Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 8

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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 8

The moment those words left his mouth, Adelia’s eyes went wide as saucers.

“That person is… that person?”
“Yeah. You didn’t know?”

How could I have known?

Ensilia Academy, which selected only the finest students from neighboring nations for intensive education, held a Chess tournament every year.

It was a grand event where all the talented youths of not just this nation but surrounding kingdoms gathered.

What started as mere entertainment eventually escalated into a matter of school pride, and it wasn’t uncommon for rival academies’ supporters to brawl after each match.

“There was all that talk about Ensilia refusing to relinquish the champion title for eight years straight—accusations of biased judging, improper Chess timers, and such.”
“Right. Though in the end, whether it was true or just rumor was never confirmed.”
“But the senior who broke that undefeated streak was…”
“Rudolf. I know he doesn’t look it, but that fellow is surprisingly competitive. He can’t stand losing.”

Good heavens.

All this time, Adelia had thought Rudolf merely treated her with cool distance.

She’d assumed it was because she was resented as a rolling stone—a commoner elevated to duchess without any illustrious bloodline—but…

‘It might have just been the look of someone watching a fool.’

“If the chance comes up, you should ask Rudolf to teach you Chess sometime.”
“…Is it teaching, or getting systematically destroyed?”

Loerstin burst into laughter.

“Getting destroyed is how you learn.”
“So I just get destroyed, then.”

Adelia, looking slightly dejected, picked at her dessert without much enthusiasm.

Loerstin finished reading what was in the envelope and studied Adelia with a puzzled expression.

“Why that face?”
“…My face? What’s wrong with it?”
“You look like someone who swallowed a whole frog and can’t decide whether to spit it out or keep it down.”

Adelia stared at Loerstin blankly.

I have no idea what expression I’m actually making.

Is this what they call a scholar’s joke…?

“I was joking.”

Scholarly humor was hardly entertaining.

“But your expression really is strange. What’s the matter? Are you unwell?”
“No, no, it’s fine. I was just thinking about something.”
“What?”

Adelia’s eyes darted back and forth.

“I was wondering what Rudolf… what kind of reaction that senior would have if I asked him to teach me Chess.”
“Hmm, do you even know how to play Chess?”
“The basics, more or less…”
“How much, exactly?”
“W-well, pawns can move forward or diagonally one square.”

At Adelia’s confident answer, Loerstin’s face bloomed like a boiled cod.

“Why that look?!”
“Ah, sorry—I couldn’t help it. So our brilliant junior knows nothing about Chess either. You’d better learn from me first, not Rudolf.”

This was infuriating!

Of course she only knew the basic rules, but that didn’t mean he had to pull a face like that!

Just as she was about to launch into a lengthy discourse on the remarkable bacteria that decompose food waste, Loerstin suddenly thrust his hand forward, cutting her off mid-breath.

Loerstin abruptly held up his hand to stop Adelia from speaking.

“Wait a moment.”
“But I haven’t said anything yet.”
“I have a feeling you’re about to launch into something long-winded. Hear me out first.”

…I hate how perceptive this senior is.

“What is it?”
“In four days’ time, we’ll be attending a party hosted by Dorothea.”
“A p-party?!”

Loerstin held up his hand again, and Adelia’s mouth snapped shut.

“It’s an intimate affair with good company. Only respectable people, and not many guests at all. No need to be overly nervous.”
“B-but I still have to… have to go, don’t I?”
“That’s exactly why I’m telling you. We’ll attend as husband and wife.”

Adelia protested, her expression almost desperate.

“I’ve never attended a party before! I didn’t even go to the year-end party at the Academy!”

The Royal Academy held a year-end celebration at the close of each academic year, a gathering for each graduating class to commemorate their advancement.

But Adelia disliked crowds intensely and had obtained special permission from the teachers to spend that time in the library instead.

“There’s nothing to worry about. You had no partner at the year-end party, but this time I’m here.”

His tone brimmed with confidence.

Adelia tried to look directly at him.

But faced with his gentle smile, her cheeks flushed and she turned away.

He was insufferably handsome, really.

“You just need to stay at my side and smile. It would be nice if you greeted others directly, but if I asked more than that, you’d throw up on the spot.”

