Contract Marriage Interrupted

Episode 35. An express scandal

 

Although the fact that Ellie’s claims were based on popular romance novels was a bit of a problem, Odette thought that the claims made quite a bit of sense.

‘Currently, there are no female members at Ertmann, so purchasing women’s items seems…… right.’

And Walter was objectively attractive.

So she deliberately put in a second condition, and didn’t expect it to go like this.

‘So you’re not seeing any women?’

It was an unexpected development.

And it felt strange.

For some reason, the words Walter said kept ringing in her ears.

– Is that what you wanted, Princess?

The problem is that even though it turned out differently than she intended, it still feel really good.

Even if they get married, of course it’s a contract marriage, so she was thinking about Walter having another lover.

Isn’t that possibility completely gone!

‘It’s better than just marriage.’

Even in an ordinary marriage made out of love, infidelity can happen as many times as you like, but if you keep it this way, the picture of a mistress appearing and threatening your position will never arise.

Of course, this was a prerequisite for getting married safely.

Walter, who had gathered the documents, tapped the table with his index finger.

 

“So, now that we have a contract, let’s talk about organizing the wedding. I’d like it to be as quick as possible.”

“Well, of course. Do you have a direction in mind?”

“The most reasonable thing would be for His Excellency to send me a marriage proposal publicly. We just need to get approval from His Majesty.”

“Well, that’s the safest thing to say, but it would also be the easiest…… to interrupt.”

“But it would be less risky as it would be formal, and you don’t like being the center of attention, do you?”

“To be honest, I don’t like it, but I’m pretty used to it. I’ve had a lot of work to do lately.”

And Odette realized that this was going to have its challenges.

‘After what happened with Blake not too long ago.’

There is no way that it will come out friendly.

So…….

“I’d like to try something else, something more definitive and faster.”

“Do you have an opinion?”

“Of course I do, though I don’t know if you’d mind.”

“Let me hear it. What is it?”

Odette smiled wryly at Walter’s words.

“Wedding rehearsal.”

Or, explode a special scandal?

As Odette continued to explain her plan, a chuckle escaped Walter’s lips.

A laugh that seems pleasant at first glance.

Walter, hiding his laughter, lightly rubbed his face.

“My princess is…… much bolder than I expected. Are you sure you won’t regret it?”

“Umm, I don’t have to…… but still.”

“Well, even if you did regret it, I didn’t really have any intention of backing down.”

Express scandal,  I like it.

Walter smiled loosely as he added.

* * *

 

A week later.

The young man who called himself Regis Xavier, or Count Xavier, stepped into the Imperial Palace grinding his teeth.

‘This damned…….’

Over the past few days, his face had become dull, like someone who had not been able to sleep.

A banquet at Count Xavier’s residence had been ruined by the appearance of a madwoman, and his reputation had gone into a vertical plunge.

Even so, Regis had a bad reputation, so when this happened, he was isolated from all sides as if he had been waiting for it.

The only thing he get from people of poor quality is giggling and asking him to buy them a drink.

All of Regis’s wide network of connections, which he had prided himself on, were ruined.

No one believed him when he said it was unfair, that he was being framed.

‘That crazy woman ……! I don’t know where she’s hiding, but if I find her, I’ll kill her.’

He looked everywhere for the actress named Helen, but he couldn’t find any trace of her.

 

Perhaps she had fled to a foreign country, and there was no sign that she had escaped, even though she had untied people.

‘She couldn’t have done it alone, she must have had someone behind her.’

And it turned out to be Duke Ertmann.

He hadn’t thought about it until recently, when Lizaina sent him a message.

– Look, I heard that Duke Ertmann took Odette and stayed for the night? There are traces of him back and forth after that.

– He also went to the L’Etel Theatre. You said the woman was from the L’Etel Theatre Company. Then isn’t it obvious?

Of course, the only traces of Walter’s visit to the L’Etel Theatre remained because the L’Etel Theatre was the largest theater in the capital.

Now that Regis was at the edge of a cliff, all the circumstantial evidence seemed to connect organically.

– Duke Ertmann hatched a plan to embarrass you. Maybe it’s because of Odette. Do you remember that Duke Ertmann said he wanted the Princess?

Lizaina put the right kind of firewood in Regis’s thoughts, and he took her word for it.

In the meantime, news arrives from Lizaina that both Walter and Odette have agreed to attend the palace’s periodic balls.

– They should be ashamed. Don’t you think?

With the encouragement of.

‘I’ll expose those bastards…… I will reveal your ugly bare face.’

Walter is Walter, but Odette was so unpleasant that he couldn’t stand it.

