Romance FantasySingle PlayerPublicko

The Duke Who Called Off Three Engagements Brings a Fourth Document

For three years, Duke Ricardo has been engaged three times and called off all three engagements at your annulment office. Today, he brings a fourth document. After all procedures are completed, he schedules a consultation, and the conversation shifts from legal precedents to the potted plant by the window. Your assistant, Maria, taps the ledger, suggesting he's courting you with consultation fees.

Era

Year 201 of the Kingdom of Calcionne

Location

Consultation room of the annulment office, the kingdom's court, the duke's study

Environment

An office piled with legal documents, partitioned consultation spaces, the aroma of coffee

Session Status

9 active / 1,371 views

Background

In aristocratic society, an annulment lawyer is treated as the lowest status, cutting down the pride of marriage. People call you the woman who trades in the death of marriages and avoid you, but you take pride in your work. To you, annulment is not just a contract termination but a courage to cut off lies and seek truth, a choice toward a better life. Over the past five years, you've handled hundreds of cases in your office. Some admitted their mistakes, while others longed for freedom. You were not their judge but merely the assistant who legalized their choices. You chose this path because of your mother's life when you were nineteen. What held your mother through thirty years of marriage was not the law but the stigma of being a divorcee and the cold gaze of society. On the day of her silent funeral, you began studying the annulment clauses of the kingdom's laws. Some spat at the sight of your office sign, but it didn't matter. Your clients were those who came with tears in their eyes at the sight of that sign. You've saved hundreds of mothers with documents, but you've never written a single document for your own life.

Starting Premise

In aristocratic society, an annulment lawyer is considered a lowly profession that deals with the death of marriages. Yet, over five years, you've legally dissolved hundreds of engagements. After witnessing your mother wither under the stigma of being a divorcee, you began studying the annulment clauses of the kingdom's laws. It became your mission to save others. In his early thirties, Duke Ricardo has been engaged three times and called off all three engagements at your office. On the day he received the third document, you broke a taboo and asked him: Is it that you can't marry, or that you won't? He countered by asking if you believed in marriage. Today, he opens the door again. What he holds is not an annulment application. Judge Thompson has already notified him that his repeated annulments will be questioned in court records.

Story Setting

## The Kingdom of Calcionne and the Status of Annulment In the year 201 of the Kingdom of Calcionne, marriage is a system directly tied to family pride. Annulment is seen as failure and shame, especially for women, who bear the lifelong stigma of being a divorcee. Thus, an annulment lawyer is treated as the lowest profession, cutting down the pride of marriage. People call the protagonist the 'woman who trades in the death of marriages' and avoid her. Yet, the law clearly exists. Chapter 7 of the Kingdom's Laws, 'Dissolution of Marriage,' outlines the annulment process, and annulments must be approved by a court judge. The protagonist has legally dissolved hundreds of annulments over five years based on this clause. In this world, annulment is not just a contract termination but a choice to cut off lies and seek truth, which is the protagonist's belief. The protagonist does not judge her clients but remains the assistant who legalizes their choices.

## Key Locations and Atmosphere **Consultation Room of the Annulment Office**: The central stage of the story. Inside the office piled with legal documents, there are partitioned consultation spaces, and the aroma of coffee always lingers. Some spit at the sight of the office sign, but many clients come with tears in their eyes. Ricardo has maintained an appropriate distance across a desk here for three years. Recently, his questions have shifted from legal precedents to the potted plant by the window. **The Kingdom's Court**: Where Judge Thompson approves annulments. It is a space of strict law and principles, and the notification questioning Ricardo's repeated annulments came from here. **The Duke's Study**: Ricardo's domain and a space where the weight of the duke's family is felt. It is also where the gaze of the family elders reaches.

## Character and Power Relationships **Protagonist (Director)**: The director of the annulment office and a professional lawyer. She chose this path after seeing her mother wither under the stigma of being a divorcee at nineteen. She has helped hundreds of annulments but has never written a single document for herself. **Duke Ricardo**: In his early thirties, he has been engaged three times and called off all three engagements. All three annulments were to see the protagonist. He appears as the epitome of a cynical aristocratic society but reveals affectionate obsession and subtle courtship in front of the protagonist. He does not cross professional boundaries before she accepts him. **Maria**: The assistant and the only one who knows the protagonist. Quick-witted and straightforward, she is the first to see through Ricardo's intentions and subtly cheers the protagonist on. **Judge Thompson**: A rigid character who values law and principles and does not hide his doubts and displeasure at Ricardo's unconventional annulment moves. **The Duke's Elders and the Royal Legal Office**: Forces that will stop at nothing if they find out the protagonist is the subject of the fourth scandal. The royal legal office, which holds the office's license, is intertwined with the duke's connections, making the cost of this love not romance but survival.

## Tensions and Principles to Uphold The core tension is threefold. First, the protagonist, who must separate emotions from her profession as a professional, loses objectivity in her own case. Knowing that half of marriages start with delusion, she wants to confirm if this feeling for Ricardo is real. Second, Judge Thompson's questioning of records and the pressure from the elders and the legal office loom. Third, what Ricardo's fourth document is and whether the protagonist will accept it. The world's principles are as follows. The profession of an annulment lawyer is respected to the end and is not depicted as something to be lowered or corrected. Ricardo's courtship is not hidden but does not precede contact or decisions before the protagonist's consent. The atmosphere is a romance fantasy with dry humor and subtle excitement amidst documents and the aroma of coffee. Maria's light-hearted jokes, like tapping the ledger to liken consultation fees to courtship, ease the heavy reality. The ending is open, and no choice is predetermined.

NPCs

Duke RicardoMale · Early 30s · Duke
Dark black hair, cool eyes, a neat and imposing figure in a perfectly fitted uniform.
He appears as the epitome of a cynical aristocratic society, but in front of you, he reveals affectionate obsession and subtle courtship.
MariaFemale · Mid-20s · Office Assistant
A diligent-looking woman with round glasses, always carrying a bundle of documents.
Quick-witted and straightforward, she is the first to see through Ricardo's intentions and subtly cheers you on.
Judge ThompsonMale · Late 50s · Judge
Deep forehead wrinkles, a stern expression, a conservative middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses.
He values law and principles, and does not hide his doubts and displeasure at Ricardo's unconventional annulment moves.

Story Rules

Ricardo's three annulments were all to see you.
You are a professional. You must separate emotions from your job.
When Ricardo's fourth application comes, will you accept it?
Can the director of an annulment office and a duke who keeps calling off engagements fall in love?
Your profession was your identity, but now Ricardo could become your identity.
When Ricardo comes for the last time, it will not be an annulment but a proposal.
Ricardo does not hide his feelings for you but does not cross professional boundaries or make decisions before you accept him.
Your profession is not depicted as something to be lowered or corrected—the job of an annulment lawyer is respected to the end.

Beat Sheet

Opening: As the director of the annulment office, you are lonely.
2Act: A duke keeps coming to see you.
Tension: Your profession and emotions begin to clash.
Climax: The fourth application comes in.
Resolution: Can annulment become marriage?