Contract Marriage Interrupted - Chapter 72



Only Noblemtl

Episode 72. Truth (2)
2023.10.08.

4th Princess Odette Benoit Celestine.

No, now it would be more correct to call her Countess Clovis or Odette Celestine Clovis.

In any case, it was two months ago that we heard the news of her death. She

fell to her death from the balcony of the Clovis mansion.

It was supposedly a height where she could have survived with a disability if she was lucky, but she was incredibly unlucky. She

fell directly onto the sharp fence.

‘No, I should say she was lucky.’

Since the fall was intentional, it would be right to call her lucky.

In that sense, Odette’s suicide was successful.

If I had told Odette herself this story, she would have laughed heartily, saying that she had poured all her remaining luck into it.

Yes, up to this point, the people around her were a little surprised, and the deceased herself was a little satisfied.

‘I heard that you said there was no deep relationship at all.’

The only thing I remember is that the Belfort Academy expressed excessive regret.

Even that was because the Belfort Academy was receiving research help from Odette, and because they were close to her as a research student, so everyone nodded their heads.

If there was that much interaction, it wasn’t hard to understand why Belfort would feel regretful.

Russell felt the same way.

Since Walter and Odette had interacted, he had known Odette quite a bit.

‘She seemed like a good person, except for the dryness.’

In his memory, Odette was like a bare tree left in a forest fire.

She looked like she would crumble to ashes if you hit her. She

　
was that lifeless, and that she looked dangerous.

Some might find that kind of appearance attractive, but Russell liked the lively and energetic side.

So Russell clicked his tongue inwardly in pity as he watched Odette dry up.

-Tsk tsk, people have to be strong since ancient times.

You have to be strong both physically and mentally to survive and thrive.

Those who seek out medicine and such have never lived healthily,

Russell said, clicking his tongue.

The problem was that his insight was so right that Odette died.

After Cedric’s death, Walter had been chasing the person who killed him.

No matter what, Cedric was not someone who would die easily.

His swordsmanship and self-defense skills were both top-notch, and he always had an escort around him.

How could he die in a sudden attack?

-The circumstances of his death have not been properly revealed, and there is no sign of any attempt to investigate. We can only assume that the empress’s side interfered.

Walter said that and began to investigate Cedric’s death.

The most likely suspect was the illegal bootlegging that Cedric had been investigating until just before his death.

The fact that the nobles were involved in the illegal bootlegging business gradually surfaced, and it reached a point where he could no longer sit idly by.

‘And if many nobles were involved in the bootlegging business… … it is highly likely that they were trying to retaliate against His Highness Cedric, who was chasing them.’

In this way, Walter succeeded in becoming close to someone who was deeply involved in the bootlegging business and seemed to have a deep connection to Cedric’s death.

That was Louis Clovis.

It was difficult to become close to him because he was a person with high guard, but he barely managed to get invited to the mansion.

That day when Walter visited the Clovis mansion,

Odette jumped from the balcony.

‘And from that day on, Your Majesty became strange.’

Was it because of the guilt of not being able to prevent Odette’s suicide even though they were in the same place?

Or because he failed to properly protect Odette as asked by Cedric?

But as far as he knew… … .

‘… … His Highness Cedric never specifically asked you to take care of the Fourth Princess.’

That was natural. Only someone who had a premonition of their own death would do that, while Cedric had not anticipated his own death at all.

Of course, Russell did not know the entire conversation between the two, so he may have made the request in a place he did not know about, but that was what he knew.

Above all, Walter was not the kind of person who would lose his mind over guilt over the death of his friend’s younger sibling.

‘Did he really have feelings for the Fourth Princess?’

If he could find out what happened at the Clovis mansion that day, he wouldn’t feel so suffocated.

Russell sighed and said.

“Your Majesty. Are you really going to change your fate after living like this? Why are you acting like this when you know that there is no need to waste yourself like this?”

“I’m fine, so don’t worry about

it.” “I’m not a knight who has ever been on a battlefield before, so do you think I don’t know what your Majesty’s condition is?”

Walter was covered in blood from head to toe.

Of course, most of it wasn’t his blood, but Russell, who was used to the battlefield, could clearly see that Walter’s body was soaked in his blood.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve done this. You came back a few days ago when you were about to die. No matter how much you say it’s Your Majesty, if you keep doing this, you’ll die!”

They were in a battleground on the northern border. It

was a relatively barren place, and the imperial control was weak, so naturally, rebels were gathering and fighting.

