Episode 10: A Marriage Alliance for Revenge (1)
“What… what did you say? Senile?”
For a moment, Elise’s vision spun.
Having lived her entire life wrapped in elegance within a noble house, she had never once been subjected to such a crude insult.
“M-My lady!”
“Don’t touch me!”
Harry rushed to steady her swaying form, but she violently shook him off.
“Is it not the natural course of action?”
Despite the commotion, Reiner calmly folded his newspaper and spoke, his voice utterly devoid of agitation.
“As the head of the house, I must preserve the dignity of the ducal family.”
“What? The head? You?”
Elise glared at him in disbelief.
The sheer audacity of Reiner declaring himself the head of the house trampled all over her pride.
“I will never allow a shameless wretch like you to inherit the duchy! Even now, I’ll expose you as a bastard and have you stripped of everything!”
In a fit of rage, Elise swept her arm across the desk.
An ink bottle crashed to the floor, shattering as black stains spread across the carpet.
Only then did Reiner slowly rise.
His expressionless face carried a chilling air as he stepped toward her with quiet menace.
“You…”
For the first time, Elise truly realized how large and well-built he was.
Until now, he had always been nothing more than an eyesore of a child in her mind.
—
‘M-My lady! Please don’t hit me! I’ll be good… please…!’
‘A good child? Don’t make me laugh! Your very existence is a disaster!’
—
But the man before her now stood a full head taller, towering over her.
There was no longer even a trace of fear in his eyes.
“Struggle all you like.”
A crooked smile tugged at Reiner’s lips as he looked down at her.
His arrogance wasn’t merely born of his height.
He already knew he had won.
“The vassals of House Hayes have already turned to my side. The moment you concealed Gilbert’s death, you lost their trust.”
“W-What?”
“You should have known better than to stoop to something so vile—beneath even the lowest of men.”
“Ha…”
“If you wish to rebel, by all means, go ahead. Watching the pitiful downfall of a power-mad old woman might serve as a fine lesson to the public.”
Elise froze, unable to even close her mouth under the barrage of sharp, merciless words.
Reiner cast her one last look of contempt before turning toward the window.
“Take her away.”
At his cold command, servants rushed in and seized Elise by both arms.
“Let go! How dare you lay hands on me—!”
Reiner glanced back with an icy gaze.
Dragged out by the servants, Elise looked utterly pathetic.
Standing by the window, watching her being hauled away, Reiner felt a strange emptiness wash over him.
To think he had feared that woman for nearly twenty years… had tried so desperately to win her favor—it all seemed laughable now.
Of course, he had had no choice back then.
He had been small, weak, barely fed, enduring daily abuse and beatings.
And…
—
‘Help me! The door is locked! It’s too hot!’
‘M-Mother! Mother!’
—
As the memory of Elise’s unforgivable crime surfaced, Reiner clenched his fist.
The moment he watched his mother die before his eyes, something inside him shattered—and closed off forever.
I still have a long way to go before I repay everything I’ve received.
Simply throwing Elise out like baggage wasn’t nearly enough.
Reiner quietly turned away.
The desk, which had been in disarray moments ago, was now perfectly tidy.
“Harry.”
At his master’s call, the aide stepped forward.
Despite the earlier chaos, Reiner’s expression looked almost refreshed.
It was time to prepare for the succession to the duchy—
“Prepare the marriage documents.”
“…Understood, I’ll begin preparations for the succession—wait, what?”
Marriage?
Caught completely off guard, Harry doubted his own ears.
He let out a small laugh, shaking his head.
“My apologies, Your Grace. I must be overworked lately—I thought I heard—”
“No, you heard correctly.”
Harry’s mouth fell open.
Was this not the very man who recoiled at even the mention of marriage?
More than that, he had never once been seen with any woman.
“Who… exactly do you intend to marry?”
“Cecilia Fanning.”
“…What?”
A sharp intake of breath escaped Harry.
Reiner chuckled lightly and gave his shoulder a casual pat.
“Why so surprised? You heard it yourself not long ago.”
“Ah…”
Only then did Harry recall the contract marriage proposal between Cecilia and Reiner.
Elise’s outburst had made him momentarily forget.
—
‘I’m not asking to become your real wife. Just maintain the marriage for three years. After that, I’ll leave cleanly.’
—
The image of the delicate woman—yet one who spoke boldly without a hint of hesitation—left a strong impression.
It was equally shocking that she knew details about Mariana, something even he, Reiner’s closest aide, only partially understood.
Still, the fact that Reiner had accepted her proposal remained surprising.
Harry asked cautiously,
“Forgive me for asking… but do you truly intend to go through with this marriage?”
“If it frees me from the attention of unmarried noble ladies for three years, that alone makes it worthwhile.”
Reiner tilted his head toward the stack of letters piled high on the desk.
They were all confessions and proposals from the ladies of Brissen.
Some sent letters daily, while others even came directly to the estate.
“Well… if you put it that way.”
Harry, too, was thoroughly exhausted by the relentless noblewomen clinging to Reiner.
He neatly gathered the letters on the desk.
All of them would soon meet the same fate—burned as firewood in the fireplace, their authors’ efforts utterly wasted.
Glancing at Reiner, Harry spoke hesitantly,
“Still, since you are getting married… perhaps you could try to get along with her—”
“No.”
Reiner cut him off in a low, firm voice.
“If I must marry at some point anyway, it’s best to exchange only what’s necessary and be done with it.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Harry bowed his head quietly.
Reiner watched him for a moment before returning to his seat.
Leaning back lazily with his arms crossed, he closed his eyes.
Unbidden, a pair of green eyes came to mind.
Cecilia Fanning.
That strange sense of discomfort he had felt when sitting across from her surfaced again.
“…Getting along, my foot.”
He muttered under his breath, his brow faintly furrowing.
Harry paused.
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing.”
Reiner opened his eyes and straightened.
As if nothing had happened, he was once again the Reiner Hayes admired across the empire.
“I’ll need it tomorrow. Prepare the contract documents immediately.”
* * *
The next day.
Thanks to Harry’s efficiency, the marriage contract between Cecilia and Reiner was prepared without delay.
Returning to the Seymour Hotel, Reiner handed the documents to Cecilia.
“It should contain all the necessary clauses. Please review it.”
Cecilia accepted the papers and read through them carefully.
1. Reiner Hayes and Cecilia Fanning shall maintain a marriage for three years from the date of contract.
2. Cecilia Fanning shall be granted full authority as Duchess of Hayes and may exercise it freely.
3. Within six months of the contract date, Reiner Hayes shall adopt Evan March.
4. Reiner Hayes shall not interfere when Cecilia Fanning disciplines Evan March and his wife ‘in the name of a mother.’
Cecilia nodded in satisfaction.
The most pleasing clause, of course, was the fourth—her own prior addition.
To discipline Evan and Rosena ‘in the name of a mother’…
Even to her, it was an amusingly phrased condition.
Picking up her pen again, Cecilia looked up.
“May I add one more clause?”
“What is it?”
“Something regarding the mindset we must both maintain throughout this marriage.”
At the bottom of the document, she wrote the final line.
5. During the execution of this contract, Reiner Hayes and Cecilia Fanning shall not allow personal emotions to interfere.
As Reiner read the new clause, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Noticing his unreadable gaze, Cecilia added calmly,
“People can develop feelings as they live together. But we can’t allow personal emotions to disrupt what matters. If we state it clearly like this, it might help us think twice when emotions arise… say, if we argue.”
“…Or if we fall for each other?”
