Contract Marriage Interrupted - Chapter 83



Only Noblemtl

Episode 83. Cedric’s Question
2023.11.16.

Is it because Walter’s personality is not that great?

However, Cedric is not unaware of how arrogant and mean-spirited the blue-bloods known as nobles are. On the contrary, if we look at it that way, Walter was on the very good side.

Then, is Walter’s wealth or status lacking? If the name Ertmann is lacking, then he should bring in royalty next time.

There are no major problems within the family, and Walter does not treat Odette poorly.

If it is noticeable to Arnold, then it is impossible for Cedric not to notice.

But why?

“Is it because of his personality?”

“Of course, Walter is not the kind of person who would fall into the category of lacking personality.”

Cedric smiled loosely.

“But even if Walter had a great personality, I would have opposed it.”

“Isn’t his personality the problem?”

“Yes. The problem is Walter’s status.”

Status? Arnold’s expression became even more puzzled.

“Isn’t Ertmann a high enough position?”

“High enough. It’s too high, that’s the problem.”

Cedric sighed, pressing his temples.

“Arnold, do you really think I left Odette alone because I didn’t care how she was treated by Empress Katharina and her half-brothers?”

Arnold didn’t really need to answer.

It was ‘no.’

Arnold had seen Cedric try to help Odette from the bottom of the water for a long time. He

must have counted the number of times Cedric had removed the poisoned cup that was about to fall on Odette.

“Of course, Odette doesn’t want to receive help from me. She’s even more reluctant to reveal that she’s holding hands with me. But sometimes, when I see how Odette is treated, I want to tell her to come under my protection completely, even if I don’t want to.”

The question Cedric had been asking Odette constantly.

-Odette, is there anything you want?

-If you change your mind, please tell me. Even if I am not trustworthy, I can protect you.

Odette thought it was Cedric’s test, but Cedric was always sincere.

If Odette nodded once, he would immediately take her under his wing.

But at the same time, he knew that he could not do that. Even though he

knew that Odette was wary of him, and that he always felt pressured by his questions as tests, he could not say a word.

The reason was simple.

“Odette must live quietly. Otherwise, she will die young.”

In reality, the questions Cedric had asked were truly tests. However,

they were by no means intended to test Odette’s loyalty as Odette had thought.

The tests were intended to save Odette.

“As you know, I sent Odette to Belfort. And I was the one who first learned about her abilities.”

Cedric was also the first to know about the misfortune written in Odette’s fate.

It was more than ten years ago that he first learned of the ability.

Once, Cedric almost died from drinking poisoned tea.

The threat of poisoning was not so surprising to Cedric, who did not have the protection of the empress.

However, thanks to the power of the late empress’s maternal family, Duke Pavel, and Cedric’s exceptional intelligence, there were few cases where Cedric actually drank a lethal dose of poison.

At least until that day.

‘Am I going to die like this?’

Cedric collapsed on the table, gasping for breath and barely holding on to consciousness. He

had not even drank much, but he felt his body stiffening from the tip of his tongue, and the pieces of the teacup rolled on the floor with a loud crash.

If there had been someone around, he could have taken him to a doctor and saved his life, but Cedric was alone that day.

And even though the teacup broke and made a loud noise, there was not a single person around.

‘It looks like he bit someone on purpose…’

He had been poisoned in a thoroughly calculated trap.

He wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

He wanted to crawl outside, but his body wouldn’t move.

All that was covering his body was the cold shadow of death and a terrible sense of helplessness.

At that moment, Cedric had a gut feeling about his own death.

‘There’s no way out.’

It was too late. Even if someone had found him and called a doctor, there would be nothing they could do. He

was already losing consciousness.

Cedric resigned himself to death, thinking that he could do nothing.

And when he opened his eyes.

-Ah, Cedric, brother. Are you awake? How are you feeling?

Odette was there.

　
Cedric frowned and got up.

-… … You, the 4th princess? How are you here?

-I came to see you briefly, but brother collapsed at the tea table, so I woke him up. Oh my, look at the cold sweat. Did you have a fever?

-You… … woke me up?

Only then did Cedric realize that his body didn’t hurt at all.

Having eaten a little bit of poison several times, he knew that even if he barely survived, he would have to suffer for a while.

Most of the time, his body would only become slightly paralyzed, or in some cases, he would have to suffer for several days with a fever.

