Erin de Brescia was a villain.

I have never deliberately killed or harassed anyone.

She had never done anything particularly evil, had never been jealous and haunted her husband’s lover.

He was not as lavish and arrogant as the usual evil girls.

Far from luxury, Erin wore a plain dress with no strabismus.

She was the highest woman in the Imperial Palace, but she had never acted at will. She had never spent her money.

I endured all my desires and always tried to be a sweet and humble wife.

That way, you’ll get a little less blame.

That’s how I’ve lived for nine years.

But the only thing left as a result was the stigma of evil.

She is the daughter of a fallen family, and she dare to take the place of the Duchess and become the greatest lady of the Empire.

Tormenting the poor girl who loves the Duke.

A dirty evil woman who wears a mask of a wise wife and has a shameless affair.

That was the opinion of most of the imperial nobles who saw Erin.

And now her husband, the Duke of Levenberg, was also agreeing with that opinion.

“I’m going to divorce you.”

The Duke threw the document with contemptful eyes.

A dry sheet of paper on the table. It was a divorce.

Erin looked at her husband, Raymond.

The silver hair, which seemed to be squeezed into silver, came first.

Under the silver feet, the sharp and delicate features of the imperial people were in a beautiful harmony.

A beautiful eye with a cold blue-grey eye.

The perfect nose and jawline. And the lips that seem to produce a sophisticated smile.

He looked impeccably handsome.

He was sitting in a luxurious navy blue uniform, and he saw his natural dignity and dignity.

But the blue-grey eyes were drawn to Erin with a terrible rage and disgust.

Erin read the brief, summing up the past nine years in a single piece of paper.

(…and therefore the marriage of Raymond von Levenberg and Erin de Brecia is annulled under agreement. From now on, the two of you…)

It was his name that caught the eye of the long-spoken letters.

Erin de Brecia.

She had never used it since she got married.

Erin was the only daughter of the Marquis of Brecia.

The Marquis of Brecia was an old, prestigious family, but now he had no property left over from two generations of extravagance and waste. There was nothing but debt.

The only property his father inherited was a mansion, but he could not sell it because he was in debt with collateral.

She was a young lady, but Erin had to live hard every day in a mansion without a servant, she were no better than the rich commoners.

It was purely thanks to her grandfather who had never seen her before that Erin became the Duchess.

When Erin reached adulthood, a servant came to the palace and said.

“Your Majesty wants to make lady Brescia the bride of the Duke of Levenberg.”

It was a story so big that I wanted to hear it wrong.

The Duke of Levenberg was the son of a dead prince; the first grandson of the present emperor, and heir of the most powerful state.

The young Duke was known for his intelligence and competence. He was good-looking, perfect-looking. He was a handsome man, as he had come from the painting.

It was incredibly great luck.

“Why did you…?”

The servant explained the reason for the proposal.

“Your Majesty noticed Erin on the anniversary of his last victory, and he said he made a very good impression.”

All the nobles attend the banquet on the anniversary of the victory.

Erin was so poor that she could not go to social circles as often as other noble children.

It was the day Erin went to the social gatherings of the nobles, and for the first time that day Erin was the first young Marquis to meet the emperor.

“Your majesty the emperor heard the Marquis’s misfortune, and was very sorry to recall the loyalty of the Marquis.”

As the servant said, ‘The great-great-grandfather was Erin’s grandfather. Erin’s grandfather was said to have been a trusted aide to the current emperor.

But after his grandfather’s death, his uncle and cousin, who took over the title one after the other, wasted their family fortune and died in debt.

After that, Erin’s father, who was his second son, took over the family that was left in debt.

The servant added, as if to tell a secret.

“And… …and, in fact, there is no such thing as a duke in the Empire. There’s no age-appropriate spirituality in the best families, and all the other eternities fall into the family category.”

My parents were in debt and were unable to attend the social gatherings of the nobles, and Naturally the three families were darkened by rumors circulating among the high nobility.

So I believed every word the servant told me.

In addition, at the end of the proposal was a compliment.

“If you accept the proposal, your Majesty will give you financial support for the Marquis.”

My father was in conflict, but Erin was not.

“Yes, I’ll get married.”

My parents asked me a few times with an uneasy face.

“Don’t you really regret it?”

