◊ Chapter 2 ◊
I Return This Marriage
Shuvil looked completely shocked.
He clearly hadn’t expected to hear those words.
“What suddenly got into you, Calypse? Did something happen?”
His gentle eyes.
His soft voice.
Anyone watching would think he was a loving husband.
It was all just an act.
“Let’s end this. You and me.”
“What? I must’ve heard you wrong.”
“No. You heard me correctly.”
“What are you trying to do?”
The way he growled almost made him look like an obsessed male lead.
There was only one reason he was acting like this.
Calypse had always been exactly the kind of wife Shuvil wanted.
A fool who obediently earned money for him and took care of the house.
In short…
What Shuvil wanted was not a divorce.
At least, not yet.
“I’m asking you. What exactly are you doing?”
He tried to sound confident,
but the slight trembling in his eyes made it obvious.
He was wondering…
How much did I know?
I smiled brightly at his pale face.
“I met Lady Kynes yesterday.”
In the original story,
Calypse fell into the trap Shuvil carefully prepared and was unfairly divorced.
While Calypse worked herself to the bone paying off his debts,
Shuvil carried on an affair with Lady Kynes and quietly prepared for their divorce.
When Calypse finally finished paying everything,
Shuvil handed her divorce papers.
Papers written entirely in his own favor.
That divorce destroyed Calypse’s life.
Being divorced instead of choosing divorce yourself? Absolutely not.
So this time,
I prepared the perfect performance before he could.
Shuvil stared at me with a deathly pale face.
“How did you… meet Lady Kynes?”
For a brief moment,
I could almost hear the gears in his head turning.
“We’re not like that. Lady Kynes kept chasing after me, so I only met her a few times. I think you’ve misunderstood…”
Misunderstood?
Were you afraid of losing your obedient wife?
Don’t worry.
You’ve already got another woman waiting to take that position.
Then again,
finding another fool willing to support him was probably harder than finding another woman to play with.
I tossed the divorce papers onto the table.
“Stop talking and read this.”
The sharpness in my voice was something the Calypse he knew would never have shown.
Seeing my confidence,
Shuvil finally realized things weren’t going his way.
His face turned even paler.
“Looks like you’re finally starting to understand.”
I motioned toward the papers.
Watching my expression carefully,
he picked them up.
“Coral’s custody belongs entirely to Calypse Patuang.”
“Shuvil is forbidden from coming within 100 meters of Coral.”
…
As expected,
he showed absolutely no interest in Coral.
His indifferent expression relieved me,
but it also filled me with anger.
The next clause finally made him react.
“All debts belong solely to Shuvil.”
“What is this…?”
“Your debts are yours to repay. Did you think I’d pay them?”
“But we’re husband and wife.”
It was ridiculous that we even had to argue about this.
According to Imperial law,
even divorced couples had to divide their property equally.
Even debts.
However…
If the divorce was entirely one spouse’s fault,
the innocent party wouldn’t have to take on those debts.
Luckily,
I had prepared everything.
Smiling,
I spread out all the evidence I had gathered by hiring the guild.
The crystal orb displayed countless scenes of Shuvil gambling.
Those recordings would become undeniable evidence in court.
And the moment he signed these divorce papers,
I planned to report everything to the Imperial Guard as well.
“I wonder if even his entire lifetime would be enough to pay all the fines.”
Shuvil forced a smile onto his pale face.
“What is all this… Calypse?”
He called my name so gently.
If I were the original Calypse,
my heart probably would’ve softened.
Instead,
I felt goosebumps all over.
“What else? They’re the disgusting traces of the life you’ve lived.”
I lightly tapped the crystal orb.
Shuvil’s body trembled.
“There must be some misunderstanding…”
Was he a parrot?
All he could say was “misunderstanding.”
I took out another magic tool.
This time,
it displayed photographs sent by Lady Kynes herself.
When I told her I needed proof for the divorce,
she had kindly sent me plenty of them.
How thoughtful of her.
In every picture,
Shuvil and Lady Kynes were wrapped in each other’s arms.
They looked like the perfect couple.
The photos clearly showed their intimate relationship.
Shuvil closed his eyes tightly and let out a long sigh.
“I know you’re angry. I understand you’re jealous… but those photos are a misunderstanding.”
Jealous?
“How did someone this clueless even manage to have an affair?”
If being delusional were a disease,
Shuvil would be a terminal patient.
“I’m not misunderstanding anything.”
“Should I send these photos to Lady Kynes too?”
Only then did the shock truly hit him.
His face became even whiter.
Compared to when he first arrived,
he now looked like a completely drained squid.
Gambling.
Cheating.
With this much evidence,
the court would have no choice but to rule that the divorce was entirely his fault.
And society would completely abandon him.
The cards were now in my hands.
A satisfied smile spread across my face.
“Even if you’re broke and an idiot, I’m sure the power of true love will make her accept you. Don’t you think?”
I calmly fanned myself.
Then something unexpected happened.
Shuvil…
fell to his knees.
He begged desperately.
Anyone seeing him now would almost pity him.
Holding my hand tightly,
he pleaded,
“Calypse… Lady Kynes was just a passing temptation. Every man goes through a phase like that…”
Really?
You cheated so confidently before,
so why panic now that I’m letting you go?
The more I thought about it,
the crazier he seemed.
I shook off his hand and whispered into his ear.
