CH 1

1. My goal is to get divorced. 

Today was another day where the servants gawked over the handsome Duke Sylvester Ryzen. As usual.

His glossy black hair, thick brows, and sunken eyes were enough to capture the hearts of those who laid their eyes upon him. And the blue of his eyes? Although it was akin to that of the cold snow of the North, it couldn’t be anything but attractive.

Unfortunately, despite his breathtaking appearance, Duke Sylvester is no longer a bachelor. And to add salt to the wound, he was wed to Ophelia McGuffin, the evil witch of the century! Everyone clicked their tongue, finding the marriage to be ill-fated.

And then that happened.

“Honey!” Shrieking, Ophelia burst into the room, not even bothering to knock, just like an unruly woman with no knowledge of etiquette. 

However, Ophelia’s beauty was enough to coerce the people in the room into turning a blind eye to her discourtesy; silver hair cascading down her back, skin as fair as snow, and sparkling emerald green eyes that likens her to a snow fairy.

Ophelia McGuffin was the epitome of beauty.

Despite this, Sylvester’s gaze towards his own wife was heartless. “Is something the matter?”

Ophelia inhaled deeply at the tone of his voice. His lips were overly seductive, enough to seduce anyone as soon as they see them.

However, Ophelia was still an extraordinarily evil woman, and a black witch to boot, which is considered taboo.

‘I shouldn’t fall for that face.’

“I’m here because I wanted to tell you something.” Everyone started focusing on Ophelia.

“Let’s…”

Ophelia lifted her chin.

“Get a divorce!”

“Huh!” Everyone inside the room made the same sound.

Ophelia put her hands together close to her heart—she hopes the Duke will respond! Seeing things from the Duke’s point of view, she found that he has no reason to refuse. Even if Ophelia was the one and only child of the Grand Duke McGuffin, she was still from a family that was ruined due to gambling. Not to mention the fact that even though she was a married woman, she tirelessly pursued the Crown Prince.

She’s an evil woman who harasses everyone and a dark witch who has mastered black magic!

If he had accepted the request for a divorce and chased Ophelia away, there would be nothing but benefits for him

However…

“Ophelia.” Sylvester ripped the divorce document that Ophelia handed over to him in half. “Get out.”

“Yes.”

‘This was the fourth request already! When can I finally get a divorce?’ Ophelia sighed and turned her feet.

But before she stepped out, she turned her around one final time. “Then can I get a divorce tomorrow?”

“Get out!”

Aish.

He doesn’t love her anyway, but why can’t she get a divorce?

Ophelia wanted so bad to say ‘Let go of me! I’ll be free!’  but she couldn’t and so kept it inside. Sylvester’s eyes were too intimidating.

“I’ll shut up and go—” Ophelia left the room under a lot of pressure.

“Oh, it’s so hard to get a divorce,” she mumbled.

******

It all started when she picked up a book.

<How the Countess Remarried.>

Doesn’t the title sound absolutely crazy? It was a magnet she couldn’t repel, especially since she absolutely adores drama.

The story began when the female protagonist, the Countess, picks up a boy.

When she found the boy lying near her estate, she brings him in and supports him both materially and mentally. But it turns out that the boy was the Crown Prince who went missing 16 years ago in the Imperial Household! The boy, returning as the Crown Prince, proposes to the Countess, even though she was already wed to another man.

That was how it started.

She was so excited to read the book, she didn’t realise how much time passed by. 

The love between the main characters was fun to read, they were just like Romeo and Juliet, and even the villains who appeared in the story were amazing. Every single one of them, except for one—Ophelia McGuffin.

Ophelia McGuffin was the only daughter of one of the two Grand Dukes in the Empire. Not only that, but she was also known to be so beautiful that her beauty was known even in other nations.

A perfect family and a perfect face.It was unfortunate that she donned an awful personality. Well, it was only natural.

Ever since she slapped a lady on the cheek during her debut, Ophelia was famous for her bad attitude. Keeping criticisms to yourself is what high society expects you to practice in social situations, but Ophelia chooses to ignore this unspoken rule and swears at everyone along with acting upon numerous other evil deeds.

