I Will Divorce the Female Lead's Siscon Brother - Chapter 2

* * *

 

When I first realized that I was possessing a character in a novel, I thought I was lucky.

A second chance when I thought I was going to die in a car accident.

What’s more, the novel I was possessed by was one of my favorite novels of all time, “Regressing and Walking on the Flower Path.”

It’s a story about an orphan, Liena, who dies after living a miserable life and is adopted by a Duke.

Later, she grows up with the love of her father and two brothers.

Her father is scary and reclusive, but he’s only kind to his daughter. Her two brothers are equally scary as their father, but become friendly whenever they see their sister.

Even the three men of the powerful Duke’s family, who make the world tremble, are just three gentle rabbits in front of the baby rabbit.

Watching them fuss over and soothe Liena was one of the great pleasures of the novel.

I, too, loved watching the three men do their silly things.

‘Only when I read it as a book…….’

So here’s the question!

What is my role in this world?

A villainess destined for her downfall? A supporting character doomed to die?

None of the above!

I am Ethel Wallace, Liena’s sister-in-law and the wife of her first brother, Leandro.

It was only after that possession that I realized the name of the owner of this body was Ethel, and that I had pale pink hair and jade-colored eyes.

Leandro’s wife was a supporting character, mentioned only occasionally in the story.

Leandro chose his wife purely for family gain. Like most nobles, he entered into an arranged marriage without love.

As a result, Ethel is rarely seen in scenes with the Cassius family, and when she does appear, it’s like a bean in a drought, she doesn’t get any attention at all.

This is in contrast to Leandro, who, even after his marriage, was often seen shamelessly coming to visit his sister.

But I was quite content with this underplayed role.

‘Because I am the wife of my favorite character!’

Little Duke Leandro Cassius.

Blonder hair than sunlight, blue eyes deeper than a lake.

He’s the perfect man, just like his father, the Duke, from his abilities to his looks.

Cold, serious, and calculating in all things, he only melts in the presence of Liena.

Although there is no love…….

Well, what can I say? I don’t have that many deep feelings for a fictional character.

It has long been my theory that a couple can make it work as long as there is trust and respect.

In addition, Ethel is also less likely to be involved in troublesome work due to her small number of appearances. She is also a member of the Cassius family who is guaranteed prosperity for generations.

I can’t think of a better vantage point from which to watch the novel unfold.

Not a bad life for a reader who falls into an unfamiliar world.

Let’s join the female lead on her flower path!

……In retrospect, I was overly optimistic.

It didn’t take long for my hopeful expectations of my second life to be dashed.

 

* * *

 

“……What did you just say?”

Leandro’s question brought me back to the present.

Holy shit. For a moment, I was lost in thought.

Just as I’d announced the end of this relationship, I was looking back at the beginning.

“Honey, answer me.”

I turned to face the man who asked in a stifled voice.

A face that looked part angry, part shocked.

Leandro was a man who never showed more than a certain level of emotion, except when it came to his sister.

The way he looked at me now made it seem like he couldn’t control his emotions.

A man who, even after our marriage, had mysteriously avoided me and refused to make any rational contact with me.

I deliberately enunciated the next words over and over again.

“I asked for a divorce.”

“……Divorce?”

The sight of my husband’s crumpled face gave me an odd sense of pleasure.

At the same time, I felt a great sense of relief, like a decade-old weight had been lifted.

I realized it in a flash.

I wanted a divorce.

I hadn’t realized it, but I had been hoping for the end of this relationship all along.

After all, I know that Leandro loves his sister dearly.

I don’t love him either. I endured all this time thinking life would be a lot easier when I could put up with this crap for a while.

All of these dozens of excuses that had kept me from breaking up with him were powerless compared to the loneliness.

“I want a divorce, as soon as possible.”

There was even a hint of excitement in my voice as I declared the divorce.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

That was all I said, and the mood at the table was chilly, to say the least.

The members of the Cassius family were at a loss for words, alternately glancing between me and Leandro.

Even Duke Cassius, who was said to be respected even by the Emperor, looked quite uncomfortable. The servants serving the meal held their breath.

Liena was the first to break the heavy silence.

“A divorce is ridiculous!”

She jumped to her feet, pushed her chair out of the way, and slammed her fist down on the table.

“Sister-in-law, you need to think again, this is not something to be rushed into!”

Spurred on by Liena’s words, Leheim also said, “Yes, sister-in-law. Of course my brother is in the wrong, but a divorce is not possible.”

