The Villainess Has Proposed a Contract Marriage

68 – The Fiery Villainess

The time when Elpisia would treat Harthe as a mere pawn was soon to arrive.

“Ugh!”

The usually stern Ruminel Duchy’s face turned red as she spat out the tea she had been holding in her mouth. The papers on her desk were stained with the greenish-brown tea, and she felt an unprecedented sense of shame.

“Is, is that okay, Your Excellency?”

“Does it look okay? I’ve never had such a bitter taste in my mouth.”

Elpisia wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, her anger simmering. Meanwhile, Harthe carefully avoided her threatening gaze.

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Elpisia’s anger grew, and she asked in a harsh tone.

“So, why did you have to lie about being a tea connoisseur?”

“I wasn’t lying… I just said I’ve tried it before…”

Harthe’s fingers touched the spilled tea on the desk, and she naturally brought it to her lips, savoring the taste.

“Isn’t this the original taste…?”

“You, you…!!!”

Elpisia’s face turned bright red with rage and humiliation.

It was no wonder, as the spilled tea on the desk was equivalent to Elpisia’s saliva. From her perspective, it was like Harthe had indirectly kissed her. But Harthe seemed oblivious to the issue, only observing Elpisia’s reaction.

“Get out, now!!!”

Thud!

Elpisia, her anger boiling over, kicked Harthe’s shin with her high heel. However, Harthe only flinched slightly, reacting as if a mosquito had buzzed past her ear. This response only fueled Elpisia’s anger further.

“Hoo… hoo… haa…”

Elpisia, still unaware of her soaked dress, leaned back in her chair, her anger spent.

“That’s disgusting… what kind of person is that?”

It’s been a while since I’ve been so emotionally stirred up.

It seemed like I had written the contract wrong. I shouldn’t have been greedy, and instead, I should have just played along and sent him back.

At this point, I genuinely regretted it.

◇

Harte, who still didn’t realize his mistake, wandered around the corridor. As it was his duty to attend to the lord, he limited his range to within a radius that would allow him to return at any time.

As he walked, he encountered a man with a hood covering his face in the corridor.

Due to the deep hood, the only thing that could be confirmed was that his hair was black. At first, Harte thought he was a suspicious character and tried to restrain him, but the man’s calm demeanor stopped him. And it was the right judgment.

The man soon spoke in a young voice.

“The lord is furious.”

“That’s right. He doesn’t have much free time in his life…”

The man, who was muttering to himself, nodded in agreement.

“…… In a sense, that might not be wrong.”

“Oh, are you close to the lord?”

“I’ve served him for… quite a long time.”

“Ah.”

Harte scrutinized the man with his eyes. And he confirmed that the man was a skilled knight with impressive abilities.

He had a habit of killing his presence at every moment. Moreover, he was tense, trying to hear even the faintest sounds from a wide range. It was an impossible level of training.

Of course, Harte could only admire him once. So, he spoke casually.

“If you’ve served him for a long time, you must know the lord well. Can you tell me what he likes?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hmm…”

The man, who was gazing at Harte with a subtle smile, added as if making an excuse.

“… It seems like there’s no need to try to win him over.”

“Why’s that?”

“I think this change in the lord is quite positive. He’s showing human emotions for the first time in a long while.”

“Positive? But I got scolded.”

“…”

The young man didn’t say anything more. He just bowed his head deeply, still wearing his hood, and went on his way.

‘Is he a high-ranking noble’s shadow guard?’

At a glance, it was clear that he didn’t belong to the lord’s knight division, the Imperial Guard. Harte just inferred that much and stopped thinking about it.

What was more important than the existence of the shadow guard was Elpisia’s mood.

If their conversation earlier was true, it would be safe to return to attending to Elpisia. Therefore, Harte’s footsteps led him back to the lord’s office.

It wasn’t long before Harte received a slap from Elpisia.

The reason was that he had waved a duster above Elpisia’s head.

Their awkward first day ended like that.

◇

About two weeks had passed since then.

Elpisia gazed at the setting sun and thought about Harte. That useless fool…

‘How can someone be so incompetent?’

Indeed, Elpisia’s evaluation of him was spot on. He was a human figure who was hard to find any use for.

Just as she thought, Harute had grown up in a surprisingly comfortable environment.

