# 3.
Bestia wept, letting tears fall in streams, trying to appear delicate as her brother seemed cornered.
Her beautiful golden hair flowed softly over her shoulders.
“Hngh! Stop it, please.”
“Bestia, do not cry.”
When the Grand Duke soothed her, she continued speaking.
“Your Grace, my brother is someone who is immensely passionate about his lessons.”
“Yes, I know the Baron’s nature well.”
“Exactly. There must have been a misunderstanding. The Grand Duke’s Lady came in late, didn’t understand the situation, and only blamed based on the result.”
“A misunderstanding…”
“My brother said that the Grand Duke’s Son often failed to prepare his lessons in advance and frequently told lies. He also made the situation difficult by refusing corporal punishment.”
“…”
“He probably only intended to administer a simple punishment, didn’t he? Everyone does that.”
The Grand Duke remained silent. She, foolishly, took his silence as agreement.
‘She’s digging her own grave.’
I gently prompted her.
“Is Miss Rourke saying that it’s natural for a tutor to strike a student?”
“If necessary, yes. I was often whipped by my Madame when I was young, but I never considered it abuse. It was a loving correction!”
Miss Rourke spoke with a dramatic voice, like a lead in a play, and burrowed deeper into the Grand Duke’s arms.
Her use of her own experience was masterful. Sadly, she seemed unaware that it only provoked the Grand Duke further.
‘Yep. Goodbye, Grand Duke’s fleeting Mistress No. 1.’
I offered a silent moment of condolence. After a brief moment, the Grand Duke gently pushed her away.
“Your Grace?”
Bestia looked up at him, surprised. The Grand Duke’s face had stiffened.
“You may leave now. I am tired.”
As the Grand Duke ordered her dismissal, Bestia just blinked.
She looked bewildered that he was telling her to leave before she even saw me being scolded.
“Just a moment, Your Grace. Am I really leaving? Just like this?”
Ordinarily, the Grand Duke would have been delighted if Miss Rourke flirted, but not now. Grand Duke Hadellus dismissed her coldly.
“I told you to leave.”
“I don’t want to! You promised to scold the Grand Duke’s Lady!”
When Bestia shook her head and whined, the look in the Grand Duke’s eyes changed.
“Miss Rourke, since when do you talk back and refuse my orders?”
“Th-that’s…”
Bestia flinched at the change in atmosphere. But the damage was done.
“It seems I have held you in too high regard.”
“What?”
“I would prefer it if you did not frequent my castle anymore. I will have the room you usually reside in cleared out.”
“T-that’s impossible!”
Bestia trembled, as if she had heard earth-shattering news.
The Grand Duke nodded his head, and a waiting attendant near him said politely to her,
“Please come with me, Miss Rourke.”
“Don’t frequent the castle? What do you mean, Your Grace?!”
*What does it mean? It means he’s done having fun with you.*
I twitched the corner of my mouth, watching the unfolding spectacle.
“Drag her out.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The attendants, who had been hesitant, quickly answered and pulled Miss Rourke out.
“Grand Duke! How could you do this to me!”
Bestia pleaded tearfully, but the Grand Duke did not listen.
I hummed a tune inwardly and calmly watched Bestia being dragged out by the attendants.
Bestia had just made a huge mistake.
Of course, she had been standing on a precarious knife’s edge ever since she only cared about making herself look pretty and never paid attention to what the Grand Duke was doing.
The Grand Duke had recently submitted a bill to the council to prohibit child abuse and corporal punishment.
In the middle of the review, he couldn’t possibly overlook the visible abuse of his son, even if the perpetrator was the brother of his mistress.
He would likely try to silence and remove Baron Rourke and his sister, fearing the matter would leak out.
Romance was romance, and business was business. No matter how licentious the Grand Duke was, he had no need for a mistress who interfered with his work.
Moreover, Miss Rourke’s whining had recently become excessive and annoying, which also played a part.
He was already growing tired of her, and she had conveniently provided a reason for him to kick her out.
‘Phew. That takes care of one pair of trash siblings.’
In the original novel, the Grand Duchess found out about Akid’s abuse and blackmailed the Grand Duke into giving her a mine.
But now, the Grand Duke had found out first through accidental circumstances.
It was originally a secret the Grand Duchess had saved up to spite the Grand Duke, but what did it matter? My husband was being beaten, so I had to stop it.
I suppressed the upward twitch of my lips and chuckled inwardly.
Akid looked at me strangely, but I played innocent. Just then, the Grand Duke called me.
“Daughter-in-law.”
“Yes, Father-in-law.”
“This matter…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t breathe a word of it.”
When I replied smartly, the Grand Duke shrugged.
“Then both of you may leave.”
“We will take our leave then.”
Akid rose from his seat, bowing respectfully.
“Yes, Father-in-law! Have a good night!”
