Chapter 8
It was almost impossible for Belle to ever enter the Rothiers estate. Hard to believe, but surprisingly, it was true.
The Duke of Rothiers had never shown any interest in Cedric’s marriage and had been so busy with state affairs that he had hardly ever seen her.
As soon as Belle arrived in Rothiers, almost as if she had been kicked out of Agrita, she was sent to a separate annex.
There was no wedding to begin with, and on that very day, she was roughly bathed and made up by the maids to prepare for the wedding night.
The heavy makeup was one thing, but the deeply cut dress looked vulgar.
Anyone, even an idiot, would have been able to tell that she had purposely chosen such a dress and makeup. From her appearance, it seemed as though she was not Cedric’s legitimate wife, but more like a courtesan.
No, perhaps she was treated even worse than that.
“You can stay here.”
Returning to Rothiers brought back only unpleasant memories.
The servant who guided them kept sneaking glances at Belle and Ian. Originally, they were supposed to stay in different, far-apart guest rooms.
However, Ian insisted that they couldn’t be separated and moved to a room next to his own, where he had stayed when he lived in Rothiers.
“You can go now.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The servant, who had guided them, left, and Belle naturally entered the room she was supposed to share with Ian.
Very openly.
Of course, the servant, who was still there before fully leaving, hurriedly ran off, eyes wide in shock.
Strictly speaking, they weren’t fully married yet, but they were already acting as though they were. This must have been to spread the word. It was likely that Belle’s resemblance to Cedric’s late wife added to the gossip.
“What are you thinking so much about?”
“…I feel strange.”
“Why?”
“Actually, I’ve never even set foot in my family’s estate before, let alone stay there. But now, I’ve been given a place to live here.”
“Really? Then where did you stay?”
“In the annex.”
“The annex?”
Ian seemed confused, having never heard of the annex. Well, it was called an annex, but in reality, it was more like a storage area in the mansion.
When Belle explained in detail where she had stayed, Ian was shocked.
“You stayed in a place like that… huh…”
He seemed speechless.
Not only had Cedric made his wife live in such a place, but he had also killed her. Belle couldn’t help but be amazed at how morally bankrupt Cedric was.
And then his attitude earlier had been utterly ridiculous.
“As long as you’re with me, you’ll never have to go to the annex.”
“Yes. I don’t plan to be treated like that again either.”
Belle said confidently, giving a sly smile.
* * *
Cedric’s third marriage was a failure.
Why? Because Cedric, who wanted a powerful family, chose the daughter of a house as his third wife.
However, since it was his third marriage, the demands from the other side were numerous.
Even in Rothiers, a third marriage would carry many blemishes. Most importantly, both of his previous wives had passed away, which would have left a bad impression.
In any case, after agreeing to all the demands, Cedric pushed through the marriage with the young lady of the Marquis of Sebine.
Considering a solid political alliance with the Marquis, Cedric thought it wasn’t a bad deal. However, Lady Dot of the Sebine Marquisate had a terrible personality.
How terrible? So bad that even Cedric couldn’t handle it.
“The look on your face when you saw that woman earlier was something else, wasn’t it?”
“……”
“Looked like you were in love or something.”
As soon as Cedric returned, he had to endure Dot’s relentless nagging. To make matters worse, his pride prevented him from uttering a single word in protest.
After all, he had promised the Marquis that Dot would never shed a tear.
With his wife acting this way, Cedric couldn’t dare to spend much time outside.
Once, he went out to enjoy himself as he used to, only to be immediately summoned by the Marquis.
The ironic part? Even with such a powerful political ally, Cedric remained nothing more than a perennial “eldest son.”
This gave Dot a strong justification to nag him endlessly.
“Now that your younger brother is back, what are you going to do? Don’t you think you should think about that? Do you remember why I married you? How much longer are you going to keep being so pathetic?”
Her words poured out like a machine gun.