Leandro looked dazed after hearing the word ‘divorce’, but his siblings were more agitated.

I folded the napkin in my lap, nonchalantly.

“I didn’t make a rash decision; I thought long and hard about it.”

Sometimes a lie is necessary.

It was then that the Duke, who had been silent until now, lifted his heavy lips. “Ethel, there are things in this world that cannot be done by your will alone…….”

“Thank you for the meal, though it didn’t taste very good.”

I placed the folded napkin back on the table and rose from my seat.

“Wait……!”

Bafflement colored the Duke’s face, who was as handsome as a young man despite his middle age.

He was surprised by his daughter-in-law’s small rebellion, who had never spoken to him before.

“Goodbye, then.”

But I walked out of the dining room undaunted.

I could feel countless eyes staring at my back.

It wasn’t polite, but I didn’t want to hear the Duke out.

After all, he is a Duke, and his words have a power that makes it difficult for others to resist.

So it’s better to cut him off in the middle.

“Little Madam……!”

I ignored the hesitant servants and stepped out into the center hall.

Then I walked right out the front door, leaving the damn Cassius mansion for good…… no, I’ll do it later. I climbed the center staircase without looking back.

My destination was the couple’s chambers on the second floor.

Although it was called the couple’s chambers, it was actually Leandro’s bedroom, where he often came and slept alone.

Anyway, when I arrived at the mansion in the morning, I left my luggage there.

When you leave, you take what you can take. In fact, I don’t have any money in my pocket right now to pay for a place to stay for the night.

I’m just stuffing the essentials into my handbag as fast as I can.

The door bursts open with a thump, thump, thump of footsteps.

“Honey!”

It was Leandro, finally coming to his senses. I wanted to leave as soon as possible.

“Why?” I asked, irritated.

Leandro’s voice trailed off ever so slightly. “Are you serious about…… divorcing me?”

“Very serious.”

“Why do you want to get divorced?”

I couldn’t help but snicker.

Leandro really can’t figure out why I want a divorce.

To summarize, I could spend three nights talking about it, but I chose to ignore it instead of putting words in my mouth.

I have to pack all my stuff.

“Move. I’m leaving.”

“I asked you why you wanted a divorce.”

“You really don’t know?”

“……It’s certainly my fault for forgetting our anniversary. But just because of that alone…….”

“Because it’s not just that.”

“Then what is it?”

“Put your hand on your chest and think about the past, and if it doesn’t come to mind, you’re a really stupid person.”

Did he really think I had any complaints about a husband who talks to his wife less than 10 minutes a week?

Luckily, he wasn’t that stupid.

Leandro averted his gaze. “I admit that our relationship hasn’t been as cordial as others, but…….”

What followed was also within my expectations.

“Isn’t that usually the case with couples who end up in arranged marriages?”

“I’m not doing this just because we weren’t as cordial.”

“What else?”

“Find out for yourself.”

Leandro glanced around nervously, now that I was really about to leave.

He was looking for something to stop me, but it didn’t seem to come easily.

Then his gaze fell on an object lying on the far side of the bedroom.

“Wait a minute, look at this!”

He rushed over and pulled back the cloth that covered the object.

The fabric that kept out the dust and sunlight disappeared, revealing a pure white color.

Lace, painstakingly woven by an artisan, and dozens of pearls that glistened in the sunlight.

It was my wedding dress.

The same dress I’d worn to marry Leandro, draped over a mannequin.

After the wedding, I just left it behind, and it has occupied a corner of this room ever since.

Seeing the wedding dress instantly made me overflow with anger.

Leandro, unaware of this, started talking about it.

“Think back to when you wore this dress and married me. Even though things turned out the way they did, it was a good start, wasn’t it, considering our beginnings…….”

“It wasn’t good.”

“What?”

“That dress, and our marriage. It wasn’t good for me.”

Puzzled, he asked. “No way; marriage aside, didn’t you say that this dress was very pretty?”

“When did I?”

“That time, surely…….”

“I wasn’t the one who said the dress was pretty.”

My voice was surprisingly calm, even to myself.

“It was your sister.”

At that word, Leandro stiffened.

“Liena? No way…….”

I decided to kindly remind the still stunned man of the memory.

“Think back to when I got that wedding dress.”

Aka the stolen wedding dress.

The incident, which I named so, happened a few months before our wedding.