MHHASCD 14

14. Divorce Negotiations

A full week passed after I returned to the royal capital, and only then did Leon finally come home.

He’d said it would be two or three days, but the schedule stretched. For me, it was convenient—I had time to prepare, calmly and thoroughly, for the divorce.

From the day after I returned, I started moving.

First, I visited the adjudicator the guild had introduced to me.

I’d been told that bringing in a third party would make a divorce discussion go far more smoothly.

When I handed over the guild’s letter of introduction, it seemed the details had already reached him. He told me that the moment Leon returned, he could arrange everything.

He also confirmed that the footage shown through the magical device I’d borrowed from Asti could be used as evidence of infidelity.

On the day of the discussion, he said he would send both an adjudicator and a scribe.

He would also handle arranging a witness on Leon’s side—which meant contacting the knights.

If the person in charge was available, he intended to call in the knight captain.

I hesitated. Calling a knight captain for a divorce between commoners felt excessive.

But I was advised that since I supplied recovery potions to the knights at a very low price, it would be better to discuss what would happen going forward.

After that, I prepared to move.

Asti taught me spatial magic, so I stored my belongings inside it.

I couldn’t create a truly vast space, so furniture would have to be left behind. And since I still hadn’t found a new place—one that assumed I would be leaving the capital—it was a relief not to have to carry everything around.

The person Asti sent also helped me pack. Once I gathered what I needed, the house became plain and simple.

And because I couldn’t afford to lose emotionally, I focused on restoring my health.

I still hadn’t gone for an official pregnancy confirmation.

I might leave the capital, and I didn’t know what could leak or where. I planned to search in peace once I’d moved.

I was spending those quiet days when the city began to buzz—the knights had returned.

I summoned everyone involved to the discussion, and waited for Leon to come home.

“…I’m back.”

Leon slipped inside as if testing the air, his voice small, his face tired.

What had he felt this past week?

And—

“Welcome home, Leon.”

When he saw the people gathered around me, what would he think?

“…Sheila, what is this…?”

“Thank you for your hard work on the expedition. I’m sorry to do this the moment you’ve returned, but we need to talk. Sit there, please.”

I directed him to the seat across the long table.

Beside me sat Ameri and her husband.

At one end stood Asti, with the scribe behind him.

On Leon’s sofa sat the captain of the royal knights.

Facing Asti was the captain from Marseize. He was already here because Asti had retrieved him with teleportation.

Under those gazes—more like being pinned down than watched—Leon sat next to the captain. The captain closed his eyes, arms crossed, as if simply waiting for the moment to begin.

“Let’s start with introductions.”

When I prompted them, Asti nodded first.

“I am Asti. Today, I will be acting as adjudicator for the divorce discussion between Sheila and Leon. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Divorce!?”

Yes. That Asti was here today as the adjudicator.

The reason, apparently, was that the people he’d been monitoring were the Marseize mother and child—and one of the possible fathers had been Leon.

Ignoring Leon’s shock, I prompted the next person.

“I’m Zain, captain of the Royal Knights. I’m here to deal with my subordinate’s mess. I offer my deepest apologies.”

I nodded as he bowed.

He was a large man, but somehow he looked small today.

When I asked him to raise his head, the next was the man beside Leon.

“I’m Dagart, captain of the Marseize garrison. I’m here as Leon’s witness. Understood.”

This was the man Asti had praised as perceptive and captain material.

Leon, still bewildered, kept glancing at Dagart as if he couldn’t understand why he was here. Dagart kept his gaze straight ahead.

And then—

“I’m Karl, in charge of internal affairs for the capital’s knights. This is my wife, Ameri. We’ve been asked to serve as mediators and witnesses today. We’ll see this through.”

They had been our witnesses when we married.

That was why I asked them to come today—to see it to the end.

Ameri was glaring at Leon. Her husband rubbed her back to calm her. Karl was Leon’s colleague, and his closest friend.

Once everyone was present, I spoke.

“I don’t want to drag this out. I’ll be direct. Leon—please divorce me.”

Leon’s lips moved, but no sound came out. His eyes went wide.

Even seeing that, my heart remained still.

“The reasons are your infidelity and the existence of your hidden child. I’m also demanding eight hundred gold coins as compensation.”

“W-wait. I don’t understand. Infidelity? A hidden child? What are you talking about?”

So he intended to deny it.

Eight hundred gold coins was roughly a year of Leon’s pay. Panic made sense.

But Dagart had already said he suspected I knew. Had Leon forgotten?

“That’s exactly what I said. I want a divorce because you were unfaithful. Infidelity is prohibited by law in this country, so I’m claiming compensation.”

“Infidelity—where’s your proof? Stop making accusations.”

My brows tightened.

Why wouldn’t he admit it? If he truly loved that mother and child, shouldn’t he be relieved?

Or was he trying to avoid paying? Trying to escape the consequences?

“I was in Marseize until about a week ago. I can prove it—I brought a gift to the garrison.”

“Oh, yes. We received remarkably high-grade recovery potions. Thank you for that.”

“It was nothing. I’m glad they helped.”

Leon’s eyes flicked toward Dagart, then away, restless.

He looked like a criminal waiting for sentencing.

“And in Marseize, I saw you. …To be precise, I saw you and Lilia, who called you ‘Papa.’ And Chiara—the woman you held close, with your hand around her waist.”

Leon’s eyes widened in horror.

He shook his head faintly, and his lips formed the word No.

His face drained pale. His gaze darted wildly.

“That was… I was meeting a mother and child I helped as a knight…”

I ignored his excuse and turned to Dagart.

“Captain Dagart—do you know whose name the house they live in is under?”

Dagart met my eyes, serious.

Far more trustworthy than Leon.

“That house was rented under Leon’s name. He said he would live there in Marseize with his wife, and applied for it that way. The knights’ housing subsidy was paid out under the family rate. …I was told Chiara was his wife.”

At those words, Ameri half rose, only to be pulled back by Karl.

She was red-faced, breathing hard.

Her anger steadied me.

Because she raged on my behalf, I could stay calm. It was the reason I could speak without collapsing into emotion.

“Then Leon was staying there regularly? Not in the garrison dormitory?”

“Yes. In the beginning, he used the dorms. But after a while he rented the house. He said it was because he’d live there with his wife.”

Leon’s fists clenched tightly on his lap.

His head stayed bowed.

Did he think it would never be exposed?

That if I didn’t know, it didn’t matter?

Truth has a way of surfacing on its own.

A fantasy where everything stays convenient forever—I would end it.

“Then in practice, Leon, you were living as a family with Chiara and Lilia. Leon—am I wrong?”

I asked him, but he didn’t lift his head.

Even now, he wouldn’t answer.

Was he always this pathetic?

Was this the man I loved?

“Leon. Answer me.”

“……”

“Leon!”

“Th-that child—!”

Still bowed, his fists clenched even harder, Leon shouted.

Everyone held their breath.

“That child… Lilia… isn’t mine…!”

The desperate claim changed the air in the room in an instant.

Only Asti remained expressionless.