Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 25

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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 25

“Hah……”

He turned his head to one side as he helped Adelia out of her clothes.

“Just the top dress. You understand, yes? Don’t take everything off.”
“Y-yes……”

Whether she truly understood was another matter.

Loaerston had no choice but to sit close beside Adelia and undo each button, one by one.

Click, click……

With each soft sound and parting of fabric, his throat tightened and a chill ran down his spine.

‘Pull yourself together. She’s drunk.’

This surge of feeling—causeless, consequenceless—was wrong.

Well, the cause was obvious enough……

Loaerston chastised himself as he finally finished removing Adelia’s dress.

Adelia, as if relieved, stretched her limbs long, yawned—still asleep—and then, breaking into a drowsy smile, curled her body on its side.

“You should get some sleep too……”
“I will, once you’re asleep.”
“You could just sleep here…… the bed is wide enough……”

With that, Adelia fell completely unconscious.

Loaerston stood holding the removed dress, looking down at her with bewildered eyes before letting out a soft, helpless laugh.

He approached the bedside slowly.

He pulled the blanket, which had slipped to her ankles, up carefully and covered her, then pressed a light kiss to Adelia’s flushed cheek.

“Sleep well, my lady.”

A strange, sweet fragrance rose from Adelia’s cheek.

Loaerston quickly drew away and hurried from the room.

***

“Aaaaaah……”

The next day.

Adelia awoke with her head in her hands.

She’d been groaning in bed for over ten minutes now.

This…… a hangover?

‘This is horrible, horrible! Do I have to suffer through this every time I drink? It’s unbearable!’

Yes, Adelia was caught in that particular misery no one who overindulges can escape—a hangover.

“Ma’am, do drink this.”

Liliet appeared with a strange-colored beverage.

Adelia asked, her face twisted in distress.

“What is this?”
“A Hangover Remedy passed down through our family for generations. It’s made from a secret formula, so your headache will fade quickly.”

Adelia peered into the cup with visible suspicion—it looked exactly like ink dissolved in water—then shut her eyes tight and downed the entire contents in one go.

The moment she swallowed, her stomach twisted and nausea rose, but Liliet quickly covered Adelia’s lips with a handkerchief.

“Don’t you dare spit it up! It will hurt your throat!”
“Ugh, nngh……!”

Whatever it was made from, her throat felt numb. Her tongue and the inside of her cheeks had lost all sensation.

She managed to keep it down, but the dreadful taste lingered in her mouth, causing fresh misery.

If Liliet hadn’t quickly handed her some dried mint leaves, a certain bucket would have found its intended purpose.

“Liliet…… what on earth is that made of? The taste is absolutely dreadful……”
“I cannot tell you that. It is a secret formula, after all. But your headache will be gone very soon.”

As Adelia chewed thoughtfully on the mint leaves, she felt something rather remarkable—her head was clearing.

Moments ago, it had felt as if a boulder sat where her brain should be.

“I think I’ll live after all.”
“Indeed. But why did you drink so much?”
“Well, I didn’t drink that much. It’s just…… the taste was pleasant, so I was practicing how to drink……”
“Practicing how to drink? Good heavens. The Duke told you to do that, didn’t he?”
“Mm-hmm.”

Liliet dipped a cloth in a basin of water and wrung it out, speaking with amusement.

“That explains why he was so devoted to caring for you yesterday.”
“Devoted……”

Adelia fell silent for a moment as the cool cloth touched her face, then spoke again once Liliet had finished wiping it dry.

“…What do you mean, devoted?”
“You don’t remember at all, do you? Yesterday the Duke carried you all the way to your room and stayed beside you the whole night, looking after you. If you’d slept in that heavy dress, you would have had nightmares all night, but he was kind enough to remove it properly for you.”
“Wh-what, what, WHAT?”

Adelia’s mouth fell open as she stumbled over her words in shock.

