The Duke and Duchess' Divorce Circumstances

“Excuse me.”

He thought they were in the room, but Taylor paused while saying hello to the two people sitting on the sofa in the living room.

‘Did Ramiel just laugh out loud?’

That inorganic doll-like man has no other emotions than anger.

“We will arrive at Hella Station in 10 minutes.”

Ramiel’s eyes turned to Taylor’s face. Taylor was slightly embarrassed by the piercing gaze.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“You and Wilpoff both better come to your senses.”

‘Why? What? What’s the problem all of a sudden?’ 

Ray added as Taylor shook his head with a seemingly nonchalant expression to understand the master’s intentions.

“Why don’t you kneel down and help me go out here? I just want to make money and get out of this place.”

In addition, Ray seemed to know very well what kind of person he was to Ramiel. It was a remark that clearly showed that he considered himself a party to a contract that would be good to settle with money.

‘…It’s okay for a squirrel.’

Meanwhile, after hearing that remark, an earthquake occurred in Taylor’s eyes as he unconsciously looked at Ramiel’s thoughts. The corner of Ramiel’s mouth went up at Ray Alexis’s words, which could only be spoken by market or city government thugs. Instead of only one side of the lips being raised, both sides were drawn in an even curve.

He was smiling

‘What, then the laughter I heard before was real?’

Ramiel usually ignored cheap comments, but he would rather show disgust, and he was a person who would never smile. What on earth was he talking about just a moment ago to be in this situation?

Taylor looked at Ray in wonder.

‘What is this woman’s true identity?’

What no one else in Ruivan could accomplish, she was able to accomplish in just four days. Considering all her words and actions so far, the fact that she could act like that without offending Ramiel meant that he gave the ‘permission’ sign in all situations. This meant that Ramien liked Ray Alexis. Taylor’s survival instincts astutely noticed this.

He didn’t know what happened or what kind of deal there was between the two, but it was a major event because Ramiel’s heart was moved.

‘I guess I’ll have to pay more attention to Ray Alexis from now on.’

Taylor’s evaluation of Ray was urgently revised upward.

* * *

They arrived at their destination after riding for about 30 minutes in Ruivan’s carriage provided at Hella Station. The first villa among the five that Ray selected after looking at the list was Berni.

Ray, who got off the carriage with Ramiel’s help, could not close her mouth.

“…Is this a villa?”

Ray blinked in front of a huge building that could easily be called the second Ruivan mansion. It was a large mansion with an old charm. The white wall made of stacked bricks has now lost its original clear color, but it still has the antique feel of its old color. Berni, which matched well with the red roof, looked like a castle.

Of all the places on the list, she chose it first because she knew it would be expensive because it had the largest area and a long history, but she was a little embarrassed because it looked hundreds of times more expensive and better than she had imagined when she saw the picture. She didn’t want something this grand.

“It seems Wilpoff has a very good sense.”

At Ramiel’s words, Ray turned her gaze and looked at him, who was still holding her hand in the same manner as when he had escorted her.

“What does that mean?”

“This villa was the mansion of the Ruivan family. We even used it for full-scale operations.”

“I didn’t know it was that big.”

‘For some reason, the villa even has a name.’

The butler omitted this most important explanation and only gave her miscellaneous history.

“Ah, so Wilpoff didn’t tell me this? I had a feeling that one of the villas would be mine.”

As expected, it was easy to understand.

“Why didn’t you give me the list without including this place?”

Ramiel was never raised as a member of the Ruivan family, and he was never treated as a human being by the Ruivan people. So even if it was Ruivan’s history, he wasn’t very impressed. Ruivan’s grand history and traditions were nothing to him, just vast wealth.

This place was also one of ‘just Ruivan’s villas.’ Rather, it was closer to a place he wanted to get rid of it. This was because it was a place where his father, the Marquis Ruivan, cherished the tradition.

Nowadays, everyone who cared deeply about Ruivan was dead, and the only person who could take pride in history was Wilpoff. However, he did not have the authority to do anything with Ruivan’s property. So this place, like other villas, was bundled together and taken into the hands of Ray Alexis.

“Well. Isn’t one year of Ray worth this much?”

“No matter how great I am, I should just focus on Ruivan’s history. It is a prestigious family that has been around since the founding of the first emperor.”

“…It’s prestigious.”

At that time, the door to the villa opened.

“Welcome, master.”

A woman in her early 40s with dark blue hair greeted the two people.

“This is my first time greeting you, ma’am.”

