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

Chapter translated by Loulou.

 

Of course, the items made by those rude people were not even worth as much as a pebble on the street.

 

If it were Kaiyen, he would have ripped everything off his body.

 

But Etisha was different.

 

She genuinely looked good.

 

“Thank you, Your Grace. Thanks to you, I received clothes, jewelry, and shoes. I’ve never owned such beautiful things before.”

 

“….”

 

“…. Your Grace?”

 

Kaiyen nodded slightly with a stiff expression.

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

“No. Everything suits you very well, Lady Etisha.”

 

Then perhaps feeling that his short answer was insufficient, Kaiyen added a few more words.

 

“I will immediately call for another designer as soon as we reach the north.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Just bear with it until then.”

 

‘Is he saying that it doesn’t suit me? Or that he doesn’t like it…?’ Etisha thought, blinking in confusion.

 

But then without giving her more time to think about it, Kaiyen went upstairs.

 

“Well then, we should head to the palace where the founding ceremony is taking place. Please go to the carriage first. I’ll follow soon.”

 

“Yes, Your Grace,” Etisha answered, briefly watching Kaiyen’s retreating figure before heading towards the carriage.

 

* * *

On the second day of the festival, the palace party venue was filled with people.

 

The nobles, packed tightly together, whispered and gossiped, not leaving any room for water to leak.

 

“I heard there was quite a commotion yesterday.”

 

“You mean Young Lady Heinz? I heard it from my daughter too.”

 

“Who would have thought such a thing would happen on the first day? If I had known, I would have attended the party from the beginning.”

 

“Haha, you’re right.”

 

All the nobles were busy talking about Etisha.

 

So, no matter what anyone said, she was undoubtedly the protagonist of this founding day ceremony.

 

“Is Etisha Heinz really going to become the Duchess of Windell?”

 

With the engagement and witnesses traditional procedures completely skipped, the sudden wedding announcement naturally gave rise to rampant speculation and suspicion.

 

‘That Etisha, marrying Duke Kaiyen just like that…’

 

Duke Kaiyen Windell was like an insurmountable cliff.

 

A cliff that one couldn’t even dare to look up at, let alone have the opportunity to climb. But it was none other than Etisha Heinz who had climbed up that cliff.

 

‘The spineless, weak-hearted, not that pretty, with a bad reputation Etisha Heinz. Literally the most unremarkable lady there is.’

 

The nobles, who had only seen Etisha being dragged around by Larienne, couldn’t help but ask:

 

‘Why?’ Curiosity bubbled within them.

 

And they eagerly awaited the arrival of the person who would resolve their doubts.

 

Meanwhile, as the party hall door opened, a loud trumpet sound was heard, announcing the newcomer.

 

“Viscount Heinz has arrived!”

 

It was Viscount Heinz.

 

In an instant, all eyes turned towards him, and the murmuring ceased. The Viscount being no stranger to such affairs, knew how things would go. Especially when it was his own daughter’s wedding.

 

The nobles welcomed him with admiration and respect.

 

“Congratulations, Viscount. Your household is on the rise.”

 

“I am truly envious. To have your daughter become a duchess. As parents, there can be no greater joy.”

 

“Now, Lady Etisha’s future is blossoming, and the future of the Heinz family is flourish along with her….”

 

Although everyone was smiling and congratulating the Viscount, their eyes never ceased their scrutinizing gaze.

 

‘Yesterday, Lady Larienne seemed completely unaware of Etisha’s impending marriage. She reacted as if this was the first time she heard about the subject.’

 

What about Viscount Heinz?

 

At that moment, the Viscount spoke up. His smile seemed naturally filled with humility.

 

“Haha, that’s right. It seems Etisha somehow captured the Duke’s heart.”

 

“Well, does that mean…?”

 

“Duke Kaiyen truly cherishes my daughter. He must have fallen deeply in love in her. Well… no matter how prestigious the title of Duke of the North is, or how high his rank is, he’s still young and in his prime, isn’t he?”

 

Viscount Heinz continued to spew lies without even bothering to sugarcoat them.

 

For him who had already decided to completely abandon Etisha and send her off to the Windell family, it was only natural.

 

“In my opinion, Duke Kaiyen seemed to have fallen for Etisha at first sight. They’re a match made in heaven, unable to live without each other,” The Viscount’s greedy eyes flashed as he continued to lie.

 

“That ruthless Duke Kaiyen… in love?” someone gasped.

 

“Ha, is that so? I had no idea,” someone else said.

 

“Well, it was deliberately kept it a secret, so no one could have known. As you know, our eldest daughter is a bit immature. We intentionally kept quiet about the engagement because of her jealousy towards her younger sister.”

 

“Ahhh! So that’s why Lady Larienne seemed clueless…”

 

At those words, the Viscount secretly grinned, watching the situation unfold according to his plan.

 

For now, he was only laying the bait. To reel in the real catch, he needed even more careful preparation.

 

“Ahem…”

 

Viscount Heinz lightly stroked his beard and glanced around. Then, as if about to share a very confidential and important matter, he lowered his voice.

 

“Well, actually…there’s something I’m worried about, everyone…” He confessed, feigning a worried expression.

 

Then, he forcibly held back a smile that threatened to break out and let out a heavy sigh instead.

