My Husband Picked Up a Woman - Chapter 21

Briseis was flustered. Her body instinctively tensed up, but she was even more confused by the sensation of his lips on the top of her foot, grazing and lightly nipping at the skin.

His body heat seeped through her stockings, melting into her skin. She could feel the slight roughness of his lips combined with the surprising softness of his flesh.

“If you desire the throne, the throne is yours, Brie.”

His lips brushed against her foot every time he spoke. Seeing his eyes shining like a red predator’s beneath her, his face curved into a smile, her entire body went rigid with tension. When she came to her senses and tried to pull her leg away, he held on, trailing kisses up toward her knee.

“You have quite the endurance,” she remarked.

She found it almost laughable how he was pretending to be fine despite the obvious physical strain. The faint, rhythmic creaking of his chastity belt made her feel a strange flicker of pity for him. His face was flushed crimson, the veins in his neck were prominent, and his breathing was heavy.

“It always hurts when I look at you.”

“You deserve to be in pain for wearing that all the way to a battlefield,” she said coldly, turning away.

Warmth still lingered on the skin where his mouth had been. Briseis was human, after all; she couldn’t help but feel the ghost of his touch. It was ticklish, yet it kept her on high alert.

“Let me bite you.”

“Are you a dog? Why would you want to bite?”

“Should I be a cat instead?”

Expecting him to start meowing again, she sighed and spoke. “If you bite, I’ll kick you.”

“I’d like that even better.”

“Sit properly. Don’t sit on the floor like a commoner.”

“Okay.”

At her word, he sat on the sofa, trying his best to look composed. However, he remained hunched over, seemingly still in discomfort from the physical weight of his attraction. He pressed a hand against his lower abdomen as if he had a stomach ache and leaned slightly against Briseis’s shoulder.

She considered pushing him away, but strangely, the warmth still lingering on her ankle made it impossible to reject him.

“Brie, you smell like peach blossoms.”

Pretending not to hear his strained voice, she crossed her legs and returned to her magazine. Quite a bit of time passed, but he still didn’t seem to be recovering.

“When will you be alright?”

“I’m never alright when I’m with you.”

“Take the key later.”

“Is it still in the drawer next to the bed?”

“Yes.”

“The first drawer?”

“No, the second.”

“Why the second? It was the first yesterday.”

Calisten suddenly snapped back to his full senses and looked at her. He was still smiling, but his eyes were sharp. Briseis gave a short snort.

“I was going to throw it away, but I changed my mind.”

“So you thought about it at least once before bed. That makes me happy.”

He brightened up again and reached for her arm.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

A staff member appeared followed by someone serving tea. One set the table while the other handed Briseis a paper and a fountain pen.

“Please describe the following details in depth.”

Briseis looked at the paper. It contained clauses regarding their married life.

“Describing them as detailed as possible will assist the consultation.”

“When is Jeronis coming?” Calisten asked.

“The Managing Partner will be here shortly. Knowing Your Highness is here, he is currently concluding his ongoing consultation early.”

The attendant bowed and left with the other staff member. Briseis began writing her answers.

“Do I have to write about our intimate life, too?”

“Don’t look.”

“I’m on your side. Wouldn’t it be better if I knew the details?”

She frowned at his words but chose to ignore him.

“I knew it. You still haven’t had your wedding night, have you?”

“…”

“Ahahaha!”

He laughed happily as he watched Briseis mark an ‘X’ on the question about how often they kissed.

“I haven’t had a kiss yet either. My first kiss.”

When Calisten continued to pester her, Briseis let out a long sigh. “Move over.”

“I’m not even touching you.”

He kept a careful distance, worried she might tell him to leave the room entirely, as he watched her finish the form.

“So you’re really keeping this a secret from the House of Philia?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll probably remarry once you’re divorced anyway, won’t you?”

She couldn’t answer, realizing again how easily he saw through her thoughts. She was preparing for a divorce, but she also had to scout for a suitable marriage candidate. The House of Philia would never leave a divorced Briseis alone—especially one whose marriage was never consummated. Perhaps they would even hand her over to Calisten if he became Emperor.