“Yes, I don’t regret it.”

This marriage raises the family and allows parents to live comfortably.

I thought I couldn’t regret it.

From then on, I entered the palace and studied to become a future empress day and night. When taking a break from studying, I was trained in dance and etiquette to get blisters on my feet.

It was hard enough, but Erin tried hard to keep it from hard.

The effort was not in vain.

Wearing a luxurious dress prepared by the palace, I walked carefully into the palace’s garden for fear that the expensive clothes might be damaged.

The silver-haired duke took Erin’s hand and kissed it politely on the back of her hand.

“I am honored to welcome such a beautiful and elegant young lady as my wife.”

Erin was pleased. The Duke, whom she had met, was more affectionate and kind than she had imagined

He kindly asked after her family and led the conversation.

In a few meetings,Erin naturally felt the love of the Duke , who was alone.

‘I think I can live happily if I’m like this.’

People were talking about it as a fairy tale.

A happy ending story in which a girl born in a fallen family lives hard over poverty and marries the prince and becomes happy.

That’s what Erin felt.

‘But reality wasn’t a fairy tale.’

Dreamy happiness ended on the wedding day.

The day I married with a swollen dream and hope.

The friendly and friendly Duke changed his complexion as soon as he entered the bedroom.

“As you may have known, this marriage is only brotherly. I have no intention of being married to you.”

The first night of their honeymoon. The new groom, the Duke, spoke in a cold voice that was frosty and went out.

He left Erin sitting on the bed, sitting blankly.

Erin only learned the truth after she married, that her husband, the Duke, had a lover from a lower nobleman who had been hiding since his teenage years.

.Rumors spread among high-ranking aristocrats that the Duke had sworn to make the woman an empress.

The emperor, who was worried about the rumor, took Erin from the Marquis, who was on the verge of bankruptcy, and forced the Duke to marry.

But when I realized all that, I was already a duchess and left alone in an empty newlywed bedroom.

“….”

Erin, thinking of old memories, put down the papers and looked up.

Raymond, who was not much different from that night, was still looking at this side with a cold, careless look.

Raymond sighed in a breathless way.

“Hah, when I first got married, I thought she was a good, wise woman.”

“….”

Erin blinked without answering.

Can that person be hurt in a dream how much effort I have made to be a decent and wise wife?

Although she held the position of the Duchess for nine years by her cold-hearted and indifferent husband , but she returned to herself with a slight disdain and indifference.

And he was falsely accused of having an affair with his childhood friend.

The man who had not listened to the innocence of the past few months,

“It’s the limit of having to endure this marriage, and no matter how much you cry and grievance to the King, I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Yes, I see, can I sign here?”

“So if you pretend to be as poor as you were last time, this time you’ll never… What?”

The duke paused at the unexpected remark.

Either way, Erin took the pen and wrote it down on the paper. Erin von Levenberg

The day I signed this is the last day.

The moment I grabbed the pen, that thought crossed my mind.

I used to think that if I lost this name, the world would collapse.

‘Because this was the only thing I had.’

I thought that the only thing left in my life that was nothing but this place. So I wanted to catch it somehow.

But when I put the pen on the last letter, the feeling that came into my mind was only a cool sense of freedom.

Erin shook the divorce papers with a nonchalant look.

“I’ve signed it, can I go now?”

“….”

“Oh, if you’re going to marry your girlfriend right away, I’ll have to fix up my place. They told me to use it as I please, so I sold everything I could.”

“I don’t care about what’s going on here. Do whatever you want.”

And I didn’t really care. I hadn’t been in Erin’s room since.

And I really didn’t care. After that, he never even came to Erin’s room.

Erin managed the palace by herself and took care of the house, trying to save a penny for fear of others curse at she for being extravagant .

I’ve been working so hard, but since I haven’t gotten paid, I’ve decided to sell what I used to get my money back.

All, because it’s all yours anyway.

The Duke seemed shocked, but Erin was proud.

“Why are you surprised? You told me to write it, right? I did what I told you to do.”

Erin got up and said to the Duke, who looked at him with startled eyes.

“Yes, I don’t need to talk about alimony because it’s an affair, but you’re still giving me back my dowry?”

“…what are you going to do with that little money?”

Her husband, who had not caree for what Erin did for the past nine years, asked her the first question.

