Marriage by Contract? No, It’s a Marriage of Convenience – A Countess Who Had Her Engagement Broken

Chapter 6: Uncle’s family’s secret discussion

Liddellina spent the night restlessly in bed. She can only feel anxious about this marriage.

However, she couldn’t sleep and went out to the hallway, where she saw light coming from the salon. Is someone awake? As she approached, she heard voices.

It seemed that her uncle, aunt and cousin were awake too.

“Why is that woman marrying the Marquis? But I’m marrying a Viscount. I’ve only seen him once at a ball. He is very beautiful, but he has never shown interest in any ladies before, so why Liddellina? I’m more beautiful.”

“You should stop talking about him like that.”

Unusually, she heard her uncle scold Yvonne.

“Why?”

“There are rumors that he surrounds himself with prostitutes and is not interested in women, only men. It’s said to be common in the military.”

“Well, even if that’s true, I have money. Wouldn’t it be better if I went?”

“Liddellina was chosen by the Marquis.”

“What, why?”

Yvonne exclaimed in surprise.

“It seems you are not recognized as a proper member of the Drimore family.”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean?”

“Since my younger brother and his wife passed away, I inherited the family’s leadership, but you were originally commoners. So you were rejected. Only I, my late wife’s son Kurt, and Liddellina are nobles in this house.”

“That’s ridiculous! We are real nobles.”

“It’s too much just because I’m the mother-in-law!”

Minerva and Yvonne protest.

“That’s the custom in this country. You are not recognized as nobles.”

“But we are invited to balls and treated as ladies by the nobles.”

“That’s the same for daughters of big merchants, actresses and actors as well. And Yvonne, didn’t you steal Gilbert from Liddellina because you liked him?”

“That’s not…I just entertained him when I was bored. Gilbert, that hillbilly, fell in love with me on his own and left Liddellina. Whenever I’m slightly friendly, men misunderstand and approach me.”

Upon hearing this, Otto sighs.

“Even if Liddellina gets married, she will be a decorative wife, and I hear that the Marquis’s territory is closed off by snow and ice in the winter. It’s already difficult to go out to the capital city. It’s not for you. Give up.”

“But she will be the wife of the Marquis’s family. Besides, that man is revered as a military god by the people for his past battles. It is said that as long as he is in this country, it will not be threatened by other countries. He has status, honor, and assets, so he can be extravagant. Are you going to just let Liddellina have all that?”

“You’re being deceived by the title of general and the position of Marquis. He is a simple man who hates flashy things, and he’s just a war freak. And I hear that his territory is a very cold place. Even if you get married, you can’t expect a glamorous life.”

“Can’t I just stay in a townhouse in the capital city?”

Yvonne says as if it’s a given.

“It’s not that simple.”

Uncle groans with a voice like a growl.

“In the first place, we should have accepted the marriage proposal from the elderly earl who came earlier. It’s presumptuous for that girl to be the Marquis’s wife!”

Aunt regretfully says.

“It can’t be helped. The Marquis’s family offered much better conditions for the marriage proposal. And this is also because we have debts in this house.”

She entertained Gilbert just because she was bored?

Eavesdropping is something only lowlifes do. However, Liddellina’s legs couldn’t move from the spot as if they were rooted. She was so angry she couldn’t help it. She bites her lip in frustration.

Besides, Liddellina was sold to the one who offered a higher price between the Earl and the Marquis.

The Marquis is cold-blooded and calls marriage a contract. If it’s something that can be given away, Liddellina wants to give it to Yvonne anytime.

He chose Liddellina, who has been of noble blood for generations, only for the purpose of controlling presumptuous relatives.

◇◇◇

Before half a month had passed since the Marquis of Weller visited, Liddellina was told to get on the grand carriage of the Marquis’s family and head to the capital city to marry the Marquis.

Friedrich was busy, so it was the butler of the Weller family who came to pick her up.

“I didn’t expect such sudden news.”

Marriages of high noble families require various preparations, and Liddellina thought the engagement period would be longer.

“Yes, my lord is in a hurry to get married. That’s because in our Northweller territory winter comes earlier than the capital city and the cold is severe, so we have to prepare for winter before or after the end of the social season.”

“Prepare for winter?”

The Northweller territory ruled by the Weller family is located in the north of the kingdom, and it takes more than five days one way to get to the capital city. The Drimore family’s territory is small, but it only takes two days to go to the capital city.

“There are many things we have to do, such as procuring firewood, preserving food, and reinforcing buildings, and we can’t make it in time. So if we miss this time, the marriage will be postponed until next year or later.”

Liddellina doesn’t quite understand, but it seems there are various circumstances in the Marquis’s family.

Liddellina marries the Weller family with nothing but the clothes on her back, and the baron’s family will prepare everything from the wedding dress to the decorations. In addition, they will pay off the debts of the Drimore family. This marriage is a lifeline for the uncle’s family.

Liddellina looks out the window of the carriage, but she doesn’t feel any sentimental attachment to the territory she will never return to. She feels that this place, where her parents are no longer alive, is no longer her hometown.

She feels that the most important place has been damaged by the uncle’s family, and with a little sense of liberation in her heart, Liddellina left the territory where she was born and raised.