122. Caitlyn’s Slip of the Tongue (1)

For a while, only the scratching sound of a pen could be heard in the office. Anette occupied a chair, puffing her cheeks with a face full of discontent.

It had been quite some time since Anette burst into the office and glared at Darius without saying a word.

Anette was angry. But since Anette puffing her cheeks like a pufferfish looked quite cute, Darius pretended not to notice his wife’s anger and focused on his work.

Only after finishing his last signature did Darius ask.

“So, Anette. What’s the matter?”

“I see you can finally see me now?”

“You came in without saying anything, so I thought you had nothing particular to say.”

There was undisguised laughter hanging in his voice.

Anette, who was about to say something in irritation, once again ended up not opening her mouth and swallowed her words.

Only then did Darius ask again with a somewhat serious face.

“I heard you met Miss Caitlyn. Did something not go well?”

“Why do you call her ‘Miss Caitlyn’?”

“Pardon?”

“She’s your sister-in-law.”

“You two aren’t that kind of relationship.”

“No, whether I’m friendly with her or enemies, my legal younger sister should be called sister-in-law!”

Stomping her foot, Anette finally snapped.

“Why, is it because we haven’t even registered our marriage that you can’t call her that?”

“Ah.”

Darius stroked his chin. So that was the issue after all. His straightforward admission made Anette’s knees wobble.

‘What? That was true?’

My world collapsed today.

Even the last bit of hope that Caitlyn might have been lying was now gone.

After this repeated confirmation, Anette was now on the verge of tears.

“What’s the use of giving half your life for me…… when I’m not even your real wife……”

“Did your ‘sister-in-law’ tell you? That our marriage isn’t registered?”

“I, I, I’m leaving this house. Why am I here when it’s not even my home.”

Darius embraced Anette, who was threatening to pack her bags and leave immediately. The embrace of a man who hadn’t even properly registered his wife’s family status was incongruously gentle despite his carelessness. This fact made Anette even more upset.

“I still remember the day I went to meet Anette.”

Though it wasn’t the sweet story he had told Rose and Alexander, it was clearly a day that would never be forgotten in Darius’s memory.

From the moment he went to meet his bride, he could feel that the Pochet family treated Anette, the daughter of the late marchioness, as a nuisance.

“Your family showed no consideration for a daughter who was leaving for a land from which it would be difficult to return once married.”

His wife didn’t deserve such treatment.

So when Darius returned to Inkheart and was filling out the marriage documents to be submitted to the Great Temple in the capital, he suddenly thought.

Let’s play a little mischief.

‘What if I don’t give the Pochet family what they want from this marriage?’

If he didn’t put the Pochet name on the Golden Plate they desperately wanted, if he didn’t give the Pochet family the qualification for a marriage alliance with the imperial family, how long would it take them to notice?

“At first, I thought they would come to complain right away without taking long.”

If they had any interest in their daughter who had gone to a distant place, they couldn’t have failed to notice.

“In the end, they only checked when it was time to select the crown prince’s bride.”

He had been expecting his in-laws to come grab him by the collar much earlier.

If they had pressed him and seriously asked if he intended to take responsibility for their daughter’s life, he would have been reassured instead.

Between his wife’s in-laws being trash without a second thought and them maintaining at least minimal courtesy, which would be better?

Darius confessed with deep regret.

“I still hate your family. Though you probably don’t want to hear this since they raised you.”

As he had initially thought, the Pochet family had not a shred of affection for Anette. Confirming this wasn’t entirely pleasant.

“Who in our North doesn’t know that Anette is the lady of Castle Inkheart?”

Even as she pushed away Darius’s arms with a sulky face, the force behind her push was much weaker than before.

Her expression was half understanding after hearing the circumstances, and half resentful about why he hadn’t told her.

“This is bad. If people find out that our lady is angry because of me, I’ll be severely scolded by everyone in the castle. Do you know how much people like you?”

But then, Darius began.

“Why do you say you’ll leave home? If we’re legally unmarried, are you going to go find a new husband?”

“I really should—!”

“That, absolutely not.”

Thinking she might really do it when looking at her smug husband, but unable to say those words, Anette turned her head away. Rather die than suffer.

Darius was pleased that Anette wouldn’t say she would find a new husband even in anger.

“Now that it’s been discovered, shall we register our marriage? Come to think of it, I’m really anxious. How did I leave Anette unmarried until now?”

He truly liked Anette.

And the more he liked Anette, the angrier he became about the treatment she had received from the marquis family.

