My Contract Husband Demands a Divorce - Chapter 88

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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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Everyone saw.
She clung to Baron Huniswald only to be pushed away.
Melis fought to keep her chin lifted, forcing a smile to her lips.
To the onlookers, it might have looked like they were sharing a secret tryst.
Because I held him.
As she stepped out onto the balcony, Prince Kildian’s icy gaze pierced right through her.
“Useless. A fake is just a fake after all.”
A fake.
Melis bit her lip.
“Even so, rumors of a scandal might still spread.”
“I have no need for mere rumors. Capture Scheit Huniswald’s heart and soul, and make him betray Amarynthis.”
The threatening edge in his voice made Melis’s chest swell with terror.
“Next time, n-next time, I’ll do better.”
“Tch.”
Kildian turned on his heel and vanished, leaving her behind.
“Oh my, did you see that just now?”
“Dressing up like the Baroness, she must think she actually is the real Baroness.”
“She’s nothing but a clumsy imitation trying to mimic her.”
“An imitation? That’s far too generous. She’s just a cheap knockoff.”
“It’s almost pitiful to see her struggle so hard, but she won’t ever hold a candle to the Baroness.”
The sound of the crowd’s gossiping drifted over, but she didn’t care.
‘I am the one Kildian chose. I have no reason to feel inferior anymore. Every time I appear in social circles, everyone comes to talk to me first.’
Amarynthis? She was nothing special.
Once I seduce Scheit and force a divorce, all that precious wealth and status of hers will disappear anyway, won’t it?
Melis believed there was only one single difference between Amarynthis and herself.
Scheit Huniswald.
His heart.
Melis wanted to prove her standing.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she marched toward Amarynthis.
“It has been a long time, Amarynthis. Did you have a pleasant trip to the Southern Region?”
“Yes, it was wonderful. Miss Haller.”
Amarynthis offered a sweet smile.
Melis’s lips twitched with smug satisfaction.
Then she looked at Scheit, as if urging him to see exactly who she was. Look at this—your wife doesn’t say a single word even after watching me seduce you.
As Melis Haller bathed in her own sense of superiority, Amarynthis’s voice drifted into her ears once more.
“By the way, could you please address me as the Baroness? I am not yet on such intimate terms with my close acquaintances to go by my first name.”
Amarynthis drew a line.
And she did it openly.
Though her tone remained perfectly elegant and polite, it was the first time she had ever exposed her raw feelings and thoughts so blatantly in front of a crowd.
Whispers broke out among the surrounding nobles, but Amarynthis chatted with the others as if nothing had happened.
She wasn’t pretending to ignore them while secretly paying attention; she genuinely did not care what the people around her muttered.
‘Why… Why does she still look down on me when I’ve climbed all the way up here! She has absolutely nothing better than me now!’
Just as Melis began to tremble with humiliation, the gatekeeper announced the arrival of the Emperor.
“His Imperial Majesty and Her Imperial Majesty are entering!”
The moment the Emperor stepped inside, everyone froze in place to pay their respects.
“You may all raise your heads.”
The nobility lifted their gazes to look upon the Emperor.
Behind the Emperor and Empress, the Pope entered, flanked by his secretary priests.
The nobles of Melbern, as well as the foreign delegations, could not hide their sheer astonishment.
Draped in pure white holy vestments with his face concealed by a sacred veil, it was Pope Hadrianus.
The man who had risen to the papacy at a young age purely through his profound divinity.
A living saint.
Since being elevated to the papacy, he had never once attended an external event unrelated to the Grand Temple.
Yet here he was, appearing at the birthday banquet of the Melbern Emperor.
As the nobles engaged in a silent, tense battle of glances for a chance to bow and touch their foreheads to the back of his hand, the Pope took a step forward.
The crowd parted, clearing a path for him.
The place where he stopped was right in front of Amarynthis.
“Amarynthis Huniswald. For your deeds in Glenmoor, I intend to bestow a medal upon you.”
Melis’s face contorted.
The fragile rationalization she had built—that she was similar to Amarynthis, that they were no different, that she wasn’t a fake or an imitation—shattered completely.
For the Pope to personally come and present a medal was an unprecedented honor.
Melis was reduced to a cheap knockoff once again.
A sudden flash of madness flared in her eyes.
‘If I’m being compared because the real one exists, shouldn’t I just get rid of the real one?’
