Chapter 7
When I turned around, a beautiful man was smiling gently.
With his long honey-blonde hair tied back, he looked at me with serene, bluish-violet eyes.
“I’m not sure if you remember me.”
He had such a gentle and handsome appearance that it almost seemed like white roses were blooming in a fantasy behind him as he smiled.
‘There was no one this handsome besides Cedric in the novel… Who is he?’
The man, looking slightly nervous, adjusted the white cravat on his sleek ash-gray suit.
“I am Adrian Monter, the butler of the Mansion of Darkness.”
Introducing himself, Adrian gave a slight bow and naturally took my hand.
‘Ah, right. The Mansion of Darkness barely appeared in the original story. No wonder I never saw the butler…’
Just as I was thinking that—
I felt something soft and warm on the back of my hand.
Snapping back to my senses, I looked down to see Adrian kissing the back of my hand.
He straightened up and gave a gentle smile.
“I have long awaited your visit to this place, Your Grace.”
His deep bluish-violet eyes were filled with sincerity.
All I could do was stare at him in bewilderment.
“Thank you. I didn’t expect such a warm welcome…”
Adrian was entirely beyond my expectations.
For some reason, he seemed deeply moved that I had shown up at the Mansion of Darkness.
“Do you have a task you wish to assign me? Whatever it may be, if it is Your Grace’s request, I shall gladly fulfill it.”
Adrian took a deep breath, his face slightly flushed.
“Ah, it’s not really a request.”
I turned my head toward Mina to hand her the prepared desserts.
But Mina was simply staring blankly at Adrian.
‘So the famous person Mina mentioned was Adrian…’
I cleared my throat a few times, but it was useless.
In the end, I had to lightly poke Mina’s arm with my finger before she finally snapped out of it, her face reddening.
“I felt I’d been too neglectful of the Mansion of Darkness staff, so I brought some desserts that would be nice for a break.”
“Your Grace… brought them?”
Adrian blinked slowly, as if he couldn’t believe it.
I’d hoped his friendly attitude meant he didn’t know about Rebecca’s notorious temperament, but apparently, he did.
Still, his smile quickly returned, calm and gracious.
“The staff will be deeply moved.”
“Right. They’ll act moved in front of their superior. Though they’ll probably complain after their shifts.”
“Haha, I doubt that. I’ll call the staff right away. They’ll be thrilled to know Your Grace personally came to bestow rewards!”
“Huh? No, that’s really not necessary…”
But Adrian, still visibly excited, quickly walked toward the mansion’s front gate.
He threw it open wide and smiled warmly.
“Welcome to the Mansion of Darkness, Your Grace.”
It was the first genuine welcome I had received since coming to this world.
At the same time, in the Western Empire’s Imperial Palace—
Cedric had already arrived in the capital early that morning.
Normally, the trip from the North to the capital took about five hours by carriage.
But for Cedric, who owned a special carriage powered by demonic technology, it only took about two hours.
Coincidentally, that day there was a meeting at the palace regarding a technology-sharing agreement for those special carriages.
After spending the entire morning in the meeting, Cedric had just arrived in the corridor outside the Emperor’s audience chamber.
Someone standing by the door was the first to speak.
“You’ve arrived on time, Duke Twins. I heard the news.”
It was Chamberlain Diart.
His face was as stern as ever.
But whenever Cedric encountered Chamberlain Diart, he could sense a subtle distaste in his expression.
Still, as always, Cedric responded indifferently.
“Thank you for coming at my request, Chamberlain Diart.”
“To be precise, it wasn’t your request—it was the Emperor’s. And the Pope’s orders as well.”
Diart lowered his gaze slightly, his expression coming off rather arrogant.
It had been six years since exchanges between the human and demon realms resumed following the founding of the Western Empire.
Though many things had changed, some people still regarded demons with suspicion or disdain.
‘They’re so eager to get their hands on demonic technology, yet still look down on us.’
Cedric had also heard rumors that Diart recently lost a great deal of money investing in a demon-market gift exchange.
Just as a smirk began to tug at Cedric’s lips—
A messenger arrived, granting them entry to the audience chamber.
Cedric, as a duke, entered first, and Chamberlain Diart naturally followed behind.
“Oh! You’re both right on time.”
Emperor Letits welcomed them cheerfully, sunlight streaming in behind him.
