The wife had changed.

This was the conclusion Johan Leopold reached as he stared at the woman with an insensitive gaze, her body rigidly upright with buttons fastened meticulously up to her neck.

His wife, Olivia Blanchet, had always been a woman who craved love.

She acted as if she could only live by loving something, and the problem was that the object of her affection was unfortunately Johan Leopold, the busiest man in the world.

A fair trade – give what you give, receive what you receive. For him, marriage was nothing more and nothing less than that. But his wife was different.

Because she didn’t know how to control her emotions with dignity, her actions, clear in their intent and purpose, were perfectly suited to provoke his temper.

Her extravagance wasn’t even an issue. As long as she didn’t behave annoyingly, it was rather appreciated that she stayed at home quietly spending money.

It wasn’t a big deal that she played around with other men to get Johan’s attention, or that she caused trouble in social circles.

Then one day, when all methods failed, his wife slit her wrists without hesitation. She was a woman who would stop at nothing to bring Johan before her.

That woman who was like that.

“What did you just say?”

Johan asked again, even though he had clearly heard.

“Divorce. Let’s get divorced.”

It was just a neat tone without any emotion.

***

The Duchess had changed.

Rumors circulated among the servants of Great Hill. Some viewed the Duchess’s change as a new kind of attention-seeking, wondering how long the quietness would last.

Anne was one of them. But.

“I got divorced, Anne.”

The Duchess’s face, smiling brightly, was clean without any emotion or lingering attachment.

While Great Hill was in an uproar over the divorce of the Duke and Duchess, she was as calm as if she were from another world.

The divorce proceedings progressed faster than expected. As everyone had anticipated, the Duke did not try to hold onto his wife. He also gave her a more generous alimony than expected and a villa in the resort town of Le Monde.

“Anne. Will you come with me? I’d be grateful if you would.”

Anne realized as she saw the brilliant smile that seemed to be solely receiving the dazzling sunlight pouring through branches full of spring blossoms.

The stigma of Blanchet, proof of infidelity, dirty bastard.

Her mistress, who had always been on edge and dying of thirst for affection, had changed.

Anne answered happily.

“Please, take me with you, my lady.”

Sitting side by side on the bed packing suitcases, Anne gently took her scarred hand and said.

Although she had never been affectionate, Anne had never disliked her mistress. Her life had been hard enough for a humble maid to feel sympathy.

The Duchess boarded the carriage with a simple travel bag.

“How cruel. Even though it’s the last time.”

Anne said in a bitter voice, looking up at the largest window on the second floor.

“He’s a busy man, that one.”

The mistress’s tone as she ended her three-year marriage was very calm. Where had the blind, clinging love gone that seemed about to shatter and crumble into pieces at any moment?

Anne gazed intently at her mistress looking out the window.

Since that day of early spring rain, she often stared endlessly at somewhere unreachable. That look resembled the eyes of the young mistress who longed for freedom while locked in the room of repentance under the pretext of discipline.

***

“Have someone follow her.”

“Understood.”

Johan spoke coldly as he looked down at the carriage driving away along the driveway lined with spruce trees on both sides, having just passed through the main gate.

Not long ago, he had received word that his wife had jumped into the lake. As it was always like this, Johan was not particularly moved. He returned to the mansion only three days later after finishing his work.

His wife was lying in bed with a face as pale as could be. It was a sight he had been seeing often lately, so he felt no particular emotion. He was just annoyed at his wife for holding him back like this.

Four days passed. It was a day when spring drizzle was falling, as if spring, which had been teasing whether it would come or not, was finally about to arrive. Just as Johan’s patience was reaching its limit, having to endure the inconvenience of dealing with urgent tasks in the mansion’s office, his wife opened her eyes.

‘Please divorce me.’

What scheme is it this time?

Even after the carriage had disappeared into a dot, Johan couldn’t easily leave the window.

***

Le Monde, a nine-hour train ride from the capital, was a beautiful resort town. The White Gable villa, overlooking the sea with its pointed white roof, was the pride and joy of the butler, Herman.

The change of ownership from Duke Johan Leopold to the former Duchess was certainly not a welcome development for Herman.

The Duchess belonged to a category that was difficult to serve even for an experienced butler. Moreover, the servants of White Gable, including Herman, were trembling at how to handle her wickedness as she was coming down after getting divorced. But.

“Call a real estate agent.”

“Yes. …Pardon? What did you just say…”

The confused butler blinked and asked again.

“I’m going to dispose of this villa. Please find someone who can offer the best price.”

After touring the villa, the Duchess said she needed to rest and headed to the bedroom on the second floor. As she was about to climb the red mahogany stairs in the center, the Duchess turned around.

