5.
…Well, of course.
If the wife who had once gone mad with obsession suddenly asked for a divorce, it might be hard to believe.
He must be wondering if this was some kind of trick.
Thinking his sharp reaction came from suspicion, Nina tried to calm him with a steady voice.
“If you don’t believe me, I can even write up an agreement here and now—”
“I wondered what nonsense you’d spout this time, but it seems you’ve actually tried using your head for once.”
“Using my head?
What do you mean by that…?”
Ash cut her off, his voice low and restrained, hands gripping his knees tightly.
“Madam, I’ve been rather busy lately, looking into adoption procedures.”
“Adoption…?”
“To take my nephew in as my son, I must remain married for at least three years.
And now, at this very moment, you suddenly demand a divorce.
What do you expect me to think?”
“…B-but if it’s family, isn’t it possible to adopt regardless of how long you’ve been married?”
“If that were possible, I’d never have married you in the first place.
I could have skipped the lawsuits over guardianship and simply adopted him outright.”
“Ah…”
So that was why he had endured three years in her past life?
For the sake of adopting his nephew?
Nina hurried to defend herself.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but I truly have no hidden motive.
It’s just, after what happened the other night—!”
“Enough.”
His brow furrowed, and the gray of his eyes grew all the more menacing.
Blue veins throbbed across the broad backs of his hands, stretched taut over his solid knees.
It was clear he was holding his fury in check by the thinnest margin.
“What a waste of time.”
He rose, as if there was nothing more worth seeing.
“W-wait!”
Frozen by the fierce contempt and anger radiating from him, Nina scrambled to her feet.
“Please, just hear me out for a moment…”
All she had meant was that if they divorced, it would benefit them both.
She had never once intended to interfere with his plans—but she couldn’t even explain.
The instant his scornful gaze struck her like a dagger, her outstretched hand curled back on itself as though burned.
“Ah…”
Crushed by his presence, Nina faltered, unable to finish her words.
He, in turn, coldly turned away and left the study, as if she no longer existed.
By the time she gathered her wits and stumbled after him, he was already too far ahead to catch.
***
Ash had only begun looking into adoption procedures recently because of those damned relatives.
He had learned that his uncle was preparing to file for a change of guardianship, putting forward his newly married eldest son as the new petitioner.
Such a claim would likely be dismissed for lack of merit, but with his wife’s grandfather a sitting Supreme Court Justice, there was no telling when some unexpected turn might occur.
Having already endured two years of this hellish marriage, Ash decided he would bear it for just one more year in order to adopt his nephew.
Only recently had he sought counsel from a lawyer specializing in family law.
He had no desire to strip his half-brother—already driven to an early grave by their own mother—of both his ducal title and the role of father.
The only atonement left to him was to protect Ian.
…And, as expected, not a single thing has gone against my prediction.
A dry,
humorless chuckle escaped him.
It was nothing new for her to hound his every move.
He had long expected that once she learned of his plans, she would try to use divorce as leverage against him—but that she actually had was another matter.
Still, she had found out about the adoption earlier than he had anticipated.
Had some rat slipped through his grasp?
Ash ran through the list of servants Nina kept as her hands and feet.
Perhaps it’s time to start weeding them out.
The only reason he had tolerated her little network until now was because it was easier to control the flow of information from his side.
Degrading as it was to be fighting a war of intelligence against his own wife, she was nothing if not relentless and vicious.
Who would have thought that a proud daughter of the Taylor dukedom would stoop to loan-sharking schemes, using debts to bend her servants into spies?
That such a deranged, paranoid woman was the granddaughter of a Supreme Court Justice was nothing short of tragic.
If not for the need to protect his guardianship of his nephew, he would have divorced her without hesitation long ago.
But while quietly preparing to topple her grandfather for a smoother divorce, he had let her dig her own grave by piling up fault after fault.
And the things she did in that time were beyond disgraceful.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but I truly had no other motive.
After what happened the other night…”
No other motive?
Not for a second did he believe her.
When seduction had failed, it seemed she was now trying to seize the upper hand with the card of divorce.
Climbing into his carriage to depart, Ash gave an order to Geoffrey, who stood waiting outside.
