Episode 28

?????? (12)

“Then let’s go.”

That’s why he had to hold her hand. He had to get her out of this empty old room. Otherwise, he felt like his heart would not stop pounding.

“Oh, my! Without you!”

As they walked downstairs, Eva shouted again in a fuss.

Ragnar looked down at them with a ferocious look.

If he had the ability to kill someone with just his eyes, they would’ve collapsed to the floor by now.

“Kuh, kugh, hmmm.”

Sebastian scratched his cheek and coughed. Even Eva couldn’t make eye contact.

His stomach was boiling and he wanted to say something abusive. However, Christa Palmaril, the person involved, was still expressionless. As if she’s used to this. So he had to put up with it.

“Let’s get out.”

Most of all, he didn’t want her to stay in a place like this anymore. He understood a bit why she had so little attachment with life.

‘If I stay in a place like that, even a normal person will be depressed.’

Just peeking at fragments of Christa’s life was upsetting. The perpetrators, her aunt and uncle, were not good-tempered at first glance. It must be a complete lie that Christa has been cherished.

When they left the Palmaril estate, his frustration melted away.

Christa was still as silent as she came. She sat absent-mindedly watching the scenery outside the carriage change.

“We need to match our outdoor clothes right away.”

“Clothes?”

“Yes, I think you need at least ten, or twenty more.”

“I don’t need that much clothes.”

“No, you need it.”

Ragnar seemed to be in a foul mood for some reason. He looked angry, too.

“And there should be jewels. Do you have any favorite jewelry?”

Then Christa shook her head with a somewhat confused expression. Jewelry. She never even had a small glass egg, so she didn’t have any knowledge. However, she knew that such precious metals were priced at a considerable price.

“But…”

“You don’t have to do anything. I’m planning to call a tailor and a craftsman to the mansion.”

Ragnar, however, had a very determined attitude. He was so determined that she was at a loss for words.

“Yes…”

Ragnar muttered something inaudible and nodded as if he had been convinced.

??

Upon arriving at the town house, the butler Bjorn and Madam Tatiana greeted them kindly.

“Welcome!”

“We’ve been waiting.”

As soon as Tatiana saw Christa, she put a shawl around her shoulder.

“Because the wind is still cold.”

“……it’s all right.”

Christa, unfamiliar with the goodwill, had no choice but to stiffen awkwardly. Everyone treated her with the utmost care. She wondered if they were nervous whether she would drift away when the wind blew or trip over a stone.

Christa whispered quietly to Ragnar.

“I’m really fine, but I think they’re misunderstanding something.”

She was not really pregnant, but everyone was treating her like a pregnant woman, so it was burdensome. Then Ragnar burst into laughter.

“It’s okay, so please let them be. It would be better to be misunderstood like that for a while.”

“But they’ll soon notice that I am not pregnant.”

“Let’s let Elio mistakenly believe his trick didn’t work, at least for now.”

“But he’ll soon be suspicious.”

“We can think about it then. Well, we can just say that you had a miscarriage.”

She didn’t know if it was the right thing to do, but Christa nodded.

“This is where you will stay.”

Bjorn showed Christa the largest room for women in the mansion. It was the room used by the previous Duchess for generations. It was a place where Christa’s shabby and dirty attic was incomparably colorful and elegant.

“Hey, can I use a room like this?”

Christa’s eyes widened at the luxury.

“If you don’t use it, who will use it?”

Then Ragnar hugged Christa’s shoulder.

“Ha, but…….”

“But you’re going to sleep here and become the future duchess. In that regard, we have something to talk about. Can you leave us for a moment?”

“Yes, Duke.”

When he ordered so, the servants quickly left. In an instant, only Ragnar and Christa were left in the room.

“What you have to say is……?”

Ragnar recommended sitting in a chair.

“Now that we’re getting ready for the wedding, I’ll be very busy. Before that, let’s go over the contents of our contract again. We’ll have to find out each other’s requirements.”

