That wasn’t the only suspicious thing.
Just this afternoon, his aide had brought him a strange report.
“Your Grace, the Duchess has appointed one of the maids as her personal attendant. They’ve been spending a lot of time together and even chatting amicably.”
At those words, Cedric let out a cold, bitter laugh.
Rebecca had always loathed any woman within the same residence as Cedric. It didn’t matter who it was.
Servants, of course, were no exception. Even Cedric’s much younger sister, Bianca, hadn’t been spared from Rebecca’s hatred.
That’s why Bianca had been sent away to take refuge in the townhouse in the capital—all alone.
A woman like that, behaving kindly?
But the aide continued to deliver even stranger news.
“That’s not all. According to one of the maids, the Duchess lifted the maid’s arms to help her change dresses.”
“…?”
“She also brushed against the maid’s hand while putting on shoes… and didn’t scold her at all.”
Cedric and his aide looked at each other in disbelief.
“And most of all…”
The aide hesitated for a moment, looking as though even he couldn’t believe what he was about to say.
“The maids say she seemed… unusually happy today.”
“…Happy?”
And this was right after they’d talked about divorce.
Under normal circumstances, it should’ve been the peak of Rebecca’s obsession with the “mark.”
But she was in a good mood?
The more Rebecca acted out of character, the more tangled Cedric’s thoughts became.
‘What in the world is she scheming this time?’
Rebecca Twins.
She was someone you could never afford to let your guard down around.
To Cedric, this eerie calm felt just like the stillness before a storm.
‘Whatever she’s up to this time… I have to finalize the divorce.’
Cedric’s gaze sharpened as he ran a wet hand through his hair.
With that, he quickly put on his robe and stepped outside the room.
Whatever Rebecca’s intentions, he had to find out.
“D-Do you not like the scent? Should I change it?”
Mina, who had just poured lavender-scented oil into the bath, flinched as she asked.
It seemed my sigh had startled her.
Though she still spoke in a timid voice, always checking my mood, her expression was far more relaxed than when we first met.
“No, I like it.”
“Oh… you do?”
Mina awkwardly lifted the corners of her lips into a smile.
It must be strange to hear Rebecca—the woman who constantly threw tantrums and never had a kind word—say something like “I like it.”
Her horn, which had once protruded from her head, was now gone.
According to her, young half-demons often grew horns when frightened or overwhelmed by emotion.
I stared quietly at her youthful face.
Then, a sudden wave of unease made me narrow my eyes.
“There’s no poison in the bath oil, is there?”
“Come on, no!”
“Well. I am still the duchess. The timing’s not right yet, huh?”
“Yes, not yet.”
Mina giggled.
…This girl had a gift for saying creepy things in a cheerful tone.
I sank deeper into the warm, fragrant bathwater.
‘Phew… things are getting more complicated than I expected. How am I supposed to survive all this?’
To avoid further provoking Cedric, I had to finalize the divorce as soon as possible.
But if I left this estate immediately after the divorce, I might as well be signing my death certificate.
I needed time to gain the favor of the half-demons.
‘Is there any way I can get a divorce and earn the favor of the half-demons at the same time…?’
Just then, another maid entered and bowed politely.
“Your Grace, the Duke has come to visit.”
“Cedric?”
I blinked in surprise at the unexpected visitor.
‘I just started my bath…?’
Mina looked even more startled than I was.
“W-What do we do, Your Grace? Should I prepare a dress immediately? No, wait! First, let’s get you dried off, then makeup—!”
Mina began to panic, wiping her wet hands on her apron.
“What are you talking about? I just got into the bath. I’ll finish up quickly and then go out.”
“Pardon? But, Your Grace… will you be all right?”
Mina looked baffled by my calm attitude.
“Whenever the Duke visited, you’d drop everything and run out to greet him.”
“…Me?”
Mina nodded, clearly confused.
“Yes. So we always had to be ready to help you dress and prepare on the spot, just in case he showed up.”
“Wow, I really used to be like that…”
“…Your Grace, is it true you’ve lost your memory?”
Mina asked cautiously, concern in her voice.
But I only rubbed my cheek sheepishly.
Because honestly, my face was burning with embarrassment.
‘Maybe that made sense for the original Rebecca… but now that it’s my past, it’s just mortifying. Ugh…’
Apparently, whenever Cedric came looking for her, Rebecca would drop everything and rush to him like a lovesick fool.
‘Sure, Cedric is ridiculously attractive, but still. Was I part of some five-minute standby squad or what?’
That’s not how I wanted to live.
Mina had gone through the trouble of preparing this luxurious scented bath. I didn’t want to waste it.
And more importantly—
I was no longer the Rebecca who yearned only for Cedric’s love.
‘All right. As of today, I’m officially resigning from the Cedric Standby Squad.’
