The Maid's Contract Marriage - Chapter 9

Rembrandt continued with a smile.

“Lord Arthur may already know this, but Lady Julius is famous for not interacting with people at all. The only place you can see her is at the temple.”

Arthur asked with interest:

“The temple?”

“Yes. Despite being such a difficult person to meet, she never missed a mass praying for victory at the temple. The story of how the number of worshippers coming to the temple tripled just to see her, known as the most beautiful woman in high society, is quite a famous tale in the area.”

“Hmm.”

This was followed by flattery about Christina’s devotion in praying for Arthur’s victory for five years.

And perfunctory praise for Christina’s exceptional integrity in strictly adhering to the imperial edict to refrain from social gatherings and practice self-restraint during the war more than anyone else.

Lady Julius nervously watched Arthur’s reaction to Rembrandt’s words.

In truth, participating in religious events was a means to showcase Christina’s exceptional beauty in place of the prohibited social gatherings.

Not interacting with anyone at all was to hide her not-so-angelic personality.

And strictly following the imperial edict to refrain from social gatherings and practice self-restraint was to block questions about Christina’s marriage.

They hadn’t calculated that it would turn into a show of fidelity for her fiancé who went to war, but in any case.

As a result, everything fell into place perfectly, and the beautiful, noble, and mysterious Christina had reigned as the queen of high society without social gatherings for the past five years.

As the only daughter of the Julius family known for their scarcity of heirs, with a massive dowry and inheritance promised, she was truly worthy of being called the bride of the century.

‘It was a reputation I managed to build in case Arthur died and we needed to send her to another good marriage…’

But now it was all useless.

Amidst the praises elevating Christina as the finest lady, Rembrandt observed Arthur’s expression.

Arthur seemed uninterested, asking only out of courtesy.

Even though he had them squirming, and he could have gloated in front of this amusing situation…

Rembrandt, without revealing his judgment, asked straightforwardly.

“May I have the honor of greeting your wife?”

Rembrandt added innocently, as if he had no idea about the current ‘Christina’s’ identity.

“Actually, the Marquis asked me to capture your reunion in a painting, and I gladly accepted. I’m free today as well.”

The Marquis’s eyes widened like saucers, and he half-rose from his seat.

The Marchioness, forgetting her pride, stared at Arthur with wide eyes and a desperate look.

‘Please… Please, Arthur! Refuse!’

Arthur replied gently.

“Of course. My wife will be delighted.”

The Marquis and Marchioness turned pale.

The Marquis finally sprang up from his chair.

“Ha, ha. I should go prepare Christina!”

“I’ll do it!”

The Marchioness also stood up urgently.

However, Arthur added without even looking in their direction.

“But it might be difficult today. My wife was up all night and isn’t feeling well. Let’s make an opportunity soon.”

The expressions of the Marquis and Marchioness, who had jumped up in their anxiety, turned bright red.

* * *

Reina anxiously rolled her eyes.

She wanted to ask these girls about the current situation outside, why she was in this room…

After being dressed up for quite some time in an uncomfortable silence, Reina awkwardly tried to start a conversation.

“Um… I’m Reina.”

The black-haired maid who was applying fragrant oil to Reina’s hair and combing it glanced at Reina through the mirror and replied curtly.

“Yeah, I know. Do you think any of us wouldn’t know you?”

Reina flinched as if she had committed a crime, surprised by the unexpected response since she hardly interacted with her fellow maids.

“You know me?”

Well, Reina was noticeable.

How annoying.

The black-haired maid snorted openly but introduced herself anyway.

“You don’t know me, right? I’m Marina. That’s Brody.”

Brody, the maid with a wronged expression working on the other side of Reina’s hair, also exchanged eye greetings with Reina through the mirror.

Reina had been worried that perhaps the fake bride incident had become known outside, but Reina was actually quite famous among the maids.

When new servants first entered this mansion, nine out of ten would ask “Who’s that?” upon discovering Reina.

