Chapter 34
└[Tutor, Another Loss Today]
Ahem. Well, I guess anyone might want to skip a day now and then.
Hestina, who remained behind with me, didn’t seem fazed by her son’s behavior and simply watched Damien’s back as he left.
There was affection in her gaze, and it caught my eye.
‘The way she cares for her son, how she checks on the town and the estate…’
Although she wasn’t legally the Duke’s wife anymore, she was still doing everything a Duchess would.
Which led me to wonder:
‘Why did they get divorced?’
The comment fairies had vaguely explained it, but the information they passed along always felt hazy.
Since I ended up having tea time with her after our outing, I cautiously brought it up.
“Why don’t you live here, Hestina-nim…?”
“Are you curious about that?”
“Yes. Uh… it just felt odd that a family would live apart.”
I was also wondering if she might be ill—she looked healthy, but sometimes things don’t show on the surface.
While listening, Hestina placed a cookie on my plate as if urging me to eat, then finally spoke.
“Well… there are many reasons, but let’s just say we didn’t see a need to cling to being a couple.”
She gazed into the air, seemingly recalling old memories, and explained her situation in brief.
Being the daughter of a wealthy count, she never needed to rely on marriage for financial gain. And that hadn’t changed.
“To be honest, we’d already talked about divorce several times.”
As you know, Duke Valente is the commander of the Imperial Knights—a man who fought on the frontlines.
Though battles didn’t occur every single day, the Emperor and knights would often return home before heading out again.
Apparently, during one of those returns, Duke Valente brought up divorce.
Because… he was afraid Hestina might be left behind as a widow.
└[Whoa, Dad is sooo sweet 😭]
└[But why not the same for Rose?]
└[Mom waited until the war ended and he returned safe. That’s true love…]
└[I thought this would explain the divorce, but now I’m even more confused]
Right? It only makes it clear that their relationship wasn’t bad enough to warrant a divorce.
Seeing my confused expression, she summed it up simply.
“Living apart was just one of the options we always had.”
And that wasn’t the only reason. Her story slowly drifted back into the past.
“I didn’t brush it off as nonsense because… well, it was the day of our wedding.”
On the day she married Duke Valente, they had a moment to themselves to talk about their future together.
└[You mean wedding night, right?]
└[Oho…]
‘Can we not fill in the blanks in front of a child…?!’
Even if the kid was five and sharp as a tack, I doubted they could filter out the phrase “wedding night.”
While I tried to keep a straight face, Hestina continued.
“The Duke is a knight who protects the nation, right? So I told him… starting a family is like building a small country. So in our family, he must give me his full loyalty—with all his heart and body.”
…On your wedding night?
└[In bed…?]
└[With your whole body…?]
Don’t emphasize the location! Stop adding weird nuances…!
└[Slay, queen…]
└[Wait, she’s ‘Mom,’ now she’s suddenly ‘sis’?]
└[If she’s cool, she’s automatically a sis!!]
└[Author, please give us a side story on this]
└[Interested 👀]
The comment fairies, who loved romantic stories, seemed thrilled.
I, on the other hand, was reeling from the unexpected direction the conversation had taken, plus all the chatter from the fairies.
└[Too fast-paced for Rose, the lifelong single 😂]
That’s not the issue! My being single isn’t the problem!
‘W-Why am I hearing this kind of story?!’
Even that was already a lot for me to handle.
“And then the Duke said to me…”
And his reply was the real kicker.
“He said he was the Emperor’s knight and could only offer loyalty to His Majesty.”
└[On the wedding night?!]
└[…In bed?!]
└[Oh… Duke…]
Before, the fairies were reacting with sparkling eyes. Now, even though the words were similar, their gaze seemed dead.
└[I support divorce after hearing that]
…I agreed instantly.
“At the time, the situation required him to protect the country in order to protect his family. I understood. But I also knew that priorities could shift over time.”
“Yes.”
So they parted ways because their values diverged—that made sense.
‘But if that comment made her fall out of love, why delay the divorce?’
They waited until the war ended and peace returned. Then they divorced.
It felt like there was still an unspoken reason.
“Still, don’t you want to be with Damien-nim?”
“Of course.”
For a brief moment, loneliness flashed through her eyes.
Watching birds fly past the window, Hestina said:
“The title ‘Duchess’ means always being ‘the Duchess’ in front of everyone. But that’s not what I wanted.”
I looked puzzled again, and she rephrased in simpler words.
“There were more things I wanted to do as Hestina, not as the Duchess.”
“Ahh…”
└[But wouldn’t being Duchess give you more opportunities?]
Normally, yes. Power and money usually let you do a lot.
But Duke Valente’s situation was probably different.
From everything I’d heard so far…
‘It’s because of His Majesty.’
└[Does the Emperor like the Duke or something??]
└[Whoa??]
└[Did he push out the wife to monopolize the Duke 😱]
└[Irresistible Duke alert!]
└[Wrong genre, folks 😂]
What are you even imagining?!
I haven’t met His Majesty in person much, but I know enough.
After all, he almost became my father-in-law. I heard plenty from the second prince.
‘The Emperor is very wary of in-laws gaining power.’
Even before he ascended the throne, this was a big issue during the previous reign.
That’s why the second prince’s mother’s family—the Queen’s—held grudges. They ended up siding with the nobility.
The Crown Prince’s mother, the late Empress, was royalty from an allied kingdom and had little power in the Empire. She also passed away early due to illness.
└[Everywhere Rose goes, the moms are gone… Now the motherless Crown Prince is the male lead]
└[Wait… Is that a diss?!]
└[Nooo 😭 I swear it’s not!!]
Anyway, the Imperial family keeps tight control over in-laws. If the powerful Duchy fell under a wife’s influence, the Emperor wouldn’t be happy.
Even a small step over the line would trigger intense pressure.
So Hestina chose to give up her status in the Duchy in exchange for freedom.
└[A strong-willed mom paired with a personality-less Duke = destined match 💘]
I’m not sure the Duke is that lacking in personality…
Anyway, even if she’s an “outsider” to the Duchy now, her influence within the old family unit of three still remains. That’s what matters to me.
“Can’t I just stay here? The Duke keeps saying no.”
“I agree with him. This isn’t the right place for a child to live. That’s why Damien is going to the Academy. It’s better for children to grow and learn elsewhere.”
Meaning: I should be in a facility for children.
But if that’s the logic, then as an orphan, the only place left for me is the orphanage.
When I didn’t look convinced, Hestina turned the question back to me.
“Is there a reason you don’t want to return to the orphanage?”
“It’s not that I hate it. But… if someone shows up wanting to take me, I just have to go, right?”
I know—me following the Duke willingly makes this sound contradictory.
So I offered a reason she could understand.
“I want to find my real parents!”
“Do you have any memory of them?”
“Uhh, kind of? Maybe? I don’t think they had yellow hair like this. There was once a man with yellow hair who claimed I was his daughter. But I didn’t want to go with him. I don’t think he’s really my dad.”
Having no info about my real parents turned out to be useful—it let me make excuses without getting caught.
“That’s why I asked the Duke to be my guardian. That way, I wouldn’t have to go with anyone right away.”
That’s how I ended up following the Duke. A little fabrication, but close enough to the truth.
Hestina nodded as if she understood and responded lightly.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll become your guardian.”
“Really?!”
└[Ahh, only this mom feeds me emotional refreshment 🥹]
└[Was the Duke just a stepping stone?]
└[Father? Who’s that? I only see Mom now 😍]
