The Duke and Duchess' Divorce Circumstances

“Because I need a ‘marriage’.”

 

“Yes. I know that.”

 

How could she be so calm even after knowing the truth? Ray Alexis truly had no intention of getting married, no matter who the other person was. Ramiel added the score to her in his mind.

 

“I understand that Ramiel needs a title, but doesn’t want to get married.”

 

Ramiel’s poker face shook slightly for a moment. With just one word, contract marriage, the ‘witch’ across from him clearly understood his intention. After researching the Leanello family for a few days, he immediately figured out why the company’s recent management situation had begun to improve. Since there was no history of hiring new management experts, it was clear that the lady across from him had participated in the business.

 

‘Things are turning out to be more interesting than expected.’

 

Ramiel felt satisfied. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to take refuge on the terrace from the grand banquet. It’s a miracle that a woman with no intention of getting married existed in Lytham, but he just met someone like that. It was nothing short of a heaven-sent opportunity. Even when he was alone with the woman, there was no particular emotion in her eyes. The compliments people gave him were all that mattered. Moreover, Ray Alexis seemed much more perceptive and smarter than he thought. It was annoying that she came from a poor family, but the person she was now made up for it.

 

In this ‘contract’, Ray-Alexis Leanello was truly a ‘perfect bride’ that could not be found anywhere else.

 

“What I’m curious about is.”

 

He wondered what questions would come out of this woman’s mouth.

 

“Yes, my lady. Please speak.”

 

“This is why you came to me as a contract partner.”

 

Ray Alexis lifted her teacup, slightly moistened her throat, and continued.

 

“As you know, I…”

 

Ramiel expected Ray Alexis to reply that she had no intention of getting married. So he was going to say that that was why he thought of her as a contractor, but something unexpected came out of his partner’s mouth.

 

“My reputation is at a very low level. Didn’t you hear the rumor?”

 

“What is the rumor?”

 

“I’m rude and impolite, that’s what I am!”

 

Ray Alexis began to clearly state the world’s evaluation of herself. A typical example of ‘that’s what a wealthy family is like’, a woman who spoke rudely whenever she opened her mouth, had no manners, no dignity, was like a witch, etc.

 

‘I can’t believe you can talk about yourself so excitedly.’

 

Ramiel laughed out loud. This was his second laugh at her since the last time she said ‘no even a dog will take me’, and it was also his second laugh out loud in his entire life.

 

“Ramiel was not someone like me, but someone like… ah! Caitlyn! You should hang out with a lady like that!”

 

She cursed herself to the fullest, and now she was even standing up for his matchmaking.

 

“I cannot become an impurity in Ramiel’s bright future.”

 

It was an unexpected, even funny reason.

 

“So you won’t get married because of me?”

 

Ray Alexis’ head shook violently up and down. Her actions seemed somewhat desperate, and Ramiel laughed again.

 

“I’m just going to live quietly alone.”

 

It would be noisy in one way or another if she got involved in some way with someone who stands out like Ramiel, but it’s marriage. The repercussions were likely to be large. Ray never wanted to stand out. It wasn’t that her heart wasn’t shaken by the temptation of an incredibly beautiful woman who ignored everything, including her tastes, but her own future was more pressing.

 

“Ramiel, please take a look at the two of us. They are angels and witches. Where else can you find such harmony of extreme evil? Even the hair is black and white. We really don’t get along.”

 

“That’s it.”

 

“What?”

 

“That there will never be any mixing. That will be the main point of the contract.”

 

Ultimately, it was the starting point. Ray’s efforts to appeal to him were in vain. What he wanted was as useless a marriage as possible.

 

‘It’s a useless marriage…’

 

This was what Ray wanted. Marriage to chaff, and divorce. However, the man in front of her is just a big man who couldn’t be called chaff, even if it was empty words. First of all, it seemed like what they both wanted was right. With the topic returning to square one, Ray also decided to take it seriously.

