Contract Marriage Interrupted - Chapter 55



Only Noblemtl

Episode 55. Strange Stimulus
2023.08.10.

The whole story was like this.

Going back in time, before the marriage announcement.

“Getting married like that would be a total loss, so let’s try to convince your grandfather.”

“Is that possible?”

“Of course. I have a way.”

When Odette said this,

Odette’s method for getting Arnold’s consent was surprisingly simple.

“We’ll just claim that we’re very much in love.”

Odette, who had experienced Arnold, was certain.

If not for this method, she would never be able to get Arnold’s moderate consent.

“Of course, there will be the difficulty of having to act a little, but that’s part of the original contract. I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference.”

Odette nodded solemnly as she said this.

By the way, Walter at that time… … Since his love wasn’t acting, he thought this method wouldn’t be particularly difficult.

Of course, this was only Walter’s position.

It meant that there were other realistic problems.

“No matter how much we seem to be in love, Grandfather won’t believe it. He’s a person who doesn’t trust people very much.”

“I know that much. If he was the type to believe in acting, he would have believed it when he heard that we kissed in the middle of the banquet hall.”

“And you’re still going to use this method?”

“Yes. We have to make it so that your grandfather has no choice but to believe it.”

Walter tilted his head to Odette’s suggestion.

“How?”

“Leave a trace.”

And this was the key.

Odette’s opinion was this.

“It’s more important to make those around us believe it than to say that we’re in love ourselves.”

So the plan would begin the moment the wedding announcement was made and Odette entered the Ertmann ducal residence.

In other words, the groundwork had to be completed before entering the Ertmann ducal residence.

So, in the carriage heading to the Ertmann ducal residence.

Odette and Walter sat close enough that their bodies overlapped.

And.

“… … Well, I think this is enough.”

Odette, who had been fidgeting for a moment, lifted herself up by placing her hand on Walter’s shoulder. She had been just below Walter’s chin, near his collarbone, just a moment ago.

Thanks to that, Walter, who was secretly holding his breath after Odette had fallen, had a red mark on his shirt collar that looked like a woman’s lip makeup to anyone who saw it.

It was a mark that seemed to have been accidentally applied, as if he had tried to erase it somehow.

Of course, it was a mark that Odette had just made.

And Odette had also touched up some of her own makeup. She

had intentionally smudged it with her fingertips. So that it would look like they had just kissed.

Of course, she had to make it look like she was hiding something, so it couldn’t be too obvious.

“How is it? Does it look natural?”

“It looks like someone who had just had a moderate secret meeting and came out in a hurry.”

“That’s high praise.”

Odette nodded with satisfaction.

However, Walter said with a somewhat dubious tone.

“I’m not sure if the servants would be fooled to this extent.”

“Why? “You even left such marks on your clothes.”

“How do you know if this is a lip print or not? No one saw us sticking to it.”

Of course, this was Walter’s far-fetched sophistry.

The servants have done laundry more than once or twice, so how could they not even tell if this was a makeup mark or not?

Odette did not believe Walter’s words

at face value either. “… … Still, doesn’t this look like a lip print?”

“That may be the case, but I’m just saying to be careful just in case.”

However, Walter showed off his exceptionally excellent speaking skills in this regard.

“You and I both have been open about what happened. I tell you again, my grandfather is very suspicious. Especially when it comes to my womanizing.”

“… …!”

Odette’s eyes widened.

A womanizing that Arnold would not trust.

‘Walter… … Did he really enjoy a promiscuous life?’

It was an interpretation that was the exact opposite of the speaker’s intention.

The reason Arnold doesn’t believe Walter’s womanizing is because he has no interest in women, to the point where it seems he is either impotent or homosexual.

If Walter had heard Odette’s misunderstanding directly, he would have gladly helped to clear it up, but unfortunately, Odette was a person who knew how to hold back her words.

“I understand. You had a woman problem.”

“Yes.”

In the midst of such a deepening misunderstanding.

“So, I would like you to make one more mark without being too obvious.”

“How?”

“I’m going to make a mark that won’t be erased easily and try to cover it up on purpose. Wouldn’t it be more natural than showing it blatantly?”

“I see. That was a good idea.”

When Odette nodded innocently, Walter smiled and said, “Then, excuse me.” He leaned forward.

Odette’s long silver hair that had been wrapped around her thin neck gently brushed against the back of Walter’s hand and flowed down over his shoulder.

At the same time, the man’s hand brushed over his white skin where his pulse was beating.

“… … !”

It felt like fluff was standing up.

As Odette unconsciously shrugged her shoulders, his other hand gently wrapped around her back as if to comfort her.

The distance that had been widening narrowed in an instant.

