Bang-.
The door to Karion's office swung open violently.
Thud!
Karion entered and threw his jacket onto the floor.
His uncle, who had followed him in, raised his voice angrily.
“Karion, what gives you the right to be so upset?”
“Why are you intervening, Uncle? How can you so easily allow the divorce?”
Karion lunged at his uncle like a madman.
Smack-.
His uncle slapped Karion's cheek hard.
“You pathetic fool!”
“Uncle……”
Karion looked at his uncle with a shocked expression.
It was the first time.
Having lost his parents to illness at a young age and raised by his uncle, he had never been punished like this.
“Because of a lowly maid, our family has been brought to this state, and now you’re blaming someone else?”
His uncle, thoroughly enraged, pressed Karion hard.
Only then did Karion continue in a subdued voice.
“Uncle, look at the situation accurately. It doesn’t make sense to risk war over a maid who has received the favor of the Rachels family.”
“……”
“There must be some other scheme at play. It seems there was some relationship between the Marquis of Rachels and that maid.”
His uncle sighed and sat down on the sofa.
“Then what exactly do you propose?”
Karion approached the sofa and sat down, a sly smile creeping onto his face.
“We can’t just give in easily. Since we’ve agreed to the divorce they want, the initiative is now in our hands.”
As his uncle pondered Karion's words, a thought seemed to strike him.
“So you’re saying we should pretend to agree to the divorce while getting what we want?”
“Yes. That’s right. They can’t mobilize their troops again now that we’ve said we’ll divorce.”
“The more we do this, the more anxious the Rachels family will become.”
“Exactly, so we must extract everything we can from the divorce.”
Karion thought with a twisted smile.
‘Iana, what I want most is to see you in pain.’
* * *
At that time, Iana and Marcel entered her room.
The two sat facing each other on the sofa in silence.
A cold atmosphere, like a winter wind, flowed between them.
Iana broke the silence first.
“I proposed to Karion. To divorce but maintain a military alliance.”
“Who gave you the right to make such a proposal?”
Marcel shouted sharply.
“If we turn them completely into enemies, they will try to uncover why we are pushing so hard.”
“……”
Another silence fell between the two.
Marcel stood up from the sofa and approached the window. After looking outside for a moment, he turned back and said.
“We don’t need to completely sever ties with a family favored by the Emperor.”
“What about Riel?”
“Just wait. Soon, it will conclude in the direction you want.”
Marcel’s gaze was arrogant, beyond mere confidence.
“Let me remind you again, you must never underestimate Riel.”
“She’s just a maid.”
Marcel still looked down on Riel.
“That maid will read your brother’s true intentions.”
“What?”
“Find out how Riel’s investigation is going, and let Ervin know. Regularly.”
“Are you telling me to report to you?”
Iana retorted in a low voice.
“Should I go out of Ervin to receive reports?”
“……”
“Then it will only be a matter of time before my magical abilities are revealed.”
A fire ignited in the eyes of the two as they stared at each other.
Knock knock.
At that moment, a voice from Vera came through the door.
“Lady, it’s Vera.”
“Come in.”
Vera entered the room holding Lu.
“Your lordship requests your presence in the conference hall.”
“Okay, got it.”
At that moment, Vera seemed to have something to say as she glanced toward the door.
“Lady, please hold Lu for a moment. She seems a bit down since she’s been away from you all day.”
“Lu?”
Iana immediately turned her gaze to Lu.
Lu, looking downcast, didn’t even glance at her and happily munched on hay.
Swish-.
Vera approached and handed Lu to Iana, slipping a note into her hand. Then she whispered as quietly as possible.
“It’s from His Grace the Duke.”
Iana took Lu and pretended to pet her while checking the note.
[I have an audience scheduled and will be going to the palace. Our knights will be waiting in the village of Birto outside the Ervin outer castle.]
Marcel’s face darkened as he approached from behind and read the note.
Iana burned the note in the candle on the table.
Watching this, she spoke in a low voice.
“Brother, I think you need to hurry.”
“……”
“We can’t let His Grace the Duke’s party wait.”
