The Duke and Duchess' Divorce Circumstances

Ray frowned at the sunlight pouring down on her face and turned her head.

 

‘I played by the window again the night before and slept without the curtains closed.’

 

“Ugh. It’s dazzling.”

 

As she was about to tuck herself into the blanket, even with her closed eyes, she could feel the light shining on her face disappear. The story was that someone had closed the curtains.

 

‘Did Pianna come to the room early in the morning to play?’

 

A moment when Ray was thinking in her sleep.

 

“My lady.”

 

She was taken out of her sleep by the unfamiliar voice of her softly calling someone.

 

“W-Who are you… ah. My God. Right. Rosa, hello. Hello, Anna too.”

 

It was the first morning in Ruivan. Rosa, the dedicated maid who was introduced last night, was calling out to Ray by the curtains.

 

“I’m sorry for waking you up while you were sleeping. The master is worried about you. You skipped breakfast, but I thought you should eat lunch, so I was rude.”

 

Ray tilted her head at Anna’s words.

 

“…Lunch?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She got out of bed and asked Rosa to reopen the curtains in her room.

 

Sigh.

 

The midday sun was shining beyond the curtain. She somehow felt like she slept well, but she guessed it was because she slept a lot. It seemed that touring the mansion, which lasted an entire day, was quite difficult.

 

‘Well, the house should have been usually big.’

 

In addition, she had to listen to an explanation of the decorations and symbols of the Ruivan mansion and its history. It was truly a harsh reporting ceremony. Last night, after dinner, she returned to her room, took a bath, bit the maids, whined, barely pushed the heavy sofa in front of the door, and collapsed on the bed. As soon as her head touched the bed, she seemed to have literally fainted and fallen asleep.

 

“Oh my, why is this here?”

 

Rosa, who saw a heavy sofa placed in front of the door dividing the couple’s room, worked with Anna to return it to its original place. That was Ray’s own safety device. A defensive shield was put up in case Ramiel came in at night. Since the door didn’t lock from this side, she had no choice but to add this physical device.

 

“Did you leave it there on purpose?”

 

Anna asked, looking at Ray’s slightly embarrassed eyes.

 

“Oh, um, that. Yesterday, so…”

 

To the people in the mansion, the two people were thought to be in a passionate relationship. She could never say that she had placed something as heavy as she could move to block the man in the next room.

 

“I was talking to Ramiel at night. I wanted to hear his voice better!”

 

It was a strange excuse. They were planning to become a couple soon, so wasn’t it okay to do it in one room, or even in one bed?

 

“What a story all night long. I guess that’s why you woke up late.”

 

Rosa was deceived by this harsh answer. Maybe she was just pretending to be deceived, but in any case, the crisis was roughly overcome. Ray sighed internally in relief and nodded her head furiously.

 

“Ray.”

 

At that time, the middle door burst open and Ramiel appeared.

 

‘That door opens toward Ramiel’s room.’

 

Push from the room where Ray was and pull from where Ramiel was. So moving the sofa last night was a mistake.

 

“Oh my, I can’t believe you’re still in bed.”

 

Anna, who was close to Ramiel’s words, whispered softly in Ray’s ear.

 

“Master was waiting for you in the morning.”

 

The question ‘Why are you waiting for me?’ appeared in her mind and was quickly erased. Since she and he were a prospective couple who were tied together through ‘love,’ she had to act convincingly inside her mansion.

 

“I couldn’t wake up because I was tired.”

 

“I know. Ray was sleeping soundly, so I told them to leave you alone.”

 

As Ramiel approached Ray, the two maids quickly moved out of the way. And as soon as the two of them were left alone in the room, the faint smile on Ramiel’s face seemed to have been washed away.

 

“I’ll go out after changing my clothes, Ramiel, eat first.”

 

“Aren’t you embarrassed to be in your pajamas?”

 

It was a white one-piece pajamas. The fabric was thin, so the silhouette was a little visible when viewed in a bright place, but it wasn’t embarrassing because it was a plain, ordinary piece of clothing that wasn’t see-through or open in any corner to reveal skin.

 

“Why is this? It’s not like I’m naked.”

 

“That’s not it, I was just saying, aren’t you embarrassed for being lazy until now?”

 

“It’s because Ramiel wasn’t able to go on the ‘Magnificence of Ruivan Manor’ trip with Willpoff yesterday.”

 

No matter how much she thought about it, it was hazing. It’s called bullying of newbies. Who was curious about the history of the hallway sculpture? She knew it’s gold, but she had no intention of stealing it. She felt like replying to every word Wilpoff said, as if commenting on it, but she held back. Later on, she got so tired that she couldn’t even think about anything.

 

“I could believe that a person could die while listening to a story.”

 

Ramiel snapped at her.

 

“But what should I do?”

 

“What?”

 

“I think today’s main agenda will be studying Ruivan’s history.”

 

“What?”

 

“It looks like Wilpoff will thoroughly educate you as a Ruivan. I guess you haven’t seen the books piled up in the study yet.”

