Contract Marriage Interrupted

Episode 1. The contract marriage was interrupted.

 

Sometimes reality feels more fictional than fiction itself.

There are usually two cases when that happens.

The first is when you’re so romanticized that all reality feels like fiction.

And the second is.

When something so unrealistic happens right in front of you that it seems like something out of a novel.

‘Odette Benoit Celestine’

The 4th Princess of the Celestine family, who was called the royal pet peeve, and always been careful not to be the first case.

Must keep in mind if you live under the label of an illegitimate child from the first place, it’s easy to get caught up in romance and lose sight of reality.

It’s easy if you want to.

Yeah, I’m sure it was…….

“Would you like to marry me on a contract, Your Highness.”

……Am I dreaming?

Odette looked up at the man who’s standing in front of her, she blinked her almond-like eyes.

Duke Walter Ertmann.

The lead of Ertmann, who is the key figure and holds high position within the empire.

And a war hero who recently returned from a rebellion in the north.

The terrace where they face now also belonged to the banquet hall to celebrate his return of victory.

No one would ever want to associated with a weedy Princess like Odette, that no one cared about.

The Duke is a celebrity.

‘In addition, Duke Ertmann is also a person who has been rumored to have a relationship with the Third Princess.’

But then Walter proposed to me.

With the word ‘contract marriage’.

Odette doubted her own ears.

“Excuse me, but are you mistaken?”

“Odette Benoit Celestine. I want you.”

So, he wasn’t mistaken.

Odette, who was called Benoit by her middle name, sighed briefly.

“Pardon me. It hasn’t been long since you came back to the capital, so I thought you might have mistaken people. ”

“It would be a shame if the lead of Ertmann seemed like a fool who could not even recognize the person he’s going to propose.”

“I didn’t mean that. It’s just, it’s so sudden.”

It was so sudden that the reality was too low.

“Walter Ertmann?”

For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming.

But the image of Walter’s face was too real to be a dream.

Dark green crimson eyes that stare back at you with a numbing emotionless.

The jet-black hair that the newspapers have praised so much, and the hard atmosphere that seems like they’ve never made a smile before.

But even this so-called statue-like face, which is stands out even more from that static aspect.

‘There’s no way I can remember Duke Ertmann’s face in so much detail.’

She only seen him from afar.

Odette had just found out the color of Walter’s eyes.

So obviously this is not a dream.

I’m sure it’s not…….

‘……A contract marriage?’

Walter looked so cynical and weary that made it hard to believe that he was the one who had just proposed to her a while ago.

Is this the attitude of the person who proposed? In fact, did the meaning of the proposal change without even realizing it?

Odette became confused.

Everything was confusing now, but the thing that confused her the most was that.

The contract marriage.

Don’t know what coincidence it is, but the reason Odette was standing here now is also because of the contract marriage.

The problem is that the opponent now standing in front of Odette’s eyes, Walter Ertmann? No, never… Never ever.

Odette had no intention of getting involved with Walter.

‘Marrying a man who has been rumored to have a relationship with the Third Princess?’

It’s ridiculous.

Odette asked after pondering.

“Have we met before?”

“If it’s not in your memory, we haven’t.”

“Then you don’t even know me. Why are you proposing to me? If it is not for convincing reasons, I will accuse your insolence to His Majesty Emperor.”

As Odette spoke she rounded her eyes set and sharp, Walter’s stern gaze loosened and relaxed.

It’s like he were enjoying something pleasurable.

“Is there a reason for marriage? Because I want you.”

“You don’t even know me well?”

” Isn’t that why we’re supposed to be getting to know each other?”

“What kind of sophistry……!”

“Whether it’s a sophistication or not. I don’t think it’s such a bad offer.”

Walter snapped Odette’s words, and added, staring at her with his arrogant gaze.

“In the next few days, it was obvious that the Emperor was going to arrange a post for over 60 courtiers.”

It’s only natural that the person who would take his place should come from among the King’s children.

So it was obvious who would have been chosen for the position.

The Fourth Princess, an illegitimate child with no mother to support her and no relatives. Odette Benoit Celestine.

“If you don’t catch a good marriage partner right now, aren’t you in a position to leave for the barren border to marry someone your father’s age?”

“……Yeah. You’re right.”

In the end, Odette admitted her situation.

If he ask her that she need a marriage partner, she have nothing to say. It was true.

Odette was in a situation where she had to hurry to find a suitable marriage partner, or else she’ll be sold by her father.

It was the purpose for Odette that had come to this banquet tonight.

“But that’s my business. I appreciate your concern, but I have someone else I want to marry.”

“I know. Count Louis Clovis.”

Odette’s eyes widened as the truth hit her.

“How do you know that, how do you…….”

“How can I not know when you’re looking at one person with such intensity? Even if I were Count Clovis, I would have recognized it.”

Odette’s face flushed at Walter’s words.

