Contract Marriage with the Devil Duke (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
As far as she could remember, she’d never been to the Odor diocesan cathedral before, but she asked just in case. Adults usually remembered childhood events better than children themselves.
Upon hearing this, Count Odor briefly furrowed his brow.
“Well, I don’t know. You or your sister—we tended to wander more outside the city than within it. But maybe you came once or twice. Why do you ask?”
“That’s probably right. We must have come at least once.”
That must be why she’d had such a vivid dream.
Orentia accepted this explanation and prepared to enter the church with her uncle.
Just then, her eyes caught an orange seashell hairpin flickering like a candle flame. A woman had arrived at the church entrance.
“Aaah!”
Overwhelmed by this nightmare-like situation, Orentia screamed and covered her face with both hands.
Count Odor was even more startled, jolting in place, and the woman wearing the orange seashell hairpin turned to look at Orentia.
Orentia felt as if she might faint right then and there.
She couldn’t understand why she was seeing here—of all places—the very woman and seashell hairpin from her dream.
When she flinched, Count Odor looked at her quizzically.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
To reassure her flustered uncle, Orentia forced a strained smile—only to lock eyes with the woman wearing the orange seashell hairpin.
The woman was a beauty with thick brown hair. She had a charming mole beneath her right eye, and when their eyes met, she gave a slight smile that lifted her thin lips—a look that surely had broken many men’s hearts before. A faint trace of perfume also reached Orentia’s nose.
It must have been nothing more than an ominous dream.
After calming herself, Orentia entered the diocesan cathedral together with Count Odor.
[This is the timeline separator]To be honest, she remained flustered even after stepping inside the church. Everything matched her dream: the magnificent frescoes, the golden altar, the oak doors carved with arabesque patterns.
In the spot where stained-glass light shimmered, Orentia finally saw the face of Archbishop Verbu, whom she’d been so eager to meet. Though his overall appearance seemed gentle, his eyes were sharp—likely because he’d personally come down to resolve matters concerning the Odor diocese.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Lady Armenuaka.”
At his words, Orentia offered a respectful bow.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”
“You’ve traveled a long way. I’m told you have something urgent to discuss with me—is that correct?”
The archbishop clearly disliked wasting time.
Nervously, Orentia nodded. She worried whether she’d truly be able to cancel her wedding to Marquis Luxus. Without knowing the outcome, anxiety gnawed at her.
Standing beside the archbishop was another man—one whose expression appeared even gentler, or rather, benevolent. He also bowed to Orentia.
“I am Priest Ankedo, temporarily attending to Archbishop Verbu during his stay in the Odor territory.”
Orentia smiled brightly and returned his greeting.
“Yes, Father Ankedo.”
“While staying at Count Odor’s residence, if you require anything from the church, please ask me. Count Odor is likely to be quite busy.”
The archbishop’s added remark conveyed firm trust in Ankedo.
When Orentia nodded, Ankedo escorted her and Count Odor to the reception room.
The interior was neat—white tablecloths draped over the tables, and several golden religious artifacts arranged neatly upon them.
Orentia nervously swallowed. Her hands fidgeted beneath the table, and even her feet seemed to tremble. She dreaded the archbishop bluntly rejecting her request.
Yet her uncle next to her acted as if he intended to speak in her place—something truly dreadful. Leveraging his influence or connections to sway the archbishop would only make things worse.
‘I must speak first—before Uncle says anything.’
Just as expected, the moment her uncle took a sip of tea, he began to speak.
“Well, you see—”
“I’ll speak myself. I’d like to say it directly.”
When she stated this calmly, the archbishop gave a slight smile, while her uncle turned to her in surprise.
“But still—”
“Uncle, I’m fine.”
After silencing her uncle, Orentia cleared her throat. She wished she could borrow even a fraction of her mother Malisa’s wisdom; Malisa was a renowned philanthropist in the Bonus Empire, famous even for her eloquent speeches in great public squares.
‘Mother, lend me your strength!’
After a brief silent prayer, Orentia opened her eyes wide and looked straight at the archbishop.
“I’m truly sorry, but please cancel my scheduled wedding by revoking the special marriage permit. I never consented to this marriage—it was arranged solely by Count Armenuaka, my guardian at the time.”
She thought she’d done well. Since the archbishop disliked wasting time, beating around the bush would have been unwise.
