My Husband Picked Up a Woman - Chapter 14

“What?”

“In my marriage contract with Damian, the very first clause was a promise not to keep a mistress.”

Briseis spoke dryly as she stepped inside the house. She looked at her mother-in-law, who was half a head shorter than her, and continued.

“Damian is the one who broke that clause.”

“Ha! Do you even know how divorced women live? They all have to shave their heads and live in the widow’s village!”

“That custom has long been abolished, Mother.”

Though it was only recently rescinded, widows or divorced commoners originally had to shave their hair and retreat into the mountains. Otherwise, they were forced into the widow’s village to live out a miserable existence. However, such things no longer happened. Even the Emperor was free to remarry and kept mistresses.

“Ha! You think you’ll be any different? Our Demi married a thing like you only because his standards briefly slipped. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t have even caught his eye!”

“I should be the one saying that. I must have been out of my mind to marry Damian.”

Briseis’s voice trembled with misery even as she spoke. Before their marriage, there had been no man as perfect as Damian. He was a kind person who prioritized and understood her in every way. She had never imagined, even in her dreams, that he would meet another woman. He had been truly perfect.

In fact, back when Delilah hadn’t yet appeared, she felt she understood why he was the male lead—why a Grand Duke like him, rather than a Crown Prince like Calisten, would be chosen by the heroine. She had thought it only natural.

“I love Brie because she is wise.”

He had been a man who respected her. But Damian had returned from the war a changed man. It was Briseis who had loved him enough to persuade her family to clear his debts, using her own dowry to save the Grand Duchy.

“Have you said quite enough?”

“Do you think I’m done? I have plenty more to say.”

Slap!

In that moment, the Dowager Grand Duchess struck Briseis across the cheek. Perhaps because her body was already covered in bruises, Briseis had less strength than usual.

Slap! Thud!

Barely enduring the first blow, Briseis collapsed to the floor under the subsequent strikes.

“How dare you speak such words to your mother-in-law!”

Slap!

“Stop it!”

Startled by the noise, Ella rushed in and threw herself over Briseis to protect her. In the process, Ella took a blow to the face instead.

“Get out of the way! You dare, a mere maid!”

At that, Briseis snapped back to her senses and stood up.

Slap!

“You crazy bitch!”

Briseis struck the Dowager’s cheek and glared at her.

“The crazy one is you, Mother. How dare you lay a hand on anyone?”

“This girl… even so!”

In an instant, Briseis’s red hair was caught in the older woman’s aggressive grip, and she was shaken back and forth.

“Don’t do this! Let go! I told you not to do this to my lady!”

Ella cried out, trying to pull the older woman away.

“Ah!”

But the Dowager shook Briseis so violently that when she pushed her away, both Briseis and Ella tumbled to the floor together. Ella held Briseis tightly, bracing herself so the Dowager couldn’t hit her again. The older woman, huffing, raised her hand once more.

“You dare lay a hand on my face?”

“Then should I use my foot?”

The voice came from the doorway.

“The… The Crown Prince!”

“What exactly am I witnessing right now?”

“Your Highness! This… my daughter-in-law was being disrespectful to me…!”

“So if someone is disrespectful, it’s alright to raise a hand?”

Calisten was smiling. But Briseis knew he wasn’t actually happy.

“Then how should I repay the disrespect of looking me straight in the face? Should I gouge out your eyes? Cut off your arms? Who told you that you could look royalty in the eye like that?”

“I… I beg your forgiveness!”

The Dowager Grand Duchess quickly bowed her head. Calisten clenched his fists.

“Get out of my sight this instant. If you don’t, I’ll snap your neck.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The Dowager had more to say, but sensing the danger, she fled from the room.

“Sniff… Your Highness…”

Ella called out to Calisten, her voice trembling. She still hadn’t let go of Briseis, as if she couldn’t yet feel safe.

“You should have called me sooner. I almost made it all the way back to the palace.”

Calisten had turned around mid-journey after receiving an urgent report from his aide.

“I… I called you as fast as I could! I sent the letter to the palace as soon as I heard you were coming today!”

Hearing their conversation, Briseis realized Calisten’s arrival was thanks to Ella.