And the next thing these servants would hear after her name was,

‘You can’t get close to her. She’s the type to put up walls.’

What’s with the introductions this time?

Marina kneaded Reina’s hair and pouted.

“So, is it true that the young lady is sick?”

“…”

“Why did you go out instead of the young lady?”

“…”

Reina kept her mouth shut.

These were questions she couldn’t answer.

Reina wasn’t particularly talented at lying.

It’s not that she couldn’t lie at all, but she lacked the quick wit and spontaneity to come up with appropriate excuses when questioned.

For Reina, it was an issue that involved her grandmother’s well-being.

She had been putting up walls with the maids for fear of receiving such questions…

When Reina didn’t say anything, Marina sneered coldly and closed her mouth with a ‘I thought so’ expression.

An awkward silence, even more uncomfortable than before, fell between them despite the attempt at introductions.

“…”

“You suddenly collapsed yesterday.”

Marina suddenly spoke again.

Reina flinched and looked at her.

“So Lord Arthur seemed a bit surprised, and then he suddenly picked up his sword, said ‘For His Majesty the Emperor,’ and ended the victory ceremony with just that. Then he carried you up here right away.”

Marina’s words seemed to guess the questions Reina wanted to ask, and Reina’s face turned red with guilt and embarrassment.

Even though I couldn’t say anything…

Reina clutched her hands on her thighs and mumbled.

“…Didn’t anyone try to stop him?”

Marina frowned.

“Were we supposed to stop him? We don’t know anything.”

“…”

“It’s a lie that the young lady is sick, isn’t it?”

“…”

“Will we be safe?”

“…”

Reina couldn’t give any answers.

…If I answer, you’ll be in more danger.

Clank.

With the sound of the door, the maids screamed in surprise.

“Ah, Lord Arthur!”

The two startled maids quickly let go of Reina’s hair and turned around.

Reina discovered Arthur through the mirror and froze in her seat at the dressing table.

Arthur, noticing Reina surrounded by maids, gestured.

“Did I interrupt?”

“Not at all, we’re finished. We’ll take our leave.”

The two maids hurriedly finished Reina’s grooming and bowed to her as if she were the real Lady Christina.

“Have a pleasant time.”

“If you need anything, please ring the bell here.”

The maids retreated and disappeared.

Reina belatedly scrambled up from her chair and stood facing him very awkwardly.

Her eyes darted here and there, not knowing where to look.

“…”

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Huh? Yes…”

Reina momentarily met his eyes very briefly, then flinched and lowered her gaze again, avoiding eye contact.

Arthur’s voice continued.

“You suddenly collapsed, so I thought you might be sick somewhere.”

Reina was startled and shook her head in denial.

“No, no. I’m not sick anywhere. Yesterday I was just… just tired, I guess.”

She still couldn’t make eye contact.

Arthur stood quietly looking at Reina, then glanced sideways and said.

“The underwear… I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay… What?”

Arthur frowned and spoke towards the side.

“I’ve heard rumors about lady-catching clothes like urban legends, but I didn’t know they were real. Isn’t that underwear too dangerous?”

“What?”

Reina let out a series of dumbfounded sounds.

Arthur closed his mouth and ran his hand through his hair, then spoke after a slight pause.

“It was okay when I carried you up, but when I laid you down, you weren’t breathing. I thought you might suffocate if I left you like that.”

“…”

“Taking off the dress didn’t help, so I had to tear it off urgently. But then it was ruined and I couldn’t put it back on.”

“…”

Her face flushed hot.

Ah… Aha. That’s what he meant.

So that’s why the corset was gone.

Lord Arthur… did that.

“…”

“I didn’t take it off with any other intention.”

For some reason, she felt he seemed quite troubled.

Was he feeling embarrassed?

Reina stammered, looking elsewhere as she replied.

“So, so that’s what happened. It’s, it’s fine. Thank… you.”

What is this… Just for undressing me a bit…

It’s strange that he’s embarrassed when I’m the one who was undressed.