A little money.

The little money was the entire property of Erin and the last remaining property of the Brecia family.

On the table was a small cream cheese muffin and blueberry tart, which were in style, and sweet cream and sparkling fruit.

Erin found the little desserts late on, white cream that seemed to melt down with a bite of water, a tart that crumbled with fragrant nectar and cream cheese.

I was so close, I wonder why I didn’t see it.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the dessert plate.

This was her old dream.

An old dream that I had buried deep in my mind for nine years here.

She had just lost everything, but she had the last thing left.

Erin smiled confidently for the first time in nine years and replied.

“I’m opening a dessert cafe.”

It is time to achieve that dream.

Erin stood in the room where she lived for nine years.

It was empty, after the furniture and luggage were taken out, but it was such a beautiful room that was dazzling even though it was empty.

A marble floor with lily patterns and a glittering chandelier hanging from the ceiling with colorful gold workpieces decorated with light green walls.

Maybe she’ll never come back.

Now she lived as a mistress of the palace, familiar with familiar furniture.

I never thought I’d live like this when I was young.

Erin’s father was originally a poor knight.

He was the second son of Marquis Brecia and married an immigrant baker. He was expelled from the family for reasons.

My mother, who was a baker working in a local shop, was an immigrant from the north, Erdan. According to the classification standards of the Empire, she was a low-class citizen with no family or property.

The eyes of the people around them were not good, but they were still very happy.

Thanks to this, Erin’s childhood was also filled with colorful memories.

Like a former baker, her mother made her own food every day and made sweet desserts.

Erin learned how to make bread and cookies for fun by helping her mother.

Young Erin liked to make cakes and bake bread.

My mother taught me how to bake a cake in the kitchen, where white flour would turn white every day.

It was good to see the dough in the oven swell up round.

It was fun to make rose petals with white cream like snow, and to make dark chocolate out of cacao beans with a pungent scent.

“Erin is really talented.”

With a proud look, the mother took out Erin’s little scone from the tray.

As soon as I took a bite, the scone, which was hard, broke down and broke down, and the smell of sweet butter spread out in my mouth.

Every time I chewed, the soft bread melted gently at the tip of my tongue.

Erin hurriedly ate one whole thing.

Mother smiled and whispered to Erin.

“It’s a secret, but in fact, we Erdans have a better taste than the Empire.”

“Really?”

“Yes, so Erin could make a delicious cake, too.”

“Yes! I’m going to be a cake maker

Erin smiled happily and nodded her head.

“I want to have a shop full of cakes one day.”

I also learned how to make cakes and snacks while studying with such dreams.

It was a simple and happy life even though I wasn’t rich.

But that happiness disappeared in vain when Erin was 19 years old.

That year, his cousin , who was the Marquis of Brecia, died in a carriage accident.

The uncle, who was the former marquis,

had lived a desolate life and died of illness.

The uncle had only one cousin brother, and the cousin had no children.

There were no relatives in the family who could become successors. Inevitably, Erin’s father took over the marquis.

Her father, a poor knight, and her mother, who was a baker, became a marquise couple overnight and Erin became the young lady of the marqyise family.

For the three ordinary families, it was a great success, but the reality was quite different.

The Marquis was on the verge of bankruptcy.

‘Instead of living like a noble life, I just sat on a pile of debt.’

My father became a marquise, but he was much poorer than when working as a knight.

Although he was promoted to a senior commander because he was a marquis, it was difficult to connect meals with his salary.

In fact, if my father had been a little more cool-headed, there was a way to

overcome poverty.

The Marquis of Brecia was a prestigious family member of a nationally renowned family, Erin, was now the young lady of the family.

The man who marries Erin becomes the Marquis of Brecia in the future.

Even though it was a debt-ridden title, many rich people wanted to buy the name and title with money.

But my father rejected all that sort of proposal.

“I won’t sell you for money.”

I was grateful for my father’s kindness, but now Erin herself is worried that she should rather marry a rich man and pay her debts.

The family was going to go bankrupt and all three families were going to be sold as slaves.

In the meantime, a proposal came in from the palace.

There was no reason to refuse.

Erin accepted the duke’s proposal to help the family.

I thought I’d never regret it. I thought that I could be a bride of a kind and handsome

Duke and help my parents and live happily.