 

“The content of the contract is to deceive people by announcing the marriage, pretending to be married, and ending it when the title is officially inherited. Is this it?”

 

Ramiel also nodded at her accurate diagnosis.

 

“Yes. All you have to do is get engaged to me and pretend to be married on the surface.”

 

The more she heard, the more she wanted. Ray asked, barely able to contain her excitement and trying to remain as calm as possible.

 

“Ramiel gains a title through this contract, but what do I gain from this contract?”

 

This grand banquet was one that Ray’s father, Oscar, should have attended as ‘a person of merit who contributed to the convenience of life for the people of the empire by smoothly supplying oil to enable the expansion of the railroad industry’. However, in order to present Ray to the nobles, he feigned illness and sent his daughter as a substitute. Ray insisted that she would not go, but she had no choice but to attend on behalf of her father, who was in a cold sweat and was sick, saying that such a large event was not possible. Even if the prince had ghostwritten it, since it was a personal letter from the emperor, it was something that could not be avoided unless it was a very serious matter.

 

“I heard that your father is unwell. Has he recovered?”

 

Instead of answering Ray’s question, the other person asked a difficult question.

 

Oscar sent Ray away with the excuse that he was too sick to move. And he was really sick from the emotional burden of lying to the emperor, and only recently recovered. It wasn’t entirely a lie to say that it hurt. Ray took advantage of the opportunity that came her way very well. She wasn’t a bad businessman as she was able to properly expand the rumors that had been spread about rudeness. She went around to the banquet hall where she was sent as a pinch hitter with the intention of smearing her own face, but she had no idea that it would be effective in this way.

 

“Or is he just pretending to recover?”

 

Ray flinched slightly at Ramiel’s words. Oscar’s faking illness was something only her family knew about.

 

“I understand that the young lady is contributing to the family business.”

 

Ramiel, who was trying to threaten him with this fact, passed the topic. This was because he intuitively knew that Ray Alexis would never be swayed by something like this.

 

“Well, me?”

 

Seeing Ray pretending not to notice and ignoring it, Ramiel calmly spoke.

 

“Train between Hella and Kidswell. It’s the young lady’s work, right?”

 

How far was Ruivan’s intelligence? It gave her goosebumps to hear stories that only her family knew from the mouth of someone from a completely unrelated family. The three railway companies, Teldec, Wiman, and Leanello, which were tightly controlling the railway market, were trying hard to connect with Lytham’s capital Ravidon, where all kinds of goods and people were gathered. Among these three companies, Leanello lacked connections, reputation, and resources, so it was particularly difficult to win the right to run the train to the capital, a red ocean. In the beginning, they launched a barrage of volume at low prices, using oil as the main raw material, but as the market overheated, the train usage ranking and market share gradually declined.

 

All railroad companies were focusing only on the railroad project from the city to the capital, and there was a social atmosphere in which this was taken for granted. However, after a while, Leanello withdrew from that and turned his attention not to the capital, but to building a railway connecting Hella and Kidswell. Because there was no precedent, it was unclear whether it would succeed, so it was not a reckless challenge. There was no way that Oscar Leanello, who was extremely timid, could have done that. He could be sure. This was what the lady in front of him achieved.

 

“Like titles, only married people can inherit the family business.”

 

At Ramiel’s words, Ray Alexis’ gaze, which had been fixed on the teacup, turned to his face and eyes.

 

“Job and business. This is what I can get if we sign a contract.”

 

“That’s right, my lady.”

 

Ray Alexis, who had been silent for a moment at the hand that Ramiel had thrown with quite confidence, reacted indifferently. From this, he thought she was a born businessman. Even if you present the conditions you want, never be pleased and respond as calmly as possible to get more. This was the basics of trading, and Ray Alexis did a great job of it. Even against Ramiel Ruivan.

 

“I’m not interested in the family business.”

