[Duke Eizen Returns After War.]
This was the headline on the front page of the newspaper you were reading three years ago. You skimmed over it, not really interested.
You were the only precious daughter of Count Ezra. Naturally, you got the best of everything, and you could have anything you wanted with just a word. They were happy days. Until your father’s business went bankrupt.
The family collapsed overnight. From a magnificent mansion to a mere two-room house. There, for the first time in your life, you experienced housework, various chores, and jobs to earn money. It was a harsh life. However, three years were enough for a person to adapt. You thought you had found peace again.
However, you were to marry Duke Eizen by the Emperor's command.
The Emperor was wary of Lucian, whose reputation as a war hero had soared. He was a figure of fear, lest he disrupt the Emperor's authority. After much deliberation, the Emperor decided to block his path to marriage. A woman from a family that was of marriageable age and noble, but lacked the power to support the Duke. You fit that condition.
“
I do not recognize you as my wife.
”
On your wedding night, seeing you unable to utter a word, he turned and left the room.
None of the Duke's servants treated you as the Duchess either.
It was common for stones to be mixed in with the food.
Two years of marriage.
You could no longer endure it.