The spirit radiating from a woman who greeted her politely was not normal. Ray felt such tremendous energy that she unconsciously grabbed Ramiel’s hand tightly when she heard the woman’s greeting.

“My name is Charmaine Cresby, head of the house and chief caretaker of the lodge. It is an honor to serve you both.”

Ray’s eyes widened when she heard her title. She had never heard or seen a woman serve as a butler, or even the president of a house. She even looked younger. She was surprised, but she felt it would be rude to show it, so Ray held back and entered the mansion with Ramiel, greeted by Charmaine.

At first glance, the number of employees standing in two rows behind Charmaine appeared to be twenty. If the number of elite employees who came out to say hello to Ruivan’s owner and his wife was this high, it means that there were at least a hundred people who belong to this place. No matter how luxurious and large a villa was, there were usually around 25 managers. After all, this was not a villa. It’s a mansion.

“These are the people who will take care of you two without any inconvenience during your stay.”

Charmaine briefly introduced the employees standing in front of her, and Ray chuckled as she thought it’s a bit like hotel VIP treatment.

“Did you decide to come here?”

Ramiel whispered in her ear.

“What?”

“Seeing Ray smile makes me think she doesn’t need to see anything else.”

“That’s not it. If I take this, Wilpoff will collapse.”

The employees were secretly impressed as they saw the master affectionately holding his wife’s hand and even whispering to her.

The master, who seemed to have been created by God, and his prospective wife standing next to him matched well without any sense of incongruity, despite having strikingly opposite hair colors. She was very worried because her master’s engagement was delayed, but she wasted her time.

“This person is in charge of the kitchen…”

“Peter?”

Charmaine was about to introduce him when Ray’s voice overlapped.

“Huh? Miss Alex? Are you my lady?”

“Oh my, my!”

Ray approached Peter as if running. The others looked at them, surprised by their unexpected friendship.

“How are you here?”

“I was already going to send a letter to you, but here you are.”

Peter laughed with a big smile on his face, but then suddenly turned with a straight face.

“No, but my lady, what is this?”

“Wha-what? What’s strange?”

Ray blinked at Peter’s suddenly changed expression.

“You’ve become prettier. I thought you were an angel who fell from the sky.”

Peter said, smiling again.

“Ahahahaha! Peter’s eyes are so honest!”

Ray’s laughter echoed through the mansion. She had a refreshing laugh that made even the listener feel good.

“Ray.”

The two people, who had been laughing for a while, came to their senses when they heard Ramiel’s voice.

“Oh, it’s been a while since I met a close friend, so stop… Rael, thank you so much for bringing me here.”

As Ray approached Ramiel with a wide smile, he held out his hand to her again.

‘We have to pretend we’re on good terms here too.’

Ray took the hand he held out and smiled brightly, full of happiness, as if showing off to the people around him. Only then did Peter come to his senses after seeing Ray holding Ramiel’s hand.

‘Huh, wait a minute. So, Lady Alex is Ruivan’s hostess? She is the wife-to-be of Duke Ruivan?’

Suddenly, it felt like the Ray in front of him was moving away. Even though it was his villa, he felt more unrealistic than getting a job at Ruivan’s manor, and he looked at Ray with a puzzled expression again.

“My fiance is tired from the train ride, so let’s stop by and say hello.”

The lady had been so lively and happy to meet someone she knew just a moment ago, but when the master said she was tired, she became chronically fatigued, so everyone, except for Charmaine, who had to show the master and his wife to their room, dispersed and headed to their places without a word.

“I will show you both to your room so you can rest right away.”

Following Charmaine’s guidance, the two walked lightly.

* * *

“What’s wrong with this room?”

Ray, who came to the couple’s bedroom following Charmaine’s guidance, saw that the bedroom layout was very different from the previous mansion and asked.

Originally, a noble couple’s bedroom usually consisted of dividing one large room into two or having a door or passage connecting the two rooms. In the name of being together, couples used separate living spaces. Since the common marriage method of nobles was arranged marriage, there were many cases where couples wanted to have their own space even after becoming married. As this became established, it was taken for granted that the couple’s bedroom was ‘one room, two spaces’. But for some reason, Berni’s bedroom was a large room with no separate space, and it looked like it should only be used by real couples.

What were the flower petals scattered on the large bed, and what was this strange, mysterious, and pleasant scent wafting from the room? There were no divisions anywhere in this wide space. She saw a door and opened it, but as expected, it was a bathroom with a very romantic atmosphere, with flower fields everywhere.

“That’s right, it’s a villa.”

 

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