“Count, the Rachel's magic legion is coming to the outer castle of the territory.”
“……!”
At the guard's words, a fierce ripple surged in Karion's eyes.
He looked utterly dazed, as if he had not anticipated this situation at all.
Iana thought as she watched Karion.
‘Surely, he didn’t think that my brother would actually bring an army, did he?’
A naive thought lurking in the depths of her mind.
Karion must have known that the situation was serious, but it seemed he believed that a war would not actually occur.
At that moment, Karion unexpectedly blurted out,
“What was the relationship between the Marquis and Riel?”
“You interpret everything in terms of romantic relationships, Karion.”
Iana scoffed. But Karion, once again, ignored her words and muttered to himself.
“If that’s the case, it makes sense why the Marquis is reacting so violently.”
“Ha…!”
Iana sighed in disbelief.
“It’s strange to bring an army just because you took in a maid from the Rachel's family.”
“Not every man is like you, Karion. So don’t tarnish my brother’s honor.”
“What?”
Karion frowned and glared at her.
Iana pressed on without backing down.
“Now, it’s time for you to make a choice, Karion.”
“…….”
“Will you accept my proposal and end this here, or will you go to war with our Rachel family’s magic legion?”
“…….”
A twisted smile spread across Karion's lips as he looked at her.
“Iana, since it has come to this, let’s see it through to the end.”
“Just like you, Karion.”
Before Iana could protest, Karion suddenly stood up and roughly grabbed her wrist. He then pulled her along forcefully.
“Let go! I’ll follow on my own.”
With a bang-.
Karion violently opened the door.
“……!”
The guard standing in front of them looked shocked at the sight of the two.
“What are you standing there for? We’re going to the outer castle right now, so prepare the carriage!”
“Yes? Yes, Count.”
The guard hesitated for a moment before running down the corridor.
At that moment, people from the Dietrian family hurriedly approached from the other end of the hallway.
Her uncle glanced at Iana with a worried expression.
“Karion, what will you do if the Marquis of Rachel attacks knowing that His Highness Duke Erwin is here?”
Karion slowly raised Iana's wrist.
“Don’t worry. We have this hostage.”
“Hostage?”
“With a younger sister you cherish so much in the outer castle, would he really attack?”
Karion looked down at Iana with a sly smile.
His eyes were now filled with madness.
A gaze that swung mercilessly like a fist without regard for anything.
“Ha…!”
Iana let out a hollow laugh.
She believed she knew her husband well.
Having experienced enough in her past life, she thought she had seen the bottom of him. But that was not the case. Karion was a far worse human than she had known.
Uncontrollable rage surged within Iana.
‘I can’t let my magic burst out here….’
If it were discovered that she had magic, it was clear that Marcel would no longer help her with the divorce.
At that moment, the image of Charles facing the Dietrian family flashed through her mind.
“Count Dietrian, I warned you not to speak nonsense in the backyard.”
Iana suddenly had an epiphany.
‘Let’s take control of the situation like His Highness the Duke.’
“Karion, I don’t think that’s a good idea. It will only provoke the Marquis of Rachel further….”
Before her uncle could finish his sentence, Iana lightly said while looking at Karion,
“Fine, I’ll do it. A hostage.”
The unpredictable situation created anxiety, and that anxiety turned into fear. So Iana thought of taking the lead rather than being dragged along by the situation.
“What?”
“Instead, my proposal to maintain a military alliance even after the divorce will be off the table.”
“Maintaining the alliance even after the divorce?”
At her words, the Dietrian family members stirred.
“Follow me!”
Angry, Karion roughly pulled Iana along.
The Dietrian family members, unable to stop him, followed after him.
Karion descended the central staircase, pulling Iana strongly. Her small body looked precarious, as if she might fall at any moment.
The employees gathered in the central hall looked at the two with astonished faces.
“……!”
At that moment, Iana locked eyes with Charles, who was walking toward the central hall with a senior knight, Erwin.
The gaze Charles directed at her settled calmly.
‘From now on, I have to bear this entirely myself.’
Iana knew well through her memories of her past life how difficult it was to end things with a person of no standing.