The Grand Duke narrowed his eyes at my cheerful greeting. He seemed to wonder why I was suddenly acting so familiar.
If I gave him a goodnight kiss right now, he’d probably freak out. I shrugged and grabbed Akid’s hand, exclaiming brightly,
“Let’s go, darling!”
This time, it was Akid who stared blankly at the hand I had grabbed. The Grand Duke also seemed very surprised by my action.
‘Ah, right. Our concept was that we were an estranged couple.’
I had been so happy about getting rid of the Rourke siblings that I had acted affectionately without thinking.
And ‘darling’!
Roena had never called Akid that.
‘I said exactly what came out of my heart.’
The habit of calling him ‘darling,’ ‘honey,’ and ‘mine’ before I even met him hadn’t been fixed.
It would be strange to withdraw my hand now. So, I decided to act as if I was wearing an iron mask.
Instead of pulling my hand away, I tightened my grip.
Then, I smiled sweetly with an innocent expression, and the Grand Duke spoke.
“Since when did you two…”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. You are a married couple, so it’s only natural. You may leave now.”
The Grand Duke waved his hand casually. I bowed once more and left the room with Akid.
Akid was silent the entire time we walked down the corridor. And when we reached the bedroom.
“What exactly are you thinking?”
Akid demanded, his face rigid.
“What do you mean, thinking? Is it a problem for me to protect my husband?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
Akid frowned and couldn’t complete his sentence.
He looked utterly confused by my sudden move to protect him.
To be fair, I hadn’t intended to break character this haphazardly either.
I wanted to approach him slowly, but what was I supposed to do when that Baron bastard infuriated me?
After a moment, Akid asked calmly.
“Did you do it on purpose?”
“Do what?”
“Provoke Miss Rourke.”
Akid got straight to the point, as if telling me not to beat around the bush. But I blinked innocently and feigned ignorance.
“Provoke? I just behaved normally?”
*Roena always caused this much trouble casually anyway, didn’t she?*
When I replied as if asking why he was making a big deal out of it, he couldn’t speak. The confusion on his face was clear.
I felt a little sorry for him, always suspicious of the other person’s intentions even with small gestures of kindness.
“More importantly, is your injury okay? Luckily, it looks like you treated it as I said.”
As I reached for his forehead, he gently caught my hand, stopping me.
“I am fine.”
“Whether you are fine or not, I will judge after seeing it.”
“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Didn’t you hate me, Wife?”
Akid’s slate-gray eyes faintly trembled between his dark hair.
His grip on my hand was so careful that it felt like it would drop if I moved even slightly.
Despite his cold tone, he was the one who cared the most about his wife.
He felt indebted to her for being forced into an unwanted political marriage at a young age.
Roena Hadellus knew his soft spot and used it to roam freely, tormenting him.
‘If it were me, I would have understood his heart better…’
Since she had tormented him for a whole year after the marriage, denying that she hated him would only breed more suspicion. So, I immediately admitted it.
“That’s right. I did hate… you, Akid.”
It hurt to see his expression harden at the word “hate,” so I mumbled the rest of the sentence vaguely. And before he could open his mouth, I quickly explained.
“But not anymore. I hope you can believe that.”
“…Didn’t you try to drown yourself because you hated me? Because your husband is illegitimate, and you didn’t want to be near him.”
Akid forced out words that were difficult for him to utter.
His lower lip trembled, and he looked incredibly pained.
He was right. The original Roena Hadellus genuinely despised him, solely because he was illegitimate.
And the day she fell into the water, I became Roena. Even with my transmigration, that fact hadn’t changed.
“That was true.”
“How do you think I felt when I saw you drowning yourself?”
Akid clenched his fist, continuing to speak, seemingly angry at my nonchalant reaction.
“I accepted that you hated me. But now you’re trying to take your own life. Just how miserable do you intend to make me?”
Akid raised his head, covering his eyes with his hand, and took a deep breath, as if reliving that moment vividly.
“Wait a moment, Akid…”
I was flustered that Akid was visibly agitated.
I tried to reach out to calm the overly intense atmosphere, but he stepped back. Akid didn’t stop talking.
“Please stop confusing people like you did today.”
With those words, he walked toward his private chambers, only to return and hand me a document.
“I will grant your wish. Take this. It is what you desired.”
“This is…”
“Divorce papers. You can have any amount of alimony you wish…”
“That’s impossible.”
I tore the divorce papers to shreds before he could even finish his sentence.
I didn’t forget to tear them into tiny pieces, just in case he tried to reuse them.
The white paper fluttered to the floor like snow. Akid’s eyes widened at my action.
I declared to the speechless, bewildered Akid.
“Divorce is absolutely out of the question. I don’t want a divorce.”
An emergency alarm began ringing in my head.
No backing out, no returns, and ” no divorce!”
