The Art of a Brilliant Political Marriage - Chapter 3

“I have no intention of sleeping with you. I intend for us to have separate bedrooms. If you have come here with some tragic determination to give birth to an heir for my family, I thought I should tell you that it is a waste of effort.”

Was that really a line you say after pushing someone down so suggestively?

His overconfidence was wonderful. It really got my excitement going.

On the other hand, Cielin was initially puzzled by her husband’s behavior. Since he had women elsewhere, he must have a plan for an heir. Perhaps one already existed, considering how much the gossip papers made a fuss about him.

I understood it well enough to be convinced, but I couldn’t comprehend why he chose to say it while pinning me down like this.

However, after spatting those words out, Saves quickly got off the bed.

The words felt heavy the moment they were spoken, but as time passed, the sensation slowly soaked into my body.

My husband’s voice was low, but very clear.

Cielin sat up on the bed as well, but she quickly looked down to hide the sudden surge of joy. Her delicate shoulders began to tremble.

The loveless wedding ceremony alone was enough.

The cold gaze devoid of emotion. The new bride not receiving a single look from her handsome husband. Even the duty given to her by her biological father—to produce an heir—had been rejected.

My spirit was already exhausted from desperately trying to suppress the urge to dance with joy at such a situation. And yet, my husband’s further attack shook me violently.

I became Saves’s wife and endured his terrible attitude during the wedding. On top of the “unhappy bride” comments, he didn’t even want to share a bed. Just how much did he intend to despise me before he was satisfied?

Oh, I don’t need any more rewards!

Saves looked at his “devastated” wife and, seemingly satisfied, grabbed his discarded jacket roughly, turned on his heel, and left the room. He likely decided that staying longer would be a nuisance.

A political marriage without love. His family wanted Cielin’s dowry. Cielin’s family wanted his noble title. For him, this was a match forced upon him by his father, Earl Zikkeldocra, so it must be nothing but a bother. It wasn’t his job to comfort her; perhaps his coldness was his own way of making sure the “pitiful bride” didn’t get the wrong idea.

Even if I tried to guess my husband’s feelings, that was the extent of it.

And he, for sure, could never imagine what was truly in Cielin’s heart.

Left all alone in the master bedroom, Cielin gripped her indoor dress tightly.

Now that everyone was gone, she could finally release her emotions.

The breath she took was raspy in her throat. The dry sound was trembling uncontrollably.

“…Oh, this is just ideal. To think he would give me such a reward at the end of the day, it’s just too perfect—!”

“Hey, I can hear your voice all the way outside.”

Her maid, Litte, hurried into the room and scolded her sharply.

“Oh, welcome back.”

Cielin blinked her eyes and stared at the maid.

Litte was wearing the uniform from their family home, so he stood out terribly in this mansion. More than that, Cielin herself couldn’t get over the strange feeling of seeing his unfamiliar appearance.

“Litte, your voice is a bit low, isn’t it?”

“I panicked because you were showing your true self, My Lady.”

The maid answered smoothly in the voice of a young girl and placed a simple meal on the table.

A long-sleeved shirt, a long skirt, and an apron dress. His hair was short, but with the headpiece on, it was a mystery how much he actually looked like a girl. He was clearly a boy until this morning, but a change of clothes made him unrecognizable. Going from a manservant to a maid so quickly. I was amazed by this man’s skill.

“They said there will be no dinner for you today, My Lady. I’ve brought some random things I picked up from the kitchen.”

“Oh, I was hoping for vegetable soup tonight.”

“There’s no way they’d have that. Please stop being spoiled.”

Litte switched back to a boy’s voice and let out a short breath.

He was originally Cielin’s bodyguard.

Thanks to her crooked moneylender father, Cielin’s surroundings were always dangerous. Her father lent large sums of money at outrageous interest rates. The number of families he ruined was beyond counting. He didn’t care if they were nobles, wealthy commoners, or great merchants. That was how he built his massive fortune.

His debt collection was relentless; breaking up a family was considered a mild outcome. He would sell off the women and children and make the men work as hard labor in places like mines until they died. He grew rich by earning the hatred of others.

Because of this, Cielin was hated simply for being his daughter.

Even now, people she didn’t know directed their resentment toward her.

To protect his daughter, her father took a boy who was given up as debt collateral, trained him to be an assassin, and made him her guard. It was an underhanded method. What’s more, her father actually thought he was showing Litte mercy, which was truly exasperating.

Litte himself claimed that his situation was better than most. Whether that was true or not, it was a fact that they had been together for a long time. Because of that, they understood each other well.

And he was the only person who understood Cielin’s “otaku” hobby.

“Still, I’m surprised the partner was Saves Zikkeldocra.”

“When I said I wanted a handsome husband with plenty of mistresses, Father said the candidates would be quite limited. He’s a regular in the gossip papers; he’s a more wonderful partner than I could have hoped for.”

“I see, that makes sense. His face is definitely incredibly good. But man, I don’t get your taste, My Lady. Why do you want to be mistreated in the house you marry into? If you’re a girl with dreams, surely there are other dreams that would make you happy. Seriously, you read way too many gossip papers…”

“But the treatment of this new bride is the worst, isn’t it? A room with bad sunlight, the family won’t even give me dinner after the wedding, and the husband coldly tells me he won’t sleep with me.”

“Ugh, what a house. That old man’s nose for finding trouble is as sharp as ever. He only finds the worst scumbags.”

Litte called her father “the old man.”

Her father didn’t really care what he was called, so it was a familiar sight back at home.

“Well, our house is wealthy thanks to that nose of his. I can take pride in the fact that no one is better than Father at sniffing out people in financial trouble. Besides, it’s exactly what I wanted.”

Litte, disguised as a maid, responded to his smirking master with a deep, heavy sigh.