This time, his body felt light, as if the fact that he had consumed a lethal dose was a lie.

Moreover, Odette, who was not even a doctor, woke up Cedric who had lost consciousness?

No matter how much I thought about it, something was strange.

The fact that Odette thought Cedric was sleeping for a while due to illness and woke him up was especially so.

From that day on, Cedric began to investigate the possibility that Odette had special abilities, and after confirming that she had magical powers, he sent her to Belfort.

And by that time, Cedric had also come to truly cherish Odette.

The problem was the story about Odette’s abilities that Belfort had sent.

The Dean of the Magic Department of Belfort Academy, Zantife, said this:

– The power that Her Highness possesses is truly amazing. It is an ability that is very rare and rivals that of a god. Maybe it is just because of that, but all those who are born with that ability live unfortunate lives and die young.

In fact, this was not necessarily the case with Odette’s abilities.

There is a reason why beauties and geniuses are said to have short lives.

People who are overly outstanding or people who go beyond common sense are bound to meet unfortunate lives and end up dying.

The only characteristic was that in the case of Odette, who was born with the ‘life-giving power’, there was no one who would fall into that category.

As soon as Cedric heard about this, he sent an urgent letter to Zantipe and told her to keep the misfortune from Odette.

And since that day, he has been trying to figure out a way to save Odette.

“The only thing that is certain is that the more quietly you live, the higher your chances of survival.”

You have to live without being noticed by anyone, and the more people know about your power, the more misfortune you will experience.

Also, if you try to escape the misfortune that has been given, you will inevitably face an even greater misfortune later on, so you can’t act easily.

“Regis Xavier was an example of that. I knew in advance that he had approached Odette with impure intentions. I thought about kicking him out before Odette found out the truth, but I left her alone because she seemed to be having quite a good time with that bastard. But what was the result?”

Odette learned the truth about Regis in the worst possible way, and was hurt more than ever before.

It was a misfortune that arose as a reaction to the fact that Odette had escaped the reality she had been hiding from while spending time with Regis.

No, it may have been a misfortune that arose as a reaction to Odette’s ability being known to Zantipe and others, even though Regis had approached Odette in the first place.

So at that time, Cedric was certain.

Until a clear way to save Odette became clear, the best thing to do was to help Odette maintain her current status as much as possible.

Fortunately, Odette had no sense of honor or ambition.

Her goal was to live quietly and harmoniously.

But.

“In the midst of all this, Duchess Ertmann? Who would kill their younger sister? You’ve been my bodyguard for a long time, so you knew about Odette’s ability from the beginning. If I tell Walter without thinking, he might cause some misfortune as a reaction, so I can’t say anything… … It’s frustrating.”

“Well, didn’t you get results this time? You obtained the relic you were looking for? Didn’t you say that if you had it, you could even raise the dead?”

The relic that could even raise the dead, .

In fact, the reason Cedric went on a border inspection mission this time was to confirm the whereabouts of the ring.

And fortunately, Cedric succeeded in obtaining the ring.

The problem was.

“What good is it if I only have the ring? There’s no jewel.”

was a set consisting of the ring and the jewel.

And all Cedric had obtained was the ring.

Without the jewel of the ring, called , the relic wouldn’t work.

So where is the jewel?

Fortunately, unlike the ring, the jewel was very famous, so it wasn’t too difficult to find its location.

In fact, the jewel was very close by.

Right in the Empress’s Palace.

Thinking about the close but distant and dangerous location of , Cedric closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

“Anyway, Walter can’t do it until we get the jewel. How did I protect Odette’s lifeline…?”

“Then why didn’t you say to be a little more aggressive earlier? Couldn’t you have somehow detained Duke Ertmann?”

“I was thinking of doing that even if you didn’t ask me that.”

At least, if it weren’t for the conversation with Odette.

Cedric’s mind recalled the conversation he had with Odette during the day.

.

.

.

“-So, I took that measure as a warning to Walter.”

“Then… … you’re saying he didn’t really commit a serious crime of insulting the royal family.”

Cedric nodded at Odette’s muttering.

“Yes. Even if you are detained, you will probably be released within a few days. Above all, it was also for the purpose of protecting you.”

“You mean you were protecting me… …”

“You don’t have to lie to me. I know that you didn’t want to marry Walter Ertmann.”

And that was also the reason why you called Odette.

“Don’t you want to live the life you wanted, even now, Odette?”