An Ode to Divorce - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#1

Chapter 01. Divorce is the Only Way to Live

Blink.

I repeatedly closed and opened my eyes.

Just moments ago, I could barely make out what was in front of me, relying on a single candle melted down to the floor and moonlight seeping through the window.

Now, the brilliant light of a chandelier pierced my eyes.

‘Where is this…?’

I looked around. Countless people were staring at me.

‘A banquet hall?’

“Orphea?”

Then, a familiar voice from above called my name.

I slowly raised my head to look at the person.

My husband, who had died a month ago and whose death notice I had only heard, stood tall in that spot.

I stared at him blankly.

Black hair like raven feathers and deep blue eyes reminiscent of the ocean depths.

Handsome features as if God had crafted them with utmost care.

A massive physique large enough to beat a giant man-eating lion and a three-headed serpent with bare hands.

This was the Gert I knew.

If it were the usual me, just standing alongside him would have made me breathless and uncomfortable.

Despite his flawless perfect exterior, the thick gloom and murderous aura surrounding his body made his fine appearance seem insignificant.

Whether this was a dream or reality, I didn’t know, but at this moment, I was incredibly glad to see him.

“Gert!”

I reached out and cupped both his cheeks with my hands.

Perhaps not expecting my impulsive action, Gert’s body stiffened. He seemed displeased by my sudden contact.

But I didn’t care.

I couldn’t bear it without confirming that this situation was real.

Ignoring his displeasure, I stood on my tiptoes and kneaded his cheeks this way and that. Not satisfied with that, I even checked the carotid artery in his neck.

The warmth of his cheeks felt in my hands. The pulsing of blood vessels felt at my fingertips.

The faint scent of olive blossoms carried on sea breeze reaching my nose.

Yes. This isn’t a dream.

I screamed with joy in my heart.

‘I really came back!’

Now I could finally believe it.

The fact that I, who had been confined to a room for a month after being framed for my husband’s murder, had returned to the past.

***

My husband, Gert, was a hero among heroes and the only Grand Duke of the Petalien Kingdom.

There would be no end if I were to enumerate all the heroic tales he had accomplished.

He could endlessly recite his achievements as easily as pulling coins from his pocket, and each one was worthy of being called a once-in-a-lifetime achievement for any ordinary hero.

An untouchable being that I could hardly believe was the same human species.

Such a husband’s death tore apart all my daily life.

The comfortable and peaceful life I enjoyed as a Grand Duchess vanished without a trace, and I fell to the status of being confined like a criminal by Gert’s relatives.

The charges were none other than bewitching Gert into an unsuitable marriage, and ultimately, not being satisfied with just that, killing Gert!

“Marriage aside, you believe I caused Gert’s death? Do you believe that? That’s ridiculous!”

There must have been some misunderstanding.

I insisted I was innocent, but no one listened to my words.

Still, I had someone close to me in this family besides Gert.

“Eurich? Please call Eurich!”

Eurich, who had worried and cared for me, wondering if I might have any difficulties adapting to the unfamiliar castle.

As a member of the same expedition, I could trust him.

Eurich was Gert’s cousin and had influence in the family, so he would easily clear my false accusations.

“How foolish. Still don’t understand the situation?”

A mocking gaze, a crooked corner of his mouth.

Eurich’s face, which resembled Gert but had a slightly softer atmosphere, was distorted and shattered like broken glass.

Only then did I realize that Gert’s relatives hadn’t misunderstood something, but had framed me to expel me from the family genealogy.

On the grounds that a commoner-born minstrel was unworthy of the dignity of the Duchess of Lübenherts!

They had smiled in front of me saying birth didn’t matter whether commoner or noble, but they had been thinking such thoughts behind my back.

Betrayal tore through my chest.

All this time, their kindness toward me was only because they were mindful of Gert.

With Gert gone, I ended up receiving treatment worse than a masterless dog.

The day I was finally branded as a criminal and sentenced to execution within the family.

The sharp gazes directed at me were still vivid in my memory.

“If she had known her place, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“She’s in this state because she tried to sit in a position that didn’t suit her station. Did that woman really think she was worthy of the Duchy of Lübenherts?”

All those who had mocked and condemned me at that time were present at this banquet.

