Battle Divorce! - Chapter 16
Why was he interrogating her like this? Is he angry?
But really, was this something to get mad about? The whole thing was ridiculous.
“…Are you angry?”
“No. I’m just worried you might not be feeling well, Issy.”
Unexpectedly, he sounded genuinely concerned. She must have misunderstood. With that cold exterior, she’d just assumed he was mad from the look on his face.
The truth was, for this assignment, ‘Daisy Therese’—no, ‘Daisy von Waldeck’—was supposed to act timid and frail. She was sticking to her character. Plus, it really was hard to eat with everyone watching.
“I’m fine. I’m not sick.”
“Really? You’re eating less than usual. Should I call the doctor?”
Well… She was eating less than usual, that much was true.
But how would he even know what her ‘usual’ was? Had he ever even seen her eat before?
Then again, the former Grand Duchess did complain at every meal about how Daisy ate too much… Maybe the staff exaggerated when he asked the employees.
“I’m eating, so don’t worry too much. But… aren’t you going to eat, Your Grace? Is the food not to your taste?”
He was the one drinking wine on an empty stomach, and he had the nerve to worry about her appetite.
At her question, Maxim’s eyes grew even more serious.
“Max.”
His low voice startled Daisy.
“We agreed you’d call me Max, remember?”
“Oh… right…”
That’s what this was about?
He was impossible to read. His mood changed so quickly, it was like dealing with someone with a personality disorder.
She wanted to go along with him, but the former Grand Duchess was glaring daggers at her. She couldn’t exactly say that out loud, either. The atmosphere was already tense enough.
Daisy gave him an awkward smile.
“Well, what if we settle on something more familiar?”
“Something more familiar?”
“Yes, how about… ‘Darling’?”
“……”
With the increasingly aggressive pet names, Daisy was completely lost for words.
“Don’t you like it, Darling?”
“I’ll… just call you Max.”
No need to poke the bear.
“I like ‘Darling’ too. But let me know if you change your mind.”
…Like that’ll ever happen.
Maxim smiled so brightly it was blinding. Daisy felt completely drained, barely able to eat another bite.
And, as expected, the former Grand Duchess across the table looked absolutely disgusted, as if she’d just witnessed something appalling.
“I’m eating just fine, so Maxi… Max, maybe you could stop staring and eat something before your food gets cold?”
“Issy, are you worried about me?”
Maxim had a talent for twisting anything into something that pleased him.
“That’s not what I—”
“I feel great knowing you’re worried about me, Issy.”
“Let’s just eat together, okay?”
“I am eating. Besides, just watching you eat fills me up.”
All he’d been doing was drinking!
If he was full, it was from alcohol. He hadn’t even touched his food.
His cheeks were already red. Whether from booze or happiness at her concern.
If he was this crazy sober, what would he be like drunk?
Or maybe the nonsense he was spouting was because he was drunk.
Daisy felt like she was eating dinner beside a ticking time bomb. But she forced herself to chew another piece of meat, worried about what kind of fuss he’d make if she didn’t.
“Now that’s more like it. Before, you used to eat in such an unseemly way.”
“What do you mean, unseemly?”
Maxim asked as the former Grand Duchess threw in a jab.
“She’d just stuff her face with no shame. Like some beggar from the slums. A woman shouldn’t be so greedy for food.”
“Oh? You mean Issy?”
Maxim gave a dry laugh as he listened to the comment about his wife.
“I actually prefer a woman with a good appetite. Makes her feel more alive.”
Was it right to take sides? He sounded like someone buying live fish at the market.
When Maxim openly took his wife’s side, the former Grand Duchess’s face darkened.
‘Sure, I like food, but I wasn’t shoveling it down like that!’
Daisy felt wronged. This was downright slander.
The two of them were definitely exaggerating.
“And besides, you’ll need plenty of energy to keep up with me at night.”
Maxim von Waldeck said something even more outrageous.
