My Contract Marriage Got Interrupted (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
At the prompt reply that popped out as if waiting, Odette was momentarily flustered.
‘Give you me?’
What kind of absurd condition was that?
Above all, the moment she heard Walter’s words, an ominous premonition flashed through Odette’s mind.
‘Surely not…’
Odette asked back, half-believing, half-doubting.
“What exactly do you mean by asking for me?”
“Precisely what you understood.”
“If I’d understood, I wouldn’t be asking again.”
“I hadn’t realized His Highness required footnotes for every word spoken.”
Walter raised one eyebrow slightly and held up his index finger.
Then, slowly scanning her from forehead to shoe tip, he said,
“From the top of your head to the soles of your feet, Your Highness. I’m asking for all of you to be mine.”
So utterly that no one else could ever dare lay eyes—or hands—on her.
At his blatant tone, goosebumps crept slowly up Odette’s spine.
She had just confirmed her suspicion from Walter’s words.
‘Duke Ertman… this man…!’
He was toying with her!
That was her certainty.
For nearly a month, Walter had consistently been meeting with the Third Princess, Regina.
‘According to him, it wasn’t quite courtship yet.’
Still, it was undeniable that some kind of relationship existed between them.
After all, if Walter wasn’t courting Regina, why would he keep meeting her so persistently?
‘Duke Ertman must have some kind of connection with Empress Catarina.’
In particular, it was suspicious that Walter knew about Odette’s arranged marriage plans.
Odette had mentioned it only once—quietly confiding in her closest maid, Ellie, within her own quarters.
‘Someone must have overheard and reported it to Empress Catarina.’
And since Empress Catarina viewed Odette as a thorn in her eye, eager to dispose of her quickly—
She must have orchestrated this scheme to sabotage Odette’s plan to marry Louis.
‘If I accept this proposal, he’ll reveal his true colors and humiliate me.’
Moreover, Walter had already ruined her meeting with Louis, so Odette would be helplessly forced into marriage with Duke Pyeonbaek exactly as the Empress intended.
Otherwise, why would he claim to desire her and propose such an absurd condition?
Besides, this method had already been used once before by Regina, who manipulated another man with it.
“The Fourth Princess is nearly won over. Just a little more gentle coaxing, and she’ll cling to us herself—just wait and see.”
“Well done. Are you certain?”
“Of course. A pitiful woman who knows nothing of men can be swayed easily with a few sweet words.”
He was the man who had abruptly approached Odette—once ignored by everyone—and ardently courted her,
with words so honeyed they made her want to believe:
“Do you need a reason for love? I want you—that’s reason enough.”
Though she’d been inwardly suspicious, she had indeed wavered at those words.
Ever since then, Odette had shut her heart to everyone who approached her.
Walter was no exception.
‘I’ve never fallen for the same trick even once—how could I fall for it twice?’
Odette gathered her skirt and bowed calmly and courteously to Walter.
Her hair cascaded along the graceful curve of her form,
and as she slowly straightened her waist, she smiled faintly and said,
“I’ll pretend the rudeness you showed me today never happened—just please never appear before my eyes again.”
And as a final remark,
“You really are the worst, Your Grace.”
It was a farewell both polite and resolute.
Late at night, on the terrace of the Imperial Palace banquet hall.
“Your Grace, there you are?”
At the voice from behind, Walter, who had been leaning against the railing, turned around.
“…Russell Huntley.”
“Yes, it’s me. Even so, it’s a victory celebration banquet—without the guest of honor, things are getting awkward…”
The red-haired knight, Russell, scratched the back of his head as he approached.
Though his half-lidded eyes gave such an impression of carelessness that people said he looked perpetually drowsy, Russell was nonetheless universally acknowledged as Duke Ertman’s most trusted retainer.
Moreover, tonight he had suffered the misfortune of standing in for Walter at the banquet and enduring the swarming crowd on his behalf.
Thus, he had come seeking Walter, teeth clenched, determined to extract double repayment for his troubles—
‘…But the mood feels off.’
Russell’s strength lay in his sharp intuition, despite his slovenly appearance.
And from what he saw, Walter was clearly in a foul mood.
‘What on earth happened?!’
At this rate, not only would he fail to complain about his own hardships—he might even end up running laps around the training grounds.
Russell stole glances nervously, then cleared his throat and began cautiously,
“Ahem, ahem. So—did your talk go well? Didn’t you say you had some deal to strike?”
“Oh, about that.”
Walter slowly clenched and unclenched his empty hand.
“I was rejected.”
“Of course, Your Grace’s charm is… Wait, rejected? But didn’t you say it would go well?”
Russell’s eyes, rarely wide with surprise, widened as his attempt at flattery crumbled.
Just before the banquet, Walter had seemed so confident about stepping away from his seat—
No, not merely confident; he’d looked like a man finally about to meet something long awaited.
Russell, well aware of Walter’s exceptional eloquence, hadn’t even considered the possibility of failure.
Yet—rejected?
“D-Did you hear why?”
“He said I didn’t appeal to him.”
Above that, the memory replayed—the moment just earlier when he’d extended his hand to Odette.
“I’ll pretend the rudeness you showed me today never happened—just please never appear before my eyes again.”
“You really are the worst, Your Grace.”
Truly, it had been a farewell both polite and resolute.
Especially considering that right after, Odette had fled so swiftly he couldn’t even grab her wrist.
Thus, Walter’s mood remained as twisted as Russell had sensed.
