Contract Marriage Interrupted - Chapter 99



Only Noblemtl

Episode 99. Reality (2)
2024.01.11.

Walter Ertmann. He was never ignorant of poison.

When he put his lips to the tea Cedric brought, he quickly realized that his tongue was stinging.

‘It’s poisoned.’

Even if Cedric had a high tolerance for poison, he was not completely immune. Cedric was not the type of person to drink poison in normal times. So it’s unlikely that Cedric would have voluntarily prepared poisoned tea for both of them.

Strictly speaking, it would be closer to Cedric or someone else trying to kill him.

“… … The tea smells good.”

“Really? I’m glad it suits your taste.”

Cedric answered absentmindedly and drank his share of tea. He didn’t seem to care at all whether Walter brought the teacup to his lips or not.

If someone had poisoned him, they would have definitely tried to check if Walter was drinking tea or not, so judging by Cedric’s attitude, he wasn’t the culprit.

The remaining possibilities were obvious.

‘The 2nd Prince, or Empress Katharina.’

In fact, it was safe to assume that the two were the same, so it was as good as knowing who the culprit was.

They probably planned to kill Walter when they confronted Cedric and somehow shift the blame to Cedric.

‘I wondered why they sent the 3rd Princess to me to create such a scandal… … .’

Since the close relationship between Cedric and Walter was already known to the outside world, they needed an excuse to bring up the discord between them. He had expected it, but it was more obvious than he thought.

They probably needed an excuse to discredit Cedric.

‘You don’t know your place.’

Cedric had already tricked the sick emperor into handing over most of his authority. In this situation, would he just sit back and let the blame be placed on him?

With Walter’s full support, Cedric’s power was more solid than ever. It was too solid a power to be overturned by Walter’s death alone.

Even if he killed Walter to create an imbalance and chaos in the power, there would be no reason for it to change much since Duchess Ertmann Odette was on Cedric’s side. Arnold was someone who would gladly take Cedric’s side for Odette’s sake.

So what Blake was doing now was nothing more than a last-ditch effort. A last-ditch effort by someone who sensed defeat.

Normally, he wouldn’t have been surprised by this. At least, if Odette was by his side.

-I will trust you. That you have not committed any wrongdoing. I will believe that the person I know is real.

-But I will keep my distance from you as I have been. -Now

that there is no basis for trust, if I continue to stay close to you, my trust will waver.

Walter couldn’t say a word to Odette, who said that they couldn’t be close until she could trust him completely. He could just say one word, the words he had said when he met Regina in the garden of the banquet hall, disguised as Odette, but he couldn’t.

When her identity was revealed, Regina’s words full of ridicule wouldn’t leave his mind.

Even though she faced Walter’s face full of anger, she burst into laughter and asked,

“Ha, haha! Odette doesn’t know anything? Somehow, I wondered why that foolish girl accepted you. If she had known this, there was no way she would have accepted you! That fool!

-… … What?

– Keep hiding it well like you’ve been doing so far. I don’t know when you’ll die, but I’ll pretend not to know.

Walter tried to ask more, but Regina ignored him and left.

However, there really wasn’t much need for further explanation.

Walter also knew that Odette, who had been cowering to survive her whole life, was a very cautious and vigilant person.

Odette was the kind of person who would throw a stone at even a flat surface and pass by. So if she had known that Walter was destined to die soon, she would never have stepped foot into the safe zone—Ertmann—that Walter offered.

Walter did not want to lose even the minimal distance that Odette had left. He did not have the courage to lose it.

He wanted to keep a cowardly silence rather than reveal the truth and be abandoned.

‘Even if I reveal the truth in the first place, there is nothing I can say.’

Was he going to tell Odette that he had used the holy relic to come back? Was he going to force the uncomfortable truth that she had committed suicide in the past and that he had loved her?

In the end, the truth he could reveal was not complete, and if Odette were to notice it, everything would return to square one. So nothing was meaningful.

At the end of that conflict, a poisoned cup was placed in front of Walter.

Was this the end of the misfortune that had been given to me?

‘Maybe it would be better to end it like this.’

Walter thought that perhaps this was his chance.

Now that I don’t know how much time the holy relic has left, it might be better to accept this opportunity rather than anxiously waiting for the day when my traces disappear.

“Should I have gone to see Odette?”

With that thought, Walter emptied his teacup.

