Chapter 16: 16
The man sitting across from her looked more exhausted than she had ever seen him before.
Even seeing Cyrus worn down because of Daisy, Dorothy felt no urge to do anything for him.
Though they had been husband and wife, she thought herself cold, but since they had never built that kind of relationship, it could not be helped.
She decided to think of it as Cyrus finally paying the price for spoiling Daisy.
When she glanced toward the wall, she saw Noah leaning against it, silently watching how things unfolded.
When Noah met Dorothy’s eyes, he smiled gently and gave a small nod.
“…Cyrus-sama, is it alright to begin our discussion?”
“Ah, sorry, Dorothy.”
“No, His Majesty instructed us to do this as soon as possible.”
“I know. Um, how much have you told him?”
“I told him about my circumstances in the household, and that our marriage was unconsummated.”
“However, even without me saying anything, Noah-sama already knew.”
“…I see…”
As expected of the man rumored to be the most outstanding among the younger generation, he seemed to know even things Cyrus did not.
But that was also because Cyrus himself had chosen not to know.
Cyrus felt the urge to scold his past self.
Back in his student days, he had laughed at those who blindly believed whatever others said, yet he himself had only believed his sister and his friends.
Even among the servants, he had continued to trust only the words of those who were swayed by Daisy.
If he had investigated even a little, no, if he had interacted with Dorothy even slightly as a husband, he would have immediately understood who was right.
The one who neglected his duty was himself.
As a result, becoming a husband abandoned by his wife was nothing but his own doing.
“Cyrus-sama, why did you come to dislike me?”
That had been her question ever since the beginning of their marriage.
Dorothy had never once argued with Cyrus, nor had they ever exchanged harsh words.
Yet she had no idea why he disliked her.
“…At home, Daisy said you were selfish and greedy.”
“She said she was always paying for your expensive purchases.”
“That is—”
“I know!”
“Those weren’t your purchases.”
“I investigated everything, and they were all Daisy’s.”
“Not just Daisy, my friends also told me there were terrible rumors about you.”
“They said they felt sorry for me for marrying such a woman.”
“They claimed they wanted their friend to be happy, and that’s why they told me those things.”
“I investigated that too, and most of it was lies.”
“As expected.”
“I’m not someone who stands out enough to attract such rumors.”
“No, it’s the opposite.”
“You were actually known as modest and someone people wanted to protect.”
“When I confronted them about deliberately feeding me false rumors, they grinned and said they thought a modest woman didn’t suit me.”
“…If you’ll excuse me, Cyrus-sama, I don’t believe your friends truly wished for your happiness.”
“Rather, weren’t they enjoying watching you believe their words and push your wife away?”
“They sound like the sort of people who claim it’s for a friend’s happiness, yet would casually destroy someone’s household for their own petty amusement.”
At Dorothy’s words about their petty amusement, Cyrus felt the vague discomfort he had always sensed toward his friends surge to the surface.
That was right.
They were people who thought fun was all that mattered.
They never thought ahead, acted only on momentary emotions, and caused a ruckus together.
Whether they lied or not did not matter as long as they were entertained.
They did not care if someone got hurt.
That was the kind of people they were.
And he himself had been one of them.
…As adults, they could no longer behave like they did as students, so they chose a new target among their friends.
Just to have another amusing story together.
That target had happened to be Cyrus, the first among them to marry.
The reason for the lies had surely been that trivial.
“My happiness meant nothing to them…”
“It can only be said that you prioritized your friends’ happiness over your own.”
“Seeing you believe their words and distance yourself from your wife must have satisfied them.”
Though Cyrus had trusted his friends, Dorothy could only think that way.
“And I, too, believed that simply marrying you as my family told me would make me happy.”
“But reality was different.”
“I didn’t know what to do, and only recently have I begun to think, just a little, about what my own happiness is.”
“A happiness decided by others isn’t enough, is it?”
“If you don’t feel happy yourself, then no matter how it looks to others, it isn’t happiness.”
“…Yes, that’s true…”
Cyrus had been burdened with the happiness imposed by his friends and sister, and Dorothy by her family, and both had accepted it.
“By working at the Imperial Palace, I was finally able to tell you this in my own words, Cyrus-sama.”
“I want to search for my happiness, not for anyone else, but for myself.”
Even if that meant stepping into the background to support someone, she felt that was fine.
What mattered was how she herself felt.
And seeing Eugene and Aurelia cherish each other every day, Dorothy wished she could be like that too, if possible.
She understood well that it was something she could never have with Cyrus.
“…Dorothy, our divorce is unquestionably my responsibility.”
“I will say so no matter who asks.”
“You may say the same.”
“That is my atonement.”
It had been an unconsummated marriage, and they had not even been married for two years.
He could not offer an enormous compensation.
So at the very least, this was all he could do for Dorothy, to make the responsibility clear.
“Is that acceptable to you, Cyrus-sama?”
“Yes.”
“I will sever ties with my friends.”
“I can no longer associate with them.”
After becoming an adult, he had already drifted away from everyone except those problematic friends, so he had no other friends left.
Even so, it was better than remaining with such people.
“…Count Miller, may I say one thing?”
Noah, who had been listening in silence, spoke to Cyrus.
“Those individuals all have poor evaluations from their respective departments.”
“They are scheduled to be transferred soon to nominal departments with no real work.”
Naturally, Noah had thoroughly investigated the sort of people Cyrus associated with.
Most of them were second or third sons of lower-ranking nobles, employed at the palace but poorly regarded for their work.
Taking this opportunity, the plan was to place them all together in one department and dismiss them all at once for collective responsibility should they cause even a trivial scandal.
Eugene had laughed and said that was merciful of him to stop at that.
But if they acted too conspicuously, unnecessary rumors might spread.
And if second and third sons of lower nobles were dismissed from palace service, they would not be able to return home proudly.
Their families would have no use for such useless men and would find them troublesome.
At worst, it could even affect the survival of the household.
After that, whether they quietly died of illness or were confined to their estates was up to each family.
Those who had allowed such people to exist could deal with the consequences themselves.
“I see.”
Cyrus, too, served at the Imperial Palace.
He understood exactly what that meant.
But he no longer cared.
He would part ways with his friends, his sister would be barred from entering the palace, and his wife would divorce him under his responsibility, their marriage having remained unconsummated.
If he could wish for anything, he wanted to return to the day he married Dorothy.
He wanted to talk with her, nervous as she had been, about their happy future together.
“…It’s too late now…”
Because he understood it was a wish that would never come true, that dream lingered endlessly in Cyrus’s heart.