Contract Marriage Interrupted

Episode 40. The Emperor’s wicked tricks

 

Neither the Marchioness Patrice nor Katarina were in a hurry to open their mouths.

Of course, they could have dismissed Odette’s words as lies.

‘Things have gotten out of hand.’

The truth may have been kept secret from Countess Mura’s parents house so far, but now that the truth has come out of Odette’s mouth, people will definitely go to Count Mura or those related to him and ask questions.

– I heard this story. Is it true?

And if it turns out to be true…… all the people who dismissed it as a lie will look ridiculous.

‘No, there is no need to go that far.’

If at Marquis Patrice’s tea party he had hastily criticized Count Mura’s work and called him unscrupulous, if it were to spread, Marquis Patrice’s reputation would have hit rock bottom that day.

It would be better to cover up this topic before others realized the one who brought it up.

Katarina, who had made a good decision, was the first to put a friendly smile on her face.

“You have a point, Odette. It’s a good thing you were able to clear the innocent’s name and clear up the misunderstanding for others.”

“That’s too much praise. I was just saying what I knew, it’s no big deal.”

As Katarina gold-plated Odette’s face and Odette looked embarrassed, the other noble ladies quickly joined in.

 

“It’s no wonder, not everyone has the courage to speak of what they know.”

“I am very happy to know that Your Highness is fully qualified to be Ertmann’s hostess.”

The words ‘Ertmann’s hostess’ came out of someone’s mouth.

And Katarina was waiting for those words to come out.

It was the perfect time to change the subject.

“It’s been a very long time since Ertmann had a hostess. Isn’t it?”

Marquis Patrice took the lead in saying these words, and the other noble ladies she had previously told began to add their words.

“You’re right, Madam. It’s been a long hiatus, and it’s a pity,If it hadn’t been for ‘that incident’ we might have heard from them sooner.”

“At least this time Duke Ertmann has taken Her Royal Highness as his official wife, so at least the fear of a similar incident happening has decreased.”

“Oh, my lady. No joke.”

Several of the ladies covered their mouths and giggled among themselves, then continued.

Naturally, the topic turned to Walter’s father, Luther.

“Running away at night with the princess, how can a person who has lived his entire life as a high-ranking noble have no sense of shame…….”

“It made no sense for such an impulsive and immoral person to be the head of Ertmann.”

“On the other hand, the current Duke of Ertmann has been praised since his days at the Academy, right?”

They naturally shifted the topic to Walter and added.

“But…… Once a seed is engraved in one’s veins, it rarely changes.”

“Besides, a person who has been on the battlefield all the time can be quite impulsive and violent.”

Even without a few words, Odette was able to sense the meaning of what they were saying.

When their attack on Odette was blocked, they decided to take down Walter.

“I think you’d better be careful, Your Highness, you never know with people, right?”

Odette’s face stiffened at the blatant mockery.

* * *

 

Wellington Hotel, where Marquis Patrice’s tea party is in full swing.

Beneath the enormous platinum chandelier that was said to be the centerpiece of the Wellington Hotel, there was an angry stampede across the beautifully carved white marble floor.

And a rush to stop them.

“Come on, Your Excellency, are you sure you want to do this? Could you please reconsider?”

“Let go of me, Yannick, I won’t say it again.”

“Your Excellency……!”

Yannick, the attendant who was following him, could not bring himself to raise his hand and looked as if he was going to grab his trouser leg at any moment, but the older man ahead of him did not seem to see this at all.

Moreover, Yannick knew that there was no way he could stop it even if he did.

Because the person he was trying to stop was an old man in name only, but in reality he had the power to kill a person with his bare hands.

Arnold Ertmann, or the ancestral Duke Ertmann.

And now he has passed the title to his grandson, Walter, and is now called the Marquess of Puart.

‘How can I stop this person……!’

It is impossible both physically and in other ways.

A long coat over a three-piece suit, and the family seal.

Arnold’s angular back, dressed in formal attire, was sturdy, showing that it was no pretense that he had long been known as the best knight in the Empire.

He was originally tall and massive, and he had thick muscles that he had never lost in his life, so his mere presence felt so huge that it felt intimidating.

In addition, his facial expression, hardened by a long career as a knight, made him look like a man who did not know the two words ‘compromise’, and the well-trimmed beard along his chin played a role in making Arnold’s atmosphere even more dignified.

Moreover, it seems like the time period that was supposed to be applied equally to everyone has been evaded by half.

Arnold looked much younger than his age, which leads us to guess that he was quite famous for his appearance as a young man.

