ADLQ 06

Chapter 06

“Is that why you went to see him?”

Rozelline barely steadied her trembling voice as she asked.

“Yes. The Duke has agreed to help us.”

“Allen…?”

Rozelline remained frozen in her hunched posture. Since her marriage, after sending him one letter, she had never once replied to any of his letters.

“I know you feel guilty toward Duke Pianus, Mother.”

“How—how could you know that?”

“I overheard Léa Berter talking once. But Mother, right now we don’t have a choice.”

Ludiana guided Rozelline’s stiff body into a chair and gently laid her small hands over her mother’s. Though her hands, not yet fully grown, couldn’t completely cover Rozelline’s, their warmth was enough to melt her frozen heart.

“Léa Berter will never leave us alone. She might even kill you, Mother. If that happens, then we…”

Ludiana stopped speaking and looked toward the terrace. To Rozelline, it was something that hadn’t happened yet—but Ludiana had already lived through it. There had been too many suspicious circumstances surrounding Rozelline’s death.

Just uttering it brought tears. Her hellish previous life, where even her jaw trembled with sorrow, forced her to turn her face away as a tear slid down her cheek.

“Ludi…”

How terrified she must have been, what thoughts had pushed this child to go there? How much had she worried, not only about this letter, but about her own mother? Rozelline’s heart felt as though it were being torn to shreds.

“For your sake, no—for our sake—I want you to become strong, Mother.”

Ludiana’s trembling voice gradually quieted. Then, in an instant, her gaze hardened.

“Let’s leave Nurnbern.”

Rozelline silently looked at Ludiana and Irene, standing behind her. The two most precious beings in her life. One of them, Ludiana, was trembling with anxiety. In the West, divorce was seen as an indelible disgrace for a woman, but in this moment, such things no longer mattered.

“…Yes. Let’s do that.”

In Rozelline’s violet eyes—the same as Ludiana’s—a resolute light flared.

Two days later, the morning after the emperor’s coronation, Rozelline arrived at the main residence. She was determined not to let her daughters live trapped like she had, and that resolve had brought her here.

“…M-Milady!”

Rozelline herself pushed open the heavy front doors of the manor. Since being banished to the annex, she had never once returned here. To her, this place was nothing but a symbol of shame.

As the doors opened, the servants tidying up inside froze in shock, their mouths agape.

“Where is the master of the house?”

This time, Rozelline lifted her head with pride.

“……”

The “lawful wife of Nurnbern,” who had been living like a shadow since her exile, had suddenly returned, opening the doors herself. The servants were too stunned to answer.

“Do you all not even answer me anymore?”

Her voice rose, laced with irritation.

“A-ah! H-he’s in the study!”

One of the maids, flustered, finally spoke. No matter that Rozelline had been driven out to the annex—she was still the Duke’s legal wife. Even if she was a fallen lady, none dared provoke her anger outright.

Rozelline cast a sharp, chilling glance across the other servants, then ascended the grand staircase. Watching her, Léa’s personal maid darted up the servants’ stairway in a panic.

“L-Lady Léa!”

She burst into Léa’s room without knocking.

“My word, what’s gotten into you?!” another maid exclaimed in shock.

“What is it?”

Léa didn’t scold her maid for the discourtesy. The urgency in the girl’s voice gave her a foreboding sense that something more pressing was at hand.

“M-Madam—that is, Lady Rozelline is heading to the study right now!”

Almost slipped and called her Madam…! the maid thought, horrified.

“What?”

Léa’s face twisted with displeasure as she hurriedly rose to her feet.

“What business do you have here?”

On the second-floor corridor near the study, Léa Berter tilted her chin upward and hid her mouth behind a fan as Rozelline climbed the stairs.

“What’s wrong with me coming to my own house?”

Rozelline clasped her trembling hands together, forcing her voice to remain steady.

For the children’s sake, I can’t cower before this woman anymore.

Seeing this unfamiliar side of Rozelline, Léa’s gaze faltered violently. Her voice rose, sharp with alarm.

“…Did the master summon you?”

“No. I came on my own business.”

“Hah! I knew it. The master is busy right now.”

Léa raised her chin, sneering.

“That’s fine.”

Ignoring her, Rozelline walked past.

“I told you, he’s busy!”

Léa stepped in front of her, voice rising to a shrill pitch.

“Being busy is no excuse to come between a husband and wife, Lady Berter.”

Rozelline’s cold eyes swept over her.

How dare you. You’re just a mistress—it’s not your place to interfere.

No matter how much Léa strutted about as if she were mistress of Nurnbern, Rozelline was the true wife.

“Y-you insolent—!”

Léa’s face flushed red, her words choking in her throat like sputtered rage.

“How dare you…!”

Her hand, clutching the fan, trembled violently.

“How dare I? Lady Berter, mind your manners.”

By imperial law, a mistress was required to treat the legal wife with utmost respect. Though within the household hierarchy the husband decided the pecking order, Jonas simply allowed Léa to run wild. Still, by law and custom, she was beneath Rozelline.

Holding her head high, Rozelline walked right past her.

“Rozelline…!”

Léa could only tremble, staring at the floor, unable to say anything.

“You’ll regret this…!”

Meanwhile, Rozelline reached the study at the end of the corridor. With trembling hands, she steadied herself and knocked.

Knock knock.

“…Come in.”

From inside came Jonas’s dry voice.

Rozelline shut her eyes tightly, then opened them. Gripping the polished doorknob, she pushed the heavy door open.

“…! Milady!”

Rupert, standing at Jonas’s side, cried out in alarm.

“I’ve come to talk.”

“……”

Jonas regarded Rozelline, who strode firmly to his desk, with detached eyes.

Is this really the same Rozelline?

Her demeanor gave him pause, though he only inclined his head slightly, granting her leave to speak.

“Let’s get divorced.”

At her words, Rupert’s face went white with shock, while Jonas’s expression darkened.

“Divorce? Are you out of your mind?”

In the Caratos Empire, no woman ever wished for divorce. Common women didn’t, much less meek and fragile Rozelline. And now she was demanding one?

“Yes. Divorce me.”

“…You must be insane. Rupert, escort her back to the annex.”

So she’d gone mad while shut away, had she? Tch.

“I can’t live like this anymore. If you don’t agree, I’ll bring this to a noble tribunal.”

“What?”

Divorce wasn’t impossible under Caratos law. If a marriage was improperly formed or if grievances existed, one could petition for divorce—or agree mutually.

But what woman would ever want that?

In truth, it was usually men who pursued divorce trials, to elevate their mistresses into wives. Even then, most simply took concubines rather than risk the shame of a public tribunal.

Divorce trials were judged by a jury of nobles, and the gossip surrounding such cases was an unbearable humiliation.

“I said I’ll bring it before the tribunal. And if I do, I’ll claim ownership over all property and businesses tied to Loembek.”

Loembek—that was Rozelline’s maiden house. Positioned at the trade crossroads between West and East, the Loembek County had amassed immense wealth. But after the count, his wife, and heir all perished in a carriage accident, the house declined.

A great noble house with only a daughter left became easy prey for others. Jonas seized the opportunity, extending his hand, and Rozelline took it, desperate to preserve her family. But Jonas broke his promises, seizing all Loembek’s businesses for himself and becoming lord of the West.

“Hah. You’re truly mad.”

One of Jonas’s eyebrows arched. A mocking smile spread across his face.

“No. I’m serious. But if you agree to a mutual divorce, I’ll relinquish everything but one business.”

As if humoring her, Jonas leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.

“Bruno Trading Company. Just that one.”

“Bruno?”

The corner of Jonas’s mouth twisted into a crooked grin.