Contract Marriage Interrupted - Chapter 95



Only Krnovel

Episode 95. Crack (6)
2023.12.28.

Walter Ertmann is thinking of dying.

A strong distrust rose over Louis’ face.

“That can’t be. He… … .”

The others didn’t know, but Louis knew.

The one who used the holy relic to return to the past was Walter Ertmann.

It was simple when you think about it. After regaining his memories belatedly, it was obvious.

What had changed the most from the past, and who had benefited the most from it.

He also considered the possibility that Odette had turned back time, but it hadn’t been long since she had regained her memories of the past. So the only answer was Walter.

‘The one who had such a strong desire for a new life while using the holy relic, is thinking of dying?’

It seemed hopeless, but one hypothesis came to mind.

The records of the holy relic that he had received from the Department of Divinity at Belfort Academy.

There was little accurate information about the holy relic, but even in those few records, there was something that was definitely written.

‘Anyone who uses a holy object will soon disappear.’

Could it be that Walter also knew what he had used and what he would have to bear with it?

Even knowing that, he chose to marry Odette.

‘What a selfish author.’

If he had really cared for Odette, he should not have made such a choice.

There were many ways for Odette to avoid an unwanted marriage.

A smart person like Walter could not have been unaware of this, so he had already known everything and had inserted his own selfish desires into it. ‘And he would have comforted

himself by saying that it was for Odette.’

If he had just left it alone, there would have been a better way for Odette.

If he had, he would have had a chance when he finally found his memories.

‘Duke Ertmann, that man expected me to find my memories.’

So he had a perfect answer for Odette.

Helping Odette avoid an unwanted marriage and connecting himself and Odette after he found his memories.

Wouldn’t that be the best choice he could give Odette?

However, Walter twisted everything by marrying Odette.

It was as if he wanted to prevent others from eating what he couldn’t eat.

‘How terrible.’

There was no way that such a person could be sincere to Odette.

Louis had never thought from the beginning that Walter had turned back time with the sole purpose of meeting Odette again. He simply thought that in his new life, he wanted to obtain the woman he couldn’t have in his past life.

His feelings for Odette were also a distorted possessiveness toward something he couldn’t have.

‘If I give my heart to someone like that, only Odette will suffer.’

That’s why he had to do whatever it took to separate Odette and Walter. If he could

just get rid of Walter, the obstacle that was Odette, away from her, everything would go back to the way it was.

That was why he had offered Blake his cooperation.

“Isn’t it funny, Count? To hear that the person he was trying to kill was actually going to die anyway.”

Louis’s heavy gaze turned to Blake, who was smiling crookedly.

“… … “Your Majesty, this isn’t your first time.”

“Sometimes the target you have to deal with is the sick. Or the old. Or both.”

Louis thought of the Emperor slowly dying from poisoning.

He was old and had many chronic illnesses,

so even a minor poisoning wouldn’t show up. “Isn’t this a good thing for you? It’s a good way to relieve guilt for someone who has never killed anyone.”

“I’ve never felt guilty and cooperated.”

“Yes, that’s right. Think of it positively. If the plan succeeds, you get Odette. Then, as your brother, I will send you my heartfelt congratulations.”

Blake patted Louis on the shoulder and laughed coldly.

He didn’t mention the failure.

‘You know you can’t escape anyway.’

The poisonous liquor Blake had just consumed was prohibited by the Imperial Prohibition Act.

Louis had voluntarily become involved in the bootlegging business, and had thus come into Blake’s grasp.

The shackles of bootlegging had to be around Louis’ neck, so Blake would let his guard down.

‘Of course, I made a separate loophole for him to escape.’ Even

with the shackles prepared on purpose, it took a long time for Blake to let his guard down.

Now, everything was really right in front of his eyes.

Louis was no longer plagued by ‘nightmares’. He now knew the ending.

The unhappy marriage had pushed Odette to the edge of the cliff, and she had finally jumped off the terrace.

He could still recall that day vividly as if it had happened yesterday.

Thud. After a dull and eerie sound flashed past his ears.

Soon the butler came looking for Louis noisily. He couldn’t bring himself to make a fuss because there were guests, but he couldn’t help but be shaken by the death of his mistress.

