Olivia was in a bind.
The woman hadn't noticed her yet, so if she quietly turned back, nothing would happen. She didn't want to bump into her again, causing or receiving hurt.
But despite that, she wondered why the woman was alone here. Her companions were dining at Grand Bleu. A curious question arose.
A white handkerchief was visible between her tightly clasped hands. It stood out against her dark navy skirt.
'Was she crying?'
Olivia decided to stop her curiosity there. Yesterday's events bothered her. Her revelation must have had an impact. Thinking that, she felt guilty and couldn't bring herself to leave.
"Anne."
Anne called Olivia in a whisper. Even Anne's eyes seemed to be telling her to turn back.
Just as Olivia and Anne were about to turn around, muffling their footsteps,
"Did you enjoy the amusing spectacle?"
Startled like a criminal, the two froze and slowly turned towards the woman. Their eyes met the woman's, who was holding her head high and looking at them.
Olivia took a short, deep breath and approached the bench.
The woman's tightly pressed lips, looking up at Olivia, were swollen red. Her eyes were also red, as if she had been sobbing with her lips pressed together. The woman's glaring eyelids twitched.
"Hello."
"Do I look like I'm doing well?"
"......"
It was a foolish opening.
"Feeling triumphant?"
Olivia calmly accepted the woman's reaction.
"It's a common tactic in this world. It just happened to be my chair that was gone today."
The woman said in an angry voice. Olivia recalled the women laughing and chatting as they enjoyed their meal on the terrace of Grand Bleu.
"Thanks to you."
The woman trembled, desperately holding back tears. Apart from feeling sorry, Olivia didn't feel particularly sympathetic.
"Thanks to you, I never had a seat either."
Olivia looked down at the woman with emotionless eyes.
The woman moved her lips as if to retort, but silence hung between them for a while. Light and shadow flickered erratically, following the wind shaking the branches.
Their gazes met like a tightly drawn thread.
"You've changed."
Elaine softened her sharp gaze as if defeated and chuckled.
"How did you know that necklace was fake?"
"I saw the real one."
"......It's in the Duke's family. I was stupidly fooled again."
Elaine blew her nose loudly. The tip of her pointed nose was bright red.
"My maternal grandfather's land was sold without my knowledge. When I pressed him, he couldn't say anything. I had a feeling he had another woman, but I didn't want to believe it. A denial of reality, I guess. You know, that kind of thing. Something scary."
Elaine moistened her lips with her tongue, paused, and then inhaled again.
"Then, on our wedding anniversary, he gave me that necklace. He said he sold the land for it, and he even teared up, calling himself an incompetent husband. Ha!"
Elaine wiped the tip of her nose again.
"I had been saying I wanted it since before we got married, and he remembered. I was so touched. I wonder how stupid he thought I was... not knowing he was filling another woman's pockets."
"The one who deceived you is the bad one."
"The deceived one is bad too. I should have checked. It's easy to get it appraised. But I was afraid. I knew I couldn't maintain my marriage if I found out the truth. I just cowardly ran away. Not knowing I would face the truth like this."
"That's... I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. Because I won't apologize either."
A faint smile, restraining her emotions, flickered at the corners of her lips, which she was trying to pull up.
"Instead, will you introduce me?"
"Pardon?"
Olivia blinked and asked back.
"That competent lawyer."
Elaine's eyes sparkled as she looked straight at Olivia.
"......"
Olivia was silent for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, she sighed a beat late.
"Ah!"
'If you ever need a competent lawyer, please contact me. I'll introduce you. You never know what might happen.'
She had said it because she didn't want to be intimidated, but it seemed she had kept it in mind.
Olivia stared at Elaine silently for a while with a bewildered expression.
In fact, there was no competent lawyer.
From the beginning, all Olivia wanted was a divorce. She had to quietly exit the stage before Yohan Leopold met Clara.
Olivia was gripped by the anxiety that Yohan might not let her go. As is the case with this type of story, she worried that he might become obsessed with her.
But he let her go without a moment's hesitation and surprised Olivia by adding an unexpected generous alimony. Ostensibly, it was for the sake of his reputation.
"Actually..."
Olivia hesitated, as if searching for something to say.
"There is no competent lawyer."
"No?"
"Exactly as I said. There isn't."
She looked incredulous. Elaine, who had been blinking her large eyes, jumped up from her seat and linked arms with Olivia.
"Instead of this, let's go somewhere and have a cup of tea. I'm too curious to stand it."