“Shall I finish the story, Cedric?”

He waited for death.

* * *

Walter died.

Odette couldn’t come to her senses at all, trying to grasp the outline of the reality that had come before her eyes.

Maybe she screamed. No, she must have retched.

Odette lost consciousness in the end, so her memory was not complete.

I thought I would vividly recall the warmth that had been holding my hand, but the owner of that warmth was cold and cold right before my eyes. I clearly remembered the dull pain before I died.

Even so, I was able to be happy because I could finally leave this life and because I wasn’t alone at the last moment. My fall, that betrayal, felt even happier because there was someone who said they loved me just before I died.

Then what on earth made you close your eyes already?

I still have something to say to you… … .

“… … Th, Odette!”

Odette slowly raised her eyelids. A familiar face appeared in her dazzling vision.

A cracked voice flowed out from between Odette’s slightly parted lips.

“Cedric… … Brother.”

“Are you coming to your senses? What on earth is going on… … .”

He briefly explained the situation with a face that had become considerably tired in the interim.

The tea Walter drank had been poisoned, and Odette had lost her senses and fainted when she saw Walter collapse.

And this situation had been kept under control so that it would not leak out of the Crown Princess Palace.

There were two reasons for this.

First, there was a high possibility that Empress Katharina would use her power after learning of this fact, so the situation would not turn out to be unfavorable. Second

.

“Walter’s condition… … is a strange situation to explain in words.”

“… … What?”

“You don’t remember, Odette? You used your power on Walter.”

Cedric said that Odette had injected magic power into Walter while sobbing in a state of lost reason.

Others might not have noticed, but it was definitely Odette’s ability to breathe life into him.

“Thanks to that, Walter is currently unconscious but still alive. However, he is as good as dead.”

The life that Odette had breathed into him was nothing more than a spark that would soon go out.

In this situation, Walter’s death was practically certain.

Cedric sighed and roughly ran his hands through his hair.

“I wonder why Walter drank that tea in the first place. There’s no way Walter didn’t know about the poison in the tea. But why… … .”

And the moment he heard those words, Odette was able to understand Walter’s intentions.

Tears that had suddenly welled up ran down her cheeks.

“… … Walter knew and drank it.”

“What?”

“Walter was preparing for his own death. I’m sure of it. And he thought this was… … the opportunity… … .”

Odette sobbed and told Cedric everything she knew.

From their contract marriage to the clauses in the suspicious contract, and the relics.

“Anyone who uses the relics will definitely disappear. So Walter… … chose to die for sure on this occasion. … … for me.”

That way, Odette could safely inherit Walter’s fortune and live her own life. The

more she spoke, the clearer Walter’s intentions became, and tears came to her eyes. What on earth must have been his feelings as he arranged Odette’s life, where he would live and die? It was impossible to fathom, and it took her breath away.

Odette recalled the thoughts she had had just before jumping off the terrace.

“No one will live for me.” Wouldn’t

there be anyone who would sacrifice themselves for her? She unconsciously thought that.

At that time, she was so worn out and torn. She

wanted to receive compensation from anyone for the sacrifice she had made for Clovis.

However, when she actually saw the fact in front of her, she could feel how foolish and selfish that thought had been. Even

if you don’t love me, or sacrifice for me, it’s

okay if you say you regret sacrificing your life for me, but I just wanted to save Walter.

Odette shed tears and suddenly grabbed Cedric’s hand.

“Brother. Isn’t there a way? Please, I have to save Walter. I can’t leave him like this… … . I heard there’s a holy relic somewhere else on the continent, so even that-”

“No! No. I can’t sacrifice you like that. Walter wouldn’t want that either.”

“But-”

“There is a way.”

Cedric sighed and opened his mouth.

This wasn’t for Walter, it was for Odette, but if it went on like this, Odette would say something ridiculous like she would sacrifice her life to save Walter.

‘I can’t just let you die… … .’

There was nothing I could do.

“I have a sacred object with healing powers called in my possession. It is said to have healing powers strong enough to save even people who are almost dying.”

“… … ! Then that-”

“Don’t be happy. All I have is the body. It needs a jewel to be effective, but fortunately I found its location, but I couldn’t get the jewel.”

Because it was something the empress had in her hands.

Odette’s eyes lit up at his words.

“… … Then, if I can get the jewel, I can save Walter, right?”