Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 28

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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 28

“Growing distant, you say?”
“He’s trying to isolate himself. If that’s the path he truly wishes to take, I can’t stop him, but I think he’s far too young to make such a decision. He’s only just turned thirty.”

Understanding dawned on her.

Adelia finally grasped what Dorotea had meant when she said she resembled Siern.

The older woman had rebuked Siern while obliquely offering Adelia a piece of wisdom about life itself.

That humans were social creatures.

That one could not afford to live in isolation.

“The professor does love his research very much. I suspect he spends entire days in the Laboratory.”

Adelia spoke carefully.

“But he’s not someone who truly dislikes people…… or so I believe. He reminds me to eat lunch when I forget, and when we talk in the Laboratory, I sense a genuine consideration in his manner. Of course, since I’m the only one around, I may simply be deceiving myself.”

Adelia’s cheeks flushed at her own eagerness, and Dorotea offered her a knowing smile.

“I assure you, that’s not mere coincidence. Even with just the two of you present, it wouldn’t be like that. He’s not the sort to initiate conversation with people he dislikes. Not at all.”

That much rang true, Adelia thought.

The mere thought of Siern never speaking to her in the Laboratory, of his silence filling those spaces—her chest turned cold.

The very idea stole her breath.

“It seems he’s opened his heart to you, which is fortunate.”
“Opened his heart…… Do you truly think so?”
“I’ve watched that boy grow from childhood. You can trust my judgment.”

Dorotea smiled with quiet confidence and took a sip of her tea.

Then, seeming to sense the conversation needed lightening, she shifted topics.

“How is married life treating you?”
“Oh! I—married life?”
“I heard you didn’t hold a proper ceremony. Is that true? Rather than some informal family affair?”
“It’s true. We simply signed the Marriage Registration Form and a covenant……”
“I’ve been curious about that since I heard. Why would a man of Loarston’s station do such a thing? Surely it’s not connected to Princess Claria?”

Adelia felt utterly lost.

Princess Claria? Why was her name suddenly coming up?

“Madam, when you speak of Princess Claria…… do you mean the Princess Claria of Rigan?”
“I hardly think there are two princesses by that name. If there were, it would be a calamity.”

Dorotea smiled, but her tone carried a bitter edge that made Adelia’s unease deepen.

“What could my marriage have to do with the princess?”
“My, you truly didn’t know?”
“Know what?”

Dorotea’s expression became delicate.

From Adelia’s reaction, it was clear she wasn’t being coy—she genuinely knew nothing.

Had Loarston truly not told his future wife?

It was hard to believe, yet understandable why he might not have spoken of it.

“I do hope Loarston won’t be too angry with me for saying this.”
“I’ll keep it secret.”

Adelia made a zipping motion across her lips with her thumb and forefinger.

Dorotea laughed at the gesture, amused, before her expression grew serious again.

“In truth, Loarston was meant to marry Princess Claria.”

The world seemed to stop entirely.

It was as though fireworks had detonated inside her skull, scattering her thoughts to the winds.

The princess and Loarston—married.

Had it happened, they would have made a beautiful couple.

Yet picturing it sent a sharp pang through her chest.

Adelia knew at once what that feeling was.

Displeasure.

She was confused by it.

Why do I feel this way?

What reason could there possibly be for such a feeling?

Noticing her distress, Dorotea hastened to continue.

“But truly, it was the princess’s insistence alone. Loarston had no intention of marrying her. However, with no other betrothed and no other match in sight, people assumed he would eventually yield to her stubbornness.”
“And yet……”

Adelia gestured absently to herself.

Dorotea nodded, confirming her thought.

“Then you appeared, Adelia. Quite literally like a comet from nowhere.”
“……”
“So imagine how many eyes were suddenly fixed upon Loarston’s marriage.”
“Then the princess…… has she abandoned the idea of marriage now?”
“That, I’m afraid, I don’t know myself. Had I remained at the Royal Palace, perhaps I would know. Shamefully, I left of my own volition, if not entirely by choice.”

Dorotea spoke with some embarrassment, but Adelia found herself entirely uninterested in the circumstances of her departure from court.

At least, not now.

‘What if the princess hasn’t given up on him…… on my senior?’

No, Adelia caught herself.

That’s not the real problem.

The real problem is……

‘What does my senior think of Princess Claria? If he harbors feelings for her, what then? But if he did, he wouldn’t have needed to marry me at all……’

Her mind spun with conflicting thoughts.

If there had been anything between Loarston and the princess—even a spark of feeling—he would have told her outright.

That was the kind of man he was.

Or at least, that was what she wanted to believe.

Yet Adelia knew well that she had no voice in such matters regardless.

She had to accept it with composure. That was what was right, even if her heart ached.

“What’s on your mind so heavily?”
“Ah, I—well…… nothing, really.”

Adelia’s eyes darted about as she scrambled for an excuse.

“I, I was thinking about the Laboratory. My apologies.”
“My, is something interesting happening there?”

Relief washed over her. Dorotea clearly had little interest in Adelia’s inner turmoil regarding the princess.

In fact, she seemed oddly indifferent to the marriage itself and its unexpected complications.

“Perhaps not interesting exactly, but I’m currently researching something. I’ve been calling it Fungus No. 9 provisionally—the remarkable thing is, this fungus can neutralize acidity.”
“What? It neutralizes acidity?”
“Yes! Madam, have you ever heard of such a fungus or bacterium?”
“I have a vague recollection from long ago. But from what I remember, it required centuries to take effect…… or rather, bacteria adapted to acidic soil would proliferate and gradually alter the soil’s nature. But listening to you, it sounds like something quite different.”

Adelia launched into an enthusiastic monologue about her research.

Dorotea listened with such rapt attention that Adelia lost all sense of how long she’d been talking.

She didn’t even notice she’d wandered entirely from the original subject.

“……So, circling back to my original point, I believe Rigan’s Acidic Soil is causing tremendous damage to the kingdom’s interests. The statistics bear this out entirely.”
“So you mean to create a formula that could neutralize that land?”
“Yes, exactly! While also preserving the soil’s natural nutrients, of course…… My goal is purely to neutralize the acidity itself.”
“That sounds like extraordinarily difficult work.”

At Dorotea’s words, Adelia smiled ruefully and gave a small shrug of defeat.

But what came next gave her strength.

“It’s quite fascinating…… and if you can realize it, it will be a remarkable achievement. Should you need anything, I’ll do what I can to help.”

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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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