Chapter 24: The toxic wife proposes divorce, but…

For three years we had lived together in the detached manor, and I had grown used to that quiet.
But now we had moved to the main residence.
Because we had both become the duke and duchess of House Gilbert.

Yet.
My role here was over.

Everything said at today’s tea party was something I had already been thinking myself.
I had avoided the original game’s ruin ending.

I never embezzled funds, never hurled cruel words to chip away at his heart.
The shadow of the execution platform was gone for good.

Then the next chapter should be his story.
The encounters, friendships, and romance at the magic academy; that was the core to the original plot.

I should not stand in the way.

He had started attending the academy at sixteen and was now eighteen.
He had grown taller, more handsome, and his reputation had soared.
He should have been the center of attention at school, yet because of me, the girls who wanted to approach him couldn’t take that single step.

Who could honestly see a young duke with a wife five years older as a romantic prospect?

I was fine being nothing more than his stepping stone.

So I would propose divorce.

The moment I decided that, something inside my chest began to whistle like wind through a crack.
Lonely?
Of course I was…

But this was for his sake.
For my favorite’s sake.
For his happiness.
If my favorite is happy, I’m happy; that’s the basic rule of being a fangirl.

Lost in that spiral of thoughts, I closed the ledger in my room at the main residence just as dusk fell.
From the front courtyard came the sound of a carriage.
Soon after, footsteps echoed in the corridor.

When I went to greet him, he was already slipping off his academy uniform coat in the doorway.

I looked up at him without thinking.
The thought that this might be the last time I welcomed him home brought back memories of three years ago.
The boy who used to sit so small in his chair had vanished completely.

He had grown tall enough that I had to tilt my head back, his shoulders broad and strong.

Mission “feed him lots” complete.
I did a tiny victory pose in my heart.

“Amelia, I’m home.”

He smiled softly and walked toward me as always.

“Welcome home, Cedric.”

The moment the words left my mouth, he brushed my hair aside, took a strand in his fingers, and pressed his lips to it.
Lately, these little touches from him had increased,
especially since the back-hug incident in the carriage the other day.

He did it so naturally, so perfectly cool that I couldn’t even look at him…

“…Yes. Seeing your face really makes me feel I’m home.”

A small murmur by my ear.
No good, my heart was already wavering before I’d even brought up divorce.

Deep breath. I can do this.

Dinner was the same as always.
Seeing the larger portion of meat on his plate compared to three years ago still made me quietly happy.

The conversation at the table was the same as always too,
about academy assignments, territory reports, the new buds in the garden.
We laughed, we nodded briefly.
These ordinary exchanges squeezed my chest just a little.

Tonight, I would end it.

After dinner he took a stack of documents to his study.
I sipped my tea, swallowed my resolve, and waited for the right moment.
Then I knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Inside, mountains of sealed letters waited for his signet.
He finished signing the last one and looked up.

“What did you want to talk about, Amelia?”

His usual calm voice.
I closed the door and walked to stand directly in front of his desk.
I wanted to say it face-to-face, not back-to-back.

My hands went ice-cold.
I clasped and unclasped my fingers on my lap, took a deep breath.
I can do this.

“Let’s divorce.”

The sound vanished.
Even the rustle of paper disappeared from the room.
The icy blue of a frozen lake rippled.

“…What?”

The air cracked like thin ice.
The temperature dropped sharply; I could almost see my breath.
The ends of my hair lifted slightly.

His magic was leaking.

In the past three years he had apparently risen to one of the strongest mages in the kingdom.
Not just top of his class; his actual combat ability was among the highest in the nation.
An eighteen-year-old who had already blossomed into that level of talent.
And now that talent was unconsciously spilling out because of raw emotion.

Confusion, or anger.
Either way, it was no small thing.

“…Why? Why would you say that?”

His voice was quiet,
but the faint tremor in the room told me there was a blade beneath that stillness.

I answered as though pulling out the lines I had prepared.

“Y-you’re now truly the Duke of Gilbert, so… you don’t need a wife from a political marriage anymore, right?”

He said nothing.
Those blue eyes stared straight at me; there was nowhere to hide.
My throat went bone-dry.

“B-besides… you’re popular at the academy. A wife five years older must just be in the way, right?”

The instant I finished speaking, he answered softly.

“Who told you that?”

“Eh?”

