What’s Wrong With My Marriage? I Was Bought as a Wife, Yet My Husband Is Madly in Love With Me! - Chapter 9

At Klaus’s signal, two burly employees emerged from the back of the shop.

“Damn it! Are you kidding me?! Do you people think you can get away with treating me like this?!”

“You are a nuisance to the other customers.”

The employees grabbed Lord Riekel by both arms, dragging him forcibly toward the exit as he screamed.

“Please, be quiet.”

“As if I’d ever come back to a place like this!”

The other customers were startled by the commotion, but once Lord Riekel was tossed outside, they returned to their business as if nothing had happened.

A pleasant silence returned to the cafe.

“What a disaster, being harassed by such a strange man, Luce. Our lovely time together has been ruined.”

“U-um, Klaus.”

“Would you like some cake? Or perhaps some baked goods? For now, let’s have them bring us some fresh tea.”

“Listen to me!”

When Luce spoke up firmly, Klaus asked gently, “What is it?”

“…Thank you for listening to me. And for believing me.”

“I know the kind of person you are, Luce. I will always believe you.”

Klaus mentioned that he assumed terrible rumors had been spread about her. He spoke with a tone that suggested he already knew about the history between Luce and Lord Riekel.

“…Since I was studying abroad, there were people who tried to ‘kindly’ inform me about the happenings in society.”

“I see… I suppose there were.”

“But please, don’t misunderstand. The moment I heard those rumors about you, I knew immediately that the man was the one in the wrong. You are not the kind of person who would do such things.”

Luce’s eyes widened at Klaus’s absolute certainty.

Everyone else had branded her a foolish girl, but Klaus was different. Even after hearing the rumors, he seemed to trust her completely.

(But… why?)

“I made sure to tell every one of those people spreading rumors exactly how wonderful you are. I told them you are a kind and thoughtful person.”

“That’s…”

“It’s the truth. Besides, you aren’t the type to want your sister’s things. After all, your tastes don’t align with hers at all. If anything, you’re troubled because those things are forced upon you.”

Luce’s closet back home was filled with nothing but clothes and shoes her sister no longer wore. It was full of things she didn’t want.

(But… did I ever tell Klaus about that?)

“…How do you know that?”

To Luce’s question, Klaus replied that she had told him. But Luce had no memory of saying that recently.

(Is it something from a long time ago that I’ve forgotten?)

“…Have you met my older sister before?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes, I have. Though I doubt she remembers me.”

“And my younger sister?”

“Yes, I caught a glimpse of her once.”

It became increasingly unclear where Luce could have met Klaus in the past.

Luce had never truly socialized, so she had never attended evening balls or garden parties. Her sisters always accompanied their mother, so it wasn’t strange for him to have seen them there.

But where on earth would he have met Luce?

He didn’t seem to be an acquaintance of her brother. Her brother, Ideon, hated having Luce nearby. Even when the family went out together, he would insist on acting like they were strangers. Remembering how he would boastfully introduce Cassandra and Mirella to his friends, Luce squeezed her hands tight.

“…You aren’t an acquaintance of my brother, Ideon, are you?”

“Actually, I’ve never met your brother.”

If everything Klaus said was true, then who was he? Luce had never been abroad, and the only place she could think of where all three sisters might have been together was…

(…The church where we did volunteer work?)

“Could it be that we met during volunteer work at the church?”

At Luce’s words, Klaus smiled happily. It seemed she had hit the mark. However, no matter how hard she searched her memories, there was no man like Klaus.

If a man like him had been seen during volunteer work, it would have been the talk of the town and more importantly, her sister would never have left him alone.

Her sister Cassandra was a beauty and very popular with men. She wasn’t above making the first move, either. Since Klaus’s face was exactly Cassandra’s type, she definitely would have approached him and bragged to Luce about it when they got home. But she had never heard her sister mention a “Klaus.”

“I really don’t recognize your face at all.”

Klaus didn’t seem offended by her words.

“That’s perfectly fine, Luce.”

“It’s not fine! If we really have met, I want to remember our time together.”

“As long as remembering doesn’t make you hate me.”

Klaus told her he would love for her to remember.

(Me, hating Klaus? Not the other way around? He’s worried that I’ll hate him when I remember… Was he perhaps a boy who bullied me long ago?)

But Luce had never been bullied by boys.

The mystery only deepened. While Luce sat in thought, Klaus called over a waiter and gave instructions.

“To apologize for the disturbance, I’ll be paying the bill for everyone here. Also, please distribute the new sweets from the shop across the street to all the customers.”

“As you wish, Lord Klaus.”

“Don’t just hand them out; attach a message card saying I’d like to hear their thoughts on them. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. Right away.”

Luce was stunned. Were they acquaintances? Noticing her confusion, Klaus explained that he owned the shop.

“I manage several hotels. The chef at one of those hotels loves this cafe. The previous owner was elderly and lamenting that he had no successor, so I bought it a week ago. I bought the confectionery shop across the street as well, while I was at it.”

“While you were at it… ‘as well’?”

(Are shops things you just buy ‘while you’re at it’?)

Luce began to think that perhaps her own sense of common sense was the thing that was mistaken.