My Contract Husband Demands a Divorce - Chapter 60

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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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A low, slow, deep breath. Only our locked gazes filled the space between us, feeling like a physical caress.
Before I even realized it, our bodies drew closer together.
His hand began to lift toward my face, only to curl into a loose fist and slowly sink back down.
His lips tightened as if suppressing some sudden impulse, then relaxed.
Maintaining a slightly awkward smile, he leaned back into his seat once more.
“The Metterni Marquisate is further away than I expected.”
Scheit turned his gaze out the window.
A change of subject.
It seemed he, too, was trying to break the heavy tension that so often settled between us.
Yet, a strange wave of disappointment and regret washed over me.
‘Why am I feeling this way?’
Startled by my own thoughts, I quickly nodded and looked out the window with him.
“Y-yes, it is.”
The atmosphere grew even more awkward. Though my eyes were fixed on the passing scenery, my entire awareness remained hyper-focused on him.
I could see Scheit opening and closing his fist out of the corner of my eye.
“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
“A little… I feel somewhat nauseous.”
“Your stomach? Should I have them stop the carriage?”
As I reached out toward him, he gently took my hand and guided it back down.
Meanwhile, the carriage began to slow down at a leisurely pace.
I had been staring out the window the entire time, yet I hadn’t even noticed that we had already passed through the main gates of the Metterni Mansion.
“It seems we have just arrived.”
Without letting go of my hand, Scheit opened the carriage door.
He escorted me down, and as my feet touched the ground, he gave my fingers a firm, reassuring squeeze before releasing them.
A servant followed us out, carrying the boxes containing the dress and jewelry.
The moment we stepped into the entrance, the mansion’s butler approached us.
“Lord and Lady Huniswald. Welcome. We did not receive word of your visit, so I could not prepare a proper reception.”
His words were perfectly polite, but the underlying subtext was clear: ‘Why have you showing up without warning?’
“I am here to see the Marquis’s Daughter. Is she at home?”
“Regrettably, the young lady is feeling unwell today. Still, since you have made the journey, please rest a moment before you depart. I shall have tea and refreshments prepared.”
So she has no intention of seeing me.
If the Marquis’s Daughter refused to show her face, sitting around in their drawing room would be an utter waste of time.
“No, thank you. We will take our leave for today.”
“Understood, Baroness.”
The butler bowed low with impeccable courtesy as he escorted us out.
I wanted to take my time and smooth things over, but the Flower Show was rapidly approaching.
Just in case, I had tried sending another letter, but it had gone unanswered.
It was time to try a different tactic.
* * *
A few days later, after a final check of the dress and jewelry, I climbed back into the carriage.
This time, however, our destination was not the Marquis’s Mansion, but the Beutelen Mansion.
I stepped down from the carriage holding the prepared boxes.
“Amarynthis, welcome!”
The Duchess greeted me with a warm, bright smile.
I was inwardly taken aback.
Not only had she readily invited me to her home the moment I asked to meet, but she had actually come all the way out to greet me in person.
“Thank you, Duchess. To be honest, I did not expect you to extend an invitation. …Have you perhaps not heard the rumors?”
“I heard them. But I don’t believe a word of it. Are you truly the type of person to harm someone? Besides, I hear no body was ever found.”
I never imagined I would hear words of absolute trust coming from the Duchess.
Though we had built a friendship over several years, I had always assumed our bond was merely superficial.
Having experienced firsthand how easily the things labeled as ‘friendship’ can shatter in the face of malicious slander, I had learned not to hold any expectations.
In truth, I had come today prepared to make a cold transaction.
My plan was to present her with a pair of shoes she would adore, and then ask her to arrange a meeting with the Marquis’s Daughter.
If she refused, I was fully prepared to hand over the piece of land her clan had been eyeing for months.
I had calculated that she would surely help if the prosperity of her family was on the line.
It was a flawless hand for a negotiation.
Yet, facing her genuine warmth, I felt a sudden prick of shame for having spent so much time calculating and weighing options.
The shoes I brought, and even the land transfer deed I had drafted in advance, felt utterly cheap in the face of the friendship she was showing me.
When I abruptly paused in my tracks, the Duchess turned back to look at me.
“Amarynthis? Oh dear, don’t tell me I was the only one who considered us friends?”
“No, that’s not it at all!”
Startled, my voice rang out a bit too loudly, and I quickly clamped my mouth shut.
The Duchess laughed softly, taking my hand and gently guiding me into the drawing room.
“Now you finally look your age. You always act like an old dowager who has already lived out her entire life, Amarynthis. No matter what happens, you just smile politely—never getting angry, never crying.”
An old dowager.
