The Duke and Duchess' Divorce Circumstances

Ray fell asleep again and showed no signs of waking up even though it was nearly lunch time. Ramiel, who had been sleeping on the sofa for a while, got up, but Ray did not even flinch when he approached.

He couldn’t put off his schedule any longer, so he tried to wake Ray and she complained in her sleep.

“Ray, wake up.”

“Ugh! I don’t want to. I’m not waking up.”

“Are you not going to have lunch?”

Knowing Ray’s love for food, he tried to lure her with it. But her eyes remained shut.

“Ugh… I don’t wanna eat. Go away.”

She grabbed Ramiel’s approaching arm and nuzzled against it, whining. A warm, soft warmth brushed his arm. Just like a few hours ago.

“Ray Alexis!”

If they were at the original Ruivan mansion, he would have left Ray alone without caring whether she overslept or not, but now that he had a schedule that required him to move to another place, he couldn’t just leave her be.

Thinking about their already delayed schedule made him a bit irritated. Since becoming the leader, Ramiel had never been late or changed plans.

When he called her in a stern voice, Ray slowly opened her eyes, as if sensing the seriousness. The wrinkles between her eyebrows were smoothed out, and her blue eyes, which were obscured, started showing luster.

“…uh?”

Ray, who was still half-asleep even when she opened her eyes, seemed to come to her senses when she saw Ramiel in front of her. She then noticed her hand on his face and looked startled.

“Oh! Oh my goodness! I must have gone insane!”

She seemed to be aware of her habit of being fussy when woken.

She quickly sat up and roughly combed her messy hair with her fingers, glancing at Ramiel, “Did I cause trouble for Rael? I did, didn’t I? Ugh, I didn’t mean to fall asleep like this…”

Ray rambled with a confused look on her face, as if she was truly surprised. She was even calling him by a title she only used when other people were around.

“What about Rael? Did Rael get some sleep? Why am I lying here? Rael, you couldn’t sleep, right? Oh my god!”

Seeing Ray worrying about him in the midst of her confusion surprisingly eased Ramiel’s irritation.

“Ray, I’ll send Pierre up after you’re done dressing.”

With that, Ramiel called for a maid to attend to Ray and left the room.

She wondered why he was sending Pierre up, but as soon as she entered the room after finishing her dressing up, a familiar smell invaded Ray’s nose.

“Miss!”

Even though the maids had seen Ray yesterday, they greeted her warmly. Ray waved the maids away with a gesture. The maids were taken aback, but Ray’s instructions made them leave the room without a fuss.

Now that there were no people to worry about, all she had to do was eat comfortably. Maintaining the demeanor of a refined lady in this place had been quite draining.

“Wow, it’s been so long since Pierre made hotdogs.”

On the tray in his hand was a familiar-looking snack. It was a special potion Ramiel had sent to wake Ray, knowing her penchant for eating.

“Oh! I guess you shouldn’t call you Miss but Madam, now.”

Though she had been addressed as ‘Madam’ since entering the Ruivan estate, hearing it from an old friend felt different.

“I was wondering who would take away our young lady, but this is a good match.”

Ruivan, being a high-ranking noble family, could have easily taken in a bride from a ducal family or of royalty, but Pierre, who was clearly biased, highly praised Ray, smiling brightly.

His warm gaze was like that of a parent looking at their daughter, making Ray feel comforted.

“The Duke of Ruivan does have a good eye.”

Both laughed heartily together.

“Oh! I made this mistake again. I shouldn’t be doing this, but I keep treating Madam Ruivan as Lady Alex.. I should stop…”

Although Berni was not in the capital, it was a villa belonging to the noble family of Ravidon, so strict decorum was followed here.

It was unusual for an employee to have casual conversations or form personal connections with their employer. The strict class system in the capital and the culture of not allowing free association between different ranks contributed to this.

Unless the higher status individual permitted the relationship first, they couldn’t causally interact. So most people mingled with those of similar status.

Ray Alexis was treated as a semi-noble, as she wasn’t technically a noble. However, her marriage had now officially elevated her to the nobility, so she had to be mindful of this.

“You can relax when it’s just the two of us. No one will know about it.”

After all, there wouldn’t be many opportunities to see Pierre. Her time as Madam Ruivan was only one year.

‘Should I get divorced and live in Hella? Pierre is also here.’

There were many people commuting to work because it takes about an hour to get there by taking the express train between Hella and the capital Ravidon. Pierre was one of them.

For those who couldn’t afford the high housing prices in the capital, the train was a godsend.

