“Karion, I’ve come to get a divorce.”
“……”
Karion had no response to Iana’s words.
‘What on earth has happened during this time?’
For a moment, she didn’t even feel like Iana.
Although it was for the sake of the family, Karion was not pleased with the marriage to a frail woman.
Of course, Iana was prettier than he had expected, and he liked her childlike innocence, which made her easy to deceive.
That said, he couldn’t say he felt indifferent about it.
Iana, who had been like that, had suddenly appeared a few days later, her illness completely gone, looking vibrant and full of life.
“Karion.”
As she called him insistently, irritation surged within Karion.
His pride was hurt at the sight of Iana, who dared to utter the word divorce, and himself, staring at her foolishly.
Karion became furious.
“Even if I throw you away, it’s my decision! Don’t you know that the right to decide on divorce lies solely with me, your husband?”
“What did you say?”
“So stop with the nonsense and listen to me while you’re still my wife!”
Just as Karion was about to grab Iana’s wrist, hidden beneath her cloak,
“Ah!”
He felt a sharp pain as if he had been bitten by something and quickly withdrew his hand.
Upon closer inspection, there was a small bite mark clearly visible on the back of his hand.
Something was wriggling inside Iana’s cloak, and a tiny rabbit peeked out, twitching its pink nose.
“What is that?”
“It’s a rabbit I’m raising instead of a puppy.”
“What?”
Karion sighed in disbelief. He immediately shouted to the butler and servants behind him.
“Quickly, lock Iana in her room!”
“Lock her in? I’ll go in on my own.”
Iana pushed him aside and got out of the carriage.
Just as Karion was about to say something sharp,
“Wow……!”
The people of the Dietrian family and the hired help gathered around the carriage gasped in awe.
Iana’s face, seen in the light, was radiant.
She walked gracefully, not the frail Iana who used to be supported by maids.
Her steps exuded vitality and confidence.
The maids stared in astonishment, exclaiming,
“Lady, you look truly beautiful and healthy.”
“I thought you were someone else.”
“Really?”
Iana’s cheeks flushed as she murmured shyly.
At that moment, the Dietrian family members approached her and began to criticize.
“Countess, what gives you the right to bring up divorce first?”
“Exactly. Look at how you’ve brought disgrace to both families, and now you’re flaunting your pretty face!”
“……”
Iana quietly listened to their words.
“Since there are hired hands here, let’s go inside and…”
As Karion tried to intervene, his angry uncle sneered.
“The reason the Rachels family is thriving is not because Marquis Marcel Rachels is not a great wizard.”
“……”
“It’s customary to greet the elders of the family when you meet them. With no one to correct such rude behavior, is it any wonder the family is in such disarray?”
“Is that so?”
Iana met her uncle’s gaze directly and twisted her lips into a smile.
“Iana, how dare you talk back to your uncle?”
As Karion tried to intervene, his uncle pressed Iana harder.
“To be honest, if I had known the late Marquis Rachels would pass away so early, I wouldn’t have accepted a frail woman into our family.”
“……”
“Indeed. We were worried whether she could fulfill her role as a woman. Is that why you fled to your family, refusing your marital duties?”
A man from the family chimed in.
“Uncle, the hired hands are watching. Let’s talk inside.”
Karion looked around and tried to intervene again.
At that moment, Iana spoke in a calm voice.
“My father must be regretting this from heaven.”
“What?”
Her uncle’s face hardened.
“If my husband knew he was marrying a lowly man who took in a maid from a slave background, he would have thought twice.”
“Iana!”
An enraged Karion shouted. But Iana calmly responded.
“Don’t argue with a frail woman; focus on preparing for the divorce on a family level.”
“Lock Iana up right now. Hurry!”
The butler and servants rushed in.
“I told you I’d go in on my own!”
Iana huffed and entered the inner chamber.
The flustered butler and servants exchanged bewildered glances before chasing after her.
Karion, still fuming, shouted at Iana’s retreating figure.
“Don’t give Iana any food or water without my permission. Understood?”
Karion thought as he looked at the entrance to the inner chamber where she had gone in.
‘There’s something going on. There must be a reason why Iana has suddenly changed into someone else.’
