Chapter 5

I had to marry Reinhardt in order to leave that house.

As the one chosen by the Emperor, I was like a goose that laid golden eggs to my family. If I had left the house without marrying Reinhardt, my family would’ve found a way to track me down and send me to the palace.

So, the best way to leave the house was to marry so that I could never become the Emperor’s concubine.

“Cough, cough~!!”

Suddenly, I could hear the sound of a servant coughing from the coachman’s seat.

“Oh my, it seems like someone had a cold.”

“…It seems to be because of what you had just say.”

…What did I say?

“How have you endured it all this time?”

“Well, I endured it with the thought that one day, I would marry you.”

Ah, if they misunderstood without knowing the circumstances, they would think I was a lovestruck fool.

“Your servants probably don’t know about our relationship.”

“That’s true.”

They all must think I’d somehow managed to win over the cold Northern Duke in no time. However, in reality, our relationship was just a contractual one. Unius and the Emperor believed that our relationship was not just a contract but a genuine love.

Therefore, if it gets leaked to the servants, it might spread everywhere.

‘…It’s better to keep our contractual relationship a secret.’

As I made up my mind, the carriage suddenly came to a stop. It seemed like we had finally arrived at the mansion.

“Wow…”

An exclamation escaped from my lips as I stepped out of the carriage. The illuminated lanterns were romantically enchanting, and the mansion, surrounded by the starlight and lantern glow, was incredibly majestic.

Reinhardt, shining in the darkness, was even more beautiful than I had imagined while reading the novel.

‘He’s not just a Grand Duke for nothing.’

I wondered how my stepmother, who had invested all the money earned from selling my tears into decorating her mansion, would feel when she saw Duke Erestein’s mansion.

“You’ve arrived, Your Excellency.”

Reinhardt nodded briefly to the butler who came to greet us. Then, in his typical blunt tone, he made a bombshell declaration.

“From today onward, Lady Irovel Hoover is my wife. Treat her respectfully.”

“…Pardon?”

“Since she has become my wife as of today, treat her respectfully.”

‘Hey, it’s not like he has to say it twice.’

Would they suspect something? After all, he was known for being the cold Northern Duke, wasn’t he?

“What were you doing with Duke Erenstein?”

“I got married and came back.”

“…What are you talking about? You got married to Duke Erenstein?”

“I got married and came back.”

Wait, those were also my words, weren’t they?

However, Unius was stupid, so it was okay to be like that to him. Let’s just forget it.

“I got married to the Grand Duke today. Due to urgent circumstances, we had to proceed hastily, so we couldn’t send out formal invitations.”

“Oh, I see…”

Naturally, the butler couldn’t hide his surprise as he listened to my kind explanation. He bowed as if expressing his condolences.

“Thank you for the explanation, Young Lady… I mean, Duchess.”

Duchess…

Hearing the term that was only used for Lucia, it finally hit me that I had truly taken her place. The servants, the vast mansion, Reinhardt… all of them should’ve belonged to her without anyone else’s intervention.

‘…I’m sorry, Your Excellency. I will return everything to Lucia after just one year of use.’

Since I was merely borrowing her life, I must return it as it was, if possible. I would only use his wealth for essential survival, and I would make sure that my presence remains obscure to my husband.

“Shall I prepare the master bedroom as a shared bedroom, Your Excellency?”

“Wait, no, that won’t do!”

As I exclaimed loudly, the butler was trying to push someone who didn’t want to encounter each other into the same bedroom!

“Wasn’t there a separate building?”

“There is no such a thing.”

The butler replied.

…What did he say? There was no separate building in this huge mansion?

“Should I build one?”

Suddenly, my husband made a surprising remark. Why did he say that as casually as inviting someone for a cup of coffee?

‘He must have a lot of money…’

“No need. As long as we use a different bedroom, it should be fine.”

Anyway, Reinhardt would soon return to the North. I just have to endure until then, so building a separate building would be a waste of money. Even though the Erestein family had a lot of money, I couldn’t waste money that should be returned to Lucia.

“Cathrine, guide the Duchess to her bedroom.”

When Reinhardt ordered, a girl stood in front of me and spoke.

