Since My Time is Limited, I’m Entering A Contract Marriage

Chapter translated by Gon.

 

“…….”

 

The Duke glanced at the noisy designers, then locked eyes with Etisha.

 

Etisha didn’t say anything, but he could see enough to know what was going on. There must have been some sort of disturbance with them, just as there had been with Larienne at the party yesterday.

 

“There’s no need to listen, Miss Etisha. I have plenty of designers. I’ll send them back and call for another.”

 

Kaiyen was about to call for his servant, who was waiting outside the door when Etisha gently called him to attention.

 

“Duke. Just a moment.”

 

“Lady Etisha?”

 

Etisha stared calmly at the three designers. They all looked down at the floor, unable to meet her eyes.

 

“Now that I think about it, I don’t think it would be polite to turn down the designers the Duke has taken the trouble to invite, and it’s not worth the hassle.”

 

Even though these were designers who had looked down on her in the past, the idea of dismissing them outright bothered her.

 

If word got out that the three of them had fallen out of favor with the Grand Duke of Kaiyen, it would be the end of their design careers.

 

There’s no way aristocrats who are sensitive to trends and events could buy their work after offending Archduke Wintel.

 

Moreover, the designers’ sobbing seemed to make her forget the humiliation she had endured.

 

‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to give them a contract. They won’t get another job for three months. That’s all they need. they deserve it.’

 

Etisha laughed softly and made a decision.

 

“I’ll just give them the job.”

 

Designers Vivian, Lucy, and Nigel were as relieved as if they’d been raised from the dead by Etisha’s generosity.

 

Kaiyen asked Etisha one more time to confirm her intentions.

 

“Are you sure that’s enough for you?”

 

“Yes. I came to the villa empty-handed, so I need something to wear immediately, and…… I’ve been to your salon a few times before, so I think I can leave a quick and painless request.”

 

“Are you sure…….”

 

“I’m fine, I really am.”

 

“Well, if that’s what you want, Miss Etisha, I’ll leave it up to you, and if you need another designer, you can call anyone you want.”

 

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

 

“Then I’ll leave you to it, and I’ll be back in the afternoon.”

 

The Duke of Kaiyen seemed to have other things on his mind. As he was about to leave the parlor, Etisha said.

 

“My duke. Thank you.”

 

“You have nothing to thank me for…….”

 

Kaiyen left the parlor without finishing his sentence. Etisha could almost hear his afterthought.

 

<I have done nothing to be thanked for,> she thought.

 

Etisha straightened up, looking back at the three designers. Vivian, Lucy, and Nigel stared at her with tense eyes.

 

Etisha’s expression, on the other hand, was one of great amusement and relief.

 

“Gentlemen.”

 

“…….”

 

“Dresses, jewelry, shoes……. What shall we start with?”

 

Now She didn’t feel anything when She looked at the designers. It was truly thanks to Kaiyan.

 

* * *

 

The door to the magnificent mansion opened, and Duke Kaiyan stepped out. His steps toward the carriage were a little slow as if he was lost in thought.

 

<My duke. Thank you.>

 

He seemed to hear Miss Etisha’s voice in his ear.

 

<Even if you didn’t intend to help me, I was helped, and that’s something to be grateful for>.

 

Kaiyan clenched his large hands. In his hand were documents of the villa.

 

It was a document that proved the villa and the surrounding land belonged to Etisha.

 

“……What a waste.”

 

Kaiyen glanced down at the documents slowly and then tucked it into his pocket.

 

Maybe Etisha was right.

 

He had said he hadn’t helped her, but maybe he had.

 

At least until Etisha reached the North safely. 

 

Rushing the wedding announcement, keeping Etisha at the villa, and inviting the designer were all fine.

 

It fell into the category of Wintel’s normal response to a future duchess.

 

But this plaque…….

 

Kaiyen had hoped Etisha would never know the secret of the plaque. He didn’t want her to find out why he was helping her so much.

 

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll never have to use this plaque.”

 

Kaiyen swept a hand through his black hair, his face cold and unsmiling. Then he stepped into the carriage.

 

His aide, Valdefram, was waiting for him in the carriage.

 

“My Lord Duke. I have done as you requested.”

 

Valdefram was a man with short gray hair and typical northern features.

 

“This is an investigation into the House of Heinz, Viscount Heinz, and the Honorable Etisha Heinz.”

 

Valdefram held out a filing folder to Kaiyen. Kaiyen took it impassively and flipped through it.

 

The white paper was filled with typewritten words. Most of it was familiar. A remarried family. Etisha Heinz in the shadow of Larienne Heinz. A glazed, featureless, lonely lady…….

 

But there were still things he couldn’t figure out.

 

<What I really wanted from the Heinz family. I haven’t had time to think about it properly>.

 

<With you by my side, I’ll think about it, one step at a time.>

 

Kaiyen closed the report and turned to his aide, Valdefram.

