CHAPTER 9
“When is Lady Mile leaving? It would be nice if we could have another meal together before she goes.”
Whenever Lady Mile visited Shuven, she always stayed at the Marquess of Grit’s residence. Even after the party, she would spend time with Marie and stay for several days.
But this time, it seemed she had arranged for a separate place to stay nearby instead of staying at the Marquess’s residence.
It was unlike her.
“She has already left.”
At that late hour?
The answer was so brief that Ruby found herself wondering.
“At such a late hour?”
Marie seemed to have the same thought as Ruby.
“Yes. She said she had something urgent to take care of.”
Eli was the only one who understood the absurdity of that answer.
Eve and Emily, seated across from him, tilted their heads in confusion as well. But they seemed to accept it with the vague faith that their dependable older brother must have known what he was doing.
“……That isn’t very courteous to a guest. I feel terrible about it. I should at least send her a letter later.”
Faced with Eli’s completely unperturbed reaction, Marie couldn’t bring herself to say anything more. She merely smiled awkwardly.
“But when are you going back to work, Brother?”
“In two weeks.”
For a moment, Eli’s expression hardened as he answered, then relaxed again.
“You’re only staying that long? That’s disappointing.”
Emily pouted.
I still can’t ride a horse by myself.
It was the same complaint she always made whenever Eli was about to leave.
He gently stroked Emily’s head to comfort her. His touch was tender.
“Come see me for a moment.”
After the meal, Marie quietly called Ruby into the drawing room.
Judging by the firmly pressed line of her lips, this did not seem like it would be a pleasant conversation.
Ruby instinctively tensed.
“Have some tea.”
As always, Marie gently pushed the prepared tea toward Ruby.
Ruby took a sip of pineapple tea and set the cup down.
“You disappeared halfway through the party yesterday. Where did you go?”
“I spilled wine on my dress. I’m sorry. I meant to change quickly, but I suppose it took longer than I thought.”
“……I see.”
Despite Ruby’s clumsy excuse, Marie accepted it without further question.
“More importantly, did you hear that Lady Mile left without even getting a proper chance to rest?”
“Ah…… yes.”
Marie deliberately reminded Ruby of what had been discussed at the table earlier.
“Do you have any awareness of your responsibilities as the hostess?”
Marie raised her voice.
“I’m so embarrassed that I can’t even hold my head up.”
Marie fanned her face with one hand, seemingly worked up.
“……I’m sorry.”
“It’s Lady Mile, of all people. Her family is one of the most distinguished in the Lubern Empire. Shouldn’t we be grateful that a young lady from such a family takes the trouble to attend our parties every time? How can you treat her so poorly instead?”
Although Marie vaguely understood that Arien had been unable to stay at the Marquess of Grit’s residence because of Eli, she still scolded Ruby.
The first reason was that the hostess was, after all, the Marchioness of Grit herself.
The second was that it was only proper to correct what had been done wrong.
And the final reason was simply that Marie needed someone to vent her anger on.
“I’ll remember…… from now on.”
There would be no next time, but Marie still knew nothing about the divorce, so Ruby answered accordingly.
This would be the last time she had to listen to Marie’s scolding. There was no reason to make things noisier than necessary.
“Good. You should.”
Only after hearing Ruby’s obedient answer did Marie smile with satisfaction.
It was an ordinary morning, no different from any other.
So ordinary that Ruby still couldn’t quite comprehend that she had made a decision that would bring such a major change to her life.
She had decided to divorce.
Several more uneventful days passed.
“What is the meaning of this?”
It was an afternoon when Eli had gone out to teach Emily how to ride.
The party was over, so there was nothing else that needed to be prepared. It was a peaceful afternoon, one of the first times in a while that Ruby had been able to relax.
She had only just fallen asleep for a nap when Marie suddenly flung open the door.
“What happened?”
Still half-asleep, Ruby quickly sat up.
“That is what I should be asking you! What on earth is going on?”
Marie abruptly threw the papers she had been holding.
Even through her foggy consciousness, Ruby could tell that Marie was furious. She quickly reached out and gathered the scattered documents.
They were documents concerning assets such as the mansion and land.
According to them, ownership of the assets was to be transferred from Eli to Ruby.
Even Ruby, who was supposed to become the named owner, couldn’t believe her own eyes.
She repeatedly shook her head, thinking that perhaps she was still too groggy from sleep and was seeing things.
“You two are getting divorced?”
“Pardon?”
“Otherwise, why would he transfer all that property into your name?”
Only then did Ruby realize that the documents listed the property she was supposed to receive as part of the divorce settlement.
“Why aren’t you answering me? Is it true?”
“……I’m sorry.”
Ruby knew what she was supposed to do, so she apologized first.
It was the only thing she had learned over the past three years that reliably pleased Marie.
Even though she knew that getting divorced wasn’t something she needed to apologize for, the habit had become so ingrained in her that she apologized before she could think about it.
“My goodness. What……!”
Marie sounded furious.
Her reaction was completely different from what Ruby had imagined.
She had actually thought Marie would be happy.
Ruby lowered her head like a guilty criminal, wondering if perhaps Marie was simply a little disappointed.
But then—
“How can you ask for this much property? Have you lost your mind?”
Only after hearing those words did Ruby realize that wasn’t the case at all.
“Was this your intention from the beginning?”
