Contract Marriage Interrupted - Chapter 97



Only Noblemtl

Episode 97. Fragments (2)
2024.01.04.

Anne-Sophie held out a bundle of paper that wasn’t very thick.

Since Odette was practically an outsider, it seemed like she had roughly organized the information that shouldn’t be leaked, but the content was still considerable.

If we were to guess, it might be because Anne-Sophie had feelings for the Department of Divinity, which had information about the Holy Relics. Anne-Sophie had both a negative view of the Department of Divinity and a favorable view of Odette. It seemed like she had swept up almost everything that wasn’t really confidential. That’s because

Odette had asked her to do so.

-I want to know about the Holy Relics I mentioned last time. Everything I can.

Odette didn’t completely trust Louis’ words, but she didn’t intend to ignore the clues given to her for that reason. When she came to see Anne-Sophie, she had already confirmed that Louis was related to the Holy Relics, so she needed to know what kind of influence the Holy Relics were having between them.

“Of course, you can’t take them with you. You should go and see it here. It would be bad if you got caught by the Divinity Department kids.”

“Of course, thank you.”

“But why are you suddenly curious about the relic? It’s not something that has anything to do with Your Majesty.”

“I thought so too. But… … I thought it might exist.”

I was certain that Count Clovis and I being a couple wasn’t just a dream. Above

all, there was something that bothered me the most.

– I heard that there was a relic that the Divinity Department had been researching. There are only three of them on the entire continent, and they can grant wishes.

– Wishes? Is that possible?

– According to the documents, it’s possible to turn back time or bring back the dead. Of course, these are just records and claims.

When Anne-Sophie first spoke about the relic, the category of ‘wishes’ that the relic could grant included turning back time. If that’s the case,

then this ridiculous assumption, or rather, certainty, could be true.

Odette quickly scanned the documents Anne-Sophie had given her.

Since Anne-Sophie had copied all the materials used in the Department of Divinity with a magic tool, the content in front was not very nutritious.

A simple explanation of the Divinity, which states that fragments of the gods are spread throughout the world, and that most things called sacred relics are fragments of those gods.

Then, a drawing of the unknown characters written on the relics, and the general shape of the relics.

The important part was the following content.

‘When a relic is used, it also affects those involved.’

Since a relic is a fragment of a god, it is not clear whether the will of the god is embedded in it or not. However, for some reason, a relic has a wide range of effects centered around the person who uses it.

And the main symptom was…

‘… hallucinations.’

According to the literature, people around them experienced various hallucinations, and it was known that common figures usually appeared.

However, that was not the end. Next to it was a personal opinion added by someone from the Department of Divinity.

[According to the ‘experienced’, it was not a simple hallucination. Nowhere has there been a case of experiencing exactly the same hallucinations at the same time. If the relic did not manipulate false memories into multiple people, this can only be explained as a trace of lost time.]

Traces of lost time.

In other words, when the relic turned back time, the memories of the lost time gradually returned to the people involved as a countermeasure.

[There is not much remaining information, so it is difficult to say for sure, but it is certain that the hallucinations occurred only when time was turned back. Or, since most of the wishes made to the relic were to turn back time, the symptom of hallucinations occurred frequently… … . In either case, the content of seeing hallucinations must be erased. Since regaining lost memories cannot be explained as hallucinations.]

Odette’s hand holding the paper trembled slightly.

Her conviction was correct. They had lost time and lost memories.

‘That was really a memory from the past.’

Since she had guessed, it was not that surprising up until this point.

Odette was agitated for another reason.

That is, who had used the relic. Because she could guess who had created this situation.

‘Louis hasn’t changed since the past.’

No, he hasn’t gotten better since the past. Louis didn’t get what he wanted, and he wasn’t free from the past. If Louis had been the one who used the holy relic, he should have been living a happy life, thankful that he hadn’t married Odette.

Then who benefited the most from the changed timeline?

‘Walter. And… … Me.’

There were two possibilities.

The first is that Odette, after her tragic life, might have used the holy relic to make a wish.

‘Louis said I was dead, but he might have done something before he died.’ Perhaps

death itself was a condition. There was no guarantee that someone who used a holy relic would retain all of their past memories. Regardless

of the circumstances, didn’t Odette eventually go back in time and gain new life?

