Leave the Divorce to a Professional Lawyer

“Hey, what about Their Imperial Majesties, the Emperor and Empress?” Natasha asked, though there were countless other questions she wanted to raise.

“I’ve explained everything to them. They seemed a bit puzzled, but as long as the child can be registered under my name, they didn’t seem to care.”

The Emperor must have lost his mind. Natasha began to seriously worry about the future of the Illyhad Empire.

The fact that the Emperor allowed this, and the Crown Prince seemed triumphant over it. These were the people responsible for the future of the empire?

As a citizen, she felt utterly hopeless.

“Lydia has already given her consent.”

“What?”

Not long ago, Lydia had said she didn’t need a husband. What changed?

Lydia flashed a bright smile in response to Natasha’s confused expression.

“He’s handsome.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Looks can’t be bought. And if they could, it would be less fun.”

“Right.”

Regardless of Lydia’s sudden shift in values, there was no denying that the Crown Prince, Aiden, and Dennis were all quite handsome.

“It’ll be good for prenatal education, too.”

“Of course.”

Leon eagerly nodded in agreement, leaving Natasha a bit dumbfounded. She couldn’t think of anything more to add, so she just nodded.

“Yes, that’s how it is… Congratulations.”

“I’ll send you a wedding invitation later, so make sure to attend. It may be a humble occasion, but since you looked after my wife, I’ll make sure you’re well compensated.”

“Your Grace, I am deeply grateful.”

Natasha’s eyes gleamed with thoughts of gold coins. As she pondered how to make the most out of the royal treasury, the Crown Prince reached out to Lydia.

“Let’s go, back to the palace.”

Lydia took his hand without hesitation.

If this were still a game, the words “Happy Ending” would probably be flashing above her head. At least, that’s what Lydia thought to herself.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Of course not.”

“What if the child isn’t yours?”

Denis, despite Natasha’s scolding, remained unbothered.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“What?”

“We all agreed not to do a paternity test. All three of us consented. So, it doesn’t matter whose child it is.”

Whatever conversation they had amongst themselves must have been intense. But Denis sounded resolute. Natasha hoped that they wouldn’t change their minds once the child was born.

“I’ve also accepted my duties and responsibilities as a father. I plan to fulfill them. I’m already excited to see which one of us the child will call ‘dad’ first.”

“…Alright then. Good luck with that.”

Denis, who usually had an “I don’t care” attitude, looked happier than Natasha had ever seen him.

“At the end of the day, if he’s satisfied, that’s all that matters. It’s not like I have any right to interfere,” Natasha thought.

Denis was an adult, after all. There was no reason for her to meddle in such matters.

“Did Madam Olga have anything to say?”

“She said it’s much better than shirking responsibility after making a mess.”

Well, that’s true.

“If you say so.”

“Oh, I also got the wedding invitation. Are you going?”

“Why would I go?”

That kind of gathering would be crawling with nobles. There was no place for a commoner lawyer like her.

“Why not? Miss Lydia hopes you’ll attend.”

“I’ll pass. Besides, those kinds of events always require a partner.”

“I’m going with Mother.”

Of course, the Petrov family couldn’t miss the union of the royal family and the Dorothea family.

Originally, Mikhail should’ve gone, but it seemed he hadn’t returned to his duties yet.

“Why isn’t Jerome going?”

“Jerome’s not doing so well either. He hasn’t left his room. Didn’t you have a fight with him?”

“Oh…”

– Jerome, you and I are not sitting together, eating side by side, don’t get the wrong idea.

– So, once again, I’m fine. No matter what strange misunderstandings you have about me.

Their last meeting had been rather tense. But would that really cause him to shut himself away? It seemed a bit of an overreaction.

Seeing Natasha’s puzzled expression, Dennis smiled softly.

“Jerome didn’t find a partner either, apparently.”

“I thought you said he wasn’t well?”

“He’ll probably be fine to attend with you.”

Why was Denis so confident about that? Natasha felt exasperated, but at the same time, she figured that attending with Jerome would be less stressful.

‘If I show up at the wedding, it’ll make it easier to get something out of the Crown Prince later.’

She hadn’t forgotten his promise of a handsome reward.

Seeing her indecision, Dennis gently nudged her again.

“It won’t be so bad, will it? You already know the proper etiquette, and you practiced dancing with Jerome, right?”

“Well, the height difference was perfect when we learned how to dance…”

When she was learning social dancing, Mikhail had been too tall, and Dennis had been too short.

So, in the end, Jerome had been her partner for a long time while they practiced, which meant they had built up a good rhythm together.

“It’d be nice to see you both dance the Drishe Waltz again…”

“There you are.”

Suddenly, someone cut into their conversation. A shadow appeared under the canopy, shielding them from the scorching sun. An uninvited guest had arrived.

It was a man with his long black hair loosely tied back and dressed in much lighter clothing than before. Sweat glistened on his stern face.

