Contract Marriage Interrupted

Episode 90. Crack (1)

 

Walter didn’t seem particularly surprised by Odette’s question.

He was no fool, and when he’d put that clause in the contract, he’d thought it might happen someday.

“……I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Thinking about suicide? That’s the most absurd thing I’ve heard recently.”

Walter sighed, exhaled without a trace of amusement, as if he didn’t even bother to pray.

It was time to pull out the excuses he had prepared for such moments.

“I’m the only one in Ertmann’s descendant. What will happen to this family when I die?”

“But Sir Arnold’s nephew is also listed as the successor.”

“…….”

The first excuse was blocked.

“It’s strange for someone your age to have a successor so early.”

“In the past, I could have died on the battlefield, so I registered as a precaution. Someone has to take over eventually, and my grandfather was-.”

“I thought that was the first thing you did when you returned from the battlefield a few months ago?”

The second excuse was also blocked.

The excuse that he registered a successor in advance because he might die on the battlefield is unfair because he registered a successor after returning from the battlefield.

It was not difficult for Walter to guess where the superficiality of his lies had been revealed.

 

“…… And grandfather?”

“He didn’t particularly approve of your choice.”

Odette answered, shaking her head lightly.

The conversation with Arnold was an opportunity to ignite Odette’s suspicions that had been lingering around her ankles all along.

Arnold had rarely mentioned a child, fearing that it might cause Odette and Walter to split up.

However, as their relationship seemed to strengthen after marriage, he subtly started bringing up the topic of grandchildren, and that day was no exception.

– He keeps insisting on making the first child the successor, regardless of gender. But the current successor is utterly incompetent, which I detest.

– There…… someone serving as the successor now?

– You didn’t know? Well, it doesn’t matter. He’s utterly useless. I don’t know what Walter was thinking, appointing someone like that as his successor…… Tsk. This is why I say the battlefield is a terrible place to be. They completely abandon people.

Upon hearing from Arnold that Walter had registered a successor as soon as he returned, she quietly looked into the person.

Arnold’s nephew, he was far from a swordsman, and was a knowledgeable and gentle person.

As Arnold assessed, he was somewhat lacking in leading a huge family, but at least he was not a person who relied on his enormous background and acted violently.

However.

– I still don’t understand why Walter, or even you, would register a successor so early when you’re both still young. At some point, he has to do something that makes sense…….

Odette agreed with Arnold.

 

Usually, a successor is registered in case there is no one who can replace the head of the family, but in Ertmann, Arnold was alive and well. This means that there is no need to register a successor already.

It certainly is. Walter was hiding something.

‘I’ve known about it since you told me about the masquerade.’

As Ellie had predicted, Odette could see that Walter’s excuses were not good enough.

If he was only after the bootleggers, there would be no reason for him to risk such a misunderstanding and keep it a secret from Odette.

Unless he was trying to hide something more.

‘And…… when I brought it up again, Walter deliberately changed the subject.’

Inside the carriage on their way back to Ertmann’s residence after the wedding.

When Odette urged him not to hide anything, he didn’t say he would.

He simply asked her to do something difficult, and then changed the subject to the first night.

Of course, Odette knew.

She just.

‘Wanted to turn a blind eye.’

She didn’t want to break her relationship with Walter. She wanted to maintain this peace.

She could ignore the problem in the shallow excuse that Walter would eventually tell her the truth.

But today, on the way back to Ertmann’s, Odette realized.

‘If I continue like this, I’ll become a coward.’

 

Accepting what Walter gave her with pleasure, Odette was turning a blind eye to him.

What would be the difference between her and the Countess Noarch, who had left Walter with a pitiful excuse?

“Walter. Do you remember what I said before? I wanted to live an ordinary life.”

“……Even if you say you want to live an ordinary life now, I can’t grant you a divorce.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I want you to be honest with me, because I…… want to be honest with you too.”

Odette said, holding Walter’s hand.

And Walter was a little surprised that he could even think of wanting to shake her hand away.

In fact, his heart sank with every word she said.

If it had been someone else, they might have avoided her sincere gaze.

Shed tears and confessed everything.

There were two reasons why Walter could feign indifference.

The first was that memories of losing Odette were blocking his mouth.

The second was that selfishness prevailed over guilt in Walter’s innermost feelings.

‘I could never be a good person.’

