My Contract Husband Demands a Divorce - Chapter 64

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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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Why are the lights in the building turning on?
The power was supposed to remain off until the fireworks display concluded.
Lucretia frantically surveyed her surroundings.
The main building adjacent to the South Wing, as well as the East Wing beside it, were all plunged into darkness.
Except for here.
The South Wing alone was brilliantly illuminated.
‘Why on earth?’
No, now was not the time to be pondering the reason behind the lights.
The fact that the building was lit meant someone was inside.
Someone might witness this spectacle.
Or perhaps someone, finding the suddenly brightened South Wing suspicious, would head this way.
Should she hide? Should she run?
Her thought process broke down at the unexpected turn of events.
She froze on the spot, like a deer caught in a sudden blast of headlights.
Just then, the sound of footsteps reached her ears.
It was not the footsteps of a mere person or two, but the heavy trampling of a whole crowd.
‘They’re coming this way!’
Something had gone terribly, horribly wrong.
‘I have to run!’
She needed to get away from this spot at the very least. If she was caught looking like this, it would truly be the end of her.
Lucretia hurriedly parted the briars with her trowel, scrambling out from between the roses.
In that instant, the sky flashed bright.
Boom! Flash!
As the fireworks erupted like lightning, exposing the gruesome sight of the thoroughly unearthed Rose Garden in stark detail—
“Aaaaah!”
Someone caught sight of a corpse’s foot protruding from the cart and shrieked.
Thud.
Princess Lucretia’s knees buckled.
She collapsed to the ground, staring ahead with a look of utter devastation.
Dozens of nobles were already staring down at her, their backs to the fully lit South Wing.
With every fading burst of fireworks, dozens of elongated shadows stretched out, enveloping her as if to suffocate her.
Lucretia trembled violently as she looked down at herself.
Her disheveled, wild hair, her dirt-stained dress, her blackened fingertips, and the rose petals clinging to her entire body like droplets of blood.
To anyone looking, she was the very picture of a murderer.
* * *
The sun had set completely, and the atmosphere of the garden party was growing livelier by the minute.
When I returned from dancing with Scheit, Melis approached us.
The Marquis’s Daughter made no secret of her discomfort around Melis.
It made sense, given that Melis was the reason she had grown close to Princess Lucretia in the first place.
Was she trying to distance herself from Princess Lucretia because of what happened this morning and align with us instead?
I watched her, tilting my head in curiosity, when she suddenly stepped forward, blushing and hesitating, before speaking to Scheit.
“Um… Baron, would you care to dance a song with me?”
What did she just say?
In social circles, it was highly unusual for a lady to invite a gentleman to dance first.
However, there was an unwritten rule that if a lady did extend an invitation, it must not be refused.
‘Is he going to dance with Melis Haller?’
A mere dance. It was nothing, really.
Yet, the thought of Scheit wrapping his arm around another woman’s waist, locking eyes, and spinning around to the music made my stomach turn.
Was it because Melis Haller’s face looked exceptionally flushed today?
Or was it because she kept shyly glancing at Scheit’s face like a young girl experiencing her first love?
My insides boiled with a strange resentment.
It felt exactly like the time I watched Arpeggio go out with his parents—the bitter sensation of having something stolen from me.
Afraid I wouldn’t be able to control my expression, I snapped my fan open to hide my face.
Seeing this, the Duchess beside me whispered, teasing me.
“Oh my, Amarynthis. Are you jealous right now?”
“Of course not. Jealous? Please.”
Scheit turned his head to look at me.
The faint smile playing on his lips today felt uniquely provoking.
I wanted to tell him not to go. To tell him that since I hadn’t danced with any other men today, he shouldn’t either.
Petulantly, I nudged a little closer to Scheit’s side.
I kept my face turned away. I felt that if our eyes met, he would somehow see right through this childish stubbornness.
As I stood there silently, a soft chuckle echoed from beside me. Then, Scheit wrapped his arm around my waist.
“I am sorry, Miss Haller.”
It was a clean, direct refusal, devoid of any empty excuses.
Melis’s expression froze.
“Ah… Oh, I am so sorry. I was being far too presumptuous… I-I will take my leave!”
She flitted away in a flurry.
I watched Melis Haller, who kept casting lingering, regretful glances back at Scheit even as she drew further away, before folding my fan.
Scheit leaned down, whispering softly against my ear.
“I never knew you were such a jealous person, wife.”
