What’s Wrong With My Marriage? I Was Bought as a Wife, Yet My Husband Is Madly in Love With Me! - Chapter 7

This was the first time in her life that Luce had visited a luxury shopping district.

She had no idea what kind of shops were there. When she asked Klaus, who was walking beside her, he gave a vague, muddled answer.

“…Ah, well. My apologies, I’m actually not very familiar with this part of town.”

It seemed he usually only bought and wore a fixed set of clothes. He relied entirely on his butler, Deck, and had never really thought about choosing and buying things for himself.

To Luce’s eyes, the clothes Klaus wore were high-quality and stylish. While she was impressed by the butler’s excellent taste, she also felt a sense of surprise.

“You’re always so handsome, Klaus, so I assumed you were extra careful about your clothing.”

“Eh?”

He let out a startled sound and stopped in his tracks. Wondering what was wrong, Luce looked up to see him standing frozen, hand pressed to his mouth.

“Klaus?”

When she called his name, his ears turned bright red. What on earth had happened?

“L-Luce called me handsome.”

“Oh!”

Now it was Luce’s turn to let out a startled cry.

Certainly, she had just called him handsome. But to her, it was just a general observation—anyone who looked at Klaus would think so. She had simply put the thought into words.

(N-Now I’m getting embarrassed too.)

The two of them ended up in a strange loop of glancing at each other, turning red, and quickly looking away.

After a moment, Klaus seemed to regain his composure. He cleared his throat and spoke to her.

“Luce, would you like to get some tea?”

“Yes, I’d love to!”

Luce accepted his proposal immediately. They entered a nearby cafe. Inside, a pleasant silence flowed; it was a very comfortable space.

Klaus placed the order with practiced ease—only, of course, after asking Luce what she wanted to eat.

Being cared for like this was a first for her. When the drinks and dessert arrived, she felt a surge of genuine joy. The ice cream piled high with fruit was something she had always wanted to try.

(It’s sweet, rich, and so delicious.)

In the past, she could never order what she liked; she was always forced to eat whatever her sisters couldn’t finish. Just the fact that she was eating her own portion from the start made her happy.

Luce couldn’t help it; her face relaxed into a smile. As she ate with rapt attention, she realized that Klaus, sitting across from her, was watching her with a beaming face.

“Ah, I-I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing, Luce? The way you look when you eat something delicious is truly adorable. I love it.”

When he piled on such impulsive, enraptured praise, heat rushed to Luce’s face, turning it bright red.

(To Klaus, this probably means nothing. If I get embarrassed every single time, I’ll start getting the wrong idea.)

After all, if she misunderstood and ended up humiliated, she was the only one who would suffer.

Recalling the time she mistakenly thought a marriage proposal was for her when it had been for her sister, her body slumped inward.

When her father had told her there was a proposal for her, her first feeling had been joy. Even though there had been a hint of confusion, she had ignored it, her heart racing with excitement.

(I thought I was wanted. But if I really think about it, there’s no one who would choose someone like me.)

Luce continued to blame herself for being a fool. It was so embarrassing and painful that she never wanted to experience anything like it again.

“What’s wrong, Luce?”

Asked if the food didn’t taste good, Luce shook her head frantically. He must have found it suspicious that she had suddenly stopped eating.

She tried her best to act cheerful, but her expression froze.

“Luce?”

(Why? Why is he here…?!)

Unable even to respond to Klaus calling her name, Luce prayed fervently that the man wouldn’t notice her. But her prayer went unanswered; the other party spotted her.

“Is that Luce Orlov?”

At the tone mixed with loathing, Luce couldn’t help but hang her head. If he hated her that much, he should have just ignored her. Instead, the man approached the table where Luce and Klaus were sitting.

“To think someone like you would be in a place like this. Don’t you think you’re out of your element?”

“What are you saying so suddenly? …Excuse me, but who might you be?”

Klaus asked, his brow furrowing at the man making the accusations.

“Ah, I am Henrik Riekel. …Sir, are you this woman’s companion? If so, let me give you a piece of advice. You should stop associating with her immediately. This woman has no manners. She caused me a terrible amount of embarrassment.”

Henrik said this while pointing at Luce. At this peak of rudeness, Klaus’s expression grew even more grim. But Luce, unable to notice Klaus’s reaction, kept her head down and prayed for the man to just go away.

She didn’t want Klaus to know what had happened between her and Henrik Riekel.

He was the “pitiful” man involved in the misunderstanding over the marriage proposal. At the meeting, he had seen Luce and flown into a rage, realizing she wasn’t the one he wanted, and had confronted her father. Her father had panicked and apologized with excuses, saying that Luce had lied because she “always wanted everything her older sister Cassandra had.”

(I did think I was envious of my sister. After all, whenever she asked for something, it was always granted. I certainly told my father that once.)

But she would never tell a lie in a situation as serious as a marriage proposal. Nevertheless, her father had scolded Luce and continued to apologize to the still-fuming Lord Riekel.

The fact that the meeting had taken place in a high-end cafe was the ultimate tragedy.

Those present had spread the story as juicy gossip, and the incident between Lord Riekel and Luce had been exaggerated and broadcast to everyone. Though Luce didn’t show her face in society, whenever her sister returned from tea parties or evening balls, she would tell Luce in detail exactly what people were saying.

In those stories, Luce was a selfish girl who wanted everything her sister had. The disgrace of the Orlov family who hadn’t been raised properly.

Even when she told her sister she didn’t want to hear it, the response was always: “This is what you did, so you should take responsibility and accept the criticism.”

And Lord Riekel, playing the part of the tragic victim, continued to trash Luce’s reputation everywhere he went.

He claimed that because of Luce, he had been unable to form a proper connection with the family. Sometimes he even sent letters, which Luce found utterly loathsome.

(He told me that because it was my fault, I should come and apologize. He even took me out several times.)

Lord Riekel would do nothing but list Luce’s bad qualities. When Luce sat there silently with her head down, he would tell her she was a “boring woman” in exasperation, leave her behind at the cafe he had called her to, and go home.

Luce never wanted to accept his invitations and told her father so many times, but he wouldn’t listen, saying, “It’s your fault, so you should deal with him with sincerity.”

(…Lately, I had been declining by saying I wasn’t feeling well, but…)