If I could follow my heart, I wanted to expose everything they had done.

‘…But nothing has happened yet.’

The reason I could return by traveling back in time was because the god of arts, pleased with the song I sang just before death, had saved me.

At that time, I was on the verge of being pushed to death from a high tower.

It wasn’t a good situation for singing, but I offered a song to the god of arts as a last gamble, and the gamble succeeded.

“Your song, though incomplete, pleases me, the god of art and memory. But how unfortunate. You will die like this…”

As I fell endlessly from the tower, Mnemiir, the god of arts, appeared before me.

Mnemiir, who manifested in the form of a magnificent peacock with tail feathers bearing a hundred eyes, flapped his wings once, and my falling body stopped in mid-air, enveloped in light.

“Very well, with the help of my wheel god, I shall send you back one year.”

When I came to my senses, it was this moment.

So now was one year before my death,

definitely my 24th birthday banquet.

I made eye contact with each of Gert’s relatives one by one.

Knowing nothing, they smiled pretending to be nice as soon as our eyes met.

‘Hypocrites!’

Just looking at them made my blood boil. But when you think about it, they were all just small fry.

“Are you alright, Orphea?”

This Eurich who was speaking to me now was the arch-enemy among enemies I absolutely had to get revenge on.

“You suddenly stood there lost in thought for a while… You seem to have drunk too much. Gert, you should have stopped her before it got to this point.”

Eurich spoke with feigned concern. Just hearing that voice made me want to wash my ears.

The reason I was so angry wasn’t just because I had been closest to Eurich.

It was because Eurich’s crime was the absolute worst.

“You ruined everything, Orphea!”

The person who tried to push me to death from the tower.

That was Eurich.

The sharp wind brushing past my cheeks. The helpless feeling of falling endlessly without being able to hold onto anything…

Thinking of that time made my stomach churn.

The moment I covered my mouth from nausea.

From beside me came Gert’s sighing voice.

“I don’t think you drank that much.”

“…I just felt suffocated because the air was stuffy. I’m fine now.”

I hurriedly made an excuse.

I admitted that my current appearance could be mistaken for being drunk.

Before I could even enjoy the joy of returning to the past, I had to face those who had been shouting that I should be killed just moments ago, so it was natural that my emotions would fluctuate.

But this wasn’t the time to be lost in thought, dwelling only on past grievances.

It would be troublesome if Gert, thinking I was drunk, decided to kick me out of the banquet hall.

I had something I absolutely had to do right now.

“By the way, Gert, I have something I want to tell you. Can you spare me some time?”

From my memory, Gert definitely left during this birthday banquet. It was to hunt monsters.

Gert leaving to hunt monsters at random times was always a common occurrence.

But once Gert left like that, he wouldn’t return for several months.

I couldn’t wait until then.

“Something to say? Just say it now.”

“It’s difficult here. I’d like to talk somewhere where it’s just the two of us…”

As soon as I shook my head in distress, Gert’s adjutant Hilias approached with an anxious expression and spoke subtly.

“Lord Gert, it seems you should start preparing for the hunt soon.”

“Is it already that time?”

Gert frowned and clicked his tongue. Then he looked back at me and spoke as if comforting a child.

“Well then, Orphea, don’t overdo it. If you’re tired, go in early and rest. As for the talk… if it’s not urgent, I’ll listen when I return from the hunt.”

“It is urgent!”

“…What on earth is it about?”

“It’s, it’s about a birthday present?”

I mumbled and trailed off.

Though it was a bit strange to call it a birthday present, when you think about it, it was something Gert should do for me on my birthday, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.

I had tried my best to phrase it indirectly, but Gert dismissed my words carelessly.

“A present? When I asked a few days ago, you acted like you weren’t interested. If there’s something you want, tell Hilias as usual. I’ll grant you whatever you desire.”

After saying that, he turned around and started to leave!

When it’s time to hunt, Gert’s patience becomes noticeably short.

Normally he would have been more relaxed, but the current Gert had no intention of listening to me at all.

Even I thought it was unreasonable to hold Gert back over something like a birthday present. But my mind was in chaos and I couldn’t think of any other excuse.

Growing anxious, I desperately shouted.

“I, I want a divorce!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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