I Thought It Was An Arranged Marriage - Chapter 25

‘Whether by persuasion or threat, if Rosaline wants to talk, she will come to me. Then I can coax her while comforting her. If I can just meet her alone even once, I can make it happen.’

The Kallen Addis who was once praised for his intelligence and excellent judgment was no longer there. Now, he was so obsessed with restoring his reputation that he failed to realize that his hopes would never come true, and even if everything went as he wished, the result would be disastrous.

Fortunately, the only one who had lost his mind in the Addis Marquis’s family was Kallen. As soon as the Marquis heard the rumors, he rushed to request a private audience with the Grand Duke.

“I have no excuse.”

“That’s fortunate. It seems you still have some sense left, Marquis.”

The Marquis’s face hardened. He had come to apologize for his son’s rashness but hadn’t expected the Grand Duke to speak so harshly. He thought Lucas would at least try to placate him, but he was mistaken.

Originally, the Marquis intended to frame everything as the delusions of his mentally unstable daughter-in-law, whom he never liked. He planned to say that they had no choice but to dismiss her because of her mental issues.

Then, he could get rid of the unwanted daughter-in-law while continuing the collaboration with Cherda, with them maintaining the upper hand. That’s why he hadn’t restrained her and let her roam freely…

But at this moment, the Marquis realized that Kallen had thoroughly fallen out of the Grand Duke’s favor, putting their family at risk. His accumulated experience and wisdom allowed him to make the right choice.

“I will handle it properly.”

“How?”

Though he quickly submitted, Lucas’s response was cold. The Marquis of Addis was flustered but tried to maintain his composure.

Kallen had indeed made a mistake. Even if she was his former fiancée, she was now the Grand Duchess. She was not someone he could dare to touch.

It was because he had pampered his hard-won son too much from a young age. With his excellent looks and abilities, he had been praised wherever he went. Having never experienced failure, this failure must have hit him hard.

But that was as far as his sympathy went. Why had he done such a foolish thing? The Marquis was frustrated by his son’s series of unforgivable blunders.

But was it necessary for Lucas to react this harshly? It was true that having the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess’s names involved in Kallen’s scandal was a significant offense. But everyone knew it was just a rumor and hadn’t actually happened.

It would have been more damaging and harder to manage if the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess had introduced Kallen’s mistress. Those who gossiped were merely adding a few words to mock Kallen, knowing that Rosaline, by nature, would demand a divorce rather than commit adultery. Everyone knew this, and thus, there would be no significant harm to the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, and Kallen would be the only one ridiculed during the cleanup process. The Marquis couldn’t understand why Lucas was reacting so sensitively. It was as if he loved the Grand Duchess so deeply that he couldn’t tolerate even the slightest blemish on her…

A scene flashed through the Marquis’s mind. On the day the Grand Duke had summoned him and Count Marte to order a bride change, the Marquis had been furious and had struck Kallen.

He had never hit his son before, but that day he was so angry and humiliated that he had lashed out without thinking. It was the first time he experienced such disgrace.

In his uncontrollable anger, what had his son said?

‘It’s a setup! A trap! Why would I go to such a place?’

‘So, you’re saying it wasn’t you?’

‘Well… it was me, but…’

‘Kallen!!’

‘Listen, but I really don’t remember! It felt like I was being controlled!’

At that time, he thought his son was spouting nonsense. If he wanted to make excuses, he should have made them more reasonabele. Admitting he had gone but claiming he was controlled made him more disappointed than the brothel itself.

Then, busy with wedding preparations and reputation management, he had forgotten about it, thinking it wasn’t worth remembering.

Now, the Marquis looked at the Grand Duke with a new perspective. An archmage. Perhaps, just maybe, if Kallen had indeed fallen into a trap as he claimed, the only one capable of such a thing would be… and what he wanted was clearly…

“Marquis. My patience is not long.”

“Well…”

“You wouldn’t want your family’s reputation to be further tarnished, would you?”

“It… won’t take long…”

The Marquis, barely managing to clench his trembling hands, forced himself to speak. His voice was hoarse, but he was satisfied that he didn’t stutter.

He finally realized that to ensure the survival of the Addis family, it wasn’t the unsatisfactory daughter-in-law that needed to be discarded but his foolish son.

The dining room was silent. Though it was usual for no sound of cutlery to be heard, the servants felt suffocated. It was an intuition born from their experience serving the Grand Duke.

Today, their master seemed uneasy. He barely touched his food and kept glancing at the Grand Duchess.

It was normal for the Grand Duke to try to win the Grand Duchess’s favor, often making her feel a bit burdened but happy.

But today was different. He wasn’t watching her to see how he could please her. Rather, he seemed to be gauging her mood to find the right moment to speak…

“Luke.”

“Yes, Rosie.”

“Have you finished eating? Shall we go up?”

“Yes.”

Knowing Lucas well, Rosaline ended the situation first. She forced the question, knowing he would only respond with ‘Yes,’ but frowned when she saw his half-full plate.

It couldn’t be helped. She would have him eat again after they talked. Rosaline sighed softly and reached out her hand. Lucas, noticing her displeasure, hesitated for a moment before quickly taking her hand and escorting her.

As the dining room door closed, all the servants sighed simultaneously. Now they could finally breathe easily.

“Luke. What do you want to say?”

“Rosie…”

In their bedroom, after dismissing the attendants and closing the door, Rosaline spoke first. Lucas, startled, avoided her gaze and couldn’t speak, so Rosaline squeezed his hand.

When her fingers naturally intertwined with his long, slender ones, Lucas couldn’t help but smile, even in this serious situation. Her small, warm touch was endearing. He swallowed hard and, as if making a decision, began to speak.

“Please don’t misunderstand. There’s a rumor recently involving you…”

“I’ve heard. They say Kallen Addis is my lover, right?”

Rosaline interrupted Lucas, causing him to momentarily stop breathing. Hearing that man’s name and the word ‘lover’ from her lips felt like his heart was being torn apart. His vision darkened for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and glanced at Rosaline.

He was afraid to see her expression. What if she looked wistful? What if she had a determined look, ready to confess? Despite imagining countless scenarios in a short time, Lucas felt relieved when he saw her actual expression.

Her face clearly showed annoyance and displeasure. The warmth returned to his cold fingertips.

“What is it? Did you… believe it, Luke?”

If you could express the sentence ‘How could you?’ with a facial expression, it would look like hers. While Rosaline’s face was filled with doubt and shock, Lucas felt like he was flying.