“My goodness, ma’am. These things happen between husband and wife, after all. Look at how red your face has gotten!”

Liliet broke into a cheerful laugh.

But Adelia could not bring herself to laugh.

‘He…… what did he do? I thought my clothes were completely undone, but that was……’

It wasn’t something I did in my sleep?!

Of course it wasn’t.

Another voice inside her supplied the rebuke.

That’s right, it couldn’t have been. Taking off those complicated clothes properly while asleep was absurd.

But the fact that it was Loaerston who helped her……

Adelia covered her burning cheeks with both hands and let out a silent scream.

She’d probably been an absolute mess while drunk—and on top of that, her clothes……!

‘How am I supposed to face him at breakfast?!’

Any other day she might have come up with some excuse about being busy at the laboratory to escape.

Unfortunately, today was her day off.

“Uuugh……”
“My, ma’am. What’s the matter?”
“I…… I can’t show my face again……”

Liliet heard the muffled complaint and laughed once more.

“Goodness, you’re embarrassed? Well, our ma’am is still quite the maiden at heart, isn’t she?”
“I’m not a maiden. But that doesn’t mean I’m not embarrassed.”
“How will that ever do? There are plenty of people waiting for you to bear the Duke an heir to the Ipsel Family. At this rate, when do you suppose it will happen?”

Adelia lifted her head sharply from her hands.

“An……heir?”
“Of course.”

Adelia’s face turned a deep shade of red.

A child.

In that instant, a small figure appeared in her mind’s eye—a tiny child bearing features from both herself and Loaerston.

The mere thought startled Adelia so much she nearly jumped out of bed.

“So many people want me to…… give the Duke—your master—a child? Who?”
“Why, naturally the relatives of the Ipsel Family. Didn’t the Duke mention it?”
“He didn’t……”

Liliet looked rather surprised at this but quickly spoke with consideration for Adelia.

“Perhaps he didn’t wish to burden you with it. The Duke has many relatives who are like parents and grandparents to him. There’s a great-aunt among them who is particularly strict.”
“R-really? I’ve never met her.”
“She’s likely traveling in the Southern Region at the moment. But she should be returning soon, and I wonder if she might call on us any day now?”

Adelia felt sorry for Loaerston, but one thing she absolutely wanted to avoid was that visit.

Adelia didn’t come downstairs to the dining room until well after the usual breakfast hour, dressed carefully in her day dress.

She’d hoped Loaerston would have finished eating and left, but the moment she opened the dining room door, their eyes met.

Her cheeks flushed bright red once more.

Loaerston’s face too had taken on a slightly reddened hue upon seeing her. He turned his head slightly to the side and took a deep breath.

Hoping she wouldn’t notice his own agitation, he spoke.

“Come in. How are you feeling?”
“I seem…… to be fine. My head was pounding earlier, but now it’s completely gone.”

Loaerston’s expression turned mischievous.

“Liliet made you drink ‘that,’ didn’t she?”
“…Have you had it too?!”
“Of course I have. More than once. No matter how many times I ask what’s in it, she absolutely refuses to tell me.”
“I’ve decided. I’m going to find a way to get that formula from Liliet and have it analyzed chemically.”

Loaerston laughed at this.

“Sometimes not knowing is a blessing. Come, sit. You must be quite hungry.”

That was true. Now that the headache had lifted, her stomach felt hollow.

Or was it just general discomfort?

Either way, she could probably put away ten bowls of soup.

“I thought your stomach might be unsettled, so I asked them to keep this morning’s meal light and soft.”

The spread was indeed quite different from their usual fare.

There were fluffy steamed eggs, rice pudding, thin broth with no fat, and bread lightly toasted after being soaked in milk.

“Thank you for being so thoughtful.”

Adelia said this softly.

Loaerston, who’d been eating soup, looked at her for a moment, then tilted his head slightly, resting it on his hand.

“That’s only natural, Adelia.”

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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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