Diane entered the office, gave a light bow, and approached the cherry wood desk where he sat.
There was a faint scent of brandy.
The man, with the top two buttons of his shirt undone and his sleeves rolled up, was incredibly handsome.
Broad shoulders, muscles filling the softly draped shirt. Johann Leopold was not only overflowing with masculine wildness but also of very noble lineage.
He was looking at documents, so focused that even the faint wrinkles between his brows were captivating. To live such a pathetic life while married to such a wonderful man.
Clicking her tongue inwardly, Diane admired Yohan for a moment before speaking.
"I have a report, Duke."
"Speak."
He said dryly, without taking his eyes off what he was reading.
"The final payment statement and dresses ordered by Olivia Blanchett have arrived."
Only then did the man's straight forehead turn to face her. The ends of his thick eyebrows lifted slightly.
Diane wanted to make Olivia anger this man even more.
She carefully placed the bills neatly on the desk. Naturally, Yohan's gaze shifted to them.
Each one was a larger number than Diane's annual salary.
She inwardly sneered at the trashy bastard.
Stupid thing.
Diane hated that bitch.
So Diane made Olivia into an extravagant Duchess who didn't know her place. There were plenty of opportunities to do so, and it was very easy.
Eventually, as if her efforts were being rewarded, the two divorced, and the Duchess's seat was vacant. Now it was time to bear fruit.
Duchess Diane Leopold.
Ah! What a sweet fruit!
"How shall we handle this?"
Diane's voice was slightly excited.
"As usual."
The man indifferently turned his head, and no emotion could be read in his gray eyes.
Diane wanted to send the bills back to Olivia, but she bit her lower lip and held back. A few pennies like this were nothing to him.
In fact, there was something else she wanted to say to him today.
"Shall I tidy up the Duchess's bedroom?"
A dense silence flowed. The wind blowing from the window felt cool for a spring breeze.
"No."
His gaze, which had been on the documents, returned to Diane.
"Later."
Yohan's eyes briefly touched the stacked statements again before scanning the contract. The Duke's eyes, which she had glimpsed, relaxed indifferently as if he had lost interest.
Diane, who wanted to erase the traces of that impertinent bitch as soon as possible, clenched her clasped hands and answered obediently.
"Understood."
There would be plenty of days to clean the empty room in the future.
First of all, it was a priority to capture this man's heart.
After his wife's secretary left, the office was enveloped in silence. The fading sunlight shamelessly reached the bills that had flown into the ownerless space.
Yohan raised his head and quietly stared at them.
He chuckled at the sight of what his audacious wife, who had demanded a divorce, had left behind. The divorce, which had been carried out without error and meticulously, was not.
It seemed to have been a fairly impulsive divorce.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain these bills.
The actions of the woman who had been his wife were unpredictable from a certain point.
Olivia Blanchett and Edgar Lancaster Lancelot.
According to the report that came in today, the two had met. By chance, of course.
Yohan, who had briefly averted his gaze from them, put a cigar in his mouth. The deeply inhaled smoke slowly spread into the air. He reached out and filled an empty glass with brandy.
'Please divorce me.'
His wife's clear voice echoed through the scent of ripe fruit wine and the cigar smoke rising like mist. The light of the sunset flowing through the side window reflected in Yohan's eyes.
He had thought she was living quietly and well without any problems. It was a completely arrogant delusion.
Yohan tapped the end of his cigar and picked up the bill with the hand that had put down the glass.
"……."
Yohan's gaze, which had been indifferently scanning down the bill sent by Gabriel Boutique, stopped as if fixed at a certain point.
His narrowed eyes were cold and still.
The number written in the order date column was strangely irritating.
March 27th…….
Yohan was lost in thought.
That was the day the Prime Minister resigned. The sudden resignation caused a stir throughout Rondo. The royal family urgently summoned the royals to fill the vacant position of the head of the Royalist Party, and Yohan, a member of the royal family, was also called to the meeting.
The meeting, which began at noon, continued until dusk, when a message arrived from Great Hill.
Yohan began to recall the events of that day one by one.
So, March 27th was…….
The day Olivia jumped into the lake.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Only then did a question arise.
Why.
The cigar burned. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand his wife's psychology.
Why.
Is it normal for someone who is going to commit suicide to order six dresses?
No.
That was an extremely unnatural act.
Then why.
Yohan slowly opened his closed eyes and took a puff of cigar smoke. He rubbed his dry eyes as he exhaled the smoke for a long time.
