Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 14

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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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Episode 14

At the moment Adelia’s pain began in earnest, Loarston was leisurely washing himself in the bath.

He lay stretched out in the steaming water, then tilted his head back. Water droplets fell from his wet hair and face.

“Rudolf, how in the world do you endure being dressed like that in here?”

Rudolf stood in the doorway.

He always kept his shirt buttons fastened all the way to his neck, even when attending to Loarston’s bath.

“You need not concern yourself, sir.”
“No matter how many times I see it, it bothers me.”

Loarston tossed out the remark and soon stepped out of the bath.

The thick lines and muscle that had been hidden beneath his clothes were now revealed in the sunlight streaming through the transom window.

Though ordinarily concealed by his garments, his broad shoulders and the elegant lines of his torso below were both masculine and refined.

The muscles that clung to him were neither excessive nor subtle, but rather prominently defined in pleasing contours.

Rudolf stood beside him until he had changed into his clothes, attending silently to each detail.

His expression was remarkably blank, though Loarston remained unaware of this.

There were moments when Loarston noticed that Rudolf became unusually taciturn at such times, but he paid it no further thought.

After all, the man was naturally reticent. So Loarston reasoned.

Once Loarston had changed into fresh clothes and shoes, he went directly to the study to review his correspondence.

He frowned.

“When did this arrive?”

Rudolf, standing at a proper distance, shook his head to indicate ignorance.

Loarston immediately sought out the Head Butler.

“You called for me, sir.”

Loarston held up the letter. A flowing Satin Ribbon decoration hung from it, swaying slightly.

“When did this letter arrive?”
“This morning, sir, shortly after you left the house. The chamberlain brought it.”
“Are you certain the chamberlain delivered it? There’s no postal seal.”
“I beg your pardon?”

The Head Butler looked troubled.

Yet Loarston merely sighed once and pursued the matter no further.

“Never mind. You can go. I only asked because I was curious about the timing.”
“Yes, sir.”

After the Head Butler left, Loarston held the letter at arm’s length by the edges, as though it were something distasteful.

The butler’s oversight in not checking the seal was indeed an error, but for a Duke’s household where mail came and went all day, it was hardly grounds for severe reproach.

What troubled Loarston was the Head Butler’s words.

—Shortly after you left the house.

Loarston gave a bitter laugh and muttered to himself.

“How absurd. So now I’m being watched?”
“Watched, sir?”

Loarston sighed and tossed the letter onto the corner of the desk.

Someone must have been tracking his every movement, knowing exactly what he did and where he went, so that they could leave the letter the moment he stepped out of the house.

The realization sent a chill down his spine.

“There’s a certain young lady so infatuated with me that she barely knows what she’s doing.”

Rudolf, who had been thinking for a moment, spoke up.

“Do you mean Miss Violet of House Haizenne? If that were true, we would need to report House Haizenne.”
“It’s not House Haizenne.”
“Then….”

Rudolf’s expression darkened slightly.

Loarston nodded and drew the letter back toward him with his fingertip.

“A letter penned by the Princess herself. Good heavens, I’m almost afraid to open it.”

He touched the Satin Ribbon hanging from one corner of the letter. It felt soft yet densely woven, its texture seeming to shimmer with quality.

It was undoubtedly the finest satin the kingdom could procure.

After a moment’s hesitation, Loarston cut open the top of the letter with a knife.

“My dear Lord Loarston of House Insel….”

Loarston read through the densely written pleasantries, punctuating them with occasional sighs.

When he reached the main matter, he straightened at once, his brow furrowing.

“…I trust you will attend the Birthday Party with your wife without fail….”

Damn it.

This was the one thing he had hoped to avoid.

It was clear the heavens had no intention of granting Loarston’s wish. Not that he believed in such things anyway.

Rigan’s one and only Princess, Claria, harbored an abnormal fixation on Loarston.