* * *
A medal? To whom? To me? Not Scheit?
I turned my head to look at Scheit.
He simply smiled and took a step back.
Though his face was hidden behind the veil, I felt as if the Pope was staring intently at me.
Since I couldn’t just stand there blankly when he offered to give me a medal, I dropped to my knees and placed my clasped hands on my thighs.
As I bowed my head, the Pope’s hand came to rest upon my crown.
“The righteousness that chose to halt its steps rather than flee despite facing hundreds of demonic beasts, and the wisdom that guided the village people, gripped by distrust, to safety.”
The Pope paused for a moment. He let out a soft sound, “Ah…” and after a secretary priest whispered something to him, he resumed his speech.
“In high praise of the noble courage that feared not hundreds of demonic beasts and entered their very lair to avert disaster, along with the spirit of sacrifice that gave up everything owned, I bestow upon you the Pure Silver Acacia Medal.”
When the Pope withdrew his hand, a secretary priest presented a medal resting atop a red velvet cushion.
I accepted it for the time being, but I doubted my own ears, wondering if I had heard correctly.
He was giving me what?
I wasn’t the only one shocked.
“Did you hear that just now?”
“Was the Pure Silver Acacia Medal ever something that could be given to someone outside the priesthood?”
Granted, the Pope could give it to whomever he pleased.
But there was absolutely no precedent for this.
Receiving the Pure Silver Acacia Medal granted the bearer the right to enter the Vatican’s research facilities and the Pope’s private study.
And he was giving that to me?
Something was amiss. During the reporting process, everything accomplished by the mercenaries, the landowner, the vigilante members, and Scheit had clearly been credited solely to me.
If anyone deserved to receive it, it was Scheit.
“Your Holiness, I am deeply honored, but that achievement does not belong to me alone.”
“In high praise of the integrity that speaks only the truth, I bestow upon you the Platinum Chalice.”
“Even when we went to the Nest of Monsters, the roles played by others were far greater than mine. Above all…”
The one who had returned to the village without a shred of hesitation or fear, and the one who had physically blocked the oncoming demonic beasts, was Scheit.
However, Kildian was present in this very room.
If Kildian found out that the demonic beasts he had been researching were eradicated by Scheit’s hands, he might suspect Scheit’s true identity or his betrayal.
The only reason Kildian left Scheit alone for my sake was because Scheit acted as his loyal subordinate.
If Scheit belonged to Kildian, then I belonged to Kildian as well.
The moment I shut my mouth, the Pope placed his hand back onto my head.
“In high praise of your humility, I confer upon you the title of Honorary Holy Knight.”
Why do you keep praising everything so highly!
I tried to stop him, but the Pope withdrew his hand again. Then he turned around and walked over to the Emperor’s side.
“As of today, the Grand Temple officially recognizes the existence of demonic beasts. Should you witness a monster shaped like a wolf with snake scales, please report it immediately to the Grand Temple’s Inquisition.”
He exchanged formal greetings with the Emperor.
“I would like to stay longer, but I must prepare for the dawn service, so I shall take my leave, Your Majesty. Happy birthday. May Bartes’s protection and blessings always be with you in the days ahead.”
“It was an honor to host you at the banquet, Your Holiness. Safe travels.”
Giving a brief nod, the Pope led his secretary priests out of the ballroom.
The moment the Emperor announced the official start of the banquet, the Duchess, the Count’s Wife, and the Marquis’s Daughter beside me all turned their eyes to me simultaneously.
“Amarynthis, you must tell us. What on earth happened in the Southern Region?”
“Did you truly see a demonic beast? Do such things actually exist?”
“You aren’t hurt anywhere, right? I don’t know what happened, but I’m just glad you’re safe.”
Following the unprecedented appearance of the Pope, people began to swarm toward me like a rising tide.
As Melis was pushed further and further away by the crowd, I saw Arpeggio navigating through the throngs of people to get closer.
This is bad.
He’s still so far away, yet his eyes are already nagging me!
I grabbed Scheit’s arm, pulling him backward as I whispered.
“Scheit. Let’s run away, quick.”
“The banquet has only just begun, though?”
“Arpeggio is coming this way. Hurry! Even just for a walk.”
Smiling, Scheit wrapped his arm around my shoulder, carving a path through the crowd as we made our way toward the exit.

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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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