What’s Wrong With My Marriage? I Was Bought as a Wife, Yet My Husband Is Madly in Love With Me! - Chapter 8

One of the reasons Luce had agreed to marry Klaus was because of Lord Riekel.

(If I marry, I might finally be able to sever ties with the Orlov family. And with Lord Riekel…)

She had assumed that once she was a married woman, he would surely stop summoning her and spreading those foul rumors. And yet…

“…And so, because of this woman, my marriage prospects were ruined.”

Right in front of Luce, Lord Riekel continued to vent to Klaus. Most of it was a fabrication, a gross exaggeration of the facts. He lamented incessantly, claiming he had been so utterly humiliated that he could no longer propose to Luce’s older sister.

Klaus set his teacup down, exhaled a sigh, and spoke.

“Luce, just to be sure… I am correct in assuming this man is not a close friend of yours?”

“Hey! Like I said, this woman—”

“I am speaking with my wife right now. Do you mind not interrupting?”

The sweet, gentle face Klaus usually showed Luce was gone. He glared at Lord Riekel with an expression as cold as ice. Lord Riekel flinched, visibly overwhelmed. Klaus then turned back to Luce, his expression shifting back to his usual tenderness so instantly that she was startled.

“So, Luce. He isn’t a friend, is he?”

“…N-no, he isn’t.”

“May I ask how you two became acquainted?”

“Well… that is…”

“Listen, I just told you—yipe!”

Klaus grabbed Lord Riekel by the collar and forced him down into a nearby chair.

“I believe I told you not to interrupt. Shall I be more direct? …Shut up.”

“…”

“Luce, would you tell me in your own words?”

“Um… he is the gentleman who made a marriage proposal to my older sister, Cassandra.”

“I see. Then why is he bothering you like this?”

“That’s…”

Luce hesitated. If she told him the truth, would Klaus believe her? Or would he call her a liar and a shameless girl?

(It’s not like anyone ever believes what I have to say anyway.)

Her father had done nothing but insist that Luce was at fault, never once trying to investigate why the misunderstanding had occurred. Everyone in her family had branded her a fool, claiming her delusions were beyond help.

But Klaus was asking her for the story.

She felt a wave of anxiety. What if he didn’t believe her? What if he laughed at her? A thought crossed her mind. Maybe it would be easier to just agree with Lord Riekel and endure it. It felt like that would hurt far less than speaking up and being rejected.

(No, that’s not true. Even when I endured everything to be liked, no one ever actually loved me.)

The memory of her family’s indifference sent a pang through her chest. She tried to tell herself that a little more pain wouldn’t matter.

“I understand quite well that you are an intelligent person,” Klaus said encouragingly. “Therefore, I find it hard to believe you simply ‘misunderstood’ a proposal. Didn’t you ask Earl Orlov if you were truly the one being proposed to?”

Prompted by Klaus, Luce began to speak. When the proposal first arrived, she had been overjoyed, but she had also been plagued by doubt.

“…Yes. I asked my father if it was really me. He told me the suitor had specifically named ‘the lady who was looking after the children at the church bazaar’.”

Hearing about the bazaar, Klaus murmured that she was as kind as ever. In reality, Luce had simply been dragged along to help with her sister’s volunteer work.

(Please don’t look at me like that. I’m not kind at all.)

Feeling restless, Luce looked away and continued.

“My sister was also at the bazaar, so I thought there might be a mistake. But Father was so excited; he said the suitor specified a lady in a green dress, so it had to be me.”

She found out later that her father had been offered business funding by Lord Riekel. It seemed her father had been more interested in the investment than in confirming which daughter was which.

“Was your sister not wearing a green dress that day?”

“No, she wore a red dress. …But, to participate in the bazaar’s performance, she threw on a bright, yellowish-green cloak and danced with the children.”

(Sister always did love being the center of attention.)

“Still as fond of being flashy as ever, I see,” Klaus remarked.

Luce looked at him in surprise. He sounded as if he knew her sister’s personality intimately. But then she remembered: from the moment they met, Klaus had insisted he knew both her sisters. That was why he claimed he could never mistake her for them.

(…Maybe he really didn’t get us confused after all.)

His words were starting to carry a weight of truth she hadn’t felt before.

“Lord Riekel, you saw the sister then. Did you not ask for her name?”

Suddenly addressed, Lord Riekel stammered, caught off guard. Klaus clicked his tongue in exasperation.

“Then it’s clear. Luce did nothing wrong. You simply made a leap of logic and failed to verify the facts. Certainly, Earl Orlov is to blame as well, but this was an unfortunate accident. It is not something Luce should be blamed for alone.”

Luce stared at him, stunned. It was the first time anyone had ever said that to her. Her entire family had insisted it was her fault.

“I will thank you to stop insulting and stalking my wife.”

“…Wife? You actually married this woman?!”

Lord Riekel stood up and pointed a finger at Luce. Klaus immediately grabbed that finger with a grip that looked like it could crush bone.

“Ow… agh!”

“Calling someone’s wife ‘this woman’ and behaving with such insolence… is this the standard of etiquette in this country?”

The face he turned toward Riekel was entirely different from the one he showed Luce. His eyes were sharp, glaring with a ferocity that suggested he might snap the man’s finger backward.

“K-Klaus.”

“Ah, sorry, Luce. Let me ask one more thing. Did you only meet this man once during the formal introductions?”

Luce hesitated. But since she had come this far, she figured she might as well say it all.

“…I was summoned several times after that. He told me that since I had ruined his proposal to my sister, I had to apologize.”

“Hey, don’t lie! I never summoned you! You were the one clinging to me…!”

“That is absolutely impossible!!”

Luce finally snapped, cutting him off. Until now, she had always obeyed her father’s orders to be patient and submissive.

(I thought it was for the good of the family. …I thought if I just listened, they might eventually love me.)

But things were different now. Klaus had listened to her, and he had believed her. She couldn’t just stay silent and endure it anymore. If she let Riekel’s words stand, Klaus would be the one made to look like a fool.

Lord Riekel, clearly not expecting her to talk back, tried to stand up in a fit of rage.

“I see.”

Klaus’s voice rang out, quiet but commanding. When Luce looked at him, his eyes were narrowed into a smile.

“…Klaus?”

“Oh, what a relief. So, this guy is just a bothersome thug who’s been harassing you.”