CH 16

Silence filled the carriage. All because Sylvester didn’t open his mouth throughout the entire ride, seemingly deep in thought. Was he planning on confronting Callian again? Or was he planning on how to fight against Callian? Whatever it was, it made me feel uneasy. The whole thing was my fault—well, blaming me for everything may be a bit too much, but wasn’t it my fault that I assumed I’d be able to seduce Callian?

Either way, I was overwhelmed, so I decided to turn my gaze to the window. There was an abundance of sunshine on one side of the Northern border while snowflakes rain on the other. I was taken aback by how lovely it was. In the Empire, there is something called a “border” which can be divided into four distinct boundaries, each with its own climate. The southern border was drenched in sunlight, always covered in a warm climate. On the contrary, it was always cold beyond the northern border—the border where the Ryzen duchy is located. Snowflakes fell from the sky throughout the year, just like what I witnessed at that moment.

“Whoa—” I clasped my hands together, admiring the colorful aurora that greeted me as soon as I crossed the border. Auroras were something I have never seen before. The aurora I saw, which had white snow falling around it, emitted a mysterious glow. It was huge and wide, as if it were about to swallow the entire world. Watching this reminded me of my life in the hospital, stuck in my room 24/7—a life where I knew of nothing and hoped to die every day.

‘But not right now.’

I was now able to experience everything. I could see things, feel things. This fact thrilled me and induced goose bumps along my spine. I felt my chest fill to the brim with an unknown feeling.

‘I’m going to live a good life.’

To do so, I had to divorce and put everything behind me. To get a divorce, I had to seduce Callian. “I’m sure I can do it,” I muttered under my breath. I wasn’t expecting it to happen all at once and it didn’t, but that was okay, I knew that there would be opportunities waiting for me. Grabbing my dress, I promised myself that I would never give up.

“What is it that you can do?”

Did he hear what I was saying? After a few hours, Sylvester finally opened his mouth.

“Just, you know, some stuff,” I replied slowly, “I was a little discouraged by the Crown Prince’s comments, but I was determined to make it work again.”

“Are you trying to seduce the Crown Prince?”

“That’s exactly how I’m going to get a divorce.”

Sylvester laughed. For a brief moment, the aurora lifted and the sun shone brightly on half of his face, while a shadow casted on the other side. His prominent features, the high nose and deep eyes, were emphasized. Then he gave me a gentle look.

‘What’s up with that expression?” It was a handsome face that I couldn’t seem to get used to no matter how many times I saw it. 

“Divorce. Sounds good.” He crossed his knees and tapped his fingers. “Though I’m not sure you’ll be successful.”

My eyes narrowed at him, “Are you challenging me?”

Instead of responding, Sylvester burst out laughing. He swept his fingers through his black hair and twisted the corners of his lips up, “How come you’ve changed?” and he asked a completely random question.

He did say, “You’ve changed,” often, come to think of it, though he probably never noticed that I actually changed, so I knew I ought to be more careful. I raised my chin and cleared my throat, “You keep saying that I’ve changed, but I’m just as I am. Nothing’s changed.”

Sylvester stroked his chin, “You hated talking to me like this, too.”

“Wasn’t that you, not me?” I was surprised and asked further. The book clearly said Sylvester hated Ophelia ever since the day she tried reviving her father!

“That’s true, but you hated me a lot, too,” Sylvester laughed again, “Since we both hated each other, how about we feign ignorance?”

“I don’t like the idea of that, but I’ll try.”

“As expected, you’re fun,” Sylvester smirked, no, sneered, so I threw a fit.

“You’re very bizarre, did you know that? I can’t tell you how many times you’ve made me look ridiculous!”

“Yes, I am an interesting individual. Thank you for your kind words,” Sylvester, the scumbag, said this while holding the staff he had placed next to him. He then opened the carriage door that had come to stop and stepped out first. Snow fluttered around him, but he wasn’t phased. Standing tall like an old tree, he reached out to me.

“Keep entertaining me, Ophelia.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been this amused.”

His hands were strangely warm.

******

The Imperial family was quiet for a few days, even Callian himself did nothing out of the ordinary, which amazed me because why was there such silence when you promised me with a, “Wait and see!” I was nervous at first, but after a few days, I was at ease. Callian appeared so pitiful. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to even get close to Sylvester Ryzen, the show’s worst villain.

He has a big mouth.