Walter lightly kissed her white exposed nape.

The sweet scent of her body mixed with the lingering scent of her perfume tickled her nose, and her pulse tickled her lips with a faint trembling.

He didn’t hug her deeply enough to comfort her, but he could tell that the woman in his arms was tense.

“She must be biting her lip since she hasn’t said anything yet.”

Odette was biting her lip while trembling with tension.

It reminded him of a rabbit in front of a trap.

And Walter, if I had to make a comparison, was like a beast that snatched the nape of a small animal that almost stepped on a trap.

“Relax. You won’t get eaten.”

A languid low voice tickled Odette’s ears, and the exhaled breath that flowed out together brushed her delicate skin.

As if he was rubbing his nose against the curve where her shoulder line and neck line met, the next moment she felt Walter’s lips brushing near her sunken collarbone.

Even though she couldn’t see anything because her eyes were tightly shut, all her senses were vividly awakening Walter’s actions.

　
This was a first in her life.

She had felt it when they kissed, but Walter was too seductive.

Walter’s lips, which ran down from under her ear, bit her slender shoulder line, and when the wet contact continued, Odette unconsciously clenched her hand tightly.

‘Is this how everyone does it?’

Odette also knew what Walter meant by ‘a mark that doesn’t erase easily.’

She was inexperienced, not knowledgeable.

Odette had always thought that the two were not very different.

However, her own experience was completely different from what she had only known.

This was different from the kisses that were so intense that my vision felt dizzy, and it was different from the polite touches Walter occasionally showed.

‘I just need to leave a mark… … .’

Why was Walter kissing my neck and shoulders here and there?

Every time his exhalation brushed my skin, I felt a fever.

Even the hand stroking my back made my breath wet.

At some point, Odette had been holding onto Walter’s collar tightly.

It was an action she had chosen because she couldn’t bring herself to put her arm around his shoulder.

Her cheeks flushed with a strange sense of elation, and as Walter’s lips, which had been resting near her collarbone, gradually moved down,

Odette’s lips opened without her knowing it.

“It’s done.”

And then, Walter pulled his lips away. Of course, the hand that had been holding her back also went with it.

Walter said, opening his slightly unbuttoned clothes again to cover the marks.

“It must have been hard to hold it in, thank you for your hard work.”

“… … Oh, no. You are more… … .”

Odette couldn’t finish her words.

As she felt Walter’s lips gradually moving downward, she realized that she had been expecting more without realizing it.

And that brought quite a shock to Odette.

‘I… … Am I weak to temptation?’

Was it because she had never been tempted in her life that she had not realized it until now?

‘Walter is completely fine… … .’ She

couldn’t believe that she was the only one who couldn’t come to her senses.

That’s how she entered Duke Ertmann’s residence for the first time, lost in self-reflection and shock.

And Odette’s plan worked quite successfully.

The maid, Emma, ​​who had been taking off her dress, saw the marks Walter had left behind.

“Oh my, a bug in a place like this… … Ah! No, I’m, I’m sorry! Please forget it!”

“… … .”

Emma, ​​who wasn’t immune to that kind of thing, blushed quite

a bit and panicked. ‘No… … There were quite a few spots.’

It didn’t seem like much, but when I looked in the mirror, there were quite a few marks.

Anyone would notice this much.

‘Should I tell her to be more moderate next time?’

Anyway, since the situation had come to this, she needed to say something or two.

Odette smiled awkwardly and covered the marks with her hand.

“Keep it a secret, Emma. You looked so ugly

as soon as you came.” “Unsightly? That’s not true. It’s because I’ve been serving you for so long.”

Emma apologized repeatedly, and Odette generously forgave her, muttering awkwardly.

“I told you not to leave marks… … Walter, too.”

“… …!”

Emma’s eyes widened again at that muttering.

‘You must have heard it.’

And Emma would diligently spread the rumor.

Our master and his wife-to-be were so close.

It was true that they got married because they loved each other so much!

Of course, it was disrespectful for servants to talk about the stories of those they served, but since this was a good story, they wouldn’t bother to hide it.

‘Emma wouldn’t make fun of me,’ he said .

The story would probably spread quickly in a positive light.

Odette lay down in her still unfamiliarly good bedding and wide bed, trying to calm her slightly restless mind and go to sleep.

One worry was particularly clear in her noisy mind.

‘How should a mistress who loves her husband and is loved by her husband behave?’

If she had grown up receiving a lot of love from her family, she could have just acted as she did when she was at home, but Odette had never been loved.

Naturally, she didn’t know how a mistress who was loved should behave.

So after much thought, Odette thought.

As expected.

‘I should sleep in tomorrow, even if it’s late.’