Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 56

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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 56

Loerston’s expression darkened for a moment before he pushed the cucumber aside with the edge of his spoon and set it down.

Then, as though settling in for a serious discussion, he placed his clasped hands on the edge of the table.

“Adelia, listen carefully.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Cucumbers aren’t a matter of picky eating, you see.”

Adelia blinked several times, attempting to understand his words before giving up.

“Not a matter of picky eating?”
“From the start, they emit a smell that makes it seem like humans shouldn’t eat them at all.”
“Sir, with that handsome face of yours, you’re saying such things.”
“My face has nothing to do with it. Regardless, cucumbers are the sort of thing—something that seems like it would only grow in the devil’s own garden—I don’t even want to call it a vegetable.”

It was at this point that Adelia realized Loerston’s aversion to cucumbers and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“Sir, my goodness! Even if you dislike cucumbers that much, surely not to this degree! How can you say such things?”
“I didn’t tell this story to amuse you, madam.”
“The devil’s own garden… hehehehe… oh my, if cucumber farmers heard this, they’d weep.”
“Let them weep. My heart has grown cold as a thousand-year stone. Cultivating something like cucumbers is… it’s just wrong.”

Now that she thought about it, though it was the season when cucumbers should be at their most delicious, not once had she seen a cucumber on the Duke’s table, even as a garnish.

It was all because of Loerston’s picky eating.

Amused, Adelia pursed her lips and giggled before asking.

“Besides cucumbers, what else do you refuse to eat?”
“I told you, it’s not picky eating.”
“Right, right. Then what else grows in the devil’s own garden?”

Loerston furrowed his brow in serious deliberation before answering.

“Squash.”
“But you enjoy squash soup, don’t you?”
“I can tolerate it in cooked form. But I don’t want to see it raw. Have you ever cut open a squash? It’s absolutely revolting.”
“I’ve seen the inside of a squash before. It didn’t seem that repulsive to me.”

At Adelia’s words, Loerston’s expression betrayed utter bewilderment.

His look of shock was so amusing and endearing that Adelia held her breath, trembling with suppressed laughter once more.

As the discussion of picky eating swept through the appetizer course, the soup arrived.

This time there were several varieties, among them a mushroom soup.

Loerston darkened his expression, declaring that he disliked mushrooms as well.

“Those are fungi.”
“That’s precisely what makes them so lovely and delicious!”

Adelia launched into an earnest argument.

“Mushrooms are truly remarkable organisms. Some say entire forests are connected by mycelial networks. If you study mushrooms deeply, you could uncover fascinating discoveries. You might even unlock the secrets behind Teleportation!”
“Fine, I admit mushrooms are extraordinary organisms. But why must you eat them?”
“Because mushrooms are packed with nutrients. Truly remarkable. If I could, I’d love to cultivate mushrooms at home……”

At the wistful gleam in Adelia’s eyes, Loerston spoke urgently.

“Not in the house.”
“Then outside is permitted?”

Loerston’s eyes darted about uncertainly.

“A greenhouse. I’ll have one built for you to grow them there. I won’t be entering it.”
“Oh, what a generous offer, but wouldn’t it be nice if you saw the mushrooms growing too…? You should see how delightful it is to watch the caps unfurl overnight. Wouldn’t you like to witness that?”

Loerston didn’t want to see it, not even by accident, but he remained silent.

A greenhouse was simple enough to build. But if he did, Adelia would certainly find some way to drag him inside.

“And there are even mushrooms with deadly poison that can kill a person before they can take another breath. That’s fascinating too! They look almost identical to edible varieties, but just touching them causes the skin to dissolve.”
“… Yes, I understand. But perhaps, junior, it would be better to discuss such things when mushroom soup hasn’t just been served?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve been talking too much.”

With that, Adelia abruptly transformed into a demure young lady and began to eat her soup in silence, delicately dabbing her lips with a napkin, then tasting another soup, repeating this pattern.

Watching this transformation, Loerston broke into laughter.

“What are you doing? What is this performance?”
“I read it in a book of etiquette. When dining, one should speak quietly, not talk excessively, and be especially mindful of food on one’s lips. They say that in the distant eastern empire, there’s an aphorism: ‘Do not speak while eating or sleeping.’ But if I said nothing at all, the table would feel rather desolate.”
“True. Conversation is surely one way to stimulate the appetite. Though I suppose different nations have different customs.”

Then, suddenly, Loerston recalled his conversation with the King.

It was a matter long since resolved, but had he needed to leave this country, what would Adelia have done?

He was curious.

“Adelia.”
“Yes, sir?”
“What if… just what if. Let’s say hypothetically.”

Adelia nodded, her expression bewildered.

“If I told you tomorrow that we should emigrate to another country—if I said to abandon your position here and start anew somewhere else—what would you do?”

A brief silence descended.

Adelia did not answer readily.

Loerston felt what he considered a natural response, yet a faint bitterness washed over him.

Fool. What were you expecting? That Adelia would naturally follow you?

To follow someone who would be no one to her once the contract ended, a stranger…

“Of course I’d go with you.”

The self-deprecating voice flowing through Loerston’s heart abruptly cut off.

His expression shifted to one of genuine surprise in that instant—a truly heartfelt expression.

“You’d… go with me?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Even to emigrate to another country? That would mean you’d have to abandon everything you have here just as I would. Of course, you could continue your studies elsewhere, but……”
“That’s right. I could. Learning is something one can do anywhere. So naturally, I’d go with you.”
“Because that’s what our contract stipulates?”

Ah. Loerston inwardly sighed.

That last question had been unnecessary. It was something he shouldn’t have asked.

He corrected his expression, an awkward smile crossing his face.

“What I mean is……”
“Yes, that could be a reason, since we are bound by contract. But… I think I’d simply want to go with you.”

Adelia’s voice was composed.

It carried the certainty of an obvious fact, as though she were saying that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night—not a shadow of doubt.

“You’d want to go with me? Why?”

So Loerston asked yet another question he need not have asked.

Adelia grew thoughtful for a moment, then her gaze shifted slightly away. Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink.

Seeing this, Loerston forgot where he was and felt an overwhelming urge to press his lips to those flushed cheeks.

“Answer me. Why……”
“That’s because… I’d be worried about you, sir. You might catch a cold again, and you don’t eat cucumbers, and you don’t eat mushrooms either. So someone needs to cook for you, don’t they? In a new place, there would be no one who knows your tastes as I do.”
“Is that all?”

Long lashes moved up and down with each blink of her eyes.

Adelia exhaled a short breath and cast a sidelong glance at Loerston. Then, with a fresh, innocent expression, she spoke.

“There are other reasons too, but that’s a secret. But why did you suddenly bring this up? Is something the matter?”

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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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