Contract Marriage Interrupted - Chapter 93



Only Krnovel

Episode 93. Crack (4)
2023.12.21.

Odette, whom he met again, looked a little different from what Walter remembered.

Was it because she had taken off the shawl that was wrapped around her shoulders? If you look closely, the neckline also looked a little different.

However, since changing dresses at banquets was a very common occurrence, it wasn’t a noticeable change.

More than anything, Walter was preoccupied with the fact that Odette had spoken to him first.

While waiting, Walter kept thinking.

Should he tell Odette the truth? Or should he keep his mouth shut?

Maybe keeping silent for Odette’s sake was just an excuse for him to ignore the situation.

Is it really in her best interest to leave Odette with a bad memory?

– Walter, I hope you don’t deceive me.

If you have a secret, you don’t have to tell me everything. Just don’t deceive me. That was Odette’s request.

Odette must have needed a lot of courage and trust in Walter to tell her such a story.

And now his actions were tantamount to abandoning all of them.

‘If I don’t mend now, I will never be able to restore the lost trust.’

Even Russell felt this, so he must have pushed Walter away.

So Walter thought.

‘If Odette comes to me… … let’s talk.’

The place where he was standing was her secret place that Odette had told him about in the past. She said that

when the banquet got tiring, she would come out here and take a breath.

So Odette would definitely come here at least once. The only question was whether she would turn around after seeing Walter standing there in advance or not.

Walter stood with his back to the crossroads, not confident that he could see Odette turning around in front of him.

Was he waiting for Odette? Or was he hoping that she wouldn’t come?

Neither hope nor despair lost their light in the unclear wind.

In the end, Odette came to him.

Every time she approached, her silver hair swayed over her shoulder. He thought he saw Odette chuckling.

“What were you doing here? It’s dark. I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

“… … I thought you might come.”

Walter answered absentmindedly. Odette shrugged her shoulders as if she was surprised and motioned to him.

“Can’t you wait somewhere bright? Come here.”

Odette was so affectionate, as if the cold war had never happened before.

Walter couldn’t help but ask absentmindedly as he was helplessly led by her hand.

“Now… … You’re not angry with me?”

Odette’s expression became a little strange. She looked back at Walter with a surprised expression, then quickly erased her expression and shrugged. Perhaps she hadn’t expected him to ask her this question.

“… … Let’s just say that. I can’t stay angry forever.”

“I didn’t mean to deceive you.”

“… … .”

Odette walked silently. Walter followed her and continued.

“I know you wanted me to be honest with you. But this was an important matter to me, so I couldn’t easily tell you.”

“… … “ What are you hiding?”

“I’m going to die.”

Odette’s steps, which had been ahead of her, suddenly stopped. By then, they had come out of the darkness and were now in a garden where people could be seen occasionally.

Odette looked back at him with a shocked face.

“You… … are going to die? Why? Since when?”

“It’s hard to explain in detail. But I’ll tell you that I knew it before I proposed to you.”

Walter clenched and unclenched his fists for no reason. He had deliberately tried to speak lightly, fearing that it would become too heavy, but he felt that the conversation was becoming heavier as he continued.

However, at the same time, Walter felt a sense of liberation. The restrictions that had arisen from his dealings with the holy relic meant that he could not tell Odette his true feelings, not that he could not tell her the truth.

Even if he could not confess his love, he could tell her what kind of situation he was in.

‘Do I even have to talk about the past?’

Walter knew about the ‘dreams’ that Odette often had.

– Sometimes, you appear in my dreams. But strangely enough, in that dream, you and I were not married.

– Then surely… … .

– I was married to Count Clovis, and my brother Cedric for some reason… … died.

I knew it the moment I heard it. It was a fragment of the past.

Since he had this conversation with Louis, Walter easily realized that Odette was regaining her memories of the past. And that it would accelerate as time passed.

‘Based on Louis Clovis’s case, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before she regains all her memories.’

Of course, he didn’t know if Louis had regained all his memories, but he was certain that he had regained most of them.

Otherwise, his recent antics and his obsession with Odette would not be explained.

And if Odette were to regain her memories of the past in that way… … .

‘… … She might end up going to Louis Clovis again.’

Rather than that, wouldn’t it be better for me to take the initiative and explain the past. If

I can’t keep it a secret forever… … .

‘Dazed.’