I leaned back in the tub, arms resting along the edge, and motioned to Mina.
“Keep going. I’ll head out when I’m done.”
Mina blinked, then hesitated.
“But this might take quite a while. The Duke probably won’t wait that long…”
“Who asked him to drop by unannounced? And at this hour, no less. What business could he possibly have with me?”
“Well… he is your husband, and you are his wife…”
Mina suddenly trailed off, lost in thought.
Her cheeks flushed red, and she bit her lip shyly, twisting her fingers together.
Whatever was going on in that little head of hers, it was clearly something scandalous.
‘Mina, no! Stop! It’s not like that!’
Rebecca had been rejected on her wedding night.
Since then, she’d constantly tried to initiate intimacy with Cedric, but he’d always turned her down, worn out by her obsessive behavior.
‘There’s no way Cedric suddenly showed up just to spend the night with me. But… I am curious about what he wants.’
After a moment of consideration, I gestured to the maid who had brought the message.
“Your Grace, I apologize, but the Duchess has only just begun her bath…”
That was usually followed by a message to wait briefly and that she would be out soon. And just like that, Rebecca would appear shortly after.
The problem was—every time, she would show up in lingerie, trying to seduce him.
So the moment Cedric heard the word “bath,” he had every intention of turning around and leaving.
But the maid’s next words made him pause in his tracks.
“She said she’ll do her best, but it may take quite a while. So if it’s not urgent, she’d prefer you not wait.”
The unexpected message left him stunned.
“And also, she asked that from now on, if you could please refrain from visiting her chamber without notice…”
Even as she relayed the message, the maid tilted her head in confusion.
As if the words coming out of her mouth didn’t feel real to her.
Cedric tried to act unaffected, but inwardly, he was thrown into deep confusion.
Ever since the talk of divorce, Rebecca’s behavior had completely defied his expectations.
If it were anyone else, Cedric might have accepted the sudden change more easily.
But it was Rebecca.
Even just thinking about her made it hard to breathe.
Her obsession and possessiveness had grown worse with each passing day, to the point where it had become unbearable.
She would do anything to possess him.
Even—just like now—stage an elaborate performance.
“She could’ve told me herself. Tell her I’ll wait.”
And so, for the first time in his life, Cedric decided to wait for Rebecca.
Because he needed to face her in person to assess her true intentions.
Only then could he prepare a divorce strategy accordingly.
Cedric desperately wanted this divorce.
…
…
…
Who knew how long that unfamiliar waiting would last?
A faint shadow fell over the teacup on the table.
Cedric glanced up and found Rebecca, smiling softly, looking down at him.
“Cedric.”
It was unmistakably her voice.
But how could it sound so gentle, so calm?
What’s more—she wasn’t wearing heavy makeup, nor was she in lingerie.
Dressed in a modest silk robe of a pale color, her face slightly flushed from the bath—
Her red hair was loosely tied up, and beads of water still clung to her pale neck.
A natural blush bloomed on her unpainted cheeks.
It was a fresh, candid look—one Cedric had never seen before in five years of marriage.
He instinctively turned his head slightly away.
“What brings you here?”
Rebecca sat across from him on the sofa, where a warm teacup had been placed in front of her as well.
After taking a sip, she slowly opened her mouth.
“Not that I mind… but I didn’t expect you to come see me at this hour without a reason. I didn’t think you’d actually wait either.”
Her tone almost sounded like a gentle scolding.
Cedric suddenly recalled what his aide had said.
‘Did she really… change?’
For a brief moment, the thought crossed his mind.
But the wall of mistrust built over years was not so easily broken.
“I heard you appointed a personal maid.”
“Oh, Mina?”
“Mina?”
Cedric’s brows rose high.
“…That’s unexpected. Didn’t you hate every woman in the castle? Even if they were men, if they were near me, you couldn’t stand them.”
“I’m done acting like that. It only made me look ridiculous.”
Cedric couldn’t believe his ears.
‘Did she just say what I think she said…?’
His brow furrowed in disbelief—but only for a moment.
‘Ah, of course. This is part of her act too.’
The woman before him was still Rebecca.
He’d just been thrown off by how much she’d changed.
“What a pity. If only that realization had come to you a bit sooner.”
“I know. Truly.”
Rebecca nodded without protest.
‘Unbelievable. She really doesn’t know when to quit.’
Cedric clenched his jaw, his face tightening with tension.
“What I mean is—no matter how much you change now, I have no intention of canceling the divorce.”
Surely she wouldn’t be able to stand it now.
Her tantrums and desperate clinging would start any moment, continuing all night long.
Just imagining it made it hard to breathe.
But then—
“So do I.”
A voice that was unnervingly calm and firm.
It was a completely unexpected response.
As if mocking his disbelief, Rebecca spoke again—this time with even greater clarity.
“I’m going to divorce you, no matter what.”
