Chapter 8

“Madam?”

The maid held out a small pouch again. I took it, still feeling dazed.

When I opened it, I found a white fang inside. It wasn’t a human tooth—it was sharp, more like the tooth of a canine. But it was too large to be from a regular dog.

A wolf?

Just then, the maid spoke.

“Shall I bring your food here?”

I nodded, and she bowed before leaving the room. I looked at the white fang again, turning it over in my hand. It reminded me of Cedric’s study, which was filled with all kinds of taxidermies animals.

Since Batis asked me to deliver it to Cedric, I got out of bed.

As I got up quickly, I bumped into the nightstand. Something rolled off and fell to the floor—it was a bath bomb with a purple morning glory inside. It was slightly cracked but still usable. I put it back on the nightstand and left the room.

Cedric’s study wasn’t far from my bedroom. Just a few steps away.

I knocked on the door first, but there was no answer. I gently placed my hand on the doorknob, and it turned, opening the door. It hadn’t been shut tightly.

I slowly opened it and stepped inside. This was the first time I’d come to Cedric’s study since we toured the mansion after the wedding.

His desk was as neat as his usual appearance. But something on the desk stood out.

When I looked closer, I realized it was a photo of me. I was holding a bunch of pale pink roses, but I looked stiff and nervous.

I didn’t like that photo. But it was the only one on his desk. It gave me a strange feeling. Did he just keep it out of politeness because I was his wife?

I sighed and turned away. I saw the taxidermies animals—all of them facing the same direction. Following their gaze, I saw a large wolf, stabbed with a sword.

I slowly walked toward the stuffed wolf. Its raised teeth made it look angry, which startled me, but its eyes were lifeless. Looking closely, I noticed one of its fangs was missing. I took out the white fang from the pouch.

Just as I was about to match it to the missing spot, the door suddenly burst open. The fang dropped from my hand and rolled across the floor.

Startled, I turned around and saw Cedric standing there. He looked down silently at the fang that had rolled to his feet. I quickly spoke.

“Lord Batis asked me to give this to you.”

Cedric bent down and picked up the fang. For some reason, I felt tense as I watched him. Every move he made seemed to heighten my senses.

He straightened up and looked down at the fang for a moment. I swallowed hard. Then he spoke, like it was nothing.

“It’s a fang from the wolf I killed.”

“I thought you didn’t kill wolves?”

“It didn’t listen.”

I looked at him, puzzled by his answer, but he walked past me and sat at his desk. Without looking at me, he flipped through the papers on his desk and said,

“If you had given it to a servant, you wouldn’t have had to come all the way here.”

Then Cedric looked up.

“Did you have something to say?”

He asked calmly and politely. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were sharp. There was a chill in the air, like he might tell me to leave soon.

I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I heard you gave Herder a knife as a pregnancy gift.”

“I had planned to give it earlier anyway. The timing just happened to work out poorly.”

When I didn’t respond, Cedric lowered his head again. He stopped talking and looked through his documents. It seemed like he didn’t even want to talk to me anymore.

He still wore his wedding ring. I reminded myself why I came here—and the words I’d never been able to say before.

As I looked at his wedding ring, I spoke without thinking.

“Let’s get divorced.”

Cedric’s hand, which had been turning a page, froze. He slowly looked up. A strange light flickered in his icy blue eyes.

“Divorce?”

I nodded. I was confident I wouldn’t be hurt, even if Cedric agreed right away.

Cedric laughed.

“Says who?”

His unexpected reply left me speechless. He let out a soft chuckle and looked at me.

“I thought we had a pretty good relationship.”

A good relationship? I never thought that. But my shocked mind started to clear a little.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“I never thought that way.”

“……”

“And I think three years was a long enough time to keep this going. I believe you’ve gotten everything you wanted from this marriage.”

“Gotten? What do you mean?”

“Didn’t your diamond import business improve after marrying me?”

Cedric gave a faint smile.

“Actually, it was Baron Dert’s business that improved.”

“My father’s business?”

Cedric stood up, not taking his eyes off me.

“And if I divorce you, Baron Dert will be quite a nuisance. He owes me money too.”

“My father borrowed money from you?”

Cedric stepped so close, he was almost touching me. I stared at him blankly, and he spoke softly.

“To be exact, six million crocs.”

“That much…”

“I thought I gave up a lot by marrying you.”

“……”

“Was I wrong?”

I couldn’t say anything. He was too close. Then his thigh brushed against mine. I flinched and stepped back, only to bump into the desk behind me.

Cedric didn’t come closer. He just looked at me. Even breathing felt like I might touch him. I tried to remember why I had come here and opened my mouth again.

“I know you’ve always treated me politely and kindly. But that’s not what I wanted.”

“What did you want?”

I bit my lip. The more I talked, the more pathetic I felt. Maybe I was asking for something I shouldn’t. He had treated me well—what more could I want without seeming selfish?

But my heart was already torn to pieces. There was nothing left to hold together. I couldn’t say more, so I shook my head.

“I shouldn’t have said anything. I never expected anything from you.”

Cedric said nothing. Even though I looked down, I could feel his gaze on me. The ticking of the clock filled the silence. Then he spoke in a low voice.

“Do you think you’ll live well if we divorce?”

When I slowly looked up, his expression was cold.

“Can you repay the money?”

At that moment, a knock came at the door. Cedric just looked at me without saying anything. I had no answer to his question. I didn’t think I could live well without him—or repay such a huge debt.

Everything I had said now felt pitiful.

Then the door opened, and someone came in.

When I turned around, I saw the butler had entered. He glanced at me with surprise before quickly bowing his head. Then he walked straight to Cedric.

“Master, we received an official letter about the gold mine project in the Yurt region.”

Cedric stepped away from me and said,

“Revril, let’s pretend I didn’t hear what you said earlier.”

“Then please don’t be kind to me.”

I said it on impulse. It came out because I knew I couldn’t easily walk away from him.

I didn’t look at him as I spoke.

“Please, at least let me hate you.”

And with that, I left the study. My chest felt tight—worse than an upset stomach.

I went straight back to my room. I pulled the bell cord to call a maid.

“Prepare my bath.”

I looked at the bath bomb on the nightstand. I wanted to sink into something deep. I wondered what made bath bombs from noble families so special—if they could wash away feelings like this.