Sadly, I truly believed it then.

Erin was last looking into the room and was about to be sentimental, but the sniffing sound from her side interrupted her.

“Melly, don’t cry.”

“Bl… . Mmm. Yes, Your Highness.”

A little maid with light brown hair hurriedly bowed her head and wiped away her tears.

This maid named’Meli’ was the beverage maid of the Imperial Palace here.

“It’s not your highness anymore. You can just call me Erin.”

The remark brought back tears to Melly’s eyes. Her nose was covered with freckles, but she had a pretty cute face.

Erin smiled and approached Melly and handed her a handkerchief.

“Thank you for everything. The coffee and tea you gave me was really delicious.”

Coffee was rising from beyond the southern coast, and demand for coffee beans increased mainly in the nobles.

In the palace, there were separate servants and maids who served tea and coffee.

Melly hesitated and plucked up her courage and asked for a favor.

“Eh, Erin. Well, could you take me with you?”

“What?”

“If you could hire me as a maid…”

I knew what you were talking about.

Melly was intimate with Erin.

That’s because Erin often called Meli to talk to her about the coffee.

Now this Crown Princess Palace will have another owner. If she’s here, she’ll be in a difficult situation.

‘……I’m in trouble .’

I wanted to take her with me, but I couldn’t afford a maid for the time being.

If you want to get a store and start a business, saving your dowry as much as possible is not enough.

Erin was forced to refuse, but suddenly a knock came from outside the door.

A middle-aged lady with a nervous look came into the room, opening the door before she even asked her to come in.

It was Mrs. Blennon, the head maid of the Crown Princess.

She spoke in command without saying hello.

“Lady Erin , please finish organizing. The maids are waiting for lady Erin to leave for clean this place.”

Her husband, Duke, Raymond, brought her lover Serena to the palace as soon as she married Erin.

Now that he’s married, he thought he had nothing to worry about, and he lived in his palace without hiding his lover.

He made himself a relative of the Count of Blennon, his servant, and raised her status as the Count’s daughter.

Serena, the daughter of a low-ranking nobleman, was a nobleman, but she was not able to come and go to the palace.

This Mrs. Blennon was the one who had been the Blennon family.

Thanks to Serena, she hated Erin while supporting Serena. For the past nine years, Erin has been discredited in everything she does.

On the day of the event at the palace, Erin kept an eye to see if she spent any more money than the past empress.

If anything went wrong in the Imperial Palace, all of them were inflated hundreds of times as if it were Erin’s responsibility, spreading the rumors.

Still, Erin could not bear to be angry.

The marriage allowed the Brecia to settle their debts and earn a certain income.

My mother and father could live comfortably without any more trouble.

Her parents had stopped her from holding up for them, but she thought the family had paid enough for not having to be in debt anymore.

And this was the marriage that the emperor asked for.

No matter how hard it was, Erin could not ask for divorce first.

All she could do was do her best in a given role and be careful not to be cursed any more.

The man, the husband, was living with her lover in the palace, and the nobles laughed at her and despised Erin that she had grown up amongst the common people, but she still had to endure it all.

So I put up with it again and again.

‘But I don’t have to take it anymore.’

The father could not see his daughter being ignored, so he volunteered for a dangerous battle to somehow build a merit and succeed.

He thought that getting a high position would help Erin.

The father, who became a senior commander, he desperately defeated the enemy and led to a dazzling victory.

As he wanted, he received a medal for his major and became a hero.

But he never came back alive.

My mother, who was left alone, died not long ago after suffering from illness.

‘I wanted to sacrifice myself to make my parents happy.’

But the sacrifice for happiness made everyone unhappy.

It was not until after the loss of the two that regrets pushed back.

I won’t live like that anymore.

The parents who died wanted Erin to find freedom and live happily until the end.

Now I will fulfill that wish.

Erin smiled and said without qualms.

“Did you come to say that on purpose? Don’t worry. Cause I’m going out now.”

“……yeah?”

“Didn’t you understand? I’m going out.”

The snorty voice of Mrs. Blennon flinched.

‘What, what is this lacking Duchess, why is she so confident today?’

People who were not familiar with the situation said that Erin was a bad woman who committed an affair by pretending to be careful, but Mrs. Blennon, who had been closely watching the Duchess, knew it was nonsense.