Compared to professionally trained troops, they were a ragtag group, but since the army accustomed to the warm climate of the capital became more than half useless once they came here, it was difficult to subdue them.

In particular, the rebel headquarters used the rugged terrain of the snowy mountains, the harsh climate, and the friendly sentiment of the northern region to wage guerrilla warfare, so the battle was sluggish. They were

frequently attacked at night and fell into traps, and the imperial people were busy hiding the rebels, so the already chaotic military camp became even more chaotic.

‘Besides, they were imperial people too, so it would be difficult to suppress them strongly.’

In the end, this resistance was no different from a protest because they were having a hard time making a living.

Therefore, the imperial family also thought that if they were to crush everything by force, the entire north would turn their backs, so they should just crush the headquarters, which was the current focal point of the rebels, and punish the rest appropriately.

After all, if a ragtag group like this loses its focal point, it will fall apart in an instant.

Walter could not have been unaware of this obvious principle.

He had already been here several years ago and suppressed a rebellion.

However, he seemed to have completely forgotten all about that, and he would go out alone and wipe out the rebel bases.

Thanks to that, the rebels would lose several bases in an instant and hesitate, but this was excessive.

“Even if Your Majesty didn’t do this, there wouldn’t be any night raids for a while. Because we’ve already wiped out the seeds in the area! Do you know that if you go any further, you’ll most likely get lost? If you get lost here, it’s no different from dying.”

The days were short here, and there was ice everywhere.

If you went out alone and were to be surprised and fall into the snow, you would freeze to death before you even lose blood.

“If you’re going to go out, take me with you, but you wouldn’t listen… … Where are you going?”

“I’ve confirmed that there’s another one nearby. I’ll raid that one and go.”

“Then I’ll go too!”

“You’ll die if you come.”

“No, even if I did, I would be killed by the swords of the rebels-”

“My sword.”

Russell kept his mouth shut.

Walter was a man who would say things that sounded crazy, but never said things that weren’t true.

If he said something like that, he would definitely die. In the middle of a melee, there are often people who lose their reason and swing their swords regardless of whether they are allies or enemies.

However… … .

‘… … Are you saying that you fight to the point where you can’t even tell friend from foe?’

Walter was the embodiment of the word ‘reason. ’

For him to lose his reason and fight is something that can’t be assumed in the first place.

Rather than that… … .

‘You probably don’t have the heart

to distinguish.’ Even though he clearly had enough reason to distinguish friend from foe, he didn’t feel the need to distinguish and swing his sword.

If he could say that to Russell, who was closest to him, then everyone else would feel like an ant.

Russell hesitated to start pointing that out, and eventually he kept his mouth shut.

“… … .”

He couldn’t point anything out.

Russell knew how he had lived before coming to the battlefield.

-You’re in the same condition today. No matter how many times I told you not to take sleeping pills and medicine together… …

-There’s also a footman who got hit in the head by the paperweight that Your Majesty threw while trying to stop him strongly. He said he’d kill him if he touched him again… …We can’t stop him any longer, Sir Russell.

Walter was a complete wreck. He

just drank alcohol, day and night, ignoring the sun rising.

As if he didn’t know what else to do.

In fact, Walter wasn’t a person who could be controlled in the first place.

It’s just that Walter wasn’t a person who needed to be controlled, so that wasn’t obvious.

Russell took special measures in this first uncontrollable situation.

He called Arnold.

Arnold was furious at his grandson’s behavior,

which he hadn’t seen in a long time. – I can’t stand seeing you acting like you’re crazy like this! Go to the battlefield to cool your head. Don’t even think about coming back until you think about living properly!

Walter, who had always ignored everything he said, obediently followed him this time.

That’s why Russell was also secretly relieved and followed him to the battlefield.

‘This is the result.’

Still, it was better than when he had been locked up in the mansion and constantly looking for alcohol, so he should be thankful.

‘Maybe Your Majesty needs to move around.’

Russell tried to think positively, thinking that things would get better as a result.

“Then I’ll clean up this place, so you have to come back before the sun sets.”

“Understood.”

“I really do? I really do! I won’t go back until Your Majesty comes! I’ll freeze to death here, resenting Your Majesty!” “

… … “He brought everything he needed for camping, and he threatened me with something like that.”

He was right on the mark.

However, since it had been a long time since Walter had accepted a joke like this, Russell laughed out loud.

For a moment, he thought he saw Walter chuckle.

“Yes, Your Majesty is getting better.”

Don’t worry too much.

Russell stayed behind, reassuring himself.

And Walter never came down the mountain again.