Chapter 3:

A Signing Ceremony or Rather a Wedding Ceremony

After being engaged for one year after the shocking business deal,

we married. Naturally, I kept the contract business a secret from my family.

Hearing of the Duke’s utter heartlessness may make them faint, after all. I’m

probably the only one who can bear it.

We were originally meant to hold the ceremony in six months’ time,

but due to suspicious behaviour near the country’s south border, the military

made its move. Naturally, the Duke accompanied them. And so, an entire year

pa.s.sed before things calmed down. I almost completely forgot about my

engagement, the Duke’s face, and other such things.

Let’s go back to the beginning – the day of the wedding.

We were specially allowed to have our wedding in the temple in the

castle. After all, it is an idol– I mean, ahem, a Duke’s wedding. Humph, I see,

so rich and powerful people are treated differently!

I wore an incredibly gorgeous wedding dress that the Duke prepared

for me, made of the highest quality silk, and stood next to the Duke who was

handsome enough to put even a prince to shame. There must be something wrong

with the world for me to be able to stand next to a dazzlingly handsome man

like him. I understand this, so, young ladies, could you perhaps refrain from

glaring at me? I feel like little burns are popping up all over my body. These

jealousy beams are no joke.

I somehow avoided getting shot to death by the stares and lied

through my teeth as I swore my vows to the priest. Finally, it’s time to sign

the marriage certificate. Once we sign this certificate, our marriage is

official – despite being a thin and loose piece of paper, it has a heavy

meaning. Normally, after saying our vows in front of the priest and signing the

certificate, the certificate is stored away in the castle’s temple by the

priest.

On a side note, when remarrying, you need to trawl through storage

to find your marriage certificate. It’s a huge pain and everyone hates it.

Should I perhaps whisper to him later, “Oh, it’s probably a good idea for us to

keep our certificate in an easy-to-reach place.”?

The Duke signs with no hesitation then pa.s.ses the quill to me. He

even gives me a sickly sweet smile – what a masterful actor. Please ignore my twitching

smile. I sign as well with the quill he gave me.

With this, we’re now husband and wife in the eyes of the law.

But well, it feels more like a “super fancy treaty ratification/signing

ceremony” than a “wedding ceremony” to me ☆.

The reception afterwards was very

painful for me. To be blunt, what kind of punishment is this?

… wait, it’s a punishment I need to go

through for my debt to be forgiven. Alright. Sorry. That’s right, I need to live

with it.

My skin burns at the laser beam-like

glares of young n.o.ble ladies who come relentless. I greet lots of people –

coworkers from work, superiors, subordinates, friends from high society,

whatever – with a fake smile on my face. I even ended up coming face to face

with a member of royalty. Ugh, I feel like I’ve done enough socializing to last

me a lifetime. I’m not proud of it, but I was basically a shut-in until now,

just so you know!

Perhaps my internal screaming leaked

out from inside of me, because the Duke comes up to me.

“Are you alright? Are you tired?” asks

the Duke, sickly sweet smile on his face as he embraces me by the shoulders.

Yup, we’re completely in public.

Oh wait, I see, my duty has already begun!

That was dangerous – I almost tripped again.

“No, I am fine,” I say, cheerfully

returning his smile with my own fragile one. Mm, I think I get full marks.

“That’s good then,” he says, giving me

a sparkling smile that surpa.s.ses mine. I think I’ve overdosed on sugar. Ergh,

so sweet.

After that little skit, I couldn’t

bring myself to eat the food and dessert, even though they looked delicious. How

disappointing.

Nighttime – after the reception filled

with those little skits was over.

I entered the Physalis mansion for the

first time.

The Duke – no, my husband now –

escorted me through the entranceway. There, the servants are all lined up to greet

us. As I expected from someone rich, there’s many servants. Even though we

could use even just a spare hand.

“Welcome home Master, Mistress!” they

all cry.

They bow down with such great force

that I almost feel like they should’ve made a swoos.h.i.+ng sound. It frightened me

since I’m a pauper ☆. And calling me “Mistress”! I’m so embarra.s.sed

I might freeze up.

But my husband splendidly ignores the

servants.

“From now on, I’ll have you live here.

I will show you to your room,” he says, then takes my hand to lead me to the

staircase.

He brings me to an amazingly large

room. There’s a sofa, desk, and a desk to put stuff on. And just how many

people might be able to lay down on the impressive bed? At the very least, my

entire family should be able to fit! It even has a canopy.

While the room had white as it primary

colour, it was somewhat extravagant. Up until now, I’ve only ever seen a room

like this in other people’s homes – I almost pinched my cheek, but I stopped

myself just in time. Oh wait, this is someone

else’s home!

My husband smiles wryly as I glance

around, acting suspiciously.

“This is the bedroom meant for a married

couple. You are free to use it as you please,” he says.

Ooh, for a married couple, I see.  But since we’re a fake couple, he must mean

that I can think of it as “my room” as he said that I can use it as I please.

As I understand what he means, I turn to my husband and give him a short nod.

“I understand. Um, er, where will you

live?”

I will do my best to not delve into

things too deeply, but it’ll be problematic for me if I don’t know basic

information.

“A detached room – there is another

building on the outskirts of the garden, so I will be there.”

“With your girlfriend?”

“That’s correct.”

“I understand. I will do my best to

avoid that area.”

“…”

For some reason, he sports a strange

expression. Did I say anything strange?

“Is something the matter?”

“No. It’s simply that you’re so very

indifferent about this…”

“Well, is that not how our contract

is?”

“That is true. Well then, I will take

my leave now.”

“Very well. Thank you for your hard

work.”

“…”

His expression is strange again.

Once my husband leaves and I’m alone, I

stretch out and let out a groan.

Today was really tiring. A wedding

ceremony, then a reception. I didn’t get used to acting like a happy couple

even by the end. By the end, I was definitely stiff. I hope no one noticed.

Then, two maids enter as if they

swapped places with my husband and take care of my needs. I finally wear my

nightwear and go straight to bed ☆.

Tomorrow I’ll start my life as a

cosmetic wife at last. Well, I’ll think about all that tomorrow… zzzz.