CH prologue 7

“By the way, are you sure with me?”

I asked.

I didn’t want him to regret it later.

At any rate, if he regretted it, and we got divorced, I would be the one in the most trouble.

Divorce was almost unheard of in aristocratic society, but I would like to have an insurance policy in case it happened. After all, I didn’t want to return to this house again.

“In this marriage, there is nothing more important to consider than lineage. If we’re talking about your reputation――… I don’t believe a word of it. At least, in conversations like this one today, I never felt like you couldn’t communicate, nor did I feel that you’re so bad that you became notorious. Rather, I think your family is more trouble than they’re worth.”

I was relieved.

My notoriety that the Duke of Lindbeld mentioned was the gossip circulating in fiefdoms and in social circles.

Even though he was not interested in me, he had done some research and seemed to know a lot about me from the way he spoke.

My notoriety claimed that I was insane and indecent.

Well, I supposed it was not surprising that people judged me that way from the way I looked.

My golden locks had lost their luster and were spreading out like a broom. The dark circles under my eyes and my pale skin made me look lifeless, plus I was so skinny that you could see it even through my dress.

Only my deep blue eyes shone impressively, which was also off-balance and eerie.

I should have been a little more careful with my appearance, but with the lack of sleep, the stress of work, and the pain of having no one to rely on, my health only deteriorated even when I was careful.

I really didn’t even want to go out socializing.

I’d rather sleep than do that.

But my half-sister, who wanted to show me how superior she was by having people compare our appearance, forced me to accompany her.

I looked so poor and worn out, just like the evil hag in fairytales, a crazy woman who was hooked on something shady. Thus, the rumors that I was eating up the Count’s fortune increasingly sounded authentic.

In the territory, it was further said that no matter how hard the Count persuaded me, no matter how hard they protected the Count’s fiefdom, their lifestyle would never improve because of my spending.

The more I thought about it, the more I sighed.

Even if I did my best, all my achievements would be credited to my father, and I would be vilified.

“Also, if we do get divorced, unless you’re at fault, I’m willing to give you enough to live on for the rest of your life.”

“That would be a huge help.”

He was a very thoughtful man.

Rather, I felt that our marriage was predestined for divorce from the start.

“One more thing, now that you’ve agreed to marry me, I’d like to point out that as Duchess, you may get into a bit of trouble, but you’ll have to live with that.”

I nodded, because I had been considering that too.

At any rate, I was just glad that I was guaranteed three meals and a nap.

I was also exempt from work, so I could just lounge around to my heart’s content…Oh, I couldn’t wait to get married.

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“Speaking of which, when do you plan to get married?”

If possible, I’d prefer a simple marriage, but I guessed that was impossible when he was the head of the Lindbeld family.

As I was thinking about this, the Duke of Lindbeld said something plainly amazing.

“The day after tomorrow. I’ve been granted a special marriage license, so we can get married any time. As you can see, tomorrow is a bit of a long shot, but I can free up some time the day after tomorrow. I’ll make all the arrangements, so just come to the cathedral with yourself.”

I was stunned.

My eyes asked him if he was serious, and he was undoubtedly serious; it was no joke.

Marriage in this country had to go through various stages before the wedding ceremony.

Engagement contract, engagement ceremony, prenuptial agreement, prenuptial ceremony, then the wedding. Before a couple could finally become husband and wife, they had to accomplish all of these and go through a ceremony held in the presence of the church that would approve the marriage.

Of course, only aristocrats would go through these formalities, but even commoners would perform engagement and prenuptial ceremonies.

People had to pay for every single ceremony, the church found it unacceptable to skip all of these due to financial worries and get married straight away.

However, there was always an exemption, and that was the special marriage license.

With this, you could blow off all the rituals and get married.

To put it bluntly, it could be obtained by paying a very expensive donation bribe.

I wondered how much money they had amassed.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t wait that long. I needed to get us married before it’s known to many people.”

He seemed to be running out of time.

But it was not bad for me either. I was even grateful for it, because I wanted to get out of this house as soon as possible.

Perhaps it was also because of the insane rumors that he targeted me.

A decent young lady and her family would not have accepted such a condition.

“As for me, my relatives will not arrive in time for the wedding, so I’ll have my secretary attend. If there are none, we will have no witnesses in case something goes wrong.”

The Duke of Lindbeld’s secretary, who was to be used as the witness, somehow became the image of a pitiful person who was forced to do something reckless by his boss.

I was curious as to what kind of person he was, but my intuition told me not to look into the abyss, so I decided not to bother.

“Well, I’m fine with anyone attending, but would you like my parents to attend? I don’t mind at all if they’re absent.”

Perhaps the Duke recalled my family’s appearance earlier, so he uttered a line.

“I don’t mind either way. I’ll leave it to you…It’ll be tough on you.”

It’ll be tough on me.

You’re not going to have it easy either.

The atmosphere was one of mutual understanding. We both sighed, and the day came to an end. 

After the Duke of Lindbeld left, I reported what we had talked about. My father, stepmother and half-sister were indignant and hurled abuses at me.

Since this kind of abuse was an everyday thing, I turned a deaf ear, and instead wondered what my mother would say if she knew that I had decided to get married so easily.　

My mother wanted me to be happy.

Although I was not sure if this was real happiness, at least I thought it was the best path for me.

I was sure she would reproach me and at the same time understand me. 

Still, I felt more than a little guilty for abandoning the Count’s fiefdom halfway through, but I was certain that my half-sister and father, whom the subjects believed in, would definitely take care of it.

Another thing, the steward who had been supporting me would also be leaving this house when I get married, but he’d definitely be happy to leave since the head of this house had been wanting him to quit.

If I could just put up with it for one day tomorrow. The day after tomorrow would be my wedding day, and I would be free from all the troubles I’ve been going through.

So then ――.

I greeted the morning of my first day as a Duchess.