The first day Olivia harmed herself was her birthday.
'Am I more important, or is the appointment more important?'
When he told her that he couldn't have dinner with her due to an unavoidable prior engagement, she returned to the bedroom with tears welling up in her eyes and cut her wrist.
The second time was similar. It was one day in August, when summer roses were in full bloom, as her birthday approached, the day he was leaving for a business trip scheduled for fifteen days.
She was particularly obsessed with her birthday and needed Yohan. He didn't understand his wife at all and avoided meaningless arguments by ignoring her appropriately.
Then, the woman suddenly attempts suicide for no reason at an unexpected time, wakes up luckily, and demands a divorce…….
Somehow, it didn't add up.
What change of heart had she had before ordering the dresses and jumping into the lake?
Yohan was now suddenly curious.
Could it be related to Edgar?
Otherwise, there was no reason for her to run to him as soon as she left his side.
Yohan, who had been quietly looking at the bill for a while, put out his cigar and rang the call bell. A moment later, Maurice entered.
"Did you call?"
"Investigate Olivia's movements on the day of the lake incident. "
"Yes?"
Maurice, who was dumbfounded by the sudden order, belatedly fumbled for his notebook.
"The people Olivia met. The letters she received. Every single one of her movements."
Yohan said calmly with a look of deep fatigue.
"Everything."
His sharp face turned to the window. Beyond the window, the sunset was falling over the familiar scenery. Far away, in the middle of the lush forest, the lake dyed in the sunset was shining particularly red today.
***
Under the clear morning sunlight, the sound of a green ball going over the net echoed within the hotel grounds.
"Thinking of it as my husband's face makes me feel so refreshed."
Elaine's expression was bright, even though she had given the first set to Olivia.
After taking a short break, the two sat on a bench under the shade of a tree and drank cool soda water. Olivia wrinkled her nose at the tangy lemon scent.
"When did you start playing tennis?"
Elaine asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
It was a well-known fact that Olivia Blanchett had been confined to the attic until she was sixteen. It was suspicious that such a woman's tennis skills were top-notch.
Elaine may have asked out of pure curiosity, but Olivia felt as if she had been shot in the center of her chest.
"After I got married. ……I often played with my husband."
Because it was such an obvious lie, Olivia avoided Elaine's gaze and fiddled with the rim of the transparent glass.
Elaine, who had no way of knowing this, simply thought she was being modest.
After all, rumors and gossip magazines were not to be trusted. Besides, to have achieved this level of skill by playing often. She clearly had a natural talent for tennis.
"Why don't you enter the Dumblin tournament? You'd have no rivals."
One of the things that was invariably introduced in every book related to the Kingdom of Brit was the Dumblin Tennis Tournament.
It was a traditional tournament that had been held for forty years since the Prince of the Dumblin royal family held a match at his own tennis club.
"I'll think about it when my alimony runs out."
Olivia said, retying her disheveled hair.
"Grandma won't accept it."
Elaine laughed playfully.
"Let's go to the 3rd set."
"Okay."
The two got up from their seats and stood on the court. Her hair, tied high in a single bunch, swayed at Olivia's nape. It was a perfect time to play tennis in the cool spring breeze.
It was Olivia's turn to serve.
***
Shouts could be heard from early in the morning. It was different from the short, thick shouts of men with inherent competitiveness, but that didn't mean it didn't disturb his sleep.
Hah!
Edgar's brow, buried deep in the soft pillow, was as distorted as possible.
Hah! Hah! Haaah!
A lewd noise that had squeezed into the dim bedroom tickled Edgar's ears.
Who on earth.
Lazy aristocrats never moved their bodies enthusiastically from early in the morning. It goes without saying that most of the hotel guests were those who stayed up all night at the casino.
Ugh!
A scream that couldn't be a human's voice and a cheerful laugh invaded his space again.
Damn it.
Edgar, who had given up on sleep, cursed with a sigh and got up.
His head felt like it was splitting from the alcohol he had drunk until dawn.
He loosely put on his gown and walked to the window in question. When he pulled back the thick curtains, light poured in. Edgar, who closed his eyes for a moment and blinked slowly, slowly opened his eyes.
Behind the red wall covered with ivy, a woman bounced like a resilient rubber ball on a tennis court with a wide expanse of bright blue grass.
It was that woman, Olivia Blanchett, whom he had been seeing often lately.