 

No matter how much of a makeshift wife she was, she was definitely a person of Ruivan and would wear the title ‘Ruivan’. Even if he was only passing by, there was no way Willpoff would just leave Ruivan alone.

 

“You know how to read, right?”

 

After her marriage, she was often responsible for helping her husband with the household affairs of the family. Most noble daughters were literate, but most women were illiterate. Teaching writing to women from newly aristocratic or wealthy families was slowly becoming a trend, but ordinary people did not teach women to read.

 

“No. These are dark eyes. If illiteracy were to manifest as a person, it would be me.”

 

There was no way that a woman who helped her father run his business would not know how to write. Moreover, not long ago she even exchanged a written contract. It was clear that what Ray said was nonsense, but she was so disgusted that she said no, and he couldn’t help but laugh. Even though Ramiel was not a man who often laughed.

 

“You should have a hearty lunch. Studying also burns quite a lot of calories.”

 

“Ahh, ahhh!”

 

Ramiel left her room as he heard Ray struggling in pain.

 

* * *

 

She didn’t even know her own family’s genealogy. She didn’t even care what her ancestors did. She didn’t want to know that Duke Ruivan’s predecessor was a general.

 

‘Ruivan is amazing’ 

 

She seemed to be receiving a series of brainwashing education. Ray continued to find fault with Wilpoff’s words in her mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud. She just nodded, half absorbed, with the expression of a whining puppy.

 

“I think we should finish now.”

 

The long and harsh history education in Ruivan had ended. The ending was so happy that it almost brought tears to her eyes. Wilpoff couldn’t help but laugh as he watched the whining puppy’s face widen as if it had just met its owner. And at the same time, he had doubts.

 

‘How on earth did she get the stigma of being a witch?’

 

It’s only been two days since she met Ray Alexis, but she wasn’t rude or evil, as the reputation spread in social circles suggests. Rather than other arrogant nobles, she was polite to people and she was smart. This was a surprising fact, considering the public’s evaluation. In addition, Ray Alexis would occasionally show respect to the household servants. Of course, every time that happened, the servants were shocked. Even the master Ramiel treated her with respect, so how dare they treat her like that. Moreover, when the master, who was basically expressionless, saw his wife, he calmed down and smiled. The servants had to be even more cautious due to the power of the prospective madam, who had the power to control even the master. Even if they were not actually present at the scene, everyone was well aware of the period of bloody purges that befell Ruivan. They couldn’t face the choice of going against their master’s wishes and becoming unemployed or losing their lives. Although they were originally good at their jobs, they served Madame Ruivan even more respectfully.

 

“I have plans tomorrow. I am going out with Ramiel.”

 

Ray blocked the butler’s education in advance. Actually, there was no agreed-upon schedule with Ramiel, but even if there wasn’t one, she had to create it. Because of the atmosphere, it seemed like this training would not end today.

 

“Tomorrow, master…”

 

“There is! With me! There’s something personal going on with me!”

 

There was no way for the butler to know the master’s schedule, but it would be okay to add a variable called ‘Madam’. Ray ran out of the study before Wilpoff could say anything. She must find Ramiel quickly!

 

“Ramiel!”

 

After calling loudly, she thought of Willpoff in front of her and the servants around her. Ray hurriedly called out Ramiel’s nickname, which she had created last time and was only used for public appearances.

 

“Rael! Where are you?”

 

She frantically called Ramiel and went looking for him.

 

‘I will make a schedule with Ramiel right now!’

 

Of course, Ray didn’t know that the butler was looking surprised behind her.

 

‘What now… What did I hear?’

 

He was thinking about giving some etiquette training on how noble ladies should not shout so loudly, but he heard an unbelievable word.

 

‘Ray Alexis definitely called the master ‘Rael’, right?’

 

Her voice sounded again in Wilpoff’s dazed ears.

 

“Rael!”

 

The master had said with the nuance that he would sort out Ray Alexis once he received the title. It was the so-called ‘contract marriage’. But why on earth was that fake hostess calling the master’s childhood name, the same name that Ramiel’s mother used to call him a long time ago?

 

‘There is no way Ramiel would have allowed her to use that name…’

 

As soon as he concluded that there was no possibility, Wilpoff came out of his daze and ran after Ray. That was a dead word that was almost taboo in Ruivan. These were definitely not words that would come out of a witch’s mouth.

 

“Please stand there for a moment!”

 

A butler running around inside the mansion. Ruivan’s servants widened their eyes at the amazing sight. Wilpoff was a man who walked quickly with a noble and dignified gait, but rarely ran.

 

“Oh my goodness.”

 

As soon as Ray realized that the butler was chasing him, she increased her running speed. Because she thought it was obvious that he was planning to study tomorrow before meeting Ramiel.

 

‘If I get caught, I will die!’

 

Thinking of hiding from the butler, she opened the nearest door.

 

“Oh my, where are you?”

 

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