 

“The three designers you called to the mansion today. What is their relationship with Miss Etisha?”

 

 Valdefram bowed respectfully and replied.

 

“Yes, Duke, they are all very close to Larienne Heinz.”

 

“And so?”

 

“They say that Miss Etisha was used as a porter whenever Miss Larienne made a request to the salon.”

 

A porter……?

 

Kaiyen raised an eyebrow. A noblewoman as a porter?

 

But Valdefram’s explanation didn’t end there.

 

“Apparently, she has been sent on errands that were never completed, just to insult her. she has even been kicked out of the salon.”

 

Hearing that, Kaiyen’s expression turned as chilling as a sharpened sword.

 

Etisha Heinz. Her white face and pink hair were the first things that came to mind, but what struck him most was the way she seemed to have everything in order.

 

‘When I asked her if she wanted to cut ties with her family if she wanted revenge and forgiveness. ‘I don’t know,’ she said.

 

If Etisha wanted to, she could achieve anything.

 

As long as she became the Duchess of Wintel, she would be able to get more than just an apology from her family, she would be able to get her revenge.

 

She could strip Viscount Heinz of his title and turn his family into commoners, using them as servants and handmaidens.

 

And that’s not all. She could make all of those who had disrespected Etisha kneel at her feet.

 

“But,” she replied, “I have never thought of revenge.”

 

This was a surprise to the Duke of Kaiyen.

 

How could she, having been abused, raised alone and isolated?

 

But if she had only a year to live, she would have taken even more extreme revenge.

 

‘Same situation, different choices…….’

 

Kaiyan thought of Etisha, alone in the drawing room.

 

It was bad enough that she had to talk to three designers in one room, but the thought of her wearing their creations made him sigh.

 

If He had known, He would have called a different designer.

 

If He had known, He would have kicked them out, even if Etisha had insisted.

 

“Foolish.”

 

Kaiyen reached down and swiped at the documents. Running his thumb over the angled edges of the plaque, he turned to his aide, Valdefram.

 

“Stop the carriage.”

 

“……Yes?”

 

“Stop.”

 

Valdefram hurriedly relayed the order to the coachman’s seat. The carriage bearing Wintel’s coat of arms came to a stop in the middle of the street.

 

“Turn the horse’s head. We are going to the palace.”

 

The second day of the Grand International. From now on, the royal family would be joining the party. Emperor Ignivan will also make an appearance.

 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.”

 

Before the party begins on the second day, there’s one thing to get done first.

 

* * *

 

Late in the afternoon, Etisha was waiting for Duke Kaiyan in the center hall.

 

“I wonder where the Duke has gone.”

 

Since leaving the manor in the morning, Kaiyan had not returned. He asked everyone in the mansion about his whereabouts, but no one knew.

 

“Everyone just said they didn’t know.”

 

He was supposed to attend the convention as a partner, so he had little time to prepare.

 

‘Oh, maybe…….’

 

Then, a theory popped into Etisha’s head.

 

“Maybe he’s going to see his mistress?”

 

Perhaps he had brought her with him to the capital, and that was why the mansion’s occupants had been so quiet with her.

 

‘Yes. That explains the Duke’s silence, now I understand.’

 

If the Duke of Kaiyan had come to the capital with his mistress, she would accompany him back to the north.

 

Etisha thought of the Duke’s mysterious mistress and illegitimate child and shook her head.

 

“Let’s not think about it.”

 

The Duke of Kaiyen’s private life was none of Etisha’s concern.

 

An emotionless contract marriage.

 

It was a promise she had made to herself, not to anyone else.

 

Etisha waited calmly for the Duke of Kaiyen to return, and in time, as the sky turned a deep scarlet, he returned to the villa.

 

“You’re late.”

 

Kaiyen walked up the stairs and into the mansion. His aide Valdefram trailed behind him.

 

Then, his gaze lingered on the center hall.

 

“……Miss Etisha?”

 

His pace slowed slightly when he saw Etisha waiting.

 

“You’ve been waiting for me.”

 

“Yes, but not for that long.”

 

Etisha smiled and bowed. The light in the concourse brightened, centered on Etisha.

 

“…….”

 

She glowed from head to toe.

Pink hair and clear blue eyes made a clear contrast, and the rippling white dress fluttered as if there was no weight.

 

The necklace around her slender neck and the earrings from her ears were studded with dazzling pink diamonds, and her shoes were cut from clear glass and sparkled in different colors at different angles.

 

But it wasn’t her appearance that caught Kaiyen’s eye, it was her expression.

 

‘She looks peaceful.’

 

Etisha’s eyes were as unwavering as the first time he’d seen her.

 

As if it didn’t matter that she was wearing a commissioned piece made by disrespectful designers as if such private individuals could never harm her.

 

Etisha stood firm, holding her center.

 

Kaiyen opened his lips to speak to her without thought.

 

“You look great.”