After all this waiting, finally within reach—only to slip away right before his grasp.
Walter slowly swept back his hair, and a low, bitter murmur escaped his lips.
“I didn’t expect trouble starting right here…”
Amid all this, it was almost laughable that his foolish body still responded faithfully.
Ever since seeing Odette, his heart beat uncontrollably, and his chest tightened painfully.
Exactly as ‘he’ had said.
“It’s not hard to fulfill your wish at the cost of your heart. But can you endure it? Your sincerity will be distorted, and you’ll be rejected often.”
“I don’t care.”
“You’ll be wounded countless times, and you yourself won’t be able to trust the other’s sincerity at face value. In the end, you’ll be left only with pitiful words. Are you truly certain you want this bargain?”
“I’ve already endured it once—what’s so hard about a second time?”
If only he could see her once more.
If only he could prevent the tragedy awaiting her—anything would be acceptable.
Walter had scoffed and struck the deal with ‘him.’
In return, he received a heart that grew ever colder, constricting tighter,
a tongue hardened into silence, unable to speak truth,
and a newly granted span of time.
‘Now that I’ve returned—how can I possibly give up?’
Since she rejected his proposal, he would simply make her come back to him.
Slowly, Walter’s hand clenched into a fist.
“Russell, we need to start a rumor.”
[This is the timeline separator]The next day.
“Your Highness Odette! Is that rumor true?! They say you held a secret rendezvous with Duke Ertman!”
“…So you’ve heard it too, that rumor…”
At the loud, rushing footsteps, Odette slowly raised her head from the ink-dipped pen.
In just two days, her face had grown noticeably weary.
The reason was simple.
“Of course I heard it! The moment I entered the palace, everyone was talking about it—how could I not know? Everyone’s gossiping about you and Her Highness the Third Princess!”
In just one night, the scandal between Odette and Walter had spread wildly through high society—
claiming the two had met secretly at Walter’s victory celebration banquet.
In truth, there was no containing it.
The place they met happened to be the grandest banquet hall in the capital in nearly a month.
Moreover, the scandal’s protagonists were currently the social elite’s greatest fascination—especially Walter Ertman, already rumored to be meeting the Third Princess Regina.
“Have you heard? Duke Ertman and Her Highness Princess Odette, the Fourth, held a secret rendezvous…”
“Then what about Her Highness the Third Princess?”
Naturally, the Imperial Palace had fallen into uproar.
A love triangle between Duke Ertman—the social elite’s obsession—and two imperial princesses!
What a sensational story.
The problem was, Odette had no real way to refute it.
Regardless of the truth, she and Walter had indeed met that day.
‘I was certain no one was around…’
Where could this rumor have possibly started?
Amid her tangled thoughts, Ellie came rushing in, her red hair flying, and whispered in a lowered voice,
“Do you know how shocked I was? The person who went to propose to Count Clovis—now rumors link you with Duke Ertman! What exactly happened between you and the Duke?”
What happened, indeed.
At the familiar question, Odette couldn’t help but give a faint, wry smile.
‘How many times have I been asked this now?’
If she exaggerated slightly, her ears might start bleeding.
Though the entire palace buzzed with whispers, the maids serving in Odette’s quarters were the loudest of all.
“What if Her Highness the Fourth Princess really becomes the Duchess? What then?”
“We’ve been dismissing her as a bastard princess all this time—what if she takes revenge?!”
“Just in case, let’s treat her nicely now. We have no choice!”
The palace maids were all daughters of respectable noble houses—
young noble ladies who, at home, would never lift anything heavier than a teacup.
Thus, aside from Ellie, all of Odette’s maids had considered it shameful to serve a bastard princess.
Naturally, they disliked attending her and often even outright ignored her—
until the scandal between Walter and Odette spread.
Ironically, the rumor had improved her treatment.
But this commotion, too, would soon pass.
‘Such a scandal would hurt Duke Ertman the most.’
He’d surely issue a quick clarification—and then everything would quiet down again.
Odette gave a light, mirthless chuckle, checked once more that no one else was around, and finally spoke.
“As for what happened at the victory banquet…”
[This is the timeline separator]“So Duke Ertman knew about Your Highness’s plans and came specifically to sabotage them? Good heavens!”
Odette had confided everything that happened at the victory banquet to Ellie—
how Walter somehow knew her plans and had blatantly moved to obstruct them, and how Empress Catarina and Princess Regina likely conspired with Walter to arrange this whole affair.
“He probably assumed I’d snatch up Duke Ertman immediately. With even my meeting with Count Clovis ruined, I’d have few options left.”
Above all, Duke Ertman was truly a highly desirable match—
so much so that it would seem laughable for a mere bastard princess to reject him.
“To think he’d participate in such childish scheming! I never took Duke Ertman for such a despicable man! Even if the Empress or the Third Princess acted this way, there’s absolutely no benefit for the Duke in playing such tricks!”
“Honestly, that’s what puzzles me too. If someone wanted to curry favor with the Empress, I’d understand—but Duke Ertman doesn’t seem to have any reason to do that.”
Why, then, did Walter propose to me?
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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One thing I haven’t been able to understand about situations such as this one, is why anyone would believe a maid has any autonomy in the face of an emperor that wants their body. It’s always the ‘lowly’ peasant’s or maid’s fault for having relations and a subsequent child with a person in a position of power. Perhaps Regina is just one of those that must blame others regardless of reality.