The Duke and Duchess' Divorce Circumstances

CHAPTER 014: Contract Deposit

After eating. At Ramiel’s gesture, the butler politely offered something to Ray.

 

“What’s this?”

 

Ray, holding a thick stack of documents, asked Ramiel.

 

“This is Ruivan’s real estate listing.”

 

At those words, Ray looked again at the heavy bundle of documents in her hands.

 

“I’ve narrowed down the things I think you’ll like, but if you don’t like any of them, I’ll give you the entire list within two days.”

 

Ray was so surprised by Ramiel’s words that she couldn’t say anything. Even though it’s this thick, it’s only part of it and not all of it. The history of the family, which had assisted the emperor since the founding of the nation, was clearly reflected in this extensive list of assets. Even if the previous Ruivan was incompetent and was given the title of marquis to lead the family, and even if the person who was given the title ‘Atil’ by the current emperor was a bastard, Ruivan was still Ruivan.

 

She felt like she was finally realizing the greatness of the Ruivan family that she had heard from the butler all yesterday.

 

“It even includes a description of the building, so Ray, read it and choose the candidate you like.”

 

Ray barely covered her mouth as if she was about to scream out of emotion.

 

‘Long live, Ruivan!’

 

She guessed the reason he disappeared with the butler before dinner was to sort this out.

 

A cursory glance at the documents showed that Ruivan owned many buildings in every corner of the eight cities. Since it was a historic noble family, she thought they would only focus on the capital, so she was surprised.

 

Ramiel was observing Ray with an interested expression, her eyes sparkling as she fluttered a pile of documents. When Ray liked something, it was obvious right away. Although he had only known her for a short time, he seemed not to have paid much attention to her.

 

Food and money. These two things were certain.

 

It was clear that Ray probably didn’t even realize that she was smiling right now. It was obvious that the laughter came out without her knowledge.

 

But what could he do?

 

“Ray.”

 

At his call, Ray turned her gaze to look at Ramiel.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Willpoff will do a good job explaining them.”

 

“…yes?”

 

“The butler here will explain.”

 

Why? What did she do wrong? No, this idiot, she hated studying with the butler, so she was running away with the excuse of a contract deposit, so what if he threw it away?

 

“If the explanation is so good, why are you trying to make it difficult for the butler? I’ll take care of it.”

 

She said it was for the poor Willpoff, but Ray’s eyes were asking, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ Ramiel laughed at that direct look. Throughout his life, he has only dealt with people who have kept their true intentions and emotions hidden. From the servants who took care of him and his mother when he was young, to the nobles of today. They had been talking about Ruivan’s shame behind his back, but on the day he first appeared in public, they congratulated him with a sincere smile on their faces. Their eyes were perfect, incomparable to those of the servants who revealed their true intentions through their eyes. So at first, he almost got fooled.

 

‘Is this the real aristocratic society?’

 

It was his first impression. Everyone had something inside them but never revealed it. But Ray Alexis was completely different from those people in the capital. 

 

It could not be dismissed as because she was not a noble. The so-called ‘emerging aristocrats’, and their successors, also wore fancy masks like aristocrats. Rather, since they were people who did business with people, they often wear a more experienced mask.

 

At first, he thought Ray was one of those people. She was a ‘celebrity’ in her own right in the social world, with bad nicknames and rumors attached to her that she was like a witch. At first glance, Ray Alexis’ eyes were as cold and emotionless as any of the nobles. She also had no special characteristics, she was just one of those emerging nobles. A person that Ramiel would not care about and would never have any contact with in his life.

 

“But I really don’t gossip behind people’s backs.”

 

Ray’s words were filled with venom. It was a poison that seeped into the minds of her listeners. She had a harsh tone and used words that nobles did not use and spoke harshly, but no one could refute her. It could be said that Ray Alexis was facing the facts clearly.

 

When she saw people, she approached them and silenced them with her expressionless face and harsh language. It was also quite a refreshing scene to see from a third-party perspective. The nobles, who were so concerned about their reputation and looked down on her as having no basis, could not keep quiet when they were actually attacked.

 

‘Ray Alexis’ was the first person of her kind Ramiel had ever encountered. But even so, he had no intention of doing anything with her. But that thought changed that night.

 

When Ramiel, sick and tired of the crowds of people, left his place as if running away secretly to the terrace, where he naturally thought he would be alone, he heard a human voice.

 

“If I made such a fuss, they’ll never ask me to marry, right?”

 

He heard Ray Alexis’ voice sounding excited and at a loss.

 

“Well, I didn’t really mean it. But I have to live my life first.”

 

Ramiel, who was about to leave the terrace, stopped at the meaningful words she spoke.

 

“It wasn’t something that harsh, right? As of today, I will probably be expelled from society, so they won’t see me again.”

 

His head spun rapidly. He became hopeful that he might be able to use this woman as his breakthrough in the problems he was facing. His previous contract marriage incident played on autoplay in his mind.

 

While he was making plans so quickly.

 

“Now not even the dog would want to take me.”

 

He burst into laughter at the joyful and proud voice, as if she had conquered a country. And now, Ray Alexis, who wouldn’t even be taken by a dog, was cursing him with her eyes as she was dragged out of the dining room by the butler’s hand.

 

* * *

 

First class compartment of the Leanello train to Hella.

