THDAD CH 11

What is he trying to pull this time?

I kept my guard up and watched Shite carefully.

With his dry hand, he pulled a rose from his breast pocket.

The stem was still damp, as though it had just been picked, and all the thorns had been removed.

Shite tucked the rose behind my ear and met my eyes.

“As expected. I knew it would suit you.”

My face flushed with embarrassment.

When I tried to pull away, he firmly held my hand and whispered sweetly,

“Amarinthis, would you please divorce me?”

My face instantly returned to its normal temperature.

There it is. I was wondering when he would finally say it.

He had even deliberately lowered his voice when saying only the word divorce. To everyone around us, it must have sounded like he was whispering sweet nothings into my ear.

As expected, exclamations of admiration and delighted squeals erupted from all around us.

For a moment, I couldn’t control my expression.

The disgruntled look on my face was exposed for Shite to see in all its glory.

Shite let out a quiet laugh.

How annoying.

I pulled the rose from behind my ear.

Then, just as Shite had done, I tucked it behind his ear and gave him a bright smile.

“No.”

Before Shite could say anything, I briskly shook his hand off and headed toward the exit.

“Cindy! Come with me.”

“Yes, Madam!”

Cindy, who had been hiding until the very end, suddenly popped out from the bushes.

I strode away while hearing her hurried little footsteps following behind me.

A cool breeze brushed across my cheeks, but my anger refused to settle down.

He actually followed me all the way to the greenhouse just to irritate me by asking for a divorce!

Would it kill him to let me eat breakfast in peace?

I stomped along, fuming, when I felt the back of my head prickling.

I whipped around.

Cindy was wearing a disturbingly pleased smile.

“…Cindy? Do you have something to say?”

“No, nothing. I just think it’s nice to see.”

What was nice to see?

“Me huffing and puffing because I’m angry?”

“Not that. You and the Baron. You’ve gotten so much closer lately.”

“Closer?”

We fought a battle against divorce every single day!

I swallowed the words that had risen all the way to the tip of my tongue.

Cindy had worked for the Rootschild family since she was very young.

She had originally been Arpedio’s maid before coming to serve me.

She was also the only maid who had followed me after I got married.

We had known each other for so long that we were as comfortable as friends, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that Shite wanted a divorce.

Cindy was very close to Arpedio.

Even after becoming my maid, she frequently spent time with him and still exchanged letters with him.

Whatever Cindy knew, Arpedio knew too.

Knowing his personality, if he found out that Shite wanted a divorce, he would inevitably worry about me for no reason.

He was already busy enough.

I didn’t want to become another burden to him.

So I didn’t correct Cindy’s misunderstanding.

Of course, I had no intention of acknowledging the ridiculous rumor that there was some strange romantic atmosphere between Shite and me!

“It’s not like that.”

“Oh, please. How is it not? These days, you often have meals with the Baron.”

That’s because Shite comes down to the dining room at exactly the right time.

So he can ask me to divorce him one more time!

“And sometimes you sit really close and whisper to each other.”

He’s whispering about getting a divorce.

“Most of all, the Baron follows you around everywhere these days.”

He’s following me around because he’s obsessed with getting a divorce.

“It started as a contract, but then you fell in love and changed each other. That’s so romantic! Everyone is absolutely obsessed with it. These days, watching the two of you is the highlight of their day!”

The people involved are on the verge of breaking up, and you all are writing a romance novel about us.

…I couldn’t possibly say that, so I merely smiled.

Then something struck me as strange, and I tilted my head.

A person had changed 180 degrees overnight.

Yet everyone was only excited about his love life?

And that ridiculous excuse about losing his memories had only been told to me.

“Doesn’t anyone say anything about how Shite has changed?”

It sounded almost like I was talking to myself, but Cindy answered excitedly.

“Of course not!”

“Why not?”

“Because the Baron hardly ever came out of his room, so most people don’t really know what he was originally like…”

“But his posture and overall atmosphere are completely different. Even the way he speaks has changed, and his appearance is noticeably different.”