Even if he had taken it off with other intentions, who could say anything?

We’re already married, and this isn’t our first time.

I’m his wife, acting as his stand-in, including such matters.

He’s a general who went to the brink of death for his family and returned with great achievements, deserving compensation for his hardships…

Yet he’s making excuses as if afraid of being misunderstood for such a thing, which was even stranger.

His difficulty over something so trivial made her face heat up with embarrassment.

“!”

Suddenly, Arthur grabbed Reina’s head with his hand and fixed it to face him.

Her avoiding eyes met his head-on.

“Is that why you’re not making eye contact?”

“!”

Reina’s face turned bright red in embarrassment.

“Ah, no…”

At that moment, Arthur’s expression changed subtly.

“?”

Arthur moved the hand holding her head slightly towards her forehead, touching the part of her forehead hidden by her bangs.

“Ah.”

A dull pain swept through.

Reina reflexively hunched her shoulders.

Arthur’s expression hardened.

“What’s this? This wound.”

She immediately understood what he was talking about.

It was the wound from two days ago when Christina had thrown an ashtray at her, cutting her.

Reina slightly pulled back her body away from him, adjusting her bangs to hide the wound.

“I got hurt a few days ago. It’s nothing.”

“What do you mean it’s nothing? It’s on your face. How did this happen?”

“It’s fine, it’s hidden by my bangs.”

“How.”

Arthur persisted, repeating his question.

Reina quickly made up a false excuse.

“I hit the corner of a table. While bending down to pick up a comb that had fallen.”

Fortunately, an appropriate reason came to mind, making it a natural lie.

Arthur frowned.

“Did you show it to a doctor?”

Reina laughed as if she’d heard a joke and asked back.

“What? Calling a doctor for something like this…”

She stopped mid-sentence.

If it were Lady Christina, she would have called a doctor without hesitation.

Because it’s the face of a noble lady.

Reina quickly corrected herself.

“Of course I should. I did. The doctor has already seen it once.”

Arthur raised one eyebrow as if to say ‘Is that so?’

He looked unconvinced.

Arthur strode towards the bed and pulled the bell cord.

After a moment, there was a knock from outside.

“Did you call?”

“Is there a resident physician in the mansion?”

“Yes.”

“Call them.”

“Yes, understood.”

Huh… A doctor…?

Standing there blankly, Reina’s face suddenly turned pale as she realized something.

Wait. The resident physician will come thinking it’s Lady Christina.

Then even the doctor will find out!

Reina urgently grabbed Arthur’s arm.

“Arthur, Lord Arthur. No, it’s fine, please don’t call them.”

Arthur gently dismissed Reina’s words, taking her hand that was holding onto him and guiding her towards the sofa.

“We’ll have them look at the forehead wound and check once more that there are no health issues. It might not have been just fatigue that made you collapse.”

What should I do?

I can’t think of an excuse not to call the doctor.

The limit of my ability to lie calmly is about the reason for hurting my forehead.

If I can’t give a reason that convinces myself, my lies become extremely awkward.

Reina squeezed her eyes shut.

“I, I want to be alone with you!”

Arthur stopped abruptly.

Aack.

That’s what they say in novels.

But it’s too awkward. It sounds like a lie no matter how you look at it.

After a brief silence, Arthur covered his mouth with a snicker.

“…I appreciate you saying that, but.”

Huh? Did it work?

Reina blinked rapidly.

“Let’s have the doctor look at your wound first, and then we can do that, my lady.”

Aack.

It’s ruined.

As expected, it’s not a valid excuse.

It’s not like the doctor will stay with us the whole time, they’ll just check briefly and leave, so I just said something nonsensical.

Arthur raised one corner of his mouth as if suppressing a laugh, then lowered his head and blurted out.

“Hearing your voice makes me feel like I’ve really returned.”

Thump. Her heart dropped to the floor.

Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me

One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.

Synopsis:

Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.

But this is still far from enough.

He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.

_____

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