The Contract Marriage for Attilenta's Revenge - Chapter 5

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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 5
“What do you mean?”
Henrik pointed out that I had misunderstood, yet he maintained his unhurried composure.
In truth, what I had said was meant to overturn the intentions of someone bearing the banner of peace.
I pressed forward with the words I had prepared.
“Because the Royal Family abandoned me.”
It was because Henrik had not immediately cast me out, but was listening to what I had to say—showing no discourtesy toward an unexpected visitor.
One way or another, it was clear that I had piqued his curiosity.
“And yet I gain nothing from this.”
In that moment, I read something in Henrik’s amethyst eyes.
By his appearance, I was not to his taste—and there was nothing quite so welcome as that realization.
“You needn’t bother saying I’m not to your liking, Your Highness.”
I allowed a faint smile to surface without trying to hide it. Only then did Henrik shift from his sprawled position on the sofa, crossing one leg over the other.
“There is certainly something Your Highness stands to gain.”
I continued, knowing full well that a blade might come next.
“Your Highness intends to conquer this entire land, do you not?”
“Haha.”
Henrik laughed, his expression alight with amusement, yet I sensed an atmosphere so suffocating I could scarcely breathe. His laughter carried such a pitiless edge.
But there was no blade. In that instant, I realized my expectation had been wrong. I knew not why, but I felt no particular alarm at the discovery.
Perhaps because this was an atmosphere I had grown accustomed to on the battlefield, my heart did not race wildly.
I clasped my hands respectfully together.
“You must have much to prepare for a war of conquest.”
“That is not a field you know.”
Yet my eyes met his steadily.
“War is ultimately a matter of people; I understand that reading the human heart is the most crucial thing.”
“Few can do it easily.”
“Your Highness, I carry the blood of a Witch.”
“A Witch.”
Henrik’s smile had faded by then, and a faint glimmer of interest flickered in his violet eyes.
“You are known as a Descendant of the Black Dragon, Your Highness. I believe you possess a power comparable to that legendary being—a power different from mine.”
“Do you possess an ability as well?”
“Yes. I can read the hearts of people, and I can see the future.”
“Can I become king?”
Henrik asked with such ease, and I answered without so much as changing my expression.
“Your Highness, if I may confess—I gave everything to this country, yet now I am not even invited to the royal banquets. If I were to reveal my entire vision of the future to you here, I fear I would never be allowed to reach Bwendofska.”
“A reasonable concern, I’d say.”
Without hesitation, Henrik pointed to a knight standing nearby.
“Read him.”
I made my decision at once.
I naturally did not know who this knight was, but it was clear that there was something I could glean from him.
It was likely something troublesome—something this knight had not shared with his master, yet something Henrik had good reason to suspect.
In short, it was not the sort of thing that would be impossibly obscure.
For Henrik’s test of me to have meaning, it had to be this way. If it were otherwise—if this were merely to deceive and mock me—
then I could simply find another patron. I was gambling with nothing left to lose.
“If no one else is present besides him, I will tell you.”
“Knights, you may withdraw.”
At Henrik’s casual gesture, the knights stepped back without a word.
To all appearances, they shared a trust that ran deep. I suddenly found myself clenching my teeth.
I had never come to make this bargain because I trusted Henrik. Yet seeing this now made my chest ache a little. I had no such bond with anyone, and I never would.
Atilenta, focus on this moment alone.
I did not wish to let any unpleasant emotion show, so I lowered my head slightly.
As I drew out the Mirror that I had hidden in my bosom, I felt Henrik’s gaze boring into me.
I handled my mother’s relic—the sole trace of her that remained to me—with utmost care, polishing it tenderly. Deliberately, so that he would see.
Come now, help me. Mirror. I must pass this man’s test. Only then can I achieve the future I desire.
Soon a pale green light rippled across the Mirror’s surface like still water. Henrik, seated across from me, would have certainly recognized this peculiar glow.
“The knight’s loyalty is beyond question, yet he appears to harbor some small difficulty.”
“Explain.”
I leaned toward Henrik and spoke in hushed tones, piece by piece. It did not sit well with me to be relaying another’s secret.
Yet such propriety no longer mattered. I kept my mind fixed on my goal alone, and that proved quite effective.
Once Henrik had heard all I had to say, he rose at once and entered the inner chamber, seemingly to speak with the knights.
Left alone, I exhaled softly.
“Sigh…”
Something about this place felt strangely familiar.
“Ah, this is where I used to play breath-holding games with Selena.”
The realization came suddenly. This annex held memories from childhood. Even then, I’d wondered why the King allowed us such games.
Now, finally, I understood. It was purely for Selena and the Duke.
As the daughter of a count, Selena couldn’t make her formal debut in society until she came of age. The Duke had been visiting the Royal Palace alongside his predecessor since childhood.
“Perhaps… he arranged for them to meet here by chance.”
Even as I dwelt on thoughts of revenge—a bitter emotion I’d never felt so intensely before—my memories didn’t fade.
Rather, the more they surfaced, the better. They would temper my heart like steel.
I closed my eyes, sinking into the damp and moldering depths of the past.
“Your words were right.”
Henrik’s cold, low voice echoed through the darkness behind my eyes. Pulled from my reverie, I cleared my throat.
“Your Highness, I wish to emphasize again that I can be of service.”
“Hmm. So you propose to trade on your abilities. Your intentions seem quite clear.”
“They are.”
I could sense where this conversation was heading. From the start, Henrik had never denied his intention to conquer these lands.
“I wonder if I can put you to use on the battlefield itself. For now, I believe you have ability, but…”
Henrik trailed off with a hint of amusement in his voice. Correctly guessing the inner thoughts of one knight here wouldn’t immediately earn him high regard for my talents.
Such caution was only natural. If he’d trusted me based on a single action, I would have questioned his judgment instead.
Since I’d anticipated this, I wasn’t particularly tense. I simply drew out another move I’d prepared.
“Last year, during the southern battle at Genoa, a rebellion broke out. Remnants of Syracuse. Three days later, their commander took his own life.”
“Peculiar. Syracuse values a soldier’s honor—I wouldn’t have expected such a man to resort to suicide.”
“I orchestrated it, Your Highness.”
Henrik’s eyebrows shot up sharply. The amusement vanished from his face as he crossed his arms and questioned me.
“How did you manage that?”
Though Antonio deserved much of the credit, I framed my explanation to emphasize my own role.
“There was a double agent operating between Syracuse and the Messina forces. I uncovered hidden evidence and delivered it to the Duke. What might have taken knights far longer to accomplish.”
“So, deprived of their commander, Syracuse fell, and with intelligence in hand, Messina was easily suppressed.”
Antonio’s successful conquest of the Syracuse and Messina territories had made the papers.
Henrik could have doubted this as well, but finding falsehood in it wouldn’t be easy just now.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
He remained silent, and it was clear he understood my meaning. A dangerous ability like this—one that could uncover even his secrets—shouldn’t be left here unused. He should take it with him.
For a man with such ambition.
In a way, I was provoking him. Like someone with nothing left to lose.
Henrik exhaled slowly, the sound weighted with something I couldn’t quite name.
“To become a spy in order to bring down your own homeland.”
“I’ve done similar work before.”
Then, the Duke had wanted my abilities so badly that he’d been pleased to use them.
In truth, a duchess taking to the battlefield was itself unusual—something different from what others would do.
A thin, bitter smile crossed my lips before I could stop it. Henrik seemed to misread it.
“You’re quite accustomed to this.”
I gave a vague nod and let the matter rest. There was no need to dredge up my past, irrelevant as it was to him.

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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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