The truth was, there wasn’t a single lie in what Dot said, which only grated on Cedric’s pride even more.
“Instead of being on alert, your eyes are wandering to women!”
“I’m sorry…”
“If you’re sorry, secure your position as the heir already! How much longer are you going to remain just the eldest son?”
“…Please, don’t call me that.”
“Ha, does that bother you now? Then stop being the eldest son and prove your worth. Then I won’t have to say it.”
Dot glared at Cedric with an annoyed expression and sent him away.
She made it clear he wasn’t even allowed to think about sleeping in the same room tonight.
Her actions were excessive, especially for someone who had once been just a marquis’s daughter.
There had been times when Cedric couldn’t take it anymore and had fought back. But each time, Dot would immediately leave and retreat to her family, demanding a divorce.
If Cedric divorced his third wife and broke ties with the Sebine Marquisate, he would lose far too much.
Dot knew this well and skillfully used her position to her advantage.
“Ha…”
And so, Cedric remained tied to her.
Because of this, he could rarely meet Deloni anymore. If he stayed out too long, he would face immediate scolding at home.
Even so, Deloni was Cedric’s only solace.
When he was with her, he felt at ease. She was the only one who sided with him no matter what. Cedric believed that Deloni was his final love.
Sometimes, he felt a pang of sadness, thinking that if Deloni were the daughter of an earl rather than a baron, he would have married her without hesitation.
But today, after seeing that woman who resembled Belle Agrita and then coming back to face Dot, Cedric was suddenly reminded of his time living with Belle.
“…She really was a good person.”
Regret began to creep in.
Despite his love for Deloni, Cedric found himself reminiscing fondly about the time he had spent with Belle.
What if he hadn’t killed Belle and had continued living with her?
“No, wait. Couldn’t I still fix everything?”
Even if she had lost her memory, Belle was originally his wife.
It didn’t make sense for his wife to be living with his half-brother. It was all because Belle had lost her memory.
If she regained her memories, wouldn’t she come to her senses?
If he divorced his current wife and reestablished ties with Agrita, it might work.
Since her death had nullified their marriage, they could remarry without legal complications.
Over the past year, while Belle was presumed dead, Agrita had firmly established itself in central politics.
It was an incredible display of resilience, but it only made Belle more valuable to him now.
If Agrita had established itself a bit earlier, Cedric wouldn’t have killed Belle. Actually, since she had returned alive, it meant he hadn’t committed any crime in the first place.
The ones who had attempted murder were others, after all.
“Hmmm…”
Should he go visit Count Agrita?
Agrita had managed to secure a place in central politics on its own, but it was clear that it was starting to struggle. To truly solidify its position, it would need more help from Rothiers.
Count Agrita, being a former ally, would surely prefer working with Cedric over Ian, who was more of a variable.
As for the events after Belle’s death, a simple apology could smooth things over. After all, political interests usually worked like that.
“I don’t like this.”
What he hated the most was that Ian was now after his wife, Belle.
He didn’t want to lose anything to Ian.
He couldn’t understand why his father always favored Ian, and why he hadn’t designated Cedric as the heir, despite being the eldest son.
Everything about the situation bothered him, from the beginning to the end.
And now Ian was coming to take the woman who had once been his?
“That’s not going to happen.”
He could just convince Count Agrita to support his marriage to Belle again. After all, daughters were always treated as political assets.
As for Ian, he could be dealt with by simply eliminating him.
If Ian was out of the picture, Belle would lose her potential husband.
At that point, if Cedric offered support, Belle’s feelings would likely change. After all, when they remarried, wouldn’t she smile at him the way she had for Ian?
Belle had always seemed like a woman of little beauty in his eyes.
The standards of beauty for women in the Aven Kingdom were different from those in the Bernou Empire, after all. But when she smiled, it was so beautiful that he couldn’t help but wonder why she had hidden such a smile.
He even found himself wanting to see that smile again.