“Especially you, Cedric. I thought you’d be late with that long meeting. Sit, everyone!”
At just over forty years old, Emperor Letits was the man responsible for reestablishing exchanges between humans and demons.
Six years ago, he had been nothing more than the king of a small northern country.
It was around that time he sought out the Twins family—descendants of demonic royalty who had lost their status in the human realm long ago.
After persistently persuading Cedric, Letits succeeded in unifying the Western Continent with the help of half-demons.
To Letits, Cedric was someone worth giving anything to in gratitude.
“Well, of course I’d do anything for you, but…”
Letits frowned slightly as he read over the document through his gold-rimmed monocle.
“…Your first request is a secret divorce? Seriously.”
Thud.
He tossed the papers lightly onto the table.
Cedric, Diart, and Emperor Letits—
They had gathered that day to discuss Cedric’s special divorce.
The request was to officially approve the divorce with the Emperor and Pope’s authorization, but delay the administrative process for six months so it could remain a secret.
Although generally not allowed, the Emperor had persuaded the Pope to grant the request.
So, even before the signatures were on the divorce papers—
Letits was ready to give the official stamp of approval first.
A bold decision, befitting Emperor Letits.
“Fine. I’ll do it. But… are you sure the duchess agreed to this?”
Though Letits usually trusted Cedric implicitly, this time he had to ask again and again.
“I’ll help you with a secret divorce, but as you know, we can’t allow it without the other party’s consent.”
Cedric was silent for a moment before nodding slightly.
Letits’s eyes slowly widened.
“It’s common knowledge that the duchess is hopelessly in love with you…”
“…”
“She really agreed to divorce?”
Chamberlain Diart also looked at Cedric curiously.
Even he, with his normally impassive demeanor, found it fascinating.
It was unbelievable—even to Cedric himself.
“…She said she would.”
Cedric’s low voice sounded more like a murmur.
Letits tilted his head, adjusting his monocle.
“That’s really strange… What made her suddenly change her mind?”
Cedric was just as puzzled.
That night, Rebecca had clung to him, sobbing uncontrollably.
When things didn’t go her way, she suddenly slapped him and started rambling like a madwoman.
And then…
Everything changed.
“I don’t love you anymore.”
As her red lips resurfaced in his mind, Cedric’s brow furrowed faintly.
Love, huh…
He had never once felt Rebecca’s actions as genuine love.
It always seemed like a cover for something darker.
Yes, that’s what he had always believed.
But now…
“Ah—of course! That’s it!”
Letits’s voice snapped Cedric out of his thoughts.
When Cedric looked up, the Emperor was nodding with arms crossed, then leaned forward with a knowing smile.
“You know, when someone loves too deeply, and that love fades, there’s no turning back.”
“…”
“She loved you so much, so now she’s done. No regrets! Haha! I nailed it, didn’t I?”
Letits laughed like he’d solved a math problem.
Chamberlain Diart closed his eyes in dismay.
He was convinced Letits had poured all his talent into science and technology—and lost his ability to empathize as a result.
Otherwise, how could he smile so brightly when Cedric’s expression had turned so bleak?
“Well, this is good! You suffered from the duchess’s obsession, didn’t you? Now that she’s snapped out of it, she won’t cling to you after the divorce!”
Letits, appearing satisfied, quickly picked up his seal.
“Chamberlain Diart, you brought the papal seal, yes?”
“Y-Yes. As instructed.”
“Go on, stamp it here.”
Just as Diart moved to place the Pope’s seal where Letits indicated, he shot a warning glance at Cedric.
“Six months, as agreed. After that, not only the administrative processing—but also the former duchess’s relocation must take place.”
The Pope’s biggest objection had been the notion of a divorced couple continuing to live together, which he considered irreverent.
Cedric silently nodded.
“…So it shall be.”
Thud—
The papal seal was finally affixed to the Twins couple’s divorce documents.
At that moment, Cedric was overcome by a strange, indescribable emotion.
Is this… really the end?
Whether it was relief or sorrow, he didn’t have time to figure it out—
Thud—!
The Emperor’s own seal followed immediately after.
Startled, Cedric looked up to see Letits grinning confidently as he handed him the papers.
Chamberlain Diart once again closed his eyes in exasperation.
But Letits simply looked proud—like someone who had prepared the perfect gift for his friend.
“There! Now, once the duchess signs, your marriage will be officially over!”