To suddenly remember that Anette is the daughter of Marquis Pochet and Caitlyn’s older sister when they needed a daughter who had become the Northern Grand Duchess. Moreover, how could they come to claim that right as if it were natural?

When she wasn’t needed, they never once thought of her.

These feelings gathered to form a sharp mischief.

With a subtle voice he had never used before, Darius tempted Anette.

“We can register the marriage right away, but…… since things have turned out this way, would you mind delaying it for a few more months?”

Anette’s eyes widened as she understood what he meant.

“Since it’s already like this, there’s not much difference between doing it today or tomorrow.”

The reason Caitlyn came was to qualify for the crown prince’s bride selection. If Darius and Anette’s marriage registration isn’t properly completed before the crown prince’s bride selection begins, the Pochet family’s dream will burst like a bubble.

“We can watch your family stomp the ground in frustration without lifting a finger.”

His voice was sweet as he shared the plan to trick others. Anette nodded.

As he said, she wanted to take this opportunity to get back at her family.

* * *

Caitlyn’s mouth fell open.

“You know the marriage isn’t registered but you’re going to leave it as is?”

“Who said we’re leaving it as is? I told you, there seems to have been some mistake, but now that we know, we’ll register it.”

It’s just that the registration will be submitted late. If asked when, perhaps around the time when no one cares whether the Pochet family is related to the Grand Duke’s family by marriage or not?

By the time the crown prince’s bride selection is in full swing, no one will care whether the Pochet family belatedly puts their name on the Golden Plate or not. The candidate application deadline will have already passed.

“Are you in your right mind? Anette, this is about your rights, why are you so carefree about it! You should be thinking about getting recognition for everything you’ve done in the North for the past two years!”

Caitlyn shouted at Anette, trying to control her boiling insides.

Although she had pretended to be calm earlier, Anette’s pale complexion showed that she clearly hadn’t known this fact. She seemed to have gone straight to the Grand Duke to confront him after their conversation.

But despite confirming that her words weren’t lies, what was with this calm response?

‘I don’t care if you get officially recognized by the Great Temple for your marriage and end up expelled from your position as Grand Duchess. The real problem is that our family has no marital ties to the Grand Duke’s family, and I can’t be considered as a candidate for the crown prince’s bride!’

Caitlyn fidgeted anxiously, but Anette’s expression remained calm.

In the North’s temple, Anette and Darius’s marriage contract was properly stored. On the family tree in Castle Inkheart, Anette’s name was written next to Darius’s.

On that family tree, there was a blank space below Anette’s name.

It was a blank space left in case Anette died young and Darius welcomed a second wife. Of course, when Anette found out about this, she angrily erased that blank space right then and there.

〈Whether I live or die, don’t even dream of a second wife!〉

The expression of Darius, who nodded in agreement while grinning as if it were someone else’s business, was still vivid in Anette’s eyes.

So the only place where the registration hadn’t been made was the Great Temple in the capital.

“There’s also such a thing as common-law marriage in this world. Besides, it’s not uncommon for couples in arranged marriages to not officially announce their marriage until an heir is born.”

“Argh, shut up! After bringing such an enormous dowry, how dare you make excuses now?”

“I said we’ll register it, didn’t I? I understand your situation is urgent, but isn’t the fault also with those who didn’t verify if the contract was properly completed after providing such an enormous dowry?”

“I-if you antagonize the South like this, do you think your family will be able to get cotton again? Even though you married for cotton!”

Remembering cotton, Caitlyn raised her voice again.

“We’re rich enough now to buy cotton at full price as much as we want.”

“We won’t sell to you!”

Anette cackled.

“You won’t sell? Or you can’t sell? I hear the South’s situation isn’t very good these days. I wonder if you have anything to sell.”

‘How did she know that!’

Caitlyn looked shocked at Anette’s words. Despite it being her own land, she had paid no attention to the harvest and had only just recently heard a single piece of news when the situation had reached its worst.

“It seems there’s not much to expect from this year’s southern cotton harvest, so this time I’m thinking of just buying cotton that’s already on the market.”

Anette brought her face close to Caitlyn’s ear and whispered softly.

“Actually, we’re researching cotton cultivation because we can’t rely only on the South.”

“You’re researching cotton?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a useless endeavor. Cotton doesn’t grow anywhere except the South.”

For the first time, the smile disappeared from Anette’s face at Caitlyn’s assertion.

“You’ll have no choice but to buy cotton from us!”

“Why?”

Anette asked once more.

“Why doesn’t cotton grow anywhere except the South?”

“Th-that’s!”

Caitlyn made an “oops” expression. That was a family secret.