Decided To Become A Bad Wife

Chapter 11

The high priest, sensing that something was off with the two, quickly recited the next important line.
“Groom, kiss the bride.”

With that, Stefan cupped Rachel’s face with his large hand. Her round, white face with its pink curls was enough to remind him of a pawn. Although the tiara on her head might have made her look like a queen, in Stefan’s eyes, she was unmistakably a mere pawn on the chessboard. He smirked at the sight of such an insignificant and lowly pawn, then pretended to kiss Rachel’s left cheek while whispering out of the high priest’s view.

“Miss Burke, are you truly sincere when you say you’ll do your best in this marriage?”

“I am sincere, Your Grace.”

As Stefan’s face moved closer to her right cheek, it was Rachel’s turn to ask a question.

“Do you really think I possess the qualities necessary to be the Duchess of Edmond, Your Grace?”

“Of course, Madam.”

Stefan answered while looking directly into Rachel’s eyes. Rachel faltered for a moment, surprised that he had upgraded her title from “Miss Burke” to “Madam.” But only for a moment. Soon, Rachel smiled at him.

“I will strive to become a wife worthy of you, Your Grace.”

Suddenly, Rachel’s blue eyes flashed with a sharp light. No, not blue—they were purple. Stefan, startled, quickly withdrew his hand from her face. The memory of last night in the rose garden, where he had thought Rachel’s blue eyes reminded him of the sea, flashed through his mind. Hadn’t Susan told him that his bride had pink hair and blue eyes? Thinking that the overly bright sunlight had played tricks on his eyes, Stefan blinked. It was indeed a mistake. The eyes of Rachel standing before him were still the deep blue of the ocean.

Finally reassured, Stefan gave her a relaxed smile and answered her expectation.

“I look forward to it, Duchess of Edmond.”

His chiseled face moved toward Rachel again. Stefan lightly bit and released the bride’s plump lower lip, which had frozen slightly. It was a very brief kiss. The high priest was pleased with the groom’s cautious approach. He had seen many couples who, shamelessly, rubbed their lips together in front of him without any sense of propriety. Of course, it didn’t matter what kind of kiss they exchanged. The high priest had already decided in his heart to acknowledge Stefan and Rachel as the Duke and Duchess of Edmond.

“May the blessings of the Lord always be with the Duke and Duchess of Edmond.”

***

Rita had prepared a bright pink dress for the reception, intending to embarrass me even further.
“Still shocking, no matter how many times I see it.”

In my past life, I had worn that dress with a grimace, but now I could wear it without a care. No one would be paying attention to what color dress I wore anyway. I took off all the pink diamond jewelry I had been adorned with and carefully placed it in a jewelry box. I changed into the dress as slowly as possible, fixing my hair and makeup. Because of this, the high priest had to wait outside the bride’s room. The reason I made him stand at the door was that I didn’t want the rumors about me donating all the jewelry to the temple to start from my own mouth.

“I’m sorry for making you wait so long, High Priest.”

“You didn’t make me wait at all. We will put the Duchess’s warm heart to good use in a worthy place.”

“Thank you, High Priest.”

The high priest hugged the jewelry box tightly, then hurried out of the Duke’s mansion under the escort of the temple priests. He was careful not to run into Rita Edmond along the way. It seemed that, despite his greed, the high priest had a good eye for people.

“Those things were never mine, in the past or now.”

I felt no regret about donating all the jewelry. It wasn’t mine in my past life either. After the ceremony in my previous life, Rita had immediately collected all the jewelry under the pretext of protecting it. Although she had designed the jewelry with the intent of humiliating me, she believed that the jewels she had painstakingly collected were naturally hers.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of what Rita might do once she found out that the dowry had been donated to the temple. If she decided to go to the temple herself to retrieve the dowry, it would certainly be an amusing situation. As I toyed with the only remaining item, my wedding ring, and turned around, I found myself face to face with two anxious-looking men.

“Rachel!”

“Sister!”

It was obvious they had rushed over after seeing my hair cut short, but I feigned ignorance and asked,
“What are you two doing here?”

Leopold glared, as if ready to punish whoever had dared to cut my hair so recklessly.