 

And the group instantly took the bait.

 

“What? Worried.”

 

“To be worried when everything is going so well…”

 

The Viscount let out another heavy sigh and drooped his shoulders in a seemingly awkward manner. Then, as if hesitating, he brought the conversation to the main point.

 

“Well, you see… Duke Kaiyen…”

 

“ What about the Duke…?”

 

“The Duke, he… he said he won’t accept any dowry for Etisha…”

 

Upon hearing those words, the party hall became even more chaotic.

 

“What? He won’t accept any dowry?! This is unprecedented…”

 

“Well, the marriage announcement was also unprecedented.”

 

“You are right … but even so, refusing the dowry altogether seems excessive, doesn’t it?”

 

The confused nobles were caught in turmoil, exchanging various opinions. Meanwhile Viscount Heinz continued to feed the fire and manipulate the situation.

 

“Isn’t that what love all about? While I can’t presume to know the Duke’s thoughts, he seems to believe that love cannot be bought with money.”

 

“Goodness. That Duke Kaiyen…”

 

“… Could he really be…?”

 

That merciless battlefield monster; the Northern Duke known for leaving only corpses where his sword touched.

 

To think that man would suddenly become the romantic of the century.

 

It was truly hard to believe.

 

However, dismissing it entirely as nonsense was also difficult.

 

“Well, from what I saw yesterday, it seemed like Duke Windell was very protective of Lady Etisha.”

 

“Right? It looked that way to me too. The Windell family isn’t one to fuss over dowries anyway …”

 

“That’s true. Is the dowry matter really an issue when the North’s wealth come exclusively from the Windells?”

 

Duke Kaiyen was in fact the wealthiest noble in the entire Ignivan Empire.

 

Unlike other regions where power was divided among various noble families, the North belonged solely to the Windell Duchy.

 

As a result, their wealth became so immense, it hardly needed comparison with other noble houses.

 

Rumors even suggested they were richer than the royal family itself.

 

“Well, there were rumors about Duke Kaiyen having a hidden mistress. It’s possible that the person in question was Lady Etisha all along.”

 

“Ah, that’s right! There was a mistress. It seems that the Duke is unexpectedly weak when it comes to love.”

 

Now, the nobles completely believed that Duke Kaiyen was the romantic figure of the century and that he was crazy about Etisha Heinz.

 

‘Everything is going exactly as planned,’ The Viscount mused as he suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out, twirling his beard with his fingers.

 

“Haha. Hahaha. But the Heinz family has its reputation to keep… How can we not send a dowry for our daughter’s marriage? I want to send it somehow, but the Duke is so stubborn, as you know.”

 

“Enough, Viscount Heinz. If Duke Kaiyen insisted, how can you refuse? Just leave it be.”

 

“Yes, just go along with it. What good would it do to upset the Duke?”

 

‘Alright. That’s enough for now!’ the Viscount thought, clenching his fist tightly as greed flashed in his eyes.

 

With public opinion now in his favor, all that remained was to negotiate with Duke Kaiyen in person.

 

‘No matter how powerful Duke Kaiyen is there’s no way around it. The rumors have spread among all the nobles, so if he were to ask for a dowry, he’d only make a fool of himself.’

 

Furthermore, he had already planned out his next steps.

 

‘Instead of giving a dowry, I’ll just say that I’m going to invest the money in the northern trade business. Then, I will naturally dive into the northern business world without giving a single penny for the dowry.’

 

Viscount Heinz firmly believed that his business would not fail if the northern region was involved in it.

 

Now that Etisha was about to become a Windell, he believed in the value of that name.

 

‘Hehe, very good…. Excellent!’

 

This was his plan.

 

And the Viscount was extremely satisfied as he observed the outcome of his machinations.

 

But right at that moment….

 

The doors of the party hall opened again, and the grand sound of trumpets echoed.

 

“Duke Kaiyen Windell and Lady Etisha Heinz have arrived!”

 

* * *

 

Silence hung heavy, as if the air itself had been sucked out of the room.

 

Despite being filled with people, not a single breath was heard. It felt like time itself had frozen.

 

Somewhere in the hall, someone dropped a glass of wine. And although the sharp sound echoed through the entire room, no one looked in that direction.

 

Everyone was too busy staring at Duke Kaiyen and the person accompanying him; Etisha.

 

“E-Etisha Heinz…?”

 

They didn’t recognize her at first.

 

This was because she looked completely different from the Lady Etisha they knew.

 

The woman who appeared here tonight was not the most unremarkable young lady they were used to.

 

“What! This is ridiculous! ….”

 

Magic was overflowing from every inch of Etisha’s body. More precisely, from every inch of everything she was wearing.

 

Making all the nobles present shared the same thought: ‘Where on earth can one commission such items?’

 

That’s Windell for you.

 

When combined, everything Etisha wore probably exceeded the annual budget of a small country.

 

‘So, Duke Kaiyen really did fall in love…’

 

Otherwise, there was no way Etisha could appear at the party wearing such a dazzling attire.

 

“Oh, Etisha!”

 

Suddenly, the sound of applause rang out.

 

It was the Viscount, clapping his hands, as he approached Etisha and the Duke with a beaming smile on his face.