Chapter 151: Whether to Dissolve the Marriage

Ethan Cross had been leading the search for Sophie Wexler ever since receiving the order from Cillian Forrest.

Back when the Marshal was hiding his identity, he had wondered what would happen if his cover was ever blown.

At first, he thought Miss Wexler would be furious. But as he watched her and the Marshal grow closer, he began to think she probably wouldn’t be that angry.

But as it turned out, he had been thinking too simply.

This was more than just anger!

She’d completely skipped town!

Having failed to find her, Ethan Cross hesitated in front of the Marshal’s door for a long time.

’Should I go in now? The Marshal won’t take it out on me, will he?’

Just as he was hesitating, a voice came from inside.

"Come in."

Ethan Cross was speechless.

’He knew I couldn’t hide anything from him.’ he thought.

Ethan Cross pushed the door open and walked in, his head bowed. "Marshal, we still haven’t found Miss Wexler."

Cillian Forrest pressed his long fingers to his aching temples. "What about her communicator?"

Ethan Cross knew what he meant. Communicators usually had a tracking function.

"It shows that it isn’t turned on." Ethan Cross had kept his head down ever since he’d entered.

After he spoke, he could clearly feel the air around him grow several degrees colder.

The room was unnervingly quiet, so quiet that Ethan Cross’s heart began to race. He stealthily raised his head, wanting to sneak a peek at the Marshal’s expression.

He carefully lifted his gaze and looked forward.

The next second, Ethan Cross froze mid-motion, his pupils constricting violently in shock.

He was completely petrified!

A storm of shock crashed through his mind!

’What is that on the Marshal’s neck?!!’

For a moment, Ethan Cross couldn’t believe his eyes.

"Mar... Marshal!" Ethan Cross’s voice trembled. "On your neck..."

He didn’t even dare to say it out loud!

He even suspected he was seeing things. ’Maybe it’s just a simple accessory. Otherwise, how could the Marshal possibly be wearing a Slave Collar! When did he get it? Who put it on him? Does anyone else know?!’

One question after another flooded Ethan Cross’s mind.

He didn’t dare to speak at all.

’Why would a Slave Collar, a symbol of such disgrace, be on the Marshal?’

After a long moment, a soft chuckle echoed in the room.

"Are you talking about the Slave Collar?"

In contrast to Ethan Cross’s shock, the man himself appeared remarkably calm.

He had never revealed the Slave Collar before, afraid that if people knew who had put it on him, it would cause trouble for Sophie Wexler.

He didn’t want himself or anyone around him to have any negative impressions of Sophie Wexler.

But now, feeling the restraint around his neck, Cillian Forrest let out a soft laugh, no longer having any intention of hiding it.

"A certain heartless person put it on me."

And that heartless person had now run away.

As he spoke, Cillian Forrest’s voice grew progressively colder.

Hearing this, Ethan Cross was even more shocked!

There was only one person who could make the Marshal speak in such a tone.

A name hovered on the tip of Ethan Cross’s tongue.

’It was Miss Wexler!’

’How could Miss Wexler put a Slave Collar on the Marshal!’

For a moment, Ethan Cross felt like his brain had short-circuited.

"Then, sir..." Ethan Cross began hesitantly, "why don’t you take it off?"

The thing was a symbol of humiliation. Although few people nowadays knew how to remove one, the Marshal was not one of those people.

He surely knew how to get it off, so why was he still wearing it?

At his words, the color in Cillian Forrest’s eyes gradually deepened.

’Why not take it off?’

’At first, it was simply because I didn’t have the means. The necessary components weren’t on Karath.’

’But after returning to the Capital Planet, I clearly had the time and opportunity to find what I needed to remove it.’

’But I didn’t.’

’Why?’

’Was it because this thing was the only connection I had with Sophie Wexler?’

’Or was it because, rather than finding a way to remove it myself, I was hoping she would be the one to take it off with her own hands?’

’But now, the neck ring hasn’t been removed, and the person is gone.’

An endless darkness surged in Cillian Forrest’s downcast eyes.

’Run?’

A slow smile lifted the corners of Cillian Forrest’s mouth.

’Sophie Wexler. After provoking me, she thinks she can just leave?’

’Impossible!’

’It doesn’t matter what her attitude toward me is now. It doesn’t matter if she comes to despise or fear me in the future.’

’None of that matters.’

’She must stay by my side!’

"Where is Benjamin Wyatt?" Cillian Forrest’s voice rang out in the space.

Ethan Cross hadn’t received an answer from Cillian Forrest about the neck ring, but he knew the Marshal wouldn’t reply to anything concerning Miss Wexler.

"We haven’t been able to contact him yet," Ethan Cross replied.

Ever since receiving the news of Miss Wexler’s disappearance, he had contacted everyone who knew her, including her agent, Benjamin Wyatt.

But Benjamin Wyatt hadn’t been on the Capital Planet recently, and they couldn’t reach him.

"The Wyatt Family said he went to one of the outer planets a couple of days ago."

’The outer planets?’

Cillian Forrest tapped his fingertips for a long moment before saying, "Go to the outer planets and bring him back."

"...Yes, sir!" Ethan Cross responded.

After Ethan Cross left, Cillian Forrest was once again alone in the office.

After a long while, the man reached up, his fingertips slowly tracing the neck ring. Sophie Wexler’s spiritual power still lingered on it.

"Sophie Wexler."

"You said you would help me take this off," he murmured, his voice low. "Since you said it, you’re not allowed to go back on your word. You can’t go back on your word."

In front of him was a Light Brain, its virtual screen completely filled with the contents of his and Sophie Wexler’s marriage agreement.

A line of text was clearly marked at the bottom—a clause the staff member had specifically read aloud when they signed it.

If the Healer-class party is unsatisfied with the current marital status, they may file an appeal with the relevant administrative bodies and provide supporting materials to dissolve the marriage.

Sophie Wexler sat in her room.

She had turned her communicator off and tossed it aside, leaving it untouched.

In front of her was a virtual screen projected by a small Light Brain.

It was a new one she had just bought, linked to her previous data. She had, of course, disabled the tracking system.

Sophie Wexler’s gaze was fixed on the screen, staring at a line of text.

[Esteemed Healer-class, do you wish to dissolve your marriage with Mr. Cillian Forrest?]

[Yes/No]

[If you wish to dissolve the marriage, please provide our department with the corresponding materials.]

Sophie Wexler stared unblinkingly at the text before her, a complex mix of emotions in her beautiful eyes.

That page had been up for several hours now. She had closed it and opened it, opened it and closed it, over and over again.

Sophie Wexler bit her lip, completely torn.

Her fingertip rose and fell, fell and rose, hovering back and forth between the two options.

"Aaargh!" Sophie Wexler cried out, on the verge of a breakdown. "This is so frustrating!"

"How could Cillian Forrest be the Imperial Marshal!"

When she first found out, her mind was reeling with shock. Terrified of the original owner’s fate, she had run away on instinct.

After all, the idea of "stay away from the Imperial Marshal" was deeply ingrained in her mind.

But... that person was Cillian Forrest.

The Cillian she had spent so much time with.

"This is driving me crazy!" Sophie Wexler’s thoughts were a complete mess, and looking at the virtual screen only made her angrier.

She reached out and—SMACK!—tapped an option on the screen!