“Lord Winchester. What brings you here?” Natasha quickly stood up and greeted him with respect. Denis also hurriedly bowed.

“It’s been a while, Miss Natasha. I was planning to contact you and arrange a meeting, but when you didn’t respond, I decided to come in person.”

“Oh… On foot?”

The Duke himself? On foot?

“I rode here until the entrance. But since the crowd here is so large, I thought my horse might get startled, so I left it a little further away.”

Is this the northern way? Natasha wanted to ask why he didn’t use a carriage, but then realized that such things probably weren’t common in the rugged northern regions.

“Well, it’s lucky we ran into each other. I was just having tea with a close friend. Is it urgent?”

Carlos Winchester’s gaze quickly scanned Denis. He recognized him immediately.

“Denis Petrov. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“…Carlos Winchester. You’re, uh, my sister’s…”

Their relationship was complicated enough that Carlos swallowed his words. He is his brother’s lover —just thinking about it was a mess.

“I didn’t realize you two were close.”

“The Petrov family and I have a long-standing connection.”

“Is that so?”

It seemed that Carlos didn’t even know that Natasha had grown up with the young masters at the Petrov duchy.

“Well, that makes the conversation easier. Did you also receive an invitation, Miss Natasha?”

“Yes, I did.”

“As you know, I was born and raised in the north, so I don’t have many connections in the capital. The evening party requires a partner, and I’m in quite a bind because of it.”

Denis’s eyes briefly flashed sharply.

‘Oh, look at this?’

When did things get this tangled?

“If you haven’t found a partner yet, Miss Natasha, would you like to go with me?”

“…I appreciate the offer, but I think there might be a more suitable lady for you, Duke.”

The idea of being the Duke of Winchester’s partner was unappealing. Being in such a noticeable position was far from her liking.

Besides the difference in their statuses, the number of noble ladies eyeing this currently single duke was overwhelming. It would be troublesome to create unnecessary discord and become a target of disdain among the nobles.

“To be honest, I’m not particularly sociable…”

“Hmm, I see.”

It certainly seemed that way.

“Although my brother is not the main focus, he has sworn to devote his life to that woman. This will likely be the last time anyone sees him in a tuxedo.”

Aidan didn’t seem like the type to enjoy attending parties either. As Denis pleaded with her, even mentioning his brother, Natasha felt her resolve weakening slightly.

‘Well, it’s true… When will I ever see Denis dressed up like that again? He probably won’t be getting married anytime soon either…’

Thinking that way, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

“…I’ll think about it a bit more.”

“Just let me know by the day before the wedding.”

It didn’t seem like he was considering any other partner.

Carlos then politely left after giving her the address to send a letter and his communication crystal number.

Denis, who had watched the entire exchange, hummed softly.

“Don’t get any strange ideas.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“There’s nothing between the Duke and me.”

“I didn’t say anything, did I?”

Yet, there was a subtle smile playing on his lips.

Natasha sighed deeply and decided to explain a few things to him.

“He was a former client of mine.”

“Wow, he’s a divorcee?”

“Well, you could call it a divorce… but it’s a bit complicated.”

“Why?”

Since it was a client’s story, Natasha carefully chose her words. After all, it was a story everyone knew with a little digging.

It was the infamous case where the pride of the great Winchester family had been wounded.

“The Duke of Winchester’s fiancée, or rather, his ex-wife, was the daughter of a noble family that wielded considerable power in the north… It was a typical arranged marriage.”

“And?”

“It seems she wasn’t too happy about it. I heard she had quite a fiery personality.”

“Aha, so they got divorced right after the wedding?”

Such cases weren’t unheard of in the capital either. Sometimes, people were so infatuated with a lover that they made such choices, even if it led to a scandal.

“If only it were that simple.”

Had that been the case, the Duke of Winchester would have just lost a bit of face.

“She ran away on their wedding day.”

A complete no-show by the bride.

The Winchester family had planned a grand wedding to welcome the new mistress of the north, inviting an enormous number of guests… only to be utterly humiliated.

“Wow, that’s rough.”

“Right? But the real kicker is that they had already registered their marriage before the ceremony, so they were legally a couple.”

“What? Then what happened?”

The empire’s laws were very conservative when it came to annulment. The vows made before God in marriage were not taken lightly.

Even though the bride disappeared on the wedding day, the marriage was made in mutual agreement at the time of registration, so naturally, the annulment was denied.

“That’s how he became my client.”

Among the six grounds for divorce legally recognized, there was this clause:

“If the spouse’s whereabouts are unknown for more than three years, a divorce can be filed without the other party’s consent.”

“Three years? That’s a long time.”

“Yeah, three years. After five years of being missing, they can file for a declaration of death, and the marriage can be dissolved.”

However, if the spouse were later found alive, the marriage would automatically be reinstated.

“Would you want to get married again after being betrayed like that?”

Natasha finished confidently.

“He’s just really grateful because I helped him during a tough time.”

“Well… if you say so.”

Denis nodded, though he didn’t seem entirely convinced.