Fortunately, the financial situation that this body has ruined, selling some possessions and starting a business should be somewhat recoverable.

‘I must make the best of the past and pave my way forward.’

It would look funny if I admitted it myself, but there was no other way.

I opened my hesitating mouth with effort.

“I didn’t know. I could’ve wanted a divorce.”

Philip’s brows narrowed.

“……Yes?”

“I got curious while looking at the finances and came right away.”

Philip nodded his head with a bewildered face, a signal to ask.

“Thank you for allowing me to spend as much as I want. But why did you leave me alone until it got to this point?”

I expected him to take a moment to choose his words.

But his answer came without the slightest hesitation.

“The only thing I could do for my wife, who was stressed over the impossible divorce issue, was that.”

Philip stood up and looked me straight in the eye.

Several emotions were contained in his purple eyes, which I found myself looking up to.

Philip thought that even in a marriage of convenience, he could quickly fall in love and live happily ever after.

But reality was far from his initial expectations.

Early in the marriage, Ellen would dress beautifully every day and fawn over Philip.

But to Philip’s eyes, Ellen didn’t look lovely.

The feeling was somehow strange.

‘Why doesn’t this beautiful woman, who is my wife and approaches me closely, inspire special emotions?’

Because of that, Philip felt weird and full of questions.

But soon he forgot about this issue.

He was busy, and he didn’t recognize it as a significant problem.

After all, most noble couples live without a shred of affection in reality.

Although it was embarrassing to call it a substitute, many married nobles secretly kept concubines.

‘I won’t be special when it comes to marriage either.’

A loving marital life was impossible, but Philip wasn’t particularly sorry.

As long as they both performed the roles of best husband and wife in public, it was fine.

‘Sooner or later, I may come to like her.’

Until then, he would not keep a concubine.

That was Philip’s thought.

But not long after, Philip found out that Ellen was tormenting everyone around her, except for him.

Especially when he found out how she was treating Marlboro, cold sweat trickled down Philip’s back.

The wife’s sin is the husband’s sin.

No matter how much he worked to raise him, if Marlboro took the throne holding a grudge for the abuse, the reward would be temporary, and revenge might soon strike the family.

Then, extinction would be inevitable.

The only fortunate thing was that Marlboro was kind.

The child silently endured Ellen’s bullying and cried alone in his room.

When Philip asked indirectly, Marlboro denied it, saying that such a thing had not happened.

Certainly! Here is the translation following the guidelines you’ve provided:

But it could not be ignored.

Within the mansion, there were plenty who would report the truth to Philip, even if they were not the victims.

Ellen herself had wished to stop, but as the days went by, the stories she heard only became more serious.

Then there was a day when a maid was almost beaten to death by Ellen’s whip.

The reason was that she had changed the room curtain without permission.

The punishment was so excessive that even Philip could not ignore it.

“Madam, perhaps……”

Thus, on the day he cautiously asked various questions, Ellen let out a woeful cry.

“As the mistress of this house, I have the right to punish a servant’s wrongdoings. Is that not so?”

Ellen acknowledged everything she had done to the servants. At the same time, she insisted that it was no problem to do as she pleased with them.

However, she denied having ever tormented Marlboro.

“……”

There was no way since both the perpetrator and the victim said that nothing happened.

Even after the incident, Ellen remained unchanged, and Philip fell into deep concern as the problem was not resolved at all.

Then one day, Philip discovered that there were times when Ellen did not abuse Marlboro.

It was when she was spending money like water for gambling, auctions, shopping, or various other reasons.

It wasn’t because she didn’t feel like tormenting Marlboro.

It was because she didn’t have the time.

‘Just endure until Marlboro becomes king.’

Once his status was revealed, Ellen’s eyes would change towards Marlboro.

Philip believed that everything would be resolved then. After all, even if Ellen was from a duke’s family, she was not higher than the king.

Therefore, Philip allowed Ellen to spend freely.

He didn’t care if she lived luxuriously and profligately.

But today, Ellen’s question seemed a bit strange.

Why had he left her alone until this state was reached?

‘If you don’t believe it, you can check the financial status of the family through Domingo.’

Philip didn’t say that because he thought Ellen really didn’t know the family’s financial situation.

Ellen already knew all about the financial flow of the family.

Yet she was still a woman who did not care and had plunged him into debt.

Moreover, she now demanded a real estate transaction cost that he could not handle.

The wicked woman was still wicked.

So Philip had expressed ‘no money’ in a long way.

But now she came anew, thanking him for allowing her to spend whatever amount?

It was such a strange thing to say that Philip felt odd, but he said to Ellen in front of him.

“All I could do for a stressed wife was that.”

Anyhow, it didn’t take even a second to answer.

‘She must be stressed because neither divorce nor love goes her way.’

Again, Philip didn’t complain as long as Ellen was wasteful.

As long as extinction and bankruptcy were prevented.

He could endure that much if he could accomplish the given mission.

‘… Phew, I’m tired.’

Philip closed his eyes for a moment.

But Ellen’s reaction or presence was not felt.

She was definitely in front of him, wasn’t she?

“……?”

He opened his eyes because it was strange.

Contrary to the feeling that he couldn’t sense, Ellen was still there.

Her presence and expression were strange.

It felt almost like a dream.

But her eyes were so peculiar that he had to ask.

“Why are you doing that?”

“I have given all I can give.”

Except for divorce and love, it was like that, so Philip just nodded slightly.

But Ellen’s subsequent question was unexpected.

“Do you love me sincerely?”

“……Yes?”

The interpretation that there was smoke from the chimney when it was not so was absurd.

But Ellen’s gaze went between Philip’s robes.

Strangely, her long eyelashes were particularly noticeable to Philip.

“That’s cheating.”

“……?”

Philip did not know what she was talking about.

“What on earth does that mean?”

Ellen lifted her head. Her clear blue eyes shone brightly.

“I’ll tell you what cheating is, so wait like this for a moment.”

“……?”

Ellen’s fearless response was unfamiliar, and he didn’t know how to react.

The woman Philip knew would cling or flaunt with her uncomfortable emotions, but she was not a woman who approached so brightly.

So he was even more confused.

“Yes?”

Ellen winked with a bright face.

“If I change my clothes while I’m out, Count Philip Morris will go around saying that you’re going back on your word.”

“What?”

Leaving him bewildered, Ellen quickly left the study.

“……”

He was stunned for a moment.

Unknowingly, Philip lingered in the study with his fist to his mouth.

Then he cautiously touched his forehead.

It was a light peck, but it remained with a hot feeling, like the mark of a burning flame.

Then the image of her laughing also lingered in front of his eyes.

‘What’s the matter, Philip! You’re so cute!’

Something felt unreal.

As heat rose again in his face, his heart strangely pounded.

Philip rubbed his left chest.

“Ah, why am I like this?”

About ten minutes later, Ellen, dressed in the same gown as Philip, suddenly came in again.

She quickly changed her clothes and tied her hair up roughly, but she was elegant and beautiful.