Contract Marriage with the Devil Duke (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2
Orentia’s eyes turned icy cold.
She had taken the servant’s carriage, but worried that the sharp-eyed Sokor might have sent someone to tail her, she got off a little distance away from the lawyer’s office. She had planned to walk slowly with Bobby.
But it seemed Shine Street was in the middle of a festival—the crowd suddenly poured out from a nearby alley. They cawed like crows, shoving forward recklessly and pressing in on her.
Orentia frowned as she stared at them.
“Hey, kids! Let’s go drink! Today’s the day to drink!”
“It’s the day the Stag God has blessed us!”
‘What on earth are they talking about?’
A moment later, Orentia was trapped among the throng, unable to move an inch, and before she knew it, she’d been separated from Bobby.
“Kyaa! Miss!”
“Bobby!”
It was her first time left alone in such a crowded place. Orentia anxiously scanned the crowd, desperately searching for Bobby.
Just then—
“Ah!”
A small, scrawny boy snatched the bag she was holding and dashed off from the crowd. Inside that bag was a considerable sum of money—the retainer fee for hiring the lawyer.
“Excuse me! Let me through, just for a moment!”
Everyone was so strong—she couldn’t budge an inch.
After much struggling, Orentia finally squeezed out of the crowd and looked around for where the boy had run off to.
“It seemed like he went this way… Or not?”
She turned into the alley and found herself in front of a famous weapon shop.
At that moment—ding dong!
A bell chimed, and a man of enormous build stepped out of the weapon shop.
His face was white as if painted with plaster.
No.
It wasn’t that his face was white—he wore a plain white bauta mask covering his entire face. His black hair was neatly combed, and his shoulders were broad and imposing.
Orentia jumped in shock and pointed at him, crying out,
“The man from my dream?”
A towering man wearing a plain white bauta mask with no decoration whatsoever.
Undoubtedly the man from her dream—the very man to whom she was betrothed.
Orentia’s throat went dry, her heart pounding. Hearing the bell just then made the moment feel even more fated.
Yet the man, pointed at so directly, paid her no heed whatsoever and simply continued on his way, utterly indifferent—so much so it was almost embarrassing.
Orentia’s outstretched finger felt strangely hollow.
Looking at his ocean-wide shoulders, his towering height, and his slender waist, the image of her dream-husband became vividly clearer in her mind.
Without realizing it, Orentia grabbed the hem of his coat.
“W-wait, just a moment!”
It was the first time she had ever grabbed a man’s clothes herself. At social gatherings, men always lined up in front of her without fail.
The man’s expression was unreadable beneath the mask. He simply looked down at her with a cold, oppressive aura.
“…What is it?”
His voice was low and husky—exactly like the voice she’d heard in her dream.
A chill ran down Orentia’s spine, and her hand clutching his coat trembled.
“I, um… Have we never met before somewhere?”
In the end, she resorted to that age-old, clichéd line—though she spoke with complete sincerity.
She believed her dream from last night was no ordinary dream. Normally, she’d forget dreams within half a day, yet this one remained vividly fresh, replaying again and again in her mind. It was truly uncanny.
“I don’t recall ever meeting you. I don’t know what this is about.”
His reply was filled with clear bewilderment.
‘Well, I suppose I’d feel the same in his place.’
But Orentia disliked anything left unresolved. The dream kept nagging at her.
“I have a face people don’t easily forget. You’re absolutely sure you’ve never seen me before? I just have this feeling I can’t shake.”
Orentia was quite confident in her appearance—so much so that she ended up saying something rather childish. The man merely chuckled dryly as he fastened the cufflink on his wrist, finally seeming to take slight interest in her.
“Unfortunately, I suspect I’ll forget you by tomorrow.”
“W-what did you say?”
“I tend to forget everything that isn’t important.”
‘He’s clearly mocking me.’
Orentia’s anger boiled over. Her face flushed red, and she clenched both fists tightly. Even though she’d stopped a stranger and wasted his time, she’d never encountered such a rude man before.
She scanned the man in the black uniform from head to toe. Judging by his fine clothing, he was clearly from a well-to-do family. But why wear a mask like it’s a masquerade ball this early in the morning? Someone like him should know better.
She leaned in slightly, expecting to smell alcohol…
But instead of liquor, she caught a sharp, bitter woody scent rising from him—a distinctive perfume that suited him surprisingly well.
