CHAPTER 03
“Did you actually see what I just did?”
Unable to hide my dumbfounded expression, I raised my voice.
“I was trying to steal money!”
“So?”
Sylvester folded his arms and slowly raised his chin.
His jet-black hair, dark as night, fell loosely to one side. His blue eyes glimmered lazily.
Honestly, he was far too handsome.
Handsome enough to be bad for my heart.
I suppressed my rapidly beating heart and looked at Sylvester with as much confidence as I could muster.
The corners of Sylvester’s lips curved upward.
“A lady of the Rigen ducal family ought to have sticky fingers. You’re finally doing your job. I approve for the first time in a while.”
What on earth did he mean?
I fell into deep thought.
Come to think of it, Sylvester Rigen was known as the king of the underworld.
Sylvester had been born half-human and half-demon.
Although he had inherited the blood of a noble father, his mother was a demon, so he had never been treated with even the minimum respect afforded to a human.
So how had he managed to amass a fortune and establish the most powerful family in the Empire?
By using his half-demon abilities!
His power of charm.
People melted at a single word from him and often collapsed at nothing more than one of his smiles.
There could hardly have been a better ability for extracting information.
By charming people and obtaining information that benefited him, Sylvester established a dark guild and began using it to fill his coffers.
People insulted Sylvester, saying he had none of the refinement expected of a nobleman.
There were even whispers that he had enchanted the Emperor himself and received his ducal title that way.
But faced with Sylvester’s enormous wealth and formidable power, people eventually bowed to him.
Fine. I understood the background behind the family now.
But what did the family’s origins and stealing money have to do with each other?
I didn’t understand.
“Is encouraging theft some kind of family virtue? I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Do you know what occupation information brokers usually have on the side?”
“What?”
“Thieves.”
Sylvester grinned.
“Whether you’re gathering information or stealing money, it’s essentially the same thing.”
“So you’re saying you used to steal, too?”
“Not always. Occasionally.”
He shrugged.
Then he waved his right hand in front of my eyes.
What is he doing?
Before I could figure it out—
“That’s my bracelet!”
I shouted in surprise.
Wait, how?
It was as if he’d performed a magic trick, and I was left completely dumbfounded.
“Learn more. You’re still inexperienced.”
A husband who encourages his wife to steal.
What a lunatic…
Third plan: Steal money.
Failed because my husband was too crazy…
At this point, I was genuinely on the verge of tears.
I couldn’t live extravagantly because I was too much of a commoner at heart.
I couldn’t bully the servants because I lacked the skills.
And even getting caught stealing money, which I’d thought was my final trump card, hadn’t worked!
“How am I supposed to get you to divorce me?!”
Me… me… me…
My voice echoed through the room.
It was so loud that even I was startled.
Sylvester narrowed his eyes.
“Something is strange.”
He looked at me suspiciously.
“The fact that you’re suddenly talking about divorce.”
I flinched.
My shoulders instinctively curled inward.
“Didn’t you once say you’d live beside me until the day you died and suck me dry of every last penny?”
“I said that?!”
Ophelia, you must have been insane!
“Didn’t you say that since the only thing worth looking at about me was my face, I should just sit still like a statue?”
“Why did I say that, too?!”
Ophelia, you were completely out of your mind!
“I take it back! I really take it all back!”
I frantically waved my hands.
“Forget everything that happened. Just divorce me, okay?”
I practically begged him.
Sylvester’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“What if I don’t?”
“Then why don’t you want to?”
“That’s what I want to ask you.”
Sylvester took one step closer to me.
“I have enough money for you to drain me dry for the rest of your life.”
And he wasn’t exaggerating.
The ducal family really was incredibly wealthy. Ophelia could spend lavishly without it even making a noticeable dent.
“I’m handsome enough to satisfy you just by looking in a mirror.”
That was true, too.
Sylvester was so handsome that his appearance was famous even in other countries.
“So why are you trying to divorce me?”
Sylvester tilted his head slightly as he spoke.
