Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 46

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 46

After a long moment of silence, she could no longer pretend ignorance and spoke in a small voice.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… I’m sitting in a place like this.”
“Why are you here?”
“Well… something happened, and I… I was frightened, so I escaped. Princess Claria, I mean.”
“Did you see what happened inside?”

At that, Violet lifted her head blankly. Her violet-tinged eyes were surprisingly large.

“You… you didn’t see? You couldn’t have?”
“See what? I was… on the Balcony.”
“The Balcony? With someone else?”

The moment Adelia confirmed it, the blank look in Violet’s eyes transformed in an instant.

Adelia could only stare in shock at the hostility that had suddenly consumed her.

“How did someone like you end up marrying the Duke of Insel?”
“What? No, I… what do you suddenly…”
“Your husband is suffering humiliation, and you’re on the Balcony with someone else? And you mention it so brazenly? Do you think I don’t exist?”

What on earth was she talking about? Adelia’s head spun.

The Violet who always seemed so timid, who stammered nervously, had vanished entirely.

In her place remained only sharp accusations and contempt.

“Wait, Violet. I think there’s been a misunderstanding. The person I was with was—”
“That’s enough. I don’t want to hear it.”

Violet’s words fell cold and harsh as she rose from her seat.

Standing two steps above, she forced Adelia to look up at her—as if pleading.

“Violet, please just listen to me.”
“What more is there to hear? I’ve heard enough.”

And with that, Violet turned and swept away as if in flight.

Something’s gone terribly wrong, Adelia thought.

Something has gone so very wrong, but I don’t understand what, and I don’t know how to fix it.

She wanted to cry.

Even when she’d heard her family had collapsed, she’d never felt so utterly helpless and despair.

‘I need to find him first.’

Gathering her scattered thoughts, Adelia rushed through the Royal Palace’s Garden and Corridors, but couldn’t spot Roaston anywhere.

With no other choice, she decided to return home. After barely finding the Duke’s House Carriage, she was shocked to hear from the driver that Roaston had already left.

“He… he left? Already?”
“Yes, my lady. You didn’t know?”
“I didn’t…”
“He said he’d walk home. He instructed me to bring you to the Mansion once you arrived. Please, get in.”

He walked home?

Adelia looked up at the driver again, bewilderment washing over her once more.

“My lady?”

The confused driver grew increasingly flustered, unable to understand why she was behaving this way.

Even as Adelia thought she shouldn’t make things difficult for him, she couldn’t stop tears from spilling down her cheeks.

“No, my lady! What’s happened?”
“… Nothing. Let’s go to the Mansion.”

With a tightness in her chest, Adelia climbed into the Carriage herself before the driver could even open the door.

As the wheels began to roll, she leaned back against the seat and felt a crushing exhaustion pour over her.

‘I wish someone would just explain what’s happening…’

She could get an explanation from Roaston when they met, but her entire body felt drained of strength.

Heavens, she was so tired.

***

Back at the Mansion, but Roaston was not there. He still hadn’t returned.

Adelia panicked and asked where he’d gone, but even she, who’d been with him, didn’t know—so no one else could possibly say.

“What happened at the Royal Palace?”

Rudolf first had Adelia sit down and calmed her, then brought warm tea.

Adelia gripped her trembling hands tightly and asked, her lips drawn in.

“My lady.”
“P-people are saying… that he pushed Princess Claria.”

Rudolf’s eyes widened in shock.

“Pushed her?”

At Adelia’s nod, he pressed further.

“How did such a thing come about?”
“…”

She shook her head, and Rudolf’s brow furrowed.

“You mean you don’t know?”
“I wasn’t in the Party Hall at the time.”
“Then where were you?”

Adelia was about to say the Balcony when she instinctively snapped her mouth shut.

The memory of Violet’s cold, piercing stare flashed through her mind.

Instead of answering, she asked:

“Rudolf, have you ever been to a party at the Royal Palace?”
“I’ve been there in service of my lord. Why do you ask?”
“Is there… any issue with the Royal Palace’s Balcony?”
“The Balcony?”

Rudolf let out a low chuckle, as if surprised by such a question, but answered quite seriously.

“Didn’t your husband explain? The Royal Palace’s Balcony is where lovers conduct secret meetings. Most do, at any rate. But not simply lovers—typically people who wish to avoid others’ eyes. Those are the ones who use the Balcony.”

As she listened, Adelia’s face went increasingly pale.

Rudolf didn’t seem to notice, but by the end, her complexion had turned nearly the color of plaster.

Now she understood why Violet had made such a face, why she’d said those things.

But it was far too late to defend herself.

‘Heavens…’

What if she told others? Or worse—what if she told her mother?

She absolutely would. And her mother was clearly a terrible gossip, perhaps even someone who disliked Roaston.

The woman certainly seemed like one.

‘This isn’t the time to sit idle,’ Adelia thought urgently.

She had to clear up the misunderstanding at once.

But how could she?

‘Should I go back to the Palace now and find Violet? But wouldn’t that only deepen her suspicions? What am I supposed to do?’

She wanted to ask Rudolf right there, but he still seemed somewhat unsettling to her.

His unreadable expression and his indifferent manner toward everyone except Roaston made her wary.

If he learned that Adelia had caused Roaston trouble like this, he might very well explode in anger.

“I… I’ll go back to the Royal Palace.”
“Now… you mean?”
“Yes. In case he returns and looks for me…”
“Why weren’t you together to begin with?”

Adelia pressed her lips together and forced a smile, though it only made her look more pathetic.

“I’ll be back soon.”
“Will you be all right alone? I should accompany you.”
“No, it’s fine.”

Rudolf didn’t press further. For that, she was grateful.

Adelia found the driver and asked him to take her back to the Royal Palace.

With each sway of the Carriage, her stomach twisted.

Her eyes stung and her head throbbed, but she endured it.

***

Back at the Royal Palace, Adelia sensed the party’s atmosphere had grown unsettled and felt her heart sink.

People still clustered in small groups, their faces grave as they murmured among themselves. The King and Queen had not even remained.

No one was dancing, and no one appeared drunk.

Adelia slipped inside carefully, keeping close to the wall to avoid notice.

It was frustrating, but she had no choice.

If someone stopped her now and asked about Roaston, she felt she might snap without meaning to.

She looked for Violet among the crowd, but finding a small-framed woman among so many people wasn’t easy.

Besides, she’d been sitting on the stairs earlier, hadn’t she? It was clear she disliked the party, and she may well have already left.

Adelia hoped desperately that wasn’t the case, but…

She made her way to the Balcony where she’d been with Siern. When his figure came into view, relief flooded through her for a moment.

She knocked gently on the door from outside: tap, tap.

When Siern turned, she gestured for him to come out, then quickly hid herself behind the heavy curtains.

“Hm? What’s the matter?”
“It’s an emergency, Professor. Please, I need your help.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————