“No, my lord! What on earth have you done?!”
Finley, who had finally confirmed the worst, furiously tugged at his red hair.
“What did I do?”
“You must have done something! There’s no other reason why my lady would bring up divorce!”
“Technically, she wrote it in a letter. And it’s rather unpleasant, isn’t it? To assume it’s all my fault.”
Humph. Finley shut his mouth but couldn’t conceal his suspicious gaze. It was common knowledge to anyone with eyes that the Countess Cavill adored her husband.
“This can’t be… My lady was so thrilled to awaken from her coma, yet…!”
Finley, overwhelmed by the notion of how much resentment she must have harbored to mention divorce the moment she opened her eyes, felt his nose sting and cautiously asked,
“Do you know why the lady wants a divorce?”
“She said it’s because of love.”
“I knew this day would come. My lady must have finally given up on her unrequited love.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? Of course, Regina loves me.”
Gray looked at Finley as if he were a complete idiot. For someone who had dominated three fields—business, finance, and law—at Waylin’s top institution, Estevan, Finley found this judgment particularly unfair.
“Then explain more clearly. I need to grasp the situation.”
Less than 30 seconds after making this request, Finley regretted it. The words that emerged from Gray’s finely shaped lips defied all expectations.
“She says the problem is that I don’t love her.”
“Ah.”
“She also said she couldn’t live with a husband who never visited her while she was bedridden.”
“Ahhh.”
“When she said she needed someone, I suggested getting her a dog. But I guess that wasn’t quite it. Should I have gone with a cat instead?”
“Ahhhh…”
“And when I pointed out that tying eternal commitments like marriage to transient and fickle emotions like love is inefficient, she suggested divorce.”
“Please, stop…!”
Unable to endure the continuous barrage of disasters, Finley clutched his head. Watching his aide suffer from second-hand embarrassment, Gray asked indifferently,
“If we go to court, what are the odds?”
“Are you seriously considering a lawsuit?! You’re not going to settle for an amicable divorce?”
“Why would I?”
This man was merciless, truly merciless. At this point, Finley felt so sorry for Regina that he could cry. Still, emotions aside, Finley Brixton was not one to shirk his responsibilities.
“The odds are overwhelmingly in our favor. We could accuse Lady Regina of dereliction of duty. Her year-long absence as mistress of the house has caused instability, as well as mental and financial harm to you, my lord. Furthermore, the lack of an heir could be brought up. Slip the judge some money, and we’d win in no more than eight days…”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“Pardon?”
Gray interrupted Finley’s fervent explanation with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m asking about the odds of nullifying the divorce proceedings.”
Finley froze with a blank expression. This man really did resemble a golden hamster at times.
“You don’t intend to divorce, my lord?”
“No. Find a way to dismiss the case if Regina files one.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…No reason. I just realized you’re human after all, my lord.”
At least the divorce proceedings could be avoided. Finley felt relieved at the thought that his poor mistress wouldn’t have to suffer legal harassment.
“Wise decision, my lord. There’s no one else who could love you as much as Lady Regina.”
“That’s not it.”
Wow, such confidence. Finley glanced coldly at his superior’s smug face but couldn’t maintain the gaze for long; Gray’s dazzling looks were too distracting.
“So, what’s your plan going forward?”
“You’ve already heard. Dismissing the divorce case…”
“That’s not what I meant! If your goal is to avoid marital breakdown, you’ll have to put in some effort elsewhere too, won’t you?”
“Effort?”
Finley was losing his mind. How could a fellow married man be so clueless?
“In my opinion, this shouldn’t even escalate to a lawsuit. Just buy her a gift before you go home, hug her, and kiss her! What’s the point of that good-looking face of yours if you’re not going to use it? Just smile sweetly and tell her it’s all a misunderstanding, that you actually love her. A little sugarcoating will solve everything!”
“Why should I bother…”
Before Gray could raise another of his heartless questions, Finley snapped,
“Because it’s more efficient!!”
Was that too loud? Seeing his superior’s sharp gaze, Finley hastily added,
“…At least, more efficient than going through with a lawsuit. Think of the time, effort, and human resources required for divorce nullification. What a loss that would be!”
“Hmmm…”
“Not to mention, in the unlikely—very unlikely—case that the divorce goes through. As you know, Waylin is a conservative country when it comes to divorce. If the owner of our bank becomes a divorced man, imagine how that would affect our reputation, trustworthiness, and stock prices. Just the thought is horrifying.”
“That’s a valid point.”
Finley’s advice was sound. If maintaining the marriage could be achieved with a single gift and some placating words, it was clearly the better option. Having completed his cold calculation, Gray handed over a blank check.
“What’s this for?”
“Go buy something.”
“Wait, what suddenly…”
“Something women generally like but exceptionally expensive.”
Damn it. Estevan’s valedictorian slumped his shoulders in defeat and stood up reluctantly.
“Finley.”
“What now?”
“On your way out, bring Casey in too.”
Finley’s steps faltered. Hoping he had misheard, he turned back, but the expression on Gray’s face gave him the worst possible answer.
“…Count, even so, I think it would be wise to reconsider Casey.”
“You know me. I like things to be definite.”
Well, it was about to be definite—divorce.
Finley sighed as he reluctantly dragged his feet forward.
***
Regina, who had recovered enough to come down to the downstairs parlor for the first time in a while, sank into the sofa. After hearing every detail about Dina’s behavior from her, the head maid apologized thoroughly.
“I’m sorry, Madam. It was my failure in training the maid properly.”
There was a reason why Melanie had a reputation for being competent. Regina regretted not speaking with her sooner.
“That’s enough apologizing. Discipline Dina appropriately. Remove her from her position as my personal maid, of course.”
“As per your instructions, I will dock three months of her wages and arrange for her retraining. However…”
“However, what?”
“Regarding her removal from the position… To be honest, it’s a bit complicated.”
It was an expected response. There was a reason Dina could act so arrogantly.
“Madam, how much do you know about Dina?”
“I know she’s been working for the Cavill household since she was very young.”
“Yes. Her mother, Emma, serves the Madam Dowager.”
But that wasn’t all.
“About the scar on Dina’s face…”
A pitying mark that marred an otherwise lovely face. Lowering her voice, Melanie whispered.
“It’s said to have been caused by a mistake of the Madam Dowager… She feels terribly sorry for leaving such a scar on a young girl’s face.”
Perhaps because of this, the Madam Dowager was particularly lenient with Dina. Her typically raised eyebrows would soften whenever she looked at the girl.
Regina, whose relationship with her mother-in-law was far from amicable, couldn’t muster the nerve to discipline or dismiss Dina at the risk of upsetting the elder woman.
“According to Dina, the Madam Dowager even considered adopting her.”
“Isn’t that a lie? Why would she adopt someone with both parents still alive?”
“I think it’s likely a fabrication as well, but the Madam Dowager is a person with a strong sense of responsibility.”
“Ah.”
Regina finally understood the source of Dina’s insolent behavior. If she had been adopted, Dina would have been her sister-in-law. Perhaps she wanted to assert dominance while she still could.
“She’s a maid now, regardless. If she wants to act like a sister-in-law, she should wait until she’s truly adopted.”
Regina dismissed the situation decisively.
“I am the mistress of the Cavill household, so she will follow my orders. Send Dina to the kitchen and assign another maid to me.”
“Madam…”
It was at this moment, as Melanie looked troubled, that a voice interrupted.
“What are you two whispering about so intently?”
***
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