The surrounding people started to murmur at the outstanding acting. Lucas, who had been suppressing a smile of satisfaction, furrowed his eyebrows the next moment.
"Diagnosis and delusion."
It was because he noticed that Ariana's calm face had not even a trace of incontinence.
"Is this the counterattack you were thinking of, Marquis?"
Ariana, who had been smiling the whole time, let out a small laugh. Lucas felt his composure waver at that innocent smile. Lucas gritted his teeth and opened his mouth.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Ariana said with a big smile.
"It's much worse than I thought."
"What... What did you say?"
Lucas muttered, furrowing his brow.
"You were so confident, I thought you had come up with some kind of clever plan."
Ariana tilted her head slightly and made a thoughtful expression.
"You looked very confident for something so bad... Oh, right. Did you forge my mental health diagnosis?"
"... Ha."
Lucas, who was taken aback, let out a reflexive laugh.
"Forged? That's what you want to claim. It's a diagnosis I received directly from your family doctor."
"The doctor who is suffering from chronic gambling debts."
Lucas' eyes widened at the cold retort.
"He's the kind of guy who would easily sell his reputation as a doctor for a few bucks. How much did you give him? A hundred thousand cardinas? Three hundred thousand cardinas? More than that would have been difficult."
A blatant mocking smile formed on Ariana's lips.
"Your Grace, your finances aren't all that great. You invested all your remaining assets in the Lopez House."
"... How dare you, you arrogant brat!"
Lucas, unable to hold back the insult, raised his hand. But at the same time, he felt the gazes pouring down from those around him.
'Damn it, there are too many people...!'
Until the story of the hypochondria was brought up, Lucas thought the momentum had shifted to his side. However, as Ariana continued to calmly refute, doubts began to creep into people's eyes.
'Did he really bribe the doctor?'
'To fabricate a mental illness to drive his fiancée into hypochondria... Could it be that he did that?'
'Yes, there is the honor of the Marquis Pedegrin family.'
'But look at that lady's eyes. They're not the eyes of a madman, are they?'
Lucas clenched his teeth, feeling that the atmosphere was turning against him. However, nothing was certain yet. Isn't Ariana's bribery of the doctor just a guess?
Lucas glared at Ariana with wide eyes.
"Even if you deny the illness... You indeed had an inappropriate relationship with the Duke. You can't deny it, since you ran out of the wedding hall holding hands with the Duke."
However, the smile on Ariana's lips only grew darker.
"Elena hasn't told you yet."
"... What?"
"Well, she must have been out of her mind. She seemed pretty desperate the last time I saw her."
"You made her do it!"
Lucas shouted
"You framed that poor girl with that dirty accusation of having sex with her sister's husband! It turns out that you were the one who took the entire orchestra away and ruined the stage."
Lucas snarled, glaring at the members who were still on stage. Ariana said with a light laugh.
"Elena's despair wasn't because the orchestra ran away. You don't know her yet. She's not weak enough to fall apart like that."
"What nonsense are you going to talk about again-?"
"I'll show the Marquis what I showed Elena."
Ariana took something out of her bosom and threw it at Lucas' chest. Lucas' eyes widened as he confirmed the identity of the 'something' that had hit his chest.
"This is...?"
A photo of himself embracing Elena and kissing her. Lucas slowly opened his mouth at the photo that was so explicit that there was no room for excuses. The confusion that had hit Elena an hour ago hit Lucas in the same way.
"Why is this... Since when have you..."
Ariana softly recited while facing Lucas, who was mumbling in a bewildered voice.
"If an act that constitutes a cause for the breakdown of a marriage occurs, the victim is given the right to request a unilateral divorce. Any subsequent acts will not be held responsible for the breakdown of the marriage."
It was a law that had been forgotten. In the Empire, women who divorced had no way to make a living.
Therefore, even if the wife experienced a cause for the breakdown of the marriage, she did not request a divorce. Among the husbands who wanted to divorce, only a very small number of particularly vicious men used that law to falsely accuse their wives of infidelity and cheat on them at will.