The duke’s wife had no evil side.

The usual Erin, in good terms, was gentle and elegant, and frankly speaking, she was a good person.

Erin silently found Melly standing on one side and raised her eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I…..Your Grace, no, I wanted to say hello to Erin…”

Mrs. Blennon slapped Melly on the cheek even before the words were finished.

Slap!

Melly staggered, unable to scream. Mrs. Blennon raised her hand and smiled contentedly.

I didn’t like this little girl because she was close to the Duchess.

“Who said you could come in here without permission?”

“Well, I…”

Melly staggered, unable to scream. Mrs. Blennan took her hand back and smiled contentedly.

“Get out of here!”

Erin, who was watching all this from one side, took a step forward.

“Mrs. Blennon.”

Mrs. Blennon looked back at Erin and was surprised again.

Erin, who had always kept her mouth shut, she felt a sense of pride and fortitude that she had not usually felt.

Erin spat out a cold smile and a brief grin.

“I’m going to fire you from head maid today. You also pack up and go out of the Imperial Palace.”

“……what, what?”

Mrs. Blennon stared blankly at Erin with a blank look on her face.

Erin said with a grin.

“Didn’t you hear? You’re fired.”

Mrs. Blennon stared blankly at Erin and snorted.

“Dismissal? Lady Erin, on her own? You’re not a Duchess anymore.”

“Yes, I’ m not the Duchess anymore. But I haven’t lost everything yet.”

Erin opened the drawer and took out a small silver box.

“The Duchess seal, it’s still in my hands.”

It was a square box as big as the bottom of a hand made of silver-blue jewelry.

The blue box was coiled with white flowers.

The petals of the holy water embossed with white jade shimmered in the morning light.

Mrs. Blennon was startled.

She’s been working as an maidin the palace, and she knew exactly what it was.

This was a storage box containing the Empress’s seal.

Just as the emperor stamped a document containing national events with the emperor’s seal, the imperial palace’s work is handled with the seal of the empress.

“Maybe it’s the last thing I’m going to do. You know, firing you.”

Erin said calmly, as if for granted.

“But you got it because you were the Duchess! You’re no longer the Duke’s wife……!”

“It doesn’t matter that If I am the Duchess, but the Emperor himself entrusted it to me. It’s not what the Duchess would have if it were to be it. It’s the seal of the Empress.”

Erin laid down the Empress ‘s seal on the table and struck with ease.

“But the Emperor ordered me to take care of the Imperial Palace while leaving the seal to the Empress. Your Majesty is not in the capital right now, so the order is still…

It’s valid.”

The empress died a long time ago, and the Crown Princess, the mother of Raymond , also died of labor.

Thanks to this, Erin was officially the highest woman in the palace.

The emperor had Erin take care of the palace, leaving the seal of the empress.

In the meantime, I have been in charge of living in the palace, but I have never done what I wanted to do because I have always been wary of people around me.

But not anymore.

“So from this moment on, you’re fired. Get out of the palace right now.”

Shocked on Mrs. Blennn’s face, but the surprise soon turned into a clear laugh

“So you’re gonna fire me? Do you think you’ll be safe if you do something like that without any power? If the new Duchess comes here anyway, I’ll be reinstated.”

“Yes, when the new Duchess comes in, you may be reinstated. But when will that be? Three months? Four months?”

Maybe the new Duchess won’t be able to come in for years.

I didn’t know how the Emperor would react to the situation, who had not yet heard of the Duchess’ divorce.

“It’ll take a long time to get the permission to marry. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to come to the palace until then.”

Then you’ll be unemployed for years.

Erin’s grave answer contained such sarcastic remarks.

Only then did Mrs. Blennon, who grasped the situation, look astonished.

“Hey, hey, lady Erin…! “

“Mrs. Blennon.”

Mrs. Blennon was once again surprised by the stern voice that spoke firmly.

Erin was pale and thin, but all over her fragile body, but a moment of vividness and intense pressure came from the whole fragile body.

As Mrs. Blennon knows, Erin has lived as a mistress of the imperial palace for nine years, but she has always been quiet and timid.

Never before she has revealed such a determined dignity.

Erin spoke in a dignified manner.

