Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 23

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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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Chapter 23

As if reading her thoughts, Loarston spoke.

“Your first drink should be a good one. That way, you’ll know what makes a wine worth drinking later on.”

A glass of Grape Wine was set before Adelia.

She held the glass by the stem as Loarston did, lifted it slightly, and savored the aroma.

The fragrance was striking—prickling at first, then curling subtly around her nose.

“Since it’s your first time, you might find it hard to identify specific notes. Once you’ve tried several wines, you’ll become familiar with them. Still, take a moment and taste it carefully. What scent do you notice?”

Adelia inhaled deeply once more, then tilted her head thoughtfully.

To be honest, she couldn’t quite put a name to what she was smelling.

The alcohol was unmistakable, but whether it was grapes or something else entirely, she couldn’t say.

This subtle fragrance was…

“It smells like flowers, I think. Wait, no—not flowers exactly, more like…”

Loarston watched her hesitant searching with a warm expression.

A sharp mind, good instincts, and delicate perception—a true lady.

The wine he’d prepared today was made using a special process that brought out floral notes the longer it aged.

For her to catch that scent so quickly showed real aptitude.

Adelia sniffed again, her confusion deepening as she spoke.

“Like pressed flower wine? The way it smells when you crush flowers in your hands?”

Loarston came within a hairsbreadth of laughing aloud, but managed to press his lips shut.

“That’s actually quite precise.”

Adelia’s cheeks puffed out indignantly.

“You’re mocking me, aren’t you?”
“Not at all. If anything, I’m impressed by your accuracy. When wine smells floral, it means you’re perceiving both its Acidity and Sweetness simultaneously—but that floral scent is different from what we typically imagine flowers smell like. Crushed flower wine? Ah, that’s perfect!”

He burst into open laughter.

“… Research will never bore me.”

“Grape Wine has no strict ritual—drink it however you like. But since this is your first time, let me suggest something: take a small sip and hold it in your mouth for a moment. Feel what flavors emerge, and after you swallow, notice what lingers.”

“Is that so? Shall we try a different approach?”

“So you’re quite the wine enthusiast, aren’t you?”

“How is that possible? Is it because the particle composition of the flavor altered?”
“Not particles exactly, more like…”
“I want to investigate this! If I could only examine how the molecular composition of each food interacts with the wine molecules themselves…!”
“It’s not quite that scientific…”
“If I could uncover this secret, I could create perfectly matched wine and appetizer sets—I’d become wealthy beyond measure!”
“I wasn’t planning to open a winery…”
“I’ve decided.”

Adelia looked back and forth between her wine glass and the ham plate, then spoke with absolute conviction.

“I’m going to study Wine Making seriously. I’ll research the chemical synergy between wine and food pairings, then create delicious wine and appetizer sets that anyone would love—and become spectacularly wealthy doing it.”

A true scholar never dedicates herself to just one field of research!

If she could succeed with Fungus No. 9 and also make this wine and appetizer venture flourish, becoming fabulously rich was only a matter of time.

‘I’ll earn mountains of money, repay my debt to him, and since the wine will keep selling, those profits will keep flowing in. Then… maybe I could set up my own research laboratory! My goodness, can you imagine? What equipment should I buy first? The budget…’

Thrilled, Adelia drained another gulp of wine.

Her pace had noticeably quickened, which concerned him, but her fervent enthusiasm left no room for his intervention.

***

Every moment of joy is followed by the tedium of bathing and tidying.

“Señor… I’m ‘mazingly… fine…”

“Really! Hehe, my feet aren’t… touching the ground… but I’m walking…”
“That’s right. You’re flying right now.”

Loarston carried the drunk and unsteady Adelia up the stairs, answering her slurred complaints with placating murmurs.

He couldn’t help but wonder what exactly he was doing, but…

Well, he was the one who’d given her the wine, so this was his responsibility.

‘So weak to alcohol.’

After her first glass—not even half full—and just two more sips, Adelia’s tongue had loosened completely.

Loarston should have stopped her then, once he realized what was happening.

But thinking she should experience a little drunkenness with her first taste of wine, he’d left her to it—a mistake.

Now Adelia was so intoxicated she could barely stand, yet so inexplicably pleased with herself that she was giggling and insisting she could walk to her room on her own.

Even if it was a fraudulent marriage, he couldn’t stand by and watch his wife crack her skull on the stairs.

So Loarston picked her up himself.

Rudolf offered to do it, but Loarston refused. For some reason, he didn’t want another man—even Rudolf—carrying Adelia.

She was light as a feather in his arms, almost worryingly so, and her warmth seeped into him.

She felt like holding a soft piece of bread.

The thought made him smile to himself. And when he was certain she wasn’t looking, he gently nibbled her plump cheek.

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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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