Chapter 15
“…Did I wake you?”
When Duke Western quietly opened the door and entered the room, the first thing he saw was Maia sitting on the bed, drenched in cold sweat.
Thank goodness. What would’ve happened if he had come any later? Maia struggled to hide her nervous sweat and took a breath.
The thought alone was horrifying.
“……”
But something about the Duke’s expression seemed off.
He wasn’t looking directly at her and stood frozen at the doorway, not stepping inside.
What’s wrong with him? Maia tilted her head in confusion—then suddenly realized.
She was wearing only a chemise, without even a shawl.
That wasn’t all. In the scuffle with Lihi earlier, she had jumped onto the bed in a rush, and now her pale legs were fully exposed.
This is insane.
Maia hurriedly wrapped herself in the blanket on the bed.
“……”
Only then did the Duke finally step inside.
Looking like he had a lot to say, he set the candle down on the table and sank quietly into the sofa.
Maia, watching him, spoke hesitantly.
“…What brings you to my room at this hour?”
The sudden reminder of the chaotic moments just before made her unable to muster a polite tone.
“Is there something a husband and wife shouldn’t do?”
The moment he answered, Maia couldn’t stop the expression on her face from breaking apart.
Duke Western stared slowly at the scenery beyond the window where dawn was breaking and brought up the reason for his visit.
“Why did you say something like that in front of His Majesty?”
…Apparently, Duke Western hasn’t understood a single thing I’ve said all this time.
“What do you mean? Have you forgotten how many times I’ve asked you for a divorce?”
How many times have I told you I want a divorce? Where have you been storing all those words?
Maia forced her tone to stay civil as she packed two meanings into one sentence. The Duke’s lips tightened.
She sighed and glanced slightly toward the wardrobe where Lihi was hiding.
He must’ve heard everything.
Even if they had seen everything of each other before, exposing her marital issues like this in front of a friend was beyond humiliating.
Maia scowled and murmured,
“I didn’t expect His Majesty to go that far. Did you… make some kind of request of him?”
“How could I possibly make a personal request of His Majesty? No, I didn’t.”
Duke Western immediately denied Maia’s suspicion.
His response only made things more complicated.
Sure, the Emperor had been kind to her, but still—why did it feel so awkward?
Just then, an unfamiliar warmth touched her hand.
Startled, Maia looked down.
The Duke had placed his hand gently on top of hers.
Maia scowled and tried to pull her hand away immediately.
He didn’t let her.
“What are you doing?”
Maia asked in a hushed tone, trying hard to suppress her voice.
The Duke hesitated before responding.
“His Majesty said he would not permit us to annul the marriage. So… can’t we try to live as husband and wife from now on?”
Maia was dumbfounded.
What utter nonsense.
It wasn’t even worth responding to.
She didn’t say anything. All she wanted was to shake off the awkward feeling of his touch.
But the Duke only gripped her hand tighter.
Embarrassed, flustered, and painfully aware that Lihi could hear everything from inside the wardrobe, her face flushed red.
And then—
BOOM—!
“Ah!”
A thunderous explosion echoed from the direction of the estate’s garden.
The ground trembled violently, as if the earth itself were wailing in agony.
CRASH—!
Another loud blast followed right after.
“What the…?”
Through the ringing in her ears, Maia heard the Duke speak in disbelief.
Their eyes met, both filled with confusion.
He finally let go of her hand, got up, and pulled aside the curtain to see outside.
A moment of silence passed.
“…Something’s happened in the garden.”
The Duke turned around with a troubled expression.
Maia frowned at his vague explanation.
“I’d better go check it out. I’ll be back.”
Without another word, Duke Western rushed out of the room.
“…What the hell is going on?”
Maia stared blankly at the empty space he left behind and murmured.
This wouldn’t do—she had to see it for herself.
Maia slowly got up from the bed and walked toward the window.
She drew back the wildly flapping curtain, and a cold dawn breeze hit her full on.
Squinting against the wind, she looked down at the garden.
“Hiccup.”
A sudden hiccup escaped her lips.
Just yesterday, the lush garden had been filled with blooming flowers and aromatic shrubs. But now…
It looked like a meteor had hit it.
A giant crater had obliterated a huge portion of it.
The flowers and bushes around it, still intact, only made the devastation in the center more surreal and horrifying.
“What… is this…”
Maia’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.
What could’ve possibly done this to the earth?
Alright, suppose it was a meteor.
But if a meteor had hit, wouldn’t I be dead right now?
She shifted her thoughts—what if it was magic?
Could there even exist a mage with enough power to punch through the protective mana barrier surrounding the Western estate?
“Wow—what a clean blow. Better than I expected.”
A light whistle sounded, and Lihi approached Maia’s side.
His peaceful expression as he casually looked over the scene made Maia turn to him in disbelief.
“H-how did this happen? Why… why all of a sudden…?”
She didn’t expect an answer from Lihi.
Still, at this point, she was desperate enough to grab anyone and demand to know what was going on.
But Lihi just replied in a strangely pleased tone.
“Who knows. Maybe the spirits of the earth were offended by some kind of ridiculous nonsense they overheard.”
A completely irrelevant and bizarre response.
Maia frowned and glared at him.
“Why?”
But the moment she saw Lihi’s smiling face, her will to argue vanished.
“…Never mind. It’s nothing.”
She shook her head weakly and let out a deep sigh, her sleepless face pale and worn.
She had no idea why the garden was in such a state.
Ever since I decided to get divorced, things I never thought I’d experience have kept happening one after another, leaving me no room to breathe.
That dawn,
The garden in the east wing was half-destroyed by some unknown force. Despite extensive investigation, they found nothing, and efforts turned toward summoning a mage to restore it.
That’s when the real problem began.
“It won’t restore…!”
The mage dispatched from the Magic Tower confessed with a ghostly pale face, trembling in sheer terror.
“…What do you mean?”
Duke Western frowned, pressing for answers.
The mage, deathly pale, clenched and unclenched his bony hands, then muttered as if in a trance.
“This vile mana, this savage technique! It’s as if the magic itself is threatening to tear my head off if I so much as lay a finger on it!”
“…Excuse me?”
Unable to hold back, the Duke stepped in.
The mage met his eyes, a mixture of madness and fear swirling within.
“I can’t do it.”
“…What did you say?”
“If I touch that thing, I’m dead… I’m sorry, dear client!”
And with those frantic words, the mage vanished without a trace.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!”
It was the first time Maia saw the Duke shouting in sheer fury.
With her chin propped by the windowsill, Maia let out a small sigh.
But even that incident barely ranked compared to what I’m dealing with now.
“If you change your mind, send word.”
That day, Lihi had said it with the most charming smile, dimples and all.
I was nervous, realizing he still hadn’t given up.
“You…”
“No rebuttals, milady.”
My protest was cut off by Lihi’s bright tone.
“See you again.”
He leapt off the balcony and tossed a small owl figurine toward me—it had somehow returned to being a statue.
Caught off guard, I instinctively reached out and caught it.
I stared blankly at the tiny figure in my hands and shouted after him.
“Hey!”
But there wasn’t a single trace of him left below.