It felt entirely unfair, but instead of tears, a laugh escaped my lips.
“You came here to ask for an introduction to the Marquis’s Daughter, didn’t you? I heard that you were turned away at her gates several days in a row.”
As expected, such gossip traveled fast. With a bittersweet smile, I took a sip of the tea the Duchess poured for me.
“Yes. Would you be willing to do me this favor? To be honest, I even brought a bribe.”
When I set the shoe box down on the table, the Duchess beamed.
“Oh, how exquisite. I shall accept this bribe with gratitude. Drink your tea and wait just a moment. I already sent a letter to the Marquis’s Daughter this morning, telling her I wanted to introduce a wonderful friend.”
* * *
The moment a reply arrived from the Marquisate granting permission to visit, I had the dress and jewelry loaded into the Duchess’s carriage.
Naturally, I did not forget to double-check the items one last time.
The butler at the Metterni Mansion flinched slightly when he saw me, but because I was accompanying the Duchess—who had been granted formal entry—he could not bar our way.
Even so, his expression remained visibly hesitant as he opened the door to the young lady’s private room.
“Duchess! You mentioned there was a friend you wanted to introduce…”
The Marquis’s Daughter, who had been approaching with a bright smile, froze in utter bewilderment the moment she saw me.
“The friend you wanted to introduce… was the Baroness?”
“Forgive my meddling. I felt there was a terrible misunderstanding between you two, so I wanted to create an opportunity. You used to be so close, so surely you can at least talk it out.”
Realizing she could not keep us standing at the threshold forever, the Marquis’s Daughter reluctantly offered us seats, her expression sour.
The atmosphere in the room was frosty.
She refused to even glance in my direction.
She merely flicked a brief, passing look at the boxes containing the dress and jewelry that the servant had set down before exiting.
She didn’t even bother to ask what they were.
Sensing the heavy silence, the Duchess gracefully excused herself to give us space.
“I think I shall go for a brief stroll in the garden, so please, the two of you should converse comfortably.”
Even after we were left entirely alone in the room, the silence stretched out for a long time.
“I had nothing to do with what happened to your dress.”
“Don’t try to deny it. A servant from the Huniswald Barony brought it directly to me, riding in a carriage stamped with the Rutshield seal. I opened it immediately.”
“I am not denying it to save face; it is simply the truth. Why would I ever do such a thing?”
“Because I shielded Melis Haller, who happens to be a close confidante of Princess Lucretia.”
“I bear no ill will toward Princess Lucretia. …Well, I suppose I do now, but I certainly didn’t when that dress was delivered.”
She didn’t look particularly convinced.
I immediately pressed on before she could argue.
“Even if I did harbor ill feelings toward her, do you truly think I would expose them so blatantly?”
“…If you hated someone enough, you might.”
“She is Prince Kildian’s fiancée. And Prince Kildian is Scheit’s lord. Making an enemy out of Princess Lucretia yields absolutely no benefit for either me or my husband.”
The young lady’s eyes wavered.
She seemed caught off guard. It was clear she had never even considered such a political calculation.
“And besides, I would never ruin our friendship over something so trivial.”
“…Then, are you implying that someone deliberately drove a wedge between us?”
Instead of giving a direct answer, I simply offered a quiet smile.
But that alone was more than enough to convey my meaning.
“You were hurt because I repeatedly declined your invitations, weren’t you? Combined with the fact that your dress arrived ruined, it’s only natural you assumed I was the culprit.”
“I was hurt. Lately, you haven’t joined our social circles at all, and you barely even step foot outside the Mansion. We used to go on outings together all the time…”
As she poured out her grievances, she suddenly bit her lower lip.
Unsure of how much I could safely disclose, I hesitated for a brief second before choosing my words carefully.
“Some rather complicated matters arose at home, forcing me to restrict almost all my external activities.”
Even to my own ears, it sounded like a hollow excuse.
The young lady’s expression, which had softened for a moment, hardened once more.
“You’re doing it right now. You never share anything personal with us. Do you even consider us your friends?”
I understood her frustration.
But it wasn’t as if I could confess that another soul had suddenly hijacked my husband’s body, turning my entire world upside down.
After a brief moment of deliberation, I pushed the boxes toward her, deftly changing the subject.
“The moment I realized there might be an issue with your dress, I gathered every single master craftsman in the Capital to create these.”
“……”
“If you cannot bring yourself to trust me, there is nothing I can do. But please, accept these regardless.”
Leaving her staring at the unopened boxes, I stood up from my seat.
Whether our relationship could ever return to what it once was remained uncertain, but at the very least, she would no longer blindly take Princess Lucretia’s side.
After all, the seeds of suspicion regarding the Princess had officially been planted.

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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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