The backstory of the incident was as follows.

Rewinding time, before the announcement of the marriage.

“Convincing your grandfather about this marriage would be a loss for us overall, so we should talk to him.”

“Is that possible?”

“Of course. I have a way.”

When Odette said this.

The method Odette had to gain Arnold’s agreement was surprisingly simple.

“We should claim that we’re madly in love.”

Having known Arnold, Odette was certain.

No other method would have gained his mild agreement.

“Of course, there’s the difficulty that we’ll have to act a bit, but that’s already in the original contract. I don’t think anything will change significantly.”

Odette said this and even nodded sagely.

Incidentally, Walter at that time… his love wasn’t an act, so he didn’t think this method would be difficult.

Of course, this was just Walter’s perspective.

There was another realistic issue.

“My grandfather won’t believe us no matter how in love we seem. He’s very distrustful.”

“I’m aware. If he was the sort to believe based on an act, he would have believed us when he heard we kissed in the middle of the ballroom.”

“So you’re still going with this plan?”

“Yes. We’ll make it so your grandfather has no choice but to believe us.”

At Odette’s suggestion, Walter tilted his head.

“How do you mean?”

“Leaving traces.”

And this was the crux of it.

Odette’s opinion was as follows.

“Rather than us declaring we’re in love, it’s important that people around us think so.”

So the operation would start from the moment Odette entered Ertman Duke’s mansion after the marriage announcement.

In other words, they had to finish the groundwork before entering Ertman Duke’s mansion.

So, inside the carriage heading towards Ertman Duke’s mansion.

Odette and Walter sat close enough to overlap.

And then.

“…Hmm, I think this is enough.”

Odette, who had been fidgeting, leaned against Walter’s shoulder and stood up. She had been near Walter’s chin, close to his collarbone just moments before.

Because of this, a red mark that looked unmistakably like a woman’s lipstick was faintly visible on the collar of Walter’s shirt.

The mark even seemed like an unintended stain, as if someone had tried to wipe it away.

Naturally, it was a mark Odette had just made.

And Odette also touched up her own makeup.

She smeared it slightly with her fingertip to make it appear as if they had just kissed.

Of course, it couldn’t be too obvious.

“How does it look? Natural?”

“It looks like two people who were hurriedly enjoying a secret meeting.”

“A great compliment.”

Odette nodded contentedly.

However, Walter spoke as if he had some doubts.

“I’m not sure if the servants will be fooled by this much.”

“Why not? I even left a mark on your clothes.”

“How will they know if this is a lipstick mark or not? Nobody saw us together.”

Of course, this was just Walter’s lame excuse.

The servants were not new to doing laundry; wouldn’t they recognize a makeup stain?

Odette also didn’t take Walter’s words at face value.

“…Still, doesn’t it look enough like a lipstick mark?”

“It might, but let’s be cautious just in case.”

However, Walter had unusually good rhetoric in this regard.

“You and I are both blatantly showing that something happened between us. As I’ve said, my grandfather is very suspicious. Especially about my relationships with women.”

“…!”

Odette’s eyes widened.
Arnold questioning Walter’s woman troubles?

‘Walter… were you really living such a debauched life?’

The interpretation was completely opposite to the speaker’s intention.

Arnold didn’t believe in Walter’s woman troubles simply because he had zero interest in women, to the point where one might suspect he was either asexual or gay.

If Walter could have directly heard Odette’s misunderstanding, he would have gladly helped to clarify, but unfortunately, Odette was a person who knew how to hold her tongue.

“I understand. So you’ve had woman issues.”

“Yes.”

As the misunderstanding deepened,

“It would be good if you could create another discreet mark on me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Creating a mark that doesn’t easily fade and intentionally trying to hide it is much more natural than openly showing it.”

“That’s a good suggestion.”

As Odette naively nodded her head, Walter bowed his upper body slightly with a “then, if you’ll excuse me.”

The long silver hair that wrapped around Odette’s slender neck softly brushed against the back of Walter’s hand and flowed over her shoulder.

Simultaneously, the man’s touch grazed her throbbing white skin.

“……!”

A feeling as if goosebumps were rising.

When Odette unwittingly hunched her shoulders, another hand gently swept down her back.

That moment narrowed the distance that had been established between them.

Walter lightly kissed the pale nape of her neck.

The sweet scent mingled with the fragrance of perfume tickled his nose, and a faint tremor ran through him along with his racing pulse.

Although he hadn’t embraced her deeply in an attempt to soothe her, he could tell that the woman’s body inside his arms was tense.