‘Hella is also a big city, just like the capital. Then just take Berni as my severance?’

She thought she heard Wilpoff’s wailing voice for a moment, but she ignored it.

“Pierre, thank you. I’m so happy to have this again after so long that my hands are shaking. I’ve been relishing the food here. You’re the best, Pierre.”

Pierre beamed at Ray’s sincere compliment. His heart always warmed at her genuine praise.

“Please enjoy this, and I’ll finish preparing breakfast. Take your time and come down when you’re ready.”

Pierre’s warm gaze felt even more comforting than her father Oscar’s, making Ray feel a lump in her throat. She nodded, and he bowed and left the room.

Immediately after, a maid assigned to Ray entered the room, cautiously inspecting the surroundings and Ray.

‘Why is she looking around like that? Ah!’

It dawned on Ray that she had been alone with a man in the couple’s bedroom. This was the private space meant for her and her husband, and having another man there could raise suspicions.

‘I need to be more careful.’

Even though nothing had happened and it was all under Ramiel’s permission, it could still lead to gossip.

“Where is Rael?”

“He’s working in his study. He said he would come to the dining room once Madam is ready.”

“He must be starving because of me. Let’s hurry.”

The maids, following Ray quickly, exchanged secretive smiles.

As the couple ate, the maids tidied up the dining area, chatting excitedly.

“I guess the Master really tired Madam out. He made sure she ate something as soon as she woke up.”

“Why do you think Madam overslept? She couldn’t get a wink last night.”

“I thought our Master was an angel.”

“Precisely, he’s an angel above the waist, but below… a devil.”

“Oh my! I can’t even imagine!”

“Isn’t it too early to assume? But seeing them hold hands when they arrived yesterday was so lovely. They looked like they married for love.”

The rare display of affection among noble couples had the maids in a flurry of gossip.

The chatter was abruptly silenced by the appearance of Charmaine, the house steward, who came to check on the dessert tableware.

The maids quickly closed their mouths, but the deep wrinkles on Charmaine’s forehead indicated that she had heard everything.

“I believe I mentioned that discretion is paramount in this household. Have you forgotten?”

Her icy warning made the two maids look mortified.

“I-I’m sorry. We were just…”

While Charmaine understood that the servants could be impacted by the master’s affection, it was unacceptable to speak so crudely about their personal matters.

Especially in a villa, they had to be extra careful. Maintaining confidentiality and discretion was crucial for any employee here.

“Pack your things and leave immediately.”

Charmaine’s cold command made their faces turn pale.

“We won’t make any more mistakes…”

Charmaine cut them off, not needing to hear any excuses.

“If I hear any rumors about the Ruivan couple, whether good or bad, I’ll assume you two were the ones who spread them.”

Her threat carried weight and menace, befitting a former warrior. Without giving them a chance to apologize, Charmaine turned and left.

The sound of their sobbing could be heard shortly after, but no one offered them comfort. Their comments had crossed the line into sexual harassment.

“Haa.”

Charmaine sighed softly as she entered the dining room.

She doubted those two would cause trouble outside, but it was better not to leave any loose ends.

“I’ve got another thing to worry about.”

‘If only they were monsters, I could just slash them with a sword.’

Dealing with people was more complicated. She decided to conduct a thorough review of the villa’s staff after the couple left.

She observed the dining room, where the Madam was smiling and the master was expressionless as he ate.

Having fought alongside Ramiel in life-and-death battles, Charmaine’s instincts screamed that this was a façade. No matter how affectionate others thought the couple was, it was a hoax.

Ramiel’s eyes were as indifferent as ever.

‘So, it’s a facade after all.’

It wasn’t surprising, given Ramiel’s character.

‘But why did Ramiel choose her? If it was just a political marriage, there were much better noble families.’

“What?”

When Taylor, an official from the main house approached the two and reported something, Ray opened her mouth to say something.

And at that moment, Charmaine saw Ramiel’s smile.

Though it vanished quickly, it was genuine, which shocked her.

‘He can smile?’

Could it be that he really chose Ray Alexis out of affection?

As she pondered, she recalled the maids’ earlier conversation.

“An angel above the waist, but below… a devil.”

“Pfft.”

Charmaine clamped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

 

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Translator Note:

Hello!! Do you like this story? Actually I’m looking for an editor to help me improve the level of the translation. If you’re interested please contact me in Moonlight’s discord (I’m RJR there too). You will have to pass a litle test there and then we can work together in this story <3