Regardless of what Walter thought, Odette was thoroughly convinced of her inference.
No, she had no doubt that this was the truth.
The reason was simple.
I think Walter is better off living alone. The man who would make my wife cry!
As Walter anticipated, Arnold came to dissuade Odette.
And naturally, Odette had no idea how much Arnold had tried to marry Walter off over the years.
So, in Odette’s eyes, even the grandfather opposed Walter’s marriage, and this is how she saw his situation.
‘Walter… might not have had as many marriage prospects as I thought.’
Thus.
Of course, before that, both Cedric and Ellie had opposed the marriage.
Especially Ellie, she still had lingering doubts about Walter.
If Duke Ertman shows any suspicious signs, you must tell me immediately! You cannot let it slide!
When did I ever let anything slide…
Although Odette blushed and lowered her head, Ellie was resolute.
Thanks to that, there had been quite a fuss before meeting Walter today.
If today wasn’t the day of the marriage announcement party, the fuss could have been even longer.
Ellie was really… resolute.
If you move to Duke Ertman’s, you must call me! It’s a promise!
I’m great at intruding! I’ll surely make your newlywed life difficult!
Ellie seemed firmly convinced that Odette would be easily consumed the moment she turned her eyes away, making Odette genuinely troubled.
But how could she blame Ellie?
Ellie was merely looking out for Odette, and the real issue was with Walter.
“Neither my maid nor my older brother are the types to easily speak ill of others, especially if it’s negative.”
“It seems the two of them have spoken quite ill of me.”
“Um… Regardless of whether someone is good or bad, there is a standardized idea of a good marriage partner.”
“No need to beat around the bush. You’re saying they said I’m not a good marriage partner, right?”
“…”
Odette paused momentarily, her detailed explanation compressed in an instant.
Though not for long.
“…Anyway, with even your grandfather saying you should live alone, I understood.”
“You’re saying I have no marriage prospects?”
“Yes. Am I not correct?”
Odette’s golden eyes twinkled with conviction.
To borrow Walter’s expression, she was quite charming.
‘Can ignorance be this charming?’
Isn’t it normal to feel the urge to immediately remove someone who talks nonsense or acts annoyingly?
Yet, Odette invoked the exact opposite sentiment, which felt odd.
Even when what she was saying ultimately slandered him.
Therefore, Walter didn’t bother to correct her and allowed Odette to unfold her misunderstanding as she pleased.
“To be honest, I never understood why you set such a condition.”
Love? It seemed an utterly ridiculous condition.
Walter needing to get married wasn’t particularly surprising.
The position of a lady in the Ertman household had been vacant for quite some time, after all.
But he could easily secure that through a political marriage; why did he need to add the condition of love?
“I get it now. You needed that excuse to proceed with this marriage, didn’t you? That I deeply love you and thus overcame everyone’s objections to choose you.”
Odette even nodded her head slightly, thoroughly pleased with her own deduction.
“And given my own need for a prompt marriage, I had no reason to decline your proposal. It makes sense that you chose me, who is the sister of Cedric Orabuni, a person you are acquainted with.”
If Cedric had heard, he would have likely upturned the table, wondering what nonsense this was.
In trying to discourage Odette with all his might, the letter from Cedric mentioning he was quite close to Balter had a counterproductive effect.
“I must become Lady Ertman right away, so I can’t lack in education, and can’t afford to choose someone of too low a status. So, it’s obvious I was the right choice.”
Odette also considered that her marriage to him could serve as a countermeasure against any unnecessary tricks that Empress Katarina might play on Ertman, but she didn’t mention this, feeling it would be going too far.
What was important was that, in Odette’s mind, her marriage to Balter was extremely logical, and she even accepted his condition for a contractual marriage being ‘love,’ as if it was completely reasonable.
“In such a situation, it would be inconvenient if I casually became entangled with someone else. Hence, I made a very strict clause against infidelity. Correct?”
“…You are absolutely right.”
And Balter decided not to refuse the well-prepared meal.
Odette had been worrying about marriage conditions or any attempts to annul the marriage, so this situation was rather welcome.
‘It’s not unreasonable.’
He was sincerely thankful to Odette for providing a good rationale.
When Balter applauded a couple of times, a satisfied smile brushed over Odette’s face.
There was definitely pride that her deduction was correct, but the real reason was something else.
‘I’ve finally figured out the reason Balter wants to marry me.’
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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