Honey, Why Can’t We Get a Divorce? – Chapter 157 – Side story 10

Author: rolypoly

I tried to convince myself that I must have misheard, but just in case it wasn’t my imagination, I held my breath and listened carefully.

Then I heard a rustling sound not far away.

‘A real ghost…?’

I had to check it out, no matter what.

Do you know what’s scarier than a ghost in my house? The people in my house.

Gulp. I swallowed dry saliva and slowly walked toward the sound. The sound was coming from the room right next to the bedroom.

“…Where… look for…”

“This… no way… back…”

As expected, it wasn’t a ghost. It was a person.

The west annex is a place even the servants don’t visit.

But there’s someone I don’t know?

‘That’s even scarier.’

It must be an intruder.

So, I thought I should hurry back and bring some knights with me. I lifted my face from where it was pressed against the door and quickly turned to leave.

But.

Kiieeeek—.

Of all things, the floor in this wing had to be wooden, and of all spots, I had to step on a worn section, and to top it off, I was wearing heels, which dug into the floor and made a loud noise.

“What on earth is this!!”

That’s why I got caught.

Oh my.

“D, Duchess?”

The people who opened the door and came out were people I had never seen before. One, two, three… six in total. I swallowed hard.

“Why is the Duchess here?”

“You idiot! This is the Duke’s residence!”

“Oh, right. No, no, I shouldn’t have gotten caught like this!”

They looked so naive. Were they just petty thieves?

That’s why I thought it was fortunate.

If they were professional assassins or something like that, I wouldn’t stand a chance.

Whoo. Taking a deep breath, I deliberately lifted my chin and looked at them.

“Yeah.”

I took a good look at all six of their faces and spoke.

“Who are you?”

“….”

“Who are you to be wandering around my house without permission? And this annex where entry is prohibited.”

I stepped a bit closer to them, and I noticed a few of them taking a slight step back. It was clear that they were afraid of me.

“If you don’t answer properly…”

What, what should I say?

After a moment of hesitation, I lightly gestured across my throat with my finger.

“…You know, right?”

“Hiik!”

Some of them fell back on their bottoms and let out high-pitched squeals.

Okay. That should be enough.

It’s a relief that my face looks scary.

I shrugged my shoulders and said nonchalantly.

“I don’t want to get my hands dirty, so you guys turn yourself in. If you go out this way, there will be knights, and you can tell them everything.”

The thieves all had stiff faces and their shoulders were shaking. They looked quite scared.

Phew, it was fortunate that they were petty thieves.

I wiped the cold sweat and turned around. No, I was going to turn around.

“No!”

One of them screamed.

“If we get caught by the Duke, we’ll be dead for sure! But if we go back, we’ll end up dead at the hands of His Highness!”

…What?

His Highness?

You just said ‘His Highness,’ right?

I quickly turned to look at them. Seeing their pale faces, it seemed they weren’t lying.

“This is it, Madam! You have to come with us!”

“…Huh?”

“We only need the magic circle! If the Duke loves you that much, he would surely give up the magic circle instead of you, right?”

So, the person referred to as ‘His Highness’ tried to use these people to retrieve the magic circle?

They weren’t just thieves?!

“What are you doing? Catch her!”

I thought as I watched the thieves rushing toward me.

But which His Highness?

***

“Whoo.”

Sylvester let out a slow sigh and took off his glasses. Leaning back against the chair, he tilted his head back. He blinked several times, squinting his dim eyes.

“I’ve been sitting here working since dawn…”

“I’m tired too, so stop talking.”

“I miss Ophelia.”

“I told you to stop talking. You’re not listening.”

Neil shook his head with a bored expression.

“Still, you need to work. There are still this many documents left to review.”

Sylvester glanced down at the pile of papers on his desk.

And thought.

I don’t want to do it.

“I’m the Duke.”

“Yes.”

“Then can’t I take a break?”

“Haha. You’re saying all sorts of nonsense. You know that the higher the position, the more responsibilities there are, don’t you?”

Ugh. Sylvester groaned and rubbed his forehead.

If it were the original version of him, he wouldn’t complain about this amount of work. He had never felt the emotion of “I don’t want to do this” while working. Work was always something that needed to be done, and so he did it. That was all there was to it.

However, after he began to feel love, he realized that there was something more important in life than work.

From then on, he didn’t want to work.

Instead, he wanted to spend time hugging Ophelia tightly.

“I’m low on the concentration of Ophelia in my blood. I need to go see her now.”

“If you get up now, I’ll quit.”

“Dismissed.”

“I’ll submit it even if you reject it.”

“Double rejection.”

“Oh, please!”

Neil screamed, but Sylvester was calm.

It’s not like he decided to quit just yesterday or today. If he just gives him some more money after work this time, it’ll probably quiet down.

“Once the opening ceremony is over, things will settle down. So please just hold on until then.”

Sylvester settled back into his seat and pursed his lips. That damn opening ceremony. It was such a hassle, but he couldn’t just abandon the orphanage and school since it was something Ophelia had started.

So he picked up his pen again.

However, that didn’t mean he could focus on work right away. He blinked slowly, recalling Ophelia from the night before. To be precise, he remembered the conversation they had shared.

– I’ve never heard about your family. What was your mother like? What would you want to say to her if you could meet her? Those kinds of things.

My family.

At some point, Sylvester lived forgetting what ‘family’ was.

A father who died in the battlefield and whose face he never knew, a mother who only used him.

Because Sylvester was struggling to survive in the midst of all that, the concept of family had long since been thrown out of his mind.

However, meeting Ophelia—specifically, the Ophelia of the present—changed him.

He had come to understand what it meant to have a “family,” how to cherish it, and just how much it could drive his life forward.

That’s why…

His mother was even more unforgivable.

‘Is this too childish?’

He didn’t like the fact that he still had resentment toward his parents. That’s why he was trying hard to erase it, but he didn’t like the fact that Ophelia kept nagging him.

‘I’m grateful that you thought of me, but.’

I don’t want to show any more childish behavior than this, Sylvester muttered.

“Your Excellency, the pen is resting.”

Neil glared at Sylvester.

“A subordinate who disciplines his master? I raised one subordinate very well.”

“Yes. So please review the documents quickly and hand them over to me.”

Ugh. Sylvester put his glasses back on with a helpless expression and focused on the documents.

It was then.

“Honey!”

The door burst open, and the awaited voice echoed through the room. It was Ophelia!

Did my thoughts of wanting to see her somehow reach her? Is it true that couples understand each other without needing to say a word?

Sylvester lifted his head in joy. Then he muttered.