They had been friends since childhood and maintained that relationship somehow still, but Loarston found Claria thoroughly, intensely tiresome.

It was then.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the study door.

“Come in.”

The heavy walnut door swung open both ways.

In an instant, Loarston crumpled the letter in his hand without thinking.

Standing in the doorway was Adelia.

Liliet and the seamstress Agnes stood beside her, but Loarston’s eyes saw only Adelia.

Adelia wore a Dress in a calming slate-blue with mustard-colored accents.

She stood there looking embarrassed and utterly lost.

“Good heavens.”

Only after several seconds had passed could Loarston manage to speak.

At his single exclamation, Liliet and Agnes beamed with delight.

“No, no. Look up, please. Good heavens, you’re….”

Loarston stepped back a pace or two and broke into a radiant smile, then opened both arms as if to embrace her at once.

“You’re truly beautiful. Agnes, you’ve outdone yourself.”

At this, Agnes curtsied and replied.

“Not at all. Since the Duchess was trying on a Dress for the very first time, I had to put in this much effort. This Dress follows the latest fashion from the Eastern Region, and unlike conventional dresses, it features no fluttering lace collar and avoids emphasizing the bust.”

Agnes continued.

“My lady, would you mind turning to show the back?”

As Adelia hesitantly turned, Agnes revealed the beautiful pleated details along the back of the Dress and the subtle color variations.

Loarston spoke.

“It will certainly draw eyes. Why, everyone will be losing sleep wondering where you found this Dress.”
“I’m delighted that you approve, Duke. I brought several dresses with me, but in my judgment, this one suits Adelia best. And I’m equally pleased that she has taken to it.”

Agnes explained carefully, but Loarston seemed scarcely to be listening to her at all.

His eyes were wholly captivated by Adelia in the Dress, and he stood there blinking like someone under a spell.

At that moment, Liliet, ever quick to read the room, spoke up.

“Duke, Madam. We shall take our leave now.”
“I beg your pardon?”

Adelia started and turned her head sharply, but the study had already emptied, leaving only the two of them.

‘How mortifying!’

Adelia’s cheeks flushed as red as boiled lobster.

The dress didn’t suit her anyway, and now she was left alone with Loarston feeling like a fool.

Adelia swallowed dryly and, not knowing what to do, fidgeted endlessly with her lips and hands before speaking.

“It doesn’t suit me at all, does it?”

Loarston, who had tossed the crumpled letter onto the desk, opened his eyes wide as if to ask what she meant.

“I said it’s beautiful. Didn’t you hear?”
“Yes? But that was… only because others were present, wasn’t it?”

Hearing her words, Loarston’s expression became meaningful as he smiled.

It was a playful smile, teasing yet tinged with affection.

“My reaction may have been a bit exaggerated, but I meant it when I said you’re beautiful. I was genuinely surprised by how well it suits you.”

Adelia’s face flushed even deeper red than before.

Though she recognized he wasn’t mocking her, the casual certainty with which he called her beautiful stirred something strange within her.

“You must be exhausted from trying on so many.”

Loarston, who had been rifling through the letter, looked up and laughed.

Adelia rolled her shoulders and poured out her grievances.

“Don’t even speak of it! I thought I was going to die. Trapped behind that partition, I was certain I’d breathe my last there.”

Loarston laughed briefly.

“Agnes is quite the perfectionist, isn’t she?”
“Perfectionist doesn’t begin to cover it. Everything looked the same to me, but not to her. I had to compare laces of the same color over and over again, only differing at the edges. Good heavens!”
“That sounds about right. But if my wife is to be my wife, I need someone like Agnes Fold to ensure no one dares look down on us.”

The words “Who would dare slight House Insel without all of this?” nearly escaped his lips, but Adelia remained silent, only working her lips quietly.

‘True, the name of House Insel can’t be tarnished carelessly. But I’m different. Because of me, it’s my senior and the House’s reputation that might bear the scars.’

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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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