The Contract Marriage for Attilenta's Revenge - Chapter 28

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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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Atilenta’s Contract Marriage for Revenge: Episode 28
I raised my hands in haste, shielding my face first. Desperate to hide my resentment by any means. It was purely instinctive.
“Ah…….”
My vision filled with trembling fingertips. The wavering furrow of my brow, my lower lashes, even my lips—none of it would obey me.
Ah, Antonio. So you’ve slept with her too.
Even in the days when we were husband and wife. No—before we were even married.
Damn Antonio. I can tell by the look in your eyes alone, by your voice alone.
I can see through your lies.
You’re the same way. You know I’m speaking a deception.
That’s why you’ve gone to such lengths to confirm whether I’m sincere, isn’t it?
In this moment, emotions surged and boiled inside me with raw intensity.
I hate you most of all, Antonio.
I dream only of your ruin.
But I won’t collapse easily when you shake me. I’ll keep lying to you. I don’t want to be honest with you.
No tears came. Instead, my voice flowed out cold as ice.
“……And why did you come yourself? That Selena didn’t, but you did. You could have sent someone.”
Sending others to do your bidding is what you do best, Antonio.
“I already told you, Atilenta. Since you’ve come all this way, I have to confirm it myself. It’s my duty.”
Madman……. My tongue repeated curses that never became sound.
“……It was you who introduced me to Saturn House. Wasn’t it you who deliberately sent that son as part of the delegation?”
“The Baron pursues gentle peace. His son is no different.”
Antonio released a long, theatrical sigh.
“Ah, from the start……Atilenta, a divorced woman can’t possibly live alone.”
Suppressing the nausea that threatened to rise, I shut my eyes tight.
“I’ve been concerned for you all along. I was relieved to see you’ve gained some weight.”
Goosebumps prickled across my skin.
From his voice alone, I could read the exact look in his eyes. It was the same tenderness he’d shown when I couldn’t eat properly, when I moved like an invalid.
“You think the Prince here treats you well? Does the food suit your palate? The cooking here is excellent, but I wasn’t sure if it matched your taste. You should have eaten more.”
The words ‘That’s none of your concern’ circled in my mouth. I ground them out letter by letter.
“He’s utterly sensible and knows his propriety. Don’t speak carelessly about him.”
“My, Atilenta……. Are you praising another man in front of me?”
Antonio showed no sign of backing down easily.
I stared at him coldly. Refraining from furrowing my brow excessively or raising my voice was the best I could do to conceal my rage.
“He’s my husband and the Prince of this realm. The only other man here is you, Antonio.”
Antonio sighed once more. It struck me as utterly contrived.
“Huu……. Hearing such words keeps my heart from being at ease, Atilenta. ……If I linger too long, it will be problematic, so I withdraw now, but I hope you’ll show me a little more understanding. If I know the Atilenta I know, you surely will.”
Antonio rambled on pointlessly, then lingered deliberately before opening the door and leaving.
I exhaled immediately.
“Hah…….”
Someone was squeezing my throat relentlessly.
I wanted to scream like a madwoman, to wail and shriek. Even if I’d be called vulgar for it.
All I wanted was to hurl myself at Antonio, to plunge a blade into him, to tear him apart.
“Ugh, gag…….”
Nausea surged abruptly, and I leaned against the window frame, letting my head hang.
My vision caught only the excessively clean, crystalline garden. A forest suffused with winter light. Branches stretching correctly, trees standing straight.
Unlike the chaos inside me, it was far too pale and beautiful.
“Hah, hah…….”
I barely managed to stand on trembling legs, struggling to steady my ragged breath.
Damn it, damn Antonio. Worthless Selena. Cursed Francia Kingdom.
If only I were truly a cursed witch. It would have been so much easier to tear those wretches to pieces.
“My falling apart is what they want…….”
Atilenta, get a grip on yourself.
I clenched my eyes shut and tried to think rationally.
Why is he provoking me like this? What does he hope to gain? And why now, of all times? There’s definitely something that bothers him.
I haven’t done much since arriving here, but there were the delegation meetings, the intelligence I passed to Henrik, and other matters of some importance.
