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The carriage with the Farnese family crest stopped in front of the hotel.
Feidan stepped out of the carriage.
As soon as he entered the hotel, he immediately looked for Leticia.
"Isn't the Duchess Farnese here? Where is she?"
The employee, who seemed inexperienced as if he had just started working, was flustered and replied,
"E-excuse me, but what is your relationship with the guest...?"
Feidan's brow furrowed at the employee's obstruction.
He was disgusted by the employee who didn't recognize the face of the head of one of the only three ducal families in the empire.
"I'm that woman's husband."
Only then did the employee realize that Feidan was the Duke of Farnese, and his face turned pale.
The hotel's general manager, who appeared late between the frozen employee and Feidan, interjected.
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency. This friend is a new recruit who came last week... I will guide you to the room where the Duchess is staying―"
"No, just tell me the room number."
Feidan retorted irritably.
The general manager immediately told him Leticia's room number.
Feidan's eyes sank coldly as he went up to the upper floors.
'I even stopped her from going out, and she still went out overnight?'
He had asked Leticia for a divorce yesterday.
And unlike his expectations, Leticia immediately accepted the divorce request, and even left the house.
Despite him stopping her.
Feidan was not happy with the current situation where he had to come to catch her again.
Yes, there was a time when he was impatient with her.
He was curious about the woman who didn't waver at him, whom any woman would admire.
He had a competitive spirit to conquer that woman, and after finally winning her over...
She was just a proud trophy.
The sense of superiority that he had conquered and possessed her, who didn't give any other man a glance.
That was all.
Leticia's beauty, which he had finally conquered and kept by his side, no longer moved him.
Her upright words, which used to be his pride, had become unpleasant words that scratched his nerves.
"Raising coal prices at this time before winter is not a good idea, Feidan. People in difficult circumstances will have a hard time getting through the winter..."
"Wouldn't it be better to buy better parts even if they are a little more expensive? If you make things using cheap parts right away, you will make a profit, but in the long run, making proper things is..."
Everything Leticia said was right.
Everything went the way she said.
She dared to do that.
The woman who was just a trophy stole his glory and tried to teach him.
Only then did he miss Elise, his first love.
She was obedient and acted like he was her whole world.
So after bringing Elise, the aloof Leticia began to cling to him.
He enjoyed that change.
However, he couldn't stand the sight of his trophy being snatched by another man, so Feidan planned to ruin Leticia miserably.
He wanted Leticia, who loved him, to be miserably divorced and regretfully miss only him for the rest of her life.
'Yes, I was definitely happy until a few days ago...'
But when she was notified of the divorce from him, she didn't seem to regret it at all.
Something was wrong.
'There's no way Leticia doesn't love me.'
The woman who used to look at him with sad eyes couldn't be like that.
'She's just trying to bring me to my knees like before with a battle of wits.'
Yes, that must be it.
Maybe she's crying alone at the hotel. She can't bring herself to go home first out of pride.
'If I talk about divorce more seriously, she will realize the reality and stop this kind of battle of wits.'
Feidan, who arrived in front of the door where Leticia was staying with a confident expression like a soldier who had won, knocked without hesitation.
He held the documents related to alimony in his hand.
"Leticia, it's me. I wanted to talk about yesterday's events for a moment."
He hid the word 'divorce' in case someone passing by might hear it.
But even after waiting a little longer, there was no answer.
'I guess it takes a long time to clean up the traces of tears.'
Waiting a little longer with a generous heart, the door opened cautiously and Erin peeked out.
But the words that came out of her mouth were different from what he expected.
"The mistress has gone out."
"...What?"
Feidan's expression, which had been full of anticipation, was terribly distorted.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief as I got into the hired carriage waiting in front of the Duke's residence.
'The first stage has been successfully passed.'
My body was limp, as if I had been nervous without realizing it.
When I leaned my head against the carriage, the pressed hair caught my eye.
Suddenly, I remembered the situation from earlier.
"Goodbye, my love."
When I remembered that face with the seductive smile, my heart reflexively sank.
'It's definitely a dangerous face.'
I had been feeling it before, but seeing it up close, I realized anew how handsome that face was.
Of course, that would only stop at instinct, like naturally being drawn to beautiful things.
Such trivial emotions or interests are a luxury for me now.
I put away my thoughts and made the next plan.
'Now the next step is... to safely get the divorce papers from Feidan.'
The contract with Idris is only valid if I get divorced and get the dowry back.
So in a way, the next step was much more important.
But for now.
'It will take some time to get divorced, so today I should eat something delicious and rest as a celebration.'
That was definitely the plan.
Until I found Feidan arguing with Erin at the returned hotel.
"It's rude to enter a room without the owner."
"Ha! What's the problem with a husband going into his wife's room and waiting?"
"But Your Excellency...!"
"I told you to get out when I was talking nicely. Don't think I'll be lenient just because you're a woman."
Even so, surely he wouldn't try to push his way in with force, given his aristocratic face?
"I told you to get out, didn't I?"
...As soon as I thought that, my ex-husband—it's embarrassing to even call him that—began to show the unsightly behavior beyond imagination himself.
I felt pathetic about my past self who believed in and loved such a guy.
"You can't do this, Your Excellency!"
The moment Feidan tried to push Erin away, I couldn't stand to see it anymore and stepped out.
"Feidan."
"Leticia?"
Feidan stopped his actions and looked back.
"Where the hell have you been without saying a word?"
He tried to break into a room I wasn't in a little while ago, and he's yelling at me instead. I'm speechless.
"Do I have an obligation to tell you my destination every single time?"
"Is that what you're saying now! I'm your husband."
Husband.
At the absurd word that came out of his mouth, I smiled and whispered to him as I approached him.
"And soon you'll be someone else's problem."
"You really...!"
Just as Feidan was about to raise his voice in anger.
"Shh."
I put my index finger to my lips and gestured for him to be quiet.
"You better kill that personality of yours."
"What?"
"Wouldn't it be more difficult for you than me if you keep talking here?"
When I looked around, Feidan finally noticed the presence of the cleaners around him and paused.
It would be difficult for him if the divorce scandal of the Duke and Duchess Farnese broke out after making more noise here.
Conscious of the cleaners, he pushed Erin away and entered the room.
I gestured for Erin to wait outside and followed him in.
"By the way, what brings you here in person? It could have been delivered through Lord Lockhard."
Lockhard was the name of Feidan's aide.
Feidan, who had frowned briefly at my reaction that was clearly showing that I was annoyed, put the documents he was holding in front of me as if he had been waiting for it.
"I came to talk about alimony."
Saying that, his eyes as he looked at me were filled with subtle anticipation.
He seemed to be expecting my reaction.
Then...
"I was going to talk about alimony soon anyway, so that's good."
It's best to break that expectation.
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