Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 57

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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 57

Loerston recalled the king’s defeat—the manner of a man surrendering to everything.

He wasn’t sure whether Adelia could share in that satisfaction, but he offered her a simple explanation.

Omitting, of course, any mention of how he’d half-coerced the king into it.

“……That’s how it happened. So I asked him.”
“Good heavens!”

Adelia was so startled she nearly knocked over her water glass.

“What if you’d ended up thrown in prison for that?”
“His Majesty wouldn’t do that. Regardless of what he says, he needs me.”
“You shouldn’t have had to take such a risk on my account.”

At Adelia’s words, Loerston felt something sharp twist in his chest. And without thinking, he found himself believing:

Risk? This wasn’t a risk. It wasn’t even close.

Adelia, for you I could undertake far worse. Anything at all.

“Anything……”

Adelia tilted her head, watching as Loerston murmured to himself without realizing it.

“What did you say?”

Loerston’s chest grew warm. He smiled and said it was nothing.

Patting Adelia’s suddenly sagging shoulders, he offered comfort:

“It wasn’t entirely for you, if I’m honest. I did it for myself as well. If I’d endured Claria’s tyranny much longer, I thought I might actually sicken from it and explode like a bomb.”
“The Princess did go rather far……”
“Exactly. So there’s no need to worry yourself. I knew nothing terrible would come of it.”

Though the truth was otherwise, Loerston spoke with deliberate ease.

Just as Adelia seemed to relax, the main course arrived.

Adelia had declared she’d taste the Black Goose Dish first, full of confidence—but the moment she picked up her fork, her courage evaporated.

“……Is this really delicious?”
“It will be. Go on, try it.”

Adelia’s eyes filled with doubt.

“Have you tasted it before?”
“Well, this is my first time with Black Goose too.”
“Then how can you promise it’s delicious? It could taste dreadful. Or I might decide it’s wrong to catch geese just to cook them for a dish.”

Adelia quoted his own words back at him with that suspicious expression, and Loerston felt his cheekbones beginning to ache from smiling.

Really, why was she so impossibly cute?

“It can’t be that bad. The aroma seems perfectly decent. Now cucumbers—their smell is simply revolting.”
“Oh, but cucumber has such a fresh scent! You truly know nothing, do you?”

Pouting, Adelia finally steeled herself, parted her lips slightly, and placed a piece of goose meat in her mouth.

‘Just like a squirrel,’ he thought.

Watching her cheeks work as she chewed, a tender smile played at Loerston’s lips.

She was so endearing, he actually wanted to shrink her down and slip her into his pocket.

Then Adelia’s eyes went wide, then wider still.

She covered her mouth with her hand and, seeing him, pointed urgently at the plate.

“You have to try this. Right now!”
“But why——”
“Hurry!”

Carried along by her insistence, Loerston cut a small piece and tasted it.

Adelia watched his eyes widen, then grinned broadly, wiping the cherry sauce from her mouth.

“It’s good, isn’t it? Isn’t it?”

Loerston nodded, looking down at his plate.

“I’ve eaten goose before, but this feels different somehow. It’s extraordinarily tender……and yet the texture remains. It’s so yielding you could almost eat through the bone.”
“Exactly! That’s precisely what I wanted to say. It’s remarkable—when you put it in your mouth and it mingles with the sauce, the meat seems to dissolve. And the more you chew, the richer the flavor becomes.”

Adelia eagerly took another piece, then sampled the venison and lamb as well.

She seemed to feel a small pang of guilt for the food left on her plate, but Loerston was satisfied simply having shown her these new tastes.

There was still so much she didn’t know.

He wanted to teach her all of it. Everything. One through ten. With his own hands alone.

“May I have some wine?”
“Of course. Go ahead.”

Adelia smiled slightly and lifted her glass.

Loerston touched his glass gently to hers and they drank together.

“It pairs well with the meat. And…… how should I put it? There’s a depth to the flavor. I’m not sure what to call it……”
“Smoky.”
“Smoky! That’s it. Exactly right. It really does have that taste. It’s strange—why would I think of smoking while drinking wine? It makes me think of a scene…… peach wood smoking ham.”
“Wine has many different flavors. What we drank last time was sweeter. This one is a dry type, suited to meat dishes.”
“Dry.”

Adelia nodded thoughtfully, as if hearing the word for the first time, then said:

“You remember when I asked you about opening a vineyard?”
“Ah yes, that idea. I remember.”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and I realized that merely selling food to pair with wine wouldn’t capture people’s interest. What I mean is…… the Insel Duchy needs its own special wine, don’t you think?”
“Likely so. Wine comes in many varieties, and the nobility grows accustomed to diverse flavors. Creating something remarkable enough to impress them is quite difficult.”
“So I thought—what if we blended other fruits into the wine? Fruits not commonly seen in the kingdom?”
“For instance?”

Adelia pursed her lips, lost in thought, then spoke:

“It’s ancient history now, but when my mother was still alive…… she once traveled to the Southern Islands and returned with the most extraordinary fruits. They looked so peculiar, yet their fragrance was remarkable. And so sweet! The flavors varied too. Have you ever tasted a fruit with a salty note? They had those as well there.”
“I’ve heard it exists, but I’ve never been, so I wouldn’t know.”
“I remembered those fruits. Some people do take leisure trips to the Southern Islands, but not everyone can manage it, can they? So if there were just a way to import the fruit cost-effectively……”
“You’re thinking of using them in wine?”

Adelia nodded.

It seemed like a good idea.

The fruits of the Southern Islands were difficult to obtain, with a short harvest season, and tasting them fresh was nearly impossible unless one remained there.

Even among the nobility, who could procure almost anything with a gesture, there were those who dreamed of tasting Southern Island fruit.

The journey there itself was arduous, and only a limited few could make the journey.

Then an idea came to Loerston.

“Why don’t we go ourselves?”

Adelia, happily eating her tender lamb dish, went very still.

“Go?”
“To the Southern Islands. By the time the fruit is ripe, we could be there resting. We could call it a honeymoon.”
“A h——!”

Adelia’s face turned scarlet. She pressed her hand to her mouth and glanced nervously around, as if afraid someone might be listening.

“A honeymoon? I don’t…… that’s not……”
“Let’s set aside the contract and all that for now. It’s just a trip together, isn’t it? Nothing more.”

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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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