-Ma, it seems that the mistress has jumped off the terrace!

Louis went to the terrace where Odette had died and met the man standing there like a stone statue.

Walter Ertmann.

A man like a wallflower who would not have invited him to his house if he hadn’t said he would invest in his business. The man

who saw Odette’s last moments was still the same as Louis knew.

A straight and indifferent face that didn’t seem like it would cause even a single scandal. And his eerily indifferent gaze toward others.

In other words, Walter was not greatly shaken by Odette’s death.

He had experienced too much death to shake his hands because he had witnessed someone’s death.

However, Walter was clearly shaken. His

fists clenched under his sleeves. His jawline protruded, perhaps because his teeth were tense, and his actions, such as grabbing Louis’s collar violently, spoke of his collapse.

Walter grumbled, his face distorted fiercely. He seemed to be saying something, but it was not enough to get through to Louis’s ears, so grumbling was the best way to describe it.

Louis was equally shocked by Odette’s death.

His mind quickly rationalized.

-… … Odette couldn’t have died. No, she couldn’t have died willingly.

The noble princess who never bowed her head no matter what I said couldn’t have died because she couldn’t endure this life.

Although he admitted that he had gone out, Odette’s life must have been abundant. She always ate well and wore good clothes. What on earth could she lack that made her choose death when she had a life without any lack?

No, even if she had chosen suicide because she could not overcome her depression, it didn’t matter.

Here, there was someone suitable for him to vent his resentment on.

-You… …You killed her. Walter Ertmann, you killed her!

All of Louis’s resentment and anger were directed at Walter.

-You could have saved Odette, but you didn’t. It’s as good as killing her. If it weren’t for you, Odette would have lived!

-Shut up. What do you know?

-At least I know more than you. I was Odette’s husband. Unlike you.

At Louis’s grumbling, swear words flowed out of Walter’s teeth, but Louis didn’t care.

He was the one who knew how Walter viewed Odette. Odette herself didn’t seem to realize it.

– Walter Ertmann, you were just a writer like that. A shameless writer who covets other people’s wives. Otherwise, there would be no reason for you to come here and grab me by the collar, right?

– … … What?

– No matter how much you struggle, Odette is my wife. That won’t change. And that you were nothing to my wife.

With those words, the strength left Walter’s hand, and Louis shook it off. He threw his last words at Walter, who stood there like a broken stone statue.

– A cowardly murderer.

That was their last conversation.

After that, Walter shut himself away at home and lived like a wreck until he left for the battlefield, and Louis’s life was not much different.

I don’t know what Walter was thinking, but Louis was terribly distressed by Odette’s death.

Odette’s actions, which had only felt suffocating while she was alive, were finally understood after she disappeared. It was natural to see this as they were locked up in the mansion.

‘For Odette… … there was no one else to hold onto but me.’

It all started when they discovered the traces of Lady Clovis’s oppression and pressure on Odette.

She thought that Odette, who always took money at Louis’ request, was spending it on luxuries.

The nerves of an old man tend to become more stubborn as time goes by.

The oppression that started with simple glares and a few words of criticism at first became more direct as time passed.

Since she had to socialize, she couldn’t take away her expensive clothes, but every time Odette had a meal with Lady Clovis, she would hear verbal abuse and criticism and had to throw up everything she had eaten.

What was surprising was that most of the servants looked down on Odette like that.

Most of them had served Lady Clovis longer than Odette, so no one pitied or cared for Odette. Rather, they tended to ridicule and ignore Odette, who couldn’t even eat her fair share.

In the end, the only thing Odette could hold onto was Louis’s sleeve.

Even though she knew that his repeated failures in business, his neglectful family, and his indifference were causing her own misfortune, Odette could not completely hate him.

No, perhaps she simply did not have the strength left to hate him.

Thus, Odette’s will contained her last words to Louis.

[Please don’t take my next wife. I pity her.]

Thus, Louis finally understood Odette.

How terrible a person he had been, and why Odette’s choice had been the worst.

“… … .”

Louis stopped thinking and slowly clenched his hands.

‘I won’t repeat that mistake this time.’

If only Walter, the man who killed Odette and is currently ruining everything, would disappear,

then everything could be put right.