 

However, Ramiel misunderstood Ray Alexis. Ray had no interest in business. Although her father was frustrated and helped him, she had no intention of taking over the business. She was just afraid that her family would go bankrupt and she would have no money before she went to her hometown, so she was putting up only the bare minimum of defense.

 

“If I had to do something for the family business, it would be hiring a professional manager, not getting married. That will bring the best results.”

 

Ramiel maintained a calm expression, but was embarrassed on the inside. He thought he would get over it easily, but it didn’t work out for him at all. Ravidon’s witch was even more difficult and demanding than the level 1 monster he had the most trouble with in the subjugation battle. He leaned back deeply in his chair, pretending to be relaxed, as if there were other numbers, and calculated furiously in his head. The more they talked, the more he lusted after the woman in front of him. He couldn’t see the ’emotion’ that would be the biggest obstacle to signing a contract, and he liked the fact that she was much smarter than she expected.

 

After Ramiel appeared in aristocratic society, thanks to his strong family, he was able to easily do everything he wanted, unless it was something serious. In particular, his angelic appearance was especially effective in putting others at ease. However, all of this was useless in front of someone who was disillusioned with his family and appearance.

 

‘I have to somehow change that contractor’s mind.’

 

Ramiel was a person who preferred cutting knots rather than untying them. Unraveling something like this was quite a hassle for him. By the time he went ‘directly’ without any attendant, the other person should have already crossed halfway, but that was not the case, so there was something amiss. For the first time in his life, he was racking his brain trying to figure out how to solve this situation.

 

‘I definitely heard voices before I came here…’

 

It was like he was being scolded by his mother. Ramiel’s head quickly rotated.

 

“Lady Alexis, just because of a bad reputation. Do you think you can avoid getting married?”

 

“I’m just going to live quietly alone.”

 

As soon as those words came to mind, Ramiel knew that everything Ray Alexis wanted was contained in that sentence.

 

‘Alone, quietly.’

 

“Is there really a place in Lytham for unmarried people, especially women, to live quietly?”

 

He could see her clenching her fist as if he had caught her off guard.

 

“Once the work is completed, we will help you get out of the capital and live quietly without any interference.”

 

Ray Alexis looked into Ramiel’s eyes. It was as if he was finally trying to hear the terms of the contract properly.

 

“If I am by your side, no one, not even your parents, will be able to easily interfere.”

 

Although it did not give her a title, being a ‘Duchess’ gave her a power that others couldn’t easily control.

 

Ray was surprised by Ramiel’s quick thinking ability. She never once said to herself or anyone else that she was going to leave the capital. Nevertheless, Ramiel said that he would make it happen. The result of what he had inferred from the conversation just now was clear.

 

‘This man didn’t come back from the subjugation battle simply through luck or force.’

 

A sparkle of interest appeared in Ray’s eyes. As she showed her emotions for the first time, Ramiel had an intuition that the current story could work.

 

“Lady Alexis, what concerns you. We’ll take care of that too.”

 

“What am I worried about?”

 

“We will send a safe and trustworthy management expert to your family. Of course, we will pay the compensation here.”

 

Although it was an attractive offer, it was not directly a good deal for Ray herself.

 

“How will you help me escape the capital and live quietly?”

 

Ray asked, meaning, ‘I guess that’s not everything?’

 

“There are several villas owned by the Ruivan family all over Lytham. There are a lot of them that are not known to people. Among them, I will give you a down payment for the place you want.”

 

An unexpectedly large fish was caught. It was a large fish that got into the fishing net of a fisherman who had no intention of catching it.

 

‘A villa for a down payment!’

 

Ray asked, looking forward to what conditions this very large fish would make.

 

“It’s the Ruivan family’s villa in addition to the contract deposit. So what happens when the contract is completed?”

 

“I’ll give you 10 robes.”

 

Silence fell between the two at the unbelievable amount.

 

—————————————————————

Translator Note: