Leave the Divorce to a Professional Lawyer

As Estelle’s maids behind her held their breath with horrified expressions, Estelle alone confidently held her head high.

Natasha glanced at Claude’s complexion.

As expected, his face had turned icy.

It was as if the soft expression he had worn earlier, influenced by Estelle’s spring-like atmosphere, had been a lie.

“That can’t happen.”

“Your position is secure now. Getting a divorce from me won’t shake it.”

So that’s what it was—Claude’s contract marriage with Estelle must have served this purpose.

‘With the wealth of the Blanche Count family, it would have been a great help in securing his position as heir.’

Although Claude Richard was undoubtedly the only legitimate heir of the Richard Duchy, he wasn’t the only child of the Richard family.

Seeing Claude’s gaze deepen, Natasha felt an ominous premonition.

‘Men who look like that… things don’t usually end well.’

It was a lesson learned through long experience.

A man who obsesses will make life difficult even after a divorce!

And in Natasha’s eyes, Claude was exactly that type of obsessive man.

‘It’s obvious.’

In this dreary duchy, Estelle would have been a shining presence to anyone.

“If it’s about the family fortune, I can give you half as alimony…”

Is she crazy?

Natasha instinctively raised her head.

‘Who would give away half of their gold mines as alimony?!’

But Estelle was quite serious. She sincerely thought that since she would be leaving for another country, she didn’t care about the gold mines.

‘I can’t take them with me anyway, so why bother?’

Her parents might find it a bit absurd.

‘But it’s better than having everything taken away in a hasty escape, right?’

It was a fantastic calculation.

Estelle thought it was a rather reasonable offer.

Since Claude had now secured his position as Duke, he no longer needed her, and anyone would be tempted by half of the Blanche Count’s mines.

Maybe Claude, who had firmly refused a divorce, secretly wanted this all along. Perhaps she had misunderstood when he indirectly hinted at raising the stakes.

However, contrary to her faint hope, Claude only stared at her in silence.

“Do you really want to divorce me that badly?”

“Pardon?”

“No. Let’s pretend this conversation never happened.”

He suddenly stood up. The beautiful glass garden no longer held any allure for him.

As he strode outside, he abruptly turned back.

Estelle remained frozen in her seat.

“Do you remember why I forbade you from entering this garden?”

“…Because you often walk here, and you didn’t want to run into me…”

Tsk.

Claude clicked his tongue softly.

“On the day you were first invited to my sixteenth birthday party, do you really not remember what happened in this garden?”

Estelle couldn’t immediately respond.

However, the troubled expression on her face answered for her.

“Never mind.”

Claude turned away. The expression he showed just before turning around lingered in her memory for a long time.

“…Why that expression?”

The face of a wounded boy.

Was it because of that expression, or the shock of being rejected for a divorce once more?

“Hah…”

Estelle tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

‘I can’t take it. I’m too restless. Maybe I should go for a walk…’

With that thought, Estelle got out of bed and sat on its edge. Since all the lights were out, she lit the lamp by her bedside.

“My lady.”

“Kyaa! Mm! Mmph!”

As soon as she lit the lamp and the room brightened, a figure suddenly appeared, and Estelle screamed involuntarily.

Bang!

“What happened?!”

The guard waiting outside hurriedly rushed in.

But what he saw was only Estelle, in her nightgown, sitting on the bed, and the lamp that had fallen to the floor.

“Oh… I’m sorry. I dropped the lamp, and it startled me…”

“Thank goodness it didn’t break. I’ll pick it up for you.”

“No, no! It’s fine!”

Estelle quickly stopped him.

Before he could say anything, she picked up the lamp and placed it back on the bedside table.

“All set now? I’m fine.”

“…Yes. Then, please rest well.”

Despite his lingering doubts, the knight closed the door and left.

“Phew.”

As soon as the door shut, Estelle let out a sigh of relief.

“Honestly… I thought my heart was going to stop.”

At her words, someone crawled out from under Estelle’s bed.

Bright lemon-blonde hair gleamed in the light.

“The Duchess’s room is clean, even under the bed. I have to commend the maids for their excellent work.”, Natasha replied casually.

A visitor at night turning out to be a lawyer instead of an assassin—Estelle didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“How did you even get here? No, did you actually get a job as a maid in the Duke’s household?”

“As you can see.”

Natasha slightly lifted her maid uniform.

“I was already shocked when we met earlier…! How did you get in? Is that even possible? What about the security in the Duke’s household…?”

“Well, it’s a basic skill for any lawyer. But that’s not the point.”

Estelle was confused, wondering, ‘Since when did “lawyer” become synonymous with “assassin”?’

Natasha was so nonchalant that Estelle began to think that maybe it was standard for lawyers to learn stealth techniques.

“You mean the Duke Richard.”

“Oh! Right. You heard? Is there any way I can convince my husband to agree to a divorce?”

“No. It seems you’ll have to take it to court.”

“What?!”

Natasha recalled the melodrama she had just witnessed between Claude and Estelle.

Hmm. No matter how she thought about it, Claude didn’t seem like the type to let her go easily.

“When did you first bring up the idea of divorce?”

“Well… about two months ago. Since the contract was nearing its expiration, I mentioned that we should start preparing for a divorce.”

“And how did he react?”

“He seemed a bit surprised. It looked like he had forgotten because he’s been so busy with work.”

Natasha grabbed her throbbing head. That didn’t seem like the real issue.

“When did the prenuptial agreement disappear?”

“I don’t know the exact time. I checked about a month ago just in case, and it was gone.”

“It’s likely he stole it right after you mentioned the divorce.”

Estelle didn’t deny the possibility.

“What should I do? Can I get the contract back?”

“Maybe hiring an assassin…”

“No way! If the male lead dies, the ending would be… Hmm, that’s not it! Anyway, we’d both be executed if we’re caught.”

Estelle said something strange again, but Natasha pretended not to notice.

Among her clients, there were often people whose minds wandered like this.

Since Estelle was planning a divorce because she claimed to have seen a future where she died, she wasn’t much different from them.

“Is there no other way? What if you searched Claude’s study, Natasha…?”

“What? I’m not an assassin. It’s impossible for a lawyer to do that.”

Estelle had a lot to say but bit her tongue.

“You managed to get into my room, but you can’t do that?”

“It’s probably in the study’s safe or another private space. How am I supposed to open that? My lady, that’s beyond my authority.”

“So, I’m just supposed to die?”

Estelle’s face fell into a look of despair.

She sincerely believed that staying in her marriage would lead to her death.

“This is serious.’

Natasha felt pity for Estelle.

‘That poisoning attempt must have affected her brain.’

Otherwise, how could someone change so completely? There must have been some brain damage.

Having a mental illness as a side effect wasn’t all that surprising.

“I can’t open that safe, but the Duke can, right?”

There was a common solution.

“You need to make him take out the contract himself.”

“Make him…?”

“Yes. So, can you tell me everything you know? What was that story about his sixteenth birthday party?”

Estelle didn’t seem to remember, but it appeared to be something quite meaningful to Claude.

If she could use Claude’s feelings for Estelle, it might open a path.

“I really don’t remember! I have no idea what he was talking about.”

“If you don’t know, who would? Didn’t you bring a maid with you that day? You wouldn’t have come to the Duke’s mansion alone.”

“Maybe Marie was with me…”

“Marie?”

“The maid who was with me earlier. She has brown hair that reaches about here.”

Estelle gestured around her shoulder area. Natasha thought she understood.

Wasn’t that the maid who gave her a suspicious look when Natasha tried to join them?

“She’s been with me since the Blanche Count’s household. Marie might know.”

“Alright. Ask her later, and if you find out anything, let me know. Is there anything else you can think of?”

“Like what?”

“When did the Duke fall for you?”

Estelle froze at that.

She stared at Natasha with her mouth agape.

“F-F-Fall for me?!”

“?”

What was this reaction?

As Natasha stood in bewilderment, Estelle hastily tried to explain.

“That can’t be! Claude just started treating me like a person because he noticed I’ve changed a bit, not because he lo…ves me or anything like that…”

“What? No, he seems completely smitten with you.”

“No way!”

It was so obvious that anyone with eyes could see it, but she had no clue.

However, Natasha remembered that Estelle’s mind was slightly flawed and quickly accepted it.

“Okay, sure. Let’s say that’s true. Then when did the Duke start treating you like a person?”

“I’m telling you, that’s not it.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Muttering in frustration, Estelle eventually began answering Natasha’s question.

“I don’t know exactly. When he took the prenuptial agreement, he still looked at me like I was an insect…”

The memory made her feel indignant again.

For Estelle, it was like waking up from a long sleep only to be struck by the harsh reality.

Being blamed for something she didn’t do was utterly humiliating. But Estelle knew she had to move on.

If she crumbled here, it would truly be the end.

‘I have to go back.’

She had to see this novel’s ending, where it says, ‘And the FL and the ML lived happily ever after.’