But it was a stormy time that she had to experience at least once.
Iana sent a brief glance to Charles as if to say not to worry. Understanding her intention, Charles quietly observed the situation without intervening.
As they stepped out to the entrance of the inner castle, a carriage and about twenty guards were waiting.
“Get in quickly!”
Karion roughly shoved Iana into the open carriage door. Then he spoke to her uncle and the Dietrian family members who had followed.
“Gather our troops as much as possible. And request military support from the families allied with ours.”
Karion’s cousin looked at him with a shocked expression.
“Karion, are you really going to war?”
“If necessary, we must. For the honor of our family.”
Her uncle stepped forward and objected.
“Shouldn’t we first confirm what the situation is? I’ll follow right after.”
While Karion was talking with the family members, Iana looked at Charles, who was standing behind the employees at the entrance of the inner castle.
She nodded at him with a composed expression.
A moment later, Karion climbed into the carriage and sat across from her.
“We’re leaving.”
At the guard’s shout, the carriage procession rushed toward the castle gate.
A heavy silence filled the carriage.
Karion stared at her silently, while Iana looked out the window, avoiding his gaze.
Karion smirked as if finding it ridiculous.
“There’s only one way for you to leave our family, Iana.”
“…….”
“By dying.”
“What did you say?”
“Well, that wouldn’t be leaving our family either. You’d die as Iana Dietrian.”
“…….”
“That’s how marriage works. The moment you marry, a wife becomes her husband’s possession. So why should I have to lose what’s mine for reasons I can’t accept?”
She recalled what Charles had said to Karion.
“No one can abandon you. No one has dared to possess Iana.”
Iana leaned forward slightly and said,
“Don’t be mistaken. You’ve never possessed me, Karion.”
“…….”
“You’ve never possessed me, so what is there to lose?”
At that moment, Karion leaned back deeply in the carriage seat and smiled lazily.
“Why didn’t you act so boldly earlier? If you had, I wouldn’t have looked at Riel or Chloe.”
“You lacked charm as a man. You weren’t worth the effort to win my heart.”
Their gazes clashed sharply.
The carriage sped along.
* * *
After about an hour, the carriage arrived at the outer castle of the territory.
The outer castle of the Dietrian territory, which paid more attention to aesthetics than to battle, was adorned with marble statues everywhere.
The iron castle gate was firmly closed, and the knights guarding the outer castle were bustling about.
As the carriage arrived, one knight hurriedly ran over to open the carriage door.
“Count, you have arrived?”
Karion got out of the carriage and roughly pulled Iana out.
“Get down quickly!”
Iana complied with his words without resisting.
Karion headed toward the castle wall and asked the knight of the outer castle.
“How many troops from the Rachel family have arrived?”
“It seems to be at least a thousand… They didn’t bring regular troops, but a magic legion.”
“What?”
Karion’s eyes shook. Soon, his gaze turned to Iana.
‘It seems my brother is in a hurry. Seeing that he mobilized the magic legion….’
“I told you. My brother has no intention of backing down.”
Iana said mockingly.
“Shut your mouth and get up!”
Karion growled as he forcefully pulled her arm and ascended the castle wall stairs.
It was at that moment they reached the castle wall.
Buuuuuuum-.
The low horn of the Rachel family echoed.
“Wow!”
A moment later, an enormous cheer erupted, allowing them to gauge the scale of the troops.
As Karion stood on the castle wall, pulling Iana along, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring down with shattered eyes.
Iana’s gaze also turned to below the castle wall.
Flap-.
Dozens of blue flags of the Rachel family fluttered in the wind.
The troops of the Rachel family stretched endlessly like a blue wave.
They were in perfect formation, ready for an attack without a single disarray.
Whoosh-.
A cool sandy wind blew toward Iana and Karion standing on the castle wall.
Iana spoke in a low voice.
“Karion, you must have faced reality, so I’ll ask you again.”
“Shut up!”
Karion growled as he fiercely pulled Iana’s arm.
Iana, with an unwavering cold expression, said,
“Make a decision right now.”
“…….”
“Will it be divorce or war?”