“…I told you, it’s not jealousy!”
I muttered my defense, but Scheit merely laughed.
While bickering with him, I felt a gaze locking onto us from afar.
It was Kildian.
He was staring intently at Scheit and me.
He was relentless, as if trying to verify whether we had truly fallen in love.
I deliberately leaned against Scheit, pretending to be utterly oblivious to his stare.
More time ticked by.
The lights of the Palace began to extinguish one by one, signaling that the fireworks display was finally about to commence.
Everyone sought out benches and chairs, settling into spots that offered a clear view of the fireworks.
I linked arms with Scheit as we walked, exchanging a fleeting glance with Princess Isoldra.
Shortly after, the fireworks began to burst.
And then, the lights in the South Wing flared on.
One by one, the rooms of the South Wing lit up until it stood illuminated against the dark, drawing the gazes of the crowd toward it.
The Emperor, who had been watching the display with his arm around the Empress’s shoulders, knitted his brows.
“I am certain I ordered all lights to be extinguished.”
Princess Isoldra stepped toward the Emperor, offering her explanation.
“I gave the command to illuminate the entirety of the South Wing. There is something I must show Your Majesty.”
“And what might that be?”
“It is something difficult to explain in words, Your Majesty. Allow me to guide you.”
As Princess Isoldra walked ahead with the Emperor, the crowd, piqued by curiosity, began to stream after them.
Kildian, seemingly guessing what was afoot, barked a swift order to Saidel Nishurban before following Isoldra.
Saidel, who had been smirking like a sly fox, slipped away from the venue.
I, too, kept my arm looped through Scheit’s as we made our way toward the South Wing of the Palace.
The moment we arrived, a sharp scream rang out.
And there, before the torn-up Rose Garden, sat Princess Lucretia on the ground.
As my eyes instinctively drifted toward the cart, Scheit reached out from behind, shielding my vision with his hand.
“It is nothing you should look at.”
I did not pull his hand away; instead, I clenched his sleeve tightly.
Just then, the Emperor’s thundering roar echoed through the air.
“Guards!”
Only after a wave of commotion passed did Scheit finally lower his hand.
The imperial guards who followed the Emperor had already covered the corpse with a cloak.
With rough movements, they dragged Princess Lucretia up from where she sat and hauled her before the Emperor.
“No, no… This is a frame-up! It’s a trap! Your Majesty, I am innocent! I didn’t do this!”
Princess Lucretia thrashed wildly, shrieking her denials.
However, half of her desperate words were drowned out by the thunderous booms of the fireworks overhead. The Emperor signaled to his attendant with a sharp nod.
The attendant scurried away, and within moments, the fireworks display ground to a halt.
The exploding bursts that had brightly lit the grounds vanished. Yet, the stark light spilling from the windows still illuminated the horrific scene.
Princess Lucretia could offer nothing but the same frantic excuses over and over.
Deeming her words unworthy of attention, the Emperor turned his gaze toward Princess Isoldra.
“Your Majesty. Do you recall when I previously requested permission to search the Palace to locate my stolen property?”
As the Emperor nodded, Princess Isoldra pressed on.
“During that time, I uncovered a highly suspicious pattern. The maids serving Princess Lucretia were being dismissed and vanishing with alarming frequency. At first, I simply assumed she was a fastidious mistress who changed her staff often, but upon investigation, there was absolutely no record of them ever leaving the Palace grounds.”
The color drained entirely from Princess Lucretia’s face.
“…I! I know nothing about this, Your Majesty! I know nothing!”
“Then what is the meaning of all this? To murder my subjects and bury them inside my Palace, only to claim ignorance? Do you dare mock the Emperor!”
“N-No, that is not it… This is a f-frame-up! A frame-up!”
Repeating the exact same words like a broken record, Princess Lucretia scanned her surroundings frantically.
Among those invited to the Flower Show was the Diplomatic Delegation from Carosel.
Hoping that those from her homeland would take her side, Princess Lucretia directed a desperate, pleading look toward them.
Yet, the Diplomatic Delegation remained utterly cold.
To commit the atrocious act of murdering someone inside an allied nation’s Palace and burying them in the Emperor’s garden—
Carosel would have no defense even if the Emperor declared he had been insulted and launched an invasion.
Taking her side now would jeopardize the entire kingdom.
As the Diplomatic Delegation turned their heads away, ignoring her completely, a profound despair settled over Princess Lucretia’s face.

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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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