The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 108

Chapter 108: The Request for Divorce and the Lonely Time

Alexis fell silent for a moment, covering his forehead with his palm and, without lifting his face, said in a murmuring tone, “Let’s retract my previous statement.”

“I’m quite surprised.”

Alexis usually does not show much emotion, but this request seemed to be unexpected.

In this world, once a marriage is made, divorce is not at all realistic, so it’s understandable that this would be surprising.

“Fortunately—or perhaps it’s strange to say fortunate—we have no marital history as a couple. It will be a hassle to go through the procedures, but it shouldn’t be impossible.”

The church forbids the dissolution of a marriage once it has been made because it would invalidate the vow made before God.

However, there is one way to effectively nullify a marriage. It is called a “white marriage”—for couples who have not shared a bed, the marriage can be considered as never having been made and thus invalid.

Formally, it is treated not as a divorce but as if the marriage never happened.

“As for the divorce, it is neither immediate nor guaranteed to happen eventually. If the time comes and it becomes necessary for either of us, we will discuss it properly.”

In fact, it would be more problematic for Melfina if the divorce were to happen immediately. If that were to occur, her family, the Crawford family, would not remain silent. There is even a possibility that she could be taken back to the capital or the southern region and thrown into a convent under surveillance.

Unless she establishes a solid and unwavering position or if the Oldrand family guarantees her personal support, it is clear that opposing her family would be difficult.

“…Did you think I was considering a divorce with you?”

“Not at this moment.”

“Will it eventually come to that?”

“People’s hearts change. Both you, Duke, and I, it’s the same.”

Sometimes, she thought about it.

In the game, Alexis, after sharing his heart with Maria and deciding to divorce Melfina due to her persistent harassment of Maria, would have acted differently if there had been no harassment towards Maria.

In less than a year, she had understood that Alexis highly values contracts.

Noble marriages are, essentially, contracts between families.

Alexis himself had once said that this marriage was for the political strategies of the Oldrand and Crawford families.

Even if Melfina had shown no clear fault, would Alexis have annulled the marriage and expelled her?

Considering hypothetical situations is futile now. Moreover, for the happiness of the heroine, Maria, it’s highly likely that Melfina would have withdrawn in some form or another.

“…Is there a man you are in love with?”

Melfina let out a small, self-deprecating laugh.

It was a distasteful laugh even to herself.

“I told you, for now, there isn’t.”

Perhaps it was better this way.

Even though she wasn’t loved by her politically arranged husband, she wanted to have many children. She wanted to be surrounded by children, loved, and happy.

Having come into marriage with such a wish, she had never felt her heart tremble for Alexis, let alone for anyone else.

To marry someone she doesn’t love and wish for children who will love her—upon reflection, it’s an odd story. She even feels pity for the “Melfina” in the game who had no choice but to cling to this.

“Very well. If either of us wishes for it, we will discuss and agree upon a mutually acceptable time and conditions for the divorce. Even in such a case, I promise to adhere to the terms of the agreement with you, the lord of the Enkar region.”

“…Thank you.”

While those words brought a sense of relief, they also stirred a deep feeling of loneliness.

Though it was less than a year, the name of Duchess Melfina von Oldrand had somehow become familiar to her.

From the beginning, she had known that Alexis expected nothing more from her than a nominal wife.

He did not intend to love her, so she was free to live as she wished. In a way, this could be seen as a declaration of Melfina’s freedom.

It was a statement that while he would not seek her love, it was acceptable for her to love someone else. Even if that happened, Alexis would never interfere.

Now, it was clear through mutual agreement. That was all there was to it.

She asked Marie, who had been watching anxiously, to make another drink with diluted spirits. She took one of the two filled cups, tilted it back, remembered the words from that time, and squeezed her cold hand tightly to hide it.

Even now, she could not view Alexis’s words and behavior on that day with favor. Yet, she had no doubt that he was a man of contracts. In fact, since coming to the Enkar region, Alexis had never used his power as a husband to take anything from Melfina.

This man was someone who had cut and wounded her heart.

Still, they had managed to come to this point where they could face each other and calmly discuss the future.

Perhaps due to the intoxication from the alcohol, her tongue was loosened a bit, and the true feelings she had kept inside for so long began to slip out.

“Duke, I don’t want to be forever trapped by what has happened and suffer.”

She paused and tightened her lips.

Thanks to the fireplace and the spirits, it wasn’t cold.

Yet, the cold stone lump remained heavy in her gut.

“I don’t want it. Hatred, revenge, things like that.”