“Then go enjoy your passing temptation. I wish your great love all the best.”
“…!”
Shuvil quickly turned his head.
When he saw the shadow of a carriage outside the window,
his face completely lost its color.
“Calypse! I was wrong! I’ll end things with Lady Kynes!”
“Don’t joke about things like that, Shuvil. Get a grip.”
“I’ll do anything you want.”
“Anything I want?”
He nodded desperately at my feet.
I lifted his chin with the tip of my shoe and smiled.
“Then stop talking and stamp the papers. Because what I want… is a divorce.”
Even if he refused,
I already had enough evidence to win in court.
But a trial would drag on for an entire year.
That could interfere with my future plans.
The marriage proposal that would soon arrive from Macaron.
Preparing for my remarriage.
Everything.
Although I had gathered enough evidence for court,
the best outcome was still getting his signature today.
I had never loved Shuvil.
And he had never truly betrayed me.
But one thing was certain.
Because of him, Coral’s childhood had been filled with misery.
I wanted to crush his face beneath my heel.
But I restrained myself.
Thanks to the noble manners I’d spent months learning.
Nothing spread faster in high society than scandal.
And this story was more than scandalous enough.
Not only that—
every noble lady would avoid him like the plague.
If this reached court,
his life would become even more miserable.
I looked straight at him and spoke clearly.
“If you don’t sign now, your face will be on the front page of the Imperial Newspaper.”
For once,
his brain worked quickly.
Realizing there was no escape,
Shuvil silently stamped the papers.
Someone else might have thrown water in his face.
Or slapped him.
But I had no intention of dirtying my hands for trash like him.
Instead,
I invited the person who would take care of that trash for me.
Right on time,
Lady Kynes walked into the gallery.
“I hope the two of you live happily together.”
Trash belonged with trash.
I certainly didn’t want another piece of garbage sticking to me.
“This is my early wedding gift.”
As I placed the divorce papers on the table,
Lady Kynes smiled,
while Shuvil looked completely miserable.
I walked away with light footsteps.
Every step felt refreshing.
As if a huge weight had finally been lifted from my chest.
When I reached the gallery entrance,
I suddenly felt someone staring at me.
Turning around,
I found Shuvil’s eyes fixed on me.
Even after I left the building,
he continued watching.
His expression strangely resembled
a lonely animal that had just been abandoned.
“There’s no reason for him to keep acting anymore… Don’t tell me he’s become obsessed with me now?”
Trying to ignore the unpleasant feeling,
I hurried home.
A new beginning was waiting for me.
*
The divorce went exactly as planned.
It felt like I had finally thrown away a heavy burden.
Afterward,
I threw myself into work,
and my days became busier than ever.
The magical tool I had spent so much time developing was finally nearing completion.
The Empire’s demand for makeup was enormous,
so its cosmetics industry was highly advanced.
There were foundations for every skin tone.
Skincare products made for oily and dry skin.
Colorful eye palettes filled with glitter.
Beautiful lip products.
But all of those belonged only to nobles.
Even then,
they needed professional makeup artists whenever they attended important events.
Back when I worked as a makeup artist,
I had always dreamed of making makeup something anyone could do.
I wanted everyone who wished to change themselves
to learn everything I knew.
The easiest.
The most convenient way possible.
But now…
I wouldn’t even have to teach them myself.
“If this project succeeds…”
A world would come
where magical tools replaced human hands.
My ultimate goal
was to turn a makeup filter
into a magical tool.
By turning beauty concepts into formulas and algorithms,
different makeup styles became magical filters.
As time passed,
I added more and more filters.
Soon,
the age of applying makeup by hand would come to an end.
Every day,
my achievements continued to grow.
Bringing my imagination to life
was both exciting and deeply satisfying.
And today,
my newest product was finally complete.
Its name was…
Changer.
“Let’s make lots of money, baby.”
Just looking at it made me smile.
As always,
Coral was sleeping peacefully beside me.
“Just wait a little longer, Coral. Mom will make sure your future is filled with nothing but happiness.”
After placing a protective magic tool beside Coral,
I quietly left the house.
In front of the Moon Night building.
I showed my silver ticket,
and the muscular guards nodded before letting me in.
As I entered the dark building,
bright lights surrounded me.
Once the lights went out,
this place revealed the desires everyone kept hidden.
For now,
the lights were still on.
People gathered in the luxurious hall,
each with their own purpose.
Some were looking for a one-night partner.
Others hoped to find someone who could completely change their lives.
“So why am I here?”
If I had to answer…
I came here to fall in love with money.
I had been visiting Moon Night for about two months.
After my smooth divorce from Shuvil,
my bank account was completely empty.
I couldn’t even afford to buy Coral a proper outfit.
So while developing magical tools,
I also worked here.
In that short time,
I had done makeup for countless noble ladies.
At first,
I simply wanted enough money to buy Coral some nice clothes.
But…
As someone who had once been the world’s best makeup artist,
my skills quickly stood out here as well.
One satisfied customer became two.
Then ten.
Then dozens.
Word spread naturally.
Before long,
people began calling me…
The Queen of the Night.
Today,
I was creating another beautiful face.
Meanwhile,
the noble ladies waiting their turn gathered together and chatted.
Their conversation centered around the hottest topic in the Empire these days.
Prince Macaron.
“I heard Prince Macaron has been sending out marriage proposals lately.”
“You mean… the Monster Prince?”