 

The luxurious royal sitting room had a rich and splendid chandelier made of magic stones hanging from the ceiling, giving off a soft glow. The door handle behind Ramiel was a delicately carved ornament, and when you open the door, you find a room with a large bed large enough for three people to sleep comfortably. The luxurious canopy attached to the bed was handwoven by a famous artisan in the capital. Inside the bedroom, there was a bathroom with an elegant and large bathtub, and during meal times, a special chef in the train’s kitchen car prepared food and delivered it to your seat.

 

The expensive first-class train was literally a running mansion.

 

Even though it was the same train, there was no comparison with the 5th class compartment, where the seats were crowded together. Of course, so was the price. Compared to the planes she flew in when she was in Korea, it was the same concept as first class and economy class, but the difference seemed bigger than that. No matter how good first class was, it didn’t come with a hotel room.

 

“Ray, are you still mad?”

 

And even in the luxurious first class cabin that looked like a part of this luxurious mansion, a man whose shine never faded was smiling brightly and asking Ray if she was upset.

 

“Ramiel, even though I gave you a look begging to be saved, you completely ignored me.”

 

Ray was grinning with venom in her eyes. Before getting ready to leave Ruivan to catch the train, Ray was captured by Willpoff and had to study the villa section of the ‘long history of Ruivan Manor’ again. No matter how much she thought about it, it was useless knowledge that there was no need to learn. It was clear that even if she became ‘the real Ruivan’s hostess,’ she wouldn’t need it.

 

“The reason why you need to hear the explanation from the butler, which is already in the documents…”

 

It was the day of payment of the deposit.

 

Ramiel also joined Ray’s down payment settlement trip to let the world know about the two’s sweet couple fun.

 

“The reason is obvious.”

 

Ray grunted, cutting off Ramiel’s words. His brows furrowed slightly. No one had ever interrupted him like this.

 

“The butler is harassing me because Ramiel hates me.”

 

The wrinkles between his eyebrows smoothed out at the unexpected answer.

 

‘I’ve shown that I don’t like this woman?’

 

Ramiel always wore a public mask when interacting with people. It was a kind of habit that he had developed since childhood. It was also something he had no choice but to learn automatically in order to survive. As time passed, this mask became so strong that it was very difficult to see his true expression unless you were a close associate.

 

Ramiel did not dislike the person Ray Alexis. It’s not that he liked her, but if he were to be honest, he was slightly interested in her. However, it was literally just an interest; to Ramiel, Ray Alexis was a contract worker for the title, and was literally a tasteless, colorless, and odorless person. Therefore, there was no way he would have taken off her mask in front of Ray, so she would not have been able to recognize his true colors.

 

“I wonder why Ray thinks that way.”

 

“I understand what the butler and administrator do to me.”

 

It was an unexpected answer. He didn’t expect those two people to appear, so he gave Ray a look as if telling her to continue talking.

 

“They only give me very superficial and formal information, and they treat me like that. Of course, they know that I am temporary, so it may be so, but if Ramiel liked me, those two people would treat me with sincerity, even if only for a moment.”

 

Ramiel was surprised. He was truly, truly surprised. He never thought she would guess this far based on the treatment of the two people. He never thought or expected that a person named Ray Alexis would be this smart and quick-witted.

 

“Don’t you think it’s only a superficial courtesy because it’s temporary?”

 

“Ordinary people might think so, but those two people: Taylor and Willpoff. In particular, Willpoff seemed to have great pride in the Ruivan family. Even if the person here were to be a passing guest, they will never treat them carelessly or without sincerity.”

 

It was a clear answer. It had only been four days since she came to Ruivan’s class, and in this short period of time, the woman in front of him had recognized the two people and she had realized the weight of the courtesy she was receiving.

 

“Were they rude to you?”

 

“No. Not at all.”

 

The two people were overly humble. If theyhad to call it rude, Kreha would have been closer to it.

 

“So, in what way did Ray feel like she was treated poorly?”

 

Ramiel found the current conversation with Ray interesting. He asked, unconsciously leaning his body towards the woman across from him.

 

“I can tell even if they’re not rude,” she said. “Do you think the other person won’t know whether the treatment was thoughtful or not? No, I know everything. Even animals go to people they like and show affection to them, so how could a person not know that?”

 

Ramiel laughed softly. He just thought he had chosen a suitable partner who was easy to deal with because she was not interested in him and only liked money, but it seemed he ended up with a much better partner. Ramiel adjusted his evaluation of Ray Alexis a little higher.

 

He had no characteristics or information other than that she was the eldest daughter of a wealthy family that was considered an emerging aristocrat and the oil king of Lytham. However, she stood out at a party hosted by the imperial family.

 

Ray Alexis came out dressed up like any other noble lady and smiled brightly and beautifully, but there were thorns on her mouth. This smart woman must have been planning a long time ago to be evaluated as ‘unfit for marriage’.

 

“Our butler and administrator got a kick out of Ray. Of course, me too.”

 

Just like Ramiel himself, Ruivan’s vassals also thought of Ray Alexis as easily as any other daughter of a noble family. So he was caught right away like this.

 

At that moment, the administrator in question, Taylor, knocked and came in.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

—————————————————————

Translator Note:

Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3

If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on May, 25.


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