“Oh my goodness……”
Iana, holding Lou, entered her room and couldn’t close her mouth.
The room was a complete mess, filled with broken furniture.
The butler who followed her in looked apologetic.
“Lady, I’m sorry. The master was very angry, so… We’ll sneak in food for you.”
“No, it’s fine. If we get caught, the Count will scold us severely. Don’t worry; I have a plan.”
“……Then, understood.”
The butler and servants bowed and left.
As soon as the door closed, Iana set Lou down and rummaged through her cloak to pull something out.
“I knew this would happen, so I hid everything.”
Inside the bag she had slung over her cloak were a water bottle, bread, cookies, and plenty of hay for Lou to eat.
Iana took a small box from the closet to keep Lou safe and placed him inside.
While cleaning the room, she muttered to herself as if talking to Lou.
“Karion was like this before too. Whenever I displeased him even a little, he would lock me in the room to correct my behavior.”
Iana recalled the Dietrian family members who had blamed her before her regression.
“They say I gave our family’s money to a healer who became a mistress; how could I just stand by and watch that?”
“Of course, I should get a divorce! Didn’t they tarnish our family’s honor?”
The Dietrian family members who had just criticized Iana looked just like they did when they forced her to divorce, believing the false rumors spread by Riel in her past life.
“Why couldn’t I say a word back then and just cried? How foolish…”
A flood of thoughts and emotions washed over her. She fell into a gloomy mood for a while.
At that moment, she noticed a white fluffball moving around.
“Lou! How did you get out?”
As Iana approached Lou, he seemed to find a spot next to the bed comfortable and lay on his back, exposing his white belly.
Pfft…!
Seeing that, Iana, who had been feeling down, couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“I guess even His Highness the Grand Duke smiles when he sees you like this.”
Through the window, the bright, round moon shone.
“By the way, I wonder if His Highness the Grand Duke had a good conversation with His Majesty the Emperor?”
Iana kept recalling the image of Charles standing alone by the lakeside.
At that moment, she heard familiar footsteps from outside the door.
“Lou, come here!”
Iana quickly hugged Lou and shoved the food and water on the floor under the bed.
Bang-.
The door swung open violently as Karion entered.
Iana, with a tense expression, held Lou tightly in her arms.
Karion approached, knelt down, and stared at her silently.
He slowly scanned her eyes, nose, and lips with his gaze.
In the suffocating atmosphere, Iana broke the silence with a sharp look.
“What are you doing?”
Instead of answering, Karion slowly reached out his hand toward her face.
Smack!
Iana roughly pushed his hand away.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Karion chuckled as if finding it amusing.
“Iana.”
“……”
Iana glared at Karion without saying a word.
“When your husband calls, you should respond.”
Iana looked him straight in the eye and said,
“I no longer consider you my husband. I came here to end our marital relationship.”
“Iana, do you not know how a divorced woman is treated in the Empire?”
“I think it would be better to live under the world’s scrutiny than as your wife.”
As Iana shot back without hesitation, Karion gripped her nape tightly.
Then, he leaned in close enough for her to feel his breath, wearing a haughty smile.
“If you’re not trusting your brother, then why have you changed so suddenly?”
“Let go!”
Iana pushed him away, but Karion didn’t care.
He brought his face closer, carefully scanning Iana’s features as he spoke.
“Women don’t change suddenly without a reason. Especially when their appearance changes dramatically.”
“What are you trying to say?”
A tense atmosphere hung between them.
“Iana, answer me directly.”
“What about?”
“Has another man appeared?”
“Ha…!”
Iana let out a laugh she hadn’t expected at Karion’s words.
“Are you laughing now?”
“The illness has vanished from the face of someone who was sick. What do you think is the first thing that comes to mind?”
“Be serious.”
Karion commanded firmly, but Iana continued without caring.
“Shouldn’t a proper husband first ask whether the illness has improved or how it disappeared?”
At her mocking words, flames ignited in Karion’s eyes.
“Let go!”
He gripped her nape even tighter as she desperately tried to push him away.
Karion leaned in close enough for their lips to almost touch and spoke coldly.
“Iana, if you’ve found another man and are acting so recklessly…”
“……”
“I will kill both of you with my own hands.”