“It seems my wife has somehow gotten wind of my recent activities.
Find out where the leak came from.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Turning his gaze forward, the gray of his eyes sank into darkness, like a bottomless abyss.
***
Having returned from a spectacular failure at divorce negotiations with her husband, Nina had spent two sleepless nights.
By morning, a pounding headache had already set in.
“What will you do now, Milady?” Marsha asked anxiously.
Nina wet her throat with a lightly brewed early-morning tea before answering.
“What else?
I’ll just have to negotiate again.”
Was it because titles passed down through bloodlines that family law here was so strict?
Or was it simply that this world’s laws were hopelessly backward?
Either way, it was absurd.
Even for relatives, to demand three years of marriage before adoption—wasn’t that far too much?
If not for that one condition, she could be divorced already!
But why is he so determined to adopt, anyway?
Surely holding guardianship alone should be enough to protect his nephew.
…Whatever it is, there must be a reason.
If even someone who longs for divorce more than anyone else is unwilling to give it up, then the reason must be unavoidable.
Still… how am I supposed to even get a meeting with him?
To persuade “Ash the Skeptic” and reopen negotiations, she would first have to meet him—and arranging that, despite living under the same roof, was like trying to set up a summit between hostile nations.
It wasn’t a joke-in two whole years, she hadn’t shared so much as a single meal or cup of tea with her husband.
At first, she had tried to make it happen somehow.
But how could she hold on to a grown man who leapt to his feet and walked out the moment she appeared?
Last time, I managed to wring five minutes out of him by begging…
But that only deepened his wall of mistrust, so of course arranging the next negotiation would be an uphill battle.
Maybe I should clear the debts first…?
She had originally intended to settle the matter of divorce before anything else, but under the circumstances, it seemed wiser to start by rescuing the debtors crushed under loan terms as vicious as any back-alley moneylender.
After that, she could write a letter to her husband or plead with him day and night if she had to.
If only I’d gone back to before the marriage—why did it have to be this point in time…?
Wasn’t there such a thing as double jeopardy—that constitutional guarantee that no one could be punished twice for the same crime?
She had already paid for her sins in her previous life, and yet here she was, thrown back right before her karmic downfall.
This so-called regression is nothing short of a human-rights violation… No, that’s not it.
As the flames of resentment rose in her chest, Nina doused them with a quick splash of cold water.
…Seriously, self, where on earth did you leave your conscience?
Let’s say she had paid enough for the sins she’d committed against her husband.
But what about the price owed to the family and Marsha who had been dragged into her karma?
Her death could never serve as recompense for them—how could she claim her debts were settled?
Perhaps this regression was the true karmic reckoning.
It was despairing that everyone now knew her worst moments, but…
It can’t be helped.
This was something she had to bear.
“…Marsha, tell the head cook that from today onward we’ll dine in the main dining room.”
“Really?
I’ll go right now!”
Marsha lit up at the prospect of a proper meal after so long and hurried off, afraid Nina might change her mind.
“Sheesh, is it really that exciting?”
Nina smiled wryly at Marsha’s eagerness—so devoted that she still fussed over her despite everything.
But only for a moment.
She’d barely endured the jeers aimed at her while waiting outside the study,
and thinking of her husband’s icy gaze made her want to stay in the room forever.
All the more reason to eat well and regain my strength.
Only then could she do anything.
They’re people I’ll be leaving anyway—why should I care how they see me?
Her motto for this life would be simple-live easy, avoid trouble.
With that mindset, she steeled herself against the shame.
“Milady, you’re ready—shall we go downstairs now?”
“Yes.”
Bolstered by her own self-suggestion, Nina lightened her heart and headed for the dining room at the news that breakfast was ready.
“I didn’t say anything, but I was really worried when you kept taking your meals in the bedroom.
I’m so glad you’ve come out today.”
“It’s not like I was starving.”
“Even so, if you don’t eat properly, your health will suffer.
You’re the only one I can rely on here, milady—you need to stay well.”
Nina smiled softly.
“Funny… that sounds like something I should be saying to you.”
Just then, a voice drifted up from the foot of the grand staircase.
Both Nina’s and Marsha’s faces froze in place.