Walter frowned and touched his forehead, feeling somewhat dizzy. For a

moment, he thought he saw an unfamiliar face through his blurred vision.

Something seemed wrong… … .

“… … Your hair, originally… … “ Was it this color?”

Odette’s hair tip suddenly appeared to be a different color than silver.

“Wh-what are you talking about? Is it because it’s dark and you can’t see it well?”

“That could be true, but… … something feels strange.”

Walter narrowed his eyes because his thoughts were not flowing properly due to the dim light and his confused mind.

“… … !”

Odette jumped into Walter’s arms.

An unfamiliar scent hit him, and Walter’s hands, which had been frozen in surprise for a moment ,

wrapped around Odette. However, it was not to hug Odette. The

moment Odette jumped into Walter’s arms, even Walter’s blurred perception felt a sense of discomfort.

At that moment, Odette’s hair looked pink, not silver.

Walter grabbed her and threw her off. As if the fact that she had pink hair a moment ago was a lie, she looked exactly like Odette.

“… … Odette, do you remember? The promise we made.”

“If it’s a promise… … .”

“I said I wouldn’t care who I meet after I get married.”

“Oh, of course I remember that.”

As Odette nodded with a smile, a sneer passed over Walter’s face.

“What kind of promise is that?”

The woman’s face, sensing something was wrong at the sudden coldness in her voice and attitude, felt a sense of despair.

“W-Walter? Why are you-”

“Why don’t you just shut up?”

I was holding back something I wanted to kill right now, but if I kept opening my mouth, I might not be able to hold it in anymore.

Walter’s hand, muttering coldly, reached out to the woman. To be exact, to her neck.

Crack.

The necklace hanging around her neck was ripped off helplessly by his vicious hands, and the vivid image of Odette before his eyes was also erased as if washed away.

“… … Ha.”

I knew this would happen.

Walter’s lips leaked out with sneer as he confirmed the other person.

“Do you want to do this to your sister’s husband?”

The one standing in front of him was none other than Regina.

* * *

At that moment, Odette was in confusion, completely unaware of the situation outside.

The sudden meeting with Louis.

And even his words.

“Do you remember me now?”

Odette now knew what Louis’s previous behavior and his words were referring to.

It was just a fact that was hard to believe.

Odette took a step back with a confused expression.

“I, I… … I don’t know you.”

“You know. You know me, Odette.”

However, Louis came closer as much as Odette retreated, no, even closer.

He couldn’t deny his words, and his breath caught in his throat.

Even in the moment when Louis’s tone called her, and their gazes entangled, he thought,

“That wasn’t just a dream?”

Then what on earth was happening to me?

No, what on earth ‘happened’?

As if trying to resolve that question, Louis continued to speak without stopping.

“Odette, I understand that you’re confused. You might want to ignore me… … But please listen to me. “It’s not a dream. We were married. You remember.”

Louis talked about his married life with Odette. He talked about the things she liked, the problems they had.

Things Louis would never know if Odette had only dreamed.

“… … That can’t be. No, it doesn’t matter.”

In the end, she couldn’t deny Louis’ words, no, the truth.

The nightmare she had been having all along might have actually happened.

But that didn’t change anything.

“I married Duke Ertmann, and I’m no longer… … your wife. Why are you approaching me now in the first place? If my marriage with you really happened, it would have been a tragedy for me… … .”

Her emotions rose up surprisingly quickly.

The reason Odette had been able to separate herself from her dreams up until now was because they were dreams.

She had no intention of being depressed, immersed in an illusion that hadn’t actually happened.

But when she realized that it was real, the emotions she had buried, those tragedies, rose up in an instant, suffocating her.

“I suffered terribly because I chose you. I told you, I regret marrying you. It was the worst choice of my life… … .”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Odette. I was foolish… … I shouldn’t have left you like that. “I’m really sorry.”

Louis’s face was equally distorted. He absentmindedly reached out to Odette, but was slapped away sharply.

“If you’re really sorry, then just leave me alone. I’ve never chosen you before, and I won’t choose you again.”

Odette was about to leave after saying that. If only Louis hadn’t stopped her in the silence and said,

“I’m sorry, Odette. But I can’t do that.”

“… … What?”

“I promise not to make the same mistake again. For your sake.”

“What are you talking about? Let go of me!”

When Odette forcefully pushed his hand away, Louis let her go.

But then a voice followed.

“Walter Ertmann, he killed you.”