“I want to accept it instead. Please have a fake marriage with me.”

Honestly, Cedine thought he would refuse. Even a fake marriage is a kind of smokescreen operation, and Cedine Liere had no practical experience. It was clear that her sister Karen, who had achieved brilliant results in various operations, was a better partner in every aspect. So Cedine had thought of several contingency plans in case Ivlik refused.

But surprisingly, Ivlik accepted Cedine’s proposal on the spot. He even seemed to have come fully prepared, suggesting they draw up the contract right away.

“A contract?”

“Things you’d like your partner to observe during the fake marriage, that sort of thing. No need to overthink it. Just consider it as creating a marriage life guide.”

“Ah.”

“I’ll give you paper and a pen, so take your time.”

Ivlik gestured for her to sit at the desk. Cedine felt dazed as she followed his instructions. It’s strange that he didn’t ask anything.

Is it normal to accept so readily? This man who habitually nitpicks at every little thing, asking why you blinked if you blink, why you breathed that way if you inhale.

Cedine glanced across the desk at Ivlik. He was writing a list without hesitation, even numbering it. Are there really that many things he wants his partner to observe? While the Bluebeard in fairy tales only forbade entry to the room at the end of the downstairs corridor, the real-life Bluebeard seems to have a great many demands.

‘There was nothing like this in my previous life.’

She felt a bit resentful. The Ivlik from before her regression wasn’t so demanding of his sister-in-law. He always gave her plenty of pocket money, and as long as she informed him in advance about who she was meeting and when, he never interfered with her meetings.

Even a blood-related younger sister would find it hard to find such a generous brother even to. There was a reason for the rumors that Ivlik was wrapped around his young sister-in-law’s finger.

‘He’s still writing… Is this the army or what? Why are there so many rules?’

Ivlik may be a soldier, but Cedine is not. She doesn’t want to be subject to all sorts of regulations at home, but his thoughts seem to differ. Was he like this when he married Karen too? She began to feel slightly disgruntled.

Karen hadn’t told her much about the fake marriage. From what Cedine could see without knowing the inside story, her sister seemed satisfied with her deal with Ivlik. The two used separate rooms in the Viscount’s mansion and lived without interfering with each other, but on days with couple gatherings, they would go out arm in arm pretending to be an affectionate newlywed couple. Then upon returning home, they would revert to their dry contractual relationship.

During their married life, Karen’s genuine smiles could only be seen when she went to the department store with her sister.

[Cedie, try this on. They say it’s the last one left.]
[Ma’am, you have excellent taste. It’s from our premium line, so we didn’t take many orders to begin with. We could only stock one of each size. Princess Sarah Jane bought one a size smaller just the other day. This is the last one now.]
[Even the princess bought one. Don’t just stand there, hurry up.]

When Cedine habitually tried to check the price tag, she heard a clicking of the tongue. A hurried command to go change quickly flew at her. She remembered Karen’s pleased expression as she looked at Cedine dressed up like a rich schoolgirl from head to toe.

[Do you like it?]
[It’s pretty, but…]
[Pretty, but what?]
[It’s too expensive.]
[Oh, is that all.]

Karen would sign the checkbook issued in the name of Viscountess Wintermore and wink at her sister. Her expression said, ‘Your sister made a good marriage, didn’t she?’ After going around one floor of the department store like that, both sisters’ hands would be full of shopping bags.

There was a reason why Karen, who had only lived as Viscountess Wintermore for five months, became a VIP at the department store.

‘All that money must have come from Ivlik’s pocket…’

Recalling Karen at the department store, it seems her sister’s satisfaction with the fake marriage was close to the highest.

On the other hand, Cedine was accumulating a strange dissatisfaction from the contract writing stage. She kept thinking, why are there rules for me to follow when there weren’t any for my sister?

To Cedine, the speed at which Ivlik was filling the blank paper seemed almost on par with transcription. The faster he wrote something down, the more anxious Cedine became.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s simple. For example, you might want me to refrain from drinking and smoking during the marriage.”

He must have just noticed that Cedine hadn’t written anything. Ivlik gave an example, saying he would help. However, it didn’t really resonate with Cedine.

“You don’t drink or smoke anyway.”

Cedine said, fixing her gaze on the sharp pen tip.

“And that’s not really a simple request. Regardless of the fact that you don’t drink or smoke, Lieutenant Colonel.”

If I’m a non-smoker and my cohabitant says they’ll quit smoking for me? It means they won’t smell of smoke anymore, so I’m grateful for the consideration. But it’s something they should bring up first, not something for me to force.

If a non-smoker were to make a request related to this, it would be at most asking to pay attention to managing body odor. If it’s a truly loving relationship, one might be able to express concern for the other’s health.

Cedine was more worried about the example Ivlik gave. What kind of clauses would someone who thinks it’s ‘simple’ to demand their fake marriage partner quit smoking have written?

“How do you know I don’t drink or smoke?”

“I already knew.”

“There’s no ‘already’, Miss Liere. It’s not information you were born with, is it?”

I take back what I thought earlier about him not nitpicking today. It seems he was only like that briefly when accepting the proposal. Cedine let out a small sigh.

Non-smokers can detect even very faint cigarette smells. No matter how much a smoker brushes their teeth, washes their hands, and sprays alcohol deodorizer on their clothes, they can’t completely eliminate the smell of cigarettes. To do that, they’d have to shower and change clothes every time.

Having said this far, Cedine slightly glanced at Ivlik’s expression.

“During the special tutoring last summer, you only smelled of soap, Lieutenant Colonel. Unless you showered before each of my lessons, there’s only one answer. Someone who doesn’t smell of cigarettes is a non-smoker.”

“…You smelled soap on me?”

“I wasn’t particularly trying to smell it. But you came close, didn’t you? You came behind me and whispered in my ear, and usually at that distance, you can’t help but smell the other person’s scent, right?”

Somehow, the more she speaks, it feels strangely like she’s making excuses. Cedine gripped the pen again. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. At this point, it’s better to write down any condition. She doesn’t want a contract between two people to be full of rules only she has to follow.

‘Right, let’s write something like this. Have the wedding dress custom-made at the finest atelier.’

From the moment her career path was set as an Intelligence Bureau agent, having an ordinary family like others became an impossible dream for Cedine.

However, she might experience posing as a married couple with a male agent on foreign assignments several times. Each time she enters a new operation, she’ll have to put on a white dress and veil from the Intelligence Bureau’s prop room and pretend to be a happy bride.

Cedine’s partner, who will change each time, will also borrow a tuxedo from the prop room. The wedding rings they’ll wear will also be rented items from the prop room. Like all items, they must be returned after the operation so other agents can use them.

In other words, it means Cedine Liere will never have a proper wedding ceremony in her lifetime.

A dress worn briefly only to take fake photos. And a ceremony that thoroughly excludes parts not captured in the photos. Sometimes Cedine would think about a wedding ceremony without a wedding march playing.

‘Not all fake marriages are the same. This will be the first and last fake wedding where I can hold my own bouquet in my own dress.’

It doesn’t matter even if her partner might be Bluebeard Ivlik, who may have killed Karen in the previous life. In this life, she’ll take Karen’s place, so her sister will be safe. If he tries to kill her in this life after her sister in the previous one, she’ll deal with Ivlik then.

‘Anyway, it’s okay to enjoy that moment on the wedding day, right? It shouldn’t be something to be criticized that much… Of all the fake weddings I’ll experience in the future, this one will feel the most real.’