“I will guide you to your bedroom, Madam.”

“Yes, please.”

I was about to follow Catherine, but I suddenly stopped and ran toward Reinhardt.

“Thank you for marrying me. If you hadn’t married me, I would have suffered and died.”

“It was just something I needed to do, so you don’t need to thank me, my lady.”

“I see. Oh, and thank you for scolding Unius and the Emperor. Even though it didn’t benefit you, you still did it.”

“I can’t stand worthless humans like them. You don’t need to thank me for that either.”

‘…He’s such a tsundere.’

Although I knew it wasn’t something he did for my sake, still, he should just acknowledge it and moved on! If he kept doing that, he would hit the bullseye of my taste!

“Stop pouting like a child, wife.”

At that moment, laughter and coughing echoed from all around.

“Ah… d*mn it.”

It became a situation where I couldn’t help but appear as a lovestruck wife in front of others. Even though I didn’t want to reveal that we’re a contracted couple to the servants, I didn’t plan to become a lovestruck wife.

“It would be better to show a distasteful appearance to the point where I don’t want to see you.”

I whispered to Reinhardt, who was unaffected by the servants. He seemed to have understood my way of thinking by now.

“I understand. I will be more careful from now on.”

“Okay. Goodnight, then.”

I bowed slightly and followed Catherine’s hurried guidance, ascending the stairs to the second floor where my bedroom awaited. Throughout our ascent, Reinhardt, ever stoic, maintained his impassive expression.

“Sleep well, Your Excellency.”

“Yes.”

Reinhardt replied in a flat voice and closed the door to his bedroom.

And then…

“Hmm…”

He sat down, leaning against the chair. People had showered him with praise for his looks countless times. However, no one had ever said things like his actions were breathtakingly handsome or sexy.

“Duke. Stop acting cute.”

..Cute?

Moreover, adorable?

Even though he had heard words like handsome or good-looking, this was the first time he had ever heard those words. He never expected to hear those words from her, with his large build and rough temperament befitting the people of the North.

“…She’s the first woman to do that.”

He thought of those words that crazy men in romance novels would say. It wasn’t that he was falling in love like them. It was just overly embarrassing and shameful.

“How can she say those things without any ulterior motive?”

It was more serious than compliments filled with ulterior motives from cunning women. No, ‘compliments’ were not enough to describe it.

Flattery!

A somewhat cheesy word, but it seemed to be the only word to describe Lady Irovel’s actions.

“Wife, no matter how much you deny it, there are things you can do and cannot.”

His low, pleasant voice reverberated as if they were in a cave. It was Reinhardt’s voice. Not only was my mind still hazy, but my vision was also blurry. While I vaguely understood that Reinhardt was angry with me, I couldn’t see his face clearly.

Just when I was about to ask Reinhardt about the confusing situation, I realized.

“Lucia Florence is cute. In this world, there is no one cuter than her.”

Ah, this must be a dream… but what was this?

As soon as I realized it was a dream, I woke up.

“It was just a dream.”

In my dream, Reinhardt found me cuter compared to Lucia. I’ve never had such a dream before. Objectively, my features as Irovel, in other words, me, had a round and cute impression though I would never receive such comments from Reinhardt in real life.

He already had the female lead, Lucia, so there was absolutely no room for me to intrude. Still, strangely, the dream felt vivid. It felt as if it was a prophecy or something…

“No, this can’t be… what kind of prophecy is this?”

This d*mn fickle nature of mine was giving it meaning. I had just recently convinced myself that there was no possibility for me to come between Reinhardt and Lucia!

“Get a hold of yourself!”

As I slapped my cheeks to snap out of it, just then, I heard a knock on the door from outside.

“Madam, have you awakened?”

It was the voice of a man I had never heard before. Who could it be?

“Who is it?”

“I am Jade Mute, serving His Excellency as his secretary.”

…Jade Mute?

Wasn’t he the one who played the role of a healing character and charmed readers with his cuteness in ‘My Contract Husband is a Bit Strange’?

“Oh, yes! Please come in.”

At the thought, my voice involuntarily became louder with joy, and the door opened. A boyish face, not fully rid of the traces of sleep, entered with curious eyes the next moment.

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