Battle Divorce! - Chapter 30

Chapter 15.2

Daisy opened the pendant, shifting her gaze between the woman in the portrait and her own reflection in the mirror.

There was no denying it. That was her face, alright.

‘When was this even painted?’

The Daisy in the portrait was dressed in sheer luxury.

‘Have I ever worn something like this?’

Since arriving at Waldeck, she had been treated poorly. The thought of hiring a painter for a portrait, let alone wearing such extravagant clothing, had never even crossed her mind.

The off-the-shoulder dress looked expensive, and the necklace and earrings were adorned with diamonds. Even the hairpiece sparkled with jewels.

‘This hairstyle feels unfamiliar too…’

Daisy usually either tied her hair up high or let it fall loose.

The version of her in the painting looked so different that it was almost enough to believe she was someone else. Almost. But the face was unmistakable.

‘It looks too much like me for someone to have drawn this from their imagination…’

And Maxim did say he “took Izzy” so it couldn’t possibly be another woman. The more she thought about it, the more confused she became.

Daisy snapped the pendant shut and was about to place it back where she found it when she noticed something flat tangled in the chain.

‘A dog tag.’

It looked like the kind soldiers always carried. She had heard that dog tags were used to identify soldiers on the battlefield.

[01-1019-1019-00]

[1019]

Daisy’s eyes widened as she saw the numbers. They repeated in an oddly familiar sequence.

‘1019, that’s the same as my birthday.’

Having grown up an orphan in the organization since she was a newborn, Daisy didn’t know her real name or her birthday.

[October 19th]

That was the day she had first introduced herself as “Daisy” to Sister Sophia.

Seeing others celebrate their birthdays had made her a little envious, so she had simply picked a date for herself.

‘How does he know?’

The source of this information was somewhat suspicious.

Had he been given some basic information about her during the marriage discussions? That seemed unlikely. She had chosen the date on her own after arriving at the orphanage. Even Count Therese wouldn’t have known about it.

‘Maybe he saw it when we signed the marriage vows.’

That would make sense, but then again, he had left for war immediately after their wedding. Did he really have time to arrange something like this? The more she thought about it, the more questions piled up.

‘Did he pick this date on purpose?’

If this was a coincidence, it was an incredibly strange one.

Just as Daisy had slept with her husband’s portrait by her pillow at the insistence of the former grand duchess, perhaps this was some kind of soldier’s tradition.

‘Maybe it is just a coincidence, and I’m simply overthinking it.’

After all, who could possibly know what was going on inside that man’s head?

Either way, the number on the dog tag shouldn’t matter.

Daisy shook her head, forcing herself to push the unnecessary thoughts aside, and returned the necklace to its original place.

The next item her fingers brushed against was a cigar case.

Does he like cigars? The luxurious case was filled with high-quality foreign cigars.

‘That’s quite macho of him.’

She pulled one out, bringing it to her nose for a quick sniff before placing it back inside.

Continuing her search, she rummaged through his clothes until something fell to the floor with a clatter.

‘Is that… a gun?’

Even though she was alone, she instinctively glanced around, as if someone might catch her. Then, she picked it up.

‘It’s so pretty.’

The craftsmanship was so beautiful that she almost wished she owned one.

She had never expected Maxim to have such an eye for fine weaponry. It was an unexpectedly refined side of him, especially for a man his age.

Of course, considering that this gun had likely been used to blow the heads off enemy soldiers, the thought was a little unsettling…

Still, she was tempted.

Daisy had always dreamed of having a gun, but her small hands made knives a more practical choice for her.

‘My shooting skills were decent… If I had a gun like this, I’d love to keep it.’

Click—.

The sound of a door opening made her jump. Daisy barely had time to hide the gun behind her back, and her green eyes widened in surprise.

“Izzy.”

Her heart dropped at the sound of his voice.

“What are you doing?”

Maxim stood in the doorway, still dripping wet from his shower, a robe loosely tied around his waist. His expression was unreadable as he looked at her.

The sound of running water still echoed from the bathroom.