Contract Marriage with the Devil Duke (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10
At that moment, Dimidius gave an order to the knight approaching him.
“…Take care of everything, then follow me.”
“Are you certain one aide will be enough, Your Grace? It’s dangerous.”
“You’re meddling too much. What’s gotten into you?”
The knight was startled as Dimidius’s aura shifted drastically—enough for Orentia to notice it clearly.
He immediately bowed deeply at the waist.
“I—I’m sorry!”
“No matter the situation, Kilrun and I are more than enough.”
“I’ll keep that in mind!”
Orentia perked up her ears and caught every word of their conversation. It seemed Dimidius intended to move forward alone with someone named Kilrun, temporarily parting ways with the Belial knights.
Where exactly was the Grand Duke heading? Why had he been ambushed, and how could he remain so calm despite the attack?
Her curiosity grew so intensely that it felt ready to burst through the sky. Unconsciously, Orentia stamped her feet in frustration.
Thud thud!
Only then did Dimidius turn his gaze back to Orentia and speak.
“A lady as delicate as a greenhouse flower should return to her original seat now.”
‘Does he really know how much I hate being called a greenhouse flower and say that on purpose?’
Orentia glared at him with sharp eyes before blurting out what she’d truly wanted to say.
“I don’t like that Bauta mask. Please switch to another one.”
Dimidius, his arms fully wrapped in bandages, tilted his head in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“I have a very precious dream—one where the person I see wears a white Bauta mask. So, Your Grace, please wear a different mask. It bothers me.”
What truly upset her was that he’d never once asked her name. It meant he had no curiosity about her at all.
Orentia was utterly bewildered, frustrated beyond belief, and even felt a pang of sadness—like she’d caught an inexplicable chill.
Whether Dimidius understood her feelings or not, he wiped his bloodied hand with a piece of plain cloth and spoke in a surprisingly serious tone.
“No, my lady.”
“Excuse me?”
“Either change your dream or stop sleeping altogether. This mask is as much a part of my face as anything.”
She’d thought that was the end of it.
But suddenly, Dimidius called out to Orentia.
“Wait a moment, please.”
Orentia turned her head with a blank expression.
“What is it?”
“You ought to get your wound properly treated before leaving.”
In his hand was a tube of ointment meant to be squeezed out. Was he seriously planning to apply it himself? Orentia glared at him with clear suspicion.
Dimidius, however, strode over briskly, snatched her hand, and placed the ointment tube in her grip.
“W-what are you doing?”
“Apply the ointment.”
“Couldn’t you just hand me the tube? I’d put it on myself.”
“Some people promise they’ll apply it and then skip it because it’s a hassle.”
Though she had no idea whom he was referring to, Dimidius stubbornly held onto Orentia’s hand and opened the ointment’s cap. The opaque cream squeezed out with a soft plop, and he brought it directly to the wound on her neck.
It was an utterly bizarre method of treatment.
Dimidius bent his knees deeply, wholly focused on her neck. His already large frame made crouching look awkward, yet his thick black hair shimmered softly in the sunlight streaming through the window, and his large hands felt as warm as if holding a flame.
‘Why is he doing this?’
Though Orentia stood still as a stone, inside her chest fluttered a ticklish spring breeze—like dandelion seeds drifting through the air.
‘He won’t even ask my name… then why is he taking care of me?’
She was thoroughly uncomfortable with Dimidius treating her in such a strange way.
[This is the timeline separator]“What a sight, truly.”
Back in second class, Orentia sulked for a long while. She simply couldn’t understand Dimidius Belial.
‘Well, fine. His Grace isn’t curious about me at all, so I don’t need to know him either.’
She told herself that, though it was clearly an effort.
Perhaps because she’d been away from her seat for so long,
Bobby, upon waking, scolded Orentia at length. She nearly fainted when she saw the wound on Orentia’s neck.
“Miss! What on earth happened!”
Orentia could only give her an odd excuse about being stung by a strange insect.
[This is the timeline separator]“I must meet Archbishop Verbu.”
Within a month, she had to convince the archbishop and avoid marriage to Marquis Luxus.
Repeating her goal under her breath, Orentia stepped off the train with Bobby, her expression resolute.
The train station was rather quiet, and brilliant spring sunlight filtered through the circular dome enclosing it, making the dome’s surface shimmer.
She glanced around the station area out of habit, but Dimidius and his party were nowhere to be seen. They must have swiftly left for their destination without even a farewell. She couldn’t fathom why they’d come all the way to Odor territory.
Whatever the case.