A man’s hand touched her flushed cheek. His hand, cooler than the cold night air, stroked her cheek gently and carefully, as if applying a cream.

A touch so tender it was hard to believe it belonged to the man who had been so arrogant and authoritarian just a moment before.

“I know who your Highness has in mind. And that you were thinking of asking him to marry you today.”

As he spoke, the color drained from Walter’s eyes.

It would be too much to say that he looked as if he were about to tell me something very sad.

Odette felt uncomfortable for a moment, but quickly brushed it off and pushed him away.

“……I don’t know how you knew all that, but shouldn’t you move now? The count will be here soon, and I’ll talk to him—”

“Well, your Highness seems to be mistaken about something, but if I had intended to give you a gentle way, wouldn’t there be no reason to come here?”

But the answer that came back was a little colder than before.

“As I said earlier, I intend to marry your Highness. One way or another.”

I don’t want to miss it stupidly this time.

I thought he muttered so.

“What the hell do you say…….”

Odette muttered in confusion, then stopped in her tracks.

She realized that Walter was now much closer to her than he had been at first.

He had his back to the door, and if anyone seen them from the outside, they were like in a position that would make it look like they were kissing.

The moment Odette tried to push Walter away in a raid of anxiety.

The door opened over Walter’s shoulder, and the face Odette had been waiting for appeared.

Louis Clovis.

“Your Highness, here…….”

And he was stunned speechless. It wasn’t because of Odette.

It was because he recognized the man who was covering her with a hug.

“Oh, no. I didn’t realize Duke Ertmann was here, pardon me. Have a nice time.”

Louis gave a friendly bow, then hurried out, closing the door behind him.

Leaving Odette behind.

“…….”

The two of them were alone on the terrace again.

Looking down at a stunned Odette, the interloper smirked.

“Well, now that the unwanted guest is gone…… let’s start from the beginning, Princess.”

About our marriage.

*

 

Odette Benoit Celestine.

The fourth daughter of the Celestine family, the illegitimate child of a nobody.

That’s the name she’s lived with all her twenty-six years.

Her mother was a maid.

Of course, since she is the maid of the imperial palace, she would have been a semi-precious or fallen noble.

There was no way to find out more.

Originally weak, she died right after giving birth to Odette, and no one in the Imperial Palace told Odette about her mother in detail.

If it weren’t for her silver hair, which resembled that of her father, the Emperor, Odette would never have been called a Princess.

So Odette was thrown into the palace without a shield to protect her.

“My mother says, you’re no different from street orphans. What do you mean humble?”

“You don’t think we’re the same just because we have the last name Celestine on that subject, do you?”

Odette’s siblings, especially the 2nd Prince and 3rd Princess, who are the children of Katarina the Empress, they would throw stones at her whenever they could.

They must have thought that by doing so, they would break Odette’s which grows like a weed.

Well, it looks like it did.

For no matter how much the Second Prince berated her, no matter how much the Third Princess poured her with tea, Odette could only giggle like a fool.

“How could I be like my sister and brother……. I’m just an illegitimate child.”

An imperial weed with no self-respect.

That was the Odette the world knew.

But deep inside, she had a hope.

‘One day I hope to leave the palace and live quietly.’

A peaceful life.

You can call it wild grass.

She wanted to live happily without being trampled on by anyone.

But this simple wish was the most difficult thing for Odette.

Being born into an imperial family means that you are in the spotlight from the moment you open your eyes to the world, whether you want it or not.

The mere fact of existence was a powerful card in the imperial game.

As a result, the imperial family was currently divided into two factions.

Cedric the Crown Prince, son of the late Empress, and Blake the 2nd Prince, who has Queen Katarina on his side.

Among them, it was Cedric, the Crown Prince, who lined up Odette without anyone knowing.

If she didn’t have the power to defend herself, she would be used and die a miserable death.

“You’ll be my henchman, I often leaving the Imperial Palace, so it will help me to keep an eye on the inner workings of the palace and the capital.”

“You were born into the imperial family, Odette, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to dream of blue skies once in a while.”

But Odette’s answer was always the same.

“I don’t care about that, it’s just a dream, and when I die, I’ll have nothing.”

No matter how rich and powerful you are, when you die, you’re just a handful of dirt.

Odette just wanted to live a long and peaceful life, to love, and to have a harmonious family.

To that end, Odette was willing to side with Cedric the Crown Prince.

If she becomes Cedric’s hand and foot, Cedric will gladly help Odette not to be sold to a political marriage.

However, it is not possible to be completely free from the scorching sun just by listening to a parasol protector.

Three months after Crown Prince Cedric left on a border inspection mission, a crisis struck Odette.

“I heard your Majesty arranges a post-wife for the White House.”

“Shouldn’t the Empress give Odette away in marriage sooner rather than later…….”

With the plot of Empress Katarina, an unwanted political spirit is approaching.