Sickly? Husband's Contractual Wife

Chapter 97

“A visitor? That can’t be.”

Who on earth would visit me at the duke’s house?

“Who is it?”

“It’s the young lady from the Marquis of Lotrange.”

At the maid’s words, I nearly spilled the glass I was holding.

“Veronica?”

* * *

“Hello, Duchess.”

Veronica, walking toward me, looked like someone who had stepped out of a painting.

And she somehow seemed familiar.

Before, I might have been mesmerized by her beauty, but the second meeting was different.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Veronica.”

I couldn’t help the defensive feeling that surged within me.

Veronica smiled and greeted me.

But I didn’t feel like smiling back.

I tried my best to put on a polite smile.

It was obvious that I wasn’t used to this, and Veronica noticed it right away.

“Our first meeting was a bit of a mess.”

“…”

“It couldn’t be helped. It was something the Grand Duchess asked me to do.”

“…Mother? What did she ask you to do?”

“To dampen your spirits a bit.”

“What?”

I looked at Veronica in disbelief.

She was smiling nonchalantly.

“You know, right? That I was almost engaged to Amoide.”

“I’ve heard.”

I quietly clutched the bed sheet.

It was a memory I wanted to forget.

“You don’t need to be wary of me. I have no interest in Amoide, or rather, the Duke of Ifret.”

Why did the conversation suddenly turn there?

I stared at Veronica.

Her light blue eyes were shining clearly.

As if she would tell me everything if I asked.

“Is it because he’s sickly?”

So, I asked frankly.

“Well, that’s part of it. No one wants to get married and immediately be left alone, do they?”

Veronica’s words struck painfully in my chest.

“Amoide is not going to die. It’s rude to say things like that.”

My voice became sharp without me realizing it, and Veronica smiled as if she were surprised.

I didn’t want to hear Veronica, who seemed to have no connection to Amoide, talk about him.

‘Who do you think you are?’

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought it would be better to be honest.”

“…”

“In fact, the power of the Duke of Ifret’s family isn’t what it used to be. Did you know that? You seem to hardly go out.”

Though I didn’t have much freedom to come and go, I roughly knew the situation.

If a noble family is sick, isn’t it even more strange when the family’s power is so strong?

There was a description in ‘Lady Crown’ that due to the weak health of the duke, the influence of the Ifret duke’s wife is leaning.

“I came to tell you because I thought you might not know.

Your lady was emotionally busy leaving the tea party that day, but as a duke’s wife, you should know even those invisible things.

“I wanted to give advice because I sensed you might not know.”

Each word she spoke was piercing, but her tone flowed like water, smooth as silk.

“Can people really speak like this?”

Caught up in her beautiful voice and manner of speaking, I almost forgot to feel bad.

Because of that, I found myself admiring her unexpectedly.

“Now I understand why she’s the protagonist.”

I had to admit it, there was no denying it.

In the original work, her followers and noblewomen praised Veronica’s beauty and enchanting voice.

I used to think, ‘What’s so special about her voice?’, but now that I’m hearing it myself, I’m starting to understand.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I fully understand the situation.

“Why all of a sudden?”

I felt a bit strange.

Was she trying to help, or was she just loosening up?

“I quite like you.”

“When did you see me?”

“I’ve been abroad for a long time, so I don’t have any friends in society.

I thought it would be nice to have a friend.”

What kind of talk is this?

Veronica coming to ask to be friends with the Ifret Duke’s wife directly.

‘It’s different from “Lady Crown”.’

In the book, Selene personally visited Veronica and had several exchanges.

‘Has something changed?’

Just as I am not the previous Selene, there is no guarantee that the contents of the book will flow as they did before.

I made a judgment, but if even a little of the content of the book has changed…

Couldn’t his fate change too?

“Then keep giving me advice.”

I wanted to see where this was going.

I was curious about her inner thoughts behind coming to lecture me.

“There will be a war soon.

In the Riloss Kingdom where I was.”

Veronica said, touching her fingers together.

“The Empire needs knights to fight… and at the forefront are the Sun Knights.

Leading those knights is undoubtedly Amoide.”

“But he’s sick, quite a lot.”

Veronica frowned slightly as if she was sorry.

“If the duke is sick, naturally the power of that family weakens.

They can’t get involved in politics.

If there were a successor, the situation would be different, but… unfortunately, it’s not that kind of situation.”

Veronica’s gaze briefly touched my belly and dropped.

At this moment, I really wished that a successor was growing inside this belly.

Then at least I could refute some of what Veronica was saying.

“The mistress seems anxious.

The family’s reputation is not what it used to be, and their influence in the palace is diminishing…

So that’s why she’s resorting to various desperate measures.”

“Are you trying to bring her in as a daughter-in-law?”

I remembered Camilla’s gaze as she looked at Veronica.

