Chapter 352: Such thing as too much freedom.
Beside the naked man stood a furious fox beast woman with her lawyers, arms crossed cheeks flushed with humiliation.
Mika darted forward, whispering quickly: "My lady, they are here for a divorce. The man is Ted Hannigan, and the woman is Courtney Hannigan. Mr. Hannigan is a novelist and the financier and accountant of the Free spirit beast men, a small group of beast men who don’t believe in wearing clothes. They have an estate in this city, but the main branch is in the capital. Because Mr. Hannigan refuses to dress, every judge has rejected this case for a year."
Sienna pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, I am going to do the same thing the judges did. He is a panda beast man. Send him to the matriarch of their tribe."
Mika grimaced. "Yeah, I tried. She said the divorce applicant is a fox beast woman so...and I quote her words directly, ’its your stinking ass to deal with, not hers.’"
Sienna winced. "Dammit! Then I refuse to see him unless he is covered. I will not have his naked butt on my chairs!"
Mr. Hannigan puffed his chest proudly. "Clothing is a prison! Nakedness is the spirit of openness! If the gods intended for us to dress up, then we would be born wearing clothes. Lady Sienna, you should embrace your true nature. I promise that you will learn to love it."
Sienna’s eyes narrowed. "Openness? I think the king has given you people too much freedom that you are misusing it. This is not openness, it is indecency.Cover yourself before you sit in my office."
Mr. Hannigans lawyers imemdiately raised their voices. "Our client has legal rights! His lifestyle is protected under the charter of beast freedoms. You cannot discriminate against his beliefs. That is criminal."
"My children are in this building." Sienna snapped. "What about their legal rights not to be exposed to a grown man’s ass and thinly covered man parts?"
Mrs. Hannigan stepped forward, voice trembling. "Matriarch, then I suggest we go into your office where no child can see him. The sooner you give us a ruling, the sooner he is gone. You have children to protect, and so do I. They are now bullied at school because their father walks around like this. I was fired from my job because he came to my office like this three times and made a scene. I cannot live like this anymore. I was never a believer in this naked cult of his. I just want freedom for my and my children. They are in the waiting lounge right now, go and tell them that we can’t escape this nightmare just because you don’t want a sweaty butt print on your chair." Her eyes glistened with exhaustion.
Sienna’s heart softened. She took a step back and peeked into the waiting lounge where three children were sitting with their grandparents. Their young faces were pale with shame.
"Fine," she muttered, walking back. "Mika drape the chair Mr. Hannigan will be sitting on with a disposable cloth. If he insists on being naked at least my furniture will not suffer."
"I can’t say the same for your eyes." Mija muttered.
Mika and the guards hurried to obey. They covered every sit in the office, except for Sienna’s chair. After that, the Hannigan’s were allowed into the office.
Mr. Hannigan strutted in, utterly shameless, as if he were a king. He sat down, legs spread wide, grinning. "Ah, this is better. You see, Matriarch? Nakedness is purity. You should try it."
Sienna’s lips twitched. "If I ever try it, it will not be in front of you. Now let’s discuss your divorce and wrap it up in ten minutes. I cannot look at you for longer than that."
Mrs. Hannigan’s lawyers quickly presented documents: financial records, testimonies of harassment, reports of bullying the children were enduring. Mr. Hannigan’s lawyers countered with arguments about freedom, spiritual openness and communal assets.
Sienna slammed her newly acquired gavel on the table. "Enough! This is not about philosophy. This is about a woman who has suffered humiliation, children whose lives have been turned upside down, and a marriage that has collapsed because one person has decided that their comfort is more important than the comfort of a whole family. Mr. Hannigan, do you deny that your wife has begged for this divorce for a year?"
Mr. Hannigan shrugged, utterly unbothered. "She is weak. She fears the truth of the body. I tried to open her eyes but she clings to false modesty. If she leaves me, she will never know freedom."
Sienna leaned forward, eyes blazing. "Freedom is not forcing your beliefs on others. Freedom is choice. Your wife and children have chosen to leave you and I am granting it."
Mrs. Hannigan burst into tears. "Thank you, Matriarch. I thought I would have to endure this mess forever."
Mr. Hannigan smirked. "Do you think you have won? I am an award winning, best selling author. My estate is vast. My followers are loyal. Our nakedness philosophy will spread across cities. Even you, Matriarch, will one day see the wisdom of bare skin."
Sienna snorted. "I have not heard one word out of you about regret for destroying your family, or worry about your children’s futures, only this nakedness crap. And I have heard enough. Let’s talk assets."
The arguments got heated, dragging on for far longer than the ten minutes she wanted Mr. nakedness in her office. The man was right about his vast estates, they were eight three! He was wealthier than some of the nobles and CEO’s she had dealt with. He also didn’t have a prenuptial agreement, and his wife, who was very bitter about the loss of her job, was determined to take as much from him as she could.
When it came to custody, even though Mr. Hannigan’s lawyers tried, it was a lost cause. Sienna almost threw the gavel at the man when he claimed the children should be raised "free of cloth."
Finally, after four hours of heated debate, Sienna signed the divorce papers after the couple and stamped them. "This marriage is dissolved. Full custody goes to the mother. If anyone is not satisfied with the division of assets, they can appeal in court, not to me. And you--" she pointed to Mr. Hannigan, "--will leave my office immediately."
He opened his mouth but a guard grabbed his arm and pulled him out forcefully. The chair he had sat on was also dragged out. Sienna had been right to worry about her furniture. There was a sweaty butt print on the cloth that covered it!
After all the Hannigans left and Mika wiped down every surface Mr. Hannigan had touched, Sienna sunk into her chair and rubbed her temples. "Maybe Lady Cadelaria is right. This office suddenly feels like it needs a change."
Mija burst into laughter. She thought to herself that she had been right to choose to work for Sienna. Where else could she have seen a scene like this?