Chapter 22

“Then if the spouse dies, there’s no need for divorce, right?”

When Callisten responded sarcastically, Briseyes looked at him as if she were speechless. When she looked at him, he quickly shifted his gaze from Jeronis to her and smiled.

“Unfortunately, when a spouse dies, there’s a sense of loss.”

Jeronis began explaining as if he knew this side of Callisten well.

“No matter how much you hate them, if you’ve lived together as a couple, the moment one dies, memories become beautified.”

“What are you talking about? When someone you hate to death dies, you rejoice.”

“That’s only possible when it’s someone else’s business. There are quite a few cases where couples don’t react that way.”

Callisten quietly frowned at Jeronis’s words.

“What would happen if Grand Duke Mays died in an unjust accident or was killed by someone?”

Briseyes didn’t particularly deny it. She herself couldn’t know whether those words were right or wrong. At the same time, she thought Callisten might kill Demian through some kind of scheme.

“When a spouse dies, sometimes loss and belated love replace the hatred.”

“That means……”

“Yes, I hope you’ll think about it carefully. Your Highness is a wise person.”

Callisten stared at Briseyes at Jeronis’s words. When their eyes met, she looked elsewhere.

In that moment, he truly thought that if the Grand Duke Mays died, even the hatred she currently held might fade.

On the battlefield, countless deaths occur.

Each time, regardless of what kind of people they were, others mourned them.

They only recalled the good memories of the deceased.

“You’re right.”

Callisten said this and sighed.

“Tell me about marriage annulment too. From what I’ve researched, marriage annulment is impossible if the stay in the Empire exceeds 3 months, so I thought going for annulment instead of divorce might not be bad.”

Briseyes bit her lip for a moment, realizing that Callisten had researched the same thing she had.

“That option seems good too. However, for marriage annulment, bringing in a mistress is not enough. It would be much easier if the other party had a sexual disability or unusual sexual tendencies. Or if they had deceived you about having enormous debts.”

“He did have some debt. I paid it all off though.”

“Calculating the days the Grand Duke has stayed in the Empire, it’s just about to reach 2 months.”

“Should we proceed with marriage annulment first?”

Jeronis asked Briseyes in response to Callisten’s words.

“If the marriage is annulled, I’ll be legally clean, right?”

“Of course. However, it’s difficult to file a lawsuit for marriage annulment based on having a mistress.”

“What if we proceed with marriage annulment first and then divorce if it doesn’t work out?”

“Just get divorced. Do you think anyone would consider it a flaw that you’re a divorcee?”

Callisten said nonchalantly. Briseyes unconsciously sighed at his words.

“Erasing something completely and living while covering up something that exists are different.”

Callisten nodded at her words. There was a different meaning between erasing Demian from her life and leaving traces of him.

“Then we’ll proceed with marriage annulment first.”

“Alright.”

“Yes.”

“Your Highness, please gather evidence first. About the debt too. Ah, and if there’s evidence that the mistress was someone he knew before meeting Your Highness, that would be helpful too.”

“Will that help?”

“Of course.”

Briseyes looked at Jeronis at his words. Seeing that she seemed to want more explanation, Jeronis continued.

“If he knew the mistress before marriage, the marriage annulment application would be good. After all, the clause about not having a mistress was what Your Highness considered most important. It would be even better if you could prove that he deliberately deceived you and got married.”

As Briseyes nodded, Callisten looked at her and said:

“I’ll help you well, Bri.”

Briseyes ignored his words and said to Jeronis:

“I’ll be counting on you, Count Abein.”

“Likewise.”

With that, the conversation at Jeronis’s office concluded.

⁕⁕⁕

“Aren’t you busy?”

“Even if I’m busy, I should make time to take you home.”

Callisten was insisting on taking her home in his carriage. Briseyes had tried to call a hired carriage, but Callisten had insisted on taking her in his own carriage.

Briseyes didn’t want to argue, so she got into his carriage.

It would also be troublesome if someone saw her in front of Jeronis Abein’s office.

“How do you know Count Abein?”