“Who did this?”

“I cut it myself.”

“What?”

Leopold, knowing how proud I had always been of the pink hair I inherited from our mother, seemed even more shocked.

“Leo, do you remember the story Mother used to tell us about the woman from the Huayue Continent when we were kids?”

“…”

“The woman who cut her hair because it got in the way of her work on the ship.”

“What does that have to do with you?”

“I’m in the same situation. I cut my hair because it was getting in the way of my work.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“This isn’t the Burke Marquis’s house anymore, Leo. And I’m no longer Rachel Burke.”

“…”

“I’m now the Duchess of Edmond. So I have to change accordingly. Trust me, Leo.”

As I firmly grasped Leopold and Remington’s hands, giving them a determined look, they both nodded in agreement.

“We just want you to be happy, Rachel.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect my happiness with my own hands.”

Even though I smiled brightly, Leopold’s frown didn’t fade. At that moment, a voice filled with coldness interrupted the three of us.

“Don’t worry, Lord Burke. The Duchess seems very determined.”

Stefan appeared, casually throwing out a sarcastic remark. Who knew how much of our conversation he had overheard?

“Your Grace, please take care of my sister.”

Leopold bowed respectfully to Stefan, entrusting me to him, and Remington followed suit.

I hadn’t cut my hair and changed the situation just so they could humble themselves like this. Overcome with emotion, I wanted to pull their hands and shout,

“Don’t bow your heads! You’ve done nothing wrong!”

But Stefan, seemingly indifferent to our tearful sibling bond, extended his hand toward me.

“The guests are waiting for us in the reception hall. Shall we go, my lady?”

“…Yes, Your Grace.”

I squeezed Leopold and Remington’s hands before releasing them and placing my hand in Stefan’s. As we headed toward the reception hall, leaving them behind to watch my retreating figure, my steps felt as heavy as if they were weighed down with iron shackles.

“You said you cut your own hair, did you?”

He must have been listening from the beginning. Damn it.

“…Yes.”

“Do you know what became of that woman from the Huayue Continent?”

“What?”

“She grew her hair out again.”

“And how do you know about her, Your Grace?”

“Because she’s a well-known figure among merchants who trade with the Huayue Continent.”

As I looked at him, startled, with wide eyes, he asked the question I had been about to ask.

“Aren’t you curious why she grew her hair out again?”

“…”

“I heard it was because of jealousy.”

“Jealousy?”

“Women are often swayed by petty emotions rather than grand ideals.”

It seemed Stefan intended to mock the insignificant ambitions of women, suggesting they were trivial beings who would cling to fleeting emotions.

“So men don’t fall in love and end up in messes because of it?”

In my past life, he hadn’t even stayed by his wife’s side when she was about to give birth. In fact, he hadn’t shown his face at the mansion around the expected date at all. Even in a loveless marriage, he should have at least shown some basic care as a husband and father. Come to think of it, I didn’t recall hearing his voice at my own funeral either.

“And despite that disgraceful treatment, I ended up remarrying this man… If it weren’t for the kids…”

As I bit my lip to suppress my bitterness, I asked him the question I most wanted to know.

“Your Grace, are you familiar with Sophia Burke and Marquis Raphael Burke?”

“Regrettably, I’ve never met your parents.”

“Ah, I see. Then I suppose you know nothing about the Burke Trading Company either?”

“I’ve heard of it, but given the difference in scale and our distinct trade goods, we’ve never crossed paths.”

“Oh, I see…”

Everything he said annoyed me. It felt as though he was implying that the great Edmond Trading Company had no need to bother with an insignificant one. What irritated me even more was that I couldn’t hear a hint of his true feelings. Not during the wedding, when I was holding his hand, nor now as we headed to the reception hall. I couldn’t hear a thing.

“Does that mean every irritating word coming out of his mouth is sincere?”

I was seething, but I decided not to press further. I could always confirm later when he was more vulnerable. As we entered the reception hall, congratulations poured down on us like a torrential rain.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Duke Edmond, and Duchess Edmond.”

“Thank you.”

For the first time, I truly felt like the Duchess of Edmond.