In a sour mood for no good reason, Orentia quickly turned her head away.
“I’m terribly sorry for my impertinence! I’ll be on my way now.”
After all, a man who wore a mask couldn’t possibly be that tender, beautiful dream figure. Orentia left the alley and looked around for Bobby, having already given up on recovering the bag with the retainer fee.
“Hmm… He probably went toward Carunda’s law office, right?”
Since the office was their destination, she figured Bobby would have headed there too—if she had any sense. But the problem was that Orentia didn’t know a single street in Shine District.
With a pout, Orentia wandered aimlessly through Shine Street.
“Where on earth is that office?”
She desperately wanted to ask passersby for directions, but she’d never done such a thing before—it felt difficult, even humiliating.
Eventually, as she walked until her legs ached, she spotted the boy who had snatched her bag. He was walking confidently alongside men in glossy satin suits, as if Shine Street were his own private estate.
“You! You there!”
Orentia called out to the boy immediately—but the refined-looking men beside him suddenly turned their heads all at once, staring directly at her. Their gazes were strangely intense and sinister, like predators prowling around after spotting suitable prey.
Goosebumps instantly rose on Orentia’s skin, and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.
“No, you can… keep it. Take it.”
Sensing something was off, she had no intention of recklessly demanding her money back. She turned to leave cautiously—but then a man with serpentine, narrow eyes grabbed her shoulder with one hand.
“Hey, miss—don’t you have something to say to us?”
Though terrified, Orentia swallowed her fear and spoke.
“No?”
The man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth, spat on the ground, and spoke again.
“You seemed like you had something to say. Everyone heard it, right?”
The men around him all snickered in unison.
Unlike the man with the bauta mask earlier, this man reeked of cheap perfume—a jarring mix of tuberose, aldehydes, and neroli. The combination was so unpleasant Orentia felt nauseous just standing near him.
“We happen to be looking for a good actress for our troupe right now. For example…”
He stroked Orentia’s soft hair as he spoke.
“How about a courtesan whispering sweet nothings to a brothel keeper? You’d be perfect for the part!”
Orentia froze in place, unable to move.
‘You have no idea how dangerous the outside world really is, Orentia.’
She suddenly remembered Sokor, who had always flatly refused whenever she asked to go out.
‘Are you just going to stand here and take their insults? Do something, Orentia!’
Snapping back to her senses, Orentia quickly scanned her surroundings. With no Bobby or guard knights nearby, running away was her only option.
She kicked the man standing closest to her right in a very sensitive spot.
Thud!
“Get lost, you lunatic!”
‘You think I can’t curse just because I’m a lady?’
Orentia then sprinted away like a madwoman, and the men behind her immediately gave chase, hurling insults.
“How dare you!”
“Stop right there!”
Fortunately, she was wearing a practical Garibaldi shirt and a skirt that ended just above her ankles.
She ran for her life, ignoring the astonished faces of street-goers holding fans. To keep her pursuers at bay, she recklessly knocked over stalls and goods in her path—this was the first time she’d ever run so wildly and without dignity.
“I’m so sorry! Truly sorry!”
Orentia apologized frantically to a stall owner—
“You better not get caught! If you do, I’ll toss you into the wolf pen that very day!”
She heard the man she’d kicked snarl threateningly from close behind.
This was serious—she was about to be caught any second.
Just as Orentia’s breath caught in her throat—
“To speak of wolf pens to a lady… A rabbit hutch suits you far better, I’d say.”
A man with a mountain-like, solid build appeared before her.
A white face.
No! It was the man wearing the white bauta mask.
The very one she’d briefly felt was her destiny outside the weapon shop.
He stood with his arms crossed, staring at the group in satin suits. Though he did nothing more than stare, an intense, inexplicable aura emanated from him—making her feel as if no one could possibly defeat the masked man.
“Y-you!”
“H-h-him!”
“M-m-m-me! I—I—I mean!”
The group in front of him suddenly seemed to forget how to speak; their behavior turned bizarre. Like men struck by a freezing wind, they all shrank back, gagging involuntarily. Cold sweat covered their faces, and their bodies trembled like aspen leaves. Even seeing a monster wouldn’t provoke such a reaction.
‘Why on earth are they acting like this?’
The man clicked his tongue in mild annoyance, then escorted Orentia to his carriage and helped her inside.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
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What about her cousin Sokor? It might explain his personality changes.