Contract Marriage Interrupted - Chapter 91



Only Krnovel

Episode 91. Crack (2)
2023.12.14.

What Odette brought out was clearly the most plausible hypothesis in her opinion.

At the same time, it was also a hypothesis that she desperately hoped would be true.

So if Walter had been a little more rational, Odette would have nodded in agreement with Walter’s affirmation.

If he hadn’t lost his composure because of the embarrassment. If he

hadn’t been more awkward at lying than usual.

If Odette hadn’t known that Walter was lying.

Now, Walter’s face had returned to its usual state.

A relaxed and calm face. He might have been sharp to some, but he was always kind to Odette, and that was why he was considered trustworthy…

“Are all your questions answered now?”

“… … Is that all you just said? You’re hiding anything from me? Are you really not hiding anything more?”

“Nothing.”

A lie.

“I’ve said this many times, but I want you to be honest with me. I don’t want anything to happen that makes me lose trust in you.”

Odette’s hand clenched slowly. Her nails dug into her palm.

Please.

“Can I trust what you say?”

“… … Yes.”

Cold water poured down from the top of her head.

Odette was a little surprised that she could maintain her composure in this situation.

Was it because her heart, which had always been beating hotly, had grown cold?

Or was it because she had grown up in the palace and was used to betrayal?

Thinking back, she had felt this way the day she realized that her sweet maid had poisoned her teacup.

And the moment she had made that maid drink the tea she had made.

“… … I see.”

Odette unconsciously placed her hand over her heart and opened her mouth.

When she was with Walter, she had been so surprised that she had worried that he would hear her.

Now, she was back to normal.

“Thank goodness. I could tell. I didn’t want to keep suspecting you.”

Now that she knew you were lying, there was no need to look at you with suspicion.

“When I see you, my heart races… … I wondered if that was the feeling, but now that I look back, it wasn’t because I liked you, but because I was anxious. I’ve calmed down now. I guess that wasn’t the case.”

Was it a good thing?

It would be better to have a funny misunderstanding than to love someone who deceives me.

However, Walter’s expression became a little complicated at Odette’s words.

So he tried to reach out to her as usual.

If only Odette hadn’t slapped Walter’s hand away at that moment.

“… … Odette.”

“Don’t touch me. It’s unnecessary.”

“Are you angry? Because I haven’t told you the truth yet?”

“No.”

I’m angry because you’re still deceiving me.

And I don’t know what else you’ve deceived me about.

You’re so skilled, and I’m more clumsy than usual when I’m with you.

“It’s just that I realized that I was mistaken in liking you. I don’t want to misunderstand you anymore, so let’s draw a line.”

“Odette.”

“I’ll sleep in my room today. Get some rest.”

Odette smiled calmly and left.

Before opening the bedroom door and leaving the room.

For some reason, Odette involuntarily looked back.

And she met Walter, who was looking at her with the same expression as the last time she saw him.

His face reminded her of a parasol abandoned in a downpour, as if he would burst into tears at any moment.

Her pitiful expression made her want to hug him, but Odette ignored it.

‘I don’t want to give my heart to someone who deceives me.’

She didn’t show it, but she was hurt too.

So Odette closed the door and left.

She wanted to cry.

* * *

“Your Majesty is hiding something? And you’re lying to me?”

“Shh, Ellie. Your voice is loud.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

Ellie was startled and covered her mouth with both hands.

Odette let out a small sigh at his lack of caution.

The two had met to attend a ball held at the palace today.

To be honest, Odette wanted to throw away the ball and everything and just stay home, but there was a reason why she had to attend this ball.

‘Because I messed up Countess Murat’s social gathering.’

Before the public opinion of that time properly took hold, Odette needed to take action first.

Countess Murat was a fairly prominent figure in social circles anyway, and she could easily distort the events of that day in a way that was unfavorable to Odette.

Furthermore, since that social gathering ended in a mess that day, Odette didn’t get what she wanted at all.

‘I wanted to lay the foundation for social activities, but I guess that’s already been done.’

So what could she do? She had no choice but to attend a large-scale banquet with a good name like the Imperial Ball and introduce herself appropriately.

Of course, that didn’t mean

she had to call Ellie. “Somehow, His Majesty called me… ”

“Yes. I needed an excuse to enter separately from Walter… We’ve been living separately for several days.”

Odette sighed and buried her face in her hands.

Since that day, Odette avoided Walter.

