CH 22

22 – Did You Want It, The Divorce?

“Who is it?”

As Viktor scoffed at Scarlett’s trembling voice, one of his men, Pallin Redford, took off his mask. 

Seeing that face, Scarlett covered her mouth with her hands and tried to sit down.

Viktor then grabbed her by the arm, raising her with his strength. He took her to the sofa and sat her down. The man’s face was covered in blood, but he was still recognisable. It was the priest, Delphio, whom she met at Melin Monastery.

Viktor opened his mouth.

“Killed quite a number of believers. Said he’d drive out the devil.”

“...”

“I caught him because the police asked for help. As soon as he saw my face, he confessed about you.”

He raised the corners of his lips in ridicule.

“You don’t think I’m here because of business.”

He turned around and walked towards the door. And after closing the door, he continued speaking after locking each of the two latches.

“I checked the room you were in, and it wasn’t even a prison. Is that why you had a fever?”

“…Yeah. You said you were sick.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you caught a fever and almost died?.”

“…”

His voice mixed with the sound of a metal lock being locked, and Scarlett felt a sense of uneasiness in her heart.

Viktor approached her again and asked, “You didn’t think you should tell your husband about it, did you?”

Scarlett’s gaze turned back to the priest Delphio outside the door, and then she turned to the side.

Viktor was tasked with an operation aimed at eradicating pirates. It was not a strategy that could be entrusted to a new unit with young officers. However, Viktor succeeded in the absurd operation. The pirates eventually surrendered to Viktor, who approached like a tidal wave. The probable reason Delphio confessed what he had done was that he was afraid of what Viktor was capable of.

Scarlett managed to open her mouth.

“Pardon? I didn’t hear you.”

“Why?”

Viktor asked again.

Scarlett remembered Gregory Dumfelt, who forced her to hold a pen while she was dying of a fever.

His son’s success was his success. 

He, who had previously been affected by the downfall of the princess, had now become the father of a hero. He could enjoy the social world he had been waiting for since he was in his youth, like a fish in water. 

He was afraid for his son, so he had her write a memorandum. She could not violate the contents of the memorandum with her mouth.

“You told me to go to the monastery in the first place,” Scarlett spoke quietly.

At those words, Viktor frowned even more. His expression was faintly recognisable even in the dark.

Scarlett looked at the change in his expression, which had never seemed remotely embarrassed in his lifetime. She thought that no matter how harsh this man was, he couldn’t be.

Her ex-husband was a cold person. Scarlett thought that perhaps the reason she fell in love with him was due to the joy of getting out of her predicament. Maybe the only thing she loved was his beautiful face.

He was not worthy of love.

Loving him was as meaningful as giving the world to a dead person.

It was like bringing them treasures of gold and silver. 

One would not receive a response.

They would only receive heartache.

She gave him something he hadn’t wanted in the first place. So it was on her. 

But what was so wrong about wishing for a little bit of love between a couple?

“What could I expect of you in such a situation?” Scarlett continued.

“So, did you want a divorce?” Viktor asked.

Scarlett smiled in response and shook her head.

“I loved you during the two years of living with you, but at the same time, I wanted to divorce you. It was just an opportunity.”

“…”

“…”

A moment of silence passed.

Scarlett wanted to let him go.

“Really, why are you here now? It’s a thing of the past. At the time, you didn’t wonder why we were getting divorced. If you had asked, I would have told you then. Isn’t that what you wanted too?”

“Did I want it?”

“What? You signed it right away when I asked for a divorce. It must have been because you wanted a divorce too.”

Even just before handing over the divorce papers, Scarlett was preparing various answers to give when he asked for the reason.

But Viktor didn’t ask any questions. He would have known she was at the cottage because she was sick, but he didn’t ask too.

The day she saw Viktor immediately sign the divorce papers, Scarlett laughed a little at the thought that Gregory had wasted money. Her husband was a person who wouldn’t be interested in her no matter what happened in the first place, but his father spent money on her writing a memorandum of confidentiality.

Viktor didn’t answer for a while. The room was filled with only the small noises from the dozens of clocks.

After a moment, he opened his mouth again.

“I couldn’t ask you earlier because you blamed me.”

“Is there anything you can’t ask…?”

“Of course, you are the only one who cuts me off.”

At Viktor’s teasing words, Scarlett’s tension lowered somewhat.

“Is my father involved?”

As Scarlett looked up, wincing at his words, Viktor spoke further.

“The Melin Abbey is five hours from Dumfelt. My father personally sent you to such a sadistic fake place, and you must not have been aware of the situation.”

“You...” Scarlett uttered as her hand trembled.

But Viktor interrupted her. “Did I even send you to the monastery to die?”

“You knew your father hated me.”

“Therefore, is this all my fault?”

“Yeah. It’s your fault. It’s all because of you.”

As much as Scarlett blamed him coldly, it was unavoidable. She was obligated to keep her confidentiality memorandum.

Viktor looked down at Scarlet in silence, then he turned away and opened the door.

Suddenly, Scarlett followed after him. Pallin, who stood outside, asked, “Captain, what about the person of interest?”

“He should be executed. He committed murder and fled.”

At the word ‘executed’, Priest Delphio struggled in despair.