“In this world, even Berylia can be afraid of a man. How very fragile.”
“!”
I was genuinely furious at the lines that touched my strong desire to win at everything.
I hated losing, and Rixus was a genius at provocation.
“He told me to tell you this.”
Ires imitated even Rixus’ brazen expression, and returned to being expressionless again.
‘He’s deliberately provoking me. I’m going to shut it down!’
I knew it well from a rational point of view, but Rixus hit the max level of my aggro.
The monarch of a country and the strongest at the peak of notoriety, I, Berylia, was weak…? Moreover, the person I didn’t want to appear as weak to the most was Rixus.
‘If I keep going like this, I’m going to continue to be a weak person, right?!’
My nose was about to get rough out of resentment, but I kept my composure, not even blinking an eye.
‘Yes, let’s see who wins.’
I, who was completely provoked, raised my eyes and responded haughtily.
“Tell Crown Prince Rixius.”
“……”
“I’m leaving right now, so take off your clothes first and wait!”
Ires’ mouth opened wide.
* * *
“It was a mistake!”
Deborah was defending herself before Duke Douglas, who had turned cold.
However, Duke Douglas did not readily accept her excuse.
“Can you call that a mistake?”
“I know. I’ve hurt your reputation with this…… but I’m the Duchess, Deborah Douglas!”
Deborah confidently pointed at her chest with her hand.
Duchess Deborah Douglas.
She was proud to have always walked a path worthy of this noble full name.
“I’m not going to collapse in the social world like this! I’m sure I’ll regain my place in the social world and be in a position where I can give you great strength.”
Duke Douglas’ expression did not change despite her confident remarks.
No, on the contrary, he had a sadder expression on his face.
When he first met Deborah, she was sincere and innocent, although she was merely the young lady of a baron family.
Even in her difficult position, she worked hard without being frustrated. She was very lovely.
Seeing this, the young Duke of Douglas fell completely in love and married her.
But now, Deborah has changed too much.
The person that Duke Douglas loved passionately has changed so much that it felt like an illusion.
“Deborah.”
“……”
“I’m not doing this because I’ve lost face.”(TL/N: ‘lost/lose’ face means to lose other people’s respect.)
The duke furrowed his eyebrows. Eyes that were full of despair pierced her.
“You had another man. You betrayed me!”
Embarrassment crept into Deborah’s eyes.
‘Are you just talking about love?’
Naturally, Deborah thought he was even more angry that he lost face.
This was because, from Deborah’s point of view, losing face and having her position shaken was a more serious issue than being betrayed by love.
She quickly smiled as if to appease the duke.
“Duke Douglas… but wouldn’t the Duke also have a mistress? I was never jealous.”
“……”
“There are more important things in a noble family’s marriage than vain jealousy. Don’t forget that.”
Deborah then exclaimed proudly.
“It’s not a sin to feel a moment of pleasure!”
Duke Douglas replied with disillusioned eyes.
“I’ve never had a mistress during our marriage.”
“!”
Duke Douglas closed his eyes, unable to hide his tired expression.
Then he held out a piece of paper.
“We end things with these divorce papers.”
“……”
“Deborah Douglas, you are no longer a Douglas. We’ll end it here.”
He turned around after saying these harsh words.
Deborah belatedly called out, “Duke!” But it was too late, in the end he didn’t look back.
Left alone, Deborah clenched the divorce papers and screamed hysterically. Veins sprouted from the back of the hand holding the paper.
“Aaaaaah!”
She was so upset that tears crept up in her eyes.
What she valued most was her reputation in society and her own power. And during the latest high priest’s visit, she lost all of it.
In front of everyone, her hair was grabbed and she was dragged out. And she was despised by everyone.
“I’ve lost everything. Everything!”
Her reputation in society had plummeted, and the empress’s power would be taken by Berylia.
‘It is clear that the Queen moved Lucia too…!’
From the moment she chose Lucia as her maid, something seemed dubious.
She must have used a trick back then.
Lucia said she saw the secret meeting while looking for the queen’s earrings. That would certainly not be a coincidence.
Keukkk, kwakk– Deborah trembled as she ripped open the sofa.
“I underestimated the Queen.”
The pain of heartbreaking regrets flooded in, and Deborah wept.
‘Did I just live like this just to end up like this……?’
Deborah’s parents, who were of a barony, were particularly ostentatious.
Her parents were of low status, so they were of the opinion that if they did not act noble, they would be no different from commoners. So they were particularly obsessed with grand things.
However, the family situation was difficult, and Deborah had to take care of their livelihood early in place of her parents who were engrossed in aristocratic play.
The problem was that even Deborah had fantasies and obsessions with grand things under the influence of her parents.
When she came to the shabby house after suffering from hard work, she always dreamed.
A dream to escape reality and become a high-ranking noble.
Whenever she was lucky enough to be invited to a social gathering, she secretly envied the nobles of high status.