacup down with a loud clink, Aidan flinched.

“We’ll see in court whether that’s true or not. If it is, you’ll be acquitted anyway, so what’s the problem?”

“Your Highness, with all due respect, I am about to take the Royal Knights’ entrance exam…”

But Leon didn’t even blink.

“And?”

“Pardon?”

“Am I supposed to take all these circumstances into account? Whether you intended it or not, you’ve caused me significant emotional distress.”

“…”

“If your future in the Royal Knights is at stake, then I can’t just let this slide. If you enter through such methods, it defeats the purpose of having entrance qualifications in the first place, doesn’t it?”

Leon’s argument was irrefutable, and Aidan fell silent.

“If that’s all you came to say, then you may leave now.”

Leon rose from his seat, dismissing him.

“I hope we won’t have to meet like this again.”

At those words, Aidan hung his head. It was the despair of a young man watching his dreams slip away right before his eyes.