My Contract Husband Demands a Divorce - Chapter 50

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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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I tried to compose my expression, but I couldn’t think of what kind of face to make.
As I bit my lip, he leaned down slightly to meet my gaze.
“Should I apologize?”
“…For what?”
My voice cracked a little. Scheit smiled, but it wasn’t a sneer.
“For judging you so carelessly with my arrogance.”
That was already as good as an apology.
Lowering my eyes, I stared at his lips for a moment.
Rumors had been my sworn enemies, with me since the cradle. Or perhaps they were like a sibling with whom I shared a terrible relationship.
My parents were good business partners, but they did not love each other.
When it was just the two of them, and even when they were around other people, they spoke of nothing but work.
So when I was born, a sordid rumor circulated that I might be the child of a paramour.
When my Uncle passed away and my father took over the family headship, rumors spread that he had assassinated the family head to make his daughter the successor.
After my parents began introducing Arpeggio as the successor, rumors went around that I had been pushed aside because I was stupid.
Growing up surrounded by people like that, I saw countless mouths.
Mouths that carelessly spread false rumors.
Mouths that heaped expectations upon me like heavy weights.
Mouths that accused me of being a disappointment whenever I wasn’t perfect or whenever I showed negative emotions.
When the vicious rumors were proven false, they would lightly shrug it off, saying, “Oh well, never mind.” Or they would mock me, saying that such rumors wouldn’t fly if I had conducted myself properly in the first place.
No one ever came to me and apologized for the misunderstanding.
“Are you asking if I want an apology?”
I didn’t know.
The slander, the mockery, and the criticism were things for me to deal with, not things to receive apologies for.
But why did his question about whether I wanted an apology shake me so much?
For once, I too wanted someone to…
I firmly bit my lips, which were about to part at the unfamiliar emotions and thoughts.
The attitude he showed, the regret lingering in his eyes—that was his apology. It was fully conveyed without him having to put it into words.
It wasn’t as if he had started the rumors, he had just temporarily misunderstood me.
Compared to everything else, that was nothing.
“It’s fine. There’s no need for an apology.”
My gaze dropped lower and lower, settling on the tips of my toes.
Just then, large hands came down lightly on both of my shoulders.
Reflexively, my body flinched.
Yet, I didn’t pull away.
As I stood frozen, he leaned down, following my line of sight.
Our eyes met.
“I am sorry, Amarynthis. My past thoughts about you stemmed from my own ignorance.”
“I told you, it’s fine.”
“It is not fine with me. Just because other people have hurt you more deeply doesn’t mean I should let my own actions pass without an apology.”
“Hurt? I’ve never been hurt.”
“Then it seems I have misunderstood on my own again.”
“Yes, you did.”
He chuckled softly and brushed his knuckles against my cheek.
A wet sensation spread, and the cold wind clung to it.
“Then why are you crying, Baroness?”
My face flushed bright red.
“Who says I’m crying?”
“Then what wet my hand must be sweat.”
Moisture glistened on the back of his hand.
Only then did I realize that I was crying.
The awareness that the rumors had always tormented me and made things difficult came a beat later.
My chest stung, as if I had discovered a hidden wound long after the fact.
I quickly turned away, hiding my tear-stained face.
Suddenly, a wave of curiosity washed over me.
Who on earth was he?
Who was he to look into a person’s heart as if peering into crystal-clear water?
Though we were speaking face-to-face, I didn’t know his true countenance.
I assumed he was a man, but he could actually be a woman; I didn’t know his name or his age.
I hadn’t even tried to find out.
Yet, such a person understood me best.
I had never struggled to show him only my best side, but he told me I was kind, tender, and good-natured.
He even spoke of my weak, contradictory, and immature traits without a single hint of criticism.
Even now…
“I should add ‘crybaby’ to the list.”
He was trying to lighten the mood with a joke.
Come to think of it, he had always been this way.
Ever since my parents passed away, my body would freeze up just like this whenever the word ‘death’ crossed my mind.
Anyone else would have noticed my hypersensitivity and tried to use it as a weakness.