"That is, the moment you slept with my sister... "
Ariana smiled broadly, having heard the old law.
"Whichever man I love, that means it's my freedom."
"... You."
Lucas slowly opened his trembling lips.
"You, you're such a scary woman."
Lucas shook his head in vain.
"You were such a scary woman that it was mind-boggling."
Ariana still didn't move, her smile still on. Lucas, possessed by evil, growled in a low voice.
"This is why I'm sick of you. You act all innocent and ignorant by yourself... When did you start planning this secretly?"
Lucas crumpled the photo and pointed at it.
"Your innocence was your only charm. Do you know that?"
"..."
"And even that was an illusion, ha. I have a really bad eye for women. Do you know that, Ariana?"
A cruel smile appeared on Lucas's lips.
"That Duke will soon get sick of you. You are a woman who is not worthy of love, who is terribly unattractive and boring. Did you spread your expensive legs to seduce him? Even so, that bastard will surely be- Keuk."
Lucas could not continue. A large hand grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.
"K, keuk, what the..."
Shh, Lucas' face flushed with shame as his body, which had been lifted up as if it had been pulled out, dangled in the air. Lucas opened his mouth as he looked back at the culprit of this outrageous act.
"Duke, Duke...!"
"Are you just going to let it go? It seems I've made a close friend without you knowing it."
"Duke, Duke-."
Dante tightened his grip on Lucas's collar, who was belatedly trying to give him a title.
"By the way, I tend to be rough with people I'm close to."
"Ugh!"
"While we're talking, let me give you some advice."
Dante grinned fiercely at his face, which was red from lack of oxygen.
"There's no man who gets more tired than a woman who hates him and leaves him."
"Ugh, ugh, let go of this right now..."
Lucas glared at him as he struggled to his feet.
'I'm the Marquis of Pedegreen!'
The head of a prestigious founding family. Even if the other party was a murderous Duke, he couldn't treat himself like an insect. However...
"So stop fooling around with my fiancee."
The moment the Duke glared at Lucas with his blood-red eyes, Lucas' limbs froze like stone. This man could cut off his head right here. His brain, overwhelmed by murder, poured out such irrational fear.
The Duke twisted his lips as he glanced at the stiff Lucas. His blood rushed back at the blatant laughter, but there was nothing Lucas could do while hanging in the air.
"Just get out of here."
As soon as he said that, Dante released his grip.
"Ugh, ugh!"
Lucas suddenly fell to the ground and coughed violently. Ariana watched him with cold, sunken eyes.
'What a sight. The man who spit and cursed at me was now swaying in front of a male larger than him...'
It was so disgusting that I didn't want to believe that I once respected that kind of person as my husband.
"Let's go, Ariana."
Dante grabbed my hand and immediately led me away. The ladies who were watching covered their mouths at the unstoppable skinship and escort.
'Oh my, oh my...'
'Look at the force... The current fiancee pinning his ex-fiance to the ground...'
Why are you watching a soap opera?
Reality is more fun. I looked back, feeling my skin sting from the gazes pouring in from all directions. I saw Lucas glaring at me with eyes stained with anger and shame. An expression filled with resentment, possessed by evil. It was the first time I had seen a face that was always filled with pride and arrogance as the head of the Marquis family stained with such an expression.
I swallowed a smile.
'Don't make that kind of expression with just this. Your downfall is only just beginning.'
As I followed Dante, a thin voice was heard.
"Ah, Miss Ariana."
It was Rosalind. Where was the happy expression on her face at the cheers of the audience?
Her face had become as miserable as a puppy that had been drenched in rain.
I smiled faintly. I knew that Rosalind had tried to get between me and Lucas several times. I gave a short greeting to Rosalind, who had a sad look on her face.
"I'll contact you today. Tell the members too."
"Yes, yes!"
Rosalind nodded quickly, and I continued walking, leaving behind the many gazes directed at me.
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