Unaware of the events unfolding beneath the surface.
“This is the basic contract. If Your Highness has any conditions you’d like to add, please feel free.”
“How many can I add?”
“We’ll listen and negotiate.”
Odette and Walter were hastily preparing for their wedding.
On one hand it was due to Cedric, and on the other hand, it was due to Blake. Rarely did their opinions align, but both felt a sense of urgency to marry.
So, taking the excuse of visiting the salon today, Odette secretly switched carriages and was on her way to Duke Ertman’s residence.
After all, the contract terms had to be negotiated and the contract itself drafted first.
And Walter’s conditions, in line with having drafted the contract in advance, were already listed.
[To love only Walter Ertman.]She decided to consciously ignore the line that read, ‘Should an affair be discovered, Walter Ertman solely decides the disposition of the other party.’
She also chose to ignore the part that defined ‘affair’ as ‘exchanging personal letters and having personal meetings with others without spousal consent, including all other interactions.’
No, still, she felt a cold sweat on her back.
“…Um, Your Grace?”
“Speak.”
“Is this really okay?”
Of course, taking the position of Duchess of Ertman and settling a debt of 500,000 Dert wasn’t a light matter.
Odette asked with some trepidation.
“Do I seem like the type who would have an affair?”
“It’s included as a worst-case scenario.”
“But the definition of an affair seems a bit broad.”
“Don’t worry. Only actions without ‘consent’ are included. As long as you consult with me in advance, it should be fine.”
“Ah, so only unannounced meetings are included. That should be fine, then.”
Odette naively nodded her head.
Having never had to draft a contract in her life, Lady Odette didn’t realize that she was being swindled.
And that her soon-to-be spouse was a very meticulous and ruthless person.
“But, Your Grace, about the clause that says I cannot object to the punishment regarding the affair…”
“Shouldn’t an audacious act like having an affair and then objecting to it be avoided?”
“I suppose, but it makes me uncomfortable.”
“Are you saying that… you’re considering having an affair? These are all non-issues as long as you don’t commit an affair.”
“No, no.”
If Russell had been here, he would’ve been outraged.
[Dash]No, does Your Highness want to scam your future wife? You’re the one asking knights if they’ve committed adultery!But unfortunately, Russell was not here.
And Odette was utterly naive about such matters.
“You keep asking about the affair clauses, it’s suspicious. Are you really planning on having an affair[Dash]?”
“No, I really am not! I’m just curious!”
“Very well. Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
“…No.”
How could she say yes in this atmosphere?
In truth, she had two more minor concerns, but Odette suppressed them.
After all, as Walter had said, as long as she was careful, there wouldn’t be an issue.
“Then let’s move past my conditions. What would you like to add, Your Highness?”
“I initially had one, but after reading this, it’s become two.”
“What was the original one?”
“That matters outside of the conditions will not be enforced.”
This was to prevent her from being dragged into unwanted situations after marriage.
“That’s a given. I’ll add it to the contract. What’s the new condition?”
Upon hearing Walter’s question, Odette hesitated for a moment, then mumbled softly.
“…That.”
“Pardon?”
“Tha—that your conditions apply to you as well!”
“…Ah.”
Walter’s face indicated that he had finally realized what Odette had said.
In short, Odette’s second condition was this:
[To love only Odette Brunua Celestine.]Of course, this applied equally to the additional clauses Walter had put in place.
Walter had tried various schemes to tie Odette down, but ended up trapping himself as well.
“Ah, I didn’t see this coming.”
But Walter’s expression did not look displeased at all.
Rather, a mischievous smile was filling his face.
“Did you desire me that much, Princess?”
“…What?”
“If you wanted me that badly, you could’ve just said so.”
At Walter’s words, Odette’s mouth opened wide in astonishment.
“No, that’s not it!”
She simply found the contract terms uneasy and thought she shouldn’t bear it alone.
‘I thought saying so would naturally lead to those strange clauses being removed!’
Walter, far from removing any clauses, joyfully swung them around.
‘That’s not it!’
She tried a taste-test, and he downed it in one shot.
And then claimed that this shot was a love shot.
“I didn’t expect you to love me like this before even signing the contract.”
“No, I’ve reconsidered. Let’s just remove it.”
“It’s already written. We can’t remove it.”
“We can make a new document…!”
“Waste of manpower and paper.”
Even against Walter’s firm words, when Odette stubbornly insisted on creating a new document, his smile slowly faded.
It was somewhat disheartening.
“So you don’t want my love?”
“…What did you say?”
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.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
