“Have a good day, dear.”

Melly smiled as she greeted Edric. It was a natural and comfortable smile.

When she told him to take a mistress, thinking of the words likely to come back from him, the smile came surprisingly easily.

This way, Melly learned once again how to swallow her pain.

By imagining harsher words from his mouth, crueler actions he might take, and accepting the current situation as better than that.

It was a very effective way to overcome the pain.

If he said harsh words to her, Melly would think:

‘At least it’s better than being hit.’

Whenever she felt disappointed that he wasn’t treating her well, she would also think:

‘At least he’s not cheating and gambling like father.’

Because the limit she had set was so far away, she felt at ease.

But what if Edric gradually approached that limit?

Melly thought for a moment, then shook her head.

She didn’t want to think that far ahead yet.

All she could do was endure the present. And quickly rise to the position of duchess that he desired, before his coldness deepened further.

She resolved more desperately than ever before.

She moved her steps towards the library.

She planned to stay there until visiting Jeina Andert in the afternoon. She had to cling to the letters that would make her worthy of being a duchess.

Just as she crossed the lobby and reached the stairs:

“Young mistress.”

Melly turned around at the sound of the butler calling her.

He approached holding several document envelopes in both hands. And politely held out a large, smooth envelope on top, saying:

“Madam, this document just arrived from the notary’s office. I’m delivering it for your review.”

Melly lowered her gaze.

Her name was written in the recipient field.

“What is this?”

“It’s regarding the transfer of ownership for the Lenisis villa. I believe you just need to sign to indicate your consent, madam.”

Melly stared blankly at the document envelope.

A subtle desire blossomed.

It seemed she could no longer expect kind words and smiles from Edric. She shouldn’t even dream of occupying his time.

If money was all she could expect from him, then shouldn’t she at least take that? Wouldn’t that at least make her feel like he was her husband and she was his wife?

If they couldn’t form a close bond through affectionate conversations and understanding, shouldn’t they at least maintain their marital relationship through material things?

A woman who lusted after Edric Pelton and his background, offering her body.

Though she had dressed modestly to avoid proving true the rampant rumors about her, now there was no need for that.

Why care about others’ eyes when the marital relationship was falling apart?

If her image was that of a lowly seductress who tempted a man with a fiancée and made him break off the engagement, then fine. Let them think it’s true and dress glamorously.

Let’s fill the empty hole left by lack of love with money, at least.

Melly took the documents. The smooth surface of the paper gently stimulated her fingertips.

“Is it alright if I read it over slowly before signing?”

She didn’t want to just sign without question. It seemed proper to do so as a duchess.

“Of course, madam. Please review it at your leisure, as long as you return it by this morning.”

The butler agreed readily.

Melly turned around holding the document envelope. She hurried up the gently curved stairs. Just as she put one foot on the stairs leading from the second to third floor:

Something caught her eye as she glanced carelessly.

She stopped and stared at a Gothic-style door at the end of the long corridor between the facing doors.

The maid who had just finished cleaning had carelessly left the door ajar, allowing a glimpse inside.

She could see bookshelves with neatly arranged books of matching colors and sizes.

Sunlight streaming through the window made the glass sparkle like crystal.

Even from this distance, Edric’s study looked so noble and beautiful. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t allow her there. Lest her dignity be tainted…

But.

“…”

Melly looked down at the documents.

Suddenly, the thought of roughly tearing open papers bearing the noble Pelton family name in her room felt like an insult to the family.

She wanted to neatly slice between the papers with an elegantly embossed paper knife before taking out the contents.

No, those were all excuses. She simply wanted to enter his study. Just once, when no one was around.

Melly withdrew the foot she had placed on the step. She turned from the stairs and walked down the hallway.

As she opened the door and entered, Edric’s desk came into view.

She could almost see him sitting there with his back to the window. Though she had only seen it once long ago, he looked so dazzling and handsome as he focused on his work there.

