Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 73

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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 73

Adelia let out a small laugh at the word Confession.

“And when I was studying at the Academy too… there were times like that. Classmates would ask me how to do well on exams, or how to memorize things…”
“Mm.”
“There were times I knew the answer but didn’t teach them. Because… I was afraid of losing first place. I wasn’t attending school on my family’s money, and if I lost first place, I thought they might stop sponsoring me. So I lied and said I didn’t know either. I did that often.”

Loerston spoke.

“That’s far from being selfish. You had your reasons. And besides, studying is something you do alone.”
“Still, I always felt ashamed.”

Adelia pressed her lips into a thin line, her expression bitter, and took a sip of tea.

“Is that all?”
“Sorry? Oh, other than that…”

There was more. Adelia thought to herself.

There’s something much bigger, senior.

‘But I can’t tell you that.’

Adelia felt as though a tiny worm were gnawing at her heart bit by bit, burrowing deeper into her weakest places.

The confession she could never make to Loerston—the final absolution even if he were a true priest. That their Contract had not ended, and that she wished he would…

‘I wish you cared for me the way I care for you, senior. Truly.’

But that would be the height of selfishness.

Loerston was someone who might one day become a pillar of the nation. Such a man needed a companion who was perfect both outwardly and within.

She already knew she was not that person. Standing at the side of Loerston Insel, whom people revered, she would always fall short.

“No, that’s all.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”

Adelia forced brightness into her voice and ate the crumbled Carrot Cake with purpose.

***

The White Sand Beach, soft and pale, was pleasant to walk on. Watching the sand crumble beneath her low-heeled shoes, Adelia spoke.

“It feels like a dream.”

Loerston swung the hand he was holding gently.

“What does?”
“All of this. If it weren’t for you, I never would have known such a place existed. And now I’m actually here, walking, smelling the sea… it all feels like a dream.”

A fleeting melancholy, almost longing, passed through Adelia’s eyes as she gazed at the distant horizon.

Loerston knew she was thinking of her past—the past adorned with its beautiful “what-ifs,” and the future that might have unfolded from it.

How could he not understand her thoughts about all the things she might have enjoyed earlier, had her family been ordinary?

“There are so many more things to do ahead. How can you think like that already?”

At his words, Adelia offered him the smile he loved—a bright, warm one.

When Loerston impulsively leaned down to kiss her, Adelia noticed other people glancing at them and quickly stepped back.

“Oof.”

When Loerston stumbled with a small groan, an embarrassed Adelia pointed toward the sea.

“L-look over there, senior! Isn’t the sea so blue and beautiful?”
“…It’s been blue and beautiful the whole time. Suddenly?”

Adelia’s cheeks flushed crimson as she flailed her hands frantically.

“W-well, um, do you know about the Red Tide Phenomenon?”
“The Red Tide Phenomenon, you mean?”
“Yes! Exactly! It happens when certain microorganisms in the sea—specifically certain algae—proliferate excessively. They’re also called phytoplankton, and these little creatures feed on things like phosphorus and nitrogen in seawater. When there’s a high concentration of phosphorus or nitrogen in the sea, they have plenty to eat, so they multiply explosively! Isn’t it cute? It’s like children running wild on a playground!”
“…Isn’t the damage too severe to call it cute?”
“Oh, w-well, of course it is. Um… but I like microorganisms, so from that perspective, you could imagine the excited algae at a party where the table is loaded with food, wouldn’t you say?”

Loerston suppressed his emerging laughter and naturally wrapped his arm around Adelia’s waist.

“So tell me, Professor Whitten—what causes this explosive proliferation of phosphorus and nitrogen?”
“Oh, professor? I’m just a lowly research assistant… but I can explain. Um, it can happen when sediment rises due to water temperature, sunlight, or changes in ocean currents. And very rarely, it can also be caused by sewage.”
“A thorough explanation. Might I thank you with a kiss?”
“What? No, I’ve never heard of that kind of thanks, senior—!”

Her waist was suddenly pulled closer, and their lips met.

Without time to close her eyes, Adelia saw the glimmering ripples of the waves at the edge of her vision, sparkling.

As though the light had transferred into her own eyes, when she gazed at Loerston’s lowered eyelashes, her vision shimmered with a gentle radiance.

Their lips, pressed together close enough to feel not only warmth but even a faint pulse, parted only after considerable time had passed.

Adelia suddenly remembered something from last night and felt a jolt. It had been different then. What had been different?

‘That kiss was different… what was it, exactly?’

She had grown somewhat accustomed to kissing Loerston, yet last night’s kiss was distinctly different—a fact that suddenly struck her.

It had been softer somehow… and something else…

“Buy some fruit!”

A high-pitched voice rang out from below, accompanied by children’s cheerful chattering.

Startled, Adelia looked down to see two children who looked identical—a boy and a girl—standing before them.

“Um… what did you say?”
“Buy some fruit, pretty sister!”
“And handsome brother, you should buy one too!”

The children harmonized with practiced ease in identical voices.

Except for a slight difference in hair length, their faces were mirror images of each other.

Looking closer, even the missing front teeth were symmetrical—one on the left for one child, on the right for the other.

“Hold on a moment, you two.”

Loerston stepped forward, having noticed the children.

The two children, unaware of anything amiss, beamed and thrust out their tray. The fruit was sliced thin in a comb pattern with paper underneath—the practiced hand of someone with plenty of experience in this trade.

“This fruit—is it Pepilage?”

At that, the twins grinned and answered in unison.

“Yes, it is!”
“Yes, it is!”

Loerston turned to look at Adelia.

The moment their eyes met, a tall man’s face suddenly flashed into Adelia’s mind.

Loerston turned his gaze back to the children and asked in a gentle tone.

“How much?”
“Three Tizle per sheet!”
“Three Tizle per sheet?”

Loerston and Adelia bought five pieces of Pepilage for approximately one Abs and seven Tizle—roughly equivalent to one hundred eighty thousand won in local currency.

But based on their calculation, the children’s total sales should come to about three Abs—roughly three hundred thousand won—if they sold everything.

“My goodness, is that Pepilage?”

As Loerston and Adelia watched the children, a woman who appeared to be about ten years old holding her daughter’s hand approached them.

The twins exclaimed with excitement.

“We got it at auction this morning at the Wholesale Market! It’s so fresh!”
“Nobody even sells Pepilage by the piece!”

The kindhearted woman chuckled and bought six pieces on two sheets.

“Thank you!”

Then the boy held out his tray to Adelia as well.

“Sister, please buy one from us! This is so delicious! I can tell you’re a traveler, and you’ve probably never had Pepilage before, right? It’s really sweet and refreshing!”

It was then that Loerston slightly blocked the tray the boy was holding and spoke.

“I have one question—does your older brother happen to ride a one-wheeled bicycle in a circus?”

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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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