Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 81

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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 81

Ellie Rumble was shy by nature, yet she was well-read and keenly interested in the latest fashions, making her excellent company for conversation.

“Say, Duchess. Would you care to take a stroll with me? The garden is decorated quite beautifully. I’d love to show you before the crowds gather.”
“Oh, of course I would.”

Adelia turned to Loerston and asked him.

“Dear, Ellie has kindly invited me for a walk in the garden. It should be alright if I go with her, shouldn’t it?”

Loerston, however, did not answer at once. A worried expression crossed his face—he felt distinctly uneasy about being separated from Adelia.

Yet to insist on accompanying them himself would have been improper.

Had Loerston wanted to join, Ellie would surely have suggested it first.

After a moment of deliberation, Loerston raised Adelia’s hand to his lips.

“Don’t be too long.”
“I won’t. Don’t worry.”

Adelia slipped out of the bustling Ballroom with Ellie and into the open air.

The garden was indeed as beautiful as Ellie had promised, yet because the party had only just begun, not a soul was admiring it.

“Good heavens, what a fountain! It’s absolutely lovely.”

Adelia marveled at an ingenious fountain designed to flow downward like a natural stream.

The water cascaded with a soft murmuring sound into a pond ringed with flower beds.

Ellie spoke.

“The waterwheel draws water from the pond, and then it flows back into the pond again.”
“A waterwheel? I see! I was wondering where the water was coming from—so you’ve installed the mechanism beneath the pond?”
“Yes, exactly. You understood at once. My mother still hasn’t grasped how this fountain actually works.”

Ellie delivered this with a laugh, speaking in a playful tone.

Adelia hesitated a moment—uncertain whether to laugh along—and chose instead to change the subject.

“Who designed this fountain? Whoever did must be remarkably clever.”
“Thank you. I designed it myself.”

This time Adelia was genuinely astonished. She stared at Ellie’s face, and unbidden, a smile spread across her own.

“Is that true?”
“Of course it is.”
“You designed this entire fountain, Ellie?”
“Just call me Ellie, please. Yes, I did. I’ve been fascinated with mechanics since childhood. I was so curious about how clocks work that I nearly destroyed a large grandfather clock that had been in our family for generations.”
“Goodness! I’ve made a similar mistake. Mine involved mold rather than mechanics. I wanted to experiment with different strains of mold on bread samples kept in various conditions, but I ended up making a complete mess of my personal locker and desk drawer at the Academy.”

Ellie’s face brightened visibly.

“You graduated from the Royal Academy?”
“Yes, I did. Now I work in the Laboratory.”
“The Laboratory! I’ve heard of it. They say only geniuses are admitted there. So the Duchess is one of those people!”
“Ellie, call me Adelia. It’s easier that way, isn’t it? We seem to be around the same age.”
“But is that really acceptable? If my mother heard me calling a duchess by her given name, I’d be in for a scolding that would last half the day.”
“Then we’ll only do it when we’re alone together.”

Ellie broke into a bright smile. Her laughter made her look charming and young.

Adelia had assumed Ellie was either her own age or perhaps a year or two older—after all, Ellie carried herself with considerable maturity—but seeing her smile now, Adelia realized that Ellie might actually be younger than she was.

Ellie continued.

“The Royal Academy was my dream. I’m not bragging, but our family’s circumstances are comfortable enough that I thought I’d be able to attend. But…”
“You couldn’t go?”

A bitter, melancholy expression flickered across Ellie’s face.

“No, I couldn’t. People in the provinces still have such rigid thinking. They believe women have no need for education—that it’s enough if we can write our own names. They think the only proper learning for women is embroidery or piano before marriage.”
“That’s preposterous!”
“I agree. But what can I do? I have no power of my own. My mother pressures me daily to marry. Today’s party was arranged specifically to find me a husband.”
“Heavens, how can you take someone as a husband after meeting them once or twice at a party? How could you possibly know what kind of person they are?”

Ellie’s expression shifted, as if she had found a kindred spirit in Adelia’s words.

“That’s exactly what I’ve been saying! This is someone you’ll spend your entire life with. How can you possibly understand them from just one meeting and a meal or two? How could anyone possibly…marry someone like that?”

It was in that moment.

Her consolation of Ellie and agreement with her sentiments were genuine—yet Adelia could not help but think of her own circumstances.

Marrying after seeing someone’s face once was absurd, but entering a false marriage after seeing someone’s face once? That was even more absurd.

‘Wait, no. He’s a good man.’

Ellie pressed on with her passionate tirade.

“Perhaps for a year or two you’re intoxicated by the thrill of being newlyweds and don’t notice anything. But then one day your husband’s true nature reveals itself, doesn’t it?”
“His true nature?”
“Yes. His true nature. Perhaps he drinks too heavily, or smokes so much his teeth turn yellow, or worse—maybe he loves to fight, or gambles, or even strikes his wife!”
“Strikes his wife…”

Adelia felt a fresh shock, then was startled by her own shock.

She knew such things happened everywhere. Even knowing it, she somehow had stopped acknowledging it to herself.

‘Oh no. Have I just been relying on him, ignoring real concerns? I’ve stopped thinking about reality altogether.’

As Adelia wavered in her sudden discomfort, Ellie sighed and continued.

“That’s why I won’t marry anyone unless I’ve known them for a long time.”

Recovering herself, Adelia softened her brow and offered a smile.

It was what she privately called her “ball-room smile”—the sort of expression that worked well in any setting.

“Shall we walk a bit further? Are you all right with that?”
“Of course. I’m perfectly fine with it.”
“Is there someone you’ve known for a long time? Someone you could imagine marrying?”
“There isn’t anyone where I live. But…”

Adelia waited for Ellie’s next words, her expression curious.

Ellie walked slowly, blinking softly as she spoke.

“There is someone here. My family spends two or three months a year in the Capital. When I was younger, my grandmother and grandfather and I actually lived here for about four years. I met someone then.”
“A friend, then?”

At Adelia’s question, Ellie tilted her head slightly, making a thoughtful sound.

“Well, I’d like to think so, but I don’t think they see me that way.”

Adelia found herself covering her lips with her fingertips.

Could this possibly be a story of unrequited love?

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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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