My Contract Husband Demands a Divorce - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Hmph. Whether he was offended or not, what did I care?
Turning my head back, I looked at Arpeggio.
Before I knew it, he was acting chummy with Scheit.
“My, my. Brother-in-law, your complexion has brightened since I last saw you.”
My mouth twitched with the urge to correct the word ‘brother-in-law’ to ‘mortal enemy.’
Scheit glanced at me, then offered a timid nod without saying much else.
His acting truly was top-tier.
Perhaps because Kildian had already grated on my nerves, I couldn’t bring myself to look at Scheit with much favor either.
I needed a change of pace, or I wouldn’t survive the evening.
As I looked around for a dancing partner, Arpeggio extended his hand.
“Lintis, you must share a dance with me too.”
Unbelievable. He always read my mood with eerie precision.
Placing my hand over Arpeggio’s, I headed back toward the dance floor.
From afar, I could feel Kildian’s murderous glare burning into us.
Arpeggio caught his eye for a split second, then whispered to me.
“Did you have a fight with the Prince?”
“Fight? What fight? We’re not children.”
Shaking my head, I moved my feet to the rhythm of the music.
Arpeggio led me smoothly, studying my expression.
“There’s definitely something going on.”
Of course there was.
I turned my head to avoid his gaze. Arpeggio shifted his waist and doggedly followed my face until our eyes locked again.
“What is it? Tell your dear cousin everything, Lintis. Hmm? Come on, spill it.”
A mindlessly smiling face. A breezy tone, and actions that seemed somewhat careless.
Objectively speaking, he didn’t look serious at all. He seemed riddled with openings.
Yet, contrary to appearances, Arpeggio was a remarkably cold-headed businessman who always pursued practical interests.
Could he really ruin his relationship with Kildian just to shield me?
If he weren’t the Family Head, I would have answered ‘yes’ without a moment’s hesitation.
But he was the man leading the Rootsild Family in Melbern.
No matter how close we were as maternal cousins, I couldn’t guarantee he would take my side unconditionally.
Separate from that, I didn’t want to burden him with having to choose between Prince Kildian and me.
“Later.”
Despite my casual rejection, Arpeggio readily accepted it and backed off.
“If you say so. Then for now, we should just dance. So you won’t have a single complicated thought!”
Arpeggio executed an exaggerated turn. The moment I tried to quickly follow his lead, he scooped me up by the waist and spun me around.
“Whoa!”
Startled for a second, I burst out laughing. Only then did he set me down and sweep across the dance floor.
By the time we finished dancing so breathlessly that my mind went blank, the song had changed twice.
“Seriously, you are too much.”
At my laughter-laced scolding, Arpeggio let out a light chuckle.
Then he took a step back, bowing deeply with an theatrical gesture.
“The pleasure is all mine.”
“Stop it. Really, people are watching.”
“Yes, yes, Baroness. Since the attention burdens you, I shall escort you to a quiet place.”
Receiving his escort, I returned to where we had been standing.
Arpeggio passed my hand back to Scheit, exchanging a brief greeting.
Then he headed toward the area where Prince Kildian stood.
After being dragged around frantically for a few songs, I felt a little dizzy, but my mood had improved.
Smiling as I sat on a chair, Scheit claimed the spot right next to me.
He was watching me with a pleased gaze.
‘No doubt he’s only doing that because he’s conscious of the crowd.’
Ignoring him, I caught my breath, but Scheit leaned in close and whispered.
“Seeing how happy you look, Baroness, makes me want a divorce.”
His voice was barely audible, even to me sitting right beside him.
Right, I wondered why he hadn’t brought that up yet.
My pleasant mood vanished in an instant.
Seeing my expression turn sour, he tilted his head in an annoying manner.
“When you make a face like that, it makes me want a divorce even more.”
“You’d say that no matter what kind of face I made.”
“Quite true. Now that we’re on the subject, right this instant…”
Before Scheit could even finish his sentence, I jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow.
As I smiled through gritted teeth, Scheit tactfully stopped talking.
Then he turned his head away again.