My idiotic voice hung in the air.
He leaned forward slightly in his chair and smiled.
He smiled, yet a chill ran down my spine.

“If anyone dared say such a thing to my wife, I would crush their entire house. Just tell me the name. It’s fine; with my current power I could finish it in three days without even trying.”

Brightly.
A smile like a blade left in the sun.
For the first time, looking at my favorite’s face sent a cold shiver through me.
“Cute” and “precious” weren’t the words that came to mind right now.

“Was it something said at today’s tea party?”

“—”

I must have flinched, because he knew instantly.

“No, that’s not it! I just… thought it myself! Nobody actually said anything—”

I shook my head frantically.
He paused for a beat, then let only the temperature in his eyes drop.

“Then why… Could it be you’ve fallen for someone else?”

He stood.
The chair scraped briefly against the floor.
The next instant, arms circled my waist.

I was pulled against him.
My breath caught.

“No.”

His breath grazed my ear.

“You are mine. I won’t give you to anyone. We are not divorcing.
…Even if I died, I wouldn’t.”

His words were gentle, but his eyes were terrifying,
no, not terrifying, too serious.

We were too close. His face was too close.
Closer than during the back-hug incident.
His perfectly sculpted features filled my vision; the shadow of his lashes fell on his cheeks.

“C-Cedric…?”

When I whispered his name, he gave a low sound in his throat and continued as though speaking to himself.

“I had planned to wait, either until I graduate from the academy, or until you truly loved me.
But… maybe I shouldn’t wait.”

His hand slid down to my thigh.
He gripped firmly. My body jerked.

“Right here, right now—”

Wait, is this going where I think—

Knock, knock.

A dry rap on the door cut through the charged air.

I snapped back to reality and slipped out of his arms.

The door opened; a steward entered with a thick stack of ledgers and bowed.

“Pardon the intrusion. Documents requiring your seal—”

His eyes flicked between us for a split second and froze in an awkward expression.

“D-did I interrupt something?”

“N-no! Not at all!”

My voice came out louder than intended; I coughed to cover it.

“…My apologies.”

The steward retreated as quickly as he had come, sensing the atmosphere.

The door closed. Silence returned.

Cedric let out a small sigh and turned back to me.

“In any case,”

His gaze was strong, unwavering.

“I have absolutely no intention of divorcing you. Nor of letting you go.”

A soft smile,
yet one that carried an iron core of resolve.

“…U-understood. I’ll take my leave for tonight.”

Every instinct screamed that retreat was the wisest choice.
I gave a hurried curtsy and fled toward the door.

Once in the corridor, I finally exhaled.
My feet carried me automatically to my room.

I shut the door, slid down the back of it, and slumped to the floor.

“…Since when was Cedric such an intense yandere?”

I muttered to the ceiling, then flopped backward onto the bed.
Half-burying my face in the pillow, I kicked my legs in tiny frustrated motions.

What do I do? My heart won’t calm down.
The cold from earlier was completely gone; now my face burned.

But there was fear mixed in too.
If someone actually insulted the Duchess of Gilbert, he looked ready to erase their entire house without hesitation.

He cares that much about me, no, wait.
Calm down, me.

He is now the head of House Gilbert.
He bears the duty of protecting the family name.
So “I will not forgive anyone who insults my wife” is just the attitude of a proper duke.
Yes, that’s it. Definitely. Probably. Most likely.

“…It’s like an older sister he finally got; he doesn’t want to let anyone take her away from him.”

Saying it aloud calmed my chest a little.

That’s right. I was his first ally.
That’s why he’s so close to me.

The hugs are reassurance rituals.
The hand that almost reached my thigh, just a momentary lapse.
Yep, a lapse. Everyone has off days.
The back-hug incident? Same thing.
And the almost-kiss in the carriage? Also that.

…Better not remember, or my face will combust again.

I forcibly shut down my thoughts.
I can’t think straight right now.
Retreating tonight was the right call.

I’ll sleep. I’ll think tomorrow.

Yet even under the covers, my eyes refused to close.

The weight of his arms, the breath against my ear, that low voice.

“You are mine. I won’t give you to anyone. We are not divorcing…
Even if I died, I wouldn’t.”

Something sweet and aching throbbed deep in my chest.

I won’t be sleeping tonight…

“—I won’t let anyone else have you.”
“—Your heart, your body—”
“—I love you, Amelia.”