Honestly, she longed to reveal everything: how shamelessly Sokor and Kikozelia had acted, and just how vile Marquis Luxus—the man destined to be her groom—truly was.
But none of that concerned Archbishop Verbu.
Orentia believed she had clearly conveyed her own stance.
Yet the room’s atmosphere seemed colder than before—chilled by an unmistakable tension.
The archbishop remained silent for a while, then finally touched his teacup and spoke.
“It cannot be done, my lady. A special marriage permit carries great weight precisely because it allows swift ceremonies in the cathedral.”
“But I knew nothing about it! It’s practically fraud!”
Clasping her trembling hands tightly, Orentia straightened her back. She feared that if she let her guard down even slightly, her strength would vanish and her spine would buckle. She didn’t want him to see her falter.
“Please, Your Grace. I don’t want to be sold off in marriage to a lecherous drunkard.”
She pleaded once more, but the archbishop replied with a sigh.
“If you cancel this wedding entirely, my lady, you will never again be able to hold a marriage blessed by God. Are you certain that’s acceptable?”
Among the nobility of the Bonus Empire, no one married outside a cathedral. A wedding blessed by God was that important. To be forbidden from ever receiving such a blessing meant she’d have to hold a quiet, hidden ceremony—resulting not only in social exclusion but possibly even stoning as an ill omen.
Orentia clenched her fists and trembled.
She pictured herself, as Sokor and Kikozelia had intended, walking into Bonus Cathedral with Marquis Luxus.
She absolutely couldn’t allow that to happen.
‘Isn’t there another way? Some other option!’
Then the archbishop spoke again, his voice firm.
“Your marriage to Marquis Luxus is as good as a promise already made before God. Proceed with it—it’s for the best.”
Her heart shattered completely.
Orentia looked at the archbishop with sorrowful eyes. Yet he drank his tea calmly, as if her plight meant nothing to him.
At that moment—
her uncle finally spoke.
“Does it have to be Marquis Luxus?”
Orentia shot him a bewildered glance, as if to say, ‘What on earth are you talking about?’
Count Odor maintained a solemn expression.
“Since the special marriage permit was applied for by Count Armenuaka, who was Orentia’s guardian at the time, the promise before God binds only Orentia herself. Therefore, it need not be Marquis Luxus.”
The archbishop set down his teacup with a soft chuckle.
“That’s quite reasonable. You’re absolutely right, Count Odor.”
[This is the timeline separator]After leaving the reception room, Orentia’s mind felt numb. Pondering over what her uncle and Archbishop Verbu had said, she couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
‘So, I can’t cancel the wedding—but I can bring a different man instead of Marquis Luxus.’
But what Orentia truly wanted was to cancel the wedding altogether. Finding another man to marry in place of Marquis Luxus immediately was impossible—and anyway, she had no desire to marry at all.
Yet Count Odor looked extremely anxious.
“We must quickly find a suitable man. Among those I know, Baron Hermil has a good character.”
“No, Uncle. I haven’t given up yet.”
“Haven’t given up on what? Surely not canceling the wedding?”
“Yes. I’ll find another way.”
“Well… You know even better than I do that once the archbishop declares something a promise before God, his mind never changes.”
But Orentia still clung to hope. She wanted to save her uncle’s solution as a last resort—only to be used when all else failed.
Then her uncle headed toward the carriage and said,
“Let’s return for now. Today’s enough.”
Standing before the church, Orentia told Count Odor,
“I still have some business here. Could you come pick me up around evening?”
She still had something to verify at the church. Whether Count Odor assumed it was mere lingering sentiment, he didn’t press further and simply nodded.
“Fine. Just don’t cause any trouble.”
“And you—your intentions are obvious. Don’t waste your efforts.”
Given his constant talk about finding “a good man,” she suspected he might actually try to arrange a meeting.
Count Odor quickly boarded the carriage. Orentia watched it disappear, then looked up again at the cathedral’s towering spires. She planned to wander the church grounds, trying to recall whether she’d truly never been here before.
Perhaps then she’d learn whether her dream had been a premonition or not.
Not wanting others to witness her in this state, she first surveyed the church’s outer perimeter. As she walked slowly around, she eventually reached the backyard.
The backyard was paved with countless pebbles, and a small rest area featured a white table and chairs.
Just then—
Thud thud!
Startled by the sound of hurried footsteps approaching from the backyard, Orentia instinctively hid behind a tree.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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What about her cousin Sokor? It might explain his personality changes.