She didn’t want to be an Empress. Being an Empress meant worrying about whether the Emperor would take a secondary wife or which woman he had held that night. She would have to share her bedchamber secrets and bear children as a matter of duty. She hated the idea of a loveless marriage, but she hated the idea of bearing a child she couldn’t love even more.

Her goal wasn’t to marry a brilliant man like before. She needed someone who would listen to her and agree to a divorce when the time was right. She was sick of men. She missed the days when she lived freely, doing as she pleased.

“What about me? Am I not the perfect candidate for a second husband?”

“What Emperor marries a woman with a divorce record?”

“Me. And my father did the same.”

The current Empress had originally been the wife of a lowly Baron. She caught the Emperor’s eye, divorced, and became a consort. Later, driven by the greed to make her son Emperor, she caused the death of Calisten’s mother and took her place. Briseis knew all of this because it was in the original story; the late Empress’s death was merely recorded as an illness.

“You know, when I get married, I’m going to do it four times a day.”

“You’ll die of exhaustion, then.”

“I’m talking about kissing.”

Briseis glared at him with a frown.

“Hahaha! I’m joking. How could I stop at just four kisses?”

She sighed and finished the paperwork.

“If four is too many, how about three?”

“…”

“Two. I won’t go lower than that. But I’ll have to kiss you at least twenty times instead.”

“Fine, do as you like. I pity your future wife, though.”

“It’s cute that you pity yourself.”

He sat closer again until their arms touched.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

This time, Jeronis Abane entered.

“I greet the Little Sun of the Empire. And it is an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”

“I look forward to your help,” Briseis said.

Jeronis shook her hand firmly. “Does the Grand Duke know you are here?”

“He doesn’t. And it’s just as I wrote in the letter. The Duke broke the marriage vow, and Brie must get a divorce.”

Jeronis nodded, recalling the letter he had received from Calisten. He scanned the documents Briseis had filled out.

“You’ve been married for over a year, yet the wedding night hasn’t happened.”

“The Duke of Mayze went to the battlefield immediately after the wedding,” Calisten answered.

“And why has it not happened since his return?”

Calisten tried to speak, but Briseis beat him to it. “He brought a mistress home the day he returned. And I saw him kissing her.”

“Are there any other witnesses?”

“No.”

“Then do you have any evidence to prove that woman is a mistress?”

Briseis shook her head; this was the very part she had been struggling with.

“Isn’t it enough that I saw it?” Calisten asked.

“Unfortunately, Your Highness’s testimony carries little weight. Given you grew up together, it is difficult to view you as a disinterested witness.”

“So it’s better to have a third party with no personal ties for the evidence to be effective?” Briseis asked.

“Exactly.” Jeronis nodded, confirming what Briseis had already researched.

“Why is divorce so complicated? My father just demanded it and that was that,” Calisten grumbled. He knew his father had practically seized the current Empress as his consort.

“The Emperor is an exception. Even then, the paperwork was the same as it is now.” Jeronis, who had been the Minister of Justice at the time, shook his head as if the memory were exhausting. “Back then, Baron Oberon was cooperative. Seeing as you came here without the Duke’s knowledge, I assume you expect him to oppose the divorce?”

“Yes.”

“Then we must go to trial.”

“I know.”

A mutual divorce was easy, but a contested one was not.

“What are the chances of a settlement?”

“He might agree if I give up all my assets,” Briseis replied.

“Then we must litigate.”

“Yes.”

Jeronis sighed as he recorded the conversation. “The key is proving the other party is responsible. Until then, notify him of your intent to divorce, but continue living in the same house.”

“I’m doing that.”

“You may even pretend that you still have lingering feelings. That makes it much easier to gather evidence.”

“Does that really work?”

“Yes, very much so.”

Briseis had loathed herself every time she showed signs of lingering attachment. It felt strange to know she could actually use that to her advantage.

“Does that ever lead to them falling in love again?” Calisten asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, it does happen.”

At Jeronis’s blunt answer, Calisten stared at him, his eyes wide with that manic glint.

“What?”