Cindy blinked several times before giving me a sly smile.

“The Baron himself told us that. He said all those changes were because of Madam!”

“Because of me?”

“Yes. I heard that whenever the Baron even catches sight of your shadow, he fixes his hair and clothes again.”

This is ridiculous.

“Why on earth…?”

Is he saying he’s going to torment me while making sure to do it politely?

I tilted my head, unable to understand Shite’s intentions, when Cindy suddenly burst out laughing.

“Oh, Madam. Of course it’s because he’s in love!”

“What are you talking about?”

“That absolutely isn’t it.”

“Of course it is. Yesterday, the Baron came to me and asked what I thought Madam thought of him, and whether you’d said anything unusual.”

He was testing Cindy to find out whether I really had no intention of divorcing him!

“That’s not all. The butler asked the Baron what had happened to make him change so much, and guess what!”

Cindy cleared her throat and lowered her voice.

“He said, ‘I’m such an inadequate person. If I want to stand proudly beside my wife, shouldn’t I at least make this much effort?’ Can you believe it?”

“…Cindy, are you sure we’re talking about the same person?”

“I think so.”

“So, the person you’re talking about is Shite Hurniswald, right? My husband.”

“Of course! Who else would it be?”

“What the hel—”

The rest of the word nearly slipped out.

But with superhuman patience, I swallowed the profanity.

Completely oblivious to my inner turmoil, Cindy continued chatting excitedly.

“The Baron is completely head over heels for Madam! It’s definitely love.”

“Cindy, think about it carefully. Does it make sense for someone to change overnight just because they’re in love?”

“Love can make anything possible. Like magic!”

Cindy clasped her hands together against her chest as though praying.

Her gaze drifted into the distance, and her eyes became dreamy, like someone lost in a sweet fantasy.

“I could gladly give my heart for the sake of my love. So I understand the Baron’s feelings too. When you fall in love, you can do anything. Even your own life doesn’t seem precious anymore!”

I shook my head at Cindy, who was half lost in a daze.

“Cindy, stop reading so many romance novels.”

“I think Madam should read some. You’re far too dry. Should I borrow you something spicy?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Hmph.”

Cindy pouted.

I shook my head and left Cindy behind as I continued walking.

But my thoughts were filled with only one person.

Shite Hurniswald.

Why on earth does that man act like this?

A peaceful morning.

As always, Shite came looking for me.

“Madam, the weather is lovely. How about taking a stroll by the lake?”

There was a subtle look of anticipation on his face.

It seemed as though he was hoping I’d recoil in disgust and refuse.

I smiled brightly.

“Sure.”

Perfect.

I’d spent all of yesterday thinking about Shite anyway.

More precisely, I’d been thinking about why Shite behaved like that.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer.

I had been so frustrated that I wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him!

“Let’s go for a stroll. We can talk privately, just the two of us.”

Shite looked surprised.

But he quickly hid it behind a mask-like smile.

“To think you agreed so quickly. Perhaps I should have suggested that we go get divorced instead of going on an outing.”

“Then my answer would have been different.”

I snorted and stood up.

When we stepped outside the building, bright sunlight poured down on us.

I frowned and raised my hand to shield my eyes from the light.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over me.

I looked up to see where it had come from.

Shite was standing there holding a parasol.

Behind him, servants followed carrying a picnic basket.

He’ll probably use the fact that he held a parasol over me as another excuse to ask for a divorce.

I was about to glare at him, but I noticed the servants watching us, so I smiled instead.

“Thank you, but I’ll carry it myself.”

“If you’re grateful—”

“No.”

The rest of his sentence was obvious even without hearing it.

I cut him off and walked ahead, and Shite followed.

“The breeze is pleasantly cool. It’s nice. I—”

“Just try bringing up divorce.”

“If I don’t bring it up, will you divorce me?”

Seriously!

If only I could slap that irritating mouth of his over and over again, I’d have no regrets!