Reconsidering Remarriage
“So.”
“...If these assets cannot be inherited by Your Grace—”
“Then the collateral relatives might run wild. Is that it?”
Sir Hanson nodded.
He, like Riena, was among those who could not make sense of the late Duke’s will. Had it been before the divorce, perhaps—but an inheritance of this sort, after the two had already become strangers to each other, was an exceedingly rare case.
I knew he cherished the young lady, Hanson thought. But to hitch it to remarriage? I never imagined he would lock the estate up this tightly.
No wonder, at the succession ceremony, the late Duke had delegated every other authority to Herman yet dragged his feet on the property inventory, insisting it would be conveyed later. If he had been planning this from that moment onward...
It all fits together.
Hanson quietly exhaled. He had always known the man was extraordinary in life—but was there any need to make his presence felt like this right to the end?
The one mercy was that neither party wanted this marriage. Had Riena Arroline pressed hard for remarriage, the situation would have grown far more tangled. The Arroline name still carried some weight once, but now it was little more than a hollow title; the gulf between that house and a ducal family was almost embarrassing to compare.
The retainers waiting beyond the door were surely thinking the same. This was marriage to a duke, after all. At minimum one needed matching status and background—or at least some commensurate advantage—for it to make any sense.
“I believe it would be best to request mediation from His Majesty the King.”
At present, the only way to reverse this situation was royal mediation. The simplest path would be to remarry the Arroline young lady, but while that might weather the immediate crisis, it would prove unwise in the long run. If another option existed, choosing it was the soundest judgment for now.
Hanson firmly believed his master would make the correct choice.
And yet—
“We will discuss this matter again later.”
“...Y-Your Grace?”
We ought to be storming the palace for an audience this very moment!
Hanson blinked blankly.
“It concerns the family’s fortune, after all. I ought to give it some deep thought myself.”
“B-but now that this will has come to light, the surrounding noise will be considerable.”
The nobility will not sit quietly!
“Ah. Then we can make use of that.”
“...Pardon?”
“Pass the detailed inventory of assets to my aide. I’ll receive the related reports at leisure. For now, let’s set this aside and speak of it again later.”
“Your Grace! Y-Your Grace!”
Herman rose from his seat, uttering only cryptic remarks. Before Hanson could even think to stop him, he swept out of the drawing room.
Bang!
“...Hah.”
Left abruptly alone, Sir Hanson let out a hollow breath.
“It’s already evening.”
Perhaps because the morning had been so eventful—when Riena came back to herself, the sky was already steeped in sunset light. Resting in her room, she let out a heavy sigh.
I just want to go home...
While the Duke conferred with his lawyer, Riena had been surrounded by Bertis retainers and subjected to every manner of interrogation. How had this come about? Had she known the contents of the will beforehand? Just what had her relationship with the late Duke been?—questions of that sort.
Well, I’m just as stunned.
How much worse must it be for them?
Remarriage.
Absolutely, absolutely not.
Endure that hellish social season all over again? Riena shuddered. She would rather die.
“Are you cold?”
“No, I just got the chills—ah!”
Startled, Riena spun around. When had he arrived without so much as a sound? Suddenly self-conscious, she glanced sidelong at the man who had drawn near.
“Did your talk with Sir Hanson go well?”
“To a degree.”
“Then you’ll be going to see His Majesty the King—”
“No.”
Herman’s answer was firm.
“I’ve decided to reconsider the matter.”
“What?”
Again? The word slipped out of her unbidden.
“So you’re not going to the palace at once?”
“That’s right.”
“Why?”
“Shouldn’t one first reach an understanding with the party concerned?”
An understanding?! Her eyes flew wide.
“I’ve already told you I will not remarry.”
From the funeral until this very moment, that stance had not wavered.
“In that case, I ask that you reconsider on this occasion.”
“Your Grace!”
“The day is growing dark. It would be better if you returned tomorrow.”
Uncharacteristically deflecting, Herman lifted his chin.
“The sun will set soon.”
“I could take a carriage—”
“The coachmen are all resting at present.”
...Haa.
Riena swallowed a deep sigh.
He’s telling me to stay at the manor, isn’t he.
Why was he acting like this? He had always been a man who kept public and private strictly separate—one who barred arrivals with iron resolve yet released those who wished to leave without a shred of lingering attachment. And for a full year after the divorce, he had not so much as contacted her.
I thought he’d refuse outright...
Then as now, he was a man she could never quite understand.
“It’s been a while. Dine with me this evening.”
“I’m fine without eating—”
“I thought we might discuss the inheritance over the meal—”
“I-I’ll eat!”
This underhanded man!
The reflexive answer left her biting her lip. That cunning man knew exactly which parts of her would react.
Herman von Bertis.
From the moment of his birth, he had been a man who held the world in his hands. The honor and wealth of the Bertis name had always stood solidly behind him, and Herman himself, with his exceptional intellect, drew the finest results from every venture he touched. Add to that a striking appearance and mastery of both sport and music, and of course he ranked foremost among eligible bridegrooms in high society.
And yet—
“I’ll skip the preamble and get straight to the point. I’m rather short on time myself, you see.”
“...”
“So let’s book the wedding hall first!”
“...What?”
“Ah—no, that came out wrong. I’m sorry. This is my first proposal as well... Let me try again. Will you be my husband...?”
Into the dull, predictable flow of his days, a woman had forced her way and shattered that quiet life in a single stroke.
“Does the young lady understand what she is proposing?”
“Ah, yes! I’m proposing to Your Grace.”
...What was that woman?
Bold and peculiar—that had been his first impression of Riena Arroline. Plenty of houses and women had asked him for marriage, but never had he encountered a matchmaking so brazen.
Most nobles respected the Bertis name even as they found it intimidating, and they feared its head, Herman, all the more. But not this woman. And her brazenness was no ordinary sort; it came backed by sound reasons and a tangible price for the bargain.
Of course, even without the conditions she put forward, it would not have mattered. They were things worth having regardless. Marriage pressure had been mounting around that time as well. Riena Arroline, appearing then, had been—yes—a rather decent bride by the measures of house and political standing.
Moreover...
...Interesting.
Watching her might prove entertaining. Anyone bold enough to make him such a proposal would surely survive among those snake-like retainers unscathed.
Herman found himself intrigued by the woman who had upended his routine overnight.
“Let’s be sure to respect each other’s private lives. I have no interest in Your Grace whatsoever... Ah, that doesn’t mean I’ll neglect the household. I simply mean we should honor each other’s separate lives!”
In the end, the marriage to Riena Arroline had been a success. She harbored no greed for position, no hunger for wealth. She never used the marriage as an excuse to pester him. She had carved out a solid place for herself in society, and she managed the ducal household’s inner affairs with flawless excellence.
And just as she was gradually seeping into his life—
On the day of their first anniversary.
“Your Grace!”
Looking at the divorce papers his wife held out, he realized.
“Let’s divorce now, the two of us!”
That perhaps from their first meeting until now—and from then on as well—he could not do without this woman.
“Your Grace? What’s the matter?”
An unforeseen variable.
“...So.”
Tristan pressed hard at his temples and asked,
“Are you seriously thinking of remarrying her?”