I’m Done With Unrequited Love - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 31
I shot to my feet and rushed toward Cleor Mansion.

The Chancellor’s trailing words were lost to me as I closed the office door behind me.
What? A Custody Dispute?
‘Has Flora Countess lost her mind?’
What could she possibly be thinking, filing suit against *that* Ernan Cleor?
‘This didn’t happen in the original.’
In the original, Ernan had worked behind the scenes to silence Flora Countess.
If she tried anything foolish regarding Rene’s custody, she’d live to regret it.
But this time—Ernan hadn’t done so?
‘Why?’

Hadn’t he said exactly that?
‘Or did Ernan’s threats fail to work on Flora Countess?’
But why? Why this deviation?
Why no suit in the original, and now there is one?
My teeth ground together.
“I’m here!”
I descended from the carriage before Cleor Mansion and immediately sought out the Butler to summon Ernan.
“Good to see you again, Butler. It’s been quite some time.”
“Indeed it has. A good while now. You’ve come to see the master, I presume?”
“Yes.”
The Butler of Cleor Mansion, whom I hadn’t seen in ages, showed no wariness toward me—though my expression must have been quite the sight.
“Tell the Duke that if he wants to win this case, he should come at once.”
The Butler bowed and led me to the reception room before withdrawing.
It wasn’t long before I found myself face to face with Ernan.
“So, Fidellia Jonnas. Desperate for a victory, and here you are.”
Despite my sudden arrival and my presumptuous manner, Ernan greeted me without reluctance.
I took a deep breath before speaking.
“First, I want to ask—do you have a strategy?”
Thankfully, my composure had returned while I waited for Ernan.
My self-reproach was over too.
I’d come here thoughtlessly, and it was genuinely foolish of me.
Hadn’t I declared just days ago that once the coronation ended, Ernan and I were truly finished for good?
“A strategy? Surely that’s something you’d have. Didn’t you say you’d make me win?”
“When did I ever say I’d make you win?”
“So it wasn’t you who told me to come at once if I wanted to win? Strange.”
“That was just to get you here. I apologize.”
He was right.
I had no strategy.

Sanna’s words proved true in the most vivid way.
“What about a lawyer?”
“Not yet.”
“Why not?”
“The Complaint only arrived today.”
So Flora Countess and her husband had leaked the story to the press the moment the Complaint was delivered to Cleor Mansion?
‘They’ve clearly made their calculations.’
Using Flora Countess’s status as the biological parent, perhaps they meant to wage a war of public opinion.
I wanted to laugh, but I was in no position to do so.
I asked the question that had been bothering me since I arrived.
“Didn’t you move against Flora Countess? By this point, you’d have had more than enough time.”
“I meant to.”
“And?”
“Do you know the expression ‘one step too slow’?”
“Good heavens.”
I forced my sluggish mind to work through the problem.
The lawsuit.
When it comes to litigation……
‘Dismissal of suit.’
“Is there any way to get them to drop the case now?”
Whether by offering money or applying pressure.
But Ernan seemed utterly indifferent.
“I don’t know. I think it would be better for Rene if we settled this properly, once and for all.”
It appeared that Ernan intended to use this opportunity to wrest full custody of Rene away from Countess Flora, ensuring such a thing would never happen again.
I nodded slowly.
‘That would be better for Rene’s sake, too.’
In the original work, there had never been an incident involving a custody dispute, but one could never be certain.
If they were willing to file suit, unlike in the original, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen again.
I considered who would have the legal advantage in this scenario.
First, the matter of children’s rights in this era.
The world I inhabited now resembled eighteenth to nineteenth-century Europe from my past life—a society that had shed its medieval trappings but retained traces of that older age.
In those times, a child’s happiness and safety were not valued as important, and this world was no exception.
Take Kiara alone—had she not suffered abuse in the orphanage where she was raised?
I don’t know Corbalyeu’s laws well.
‘But typically in such custody disputes involving a third party, wouldn’t the court favor the biological father?’
Though this was merely speculation on my part.
Even with slavery abolished, what remained unchanged was that countless children were still treated as their parents’ property.
I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the court would tell Countess Flora: “Yes, no matter how much you’ve mistreated the child, it shares your blood—take them with you.”
‘This won’t do.’
Though I was no expert in law, I did know that Corbalyeu’s courts were not granting Appeals. Which meant we had to choose a lawyer carefully from the outset.
My unease bred urgency.
I couldn’t remain idle in this moment.
And so.
“Would it be all right if I recommended a lawyer?”
The words tumbled out before I could even think.
It was only after I’d spoken that I realized I’d overstepped.
Yet I managed to maintain my composure—thanks to the indomitable spirit of a people who’d learned to make virtue of necessity.
‘But actually, this is good.’
Knowing the original story was useful precisely in moments like these.
I happened to know a capable, sharp lawyer with a win rate exceeding ninety percent.
We had some acquaintance with each other.
When I mentioned this, Ernan showed interest. He asked me the lawyer’s name, and I answered with some reluctance.
At that, Ernan fell silent, as if considering something……
“That person is probably……”
“No!”
I stood up abruptly before he could finish.
I didn’t want to hear ‘that matter’ from his lips.
“It’s all in the past. What matters is the present. Sir.”
……
Ernan regarded me with a slight frown.
‘And what does he expect that look to accomplish.’
I smoothly changed the subject.
“In any case, are you willing to meet them?”
“Well…… yes.”
Strike while the iron is hot.
I picked up the bag I’d brought with me as I rose from my seat.
“Then let’s go.”
“……Now?”
“They’re very busy. The earlier we go and ask, the better our chances of getting them to take the case.”
“Busier than I am?”
“Yes.”
……
Ernan, who had seemed at a loss for words, stood up after a brief moment.
“Let’s go.”
I followed after him.
And so we made our way to Badi 9th Street.
Badi 9th Street is densely lined with private offices and law firms.
The law office I was looking for was located here as well.
Ding—
As I pushed open the door made of dark wood, a warm interior decorated with plants throughout came into view.
The small one-person office created a quiet, composed atmosphere, as if this place alone existed in a different world.
“Hello. I’ve come to consult about a custody dispute.”
“Ah. Just a moment, please. Have a seat on that sofa over there.”
The office’s proprietor appeared exceptionally harried.
The documents piled high around his desk spoke volumes about his workload.
Ernan and I sat on the sofa he had vaguely indicated and waited.
Not long after, the office’s proprietor, who had been shuffling through papers on his desk, approached us while adjusting his glasses.
At that very moment—
“……Fidellia?”
I turned to look at the man who had stopped upon seeing me.
Dark mahogany hair catching the sunlight, and beneath it, eyes with a deep verdant gleam. Silver-rimmed glasses perched above them…….
“…….”
The lean man was gazing at me with a rather vacant expression.
I greeted him cordially, meeting him again after so many years.
“It’s been a long time.”
The lawyer I had recommended.
The only lawyer I knew in this world.
A capable lawyer with a win rate approaching ninety percent.
“Diego.”
Diego Leonar.
“This is the first time we’ve seen each other since our engagement was broken off, isn’t it?”
My former fiancé.

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