It was a very covetous look.

“…That’s not going to happen.

But it’s true that she wants to bring in a good daughter-in-law.”

Whether it’s a contract or whatever, Amoide has an official wife.

Yet the fact that she wanted to bring in a new daughter-in-law…

‘Anyway, she’ll try to get rid of me.’

Whether I bore a child or not, Camilla’s intention was ultimately to remove me from the family.

In any case, my goal was to escape from here before that happened.

Now, the only obstacle in that plan was the child.

“I came because it seems you don’t know many things, and I felt sorry for you.

I hope it helps, Selene.”

Veronica stood up and put on the hat she had taken off.

“Time has already passed like this.

Father must be waiting.”

She took out a pocket watch to check the time.

Seeing it, a faint memory that had been buried deep rose suddenly.

“Yes, at the harbor.”

That beauty was right.

“Veronica.”

I called out to her urgently.

She looked at me as if asking what’s the matter, and I hesitated for a moment.

“Ah…”

It wasn’t a particularly important conversation.

“Unfortunately, I can’t see you off.

Take care, Veronica.”

After nodding slightly, Veronica stepped out of the room.

After she left, Rona came in and cleared the teacups, saying,

“Veronica must have surprised you by coming so suddenly.”

“…”

My hand gripping the bedsheet was still tense.

I silently pondered over her words.

Why did she come to me and lay out such things?

Veronica was the daughter of a skilled diplomat.

With the Emperor’s increasing favor toward the Lotrange family, she was destined to rise further.

She would fall in love with the Crown Prince, become his consort, and eventually even ascend to become Empress.

For such a person to come to me and say these things…

“What does she want?”

I didn’t believe her words about wanting to be friends.

Through her diplomat father, she had mastered various diplomatic skills.

She could not help but be skilled at manipulating others while hiding her intentions.

“Veronica knows all these facts about me…”

Surely not.

“Does she want to oppose Camilla?”

* * *

As soon as Melvin returned, Camilla hurriedly sought out Amoide.

“I heard you called for Melvin.

What’s the matter…?”

“If you’re curious, call him yourself and ask.”

“He’ll probably say something.”

“That man.”

“So you’re writing, aren’t you?”

“…Yes, I am.”

Camilla simply nodded in agreement.

After a moment of hesitation, she spoke again.

“Lately, you seem to know something special about that child.”

“And what if I do?”

“It’s just that… that child is merely meant to bear your successor. There’s no need to develop any attachment. I understand you may pity the child, but…”

“If it’s not pity that motivates me?”

“What… are you saying?”

“I’m saying it’s not out of pity.”

“Well, I suppose that could be.”

Camilla nodded as if she understood everything.

“You’re concerned about the baby, aren’t you? That’s it, isn’t it, Amoide?”

“…”

“Are you planning to cast out—or rather confine—your wife when she bears the child, from such a prestigious lineage?”

“What kind of…!”

“Ever since you brought me wife from that renowned family, I had my suspicions about Mother’s intentions. The influence in a noble family often revolves around who holds the most sway over the patriarch. If she can produce an heir to the marquisate, marrying off a daughter to an ailing marquis would be a significant bet.”

“Even if the father dies, the child will grow up, and if the daughter from her own family produces the heir, it will be a form of expanding the family’s influence.”

“Yes, there are plenty of families willing to send their daughters for the sake of the family honor. Fathers who don’t care whether their daughters age alone or not were quite common.”

“Of course, I refused them all. I admit it. I don’t want to be the old woman in the back room.”

Camilla smiled as she spoke.

“If only you had been healthy, there would have been no need to go this far. You would have married Veronica as planned, had children, and I would have peacefully grown old.”

“…”

“But I had to consider the worst-case scenario.”

“Everything will be certain in a week. To perfectly align with Mother’s plan.”

“…Yeah. Let’s wait and see.”

Camilla said, grinding her teeth.

—

One week later.

“Hmm…”

All eyes were fixed on Raymond’s lips.

I, too, awaited his words with a pounding heart.

During that time, I gripped the sheet so tightly it was already crumpled with creases.

Pregnant or not.

So many options swirled in my head depending on that fact.

Tick-tock.

The ticking of the clock seemed louder than ever.

Raymond’s mouth, heavy with tension, finally opened.

“I believe… it seems she’s not pregnant.”

“What did you say?”

Camilla, who had been eagerly sitting up, slumped back into her seat.

“I really thought this time she might be pregnant.”

As Camilla murmured, I let out a sigh of relief.

‘Thank goodness.’

Truly, I was relieved.

Now everything was back to square one.

‘Let’s not worry about unnecessary things.’

Let’s focus again on my original purpose, and find peace after a peaceful divorce.

With my neck fully focused.

“…”

Suddenly feeling his gaze, I turned to find him staring at me intently.

‘Why is he like that?’