“Move for a second. Let me check her condition.”

Ella slowly released Briseis. Briseis felt a wave of shame wash over her.

‘You’ll regret it if you get married, Brie.’

‘I won’t.’

‘The Duke doesn’t love you. He just needs the House of Philia’s money.’

‘Even so, I trust Damian.’

The memories of her bold, shameless assurances to Calisten before the wedding came flooding back. Her swollen cheeks stung, but her heart felt colder due to the humiliation.

“What should I do? I’m so angry.”

Seeing Briseis’s swollen cheeks, Calisten was trembling, smiling like someone consumed by genuine rage.

“It’s not your business anyway.”

“You’re remarkably cool-headed even in this situation. I can’t say the same.”

Even as she said that, Briseis gripped Calisten’s sleeve tightly.

“It’s strange. I don’t think I would be this angry if someone had hit me instead.”

“Don’t lie. You would have been angry no matter who got hit.”

Briseis struggled to speak as she tried to calm down. She was still embarrassed, but she couldn’t let go of his hand.

“Sniff… Waaaaah!”

As if knowing she was only pretending to be fine, Ella began to wail.

“I’m not fine! Our Lady was hit…!”

Ella was supposed to call her “Your Grace,” but having followed her since they were children, she reverted to the old title in her emotional state.

“Whew.”

Calisten took a small breath and helped Briseis up.

“Let’s go to your room. Can I carry you?”

“I’ll walk.”

“Please, carry our Lady!” Ella shouted, holding her breath to stop her hiccups.

“Right, that would be best.”

“No! I’m not five years old… Ah!”

Before Briseis could resist, Calisten slung her over his shoulder and started moving.

“Is the room on the third floor?”

“Yes!”

“Put me down! What are you doing?”

“Transporting a patient.”

As Briseis flailed, Calisten tightened his grip and headed toward her room. He carried her as if she weighed nothing. Once inside, he scanned the room familiarly and brought out a first-aid kit.

“Ella, go put some ice in a cloth.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

And so, only the two of them remained in the room.

“I am married. It isn’t good for you to be alone in a room with a married woman. Think of the rumors… Ow!”

Calisten pressed a finger against Briseis’s cheek as if to silence her.

“Is your ear okay? No ringing?”

“…Yeah.”

Only then did his expression soften slightly. His eyes were so red that even the rims looked bloodshot; it was an expression she had never seen before.

“Why did you just stand there and take it?”

“I didn’t just take it. I fought back, but I was physically outmatched.”

Briseis spoke honestly. The Dowager was certainly well-built—shorter than Brie, but much broader.

“I heard you wrote to Jeronis’s law office.”

“How do you know that?”

“There is nothing about you I don’t know.”

Briseis suddenly regained her focus. The conqueror before her—the man who currently pretended to be a herbivore but would turn cold the moment he got what he wanted—was not someone she could truly lean on.

“You’re trying to get a divorce, aren’t you?”

She didn’t answer and looked down.

“If you want a divorce, I’ll help.”

“You didn’t say anything stupid to Brother Mikhail, did you?”

“I didn’t.”

Briseis reminded herself that there was no one on her side in the House of Philia. And those people absolutely adored Calisten. If Calisten ever decided he wanted to be Emperor, they would drop their neutral act and become his fiercest supporters.

“My brothers won’t help me if they find out. It benefits them—and you—for me to remain at the Grand Duchy…”

“I don’t need the Duke’s help. It’s hard enough for me not to massacre the whole Grand Ducal house before I even become Emperor.”

He growled lowly, looking her straight in the eye. But Briseis knew well that his sorrow wasn’t because he was her childhood friend; it was because something he wanted had been damaged by someone else. Calisten was that kind of person.

‘Why did you break all my toys?’

‘So, you’d play with me.’

The childhood conversation flashed through her mind. She thought desperately to regain her rationality.

“Just treat the injuries,” she said, regaining her composure.

He sighed and looked at her. “There are probably teeth marks inside your cheek.”

Briseis suddenly realized she could taste blood.

“Eh?”

He pressed his fingers against her jaw, trying to pull her mouth open to see inside.

“Open wider. I need to see how much it’s swollen.”