As I mulled it over, I recalled the enemies I’d made in this place. On the surface, the only one revealed was Tatra of the Biaubi Family.
If he merely wanted to check on me, the delegation would have sufficed, or even a letter.
I’d been unable to read him properly through magic, and it gnawed at me like a splinter in my chest.
To be certain, I would have to meet Antonio again.
Damn Antonio, I cursed once more.
In that moment, I heard footsteps. I turned around at once.
“Your Highness…….”
Henrik stood with his back to the door. His arms were folded across his chest, and he looked down at me with the stillness of a winter wind.
“So you were with the Duke.”
I quickly steadied my breath and feigned composure.
“What conversation did we have?”
His voice was quite cold, and I answered without hesitation.
“Nothing of particular importance.”
“You’re lying. Atilenta.”
My breath caught. The way he spoke my name was so cold and low that it sent a chill down my spine—even I, who had always faced him with confidence, felt unsettled.
“At the Francia Kingdom’s banquet, he didn’t say a word about you. He only went about with one woman at his side—the one you introduced as an old friend.”
Henrik swept his hair back sharply. His exposed eyes were fixed with steel-hard certainty.
“Yet here, he suddenly acts intimate with you, and now he seeks time alone with you. You said earlier that you had nothing to do with your ex-husband.”
I swallowed hard. There was only one choice before me, regardless of whether I feared him or not, regardless of what he knew or didn’t know.
I had to be bold before Henrik.
I walked toward him very slowly and stood straight. Then I met his amethyst eyes directly.
“Your Highness, there was no deception in what I told you then.”
“At a banquet here, it is customary for spouses to attend together. Do they not maintain such propriety in Francia as well?”
I wanted desperately to dispel the cold severity in his expression and the suspicion honed sharp as a blade.
“Your Highness, just a moment.”
Urgency drove me closer to him, and I whispered rapidly.
“Are you suspecting me of being a spy?”
“…….”
His gaze fixed on me, and I felt his breath flowing toward me.
In truth, I could understand Henrik if I tried. He was a man forged in battle. It was natural that he would be displeased if his weapon turned against his will and struck in another’s hand.
My devotion to Antonio in the beginning was also a past that could not be erased.
But I would absolutely refuse to be suspected by Henrik because of that traitor.
“I told you I would offer my loyalty. Have you ever seen any sign of betrayal while keeping watch over me? I think not, Your Highness. And in this matter too, whoever is hidden somewhere among your knights must have heard everything.”
“They haven’t heard it all yet.”
I was certain. He had come looking for me to inspect his weapon directly, before even the knights’ report reached him. I spread both my arms as though to embrace him.
“Your Highness. Please, search me right now. There was no deal, no cipher.”
“Hah…….”
Henrik released a long breath. I was pressed so close that I could discern the minute movements of his brow and lips.
I felt his stern bearing ease slightly.
“……I don’t doubt that. I’ve already received your help three times.”
“Yes, and I have something to tell you for the fourth time.”
I reported the information I had read from the mirror and a few matters that troubled me.
“……So, Your Highness. I will look into it further and tell you in detail later.”
Henrik gave a small nod. I looked at him and asked respectfully.
“If the misunderstanding is cleared, would it be acceptable for us to hold hands like before when we go back out?”
Henrik’s answer came without hesitation.
“That’s part of the arrangement.”
I deliberately pressed both palms against my cheeks for a moment, rubbing them. This would make my face flush—as though we had spent an intimate time together as a couple.
When I stepped back out, the atmosphere of the banquet hall was, fortunately, undisturbed.
I decided to confirm with Poznan tomorrow whether there had been any problems I was unaware of.

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That night.
I swallowed hard when I saw Henrik in bed.
For the first time since we began sharing a room, he was not turned away. In other words, he was lying in bed looking directly at me.
“Why are you standing there so still?”

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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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