The Ugly Wife of the Shady Duke

“My Lady, if there is anything you want, I will do it. If you want me to kneel, I will kneel, and if you don’t want to see my face, I will wear a mask for the rest of my life.”

And he pleaded.

“So please, don’t leave my side.”

“….”

Grace looked at Benjamin with a bewildered expression.

“I know I have many shortcomings. I have made many mistakes. So, my always kind lady must be asking for a divorce. It won’t be sudden.”

He continued to speak, not even wiping away his tears.

“My lady has always been a thoughtful person, so she must have thought a lot. It’s my fault that I didn’t catch those signals.”

Benjamin seemed to have no intention of standing up.

As the head of a family and a great duke of this country, he did not even consider standing up from his seat.

To hold onto his wife, who was only known for being ugly, he kneeled down.

“Your Highness, please stand up.”

Grace stood up and reached out her hand toward him. Benjamin looked up at her.

“Then, will you reconsider?”

“….”

Benjamin knew it was forced. If Grace had wanted to reconsider the divorce for something like this, she wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.

He looked down at the ground and muttered.

“If that’s what will make My Lady feel more comfortable… then, yes, that’s fine. Yes… I must have done something wrong for My Lady to make that choice.”

“….”

It was just a divorce they were trying to get through. Grace looked down at Benjamin as he stood up, pressing his eyes tightly.

‘Wrong?’

Was there something wrong? Grace looked at him.

It was wrong of him to secretly love Aria while keeping Grace as his wife. But wasn’t it also a marriage that Benjamin didn’t want?

Nevertheless, he showed as much affection as possible to Grace.

Even though he didn’t love her, he played the role of a loving husband and the servants of the dukedom were kind to Grace, who hardly did any work as the lady of the house.

So, in fact, her heart was shaken for a moment. Because she still had feelings for Benjamin, you see.

Benjamin hesitated and said to Grace, “But there is one problem.”

“What is it?”

“Divorce among the high nobility is under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. My every action can have an impact on the empire.”

Grace nodded, acknowledging the validity of Benjamin’s words.

“I should have looked into it more before telling you,” 

“No, there’s no need for My Lady to understand such circumstances.”

“I’m still not divorced, so I’m a duchess. I think I should know that.”

“….”

Benjamin was silent at Grace’s quick response.

Because her words were right.

“I had too much to worry about…I didn’t do any housework and only focused on outside work. I think it’s right for my husband to ask for a divorce, but…”

“I can never ask My Lady for a divorce.”

Benjamin’s voice trembled, and he spoke in a low tone.

Grace turned her gaze to the side, feeling flustered.

‘After all, it’s a marriage arranged by the royal family, so Benjamin can’t be the one to ask for a divorce first. Even if he did, I should have been the one to propose it first.’

But why was he crying and clinging to her instead of feeling happy? It was as if he liked Grace.

Grace was confused.

But having seen Aria in person, Grace couldn’t bring herself to hope that “Maybe Benjamin likes me? It could be different from the original story.” 

Aria was obviously a beautiful person, and it would be shameless for her to claim that he was in love with her, when he sees Aria so often.

“Well, I see.”

“…Yes.”

The servants could only eavesdrop on the two of them talking in hushed tones. They were afraid to even cough or make any noise.

They made every effort to not make any noise at all. Whenever the two of them tried to improve their relationship, a sudden distance would arise. The servants didn’t even dare to look at their young master.

They simply wished that the two of them would get along better, pleading silently.

“Anyway, the divorce process is complicated, and there is a probationary period.”

“A probationary… period.”

“The duration of the probationary period varies depending on the nobility, but the minimum is one month and the maximum is one year. Since the lady wants to leave this mansion as soon as possible, I will speak to His Majesty the Emperor.”

Benjamin spoke with a subtly dampened tone.

“And…”

“Yes.”

“We… need to prepare the divorce documents and submit them.”

“That’s right…”

Somehow, both of them became uneasy.

“Where will My lady live after the divorce? Will she return to her hometown?”

When asked if she would return to Linden estate, Grace thought of the appearance of her hometown. Although It was small,  it was a beautiful and nice place.

“….”

However, Grace didn’t feel like she wanted to go back there for some reason.