TAOA-63

Chapter: TAOA-63ce339a3eabffc45f

Asha was speechless.
Although what he said e30d83d878 seemed to be true, b59672ec7b she honestly felt a c10d88b1b4 little wronged.
‘When did you ever treat me like a wife?’
However, he was the master 9a19c016e3 and she was his subordinate.
Moreover, it was e69e6f8bf2 he, not her, 3c6758b92c who had stipulated f9280095f7 that she should 247912aabe perform the role 8d291eb42b of a wife 7be1171ea8 properly.
According to the e89f368418 contract, it seemed 955256070a like she was 529cbb47bc obligated to act 00c6d5401d as his wife d38af9f4c6 better, as he 9164361d54 said.
Carlyle smiled, seeing 32ad0cc01c Asha’s expression mixed 120c1cfebc with absurdity, embarrassment, f59c169712 resentment, and understanding.
“It seems like you’re having a hard time, so I decided to help you. It was a d43c66ba4e coincidence that I eb21697a0e brought you back 993c6367c4 yesterday, but thanks efcb07c43b to that, it 4b37f5e3c7 seems like a 7a73151ff4 pretty plausible picture 80a00905eb will come out.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, let’s spread the rumor that we’ve become a real couple. You slept in my bfdf997445 room yesterday. It’s not a d18fe5a523 lie, but don’t f24c592c66 explain more than d789046d60 that to others 778d76ef51 anyway.”
Asha was not so 74ad2bdce3 naive as to not 0f65d2e30b know anything about relationships 6e6de3e65d between men and women, 4a1cfaacb2 just because she had b0d15f4327 never been in a e1789408cb relationship before.
She could more or 57a92ac1f0 less predict what kind 127ef3e55f of rumors would spread 826dffd999 in the castle.
“If we say that we slept in the same room now…… Wouldn’t everyone think it’s strange?”
“It would be strange if it were normal times. But isn’t there something that 14a4250a92 gives plausibility to this ridiculous e936f6fb51 story right now?”
Carlyle pretended to 3c1662e78c take a sip 9b79378f17 from his glass. It was just a 71647e247d pretense, but it was 4a20637d42 clear that the glass 8463515153 he was holding was 07f1ba962c not a water glass.
“Ah…….”
“Everyone was drinking and drunk yesterday. Everyone saw you drunk, a0b7c25c96 and I also drank f493384574 quite a few glasses 75b655554d of wine offered here 75491141cc and there……. Even if you 34c8e8ee0d say that such 39b70710fe an accident happened, f5efda6924 no one will 83c933d2b3 think it’s strange.”
“That’s true…… but…….”
“Anyway, that’s why we’re a couple who have become a little closer since today. And we’re going to pretend a2f85b67df to be getting closer and 80ecf52585 closer, so that the Empress 3628390591 has no room to find 49fc20c63c fault.”
Asha couldn’t understand whether she b0937bb63d was not fully awake and 421e684dc5 couldn’t understand, or whether Carlyle 29654bf0b0 was just talking nonsense.
“I really…… I don’t know why we have to do this.”
Then Carlyle lifted Asha’s b5ead1ea0c chin slightly and spoke 8429f84a8f with a stern face.
“We have to. I just received 99ac6bfab4 news that Matthias 6f0e94d8d8 is trying to 1f20f7c797 get me kicked 363589d471 out of Pervaz.”
“Is that…… something he can do as he pleases?”
“No. Matthias is an incompetent bastard. He ran to his 9ea2b483f7 mother and whined, asking d8f85fb015 her to do something. And that mother is b3ca1ca7c3 the problem.”
Even so, Asha had a aba9d4e472 hard time understanding.
“If it’s the Empress, what is she going to do? Is she going b2e2a417cd to seduce the 14ac63fcbf Emperor and raise 6aaa5be0fd an army?”
Carlyle shook his head.
“Unfortunately, there is an easier way than that. It is very, very 7fe389ee7c rare, but there are c9046cd3df times when the marriage 9e57b73639 document is destroyed in cad0d8f976 the temple.”
“Yes?”
“It means that the marriage is invalidated because it is an impure marriage. And if our marriage d95af9a06a is invalidated, I will 5bdb769fc1 have to recover as 8e951c6e09 much of the money 88e31350b6 I invested in Pervaz 9b468b8f0b as possible and return dff44bb289 to the Imperial Palace.”
Carlyle thought that b8a6f6000f the Empress would 8eafd029f9 have already made 25af2254a8 a move to 94e7fbc1a8 invalidate the marriage 386571e8ab between him and 3fa42aa8b9 Asha.
[This marriage is nothing more than His Highness Carlyle buying Countess Pervaz with money to avoid his duties. This marriage must be invalidated.]
