CH 26.2

Imperial Court Office.

The royal officials were very busy. They were really, really busy. It was not an exaggeration to say that the empire was livable and peaceful because of all the hard work of the royal officials.

As time passed, the empire developed and became more livable, and the work of the officials became easier. It was also quite an old saying that dealing with nobles was like dealing with people who flatter and suck up to others for personal gain.

If anyone was rude to a royal official, they would be punished accordingly, so even if they were nobles who were notorious for their scandals elsewhere, they could not treat officials disrespectfully.

Anyway, they saw a person idly wandering among the endless piles of documents.

“…Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“I’m not the Crown Prince, I’m just a lost noble.”

“It’s such a bad lie, no one will be fooled.”

“Are you denying the words of the royal family?”

“You just said that you are a noble yourself.”

“Hmm.”

There was no one who didn’t know his appearance. He had sharp and beautiful features with jet-black hair and violet eyes that resembled morning glories.

The most famous thing about him was that he had been wandering around without settling down anywhere for the past few years, causing trouble wherever he went.

‘Though Since Lady Aria appeared, it seems to have become quieter.’

The perceptive ones knew that Prince Sylvester had a subtle relationship with Aria. However, they couldn’t just ask him directly, “Are you going to see her now?”

He was a prince, and the woman he was facing was the only beautiful saintess in the empire.

At that moment, the urgent and fast sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway. It was a sound that was completely out of place in the palace.

The person who was facing Sylvester frowned.

“M-Mr. Bruno!”

“Danika, royal officials represent the image of the royal family, so please be more mindful of your manners…”

“It’s a divorce application!”

“What?”

Honestly, Bruno didn’t see the point of it all.

Well, if it was a divorce application that even reached the Imperial Court Office, it meant that it involved high-ranking nobility. However, even if high-ranking nobles got divorced, Bruno honestly couldn’t care less. He would simply determine an appropriate probationary period and say, “Think it over during that time~” and that would be the end of it.

However, when Danika mentioned the name of the family, Bruno’s complexion turned pale.

“It’s from the Felton Duchy.”

“……!!”

Why was that name coming up here?

During their two years of married life, all sorts of rumors had circulated about the duchess, but not a single one had mentioned divorce.

Benjamin never showed any signs of disliking his wife, and everyone speculated that it was because the Emperor had arranged the marriage, and he would never consider divorce.

‘But why now?’

There didn’t seem to be any important events coming up, and even if there were, the duchess wouldn’t be expected to attend.

As soon as the name of the duke, who had never been mentioned in any negative issues by the law office, was brought up, everyone froze in their tracks.

In the midst of the commotion, Sylvester muttered,

“Could it be… the Duke is getting a divorce?”

⋆★⋆

Two weeks had passed since the divorce papers were submitted, but everything remained quiet. Despite a few newspaper articles being published, there was no talk about it.

‘It seems that no rumors have spread.’

Grace breathed a sigh of relief. 

She had written up the divorce papers, but since it was the divorce of a duke and duchess, she had expected some sort of commotion. However, there was not a single word spoken about it.

Later, when Grace asked Abel, Benjamin’s aid, he explained that the higher the nobility, the more they try to keep the divorce proceedings a secret during the waiting period.

‘After all, they can’t let it affect the political climate when they don’t even know if the divorce will actually happen.’

Grace wondered if she could continue to help with the tea business during this time. As long as she was careful not to reveal that she was a duchess, it was a problem that could be managed.

‘It may be somewhat me being carefree, but…’

She felt a bit guilty and selfish for thinking that way, but the annex felt suffocating.

“It’s hard to breathe.”

Grace had been holed up in the annex, afraid that rumors might spread. She had tried various hobbies like drinking tea and reading books, but her mood didn’t improve.

‘Is the location a problem?’

While Grace was furrowing her brows and trying to think of the reason, the maid accompanied by the butler from the annex appeared with a silver tray in her hand.

“Madam, a letter has arrived from the palace. They have set a probationary period.” 

“Is that so?”

They didn’t have to go and receive it in person? Despite the fact that it was obvious that both of them were on the island, Grace looked at the butler with wide eyes, not expecting the decision to come in the form of a letter.