Adelia covered her mouth and made a muffled sound.

“…I feel like I’m about to be sick already.”
“You can throw up here if you need to. Rudolf will clean it up anyway.”

At that, Rudolf, standing a distance away, scowled something fierce and glared daggers at the back of Loerstin’s head.

“Senior, I really…”
“Have you forgotten our contract?”
“But you never said anything about attending a party…”
“As Mistress of the House, what are your duties?”

Adelia, her expression twisted in frustration, groaned as she wrestled with her roiling stomach.

“…I have to fulfill my role…”

Loerstin snapped his fingers sharply, as if to say exactly so.

“Precisely.”
“…”
“A newly married duchess not showing her face at social gatherings is considered quite the breach of etiquette in noble society. I’ve already compromised by choosing a quiet affair. So no more complaints.”
“My stomach feels twisted.”

Adelia shuddered and hugged herself.

Loerstin rose from his seat, pressed a light kiss to Adelia’s temple, and spoke.

“It’ll be fine. We have four days to untangle things before then.”

Adelia’s forehead came down against the table with a soft thud.

Her head spun—whether from anxiety about the party four days hence, or from Loerstin’s kiss in a room with no witnesses, she couldn’t tell.

Really, how did things ever come to this?

“And why did you have to kiss me anyway?”

Adelia pouted, touching the spot where his lips had been, her ears burning red.

***

A month earlier.

“Who told the Wheaton girl about her Sponsor?”

The drawing room of House of Insel was silent.

The grand, beautiful furniture seemed to press down upon her.

Adelia forced herself to sit up straighter.

She kept her gaze fixed on Loerstin, seated across from her.

“You’re really not going to tell me?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t.”
“The Wheaton girl. No, listen here, junior.”

Confronted with a form of address she’d never heard before, Adelia simply blinked without responding.

Seeing her reaction, Loerstin let out a quiet sigh internally.

‘So this is the prodigy who hasn’t missed being Top Student even once since her admission.’

The Academy’s one and only exceptional talent—about whom all the teachers had clucked their tongues, saying they’d need to come up with A+ grades and beyond just because of Adelia.

That fabled genius didn’t appear nearly as confident or capable as he’d imagined. If anything, she seemed frail, like a delicate hothouse flower.

The mere fact that she’d sought him out directly to say she wished to repay, little by little, the funds that the late Duke of Insel had provided—that alone spoke volumes about how sheltered her life had been.

“It’s obvious who’s behind this and what they want. They’re trying to make you feel guilty, aren’t they?”

When a Sponsor and their sponsored student came to know each other’s identities, unsavory situations sometimes arose—as he’d suspected might be someone’s intention in humiliating Adelia.

“That’s…”
“And yet you won’t name them, instead protecting that person. I don’t quite understand why…”
“…”
“…I’m not sure I understand.”

Adelia fell silent.

She seemed to be considering her words, but ultimately only fidgeted with her cheek, looking embarrassed.

Her chestnut hair, falling past her shoulders, covered some of her face, though not entirely.

Soft features, a slight frame, small hands that seemed almost fragile enough to snap.

The more he observed her, the more she differed from his expectations, and Loerstin found himself momentarily entranced, simply watching her.

In any case.

‘House of Insel’s sponsorship of Adelia is a secret no one knows. How did she find out?’

By the Contract’s terms, a Sponsor could have no direct contact with their sponsored student and must never reveal their identity.

It was the minimal safeguard put in place to prevent those with age and wealth from controlling or tormenting their protégés.

“I truly cannot tell you, no matter what.”

At Adelia’s response, Loerstin’s eyes narrowed.

From her expression, something was clearly amiss…

“…Very well. Let’s set that matter aside for now.”

This much he could handle on his own.

There was no point lecturing this ingenuous girl about it.

Adelia visibly relaxed at this.

Loerstin smiled bitterly to himself.

“The real reason?”
“Yes. I’m curious what you wanted to tell me, now that you know I’m your Sponsor…”
“…Did you truly intend to continue sponsoring me as a Research Student?”

“Of course.”

At his matter-of-fact tone, Adelia found herself bewildered instead.

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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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