That was not a toast; it was a curse.
The atmosphere had become suddenly solemn, incompatible with the usual intent of such ceremonies.
“Chloe, what on earth!”
Callis interrupted her, unable to bear it any longer.
Chloe glanced briefly at the master of ceremonies. He had agreed beforehand to look the other way at this unexpected turn of events.
Feeling greatly relieved, she smiled brightly.
“Don’t worry. I had something to thank His Highness for as well.”
It was as if she was treating Callis like a sulking child. As if he was upset because she had praised Helena and left him out.
“What!”
“Our hero of the century is so remarkable that he’s amassed not just a title but a hefty war chest as well. He even pretended to love someone as wretched as me, his sworn enemy. After reuniting with his beloved former lover, he was too busy sidelining me to pay me any mind.”
Chloe paused briefly. Only then did she feel the atmosphere of the wedding venue.
Everyone was focused on Chloe’s words. Initially overlooked when she obediently appeared at the wedding venue, everyone was now terribly anticipating what she would say next.
“Since you’ve spared my contemptible life, I have to express my gratitude.”
“…”
“I’d like to express my endless thanks to the two of you for helping me achieve my grand dream.”
Chloe was about to put a period to her speech with a bow.
“Achievement?”
Callis manually reopened the closing door.
He grimaced as he retorted. Her choice of words was incredibly uncomfortable.
Callis, who so willingly set the stage for her, was appreciated. Ignorant as he was, he continued to be so helpful that she wondered if it was his fate.
“Yes. You helped me achieve it.”
Chloe answered concisely.
Another question surfaced on Callis’ face. His blank expression seemed to ask, ‘Achieve what?’
“A divorce from His Highness.”
It was a brief answer, but the ripple it caused was significant. The audience, which had been quietly listening, suddenly became astonished.
“A, a divorce?”
“Did the Duchess just mention divorce?”
The imperial citizens, the kingdom’s citizens, the nobles, and the commoners—everyone was shocked and chimed in.
Questions were thrown without regard for the atmosphere, and the venue quickly fell into chaos.
“What kind of divorce is this!”
Callis also neglected his role as a groom. Pointing his finger at Chloe, he seemed to have reached his limit.
“You talk about divorce as if it’s illegal. It’s a legitimate institution.”
“Ha! Who would allow your divorce? Who? When even the royal family and the church have abandoned you, how could you!”
His finger pointed at Chloe quivered uncontrollably. His body seemed about to collapse, unbalanced by his trembling legs.
That foolish woman, always doing first and thinking later. Claiming such nonsense to provoke me, he thought.
Callis asserted.
However, despite considering it impossible, a red light kept flashing in his mind.
Was it because of her bright, calm blue eyes?
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Callis’ unease didn’t last long.
The venue was buzzing. With everyone murmuring, the hall had no moment of quiet.
“I have.”
A brief statement stood out in that place.
Just two words. A concise answer without any special embellishments.
Why would that single phrase make such a difference?
Enough to instantly clear the chaotic atmosphere?
Certainly, it was due to the calm, subdued voice of the man, grander than the most expensive instruments of an orchestra.
Also, certainly, it was due to the man’s radiant appearance as he walked in.
“…Your Majesty?”
Kun Friheid.
The man who had helped with Callis’ second marriage.
And the man who would help with Chloe’s divorce.
“Yes. Duke.”
“Your Majesty, why are you suddenly here…?”
Seeing Kun’s unexpected entry, Callis was puzzled. His voice, previously filled with arrogance, instantly died down.
“Why, I told you.”
Then Kun whispered.
He looked at her with a pitying gaze, as if regretful that he had never read the currents before.
“I am the one who will help her get a divorce.”
Only then did Callis fully comprehend the situation. He looked back and forth between Chloe and Kun, mouth agape.
Helena, who had been observing the situation, also appeared quite surprised. She had been suspicious when she heard about the divorce, especially given the number of times she had already been rejected. But she had never expected that there was imperial backing.
“……Di, divorce? Why would His Majesty bother with such a tiresome matter?”
Callis mumbled as if he couldn’t believe it.
From the time of the festival, the atmosphere between the two had been unusual, but this was unexpected.
He thought that the Emperor would not help with the divorce, no matter how precious Chloe was to him.
Because the Emperor would not choose Chloe over Callis.
“Do I need a reason?”
After all, Callis Argen is…
“I will help my people.”
A great hero who created peace with the Emperor. Therefore, when the Emperor spoke of “my people,” it had to be Callis, not Chloe.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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