Elaine was serious about the divorce. She desperately needed the advice of an experienced divorcee rather than the incompetent lawyers in Rondo, who charged high fees but gave meager alimony.
Especially Olivia Blanchett, who had even managed to get an absurd amount of alimony.
The three of them left the path and entered the first teahouse they saw. Piano music flowed from a gramophone in the quiet tearoom.
The conversation was briefly interrupted by the employee who brought the ordered tea. After placing the black tea down and retreating, Elaine raised her eyebrows and asked.
"I saw in the article that you received a huge alimony and even the Lemonde villa. That you came in empty-handed and left as a nouveau riche. Ah! I'm just saying what was in the article, so don't be offended."
"That even made it into the article. I didn't know."
"Goodness. Your divorce was such a big issue. The brand of the bag you were carrying when you left Greathill that day was even listed. Didn't you read the newspaper?"
"I wasn't very interested."
Olivia smiled faintly. She had been too busy just leaving Yohan Leopold's side.
After deciding on the Kingdom of Brit as her new settlement, she spent busy days selling the villa and preparing to leave, learning about the place.
"You really didn't hire a lawyer?"
"......Yes."
"Then you just divided the property without any disputes thanks to your wonderful husband."
Since Olivia hadn't done anything for the divorce, that was how it was.
"I was hoping you were a lawyer."
"Isn't it advantageous for you if you go to court?"
"The judge is also a man. He probably has a couple of mistresses. That's how common it is."
It was an open secret that wealthy men had women besides their wives. In the world of men, that was also a display of wealth.
"That's unreasonable."
"Well, not really. We can have mistresses too if we want. As long as we don't get caught."
It was a part that Olivia found difficult to understand.
"So, if a woman asks for a divorce first, she needs a skilled lawyer. Or the husband has a fatal reason for the divorce besides infidelity."
Elaine put a sugar cube in her teacup, melted it, and repeated the act of putting in another sugar cube.
Olivia stared at her thoughtfully as she did so. When the piano melody ended, a cello tone glided over the lazy afternoon sunlight after a brief pause.
"Then, how about making your husband want a divorce first?"
When Olivia carefully parted her lips, Elaine, who had been stirring her teacup meaninglessly, raised her eyes.
"He?"
"Yes."
Elaine frowned.
"Are you telling me to get divorced now? Do you know what that means?"
Elaine's voice rose slightly, agitated.
"Of course, I know. But you shouldn't grant him the divorce."
"......"
"Hold out until he offers the amount of alimony you want. Then your husband will file for a divorce in court."
"......"
"You just have to show in court how virtuous and benevolent a wife you are."
"What does that mean."
"Even though your husband had an affair, you still love him and want to protect your precious family. That you will always wait for your husband to return. Impress the judge. The better your acting, the more your husband will become the worst man in the world, and the judge will order a divorce with generous alimony as a condition."
A clear light flashed in Elaine's eyes.
"I'm confident I can make him say he wants a divorce."
What was her husband thinking every time she went to a ball wearing the fake jewelry and showed it off to her acquaintances? Thinking about it, she felt betrayed and ashamed.
Was only that necklace fake?
It wouldn't be. From the day he came home with a strange perfume scent, everything her husband had given her might have been fake. Even his heart.
Bad man.
She tried to hold it in, but she couldn't. Absolutely.
Her stomach churned. Tears welled up again.
"If the divorce is successful, let's have a party."
Elaine's lips, which she had clenched to keep from crying, rose in a dazzling line.
***
Duke Johann Leopold's day began as usual, early in the morning.
Although it was the weekend, he was working in his office as usual, replacing breakfast with a cup of strong coffee.
He signed the documents indifferently with a expressionless face, and in the afternoon, he rode his beloved Alexander around the mansion grounds.
Then, he changed into clothes suitable for a formal dinner and attended an invited banquet.
As if it had been that way from the beginning, his life was no different from before the divorce. If he had to pick something, it would be that he didn't have a companion to go to social gatherings with.
Diane Brooke was very pleased with that fact.
That just showed how insignificant that lowly bastard was. Olivia Blanchett, less than dust floating in the air, had not left any trace on the noble man's solid life.
Diane Brooke smoothed her clothes in front of Yohan's office. She gently pressed her trembling heart and knocked, and the man's charming bass voice flowed out from inside, telling her to come in.
The former Duchess's secretary, Diane, opened the tightly closed door of the office without hesitation.
