No matter how much she thought about it, it seemed like that dream was ruining her.

Otherwise, could such vain thoughts keep coming up?

It was even more difficult because Valtter was quite affectionate.

“That person probably doesn’t love me at all.”

Even in this situation, Odette’s judgment was rational.

Valtter was indeed a better husband than she had initially thought. Especially in adhering to the conditions of their contract.

Anyone who saw what Valtter did for Odette would surely say he was a husband who truly loved his wife.

Valtter spent most of his time at the mansion with Odette. Even in the presence of servants, he didn’t hesitate to show small expressions of affection, like kissing her on the cheek or nose.

As dedicated as he was to his role, he was fervent enough to make Odette feel a sense of crisis and deliberately hug Valtter.

But even so, if someone asked whether Valtter really loved Odette…

“No, he doesn’t.”

Odette recalled asking Valtter the same question before they got married.

“Do you love me, Duke Ertman?”

And Valtter simply scratched his head.

It was a rejection so awkward that the person who asked the question would feel embarrassed. If Odette hadn’t quickly tried to smooth over the conversation, the atmosphere would have become quite awkward.

The problem was that Valtter’s attitude towards her hadn’t changed at all since then.

“Valtter has always been the same.”

If he had changed even a little, Odette would have noticed.

So Odette kept in mind that Valtter’s feelings had not changed at all from the beginning.

And that he probably didn’t love her.

“Yet, in the midst of all this, I’m being swayed by such a futile dream.”

It felt like incompetence.

But upon careful consideration, the situation hadn’t worsened.

“Maybe I’m actually doing well in achieving the contract conditions.”

The contract condition was, in fact, “to love Valtter.”

It just changed from openly saying she couldn’t do it and pretending to love him.

So there was only one thing that troubled Odette.

“Do I really love Valtter?”

Or is it just because of this dream that I feel this way?

Odette went so far as to pull out the contract she had written before marriage from her troubled mind.

The neatly and concisely written emotionless words had a strangely calming effect on her mind.

At least until this passage.

“[I will love only Valtter Ertman.]”

It was written as an obligation Odette had to fulfill in the contract.

Underneath, as if in opposition to that condition, it was also written as an obligation Valtter had to fulfill.

“[I will love only Odette Brunoise Celestine.]”

Looking at these conditions side by side, it somehow made her laugh.

Didn’t it resemble the document written by children starting their first love, promising unchanging love?
If it weren’t for the other clauses that were far from childish pranks, it would have really looked like that.

Odette chuckled and flipped through the pages again.

One thing she felt as she read this far was that the contract was made up of much more detailed content than she had initially thought.

“Of course, I skimmed through it when we made the contract.”

At that time, her mind was preoccupied with wrestling with Valtter, so she didn’t read beyond fulfilling the contract conditions.

But now, looking at what was written after that, it was astounding.

For instance, there was a section detailing up to eight items about the rights Odette could exercise as the hostess of Ertman. In the section where she could claim ownership of Ertman’s property, it even listed the specific details of that property.

Thanks to these thorough details, Odette, who had been casually skimming through, widened her eyes and unconsciously adjusted her posture.

“I-is this really written by Valtter?”

To an onlooker, it seemed like Odette had created the contract to exploit Valtter, as only clauses biased towards Odette were written.

Especially the sections written as Odette’s rights spanned over three pages, while Valtter’s had only one.

“[Valtter Ertman has the right, as the legal spouse of Odette Brunoise Celestine, to the rights corresponding to her.]”

Rights corresponding to her?

Despite the thorough documentation of what Odette’s rights were and writing down every detail without missing a single coin, this expression was surprisingly sloppy, to the point that one might not believe it was written by the same person.

“I didn’t know about this at the time.”

If she had known, Odette would have definitely demanded that Valtter write about his rights more explicitly.

She wasn’t the only one benefiting from this.

But…

“-Then let’s keep the conditions like this, and as for the next pages…”

“-Sign here. You can check the clauses on the next pages more thoroughly later; they’re just a more detailed explanation of what’s already mentioned.”

“Oh, I see. Alright.”

…Valtter stopped her.

Of course, what he said wasn’t entirely wrong.