But after Scheit saw how sensitively I reacted to that word, he never brought it up again.
The moment I realized that, I found myself fleeing to my room without even thinking.
No footsteps followed me.
Whether he truly hadn’t followed or whether my heart was pounding too loudly for me to hear his footsteps, I couldn’t tell.
* * *
Ever since Sindy received her orders from Amarynthis, she had been diligently tailing Tommy.
On the first day, Tommy ran out of the house after getting scolded by his father.
He returned after buying some medicine.
On the second day, he was grounded and spent the entire day looking after his younger sibling.
One look at Tommy’s sibling, Lotte, was enough to tell that her condition was poor.
The mere five-year-old writhed in agony, unable to scratch her oozing skin.
Tommy applied the ointment to his sibling and held her twisting body, weeping the whole day.
Perhaps the medicine was effective, for Lotte eventually fell into a peaceful sleep.
Only on the following day did Tommy wipe away his tears and enter the Palace, accompanying his father who was delivering groceries.
Sindy used the Rutshield Family pass to enter the Palace.
Since the Palace was bustling with people during the day, no one would suspect her as long as she made it past the Main Gate.
She tracked down Tommy’s location and watched him quietly.
Tommy was helping his father with his chores, and it was only when his father began talking to some other people that the boy scanned his surroundings and headed elsewhere.
‘Finally!’
Sindy smiled and followed the boy from a distance.
The place the boy headed toward was the South Wing of the Main Palace.
It was where the diplomatic delegations and the fiancées of the imperial family stayed.
Spotting a familiar face, Tommy dashed forward.
“Maid!”
The maid halted in her tracks.
Her face contorted in annoyance as she darted her eyes around, before abruptly grabbing the boy by the wrist.
Sindy pursued the two as they moved toward a secluded spot.
“How dare you come here so carelessly? Your job is already done.”
“I know. But there’s something I absolutely must tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Well, it seems the Baroness has noticed something.”
“What?! Noticed what exactly?”
“That I threw the stone after taking money.”
“Did you tell her who ordered it?”
“No! Never!”
Tommy waved his hands frantically.
However, a ruthless glint that the child failed to perceive flickered in the maid’s eyes.
But it was soon masked by a sweet smile.
“Right. Thank you for telling me. I’ll pass that along, so make sure you never come looking for me here again.”
“Yes. And my sister hurts much less now that we’ve used the medicine from the doctor you recommended. Please tell him I’m truly grateful. Also, please tell him to stay safe…”
“Yes, yes. Go on now.”
The maid cut Tommy off, mimicking a gentle tone.
Tommy hesitated for a moment before whispering something to the maid. Then, after a polite bow, he retraced his steps.
The maid turned in the opposite direction.
Deciding who to follow required an instant judgment and action.
Discovering the mastermind took priority.
Sindy stalked the maid and stopped right outside the room she entered.
Glancing around, she pressed her ear to the door.
She needed to confirm whether the maid had just dropped by in passing or if she was reporting the matter regarding Tommy.
“…Princess, …roness, noticed……”
She could hear faint traces of a voice, but it was ambiguous.
Sindy bent down and pressed her ear firmly against the crack of the door.
A woman’s voice echoed from inside.
“What?! This is why you should never assign anything to fools. She found out because they couldn’t even pull off a simple lie?”
The pitch of the voice was quite high.
“Hire some mercenaries to take care of that brat, whether his name is Tommy or Tomato. As for the culprit… Yes, Amarynthis will do perfectly.”
Sindy clamped her hands over her mouth before she could make a sound.
Not only were they killing a child, but they were also framing someone for murder!
And that someone was her lady.
‘Who could be so vicious?’
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than the maid answered.
“Yes, Princess Lucretia.”
Princess.
The only person who would be addressed that way in the South Wing was Kildian’s fiancée, Princess Lucretia.
‘I have to inform my lady immediately.’
And she had to protect that boy Tommy properly, too. Because those were her lady’s orders.
Sindy straightened her back as she heard the maid approaching the door.
She needed to slip away before the woman came out.
However—
“Urgh!”
A sharp sting pierced her spine, and her body froze completely.

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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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