She did not wish misfortune upon her cold-hearted parents.

She didn’t wish for Alexis, who had rejected her, to regret his actions.

Though she still didn’t know the form she truly desired, there was only one thing she wished for.

She wanted to live peacefully and be happy.

If she had wanted revenge on the world that had destined her to such a life, it wouldn’t have been difficult for Melfina, with her memories from her past life.

She could have made explosives instead of fertilizer, created weapons instead of crops, and distributed them to starving peasants at the time of famine, whispering:

“To protect your family, you must take it from those who eat the wheat.”

Before the overwhelming power of weapons, the regime would collapse swiftly. However, the rulers were not fools. They would mobilize mages, analyze the captured weapons, and create similar ones, though not identical, and move to suppress the riots.

This world, with its rigid class system and collective punishment for crimes, would be consumed by bloody chaos.

She could have sparked a revolution, sent the royal family and nobility to the guillotine, and beheaded the appearing saint on the spot. That would have fulfilled the revenge of the “game’s Melfina.”

Even if it meant a blood-soaked path, Melfina could have done it if she had chosen to.

—But she did not want to choose such a path.

What Melfina had originally desired was her parents’ love.

She already knew that the wounds inflicted by not being loved couldn’t be healed by malice or violence.

No matter how deep the past wounds or how cold the stone in her gut, while she could make it fester, she couldn’t warm it and heal it.

—In the end, what had warmly embraced Melfina were the smiles and affection of Marie, Cedric, and the people of the Enkar region.

Even now, she thought it was right to have left the Duke’s house on that day.

So, as long as nothing obstructed her future happiness, that was enough.

“Yes. …You must be the kind of person like that.”

Alexis’s response was also soft, as if melted by the alcohol.

“I was also saved by your disposition. Thank you, Melfina.”

It felt somewhat strange to be thanked after offering a divorce.

Melfina disliked the god of this world. There was a kind of sinful pleasure in making a promise to eventually break the vow made before the god.

What about Alexis? He didn’t seem to believe in the god, but would there come a day when he would thank the god for a fateful love when he found it?

“—Duke?”

When she glanced at Alexis, he was sitting with his arms crossed, eyes closed, and slightly looking down. There were displeased wrinkles around his brow, but his breathing was deep and steady.

She tilted her head and stared at him, but there was no reaction.

“—Could it be that he fell asleep?”

“…It seems so.”

Marie nodded, both surprised and somewhat exasperated.

“He’s not used to strong liquor. Perhaps we should have August carry him in a little while.”

“Please drink some water, Lady Melfina. I think it would be difficult for me to carry you.”

“Heh, yes. …Marie, thank you for staying by my side. It was very reassuring.”

“I said I would accompany you anywhere.”

She murmured softly and, while tilting the offered water, glanced at Alexis’s sleeping face, which still looked displeased, and let out a small sigh.

“You’re like a child, Duke.”

Carrying the weight of being the lord of the North on his shoulders, Alexis sometimes seemed childish, perhaps due to what she had heard from Marie and August.

When Alexis’s troubles with his fiancée and younger brother occurred, he would have been the same age as Melfina now.

In this world, seventeen is considered an adult and a suitable age for marriage, but from the perspective of a past life, it still felt very young and, more importantly, in the midst of adolescence.

Considering that such troubles occurred within the family during such a sensitive age, it was understandable that a part of his heart might have stagnated there, preventing him from fully maturing.

Like Melfina, who desired a child to love her more than anything else due to a lack of affection from her parents, and still carried an unfulfilled little girl within her, everyone is somewhat lonely, awkward, and struggling to find their way.

The ability to feel this way is because the “I” from the past life exists within Melfina.

Melfina closed her eyes and thought about the lonely girl within her.

Bringing up the divorce was partly because she anticipated a future where Alexis would meet Maria, but also because, when she decided to become the lord of the Enkar region, she thought a successor in the form of a child was necessary.

She had even considered the possibility of staying married to Alexis, conceiving a child with someone else, and having that child inherit the Enkar region while giving up the succession rights to the Oldrand family.

Alexis would not have complained if she did that.

However, she had never been able to explain the reason to Alexis, who, with his strong magical power, was likely to destroy a woman giving birth to his child.

It couldn’t be helped. That was also part of Melfina’s nature.

—Let’s truly find happiness.

To do so, she would put in her utmost sincerity.

Inside the quiet tent, though not a long time before the lingering intoxication from the alcohol passed, it was strangely peaceful and very, very lonely.