Chapter 68

“….”

The business was now over.

Perhaps, if she presented the divorce papers now, Daniel would have accepted it as a good thing. Sitting at the desk, Azalea grabbed the papers and held her quill. As she gradually filled in the empty spaces, it didn’t take long to fill in the blanks.

After completing the paperwork, she stood up and looked around the spacious bedroom.

While she thought about what to pack, she didn’t have much. Even if there was something she would pack, all she had was a few pieces of clothes that she had brought first, and the jewelry and dress that Irene had prepared for her.

The rest were all replaced when Irene died, so she didn’t even need to take them.

Azela picked up a small, worn-out bag and packed her belongings to take. It didn’t take too long either. After packing all of her things, she changed clothes on her own as she did not need anyone’s help. Having finished all the preparations, she eventually opened the door to her bedroom on her own and walked out to the first floor of the mansion.

Time passed, and afternoon was already approaching.

The maids bowed their heads in surprise at the Madam’s sudden appearance.

“Are there any carriage ready right away?”

“Yes, Madam.”

“Then, prepare the carriage right away. I have to go to Duke Ferial’s mansion.”

“Yes.”

The first thing she had to do before handing over the divorce papers was to communicate her will to Zagnac. She didn’t know if seeing Irene was a simple dream or if it was literally a delusion… Still, her heart became lighter.

That was her choice.

Azela, with a lightened face, stood at the front door and waited for the carriage. It didn’t take long for the carriage to get ready. When she got on the carriage, she saw Daniel and Sylvia walking in the garden together in the distance.

Daniel had a happy smile on his face, and even though Sylvia had an awkward smile, they both looked happy.

…She was the only one who wasn’t happy here. And if she stayed here, she would never be happy.

She glanced at the two with a blank look.

Her future misfortune and her happiness were ultimately determined by her own choices.

“Shall we go?”

“Let’s go.”

Lifting her gaze from the two of them, she looked forward.

At her command, with the sound of the horseshoes, the carriage set off ahead. From behind the carriage, she heard Daniel laughing out loud. The sound of his happy laughter desperately grabbed Azela’s ankle though she didn’t look back.

She just gazed ahead and headed to the mansion where Duke Ferial and Zagnac were. Azela’s straight eyes were looking in front of her.

* * *

“Great.”

Azela, who recklessly came to the small library in the mansion where Zagnac was located, found him and, as soon as she saw him, said yes. Zagnac, who was reading a book, tilted his head, staring at Azela’s strong expression as she nodded her head.

“…What?”

“I will follow you.”

She continued her words with a determined face as she took the book from his hand and put it back on the bookshelf.

“Instead, there are conditions.”

“Conditions?”

Satisfied with her daring look, Zagnac crossed his arms and leaned back against the bookshelf, smiling at her. It was obvious. It was because this appearance was the kind that he had longed to see.

He liked the color of her bright blue eyes, a delightful smile was drawn on Zagnac’s lips.

“Don’t tell me any more lies. There should be nothing to hide.”

“…I am the employer, but somehow I feel like my position has changed.”

Contrary to his blunt tone of voice, he nodded his head willingly with a satisfied face. There was no problem hiding from Azela anyway—the secret of the devil, the secret of the contract, and the fact that the Emperor was trying to kill him—he told her everything.

Zagnac lifted his back and stood up before moving a few steps.

As Azela stood in place and peered at his back, he turned around.

“Are you not hungry? I know we’ll go together… so let’s eat something. A sweet tea just arrived. Have you tried hot chocolate? It tastes pretty good. It goes very well with a bittersweet tea cake.”

With Zagnac’s suggestion, she followed him out of the library.

Azela quickly clung to his side, glanced at him, and he seemed somehow happy. After seeing that expression, even though she did not know what hot chocolate was, the sweetness that she had tasted somehow spread in her mouth.

She was startled by the sweetness that spread in her mouth and turned her gaze forward.

…This wouldn’t do.

She had told herself that she wouldn’t have these feelings anymore… The warm consideration he gave was definitely out of necessity, so she shouldn’t fall for it.

As she shook her head, she clutched her chest, which was beating like crazy without him knowing. Meanwhile, Zagnac went into the parlor after telling Baharf, the butler who was standing next to him, to prepare dessert.

Baharf gazed at Azela, who was following him and bowed his head with a happy smile. Azela also slightly tilted her head towards him and entered the parlor.

Zagnac entered the parlor and took out the documents on the table.

“What’s this?”

“Contract. I want to work with you as Duke of Ferial, not Zagnac, so I need a contract like this—like a human being.”

As Zagnac reassured her with the words ‘human being’, Azela read the paperwork with a smirk.

Lately, she had been feeling like she was going through all the papers she would ever see in her life. The contract was simple. The things she had to do were written down, and her working hours were written down.

As she looked through the papers to the last page, Azela asked with a frown.

“What is my salary?”

Zagnac laughed at her voice. He then asked with a playful look.

“I gave you the second boutique shop as a gift, you still want to get paid separately?”

“Of course. After all, this is work and a ‘contract’.”

She gave the contract back to him and nodded to him. As if saying, ‘Go ahead and write about my salary on that paper,’ as she said.

Zagnac lifted the quill that had been pushed to the side.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t really try to get away with it? I just haven’t written it down yet because I want to give you the salary you want. I’ll give you more than you want.”

After he wrote down the salary number in the contract, Azela looked satisfied. The salary he wrote down was truly outrageous. Normally, she would have refused, although now, it was different. Because she had nothing, she was not even the countess.

Azela opened her mouth as she gazed delightedly at the perfect contract.

“Then when are we departing?”

“Departing…”

Zagnac, who was about to speak, stopped when he heard a knock on the parlor door. When he gave permission to come in, Baharf opened the door and entered. A sweet scent spread through the tip of her nose, perhaps because of the hot chocolate tea.

Baharf quickly set the dessert and went outside, and Zagnac lifted the cup.

As she lifted up the cup after him and drank it, the sweetness reached the tip of her tongue. Azela frowned and looked at Zagnac. He was drinking it with a pretty satisfied smile.

Seeing him, she had a strange thought.

She wondered if the sweet scent was because she ate a lot of these sweet foods. Perhaps, that was why she thought he was sweet.

“The sooner we start, the better, but… There are a couple of issues to sort out, so it would be better to set aside a good amount of time.”

“…Are you talking about Daniel?”

“If you don’t deal with it properly, that kind of person will probably follow you to the end.”

Even if he didn’t say it, she knew because Crown Prince Chises, similar to Daniel, had done it.

Azela frowned as she remembered what he had done to her. Come to think of it, if she followed Zagnac to the capital and also ran into the emperor who was trying to kill him, she would surely encounter Crown Prince Chises as well.

Not only that, but it would be the same with Princess Livia. Azela, who recalled her, frowned and spoke firmly.

“I can sort things out with Daniel quickly… Sylvia is pregnant, so if I say divorce, he will probably take it as if he’s been expecting it. Besides, the business is over, so I’m no longer useful or anything.”

“You don’t have to rush it. I will wait patiently for you.”