At the word “requirements,” Christa immediately thought of the Sword.

“I just need to get the Holy Sword.”

“We agreed that you would claim it as alimony. Are there any other conditions?”

“Well, that’s all…… I’ll be fine as long as I have it.”

Then she bowed her head again. Despite everything, it was difficult to look Ragnar in the eye now.

Meanwhile, Ragnar took out luxurious parchment, ink, and a file and began to write something down with a quill pen.

“There’s still a lot of time left, so let’s think more.”

At the top of the list of alimony, he wrote, “The Holy Sword Alisar of Saint Genava”.

“How about five years?”

“Isn’t that too long?”

It was the life of a time-limited woman who did not know when she would end her life due to her power running wild. It’s difficult to predict tomorrow, but she couldn’t guarantee such a long time.

“Then 3 years?”

“……that’s too long, too.”

“The emperor will not give up until we have at least enough time to have a child.”

“I can have a child within a year, but……. Don’t you happen to remember I told you the other day that I’m infertile?”

It was strange to keep talking about pregnancy for a while. She was unable to bear children. But he spoke as if he didn’t know her condition.

“Of course I remember, that’s why I want to get married.”

Christa, who had suffered much from this issue with Count Pasquier in her previous life, was simply curious.

“Why on earth do you want to marry a woman who can’t even produce children?”

“I hate children.”

He had given a similar answer to this subject before. Even now, Christa had a feeling that he was drawing some lines from Ragnar’s tone.

‘I told you, I don’t want to be bound.’

Suddenly, the answer came to mind. He was the kind who didn’t want children. If so, her physical condition may be rather fortunate.

“Then the duke’s……. What happens to the succession problem?”

“Are you already worried about that? What a great quality for a to-be duchess.”

There was a slight hint of sarcasm in his tone. Christa had a knack for quickly recognizing the negative reactions of others.

In any case, Ragnar had no lingering feelings about the successor issue or the future of the Duke. It all disappeared when Judina died.

He gave no further explanation. As if she didn’t need to know any more information. That is why Christa did not comment on the subject anymore. Since it had nothing to do with her anyway.

“Then let’s set the contract at two years.”

Ragnar continued to write without looking at Christa.

“Two years…”

Christa stared at the figure. Two years might be fine. Her marriage to Count Pasquier lasted approximately five years. If it’s half. Maybe it’s okay.

In addition, his death, which would one day come, did not happen in two years. That’ll be fine for a period of time.

“All right.”

“Two years later, we’ll get divorced and with the excuse that I haven’t gotten over you since, I’ll be alone for the rest of my life.”

“Does that excuse work?”

She didn’t think that his position on the marriage market would be significantly reduced by being a divorcee. Isn’t Ragnar the most desired groom in the empire?

“It depends on how happy our marriage looks in the future, right?”

Ragnar added something else to the paper.

“How many times a week is appropriate for a married couple?”

Then Christa jumped up like a man on fire.

“Why on earth would you make such a provision!”

“What are you talking about? If a couple does not have sex, they will be suspected.”

Already, Christa’s face had turned red as if it had been painted red.

“We’ve done it once anyway. I thought we were on the same page, but didn’t we?”

The blatant expression was enough to embarrass her. Suddenly Ragnar felt like pinching her when he saw her burning red to the tip of her ears.

Ragnar put the quill pen down on the table and held her hands as he looked at Christa’s eyes. Then he tried to guide her quietly. Just as they did that night.

“Huh? You seduced me that day.”

The heat of their hands holding each other felt too hot. She knew he was guiding her, but it felt more persistent and sticky than usual. An unbearable sensation tried to dominate her.

Her heart is pounding. Her heart throbbed so fast that it hurt.

Christa sprang to her feet, shaking her hand. The chair behind fell with a loud noise.

“Well, at that time, things were…….”