I Thought It Was An Arranged Marriage - Chapter 21

The problem was the type of scandal. Considering the Young Marchioness’s reality and the nature of the people who took her, it was clear they would target Rosaline. If they could craft a good story, they might even aim at Grand Duke Bryant, the head of the Emperor’s faction and the Emperor’s biggest supporter.

A pregnant woman, neglected by her husband and ignored by her in-laws, would already be emotionally unstable due to hormones, and she was lonely. And Rosaline had already experienced how far Amelia could go when she was mentally cornered. She was a terrifyingly unstable element, and she was easy to manipulate, so even if Rosaline were part of the noble faction, she would have approached Amelia.

“But I don’t understand. No matter how much they dislike her, shouldn’t they at least protect her if they’ve married her into the family? It’s not like the Addis family couldn’t foresee this situation.”

“Exactly. Marquis Addis is known for controlling or eliminating risks rather than leaving them unchecked…”

“Hmm. He is indeed a cold person.”

Everyone could not understand that. Even the young ladies who were more accustomed to managing the household than outside affairs expected Rosaline and Lucas to be attacked, given that Lady Lawson and Lady Brooks had approached.

It was impossible for Addis to not foresee such a situation in politics. So why was he just watching quietly? If only the Marchioness had taken the Young Marchioness with her, or if she had confined her to the mansion under the pretext of health. It would have been a reasonable excuse since she was pregnant.

“What… must they be thinking?”

“Right? They see things differently from us.”

They forced a smile and agreed. But the ominous premonition did not go away.

And bad premonitions usually proved to be accurate. The beginning was, as expected, Amelia, the wife of the young marquis of Addis. At the tea party at the Viscount Hunt’s house, with whom she had been acquainted before marriage, she displayed a pale complexion and constant gloom.

Although it was a bad attitude to show at a gathering hosted by someone else, most participants already knew how she was treated in the Addis Marquis household, so they let it slide despite being uncomfortable.

The people invited to this gathering fell into two categories. Those like Lady Brooks who actively enjoyed all the rumors and scandals of the social circles, and those who participated in social activities out of noble duty but tactfully withdrew from noisy and complicated matters.

Lady Brooks, who had spotted a juicy prey, spoke kindly.

“Are you okay, Madam Addis?”

Though her voice was filled with concern, everyone who knew, knew. Beneath her exaggerated expression of being terribly worried, there was only primal curiosity and a bit of malice.

Half of them wore similar expressions, while the other half showed disapproval but let it pass as it was none of their business. And Amelia, the subject, did not notice at all. She was just moved that someone recognized her hardship and spoke kindly to her.

Come to think of it, she was the kind lady who had comforted her when she was crying before and told her many good stories. Tears streamed down Amelia’s eyes uncontrollably.

“Oh my, Madam Addis!”

“Are you okay, no, suddenly…!”

“I, I’m sorry, I, I’m just too… sob, having a hard time…”

The tears she shed unexpectedly in a group she wasn’t close to had a greater impact than expected. Even if they clicked their tongues, thinking it was unbecoming of a Young Marchioness to be so reckless and emotional, at least outwardly, they couldn’t say anything.

Amelia, who cried for a long time, only stopped when the people who kindly comforted her began to tire. Swallowing their annoyance, they began to pry, smiling kindly and asking what was so hard.

Though she wasn’t entirely thoughtless, Amelia, who hesitated to back out, eventually succumbed to their persistent questioning disguised as kindness.

“Actually… I think my husband has another woman.”

“Oh my!”

“My goodness!”

The atmosphere of the tea party changed. A new woman for Kallen Addis?! Exclamations of astonishment echoed here and there, but it wasn’t really surprising. He was a man who had numerous scandals even before marriage. No one expected him to be faithful to his wife after marriage.

In fact, some mischievous groups even bet on when it would happen, saying it was only natural for him to have a mistress since his wife wasn’t Rosaline but Amelia. When Rosaline was his wife, he quickly took a mistress, so they were half right.

Anyway, it wasn’t surprising that Kallen had another woman. The reason for their exclamations of surprise was one: who could that woman be? That was what piqued their curiosity.

If Rosaline were the wife, Kallen’s mistress would have been a young, haughty, unmarried lady. A young lady from a count family who had just arrived in the capital, or a young lady from a viscount’s household who had somewhat adapted to life in the capital but hadn’t entered the center of the social circles. In her past life, Amelia fell into the latter category.

But now the Young Marchioness was Amelia. Therefore, the mistress’s status would have dropped accordingly. They exchanged subtle glances and quickly scanned their memories.Young ladies from rural viscount or lower families who recently arrived, recently divorced or widowed ladies, those who didn’t know much about Kallen’s rumors and could be swayed by his flashy conditions and appearance.

Several candidates came to mind. Their glances grew subtler as their search converged on similar individuals.

“No, who dares to…!”

“Who could it be, who’s making Madam Addis cry like this. Do we know her?”

“Sob, huh, that’s…”

Amelia burst into tears again, overwhelmed with injustice and sorrow. Didn’t she know about her own scandal? She knew the rumors rampant in the social circles. That she loved Kallen so much that she seduced him, who had a fiancée, with her body, and finally got pregnant to tie him down. That she clipped the wings of a man who could soar high and dragged him down.

She felt wronged and resentful. It was true she liked Kallen. He was the heir to a prestigious marquis family firmly established in the capital, handsome, and well-mannered. The handsome smile of the man who helped her when she was ridiculed for being clumsy and ignorant upon her arrival in the capital was enough to make her fall in love.

But she never thought of marrying him. She had eyes and ears, knowing that his fiancée was Rosaline Marte. Just watching him from the side was enough. She wanted to try being his secret lover once, but that was all.

So when she heard she was chosen as his bride, she was confused but simply happy. She felt like she was being rewarded for her long unrequited love. She felt happy, and she even felt a sense of victory over a woman she never dared to consider a rival because she was too perfect.

But what happened after that? Trembling and nervous, she couldn’t sleep the night before, and when she first met her soon-to-be husband after spending five hours meticulously grooming herself, his face was different from what she imagined. His face, full of irritation and anger, had no trace of that smile.

Instead, he hurled curses she had never heard before at her and grabbed her wrist, pressing her down. Then, not in the bed but on the sofa in the drawing room, she was thoroughly ravaged by him.

There were no proper caresses; it started with a slap on the cheek. His attitude was that she should consider it an honor to be held and married by him. The pain of forcing open a body that wasn’t ready was less than the pain of all the words coming out of his mouth. She heard ‘nouveau riche’ more times during that encounter than in her entire life.