When I Asked My Husband for a Divorce, He Said He’d Be Bringing Home a Young Woman, So I Left - 4
When our household was suddenly entrusted by His Majesty with the care of Ecklund territory—his exact words being “Can’t you do something about it~?”—I was thirteen, and Ixel was twenty-three.
What, is mimicking His Majesty disrespectful? I swear I’m not exaggerating a bit.
I don’t know what’s so endearing about His Majesty, but whenever he makes a request, Father uses his vast wealth and connections to make it happen. You could say they’re as close as real brothers, but seeing two grown men (bastards) being that intimate makes me, as a daughter, feel complicated.
Even under Father’s orders, my marriage was set for when I turned eighteen. Even if not forbidden, nobles rarely marry before coming of age without exceptional reasons. Appearances are everything for aristocracy.
Ixel would have to wait until he was twenty-eight, but since we needed to rebuild the territory and repay debts, he accepted the arrangement as casually as if it were someone else’s problem, saying five years would be perfect.
When we first met, Ixel seemed carefree, but I think he was probably deeply disillusioned with life and everything else.
Though I could only guess at Ixel’s feelings, I vowed to myself that since we’d been entrusted with this task, I would thoroughly restore Ecklund economy.
Immediately, I spun off a division from our family’s trading company to operate independently, establishing its headquarters in Ecklund territory. This way, the taxes my company paid would go to Ecklund coffers.
Not only that, I dispatched our family’s capable civil officials to the viscountcy to create a roadmap for debt repayment.
Cutting expenses is one thing, but you can’t—and shouldn’t—reduce spending on lives and livelihoods. If current tax revenues are insufficient, the quickest solution is to attract organizations with the capacity to pay taxes to the territory. A trading company’s arrival wouldn’t just boost tax income—the movement of goods and people would also stimulate the economy.
When it comes to business, Father leaves no stone unturned.
Right after our engagement, I moved into Ecklund Viscount’s residence.
Around age thirteen, noble children typically attend academy, but since it wasn’t mandatory, I studied under tutors and devoted the rest of my time to building an economic foundation.
During this period, I interacted frequently with Ixel, though looking back, we mostly met in our official capacities as lord and company operator.
Still, perhaps hardship shapes character—the trust that accumulated for Ixel, who was gentle and sincere yet remarkably shrewd, was undoubtedly affection. It wasn’t the feverish romance you read about in books, but Ixel gradually seeped into my heart until I felt lonely on days we couldn’t meet.
Ixel also cherished me deeply for my efforts on behalf of the territory.
At fifteen, we held hands for the first time.
Not through escort gloves, but fingers interlaced, stroked, making me acutely aware of my burning cheeks.
At sixteen, we shared our first kiss, and afterward, every moment alone became sweet.
Then, on my eighteenth birthday, we held our wedding and spent an incomparably blissful night. The very next day…
Ixel—my husband—received Duel’s divine revelation.
His heart was no longer here. With minimal preparation, he departed for the frontlines.
I saw him off with strange detachment, spending days in the now-empty mansion with a muffled sensation, as if submerged underwater.
Had our wedding night borne fruit, my life might have taken a different path.
Some time after his departure, my monthly courses came. I wasn’t pregnant.
Clutching my dull, aching abdomen, my consciousness finally faced reality.
My husband had become Duel and was no longer here.
Territory management wouldn’t wait.
Company decisions were piling up.
There was no child. Until the day my husband ceased being Duel, I could expect no heir. My duty to produce a successor was temporarily suspended.
No one knew when he’d return.
However, Duel’s service lasts at most a few years—never a lifetime.
If my husband protected the nation, then I would protect this land.
Steeling myself, I began to move.
Truthfully, I was terrified.
Though raised under my family’s policies to experience various trade operations early, and now owning my own company, I was still just an eighteen-year-old girl fresh into adulthood, propped up by competent surroundings.
I thought I could stand on trembling knees if my husband was with me, but now I had to stand alone.
The suddenness of it all made me want to flee in fear.
Only my love for him kept me holding on.
From then on, I threw myself into relentless work.
My husband returned once yearly, timing his leave with my birthday. Since there were multiple Duels, they took turns receiving extended vacations.
Though we never conceived, our nights together as husband and wife were deeply happy.
My husband said he intended to retire as Duel in about five years. If his vessel failed before then, he’d return sooner.
I felt an unexpected lightness in my shoulders. Seeing a concrete end to this life without him made me feel light had finally pierced the future.
Though it proved to be but a fleeting light.