* * *
A little later, Iana and Marcel headed to the conference hall of the White Castle with the Rachels family’s escort knights.
In front of them stood dozens of armed knights from the Ervin family.
Sharp voices from the Ervin family could be heard beyond the conference room door.
Bang-.
As the guards opened the door on both sides, a familiar scene unfolded before Iana’s eyes.
Five family elders and Karion were seated at the table in front, surrounded by members of the Ervin family.
It looked just like a courtroom.
Iana scoffed at the sight.
‘It’s the same. Just like when they forced me to divorce and disowned me in my past life.’
Iana and Marcel entered the conference hall.
As the Rachels family’s escort knights tried to follow, the Ervin knights blocked them.
In the end, only Iana and Marcel could enter.
As the two sat in front of the table, the Ervin family members began to criticize Iana as if they had made a pact.
“How can a noblewoman, who should be dignified, damage a family heirloom out of jealousy? Is this reasonable?”
“Is that all? The duties of a couple are more important than the obligations between families. Yet you refuse that and even dare to leave?”
They were trying to highlight Iana’s faults to gain an advantage in the negotiations.
Iana faced them with a completely clueless expression.
“You seem to be mistaken. I have never damaged the heirloom.”
Karion jumped up and spat out.
“What? Iana, you said you would tell the truth after your recovery.”
“In fact, I went to meet a healer who could cure my illness. That’s why I was able to recover, and I meant to tell the truth when I returned.”
“What?”
Bang!
At that moment, Marcel slammed his fist on the table.
“……!”
The Ervin family members looked at Marcel with surprised expressions.
Marcel spoke in a chilling voice as a warning.
“From now on, we have exactly one hour.”
His uncle, not backing down, asked in a strong tone.
“Marquis, what do you mean by that?”
“If the two families do not reach an agreement within one hour, war will resume.”
The Ervin family members reacted strongly to Marcel’s words.
“Are you suggesting we negotiate now? Or are you threatening us?”
‘Brother is pushing the situation to shorten the negotiation time.’
Iana added from the side.
“Perhaps you all have misunderstood. We, the Rachels family, are currently in a truce.”
“Iana, how dare a woman interrupt when men are speaking?”
Karion shouted angrily. Just then, as the two glared at each other, Marcel spoke in a heavy voice.
“Today, the Ervin family’s poor combat capability has been clearly revealed.”
“……!”
The Ervin family members fell silent, as if struck at their core.
“There were many structures on the walls that hindered combat, and the outer castle knights, who should have delayed as much as possible, couldn’t even form ranks when the enemy appeared.”
Marcel’s words shook the fears of the Ervin family, and his uncle seemed to be insulted.
“This is not the time to evaluate our family’s combat capability. We are here to discuss the divorce……”
At that moment, Marcel interrupted his uncle and threw down the gauntlet.
“I will ask one last time. How about divorcing but maintaining the alliance?”
“What do you mean by that?”
His uncle tilted his head.
Karion asked with a look full of suspicion.
“Is it possible to maintain a military alliance while divorcing? If our family is in crisis, the Rachels family won’t help, will they?”
“Proof from the Chancellor. Would that suffice?”
Proof from the Chancellor.
It was a procedure to swear before the Chancellor, meaning ‘a promise with God.’
Failing to uphold the Chancellor’s proof could serve as justification for war and reparations, so it had to be chosen carefully.
Iana immediately grasped Marcel’s intention.
‘Brother is being clever. Even if all the facts are revealed later, the Ervin family won’t be able to attack.’
“……!”
Karion and the Ervin family members looked surprised at the unexpectedly large proposal.
“This is my only offer. I will not accept any other negotiation terms.”
At Marcel’s words, the Ervin family members murmured for a moment.
Iana and Marcel exchanged glances. Then Marcel slowly stood up and said.
“Seeing that there’s no response, it seems the negotiations will fall through……”
At that moment.
Karion casually threw out a line.
“Let’s state the reason for the divorce as Iana’s failure to fulfill her marital duties. If you accept this condition……”
“……”
“I will agree to the divorce. Right here, right now.”