“You seem to be on good terms with your cousin.”
He had met him multiple times while preparing for the wedding, so it was a bit late to ask.
I was about to say that when a sudden realization struck me.
Ah, right. This man was currently pretending to have amnesia, wasn’t he?
Wondering if he was still keeping up that lie, I narrowed my eyes and lowered my voice.
“When exactly is your memory coming back?”
“Well, wouldn’t only heaven know that?”
An even more brazen answer than expected came back.
Since I had long given up on understanding Scheit, I just nodded vaguely and answered his previous question.
“We’re like real siblings.”
“Did you grow up together?”
“Well, you could say that. My father adopted Arpeggio.”
The structure of the Rootsild Family was unique.
The main branch was located in Melbern, but the branch offices in other countries had grown so massive they couldn’t be ignored.
As the family spread across the globe, the Family Head could no longer handle everything alone.
Thus, they chose the ‘Family Council.’
Rutshield placed a Family Head in each country to run the family and the business.
Then, once a year, they convened the ‘Family Council’ to decide on major family matters and direction.
After my uncle, who was the Family Head of the Melbern Empire, passed away, the Family Council appointed my father as the Family Head of Melbern.
My father was already famous for his excellent business acumen.
The Family Council judged that my father would be far more helpful to the family than the fifteen-year-old Arpeggio.
In such cases, the fate of the one raised as the successor falls into one of two paths.
Taken in, or thrown away.
Father took Arpeggio in and made him his adopted son.
It wasn’t out of sympathy for his newly orphaned nephew. My father was a man without blood or tears.
‘I hear Arpeggio has already nearly finished his successor training? It seems more efficient in terms of time and cost to make Arpeggio the heir rather than Amarynthis, what do you think, dear?’
‘True. A half-finished fifteen-year-old would be more useful than a five-year-old who just learned basic arithmetic.’
‘Then I shall adopt him.’
‘Do that. Ah! Then what about our daughter? I couldn’t even work properly for nearly a year because I was giving birth to her. If I knew things would turn out like this, I shouldn’t have had her.’
‘Still, if we keep her around, won’t there be a use for her?’
‘True. We originally intended to use her as a branch manager for the bank, so should we keep training her?’
‘Hmm… Now that she’s the daughter of the Family Head, it would be better to use her to solidify relations with another family.’
‘True. Since we need to expand the business in the future, it’s better to marry her off. From now on, let her only receive bridal training…’
That brief conversation between my parents, a decision made in an instant, completely turned my life upside down.
From the moment I was born, I was trained to succeed my father as a branch manager. Yet in a single flash, I was forced to hold a needle instead of a pencil.
Instead of successor lessons, I learned various social arts like an elegant gait, horseback riding, dancing, and musical instruments.
Meanwhile, Arpeggio traveled the world with my parents to learn practical business matters.
To say we grew up together, we barely ever crossed paths.
Even so, the reason I couldn’t hate Arpeggio was simple.
‘Lintis, happy birthday.’
Because Arpeggio was the only one in the Rootsild Mansion who remembered my birthday and called me by my proper name.
While I was lost in thought, people approached us.
Having to deal with people with Scheit by my side—who knew when he might start crying out for a ‘divorce, divorce’—made me feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
Maintaining a smile required far more energy than usual.
Trading sharp glares with Prince Kildian had also played a part in draining my mental stamina.
Just as I was growing thoroughly exhausted, the music gradually faded, and the auctioneer stepped forward.
“We will now begin the charity auction. This auction is hosted by the Duchess Beutelen…”
My eyes were on the auctioneer, but my ears remained focused on what the people around me were saying.
‘No one heard Scheit going on about a divorce, right?’
Every now and then, I caught snippets of conversation like ‘the honeymoon phase must be nice,’ ‘so that’s why it’s been hard to see the Baroness’s face lately,’ or ‘they’re full of vigor.’
It seemed Scheit’s bizarre behavior during this time had leaked outside the mansion after all.
Fortunately, there were no whispers regarding a divorce.
‘I have to hide it even more thoroughly.’
It still felt like walking on thin ice.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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