“No. I never asked for it.”
Ruby had never asked Eli for property. She had never even intended to receive any.
No, it was more accurate to say that she had never had the opportunity to think about such a thing.
The thought of simply having to accept her divorce from Eli had been difficult enough.
“I thought you had at least some shame. And now you’re asking for a division of property?”
Marie was too agitated to listen to Ruby’s explanation.
“Shame……?”
“Yes. Shame!”
Even if Ruby had no intention of accepting anything, dividing property upon divorce was perfectly normal.
She couldn’t understand why it was being treated as something shameful.
“Eli was still so young when he made one mistake and ended up in a marriage that caused him nothing but losses.”
“…….”
“Even so, he accepted it because he said he would take responsibility. That’s one of his good qualities. What nobleman would do such a thing? By marrying into your insignificant family, he ruined his chance to climb even higher. And even then, I made a great effort to think well of you. I taught you things you should have learned properly in the first place. Isn’t it thanks to me that you’re now called the Marchioness? And now you’re coveting our property? Do you really think you’ve done anything for the Marquess of Grit?”
Even seeing the hurt on Ruby’s face didn’t make Marie stop.
If anything, Ruby’s expression—as though she genuinely didn’t understand—only irritated her more.
Now that things had come this far, Marie intended to tell her everything.
“If he had married into a ducal family or another marquess’s family, he wouldn’t have had to spend all his time working like he does now. Our family’s wealth would have increased several times over, and our family’s standing would have risen much higher as well. How can you, the person who brought everything to this state, ask for a share of the property?”
In other words, Ruby’s mother-in-law, the Marchioness Dowager, was more upset about the Marquess’s assets being reduced because of Ruby—someone who was more lacking and useless than anyone else—than she was about Ruby and Eli actually getting divorced.
Ruby had impulsively decided to divorce Eli, but she had intended to tell everyone as late as possible.
Until then, she had planned to continue doing her best, just as she always had.
Now she felt almost ridiculous for having tried so hard.
“I…… still tried.”
She had thought that perhaps Marie had developed at least a tiny bit of affection for her.
“Compared to the other families you mentioned, my family may not be very important, but I tried my best not to bring shame upon the Marquess of Grit.”
“So you think that means you’re entitled to this much?”
Marie gave an incredulous laugh.
“No. That’s not what I mean. I just meant that I tried just as hard, and that it wasn’t easy……”
“Isn’t that because you were inadequate from the beginning?”
Ruby froze at Marie’s words.
“If you had been born into a proper family like Lady Mile, and learned from proper tutors, would you have needed to make such an effort in the first place?”
In the end, it always came back to Lady Mile.
“How is any of that because of your marriage? These are things you should have learned naturally. The way you put it, it sounds as though you were forced to do all of that because of me.”
“…….”
“When you threw yourself at my son to seduce him, didn’t you have enough resolve to accept all this?”
Marie gave a crooked smile as she looked Ruby up and down.
Her expression was that of someone looking at a vulgar woman.
For a moment, it overlapped with the expression Eli had worn when he looked at Ruby.
Ruby felt as though she had been stripped naked.
She was utterly humiliated.
“I can’t stand to look at this. So go and tell him yourself that you won’t accept the property. If you have any shame at all, you should at least do that much, shouldn’t you?”
Having reached her own conclusion, Marie left the room.
Even after she was gone, Ruby remained frozen in place for a long while.
“What is this supposed to mean?”
Ruby held out the documents concerning the division of property to Eli.
The papers had been crumpled over and over as they passed between Marie and Ruby, leaving them in a terrible state.
“If there’s anything missing, tell me. I’ll add it.”
He seemed to understand what they were even after merely skimming the documents.
“Are you saying you’ll give me more if I ask?”
“If it’s something I can give you.”
His tone was utterly casual.
It was completely different from Marie’s reaction.
“Are you trying to count it as compensation for everything I suffered in bed?”
At her sarcastic remark, Eli’s brow furrowed.
“I never asked you for money.”
“Dividing property when you get divorced is only natural.”
The moment she heard that, Ruby gave a hollow laugh.
“Why are you laughing?”
Eli’s gaze settled on her.
He seemed displeased by her unusual reaction.
“Money isn’t what’s supposed to be natural.”
“Then what is?”
He was genuinely asking.
“When a wife asks for a divorce, you’re supposed to ask her why. That’s what’s supposed to be natural.”
Even after Ruby told him exactly what she wanted, he simply stared at her.
Still, she waited.
He wasn’t someone who didn’t understand why she was saying this.
“Are you really not going to ask?”
Ruby’s voice, as she asked again, was almost resigned.
“We’ve already decided to get divorced. What’s the point of asking now?”
His voice was exactly the same as it had been when he accepted her marriage proposal.
Only then did Ruby understand.
Just as their marriage had meant nothing to him, neither did their divorce.
To him, their three years of marriage, their nights together, and even Ruby herself had truly meant nothing.
Once she thought about it that way, she felt that although her decision had been impulsive, it had been the right one.
Ruby placed the papers in his hand.
“I don’t need the property. And I’ll go to the capital ahead of you. I’ll leave tomorrow.”
“……I’ll have everything prepared.”
Leaving him behind as he continued changing his clothes, Ruby walked out of the room.
(To be continued in the next chapter.)