All she needed to do now was find Archbishop Verbu once she arrived at Count Odor’s estate. Count Odor himself would likely know why Archbishop Verbu had come to Odor territory and where he currently was.
It was quite fortunate for Orentia that Archbishop Verbu happened to be in a region heavily influenced by her uncle.
How much time had passed since then?
Bobby, who had arranged a carriage, turned to Orentia and said,
“Shall we head to Count Odor’s estate now?”
Orentia grinned and climbed into the carriage, gazing out at Odor territory.
In particular, when she saw the vast daisy fields stretching across the land, she gaped in admiration. Bathed in spring sunlight and swaying in the breeze, the daisies looked as sweet and charming as cracked egg yolks spilled across the earth.
‘Just like me? When I was little, Uncle Jack used to call me Daisy.’
Jack Odor.
He was Malisa’s only brother—Orentia’s maternal uncle—and ran a major perfume business. Odor territory boasted not only daisy fields but also many famous herb fields: lavender, jasmine, and even ylang-ylang. Had they been open to the public, Odor territory would surely have become a renowned tourist destination.
But the House of Count Odor had long prioritized protecting these herb fields—essential for perfume production—from being trampled by visitors.
After passing the cheerful daisy fields that resembled smiling human faces, the distant silhouette of Count Odor’s manor finally came into view. The carriage ride had been bumpy, and Orentia was eager to get off—her lower back had been aching terribly for a while.
Noticing Orentia’s discomfort, Bobby reassured her gently.
“Just a little longer, Miss. We’ll be there soon.”
“I’m doing just fine. I’m just not used to it, that’s all.”
Even in Bobby’s view, they’d traveled quite far from home, yet Orentia had borne it well. Normally, she wouldn’t have come to a distant place like Odor territory at all—she’d visited occasionally as a child, but their visits weren’t frequent these days. That alone showed how serious this marriage to Marquis Luxus truly was.
When they reached the gate adorned with a harmonium-equipped fountain, Bobby stepped down first and approached the knight guarding the entrance.
The knight frowned slightly at Bobby stepping out of the shabby carriage.
“Just who has arrived?”
At the knight’s question, Bobby proudly announced her mistress’s name.
“Please inform them that Lady Orentia Armenuaka has arrived.”
The knight was well aware of Jack Odor’s beloved only niece. Startled, he hurried toward the carriage and bowed respectfully to Orentia first.
“I greet you, Lady Armenuaka. I am Alter, a knight of House Odor guarding this gate.”
Orentia gave a slight yawn, looking a bit tired, and said,
“Yes, Alter. Please pass a message to my uncle.”
But Alter’s reaction was rather odd. He bit his lip awkwardly and spun in place, his shoulder pauldrons clinking restlessly.
Orentia poked her head out of the carriage and frowned.
“What are you doing? Is something wrong?”
Only after Orentia showed clear displeasure did the knight reveal the truth.
“A-ah, it’s just that the manor is in chaos—welcoming important guests who arrived moments ago. You came without prior notice, didn’t you?”
“That’s right. How did you know?”
“Well… Lord Odor wouldn’t invite you on the very day Grand Duke Dimidius Belial was arriving.”
“What? What did you just say?”
“Pardon?”
“You just said Grand Duke Belial is here?”
Orentia cried out in shock.
Now that she thought about it, high nobles typically stayed at the estates of local elders or lords when traveling to the provinces. If Dimidius followed custom, his destination could very well have been Count Odor’s estate.
‘Am I an idiot? Why didn’t I think of that?’
It had been a long time since she’d felt so foolish. Dimidius, who rarely left his duchy, coming to Count Odor’s estate must mean something important was afoot—and he surely wouldn’t leave after just a day or two.
“Oh no! This can’t be happening. Why do we have the same destination…?”
The thought of meeting him again made her uneasy. In the Bonous Empire, they said that three coincidences made fate. She had no desire to be tied to Dimidius by such a saying.
Bobby, bewildered, asked Orentia,
“Did you already know, Miss?”
“No, I just… saw him in first class earlier.”
“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
Seeing her mistress fall into despair, Bobby hesitated before turning to the knight.
“Please at least inform them that the young lady has arrived. We’ve come all this way—it’s hard to just turn back now.”
Bobby herself was quite exhausted from bringing Orentia all this distance.
The knight, with no choice, entrusted the gate to another knight and headed inside.
He was slightly anxious—he well knew how much Count Odor had strained himself managing the estate and servants just to properly receive Grand Duke Dimidius.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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What about her cousin Sokor? It might explain his personality changes.