My Contract Husband Demands a Divorce - Chapter 84

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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 opened my eyes as the swaying motion finally came to a halt.
Though the scenery was entirely unfamiliar, I recognized it at once.
This must be the Kleinheits Mansion.
The knights had already returned to their posts, leaving only the Butler and Papilion waiting at the entrance.
Scheit dismounted first, then caught me by the waist and lifted me down from the horse.
The moment my feet touched the ground, the realization that we had safely arrived caused the tension to drain from my body, leaving my legs completely weak.
As I naturally leaned against Scheit, the mansion’s Butler stepped forward.
“Welcome, Baron, Baroness. I am Klaus Oswin, the head butler of the Kleinheits Archduchy. The Archduke is currently away, so I ask for your understanding that I have come to greet you in his stead.”
“Of course. Think nothing of it.”
“Thank you. We will ensure your stay at the mansion is as comfortable as possible. Let me guide you to your room first.”
We followed closely behind Klaus.
Papilion trailed along after us.
He scrutinized Scheit, his expression softening with visible relief.
“I am glad to see you unharmed.”
What about me?
And here I thought we had formed a bond while deciphering that notebook together. How cold.
When I gave him a pouty look, Papilion scowled at me.
“What on earth happened to your appearance?”
Excuse me?
Granted, I knew I looked like an absolute disaster, but still…
Only then did I snap out of it and look down at myself.
My clothes were caked with dried dirt, monster blood, and fluid, while my hair was a tangled, matted mess.
“……!”
Never in my life had I walked around in public looking like such a wreck.
As I froze in sheer shock, Scheit chuckled and slipped his cloak off to drape it over my shoulders. The only problem was that his cloak wasn’t in much better shape than I was.
Even so, I pulled it tight around myself without a word.
Papilion glanced back and forth between Scheit and me, his brow furrowed.
He looked like he wanted to say something, but we were supposedly here to root out a traitor.
If we appeared too close, everyone would inevitably find it suspicious.
Papilion lowered his voice.
“I will see you both later.”
It was his way of saying he would pay us a visit.
Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked over to Klaus.
“Klaus, I have paid my respects, so I shall take my leave.”
“Very well. I will send a servant once dinner is prepared.”
Papilion vanished down the opposite corridor without casting another glance our way.
The butler escorted us to a guest room.
“Since I heard that you two share an exceptionally close bond, I prepared only one room.”
The room was spacious enough for a married couple.
Of course, I wanted to share a room with Scheit as well.
…Not for any scandalous reason! It was just that after surviving such a harrowing ordeal, I felt safer having someone by my side.
However, our purpose in the Southern Region was to find the traitor.
To make it easier for the traitor to approach Scheit, it was better for us to sleep in separate quarters.
A traitor would find it much less daunting to visit a target who was entirely alone.
I offered Klaus an apologetic smile.
“Could you please prepare another room? I am quite exhausted and would like to rest comfortably on my own.”
“Ah, that was short-sighted of me. I will prepare the adjacent room immediately.”
“And I would appreciate it if you could assign some of the mansion’s maids to help. Everyone looks exhausted, and I want to let them get some rest.”
“Certainly. Is there anything else you require?”
“We left all our luggage behind. Could you send someone to the Rootsild Villa to retrieve some dresses for me? Oh, and please bring some clothes for Scheit to wear as well.”
“Understood, Baroness.”
“Thank you.”
As we entered the room, Klaus bowed slightly before taking his leave.
Moments later, a few maids stepped inside.
I wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the bed, but I was far too filthy.
As I stood frozen in the middle of the room, the quick-witted maids immediately began preparing a bath.
Scheit approached and rested his chin gently on my shoulder.
“Shall we bathe together, Amarynthis?”
I knew he was just teasing, but my heart skipped a beat nonetheless.
Right then, a maid announced that the bath was ready, giving me the perfect excuse to bolt forward without looking back.
“I’ll go first!”
The maids assisted me with the bath.
When I stepped out after washing up, a negligee and a robe were waiting for me. It looked as though they had just rushed out to buy ready-made garments so I would have something to wear until my dresses arrived.
After changing, I dismissed the maids.
I flung myself onto the sofa, propping my knees over the armrest.
How blissful.
Even though anyone could walk in at any moment, the lingering tension completely vanished.