Even if he avoided her, it was only to the extent of not seeing her off in person and only sending her word through a servant, or not sharing meals or sleeping quarters.

Considering that they usually spent most of their time together in the mansion, it was truly unusual.

Even Emma would cautiously ask, “Excuse me, Madam. Is something wrong?”

The problem was that Walter did not come looking for Odette despite the situation.

-… … Is that really all, Emma?

– Yes? Oh, yes… … . When I told her that I went to deliver the message while Madam was taking a nap, she nodded and said that she understood and told me to go.

– Didn’t he look upset?

– Hmm, well.

To be honest, Emma always seemed to be in a similar mood whenever Odette was away.

Odette’s loyal maid thought about whether to bring it up, but then closed her mouth, feeling disloyal.

– Your Majesty looked the same as usual.

-… … That’s right. I understand, thank you.

And Odette interpreted Emma’s words as ‘Walter doesn’t care what I do’.

So she couldn’t approach him first because of her pride.

Even though the ball, where couples usually enter together, was just around the corner. For

that reason, Odette told Walter that she would enter separately and called Ellie. Thanks to that,

she had a plausible excuse, but she couldn’t feel at ease.

Ellie was also quite shocked by the fact that Walter had been deceiving Odette all along, and her expression was filled with confusion and anger.

“I didn’t see it that way, but you’re really too much. You acted like you were going to take out all your liver and gallbladder for Your Majesty!”

“… … I don’t know. What on earth is Walter hiding?”

Was there sincerity in what he told me?

Where on earth was the truth and where was the lie?

“But I want to believe that it wasn’t all a lie.”

“People’s hearts are complicated. But… … I’m a bit like that. I’ve always said that. I thought the Duke was seeing a woman behind his back.”

“That was a misunderstanding.”

“It was a misunderstanding. But you don’t clean the chimney and don’t get ash on it.”

In short, Walter was doing something that could be done, so the misunderstanding arose.

“If a husband treats his wife suspiciously well, but also lies, it’s usually one thing. Adultery.”

“… … Where did you see that?”

“Should I borrow it? It’s quite a classic. It’s a ridiculous story with three adulterous relationships!”

“… … Later.”

Odette suddenly wondered how many books like that there were on Ellie’s bookshelf, but she soon stopped.

Ellie insisted that she should relieve her emotions with entertainment like popular novels at times like this, but Odette didn’t feel like doing that.

‘Adultery?’

Something she had forgotten for a while came back to the surface, suffocating her. She was

anxious about how far Walter’s lies would go, and even thoughts of adultery.

Even in the midst of all that, she felt terribly guilty that she was thinking about Walter like this.

‘Walter was really good to me.’

He had faithfully fulfilled the terms of the contract, no, more than that.

It wasn’t like he really loved her.

If he had tried this hard, wouldn’t it have been better to just close his eyes and pretend not to know about the affair?

“Maybe that’s the way to do Walter’s job.”

Just thinking about it made her feel like dozens of needles were being stabbed in her chest, but Odette tried to think rationally.

However, there was another reason she had rejected Ellie’s book.

The affair.

The moment she heard that word, the dream that had been tormenting her came to mind.

‘In that dream, I was married to Count Clovis and had Walter in my heart.’

Odette’s dream became clearer as the days went by.

No, it became more specific.

Odette was terribly unhappy in her dream.

The contract marriage with Louis that she had believed would be successful had failed miserably.

Odette’s mind was broken to a degree that she could not even imagine now.

She easily felt helpless and cried over trivial things.

This symptom rapidly accelerated after Cedric’s death, and sometimes she acted like a crazy person.

Naturally, it only worsened the situation.

The important thing was that the scenes that should have been just dreams gradually felt like her own memories.

Sometimes Odette would cry and wake up from the dream, and even though she knew that this was reality, she could not escape her helplessness and continued to cry.

‘It’s fortunate that such feelings subside after a little while, but it’s fortunate.’

However, it did not completely subside.

The love and hate for her husband Louis and the affection for Walter, who had been her support in such a hellish situation, remained floating like floats.

The problem, if there was one, was that this fact was so shocking to Odette.

‘How could she have such feelings when she had a husband?’

Odette was a conservative person, and even more so when it came to infidelity.

Still, it was fortunate that she was married to Walter in reality, so that would not happen.

Although there was a side effect of not being able to read books that dealt with infidelity as the main element.

‘If nothing happens, it will be erased soon.’

Odette thought that as she headed to the ballroom.

There, without even imagining that she would meet Louis alone.