Aside from the fact that his hair, which was once pitch black, has faded to gray, his appearance shows no signs of age.

Of course, also in strength.

Thanks to this, Yannick had to shed tears inside and realize one thing.

‘This person is not me, I can’t beat him even if there are three clones of me……!’

Why do I have to go through this ordeal.

Yannick, the manager of the Wellington Hotel, recalled a conversation he had with a guest who came to visit in a hurry this morning.

 

– Is that true, Sir Russell?

– Why should I lie to you? The Marquess of Puart will be here within two days.

– No, why do you come to the hotel, instead of going to the Duke of Ertmann’s?

– …… I have an excuse. Just remember one thing. When the Marquess of Puart arrives, send word to Ertmann, and do not let him leave the hotel until a man comes from Ertmann.

Russell walked away as quickly as he had come with those words.

‘But you said within two days, so I thought I’d have a little time to spare!’

Who would have thought that Arnold’s carriage would come right after lunch today?

In fact, he might have to call the guards to stop it.

This is the Wellington Hotel, where elite guards are always on duty for the safety of our guests.

But how can he do that against Arnold!

In the end, Yannick throws himself into the fray to stop Arnold.

“Your Excellency the Marquess, please hold on a second. Shouldn’t you at least eat something? It’s been a while since you’ve been here, but I’m sorry that I can’t even talk to you and see you off.”

Now tea time was almost over.

This means that it was a somewhat inappropriate time to talk about meals.

But Yannick was too busy thinking about stopping Arnold, and had no time to worry about such things.

He almost begged and dragged Arnold towards the hall.

“This way, if you’ll just wait a moment, I’ll bring out some simple refreshments. really! A very fine and precious tea has been brought in, so if you’ll just look at me…….”

In the end, Arnold shook off his hands as if swatting at an annoying fly.

“Eish! Annoying guy. I’ll give you five minutes!”

“Yes?”

“I’m giving you five minutes to go look at the food vendor or the refreshment vendor. Do I have to tell you twice?”

“N-no!”

“Tsk, annoying…….”

Arnold clicked his tongue, saying he was being bothered.

Because Yannick was so clingy that he couldn’t stand it, he reluctantly listened to what he had to say, but his eyes were unwelcoming.

The reason was simple.

‘I have to go see His Majesty right now, and I’m stuck with this. Tsk, I thought you said you’d grow old.’

I was anxious.

Arnold frowned and recalled a few days ago, as if he were a child in distress.

.

.

.

 

“What?! Walter is going to marry the Fourth Princess!”

When he suddenly received news from the capital.

Arnold ended up spilling the hot coffee all over his front clothes.

Thanks to this, Arnold’s wardrobe of favorite vests lost its fifth collection.

It was a rare, dull white color that was so pretty that even Arnold wore it sparingly.

However, Arnold had no time to regret losing his beloved vest.

“Has this damned Emperor finally grown senile? He’s used Ertmann so much that he has to give my grandson an illegitimate Princess!!!”

“Go away, Your Excellency, That’s an insult to the imperial family…….”

“Will you shut up, what kind of desecration of the Imperial family is this when Ertmann is being subjected to this shit right now!”

It’s only been two months since Walter returned to the capital.

Nevertheless, Arnold had heard from the capital that Walter had begun to socialize.

‘Well, it’s time to get back into the swing of things.’

The world said that it was amazing that Ertmann was still going strong after being closed for so long, but in reality, such comments could not come out of Ertmann.

It’s natural. How could the loss have been so great after being out of action for such a long time?

Still, since Ertmann had committed a crime, he didn’t dare to come forward and kept his mouth shut.

At least until Walter returns from the battlefield after making a big contribution.

‘Quite a bit, Walter, that guy is mean-spirited, has a bad temper, and isn’t particularly compassionate, but he is very good at war, no matter whose grandson he is.’

 

The number of credits that Walter gave to the imperial family is already in excess of one hand.

So now is the time to truly remove the criminal label.

Arnold was also preparing to throw a grand party when Walter returned to the Duchy of Ertmann after the social season ended.

‘I’ll even have a true grandson and daughter-in-law.’

Sunny days will return to the deserted Duchy of Ertman!

It had only been yesterday that he’d gone over the list of potential mates for Walter.

And what?

“Not the Third Princess, but the Fourth Princess, and who is an illegitimate child, to Walter? This is disrespecting to Ertmann!”

“But Your Excellency, isn’t it possible that the Duke wanted to do this?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?! What kind of a bastard is Walter!”

And slam! Arnold slammed the table.

“I can speak on my honor!”

This!

“This must be the Emperor’s wicked trick!”