My eyelids grew heavy.
Just as I was about to drift off to sleep, a soft knock echoed through the room. Lacking the energy to even sit up, I simply tilted my head back to see Scheit walking in.
“You look more comfortable here than you do at home.”
He was entirely clean now, having clearly bathed as well.
“To be honest, I am. But I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve let go of so many things after everything we went through, or if this place is just naturally comfortable.”
Scheit sat down at the head of the sofa near my head.
His hands were incredibly gentle as his fingers began to work through my tangled hair.
“What exactly did you let go of?”
“I don’t know, it’s hard to put into words, but I just feel a lot freer now.”
“You certainly do look quite unrestrained.”
“You look relaxed too, Scheit.”
“…Do I?”
“Yes. And honestly, I was quite surprised. Everyone here is much less hostile than I expected. I was worried they would draw their swords the moment they saw us.”
“We did arrive as guests bearing an Imperial Decree, after all.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Which actually made things more difficult.
It would have been much simpler if everyone openly displayed their hostility like Papilion.
Amidst a crowd of hostile people, anyone harboring genuine good intentions would naturally stand out.
But here, we couldn’t see anything beneath the surface.
“How do you plan to find the person who betrayed the Archduke?”
“For now, I intend to wait.”
“Right. That does sound like the safest approach.”
* * *
Several days passed in that manner.
The waiting strategy Scheit proposed was certainly safe.
In fact, it was so safe that we hadn’t managed to catch a single glimpse of the traitor.
Since our official excuse for being here was relief work, I withdrew funds from the Rutshield Bank in Kleins to purchase relief supplies.
Thinking the traitor might approach Scheit if I wasn’t around, I deliberately spent more time wandering outside.
Yet, nothing happened.
Scheit did nothing but shake his head every single day, which only seemed to make Papilion increasingly anxious. Unfortunately, the Kleinheits Mansion was hardly an ideal place for us to gather and discuss our plans.
Guards and servants constantly moved about the corridors, even in the dead of night.
Eventually, we all slipped out separately under the pretense of running errands and met up at the Rootsild Villa.
Papilion was doubly cautious as he made his way to the villa.
The moment he stepped through the door, before his hips could even touch the sofa, he spoke up.
“We need a different approach.”
“Do you have a suspect in mind?”
Scheit’s brow furrowed slightly.
“In my opinion, the butler seems to be the most likely candidate.”
“He didn’t seem like that kind of person to me. Did you notice something suspicious about him?”
The answer to my question came unexpectedly from Papilion.
“When His Grace the Archduke was ambushed, the butler was the only one who knew his exact route. I only found out on the day of the attack myself.”
“Then don’t we essentially know who the culprit is? What is making you hesitate?”
“Because, just as the Baroness said, he simply isn’t the type of man to do such a thing.”
A heavy silence fell over the room for a moment.
It seemed agonizing for Papilion to have to doubt the very people he had always trusted.
Scheit appeared lost in thought for a brief moment before he finally spoke.
“We still have to verify it.”
“How do you propose we do that?”
“Papilion, you will feed the butler a false rumor regarding the Archduke’s current location. If that information reaches the ears of Prince Kildian, then we will know for certain that he is the traitor.”
“Understood. I can ask Tristan to keep an eye on the Capital’s movements.”
It was certainly a practical method.
However…
“Won’t that take far too much time?”
“Even so, we must be absolutely certain. The butler is…”
Scheit paused mid-sentence before continuing in a quiet voice.
“…the person who manages the entire household in the Archduke’s absence. If he is falsely accused and stripped of his duties, it will deal a severe blow to the estate’s operations.”
That was true. To keep Kildian in check, the Archduchy needed to remain perfectly stable for now.
The real issue was that the situation in the Capital was becoming increasingly precarious.
I pondered the matter a bit longer before offering another suggestion.
“But what is our ultimate priority here? Is it exposing and executing the traitor? Or is it expelling them to solidify trust among ourselves and turn the mansion into a safe haven?”
“The latter.”
“It is the latter.”
Scheit and Papilion answered in unison.
“Then how about this?”
Both of their gazes shifted entirely toward me.
“Since we already know Kildian’s cipher, we can forge the directives.”
“…Are you suggesting we create fake directives and let them leak?”
“Exactly.”

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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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