“And now that I’m divorced from the Duke, I’m not Duchess Erin, I’m the lady of, the Marquis of Brecia. On what grounds do you, the wife of a merchant , offer me?”

It was an irrefutable right remark.

The Empire did not recognize the succession of women, so even if her father died, Erin could not be the marquis.

However, it does not change that she is the heir of the marquis and the young lady of the family.

Although it was a ruined family, the marquis was still marquis. The rank of the knight is different.

“This, this…….”

There is nothing to refute.

Mrs. Brennan was unable to control his anger and trembled.

She couldn’t do anything more, but she wanted to strangle Erin.

Of course, she couldn’t scratch Erin because she couldn’t get angry anymore.

As Erin said, Erin was the young lady of the marquis, and she was just a wife of a simple merchant.

After failing to vent her anger at Erin, Mrs. Blennon looked for a more easy-going anger-pulling partner with hateful eyes.

Melly, who was watching all this from one side.

“You! I’ll see when I come back!”

“You don’t have to wait and see. Cause she’s coming with me.”

“Yes, yes?”

Melie, who had a bewildered look on her face, was startled at the words.

“Melly, come with me. I’m thinking of running a dessert cafe. I want you to work with me.”

When I said this to Raymond, the duke who was my husband, his face was worth seeing.

I’ve never seen that handsome duke look so stupid.

The expressions of the two people here now were no different from him.

Erin smiled at them.

“Because you will in charge of coffee and tea and doing chores, it will be harder than working here, but instead, I’ll give you twice as much as I get here.”

Originally, to save money, Erin herself wanted to learn more about making coffee and brewing tea.

‘But it would be okay to hire at least one employee.’

Melly made really good coffee and tea. Not to mention his ability to work in the palace.

“What do you say?”

Melly’s cute face was in full bloom.

“Yes, Erin! I’ll work hard!”

Anyway, Melly had been indispensable to Mrs. Blennon’s attention because of Erin.

If you leave her here, she may be avenged by this woman later.

And anyway, I would need an employee later, so it would be better for someone that I know.

When Melie asked me to take her with her, I was embarrassed to refuse, but it’s better for me.

“I’ll leave you alone, then. Mrs. Blennon”

Erin walked past Mrs. Blennon, standing at a distance, and went out the door. Melly followed with a smile.

Just before the door closed, Mrs. Blennon was heard pouring curses at this side.

“Ha! You, you’ll never come back here again…”

This time it was Erin’s turn to laugh.

“I don’t wish to come again.”

* * *

Sitting in the Oval Office, Raymond looked out the window and was lost in thought.

The sun was sinking as I worked so hard that the afternoon sky over the glass window was light gray.

Raymond looked at the cloudy sky and recalled his first encounter with Erin.1

The day we met formally in the palace garden.

Erin, who has light platinum hair and green eyes, was embarrassed by her blushing face in a glamorous pink dress that didn’t even fit her.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Your Highness, this is Erin.”

In fact, Erin didn’t do much wrong or do anything to be hated.

Erin looked up at Raymond as if she couldn’t believe the luck she had had since she first met.

She quickly came to her senses and acted gracefully as she was educated, but Raymond still seemed she like an innocent girl who knew nothing about the world.

Even though he went out with hostility to his faceless fiancée, the first impression that Raymond received from her fiancee,

It was “cute.”

There is some regret left when I think about that time.

‘……I could have been nice to you if only you had known the emperor forced me .’

The emperor ignored Raymond’s opinion and brought Erin to the palace as his fiancee.

“You can’t be the daughter of an emerging aristocrat with nothing but wealth. Marry the daughter of a prestigious Marquis family.”

That was the emperor’s order.

Raymond , felt anger and mortification at his grandfather’s behavior.

But Raymond was only 19 years old at the time. He couldn’t beat his grandfather, the owner of the empire.

After a few clashes Raymond eventually promised to obey the emperor’s orders.

One year later, Raymond married Erin, posing as a friendly person as the emperor wanted.

Instead, he only kept his promise to “marry.”

Raymond left Erin on the first night without hesitation and went outside.

After that, he never visited the Duchess’s bedroom, but Erin did not complain and remained silent in her duty.

However, the woman, who had been ignoring and being abused for nine years, suddenly changed her mind when Raymond pushed the divorce papers.