“I’ll make the employment succession a condition of the contract, so don’t worry. Please relay that to everyone.”

Perhaps because of the setting sun slanting in through the large window on the side of the stairs, the Duchess’s smile looked as merciful as a sacred painting.

The woman who screamed like a shrew in Herman’s memory was no longer there.

The butler stared blankly at the Duchess’s back before coming to his senses. He ran to the downtown telegraph office in one breath and sent an urgent telegram to Great Hill.

***

“She put the villa up for sale?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

His wife, no, ex-wife, whose moves were always predictable, began to deviate from Johan’s expectations.

He thought she would live luxuriously with men in that scenic place. What on earth was she planning?

“What should we do?”

“Buy it.”

The aide bowed and quickly left the office.

Johan closed the document he was reviewing.

Does she intend to get a mansion in the capital with the money from selling the villa?

The reason he had given her the Le Monde villa was simple. As far away from the capital as possible, but with enough entertainment so that she wouldn’t be bored. The pleasure city of Le Monde, a nobles’ resort, was deemed suitable based on this calculation.

But now, is she planning to come near him and torment him?

No. That can’t happen, Olivia.

Johan opened the lid of the cigar box polished with a glossing agent. As he loosely held a cut cigar between his lips and lit a match, Johan’s eyes narrowed.

***

The villa found a good buyer and sold for a price slightly higher than market value. The kind buyer agreed to employ the servants under the same conditions, and the mistress was pleased, saying she was lucky.

Anne rode in a carriage with the mistress into town. Whatever she did, wherever she went, Anne did not ask. She just silently stayed by her side.

The change was both unsettling and joyful, as she had never seen such a lively appearance before.

The mistress had the carriage stop in front of a bank. She carefully consulted with three banks before finally doing business with International Bank.

“Look at this, Anne. It’s called a certificate.”

The mistress waved a check with an astronomical amount written on it, smiling like a child.

“We need to pack again.”

As soon as they returned to White Gable, the mistress handed Anne a brown envelope and said.

“What is this?”

“Thank you for everything. Please take it.”

“My lady!”

“I’m going a bit far this time, Anne.”

Like someone leaving never to return, the mistress’s blue eyes sparkled transparently without a trace of lingering attachment.

The memory of that day when summer monsoon rain was pouring down unfolded before her eyes.

A middle-aged man holding a black umbrella and a girl crossing the red rose garden to enter the Blanchet mansion, the man who was driven out without even setting foot inside left in a rage, and the skinny girl stood blankly in the rain before collapsing.

Ten-year-old Anne, who had been helping her mother clean the floor, ran out and hugged the girl, struggling to bring her into the mansion.

That day, the girl was locked in a dark attic, and Anne had to be bedridden for two days after receiving her first caning from the mistress. Even while breathing heavily with a fever, Anne worried whether the small girl had died.

“Please… please take me with you, my lady.”

The noble rose of Blanchet, the illegitimate child left behind by Elena Blanchet. Our poor mistress.

“You won’t be able to see your mother often.”

“She told me to take care of you.”

Anne recalled her mistress lying limp like a drenched bird after being pulled out of the lake. She was afraid that she might disappear like a mirage at any moment.

“So let’s go together. Anywhere. We’ll live there spending that money lavishly. Yes, my lady!”

Anne held onto the mistress’s slender wrist, refusing to let go. Genuine warmth transmitted from that small hand. Olivia couldn’t bring herself to shake it off.

The next day, unlike when they came from Great Hill, the two left the villa dressed in comfortable travel clothes, riding in a carriage.

***

“She has left White Gable.”

“Destination?”

“It seems she boarded a passenger ship headed for the Kingdom of Brit.”

“Brit.”

Ha, Johan let out a short laugh.

Not the capital, but Brit…

If this was a new strategy to get his attention, then his wife, no, ex-wife, was in the midst of achieving some success.

Why on earth would she go to Brit, where she had no connections…

Johan frowned irritably at the annoyance that was different from when she caused trouble while living under the same roof.

“What should we do?”

“Keep watching.”

“Understood.”

As the aide withdrew, Johan, who had been trying to focus on his documents again, finally stood up and approached the window.

The blue sky was exceptionally clear. Like Olivia Blanchet’s bright blue eyes.

His wife had always had cloudy, dark eyes, steeped in drugs and alcohol. It was only recently that he realized her eyes were blue.

To have such eyes at the very end…

As Johan looked up at the clear sky, recalling Olivia’s eyes, at that moment, Olivia was looking at the same sky on the deck heading to Brit.

She smiled brightly at last.

Olivia, no, Han Ji-an was now in the midst of escaping. Forever from her husband’s grasp.