SFYF 04

Chapter 4

The gatekeeper furrowed his brow sharply.

You’ve come to collect a debt from the Marquis?

The woman before him didn’t seem wealthier than Marquis Schneider. To lend money to him, one would need to be at least of royal blood.

Hesitating with a troubled expression, he finally said, “I’ll go ask. Please wait here a moment.” For some reason, he couldn’t simply dismiss her words.

Marien slowly nodded.

Creak.

The side door closed in front of her. As Marien listened to the gatekeeper’s footsteps fading away, she cast her gaze toward a nearby cypress tree. A gentle breeze lightly stirred her black veil as it passed by.

Christoph probably hadn’t the faintest idea that she’d fled here—nor what she intended to do now that she’d arrived.

She was afraid. To claim otherwise would have been a lie. In the past three years, there had been scarcely a handful of decisions she’d made entirely on her own.

But from this moment on, her life would change solely by her own choice. It felt as though she stood on a perilously narrow log bridge, where even taking a single step required utmost caution.

“Will I be able to do this?”

The fragile whisper slipping between her lips scattered instantly in the wind, vanishing without a trace. Unconsciously clutching her dress hem, Marien shook her head—then lifted her chin firmly once more.

Her eyes, filled with resolute determination, gleamed like spring persimmon leaves.

“Come in.”

His voice, seasoned by years yet imbued with undeniable strength, carried the weight of a lifetime. At his permission, the butler opened the door and extended a hand lightly.

“Please go in, Mrs. Clozier.”

A young butler she’d never seen before offered her a warm, gentle smile. He was likely an assistant butler.

Nodding, she straightened her back and stepped into the drawing room. Afternoon sunlight lay across the floor like a carpet.

Marien passed elegant furniture and paintings, walking toward the elderly man with snow-white hair. Seated in a blue silk-upholstered chair, he had fixed her with a sharp gaze the moment she entered the room.

The old gentleman appeared to have just returned from an outing. Still dressed in a business suit, he slowly rose from his seat.

At first glance, the elder’s wrinkled face seemed relaxed and affable. Yet Marien easily noticed the sharp glint in his steel-gray eyes.

“Mrs. Clozier?”

Marquis Schneider addressed Marien as she approached him, his voice tinged with suspicion, as if verifying her identity.

“It’s been a while, Marquis Schneider.”

Only after hearing Marien’s voice did the Marquis’s eyebrows twitch. Now, with certainty in his eyes, he looked at her properly.

Yet, no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t fathom why Marien had come to him in such a state. His thick brows furrowed deeper, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened further.

Seeing her mourning attire, Marquis Schneider said, “Please sit down first, Mrs. Clozier.”

“Hmm.”

The Marquis’s gaze shifted once more to her clothing. Recalling his grandson’s very much alive face, he rubbed his palms together and glanced toward the butler.

“Bring some tea…”

“That won’t be necessary, Your Grace.”

The Marquis slowly turned his head. After studying her with puzzled eyes for a moment, he seemed to grasp her intent and gestured for the butler to leave.

The quick-witted butler quietly exited the room. Only after the door closed did Marien meet Marquis Schneider’s gaze.

Finally, the Marquis spoke in a familiar tone.

“Marien? Is it really you?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Marquis Schneider believed he knew his granddaughter-in-law quite well. She had diligently supported Christoph and, as the sole woman of the Schneider household, never failed to attend to the family’s important matters.

He recalled Marien’s calm, gentle smile beside Christoph. His eyes returned once more to the widow in black mourning dress.

“What’s the matter, Marien?”

Unable to bear the silence any longer, Marquis Schneider finally broke it, still unable to decipher her purpose. Marien slightly lifted her veil and met his eyes directly.

A resolute voice slipped from between her lips.

“I intend to divorce Christoph, Your Grace.”

Ugh.

Unconsciously, Marquis Schneider let out a pained groan. Pressing his fingers to his furrowed brow, he scowled. The deep lines at his eyes twitched involuntarily.

Yes, he knew his granddaughter-in-law well enough. She wasn’t the type to speak such words lightly.

If Marien mentioned divorce, it meant something grave had occurred between them.

“Mari.”

The Marquis called her name gently, his tone soft as if soothing a child. His eyes, a lighter shade of gray than Christoph’s, regarded her warmly.

“I admit Christoph is taciturn. I know he’s never been good at tending to a woman’s feelings. Buried in work as he is, he must have neglected his family terribly. You’ve surely suffered greatly, Mari. But—”

“Nothing you say will change my mind, Your Grace. My decision is final.”

The Marquis fell silent once more. Though blood runs thicker than water, even he couldn’t call Christoph affectionate.

Christoph was curt with everyone. In a way, he was remarkably consistent.

He wasn’t a man content merely with the title of heir to the Schneider marquisate; he strove to climb higher through his own strength.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he’d already achieved that goal—after all, no one in the capital was unfamiliar with his name. His grandson’s reputation had even spread to his own domain, Blauberg.

Thus, when Christoph brought Marien home as his bride, the Marquis had been genuinely surprised—he’d never expected his grandson to choose love over an arranged marriage.

He didn’t know how passionately the two had loved each other after meeting at university, but Marquis Schneider had taken an immediate liking to Marien at first sight. She’d seemed remarkably patient.

