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chapter 87
“You… again, like this…”
Yuan’s gaze at Seret was sharp, and it made her bristle.
She didn’t know what to do with the woman in front of her, who always seemed to choose words that could provoke anger. This wife of his always forced him to face his lowest depths.
“I know you married me intending to divorce.”
“…What do you mean?”
Seret’s eyes wavered.
Her heart dropped at Yuan’s words. He knew? He knew this marriage was for divorce?
Seret held her breath. He knew… but how much did he actually know? Her hand trembled slightly.
Yuan’s gaze shifted to Seret’s thinly trembling hand. Today, as usual, there was no wedding ring on it.
There were more days without the wedding ring than with it. No matter how diligently she wore it, his wife, who always seemed to think about divorce, considered the ring meaningless.
Yuan grabbed Seret’s wrist.
“So that’s why you always leave the wedding ring like this. Huh?”
He looked at her with a crooked smile.
“What are you talking about!”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
Seeing Seret’s wavering eyes, Yuan smiled leisurely.
Watching her pale face trembling made him feel like a predator in front of its prey.
“No, you misunderstood.”
Her thoughts in chaos, Seret denied it. Instinctively, though, she knew denial was useless. Her fists clenched.
“Not true?”
Yuan chuckled.
Did she realize what her face looked like? Like a rabbit cornered.
“No, really… it’s not true.”
“Lying isn’t good, Seret.”
“It’s not a lie.”
“I know you married me because of the Morsley Mansion documents.”
Seret kept insisting it wasn’t true, but Yuan looked at her steadily and spoke.
“What are you talking about?”
When Yuan mentioned the Morsley Mansion documents, Seret’s mind went completely blank. She couldn’t think of anything.
Yuan’s ash-gray eyes stared at her with firm determination.
“Let me make this clear. Divorce… is impossible.”
“….”
Compared to Yuan’s firm eyes, Seret’s eyes wavered, lost in confusion. Her blue eyes reflected both fear and bewilderment.
Her heart raced unpleasantly. Now that Yuan knew how she felt, he might treat her as nothing more than livestock, like in their previous life.
“No matter what reason you bring, divorce is impossible. You will die under the name of the Fractuster family.”
Seret’s skin crawled at his words. It felt as if Yuan had decided her role in life.
“No. I will definitely get a divorce.”
Her voice trembled as she spoke, determined not to be dragged back into the fate he had set for her.
Yuan’s lips curved into a crooked smile at her declaration.
For the sake of this woman, who didn’t even suspect whose hands held the Morsley Mansion documents, he had to tell her himself—to shatter any delusions of escaping.
“The Morsley Mansion documents… are in my hands.”
“….”
Yuan’s voice echoed in her ears. Blood drained from Seret’s face in an instant. Her hands, resting on her lap, shook violently, and she gripped her skirt tightly.
The documents were in Yuan’s hands? How…?
“So don’t dream foolish dreams. If you divorce me, the ownership of Morsley Mansion will change.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Seret’s breathing became slightly harsh.
She was angry, and she was afraid. Everything was falling apart.
As long as the documents were in Yuan’s hands, she couldn’t escape. That reality brought tears to her eyes.
“If it sounds like a threat, that’s a pity. I’m merely stating reality.”
Yuan replied in a languid voice.
“When did you have them?”
“From the beginning. Since they were brought as collateral.”
“So you knew everything from the start…”
Seret felt hollow. She had said she would hold her own leash, but from the very beginning, it had always been Yuan holding it. And she hadn’t realized it…
“I knew everything. The reason your fiancée, who once demanded a broken engagement, suddenly insisted on marriage—I knew from the start.”
“You deceived me.”
Seret’s jaw trembled. She felt toyed with. He had known everything from beginning to end. How ridiculous must she have seemed to him?
“You did the same. You deceived me too.”
Yuan leaned back casually, a lazy expression on his face. It was as if he was saying, Don’t get upset—we married each other under deception. A crooked smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.
“….”
“For whatever reason, the marriage is done. As the Duchess of Fractuster, all you need to do is live quietly by my side. That is all Seret Fractuster can do.”
