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Chapter – 09
“Your Grace, isn’t it unnecessary for me to tell you everything about my affairs?”
“Ha. Is that so? Still, Her Majesty the former Empress will be curious.”
“Are you my man, or my mother’s man?”
“Of course I am Your Majesty’s man. Please do not misunderstand my loyalty.”
The Marquis’s words felt slightly strange, but that thought was quickly buried somewhere deep in my mind.
‘Whether that man is the Emperor or not doesn’t matter. Focus on divorcing the Marchioness.’
And so I followed her into the Azbek estate—when it happened.
“…Mother.”
A tall young man who closely resembled the Marquis approached us. More precisely, he approached the Marchioness.
“Andria.”
“You said you’re getting a divorce.”
“…I’m sorry. Was I being too selfish?”
“Yes. You are.”
The words were colder than expected. His lips even trembled slightly, as if he was holding back anger.
The Marchioness let out a small sound and wore an awkward expression.
“I… I’m sorry.”
The man’s gaze turned toward me. Brown hair, slightly softer eyes than the Marquis—but the resemblance was unmistakable. He looked like he had a lot to say, but he eventually turned away.
“Please go inside and rest. Stop doing unnecessary things like this.”
“….”
He really did resemble the Marquis in his unpleasantness.
‘No. If they don’t know they’re adopted or illegitimate children, they might react like this. They don’t know their father’s sins.’
Even so, it still hurt a little.
Andria passed us by.
The Marchioness briefly reached out toward him with a pained expression, then clenched her fist and met my eyes.
“Raviel. May I contact you later?”
“Yes… understood. I’ll take my leave for today.”
“I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she was feeling. So I withdrew quickly.
Afterward, the Marchioness of Azbek sent a considerable amount of money through Ize, expressing her gratitude for my help.
Only then did I realize—
The client had already exhausted all her resolve. The divorce that she had only just gathered courage to pursue… was now starting to feel impossible, especially when thinking about her children.
“Ha… should I end it here?”
It would count as the end of the case.
I could take other clients, but I still wanted to see this one through to the end.
And then—
Andria Azbek came to me.
He personally came to the mercenary office and even scheduled a consultation appointment. With a serious expression, he sat down in front of me.
“What brings you here?”
Just his first words alone made the Marchioness’s resolve crumble. She had finally decided on divorce, and now this man—who didn’t even know the full circumstances—was about to ruin everything.
That thought almost made resentment rise in me.
But then—
“Please divorce my mother.”
“…What? Didn’t you seem strongly against her divorce last time?”
“It’s the opposite. I want my mother to divorce.”
“Then why did you say those things that day?”
“…I was frustrated. My mother always makes decisions alone and carries everything by herself. She never tells us children anything. I just said she was being selfish out of anger.”
A heavy sigh escaped me.
“If that’s the case… you should have explained properly.”
“…I was just too angry at the moment. The reason my mother can’t divorce, the reason she endures ridicule from my father without doing anything… it’s because of us, isn’t it?”
“What? That can’t be right.”
I maintained silence, carefully guarding my professional confidentiality, but Andria gave a faint smile.
“My siblings and I already know. That we are not my mother’s biological children.”
I forced an awkward smile, resisting the urge to look away.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Just as she doesn’t know that we know, she probably wishes we would never find out.”
At that point, there was nothing more I could say.
“Because of that, we said nothing. But not anymore. We don’t want our mother suffering just to hide the fact that we are illegitimate children.”
“Ah.”
“Mother has been withering away like a fading flower. But recently, ever since she started meeting you and talked about wanting a divorce, she looked alive again. So we’ve decided to help her divorce. Even if our shame is exposed.”
I could only open and close my mouth silently.
“That… is…”
“Please look at this. We plan to submit it in court if the divorce trial proceeds.”
“What is this?”
“We found the biological mothers of three of the five siblings. These documents prove that the Azbek Marquis paid those women large sums of money and took the children. The records of payment transfers and birth timelines are all here. We believe this alone is sufficient evidence.”
I opened the envelope he handed me.
Even then, I doubted it. I thought it might be forged documents made by the Marquis to stop the divorce.
But—
The documents were real.
“If you had this, why didn’t you tell the Marchioness directly?”
“We wanted to confirm it. Whether her hesitation was because of us. If that was the reason, then we decided it was time to speak. And recently, as soon as my mother began meeting you, my father suddenly finalized the succession of the heir. He is expected to step down from the Marquis position within days. We waited for that to conclude.”
“Why would he suddenly step down?”
“I’m not sure. Though it’s a conditional transfer of title, which feels suspicious.”
“Conditional?”
“The succession stays within the family, but publicly my father retains the title of Azbek Marquis.”
This was deeply unsettling.
Just as divorce proceedings begin, he suddenly does something like this?
But that wasn’t the important part right now.
“So… are you planning to tell the Marchioness?”
“Yes. From your reaction, it seems our existence is the reason she has been suffering. We will tell her ourselves. With my siblings.”
“After you do… please contact me. I don’t think I have a place in that conversation.”
“Understood.”
He bowed politely and left quickly.
Watching him go, I felt something heavy in my chest.
‘Even if their shame is exposed… they’re willing to do it for their mother.’
How deeply must she have loved and raised them for them to go this far?
I escorted him out and watched him disappear down the road.
When I returned to the mercenary office, someone familiar stood beside me—hood pulled over their head.
“Is it normal for you to meet anyone involved in a case so freely? Whether it’s a man or a woman?”
It was the Emperor.
“…Your Majesty of the Empire’s pillar—what brings you to a place like this?”
“Are you being sarcastic?”
So perceptive.
I shook my head with a faint smile.
“How could I be so disrespectful to Your Majesty? I was simply asking. And it wasn’t just anyone—it was the client’s son. Nothing happened. And why would it concern Your Majesty who I meet?”
Bit by bit, my frustration spilled out like boiling anger.
But he didn’t even blink.
“I have a slight interest in you.”
“I don’t know why, but that feels a bit beyond what I can handle. I prefer my peaceful life. Your interest feels… burdensome.”
Even after saying it so firmly, he didn’t back down.
“Raviel. Solve this case well. If you do, I’ll give you two more clients.”
“…”
“What? As a divorce attorney, don’t you like having more cases?”
“I will treat them with utmost care, valued client. I will complete this case perfectly. Please watch over it.”
My pride wavered for a moment, but I put on a professional smile.
“That expression suits you better than I expected.”
“Haha… please keep your promise.”
“Don’t worry. But do you really think divorce will be that easy?”
“Don’t worry. A divorce for happiness is never something done alone.”
As if he had nothing more to say, he turned and left.
Fifteen days later,
The divorce trial of the Azbek Marquis and the Marchioness of Azbek was held.
