Chapter 11 – Mr. & Mrs. Hadid, The Prelude to a Marital Spat

Another week had passed, and their relationship had grown even colder. Hazel constantly brought up divorce and wouldn’t let him near her. His patience was wearing thin.

“Sid.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Sid followed closely behind Kairos, who had left Hazel at the mansion and moved to Elkard.

“Send everything Hazel might like from the capital.”

“To the mansion?”

“Do I need to tell you the address?”

“No, no.”

Oh, he was very sensitive today.

Sid thought to himself.

He deliberately avoided any mention of Hazel for fear of being scolded, though he stuck to calling her ‘Madam’ instead.

He was glad she was back.

Honestly, it was more like the lord had brought her back, but either way, the hellish time seemed to be coming to an end.

However, it wasn’t going as planned. Their relationship had changed irrevocably like the earth splitting open after a lightning strike. The change was so sudden that it was difficult for those who served them to adapt. And the fact that he was now speaking in riddles made it clear that something serious was going on.

“But sending everything she likes…”

“What is it again?”

“Well… Madam didn’t seem to like those things very much.”

In fact, she liked them and had a good nose for money, though in the current situation, even a diamond the size of a human head wouldn’t make much of a difference. The truth was, she was only truly happy when the lord gave them to her.

When Sid subtly mentioned this fact, Kairos loosened his tie as if he were frustrated.

“She doesn’t even want me to touch her, what’s the point? Just send her anything until she changes her mind. Find everything you can.”

Kairos knew that, too. Of course, he did. He was the one who had taken care of Hazel, observing her every move and expression. But now she was refusing him. She had started to reject his very existence, and his brain was completely fried.

Was she simply angry?

Had she truly lost interest?

Had she perhaps given her heart to someone else in the past month?

His mind was so full of confusion that he couldn’t even process it. And if he kept dwelling on it, he felt like Hazel would disappear again. Her escape had been a shock to him. He had truly believed that Hazel only saw him. Honestly, even now, he couldn’t believe her heart had changed.

Kairos’ eyes sank low.

“Do anything.”

“Y-yes… I understand. So, you’re planning to enter the Imperial Palace tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

D*mn it, now he was going to involve the Imperial Family.

Kairos’ mood was plummeting as fast as Hazel’s. What was that woman doing to him? It was hard to understand, unlike his self-awareness of his emotions.

* * *

That evening…

“What the hell.”

My carefully laid plan had gone up in smoke when I realized Kairos hadn’t returned.

I was going to tell him that I wouldn’t run away and ask him to release Ginger, Edmond, and Annie first. I had decided to try to solve things one by one. Even if I didn’t become a divorcée, there was no way I could stay put forever, so I decided to find another way out.

However, Kairos didn’t come, and Sid walked in with a whole bunch of clothes and jewelry, including several brightly colored dresses that looked fit for a royal ball. They were all the colors of the rainbow.

“…What is this?”

“The lord chose these because he thought Madam would like them. They are all dresses that were prepared as limited editions by the top designers in Elkard!”

Sid smiled brightly like a clown.

“These are the things I like?”

I asked again, pointing to the jewelry and dresses that sparkled so brightly they hurt my eyes.

“Yes? Ah… well, the lord was very worried and wanted Madam to stop being angry. And it’s autumn again, isn’t it? How about this dress that goes well with your red hair? It’ll be as beautiful as the leaves!”

“….”

Sid seemed to have transformed into a dealer, praising each dress one by one. I looked through the dresses hanging on the rack. Was he telling me to kill time with these since he had me locked up at home? Or was he telling me to play dress-up?

I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

“You’re putting a lot of effort into a prisoner. You said you wouldn’t kill me.”

“Yes, pardon?”

Sid’s face turned pale. He then looked visibly flustered.

“Why are you asking that? Did he tell you to kill my people if I don’t wear this?”

“No, no, he never said that. He didn’t even mention death… He just said he wanted you to feel better… He never, never sent you with such a message.”

“Okay. Take this to the dressing room.”

I turned and headed back to my office, the only place I could be in this house.

“Ma, Madam!”

However, Sid grabbed me again. I felt a physical pull, and he grabbed my sleeve. When I looked at his hand, Sid was startled, as if he had been burned and stepped back.

“I, I’m sorry! If… If you’re upset, please blame me instead. Actually, I suggested this to the lord, thinking it might be good for you. But I’ve never been in love, so… so I’m a little…”

“Yes.”

“As you know, the lord loves and cares for you.”

“….”

He wasn’t asking me to believe that now, was he?

“I… I’m sorry if I overstepped. Then, I’ll be going.”

As I stared at him, Sid put his hands at his sides, bowed his waist, and walked out.

“Ha….”

I irritably ran my fingers through my hair.

Contrary to my thoughts, Kairos became unusually busy. He was already a busy man, but there were many days when he didn’t show his face all day, even though there were signs that he had been in bed. In the meantime, he didn’t forget to check if I had eaten. It was a tiring job for me.

Anyway, it had been almost a week, and all I got was that he was busy.

On the one hand, I thought maybe he wouldn’t talk to me anymore, but I decided to be patient for a while. If he was angry that I ran away, time might solve it. Then, he might realized that he had also turned a blind eye and let me go on his own.

He wasn’t going to kill me anyway, right? Or maybe not. Maybe he was thinking about the divorce as I wish while we were apart.

Anyway, I decided to wait patiently.

* * *

The day after a week of being confined to my room.

When I woke up in the morning, there was a newspaper on the bedside table.

“The village newspaper published by Mabel was great.”

I mumbled as I looked at the newspaper. Come to think of it, when I was the head of the guild, I used to check the newspaper as soon as I went to work, but now I don’t even bother. No, I didn’t have time.

I got up, stretched, and picked up the newspaper.

“…This isn’t the Ferrarium newspaper?”

It wasn’t the Ferarium local newspaper or the village newspaper. It was a newspaper published in the Capital, Elkard, which was far away.

Why was this here? Did something important happen?

I rubbed my eyes with one hand, roughly spread the newspaper on the table, and turned the pages one by one.

“What?”

At that moment, I was startled and rubbed my eyes with both hands.

What did I just read?

I opened the newspaper with both hands, my eyes wide enough to overlap my double eyelids. Then, I read it over and over again, wondering if my eyes were wrong.

“What, what is this.”

It was absurd…

I brought the newspaper close to my eyes. I couldn’t believe the reality I was facing.

“…Divorce ban?”

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