He tried to gently put his arm around Briseyes’s waist, but when she tried to remove his arm, he backed off a little. Then he said:

“If I tell you, can I hug you?”

“Tell me and don’t hug me.”

“I’ll tell you if you let me hug you.”

“Don’t tell me then.”

When Briseyes cast her gaze out the window, Callisten gently embraced her and said:

“I found out there’s a flaw in Emperor Father’s marriage to the current Empress.”

“……What?”

“Emperor Father seems to like that crazy woman so much. So I couldn’t just stand by.”

Briseyes was shocked that he was casually mentioning such a major secret and looked at him.

“I need to become Emperor to have you.”

“If you talk like that, I might not help you.”

“Even if you hate me, you won’t let me die, right?”

She pressed her lips together at his words. He wasn’t wrong.

Callisten’s life would be in danger if he didn’t become Emperor. And from what she had seen in the original work, he was someone who overcame all sorts of adversities and eventually became Emperor.

If everything goes according to the original work, he will certainly become Emperor.

“What will you do if I die?”

Briseyes spoke, recalling how her character in the original work was brutally murdered by Demian.

“Then I’ll die too.”

“Don’t say such……”

“Ah, I can’t just die alone. I’ll kill everyone who made you die, and everyone who couldn’t save you. And finally, I’ll throw away my life too.”

She kept quiet, knowing that although Callisten’s tone was playful, his eyes were sincere.

“What value does my death have?”

“In my world, that has the most value, Bri.”

If he eventually gets what he wants, it will become trivial.

Briseyes knew well that he acted like a madman only when he couldn’t have something.

She sighed and tried to remove his arms.

“Bri smells like peach blossoms.”

“Let go.”

“I love it so much, Bri.”

When he trembled as if in pain, she tried to shake him off but let him be. After all, the more he touched her, the more it hurt him.

“I hate having to pretend to love the Grand Duke again.”

“I hate that too.”

Callisten looked at her with a slight smile at her answer. Although his face was pale, he seemed genuinely happy.

“Make sure to move the key from the second compartment of the bedside drawer to the first.”

“I hate to.”

“You must.”

When he said that, she sighed and didn’t answer.

Soon they arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence.

“I need to get out. Let go.”

After smelling her shoulder, he sighed and said:

“I hope you dream of me.”

“I hate to.”

“I’d like you to think about me a lot too.”

She didn’t answer, and soon he hugged her very tightly before letting go.

“See you tomorrow.”

She nodded at his words and got out of the carriage.

⁕⁕⁕

Briseyes needed to gather evidence.

For that, she needed to make Demian let his guard down.

She hated the idea of pretending to still have feelings for Demian. Yet she also hated that divorce would be difficult without this method.

It would be even better if the marriage could be annulled.

She was considering divorce as the worst-case scenario.

That’s why she waited for Demian in front of the main building’s door.

She had been studying in her room but came out to the main building around the time he would return.

— Creeak.

“Haha. So, I……”

Delilah was in Demian’s arms, and Demian looked at Briseyes as he was entering.

“What is it?”

Briseyes wanted to turn around and go back to her room when she saw this disgusting sight, but she couldn’t.

“I missed you, so I waited.”

Demian opened his eyes wide in surprise and put Delilah down.

“Demi?”

“What are you saying?”

Delilah seemed confused, but Briseyes went up to Demian and said:

“I still hate that you brought in a mistress. But… I’m trying to understand.”

It hurt like there was a thorn in her throat. Even so, she was curious about his expression, so she looked up at him.

“Wife.”

When he approached as if to embrace her, she had to endure not backing away.

“I’ll try, darling. So please try with me too.”

Briseyes’s voice trembled with anger without her realizing it, but he believed she was trembling from the effort of being brave.

“I knew my wife would understand me like this. I believed in Bri.”

Demian embraced Briseyes and exhaled as if pleased.

Delilah, who had been watching the two with cold eyes, erased her expression and glared at Briseyes.

Briseyes glared back at Delilah as if she were insignificant, while in Demian’s embrace.