Divorce Manual

Chapter 100

In response to my direct question—

"What?"

Charles, who raises his voice as if it's absurd, narrows his forehead.

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't the Diago duchy rooted in the Wicking people?"

"But—"

"The Wicking people have a shunjang custom."

"So..."

"I was wondering if there is a custom from the Duke of Diago where his wife would be purified when he dies."

He stares at me as I give a light shrug at the absurdity of the question I gave him. After a while, he grins, biting his lower lip.

"Don't you know that's an evil custom?"

"I did not know."

Is this an evil custom that will continue about three years from now?

"So, it's an evil custom, right?"

"It's been gone for a long time."

"..."

"If there was one, it was from a long time ago."

'A very long time ago' means that there is a precedent that it was done in the past. Therefore, it also means that it can be resurrected at any time to suit someone's taste.

For people in power, the law is an earring when it's worn on the ear, and a nose ring when it's worn on the nose.

(T/N: basically the law is whatever the people in power wants it to be)

In addition, the fact that Philip Dane, that motherfucker, isn't a traitor from start to finish, frankly, makes me frustrated.

It would have been better if his whole story was all a lie.

If that's the case, I might have felt a little more at ease.

But what difference does that make?

Even if I'm not involved with a shunjang, my future seems to end with death.

They are the ones who were intent on killing Abella by bringing out the long disappeared evil practice.

Will such people leave me alone after Charles dies?

But, it's too cruel.

The man who lost all of his power, including his dukedom, his money, and really lost everything, couldn't even protect his wife.

Of course, he was an openly cheating bastard—

That alone justifies his brutal ending.

The original cider for the villain was, 'Revenge is thrilling! Cider is the best!'

(T/N: Korean saying that after drinking cider, you feel great and happy so basically Abella's saying that his ending was good and it makes whoever reads it happy because he was a villain.)

I liked it, too.

However, when it became my situation, I thought, 'What did I do wrong?!'

As expected, humans are cunning.

"I don't know where you've heard that, but my mother should have died already then."

"Then, it may be that only the wives who don't have any children are martyred."

"..."

"Maybe that's why it just looks like the practice is gone."

Charles, who's puckering his eyebrows in response to my sincere questions, looks at me with a smirk.

His face, which I thought was just joking at first, seems a little serious to me as it slightly distorts.

"No, I wonder why the Wickings were buried with their wives for shunjang."

"I don't know what happened in the past, but it must have been at least hundreds of years ago. As far as I know, that hasn't happened recently. No, more than that, where the hell did you find out about that?"

"The library."

I'm lying.

What library.

Let's just wet our lips and lie.

I brazenly lift my head, wondering if it might be a bit better to be vague when speaking frankly.

"Library?"

He also tilts his head, as if he's puzzled.

"Yes."

He nods, unable to find any words to refute my decisive lie.

"...I see."

That's right.

"But you don't have to worry about that. It's a custom that has been gone for a long time."

Charles touches his lips, as if to clear his distorted emotions. He nods his head with a very disturbed expression on his face.

"Alright."

What's the point of fighting with him? It's going to happen in the future after he dies.

I'm not going to be here either.

Let's not lose our mind to useless thoughts.

Shaking my head, I look up at Charles.

"By the way, is Madam Erst okay?"

"It's said that she's fine."

Haven't you gone there?

I'm here because it was the founding period, but wasn't it all rushed because of Madam Erst's illness?

"Didn't you go?"

"Oh... I've been busy."

"Oh."

I keep my mouth shut, thinking that he doesn't want to go.

Because I'm no different.

"So I sent Edgar on my behalf, but seeing how his eyes were all bruised, she seems to be in very good shape."

"Oh my god. Did she use violence?"

"Perhaps he made a mistake?"

Seeing a small curve near the corner of his mouth, it seems that Edgar's complaints had already been heard by Charles.

"Sir Harlian must have suffered a lot."

"He said it was a good idea because he was going to file a complaint."

At Charles' words, who smiles as he delivers Edgar's rude words, I, too, laugh along.

Somehow, it feels like he's laughing like this more often than before.

Has he become more comfortable?

It's a smile that I could only see in front of Dr. Lejan before.

Or...has he come to like me?

As he's asked before, 'Are you ready to fall in love?'

Then, what should I do?

"..."

Every time I see him approaching, the types of worries have become more and more diverse. It's completely different from the first time, and more often enough to an extent that deep concerns have begun to grow in me.

I said no then, but I don't know how to deal with this feeling.

At first, I thought, 'Can I last more than a year?' like a joke, but now I'm really worried about whether I can really endure it.

Can I survive a year?

"What are you thinking about?"

"...I'm not thinking about anything."

Perhaps he's worried that I'm being too quiet, but he loosens his tie and tilts his head slightly towards me as he scoots closer to the edge of the sofa.

I turn my head away, avoiding his gaze.

"Are you going out tomorrow?"

Taking a deep breath, Charles gets up and unbuttons his shirt.

I think I can get used to it.

This man's body is still difficult to adapt to, though.

I look away to calm my beating heart.

"Make sure to look after your physical condition. Don't go anywhere for now."

"Yes."

Shaking his head, he takes off his shirt and lays it loosely on the sofa.

He is doing that on purpose.

Let's pretend to cover Leo's eyes and turn away together.

"Oh, and..."

As he's about to enter the bathroom, he stops and twists his upper body slightly to look at me.

"If I die before you, don't worry, I'll make sure that you'll eat well and live well enough that you don't even care about shunjang."

"..."

After he says that and goes into the bathroom, my tears fall without me realizing it. I cry for a long time while hugging Leo.