Chapter 70

Azela smiled at her foolishness. She then walked out of the bedroom, turning her body to look at the fireplace.

It was dark outside the window.

Walking down the stairs, she stopped in front of the familiar bedroom door. As she knocked on the door, she could hear Daniel’s voice telling her to come in.

“…Azela?”

When she opened the door and entered his bedroom, Daniel raised his upper body up from where he was sitting in surprise to see her. It was the first time she had visited his bedroom since Sylvia had arrived.

“I have something to tell you.”

He nodded his head at Azela’s words, dismissing the maids around him. He was at a loss for what to do, as if her sudden visit was somewhat awkward.

Soon, there were only the two of them left in Daniel’s bedroom.

“…Would you like to drink anything?”

“No, it’s okay.”

As Daniel was trying to break the awkwardness, Azela resolutely refused and glanced around the bedroom lightly. They had heated coitus here before. They never left this bedroom for days when they were so passionate that they didn’t understand why they had to use a different bedroom.

Memories of the time she spent with him remained throughout the bedroom. Those were the memories that she had to let go of now.

Seeing Azela’s gaze looking around his bedroom, Daniel asked with a light cough.

“What are you doing here at this hour? What do you have to say?”

“…The business ended successfully. Daniel, you know.”

“Right.”

To break the awkwardness somehow, Daniel lifted the champagne from the tea table. Lately, there had been only pleasant, congratulatory things for him. Besides, Azela bent her pride, and she came to find him first… It felt like everything was going well, and he felt better quickly.

However, that didn’t last long.

“So, why don’t we get a divorce now?”

Daniel dropped the champagne in his hand to the floor with a startled look, hearing her calm tone. The smell of bitter alcohol permeated the room after getting spilled over the carpet. He seemed lost for a moment.

The next moment, his face turned bright red immediately. He was ashamed to have misunderstood why she had looked for him in his own bedroom.

Daniel stretched out his hand and motioned Azela to wait for a moment. Lowering his head, his head was complicated. Aside from the fact that he misunderstood the reason, he could hardly understand what his wife was saying now.

“What did you just say…?”

Eventually, he raised his head in disbelief and looked at her. There was no change in her expression. When Daniela asked again, Azela uttered the same thing again in another calm tone.

“Let’s get a divorce.”

“….”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want a divorce. However, he didn’t like the fact that it was Azela who said it, not him.

Daniel took a deep breath as he raised his hand and ruffled his dry hair roughly.

“Azela, can you really live without me?”

“I’ll take care of my life after that, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Azela…”

Taking a step forward, she sat cross-legged in the chair next to the tea table as she looked into Daniel’s eyes, who were staring at her.

“Is it okay to hold onto me?”

“…What?”

“There must have been something you have to protect. Do you know what I will do?”

His shoulders twitched at her aggressive tone. He bit his lip that was about to open. He certainly didn’t know what Azela would do to Sylvia and the child in Sylvia’s stomach. At the thought, Daniel made a complicated face and covered his face with his big palm.

“Shouldn’t you be worrying about it? After all, I have wanted to divorce you after the business is over.”

He did not respond to her words.

Clearly, she didn’t have any feelings left. Nonetheless, he realized that Azela got the business done… he needed her.

He needed her fame, and as Todd’s Madam.

…Her position was not something Sylvia could digest.

“Azela, you just have to live like you are now. The Countess is going to give up her identity? After the divorce, there will be no other place where you can be as comfortable as you are now.”

Daniel hurriedly coaxed her with his most gentle tone of voice. At his awkward smile, Azela stared at him without saying a word.

He continued.

“If you want, I’ll make you change your bedroom so you don’t run into Sylvia. Would that be enough?”

Then, he gazed at her with a triumphant look, wondering if this should be enough.

Seeing Daniel’s smile, Azela stood up from where she had been sitting quietly. She then turned her body and grabbed the doorknob of the bedroom. When it looked like she was about to leave her silently, he called for joy inside.

‘Yes, it will not be easy for her to abandon her reputation.’

As he was about to give a satisfied look, Azela, who grabbed the doorknob, turned her head back and looked at him coldly.

“I will bring you the divorce papers as soon as everything is sorted out.”

“….!”

Her mind had not changed.

When he saw Azela’s expression unmoved, Daniel lost his words.

Then, Azalea left his bedroom without any regrets. Preparation didn’t take as long as expected. After she informed him of the divorce, she began to prepare everything perfectly as if she was trying to erase the traces of the Todd family.

Meanwhile, Sylvia’s belly was slowly bulging out.

That time, it was almost invisible. Thanks to Daniel’s excellent protection, she had gained some weight, unlike when she was first pregnant. She was pretty plump and had more meat on her body than when she first came to the mansion. She had regained her appetite, eating well, unlike before.

Nonetheless, she was still somehow uneasy. Even though she was smiling happily, occasionally, she would bite her nails with a very anxious face.

Because of that, Daniel looked at her with concern.

In addition, there was always a faint smell of tobacco on her body. Azela didn’t know what her excuse was for Daniel, but he didn’t seem to think it was Sylvia’s scent.

‘She wants to lose the child.’

Azela lowered her gaze.

Although she knew all the causes of that anxiety, that didn’t mean she could do anything for her. Azela just smiled as she watched Sylvia’s anxious face and Daniel’s doubts about her, along with his worries about her behavior.

Occasionally, Sylvia would sometimes slander her, but Azela didn’t respond anymore. It was because she knew that all of those appearances were false appearances, it was a behavior that stemmed from Sylvia’s anxiety.

Even though she talked about divorce, Daniel was quieter than expected. He didn’t even pay attention to Azela, and acted as if he had completely forgotten her words… No, maybe it could have been that he didn’t think she was really going to divorce him.

About a month and a half passed before everything was sorted out.

“Let’s get divorce, us.”

Azela pulled out the papers she had folded in her bag and held it out. She put a lot of strength in her face to keep her lips trembling from the tension.

For today, she had practiced a dozen times, but she couldn’t help but still be nervous.

“What are you doing? Take it. My hand hurts.”

“…Uh, right.”

With her calm tone, Daniel took the papers in her hand. Azela, who was now looking at the paper that had left her hand, turned her head to look at Sylvia, who was sitting next to him with a stern expression on her face.

Sylvia put her hand on her stomach, whether it was to show Azela on purpose or to tease her. She burst into laughter as she smiled a victor’s smile.

“…How many months is it?”

​

When she asked, Daniel, who was looking at the documents with a complicated expression, exclaimed, ‘Oh,’ and avoided her gaze. Still, it seemed that the last remorse remained in him, and he kept his lips shut without answering.

​

“It’s been three months, you can’t tell yet?”

​

It was Sylvia who answered her question.

She answered in a cute voice and smiled as she drew the elegant smile to her lips as if she was the Countess. With that smile, all the servants in the mansion looked startled. Everyone looked opposed to her becoming the Madam of this mansion.

“I can’t even say congratulations. You understand, right?”

Hearing Azela’s words, Daniel frowned without a word.

Seeing this, she gave a meaningless smile and picked up the bag she had placed next to her. A small, shabby bag that could be carried with one hand—that was all the luggage Azela had.