“Return the mansion documents.”
Seret met his gaze squarely and demanded it. She knew it was a bold request, but he had been even bolder in their previous life, so it didn’t matter.
“If I return them, what will you give me in exchange?”
Yuan smirked.
Seret straightened her back. She wanted to speak firmly without trembling. This wasn’t begging for the documents—it was negotiation.
“I’ll give you Quentin Dal’s painting.”
“Just a painting.”
“I’ll pay the rest any way I can.”
Yuan’s indifferent expression made Seret anxious. If she worked with Jeremy, they could repay it all eventually.
“I’m not asking for money.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Haven’t I told you all along? To maintain your position as Duchess of Fractuster. Then Morsley Mansion will never fall into anyone else’s hands.”
“This insults my father! As a vassal of the Inohater family serving the Fractuster household, you know how long I’ve been loyal!”
Seret shouted in anger. Yuan’s threat with the mansion documents was an insult to her father.
“My lord agreed. That I hold the mansion documents.”
“…Your father knew?”
Seret’s eyes widened, her heart ached. Her father valued honor so much. Showing such weakness to his lord must have been humiliating.
“Yes.”
Yuan nodded lightly.
Tears welled in Seret’s eyes. She felt her father’s pain.
“I obtained permission. He allowed me to keep them. I cannot return the mansion documents because I want leverage over Seret’s weakness.”
Yuan deliberately chose words to provoke her. He wanted to crush any hope she had of leaving him.
“Your Grace!”
Seret shouted in anger. Had he even spoken to her father like that? The image of her father’s final face came to mind, as he had watched her from the train window… how must he have felt sending his daughter to a man who spoke of weaknesses?
“The only way you can protect Morsley Mansion is one: live as the Duchess of Fractuster.”
Yuan’s soft, cruel smile broke her hope.
Though she felt like he was the worst human, Yuan felt immense satisfaction in binding her. His satisfaction overrode self-loathing—he did not regret it.
At that moment, the carriage arrived at the Fractuster mansion. Yuan opened the door before the coachman.
Summer air filled the carriage, but the two of them remained frozen, as if winter had descended.
Yuan glanced at the mansion beyond the open carriage door, then turned back to Seret.
“So give up. You can’t escape.”
“….”
Whether it was a warning or a threat, Seret felt the blood in her veins run cold. It was as if fate’s leash was tightening around her neck.
Stepping out first, Yuan reached his hand toward her. Seret only looked at it but did not take it.
If she held his hand, she would truly be pulled into the fate he had set.
Seeing that she wouldn’t take it, Yuan took her hand first. Her eyes trembled at his firm grip.
“I think I’ve made the worst choice.”
“The worst choice?”
Yuan’s eyebrows twitched. He was saying he regretted marrying her. He smirked lightly. Too late—she was already his wife.
Yuan leaned into the carriage. Their eyes met briefly as he lifted Seret into his arms.
No more waiting for his wife. His eyes gleamed dangerously.
Startled, Seret clutched his shoulders tightly. Yuan carried her to the mansion stairs.
“Let me go. Put me down.”
Seret struggled in his arms, but Yuan ascended the stairs without flinching.
“Put me down!”
“….”
“Why are you doing this?! Let me go!”
She hit his shoulders repeatedly, but Yuan remained unaffected.
Ignoring the stares of the butlers and staff, Yuan carried her straight to the bedroom. Inside, he set her on the bed.
“What are you doing?!”
Ignoring her shouting, Yuan strode to the door and locked it without hesitation.
Click. The sound of the lock echoed, and Seret got off the bed anxiously. Yuan’s fierce gaze made her instinctively step back.
“Yuan.”
He slowly removed his jacket, keeping his eyes on her. The danger in his gaze stiffened her body.
Placing the jacket on the tea table chair, he loosened his tie and approached her.
“How does it feel to have made the worst choice?”
His slow, deliberate movements matched his languid tone.
Sensing danger, Seret stepped sideways to avoid him, but Yuan blocked her path.
With no way forward, she looked up at him.
“Move.”
“No. You will not leave this room today.”
Dropping his tie on the floor, Yuan stared at her directly.
