The morning sun slipped through the tall windows of the court, filling the priest's chamber with a pale golden light. The air was heavy, and though it was quiet, there was a strange tension. The people who had come to witness the divorce whispered among themselves, their voices like a restless hum.
At the center stood Baron Konstantin Fedorov, tall and broad-shouldered, his face stern and full of pride. By his side was his wife, Anna Petrovna. Her face was pale, her eyes swollen from nights of crying. She looked fragile, yet she stood with a kind of desperate dignity, her hands trembling as she clutched the edges of her gown.
The priest, an old man with tired eyes, sat before them with sacred books on the table. He looked from Konstantin to Anna and said in a steady voice, "Baron Fedorov, you called for this separation. State your case."
