That evening, I decided to have dinner with Kairos as promised. He was in an unusually good mood, which made me feel even worse. It seemed that his good mood was due to the divorce ban.

Since I had already agreed to the dinner, I ate comfortably, but the problem was what came next.

“…Going to the capital?”

“That’s what I usually do around this time until I go down to the territory before winter. I need to check on the townhouse.”

…Suddenly?

“You didn’t go last year.”

“That’s because you hate crowded places.”

“Then why are you going this time?”

Kairos then took something out of his inner pocket and handed it to me. It was a stiff envelope. The moment I saw the imperial seal, I had a bad feeling. I glared at him suspiciously and opened the letter.

It said that he was invited to a banquet to open the fall season and that he was asked for a lot of support and voluntary participation in the increasingly frequent demon hunting. I doubted my eyes and checked the envelope again.

It was definitely an imperial invitation, and it was definitely addressed to the Hadid duchy.

It seemed that the same letter had been sent to all the nobles, including the grand dukes, but what surprised me was that the Hadid duchy had also received this letter.

Could the original story have changed this much? The title of the book wasn’t ‘The Villain Has Changed,’ so how could this happen? The original protagonist and the villain becoming close… Did it make sense right now?

“Then refuse. That’s what you’ve been doing so far.”

I said, putting the envelope down on the table.

“That’s impossible.”

“Are you saying that makes sense?”

“What excuse do I have? If I want to make money from the nobles, I have to cooperate to some extent.”

“You, with your excuses…”

I couldn’t continue and scoffed.

He made an enormous amount of money just by breathing. I knew he committed all sorts of illegal acts to expand your business! Excuses? Was it even believable that Kairos Hadid would dare to act on excuses?

My suspicions grew even stronger.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. You can go alone.”

“Did you read it properly? It says it’s for couples.”

“Go alone. Are you the kind of person who cares about such things?”

“You don’t know your husband well, but I care a lot. So come with me.”

I glared at him with anger in my eyes. He shrugged as if he didn’t care.

“I have my own circumstances. And anyway, His Majesty the Emperor or anyone else doesn’t even know that we’re married, so it doesn’t make sense for us to go as a couple in the first place. Go alone.”

“….”

Should I follow him even though I’ve given in a hundred times?

The moment I went there, it was like announcing to the protagonist, ‘I’m the villain’s wife.’ The moment they find out, the Emperor might take away all the jewels he gave me and even throw me in jail for treason. He was talking nonsense. It was no different from a slap in the face.

I finished my tea and stood up without hesitation.

“It’s been two hours, so I’m going to go now. Don’t even think about trying to persuade me. I’ve said it.”

No matter how much I was being threatened, I couldn’t go.

‘No, I’m not going. There’s no reason to go. At all.’

* * *

I thought it would end like that.

“….”

I said I would never go…!

Four days had passed since then, and I thought the conversation was over. However, this morning, I was shocked to see the newspaper lying there. I’ve read it. I definitely read the newspaper yesterday… There was no way I couldn’t have known.

I muttered as I quickly scanned the new article with my eyes.

[ Breaking news, Duke Kairos Hadid’s surprise marriage. Secretly married, Duke Hadid, who has already celebrated his first wedding anniversary… ]

Are you crazy?

[ A woman of considerable beauty… The glorious lady is none other than… a graduate of the academy… who graduated top of her class… ]

Ha, was he really crazy?

[ From now on, Duke Hadid… will also contribute greatly to… This news came from a conversation… refusing to marry… a statement made as he left… ]

Crazy.

[ “I love my current wife very much,” he said, shocking everyone. “I expect a lot of attention to be paid to my future actions…” ]

Wasn’t he crazy?

He even said that in front of His Majesty the Emperor? He said that because His Majesty the Emperor recommended marriage?

I glared at him again.

[ The reporter who visited the Imperial Palace… with courage… for the first time, shyly presented a portrait… a beautiful pair of… ]

Portrait?

The moment I saw below it, I was astonished. The portrait they drew when I got married… The portrait of me smiling brightly with my arms crossed… It was as big as a door.

[ This is… ]

It was a painting that I had commissioned a painter to paint after our wedding ceremony. One small one and one large one. The large painting was hanging here at Edith Mansion, but why were the others here?

Deeply in love?

“….”

The existence of my husband had become known throughout the Empire. I tried so hard to hide it when I went to the Imperial Palace…

This was definitely Kairos’ doing.

It cost a fortune to print pictures or illustrations in the Imperial newspaper because magic was needed. That was why the Imperial newspaper was basically just text unless there was an important event in the Imperial Palace.

Otherwise, most of the time, a sculptor would carve an illustration and print it like a stamp.

Still, they were telling me there was an illustration this big on one side of the newspaper? The newspaper company must be crazy. Were they telling me they revealed this like this? Why on earth?

I went out into the hallway without even thinking about changing out of my pajamas, still holding the newspaper. The maid who met me in the hallway was startled. She didn’t think I was up because I didn’t pull the string.

It wasn’t the maid’s fault.

“Ma, madam. Do you need anything? I, I’ll get you a bath right away!”

“It’s okay. Where is your master?”

I asked coldly, and the maid bowed deeply.

“He… went out earlier.”

This was no different from a fight.

* * *

Kairos checked the newspaper with a smug look on his face. He was like someone who only thought about how to keep Hazel by his side these days. His anxiety grew day by day, fearing that she might disappear or leave completely.

He was full of thoughts about finding another way before the captive’s threat wore off. Hazel kept trying to distance herself even though it had been a while since they returned, so he had no choice but to hold onto her like this.

If she stayed by his side, she’d eventually realize his sincerity. If she did, then this much damage was nothing. He could do much more.

With that thought in mind, he checked the newspaper and didn’t go home until evening.

As expected, as soon as he arrived home, Hazel approached him with a flushed face and a tense expression. Should he say that he was happy that she came to him first, or would that make her even more angry?

“What is this?”

“We need to talk.”

“About how you made it into the news?”

“I guess you weren’t surprised.”

Her eyes narrowed even more.

“How did the picture get out?”

“I showed it because they found it hard to believe.”

“Are you saying that’s an excuse now?”

“I have no reason to hide it. It’s not a lie that I married you, so why would I hide it.”

“It’s not a lie, but it’s close to fraud. You know better than anyone why we got married, right?”

She muttered so much that her throat was hoarse. Kairos shut his mouth tightly. He swallowed hard, his throat dry, and opened his mouth again.

“…Yeah. That’s why I regret it.”

“….”

“So if you don’t like this, you can tell me, Hazel. Tell me what I have to do to make it up to you.”

“….”

Hazel opened her small mouth as if she were embarrassed.

Yeah, she must be embarrassed. He was embarrassed, too, but how did she feel? What did she want him to do if she kept pushing him away?

Hazel, who used to listen to every word that came out of his mouth as if it were the truth of the world, was now full of distrust. She was building a wall of bricks day by day, and her patience was wearing thin. It could be called a little bit of a fit.

He gave her everything she wanted, so why can’t he hold her?

“What do I have to do to stop you from talking about divorce? You don’t even listen to me, so what should I do? I can do worse.”

Hazel’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. She couldn’t hold back her anger and took a step back, muttering.

“…You’re really crazy.”

“Yeah, I’m crazy.”

—

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