She terrorised her servants every single day and makes harassing fellow nobles a recurring hobby.

‘She’s a bully.’

The Grand Duke, upset by his troublemaker daughter, finally came up with an idea—to marry her off right away. Not just with anyone either, but with the Duke of Ryzen who rules the North.

Ophelia strongly refused. Duke Ryzen was a half-demon!

Even if he was a lord who ruled the northern part, he was still half-demon! It was basically a marriage between demons and humans!

Ophelia was dead set against it, but the Grand Duke told her, “An evil woman and a half-demon. Is that not the perfect match?” 

Ophelia opposed further.

The Grand Duke, however, kept pushing for her marriage with the Duke since, naturally, the Grand Duke’s power and wealth were also involved.

Duke Ryzen’s proposal was not bad. Since the imperial family was trying to raise money, it would be much more profitable if the duchy joined hands with the Grand Duke. What’s more, there was no suitable marriage partner for Sylvester Ryzen since he was a half-demon.

Under these circumstances, the marriage proposal of the Grand Duchy was nothing but beneficial for him, so Sylvester Ryzen was willing to accept it, and that was how Ophelia married Duke Sylvester Ryzen.

‘This was where most of the problems started.’

As soon as Ophelia got married, her family’s debt was revealed, which was her father’s gambling debt!

Fortunately, unlike her father, Ophelia was able to escape the debt collectors because she changed her last name after marriage.

After suffering from the harrassment of the debt collectors, the Grand Duke ended his life by suicide. It was from then that Ophelia started learning black magic, and since then, Ophelia and Sylvester have completely separated themselves from each other. They lived pretending that the other never existed for years.

One day, Ophelia was invited to attend a royal ball, which was where she fell in love with the Crown Prince, the male protagonist who returned to the imperial family after 16 years.

What happened after that? She began to bully and harass the Crown Prince’s beloved, the Countess.

The level of bullying was not just playful teasing that young children do; kidnapping, isolation, assault—Ophelia harassed the female protagonist to no end. Due to this, the Prince wanted so bad to get rid of Ophelia but it was impossible, because Ophelia was the wife of Sylvester Ryzen, the most powerful man in the Empire.

Sylvester Ryzen. He was someone who interfered with everything the Prince did since his return. 

Yes, Sylvester was as bad as Ophelia in the novel.

What did the readers call him?

Ah, right.

Mr. and Mrs. Villains

At least, that’s what she used to call them, because they were written to be bad.

Eventually, the Prince who was always caught up by the Villains, succeeded in tricking them. He manipulated Ophelia who was crazy for him.

“If you truly love me, 

Kill your husband.”

Ophelia didn’t even think twice. She used black magic to destroy Sylvester’s mana, causing Sylvester’s death.  

What happened to Ophelia after that?

“You’ll be hanged for killing your husband.”

And this was how the Prince dealt with Ophelia.

‘Crazy b*stard.’ Reading the novel, she thought the Prince was not that good of a person. Isn’t it too much to use people’s minds like that!

Ophelia, too! No matter how in love you are, how can you kill your husband? ‘I don’t understand both of them.’

Of course, who she didn’t understand the most was the writer who wrote the damned novel. And with that, she fell asleep criticizing everyone endlessly.

But the moment she woke up, “Oh my God.” She possessed Ophelia. 

Ophelia, who was lying down in the pouring rain. 

After warming herself up under the watch of a maid, she lost her mind and hurriedly checked the timing. Fortunately, it was before she killed my husband. But unfortunately, everyone already knew how much Ophelia loves the Crown Prince.

I’m sure this was around the time she bullied the heroine like crazy.

Dear God. Why are you doing this to me?

She was frustrated for a few days, but eventually came to her senses, knowing she couldn’t just dawdle around doing nothing. So she made a plan.

Let’s get a divorce.

If she gets divorced, there would be no reason for the Crown Prince to use her! She just had to run away before the Crown Prince tries to manipulate her into following his evil plans.

There’s money allocated specially to the Duchess. She thought it would be perfect to just live wandering around with money, so she asked her husband one more time.

“Can I get a divorce today?”

The answer was as usual.

“Get out!”

No I mean, can’t I just get a divorce?