Feeling not guilt but selfishness in response to the request for honesty.

He realized he should be tormented by the absurdity of having to deceive her for her own sake if he truly cared for Odette.

 

Walter felt a desperate urge to confess everything.

If by any chance he really spoke ‘honestly’ about everything…….

‘…… Would you feel any pity on me?’

Would you remember me even after I’m gone?

Could you be exclusively mine, not caring about anyone else?

Would you think of me, even if just half as much as I suffered because of you?

More than Louis Clovis, more than Cedric……. could you cherish me more?

He wanted Odette to be happy, but at the same time he wanted her to be unhappy because she loved him.

If he was sure that Odette would shed a single tear of sorrow when he died, he felt he could die without any regrets.

Before the love that came to him even in the face of his death, he felt infinitely miserable, pathetic, and at the same time petty and selfish.

Thanks to that, Walter always felt like he was walking on a tightrope in front of Odette.

If he took one more step, he would be honest with Odette.

Because even when Odette didn’t directly demand it, he often felt this impulse, so when Odette came straight at him like this, his patience wore even thinner.

“……I’ve never lied to you.”

“But you’ve never been completely honest either, have you?”

“Everyone has secrets.”

“We shouldn’t have any secrets between us. That way, I can also…… decide how I feel about you.”

 

Odette was usually gentle and soft-spoken, but at times like this, her honey-colored eyes glowed with determination and firmness.

Is that what it means to trust someone?

In the past, even when Odette handed him the pendant, she had the same expression on her face.

A face that made him feel like he was something special to her.

An expression that did not fade even in the face of death, making him want to live a little longer.

In front of that face, Walter’s flimsy patience lost its shine.

Rather than thinking he should stay silent for Odette’s sake, selfishness prevailed, urging him to confess everything to her, seeking sympathy or whatever, just to etch his existence into her mind.

Without realizing what desires Walter harbored, Odette continued her serious tone.

“You need to be honest with me, Walter. You…….”

Walter lowered his gaze.

If the same question came up again, he felt he wouldn’t be able to stay silent any longer.

“…… Are you afraid that my father will retaliate against you for marrying me?”

“That’s right…….”

Walter’s reflexive attempt to nod his head suddenly stopped.

“……?”

Retaliation?

A big question mark hovered overhead, but Odette had already heard the affirmation that had just flowed from Walter’s mouth.

“As expected! I knew it. I couldn’t think of anything else.”

 

“Wait, hold on.”

“Honestly, I think it’s petty, but I also don’t think there’s a chance the Emperor will retaliate. I was concerned about that, and you were too!”

Before Walter could interrupt, Odette was admiring her own deduction skills.

‘Walter…… is preparing for his own death.’

She didn’t know why, but it was clear from the contract.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a compulsive need to document the slim possibility of his own death.

The important thing was the reason. Why?

And Odette found a plausible explanation.

It was because the Emperor’s wrath might send Walter back to the battlefield once again if he pursued marriage with her!

It made sense that Walter, who should have been living comfortably in the capital, had returned to the battlefield all this time as a way to atone for “that incident.”

And so far, Walter has easily achieved great results and returned from difficult battlefields.

“Most likely, the next battlefield you’ll be sent to will be someplace notorious for its harsh conditions. It’d be best if it’s not rocky terrain…… Those places are prone to endemic diseases.”

The probability of Walter being sent to such a place where he could easily fall victim to disease or be killed under the guise of disappearance, suicide, or murder abroad was high.

So it makes sense that he would deliberately try to make a name for himself by delving into bootlegging to avoid incurring the Emperor’s wrath in that way.

And most importantly, this hypothesis would explain why Walter kept it from Odette.

 

‘In a way, it’s like I provided the cause.’

If he hadn’t married Odette, he wouldn’t have had to prepare for this risk.

“You didn’t tell me this on purpose because you didn’t want me to feel guilty, did you?”

“……Yes.”

As she laid out her deductions, Walter’s patience was restored.

‘I must have lost my mind. To think of telling everything.’

It felt like he was throwing fuel onto the fire of his own plans.

If Odette hadn’t misunderstood, something could have really happened.

‘Thank goodness.’

Walter thought so, but there was something he hadn’t realized.

The obvious relief that he couldn’t hide suddenly appeared on his face.

And that Odette had witnessed it.