Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 82

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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 82

She could never confess her own unrequited love to anyone, anywhere—but listening to someone else’s story of unreturned affection was not without its charm.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that because she couldn’t speak of her own heart, other people’s love stories seemed all the more captivating…….

This, too, was one of the new interests that had emerged from spending time with Loerston.

The old Adelia Whitten—the woman who had cared nothing for romance, let alone sentimental novels—had long since vanished into the past.

“Could you tell me what sort of person he is……?”

Ellie, walking slowly through a patch of fragrant sedum and star flowers and white clover, wore a mischievous smile.

“Adelia, you certainly seem curious about these matters, don’t you?”
“Oh, if I’ve overstepped, I apologize. But…… yes, I cannot lie. When I was young, I couldn’t fathom what was so interesting about love stories. In fact, that was still true until recently. But lately…….”
“Lately you find it interesting? Your ears perk up at a good rumor?”

Adelia’s cheeks flushed slightly.

“Not to that extent…….”
“Haha, only teasing. Well, but I’m afraid my story won’t be very interesting. He’s not a nobleman. Far from it, actually.”

That meant a commoner, then.

Adelia felt a faint sorrow for Ellie. If her parents were so insistent about her marriage, so conservative they wouldn’t even let her study—they would never consider a commoner as a suitable match for their daughter.

To seize her love, Ellie would likely need to wage a difficult struggle.

“I think we first met when I was about six. He would have been eight or nine at the time. I’m certain he’s older, but whether it’s two or three years, I can’t quite remember.”
“I see.”
“We met at the Marketplace……. The moment I saw him, I thought, ‘A poor child.’ Like something from a book. Children are terribly cruel, aren’t they?”

Ellie laughed bitterly.

“Our eyes met and I thought, ‘Oh, that boy is poor.’ How rude can you get? But at that age, I didn’t know any better. Do you know what I did?”
“What did you do?”
“I went up to him and gave him a coin. Money my grandmother had given me as pocket money. He took the coin and…… looked at me, then looked at the coin, back and forth, and then he said something like this.”

—What is this?

“I told him it was money.”

Ellie let out a sigh.

“Then he said he wasn’t stupid. Well, I was the stupid one. When he asked why I was giving it to him, I answered, ‘Because you’re poor.’ But Adelia, do you know what happened? After I said that, I felt shame for the first time in my life.”

Adelia gently patted Ellie’s shoulder with a softened expression.

“So you learned what it meant to be rude.”
“Yes, exactly. I couldn’t have explained it in words, but…… I knew I’d said something wrong, done something wrong. I stood there speechless, and he just calmly put the coin in his pocket. Then he said to me…….”

—I don’t know why you’re giving me this, but thanks. Will you come back here tomorrow? Now that I have money, I can show you something fun.

Hmm?

Adelia found herself tilting her head inwardly.

She’d heard something like that before, from somewhere. Not identical, but something…….

Ellie’s voice broke through her reverie.

“The next day, I pestered my grandmother until she took me back to that spot. I searched for him for quite some time. But then I heard people clapping near the empty Plaza area. I was certain he was there. So I ran over.”
“Was he really there?”
“He was!”

Ellie’s eyes began to sparkle with excitement, joy, and delight.

Her face bore the happy smile of a young girl transported back into childhood.

“He was really there, performing tricks on a big unicycle. When he saw me, he waved.”

Wait.

A unicycle……?

“Ellie, is that person perhaps…….”
“He wanted to teach me how to ride a bicycle, but I knew my grandmother would never allow it. So that day I only asked for his name before we parted. He said…….”
“He said his name was Clurker.”

Ellie’s eyes widened in shock.

“Oh my goodness, Adelia. You know him?”

How could I not? was what Adelia wanted to say.

Restraining herself, she answered calmly instead.

“I went to see the Circus Troupe once. I heard his name there. Clurker.”
“Ah, is that so! Well, he’s the most popular performer in the troupe, after all.”

……The details didn’t quite match reality, but Adelia felt no need to correct her.

Fruit auctions, siblings with stomachaches—never mind that they’d been perfectly fine—the Holly-Molly twins, and…….

‘And all the rest. No, really, what on earth is this man doing? I’m so bewildered I can’t even speak.’

Picturing Clurker’s cheeky face, Adelia found herself thinking she’d like to give him a sharp flick on the forehead.

Next time she saw him, she’d manage to land at least one.

Ellie continued.

“After that, I saw him many times while I was here. Leaving was heartbreaking. Back home, I was miserable thinking that surely he’d come to like someone else by then. When I came here and saw his face again, it was like a miracle—so wonderful I could hardly believe it. So…… yes, you were right, Adelia. This is an unrequited love story.”

Finishing her words, Ellie exhaled a soft sigh. In the moonlight, her expression looked forlorn.

“You really do love him, don’t you.”
“Yes, I do. Did you know he has quite a lot of younger siblings?”

Now that she mentioned it, hadn’t he said something like that? Adelia recalled. Didn’t he say there was even a newborn?

Ellie spoke on.

“Clurker cares so deeply for people. He can’t abandon a child left to fend for itself. The locals here all know each other, so it doesn’t happen among them, but when travelers come to the island, they sometimes abandon their children before leaving. Can you believe it? To abandon a child! To come to this beautiful island only to abandon a child!”

It was truly unbelievable.

Had Adelia been her former self, she might have protested: “Surely there are no such people.” But the woman she was now thought differently.

The world contained all manner of people, and there were those who could casually commit acts that made absolutely no rational sense.

“Clurker took in those abandoned children and fed them with his own earnings. He’s been doing it since he was young, I’ve heard.”
“His…… parents?”
“There weren’t any. When I first met him, he seemed to have a mother, but she wasn’t much of one. He always said he didn’t want to go home.”

With shoulders slumped, Ellie sighed heavily and looked up at the dark sky.

Countless stars glittered beautifully, but they were far too distant to soothe her bitter heart.

“I can understand all of his many siblings because of him. The children are all kind and lovely, really. Especially Holly and Molly. They’re twins—mischievous, yes, but so clever you wouldn’t believe it.”

Adelia started to say, “I know,” then caught herself, simply nodding instead.

As the wind picked up, a sweet fragrance drifted from somewhere. The flowers, beginning to absorb the cool night air, were clearly releasing their scent in abundance.

“Oh my, goodness. Adelia, I’m so sorry. I’ve kept you here talking about myself this whole time.”
“Not at all! Ellie, don’t think like that. I’m grateful you confided in me.”
“You’re such a kind and good person, Adelia. I thought all Capital nobility were arrogant, but you’ve shattered that prejudice. But now, let’s head back inside, shall we? If we’re any later, I’ll miss the first dance, and my mother will be absolutely furious.”

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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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