His black hair fell softly over his forehead.
Gulp.
I swallowed nervously.
Anyone who didn’t know the circumstances would never understand why I wanted to divorce Sylvester.
Apparently, neither did Sylvester.
But I had to get divorced.
That way, I wouldn’t have to encounter the Crown Prince, and I wouldn’t become entangled with the villainous Sylvester!
Since I couldn’t tell him any of that, there was only one answer I could give.
“Because I don’t love you.”
I don’t love you, so I want a divorce.
What could be more romantic yet straightforward than that?
Sylvester’s eyes wavered for the briefest moment.
He let out a quiet sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
“Then…”
Sylvester stared intently at me.
“Do you love the Crown Prince?”
What the hell?
For a moment, I was rendered speechless, my mouth falling open.
Sylvester apparently mistook my inability to answer for hesitation.
“Of course. What a pointless question. It’s obvious.”
“No, no. That’s not it.”
“Fine. This is the first time I’ve said this to you, but I’ll make you a deal.”
“…A deal?”
He folded his arms and watched me.
“Do everything in your power to seduce the Crown Prince.”
What?
“Turn him into your ally by any means necessary.”
“No, honey. Wait a minute.”
“If you do that…”
Sylvester looked down at me with an expression that seemed almost generous.
“I’ll grant you a divorce.”
Sylvester and the Crown Prince really did have a terrible relationship.
Even worse than the novel had described.
Sylvester had supported the Second Prince, so he wasn’t pleased when the Crown Prince returned.
As a result, he interfered with him at every opportunity.
But the Crown Prince was gradually establishing himself with the Emperor’s full support.
Sylvester regarded him as a thorn in his side.
And then I appeared.
Me—the woman who was supposedly madly in love with the Crown Prince!
Ophelia, you idiot.
My appearance had made things much more troublesome for the Crown Prince.
Because of me, his affair with the female protagonist had become public knowledge and attracted attention!
When the Emperor ordered him to end his relationship with the female protagonist, the Crown Prince came to hate me as though he wanted to kill me.
Well, it wasn’t just because of that.
I had also been maliciously tormenting the female protagonist, so naturally he couldn’t stand me.
In any case, thanks to me, the Crown Prince’s position had begun to waver.
That was why Sylvester had turned a blind eye to my clinging to the Crown Prince.
But apparently, even that wasn’t enough.
So yesterday, he had said:
“Seduce the Crown Prince.”
“Make him your ally.”
“Do that, and I’ll divorce you.”
If the Crown Prince fell for me, Sylvester would use that as an excuse to have him deposed.
I could already picture exactly how it would play out.
I wanted a divorce because I didn’t want to get caught in a fight between two whales and have my shrimp-like self crushed.
I buried my face in both hands and let out a long sigh.
Sylvester, sitting across from me in the carriage, slowly raised his head.
“The ground is going to collapse at this rate.”
He snapped the newspaper he had been reading shut.
“Why are you sighing so much?”
Why do you think? The reason is obvious.
“Because of you.”
At my answer, Sylvester shrugged.
“What did I do?”
“Because you won’t divorce me!”
I straightened in my seat and leaned toward Sylvester.
“I can’t do it. How am I supposed to seduce His Highness the Crown Prince and make him my ally?”
“Are you trying to preserve your dignity now?”
Sylvester gave an incredulous laugh.
“Who was it that hid in the bushes outside the Crown Prince’s palace and followed him around?”
“…Who was it?”
“Who intercepted the Crown Prince’s invitations and then grabbed the hair of the women he invited?”
“That was probably me. Who else?”
“Who waved a pocketknife around and threatened to gouge out the eyes of anyone who had looked at the Crown Prince?”
“Enough. I get it.”
Good grief. I really did all kinds of things.
“That was then. This is now. I can’t do it anymore.”
“Don’t lie.”
I was completely serious, but Sylvester didn’t even pretend to listen.
“You think I don’t know you’re planning to divorce me and then seriously pursue the Crown Prince?”