She was blushing and saying that she liked him at the Academy, but when Walter came, she was rejecting Regis and yelling at him!

Be it regret or not, a woman like that should have been put on the right foot.

Regis gritted his teeth.

 

‘Once the banquet is over, I will reveal all the evidence I have gathered.’

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t something that Regis had collected, and it was just a clumsy collection of data given to him by Lizaina, but Regis thought that his eloquence could sufficiently make up for the lack of data.

He’d paid a large sum of money to hire someone to kidnap Odette.

If all went well, Walter would be properly humiliated, and Odette would roll right back into his hands.

‘I don’t know anything else, but I’m pretty sure about the latter.’

Since they are the ones who paid a large amount of money and do their work thoroughly, there will be no problem.

Regis entered the banquet hall with a smile of conversion on his mind.

And it doesn’t take long for Regis to realize that there is no way his plan to humiliate him was going to work.

The moment when several dance numbers are over, the first part of the banquet comes to an end, and the banquet has reached its proper stage.

“My my.”

“Oh my…….”

Because Odette and Walter have kissed.

* * *

 

Sounds of gasping erupted from all over the banquet hall.

And also from Odette.

Lips pressed together, and an unfamiliar intrusion that she had never felt before.

Goosebumps rose at the unfamiliar sensation on the inside of her lips, and her heated exhale drifted between their touching nostrils.

It was the first real kiss she ever felt.

‘I didn’t mean to take it this far.’

Odette’s plan had been a simple kiss performance for show.

Not this deep a kiss.

However, it’s strange because she doesn’t even feel like opening her lips.

Walter was overly skilled. It seemed like he was pushing her, but before she realized it, he was guiding her.

And so Odette found herself clinging to him.

A little more. little bit more……. The moment she had that thought.

“That should be enough.”

“…… Ah.”

Walter parted his lips. As the cold air touched my wet lips, a feeling of regret burst out.

And Odette was startled by that fact.

Regret?

‘You’re crazy.’

I can’t believe I got this feeling from just a kiss.

This feeling and situation were all unfamiliar. Odette hastily backed away from Walter, rubbing her lips with the back of her hand.

No, she tried to do that. If Walter hadn’t snatched Odette at that moment.

“Where do you think you’re going with a face like that?”

“What do you mean, a face like that?”

“…… You should see it for yourself.”

“What?”

 

In response to Odette’s question, Walter narrowed his eyebrows and lightly squeezed her chin.

“It’s a real shame there are no mirrors here. If you had seen it in person, you wouldn’t have said that.”

And if Odette had seen herself in person, she would have known that no man could send her away in this state.

Odette’s innocent eyes turned to Walter.

The delicate features contained within a face that appeared to be less than a handful were clearly visible.

Golden eyes resembling clear bells and almond-shaped eyes. A straight nose and small cheeks. Long lashes that cast shadows over them.

And tiny lips that make him want to bite down and make her cry.

Odette was quite the beauty, though she didn’t seem to realize it yet.

The makeup is so light that it’s just not noticeable.

So this innocent woman in front of him won’t know.

How lovely she looks now.

Amber eyes beneath the long eyelashes that decorated her eyes sparkled transparently in the chandelier light.

The heat that flushed her cheeks was clearly visible thanks to the light makeup, and the makeup that was slightly smudged in the aftermath of the kiss gave off a fascinating atmosphere.

‘Fuck.’

Walter swore under his breath.

It was a sin to be naive at this point.

He can’t help it, Odette wanted him to do this, but he had to show this to others.

Walter tried to suppress his feelings and gently pulled Odette gently into his arms then whispered.

“Your Highness makeup has been messed up.”

“…… Ah.”

“If your intention was to humiliate yourself by going out looking like that, I won’t stop you.”

“Of course not.”

Odette’s pointy shoes stepped on Walter’s.

He couldn’t see her face because her head was bowed so low, but even without looking, it was clear that she had a sharper face than that shoe.

A soft smile curved his lips as he looked down at Odette.

“Then stay where you are.”

I’ll escort you.

Walter put his hands under Odette’s knees and waist and hugged her.

When he lifted his head, he saw countless eyes fixed on them.

Most of them were full of astonishment and surprise, but some were of a different color.

For example, Regis gaze full of jealousy and anger.

And, not far away, Louis Clovis was also looking confused.

As their eyes met, a voice from his memory passed through Walter’s mind.

– Duke, do you know what? I really hate people like you. I don’t know what gives you the right to look at me with such an air of superiority. You and my wife Odette……….

He felt disgusted when he remembered Louis drunken and slurred voice.

Walter frowned, turned around, and leisurely left the banquet hall.

It was the beginning of a scandal that would sweep the social world.