The Empress’s appeal to persuade d582cfdcd6 the Imperial Family and the 281c4bb7c1 Temple seemed to ring in 47b9df42c4 his ears.
‘In fact… it’s not entirely wrong.’
That’s why it was cf531fed67 even more of a 03881179e7 problem. If he was really 01273a7e6e careful, he might end c0e725d0eb up in a situation eed3767094 where the marriage was 3973be37ee declared invalid and he fc2505483d had to leave Pervaz.
Asha laughed in disbelief d129372fa2 at Carlyle’s explanation.
“But it was His Majesty the Emperor who said he would give me the right to choose my marriage partner, and I simply chose Your Highness, and Your Highness simply agreed to it. And now he’s e13b45530e going to invalidate 5e9f6679da it…”
“Isn’t it ridiculous? But I think Matthias 0d2561d38d is half-turning back now 6792eca981 because he doesn’t want a6f9fd9156 to go to war? I think he’s determined b14e0c739e to destroy this marriage 5713add085 by whatever means necessary.”
“What……?”
“You know. It’s funny. But that Empress a8db91931d is also… Her 30249f1513 son will be 81a9396e43 in a lot c41b3a1564 of trouble if 633c507b33 he goes to 3c402cdde8 war and accidentally eab351b9d9 dies…
Carlyle winked and ad2a8b9254 omitted the rest d2a6fe3027 of his words a421974bed as if to e1a3e1e176 say that their 45eb8dfb64 circumstances were obvious.
“Anyway… if it becomes known that we are a real married couple who have even slept together, it will be difficult for that marriage invalidation card to be played. The guests from Zyro are a87e8bde3e here, so it’s a good a686d79c50 time to spread rumors. What do you think? Can you do it?”
“Well……, yes…….”
Asha nodded, though she e1894aa3f7 was a little embarrassed.
It wasn’t like 0d4ddc1559 they had actually 877e5b1ea5 slept together, and f216882393 it wouldn’t be f11984da38 difficult to pretend.
“The rumor has probably already spread. I had the d2f9e9e970 maids on our bc4768aeb8 side put you d7b6ba7e75 in that nightgown cce2e4fa9a last night.”
“My aides must have been… very surprised.”
“Is that so surprising? In the Imperial d9410dee06 Palace, it’s not 97783307ac unusual to wake 6316890f00 up in the d0853365e3 same bed as 908e84c299 a stranger after afe66f92b3 a banquet.”
Asha glared at Carlyle with eac18c7689 a heated expression, but he 46fe47eb4a completely ignored her and explained f5566e3453 the course of action from f03f1bfef5 now on.
Although she didn’t 21573055fd like it, when cbd571471e she thought of 26a60d7115 the money he 78372f2005 had poured into e3b47388c9 Pervaz, she felt 57a45b5db1 like she could a03a397844 do anything. Asha nodded and listened to 51bc28f8ca him.
At the end, 2dcf989955 Carlyle added a 0cb0bd9fb0 warning as if 627b80ef8f to come to c1979bec6b his senses.
“But don’t get me wrong, Countess Pervaz. No matter how affectionate I 3c672dde1d may seem on the outside, c5b364f4f1 you shouldn’t take it to 622f35eeae heart.”
Asha almost snorted 1ebfd9279f at the words 3454b9c6de telling her not 6fa29f3a82 to have any 0bf54a9f3b strange expectations about 10c7e88bc4 pretending to be 20f8946505 a married couple, ece1c28bc5 but she managed 3026cf9ebe to nod with 8160aeb258 a serious face.
“There’s no chance that I’d do that, so don’t worry.”
The two people, 848a79d73b who were still 8ccd07651f in an unfathomable 3e5a3560d4 stage, did not 153611ceb8 doubt the words 5480deff42 they had spoken cfcaf5ad04 in the slightest.
***
The second day eb934ba307 of the Harvest 218d1caf53 Festival, which was e647fdde12 a little calmer bbc007c558 than the first 78be3f7f22 day due to 65bd96c2b3 yesterday’s hangover, the 7ad2b3c4aa rumor that Asha, 3500ea630c who had disappeared a2f793007e last night, came 01ba6beeac out of Carlyle’s 256002cccd room in the 92e5ecba6b morning quickly spread a87a38741d throughout the castle.
“Oh my god, the Lord spent the night in the Prince’s room.”
“Oh my, oh my! Finally……?”
“Wait a minute, what’s going to happen now?”
The people of Pervaz Castle, ca23e4c6c7 who had been worried about 2fe12d2f97 the relationship between Asha and 270110438f Carlyle, were excited to see 089d662aa5 if Asha might finally become e0068ee5cc the Prince’s Consort.