While Callian laid low, I tried to get things done as in I tried doing what Fleur did in the original which was,

‘The creation of an orphanage.’

Initially, there was some guilt. It was something Fleur had to do in order for her to receive love from the protagonists of the novel. Now, however, the guilt was meaningless. Fleur, who screwed me over like that, almost got her revenge.

‘But why did she do it?’

I started thinking of the past—Fleur, why did you try to set me up like that?—but I couldn’t come up with the right answer no matter how hard I tried. I couldn’t understand what she was thinking since I wasn’t her.

‘All I have to do is my job,’ 

I entered the dining room, face full of guilt no matter how hard I tried to not care. On the dining table, I opened my mouth to talk to Sylvester, “I- There’s something I want to do.”

“Rejected.”

“Yes, so it’s— What?”

“Rejected,” Sylvester answered back once again, “What you do is fun, but weird, so I won’t allow anything.”

“Ha! Oh my!” 

‘So you’ll only accept it when it’s fun?’ 

I widened my eyes and put my hands on my waist. “You think I won’t be able to do it? Well, I’ll just do it myself!”

“Do you have the money?”

Ophelia really didn’t let money rot away, she was a luxurious woman—luxurious enough that she spent two months’ worth of allowance in one. I touched my forehead, “Please give me permission. I swear it’s good this time.”

“Rejected.”

“Ah, seriously!” I stamped my feet.

Sylvester laughed as if he were having fun, “Okay, tell me. I’ll give you a chance.”

“What bullsh*t.”

“What did you say?”

“You speak very nicely.” Without money, I had no choice but to give in. I then hurried to sit next to Sylvester. “I want to build an orphanage.”

“Orphanage? Where?”

“In the slums.”

Sylvester narrowed his brow. He didn’t seem to like it.

I quickly continued talking, “The Duke of Ryzen, the epitome of evil. It may be okay now, but would it be okay in the long run? So before we can find out, let’s go do some good deeds.”

Having said this, Sylvester’s crumpled brow still didn’t straighten out. I didn’t want to talk about it, but I put my face on the palms of my hands and decided to do so, “There’s a child I’ve been watching.”

“A child?”

“Yes.” The boy who would be the second male lead. A child with the temperament of a swordmaster. I was going to build an orphanage for the kid since the boy needed care.

“I didn’t think of it much, but then I saw that he was very good at swordsmanship. I could tell at a glance. He’s a great kid!”

“Can I believe you?”

“You have to believe me,” I said with confidence. Sylvester’s forehead relaxed slightly.

“It’s going to cost you a fortune.”

“We have a lot of money anyway, don’t we?”

“To be specific, it’s not us, it’s me who has a lot of money.”

“Sh*t—”

“I heard it this time.”

“I’m sorry,” I immediately apologized and Sylvester’s smile widened. He put down his knife and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Then he stared at me intently.

“I think Neil is right about you being struck by lightning and becoming someone else.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. You.”

“You really don’t know how to speak kindly. Don’t you know I’d feel bad if you said that to my face?”

“I don’t.”

“I see.”

Okay, okay. I made circles with my thumb and index finger. Ha! Sylvester laughed again.

“I give you my permission,” he said, lifting his chin towards me, “It looks fun to me.”

“Thank you!”

I thought about making the process as expensive and useless as possible. Like someone said, it wasn’t our money. I was deep in thought until a voice chimed in.

“Sir.” Neil, Sylvester’s aide, entered the dining room. He held a bunch of papers in his arms.

“What’s going on?” Sylvester asked, surprised. Neil didn’t usually visit them in the dining room.

“I got a lawsuit form from the court.” Neil put the documents down on the table.

‘Lawsuit?’  I looked at the document with round eyes as Neil handed them over one by one to Sylvester.

“It’s about extortion, intimidation, violence—” Then he glared straight at me and said. “It’s basically about suing your wife for her misdeeds.”

—What? 

I looked at Neil in disbelief. Extortion, intimidation, violence? When did I even do that?

“Aren’t they targeting the wrong person?” At my question, Neil thrust one of the documents he was handing over to Sylvester before my eyes.

“Let’s see for ourselves.”

[To: Duchess Ophelia Ryzen]

It was real!  I sighed at the thought of having to patch up Ophelia’s, who I don’t even know, problems again, but I also wondered who even filed this lawsuit. I immediately lowered my gaze and identified the name of the person who sued.

‘…Oh?’