Until she saw what someone from the Department of Divinity had written down, Odette had no doubt that her past self had used a holy relic.

However, as she moved her gaze down, the possibility quickly faded away like a bonfire in the rain.

[Those known to have used a holy relic did not have any uniformity in status, gender, age, or ability. The last person to use a holy relic was the great wizard and great sage Kazimir, who possessed the power to grant life, and the first person known to have used a holy relic was the daughter of a merchant.]

The important thing was the next sentence.

[However, those who used a holy relic, regardless of their conditions, all met the same end. Between one and two years, their whereabouts all became unclear. [It means becoming missing.]

Missing.

　
The moment she saw that word, something flashed through Odette’s mind.

Walter’s contract, which had been written in suspiciously specific detail about his death.

[If Walter Ertmann remains missing for more than three months, all property in Walter Ertmann’s name will revert to Odette Benoit Celestine.] [After Walter Ertmann

‘s death, Ertmann is obligated to protect Odette Benoit Celestine, and from the moment Walter Ertmann’s death is confirmed, Odette Benoit Celestine permanently loses all rights and obligations she could exercise as Ertmann’s mistress.]

Only then did Odette think she could understand Walter’s obsession revealed in the contract.

‘Walter knew from the beginning.’

Only then did Odette think she could understand why Walter was so obsessed with marrying her, why he so firmly believed that he loved Louis.

And why did his gaze look so sad yet happy at the same time… … .

‘… … It was him.’

Walter Ertmann, he was the one who used the holy relic to turn back time.

* * *

As soon as Odette realized the truth, she returned to Duke Ertmann’s residence.

And she immediately looked for Walter, but he wasn’t in the mansion.

– If it was you, he went to the palace to see His Highness the Crown Prince, Madame. Didn’t you know?

If it was you who was meeting Cedric, she knew. But Odette didn’t know that it was today.

‘Walter hid it on purpose!’

The emperor was furious that another scandal had broken out involving Ertmann and the princess.

Ertmann was already an eyesore, and he had allowed them to get married when he had no choice, so he was hit in the back of the head like this.

He was angry and immediately demanded that Walter and Odette’s marriage be called off, but because his health was deteriorating, it didn’t lead to an imperial decree.

Instead, Cedric, who was just as angry at Walter as the Emperor, took over the task.

If Cedric had been a little more emotional, he would have directly expressed the Emperor’s anger in the form of an imperial decree, but fortunately, he was still a thoughtful older brother.

‘You contacted me several times asking if I was thinking of breaking off the engagement, or at least asking me to live separately in the palace.’

Of course, Odette had replied several times that she had no intention of doing so, but the problem was Walter.

Odette’s mind recalled the scene she had witnessed last time.

Walter was grabbing Cedric by the collar.

‘If he was that angry last time when he was told to break off the engagement… … .’

There was no guarantee that Walter wouldn’t get angry this time. The problem was that Cedric could easily make a big deal out of this and break up Odette and Walter’s engagement, and he could even punish Walter more severely.

So, to prevent any unforeseen events, she had asked Walter to go with her several times.

‘Why on earth did he go alone?’

Was he really going to do something?

As much as she trusted Walter, Odette also firmly believed that Walter was arrogant.

Still, under different circumstances, she would have thought that he would not do something so ridiculous as attack the crown prince.

‘Walter… … knows that he will disappear.’

So there was a possibility that he would do anything. A hundred and one worst-case scenarios were already playing out in Odette’s head, and she stormed out when the twenty-third scenario occurred to her.

‘I have to stop the two of us from being alone before it’s too late!’

More than anything, she couldn’t just wait for Walter to come back.

‘Now I know what Walter is hiding.’

Of course, there were many things she was curious about. How and why he had turned back time. Why had he chosen her? Was it true that he had killed her?

But before all that, Odette wanted to see Walter.

She had been turning away because she had no confidence to face him due to her confused emotions, but now her feelings for Walter were becoming clearer and clearer, to the point where she could no longer turn away.

There was no need to distinguish between past and present feelings. She had always been looking at Walter.

‘And maybe, Walter too… …’

Odette headed straight to the imperial palace. However, the road to the crown prince’s palace was not smooth.

An obstacle had appeared in front of her.

“Odette. Your husband, has he become a joke?”

It was Regina.