Cleaning was done by the temple’s employees, and cooking and tea ceremonies were also taken care of. Moreover, as the owner of the Serene Name, she didn’t get her body dirty, and she never got hurt.

In reality, the only things Harute could do were memorizing scriptures and changing her own clothes.

At this point, she had been raised to a level that was even more refined than a mediocre noble’s.

“It’s clear that the temple’s education policy has gone awry.”

She was over thirty years old, but still not fully human. This implied a straightforward fact: she had been raised in neglect.

It felt like she was experiencing childcare for the first time, without any effort.

When Elpisia was lost in thought, the man with a carefree smile on his face, who was supposed to be the leader of the Holy Knights, had come to fulfill his contract as usual.

“Hello, Duke? I’m here.”

“… Yeah.”

Elpisia had a look of being stuck with a stubborn stone, as if a rock fragment was stuck in her throat. She wasn’t pleased at all to be ordering a man who was the leader of the Holy Knights around like a servant. She didn’t even feel a sense of accomplishment.

“You’re busy again today, Duke. How long will it take to review these documents?”

“A day.”

“Oh, come on! You can’t just glance over them. What if we get caught up in an unfair contract?”

“… Is that something you should be saying? What’s with you?”

“Yeah?”

“No, no… maybe you’re right.”

To put it bluntly… this man was annoying. Extremely so.

From the pressure of Ascalion to the restraint of the Empress, she needed to focus her time to deal with them properly. However, lately, she had been wasting time on this guy, which was unnecessary.

So, today, Elpisia had decided to tear up the contract in front of Harute. It would be better if they just ignored each other. This decision had been lingering in her mind for a month, and she was being indecisive.

“Duke.”

Unaware of her intentions, Harute wore a friendly smile.

Elpisia noticed that Harute was diligently doing something in the corner, but when she saw the result, her expression turned sour.

“Please have some tea and work. I brewed it myself.”

“Are you telling me to drink garbage?”

“Uh… I was sorry last time. I thought I could just add some leaves and brew it, but that wasn’t the case.”

Who knows how shocked the Holy Dragon Ereheit would be if he heard this story.

Elpisia couldn’t even keep her mouth shut, serving tea that looked like trash, and she was about to collapse from embarrassment.

From then on, Harute spent her days under Ereheit’s supervision, receiving special training.

The Holy Dragon lamented the temple’s laissez-faire attitude for about ten days.

Harute had finally realized that it was okay to serve tea to others.

“This time will be different. Please drink it.”

“What makes you think I’ll trust you?”

“Trust brings good fortune, so…”

“Ridiculous… Ah, fine.”

Elpisia bit her tongue and stopped talking.

It was a relationship that was bound to end today anyway.

She could at least pretend to be polite and spit out some words.

With that thought, a clear light shone in Elpisia’s eyes.

‘… Why is it okay?’

The taste is neat.

It’s not like Mimi can’t help but exclaim, but it’s not bad enough to be swallowed whole.

When Elpisia put the teacup down, Harute cautiously asked for her impression.

“How is it, Your Highness?”

“Hmm.”

How should I criticize it?

Although there’s some progress, it’s still far from enough compared to the dedicated butler, Chasi-jung.

“What’s wrong…”

The problem lies in the increasingly narrow distance.

The expectation that has built up on everyone’s face is heavy. It’s a burdensome face that has ignored people’s hearts for over a decade. Elpisia’s decision was delayed because of that.

“… It’s not bad.”

“Really? Is it really?”

At this moment, Elpisia had a strong intuition.

It would take a really long time to perfectly erase this moment from memory.

“Thank goodness…!”

Harute laughed.

It was a pure smile, like a child’s, after living through 32 years.

Elpisia had decided that it was other people’s business to not be able to laugh genuinely. But what about herself now?

She couldn’t muster the courage to tear up the contract, seeing someone who was truly happy for her right in front of her.

“… Tsk.”

Gulp.

For some reason, her throat was parched, so she hastily took a sip of tea. Harute’s eyes sparkled excessively, as if seeing that. It was so bright that it seemed to outshine the lighting in the office.

‘What a joke…’

Gulp.

Elpisia took another sip of tea.

Harute was the first burdensome opponent Elpisia had faced after experiencing all sorts of power struggles.

Ah, her throat was parched.

This foolishness was unbearable, and it was pitiful.

… Her throat was parched again and again.