Now, even that Marien had apparently thrown in the towel.

Sighing briefly, Marquis Schneider turned his gaze back to her.

“Has Christoph agreed to the divorce? That boy would never…”

He trailed off, closing his mouth abruptly. His brow faintly twisted as he considered Christoph’s temperament.

That boy would never have consented.

As if guessing his unspoken thought, Marien quietly replied. Her voice remained calm and composed throughout, signaling this wasn’t an impulsive act.

“That’s why I fled here after throwing the divorce papers at him.”

“Fled…?”

The Marquis’s eyes widened as if he’d heard something utterly unexpected. Only then did he grasp why Marien wore mourning clothes, and he let out a soft sigh—”Ha.”

Actually, it sounded more like a chuckle than a sigh.

Soon, a hearty laugh—”Hahaha!”—burst from the Marquis’s lips. Marien’s unexpected boldness clearly caught him off guard.

Leaning forward, his gray eyes sparkled with amusement.

“You said you fled? Just how did you manage to shake off the servants? They wouldn’t have left your side so easily.”

Marien flushed slightly, then quietly recounted everything that had happened. As the Marquis listened, he let out a soft gasp when she described passing Günther after escaping the lounge.

Her cheeks grew even more flushed.

“Hahaha!”

After hearing her entire story, Marquis Schneider laughed heartily once more. Then, in an instant, his expression turned serious as he fixed her with a solemn gaze.

For a moment, he resembled Christoph. Perhaps, with time and experience, Christoph might one day come to look just like him.

“So, my granddaughter-in-law, who barely escaped Christoph, has come to me—going so far as to mention collecting an old debt. This must be no ordinary request.”

Indeed, Marquis Schneider saw right through her. Marien took a slow, deep breath. He understood precisely why she’d come.

“Yes, Your Grace. There’s something I need your help with.”

“What if I pretend to help you, then secretly inform Christoph behind your back?”

The Marquis tested her cautiously. Marien met his gaze thoughtfully, then slowly parted her lips.

“When I married Christoph, Your Grace promised me—once in a lifetime—that you’d grant any request I made, no matter what.”

She reminded him of their long-standing promise. Narrowing his eyes as if recalling the memory, he nodded.

“You’d just graduated from law school then, and decided to give up your dreams to devote yourself entirely to supporting your husband. That promise was my way of showing appreciation.”

Indeed, Marien had been among the first women admitted to law school. When the conservative university finally opened its doors to women amid shifting social attitudes, she’d enrolled with outstanding grades.

Marien had always dreamed of becoming a lawyer or a senior police officer. The phrase “a lighthouse revealing the truth” had once set her heart racing. Among her female classmates, some had already established themselves as lawyers.

But Marien had chosen, after graduation, to abandon her dreams and embrace life as Mrs. Schneider. It hadn’t felt unfair or bitter—she loved Christoph.

She believed life as Mrs. Schneider held its own worth.

“Yes, I know. I’m still grateful for it even now.”

Marien lowered her gaze as she continued.

“I know the promise spoken by Your Grace was never made lightly. So now, I ask you to honor that promise.”

At her firm tone, the Marquis’s eyebrows twitched. He regarded her with an unfamiliar gaze, as if examining something entirely new.

Perhaps his belief that he knew her well had been mere arrogance.

The demure, quiet woman who perfectly complemented Christoph—she’d always seemed like a picture of ideal wifely devotion.

Yet today, Marien’s unexpected boldness struck the Marquis squarely on the back of his head.

Strangely, it didn’t displease him. In fact, it felt rather refreshing. Imagining how his grandson would react filled him with genuine amusement.

After all, it was high time that boy faced some trials of his own. A man who’d never been broken lacked depth.

“Back then, I assumed you’d ask for land or jewels at most—I never imagined you’d land in such a predicament. But a promise once given can’t be taken back now… So, Marien, what exactly do you need me to do?”

The Marquis asked with evident willingness. Marien watched him for a moment, swallowed hard, then finally revealed her true request.

“Please help me secure a position at the Blauberg Police Department.”

“…”

For a moment, Marquis Schneider fell silent again, looking as though he’d been struck on the head once more. The creases between his brows deepened further.

Soon, he frowned.

“The police department?”

Still unable to comprehend, the Marquis repeated, “Did you just say the police department?” Marien nodded.

“Yes, Your Grace. All I need is a single recommendation from you to the Chief of Police. Since I graduated from law school, I won’t be rejected for lacking qualifications.”

Blauberg was Marquis Schneider’s domain. Though times had changed and he no longer wielded absolute power as in the past, his influence remained formidable.

It wasn’t just the police chief—mayors and local judges alike bowed their heads to him. The Schneider family was still thriving, even more gloriously than before.

Given that money begets money, it wasn’t surprising that the Schneiders ranked among the kingdom’s wealthiest families.

Moreover, Marquis Schneider had transformed Blauberg from a mere harbor town into the kingdom’s most prosperous trading city. Perhaps Christoph’s talent was inherited from his grandfather.

“The police department.”

The Marquis murmured the words like a parrot, frowning once more. His experienced eyes scanned her up and down.

“As a woman?”