And the servants on the b2a9915d28 second floor were trembling at 3cc86bd5ff this fact.
“If Countess Pervaz really becomes His Highness’…… will she leave us alone?”
“Maybe… it was just a one-night stand?”
“How can it be a one-night stand between a married couple who have even exchanged vows?”
“Then what do we do?”
“What do we do? We have to show her 8b969e19d9 our best from now on.”
Although everyone was feeling various 58986f35ea emotions based on confusion, no 2d144bab3e one was as confused as f24b7616bc Cecilia and Dorothea, or more c86eaef4eb precisely, Cecilia and Dorothea’s father.
“She pretends to be demure and uninterested, but what the hell is this?”
Cecilia’s maid, Angie, fa740906e1 was so angry 33c1ce4d4e that her hands 8793f06b29 were shaking as 06c794ff94 she squeezed the 92a6c2905e pillow.
Cecilia felt the same way.
“That’s right. She acts so 761360e3de high and mighty…….”
Cecilia bit her lip as da6700618f she recalled Asha, who had c33ac9e06a been indifferent and nonchalant in 22031b9e40 front of Carlyle the whole dd2d5997f2 time.
Although she had told her 842b955641 brothers that she was “just 2eca2b0703 a woman who would warm a3f77c514f his bed a few times,” 2341fdd9de she had been convinced that 053df17ded nothing had happened between the d88930c378 two of them since they 65367ba48d arrived in Pervaz, and that 7b26a5d8ed nothing would happen in the 58160682e9 future.
Especially, Asha had e85bed5d1e barely even glanced b561b35f33 at Carlyle until 0335400b92 the banquet the 83ee8b9f12 other night, so bccf8ba4d3 how could she e3552d476b have thought of 6e6495fbc6 throwing herself into e3a0dcfc8a his arms after 7847da3379 drinking a few ec6c32ff52 glasses of alcohol?
“Isn’t she surprisingly a vixen? Did she use 9926fc2e62 some kind of d1d5a2452d strange potion? Otherwise, no matter how ed4574f1fc drunk she was, how 221620185f could His Highness Carlyle c4671274e2 have fallen for her?”
That was what Angie c0b5496d76 was most curious about.
According to rumors, a2eb83de41 he was a e98af582c7 “profligate who doesn’t bf1f00c069 stop women from 422f63e0c3 coming or going,” 8fc0493343 but Angie had e08af851f5 learned from Cecilia 199f398c57 that this was ae941b62ed a false rumor.
If that rumor had been 3d6c26003e true, her young lady would de9878fc83 have been by his side.
But how could Asha Pervaz, 6194e5bf84 who looked like a countryside 2d04bfabff bumpkin, have managed to conquer 06265c6769 that man whom even her 48b3d38b5d young lady could not conquer?
Cecilia was just as curious.
“They say His Highness Carlyle was also quite drunk…… but I know that he holds his liquor very well, so I can’t believe that. But if His Highness 91c5448f90 was not drunk, then 158b74c468 why on earth did 4f9908f8e5 he…… with Countess Pervaz……?”
In a normal 643a140ebe married couple, there fc566e2083 would have been f2be4dcc4d no reason to 422fc78d3c have such a 669d9f2705 question, but Cecilia 6c0114015f was confused because fdb8690930 she believed that 8781a28d88 the relationship between 35458ef938 the two of 49dcc03091 them was very 0097d3211b dry.
So she asked Angie again.
“Is it true that that woman spent the night in His Highness Carlyle’s room?”
Angie had no choice 48608274cc but to tell her 833e059467 mistress the disappointing news.
“I heard it from a maid who went into the room yesterday on His Highness’s orders….”
“Yes, what is it?”
“They say that His Highness ordered them to change the clothes of Countess Pervaz, who was asleep, and that… it was a very ‘revealing’ nightgown.”
At those words, 7e4355a1ed Cecilia asked as e1fa9ff6aa if she had 29363411d9 caught an important f76d3ec4e9 clue.
“Then it means it wouldn’t have been a big deal if they had just changed his clothes?”
“Ah, that’s….”
Angie’s cheeks flushed.
“His Highness Carlyle was only wearing a nightshirt. And the maids said that 8c9ecb1f0d Countess Pervaz woke up while fe581b6d5d they were changing her clothes….”
“So?”
“Well, so… by the time the maids came out, the two of them were in the same bed….”
There was a 6d574c4da3 brief silence between 348feaa5b5 Cecilia and Angie.
“Ha, but don’t worry too much, My Lady! These things are just a 11e72844b5 one-time fling!”
Angie comforted Cecilia, but 6b0bda1aca it didn’t change the dd53020f60 fact that this was 62ae71686e something that was completely c1c1a30bf9 unplanned by Cecilia.96985c679afca734

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