You don’t know anything about my heart…
You really, really don’t…
“If you’re going to do it, do it while you still have the status of Duchess. That benefits me.”
“What does that mean?”
I asked because I genuinely didn’t understand him.
“There’s a reason.”
“What reason? There isn’t any reason at all.”
Sylvester was a highly calculating character in the novel.
He was the kind of person who constantly schemed and carefully planned several moves ahead.
Someone like him wouldn’t say something without a purpose.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Are you trying to use me?”
Instead of answering, Sylvester smiled sweetly.
“How can you try to use your only wife like this? What are you planning to do?”
“That’s a secret. I’m not telling you.”
“Wow. That’s really cruel.”
I glared at Sylvester.
Even under my sharp stare, Sylvester merely shrugged and replied calmly.
“And how can you chase after another man when you have only one husband? That’s even more cruel.”
Sylvester never lost an argument.
“You really know how to leave me speechless.”
I muttered, carefully folding away the frustration that had risen in my chest.
Once again, I buried my face in my hands.
The urge to throw everything away and run was rising all the way to my throat.
But there was only one reason I didn’t.
If I can’t get divorced from Sylvester, it’ll be difficult for me to live on my own.
This Empire was ridiculous.
A woman absolutely needed a reason to live alone.
She had to be divorced, widowed, unmarried with both parents dead, or have some other socially acceptable explanation.
What if a woman was caught living alone without a reason?
She’d be sent to prison.
Does that make any sense?
It did.
Because this was the kind of world I was living in.
So I had to get divorced somehow.
But it didn’t look like it would be easy.
The bleak reality made everything in front of me go dark.
I sighed again.
“You’ve changed.”
It was Sylvester.
I lifted my eyes and glanced at him.
“What has?”
“I’m not sure.”
Sylvester looked me over from head to toe.
His gaze felt as though he were examining me, but strangely, it didn’t make me uncomfortable.
If anything, I felt embarrassed.
I instinctively drew my shoulders inward.
Because he was reaching out his hand.
“Even when your hair is this messy, you don’t seem to care.”
His cold fingers touched my earlobe.
He gathered my disheveled hair and tucked it behind my ear.
Thump.
My heart skipped a beat.
But then—
“Are you trying to go out with a ‘crazy woman’ persona now?”
“…”
“That might actually be better for catching the Crown Prince’s attention.”
What a disaster of a mouth.
I blamed myself for getting flustered even for that brief moment and lowered my head.
Our destination was the Imperial Palace.
We attended an Imperial ball that was being held for the first time in a long while.
“The Crown Prince will obviously be there, too.”
Before the doors opened, Sylvester had told me that.
“You know what you have to do, don’t you?”
No, you bastard.
Instead of answering, I glared at him and snorted.
Then I left him behind and entered the ballroom.
There were many people inside.
But the moment I appeared, everyone moved out of my way.
I guess I’ve gotten quite a reputation as a crazy woman…
Feeling the weight of Ophelia’s infamous deeds all over again, I slowly walked forward.
I didn’t even need to search for the Crown Prince.
There was a man standing prominently in the center of the ballroom whom anyone could identify at a glance as the Crown Prince.
Platinum-blond hair, dark gray eyes, a broad, well-built physique, and an aura that subtly radiated authority.
Kallian von Rizen.
The Crown Prince.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat.
In any case, I had to go over and greet Crown Prince Kallian.
But then—
Oh. We made eye contact.
Kallian’s eyes turned toward me.
The moment they met mine, his face twisted into a deep frown as though he’d just seen something filthy.
Excuse me?
I don’t like you either.
It’s not like I enjoy this.
How ridiculous.
I grumbled inwardly.
Just then, the corners of Kallian’s lips twisted.
“What an audacious face.”
“Me?”
I pointed at myself.
Kallian frowned even more deeply.
Then he gestured toward the Imperial Guards.
“Throw her out.”
I haven’t even done anything…