But Melly could not approach him beyond a certain point.

‘I’m sorry, but could you wait in your quarters? I don’t like having personal meetings in my workspace.’

He drew the line with an incredibly gentle voice yet incredibly firmly.

That line was thicker and more solid than even their difference in backgrounds. So that she wouldn’t dare to cross it.

But today, Melly finally gathered the courage to cross that line. The imaginary him raised his eyes to look at Melly, but the illusion vanished the moment their eyes met.

She wondered what expression he would have made if it hadn’t disappeared. Since it was her imagination, would he have smiled brightly? Or would he have reacted the same as in reality? Coldly, like the other day?

But that was no longer important now.

What mattered was that she was here, deep inside.

Melly sat in Edric’s chair. The backrest that gently supported her felt good.

She rested her arms on the armrests like Edric did and leaned back.

She spun around in circles, picked up random books and skimmed through them as he would.

But her hands were always careful when putting things back. She took great pains to ensure he wouldn’t notice her touch.

Melly now intended to open the envelope addressed to her.

“Where was the paper knife?”

Melly opened the first drawer. The drawer was divided into two tiers, and the knife was placed on the outermost part of the upper tier. Melly took out the knife and closed the drawer. That’s when it happened.

“…!”

She seemed to have vaguely seen something. The afterimage lingering in her mind somehow bothered her. Melly opened the drawer again.

What bothered her was in the lower tier. Below the shadowed upper tier, a title was visible.

‘…No. It can’t be.’

She denied it with trembling eyes.

Then, to prove herself right, she reached into the drawer.

But when she pulled out the document, all she confirmed was that her eyes had not been mistaken.

‘The undersigned couple confirms their intention to discontinue the marriage, and seeks to reach an amicable agreement without attributing fault to either party…’

The true meaning hidden beneath the veneer of elegant and logical language roughly tore open the wound in her heart that had barely been stitched together.

‘I can’t stand the sight of this person and want to part ways now.’

That’s what divorce papers mean when they’re written.

It’s a warning thrust at the other party, saying they want to part amicably, but if not agreed to, they’ll resort to any sordid act. Edric must have written it with exactly that meaning.

His name and signature were already recorded in the bottom section.

All that remained was to fill in her part.

Edric had taken care of all the complicated processes in advance so that she only needed to sign the signature he had made her practice endlessly to befit the dignity of a duchess…

Melly raised her empty gaze to look around.

It was no longer the brilliant world that had given her such joy just moments ago. It was a bleak world filled with gray. A world full of reproaches – why did you enter this forbidden place, it’s your own fault.

The antique cabinets, elegantly curved vine patterns, even the tiny office supplies seemed to criticize her with piercing eyes.

‘It’s your fault. If you had done well, this wouldn’t have happened. Hurry and appease him. Beg him not to abandon you, say you were wrong, you worthless thing.’

But among them, Melly found just one gaze that wasn’t cold.

It was her own gaze.

Melly discovered her face at the end of the long glass bookcase.

Wide eyes filled with disbelief, drooping lips beneath a straight nose bridge. A chest reacting sensitively to rough breathing.

An unsatisfactory appearance.

She calmed her heaving chest and slowly tried to lift the corners of her mouth. As she had practiced countless times. But… the smile only twisted strangely.

She knew she could no longer deceive herself.

She didn’t want to smile, she wanted to cry. She wanted to be a beloved wife, not a noble lady filling emptiness with money.

Tears flowed from the eyes of the woman in the glass. The tears rolling down her cheeks sparkled clearly like jewels even in the blurred vision.

Now Melly knew exactly what she needed to do.

“I’m sorry.”

Melly said.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for pretending not to know. For dismissing you as incompetent, for demanding you do better. I’m so sorry for not accepting you as you are. I’m sorry…”

Melly kept addressing herself.

The woman in the glass wept bitterly.

She was the one Melly needed to apologize to.

Not Edric.