~Chapter 29~
“There are rumors going around that the Duke and Duchess have a strange relationship. We can’t hide everything from the people who see us.”
After hearing Elin’s words, Dominic rubbed his forehead, looking troubled.
So something like that had been happening without him knowing.
“If those rumors grow and spread outside the estate, it will put me in a difficult position as the Duchess. And it will affect you too, Duke.”
She was right, so Dominic couldn’t argue.
Elin took a breath and continued firmly, as if this was something she absolutely had to say.
“So from now on, I’d like you not to avoid me on purpose inside the estate. And please don’t keep sleeping in the study instead of our room.”
Holding back her emotions, Elin spoke calmly.
“Even if it’s a loveless contract marriage, a marriage is still a marriage. To others, we look like a real couple… and to them, we are newlyweds.”
“….”
The word newlyweds did not come easily from her lips.
“So I don’t want people to misunderstand the relationship between the Duke and Duchess. Even after your mother returns to the villa, I think it’s best if we share the same room.”
“I didn’t know something like this was happening.”
Dominic replied shortly, as if he understood.
“Actually, people at home have been testing me too, as if they’ve heard something. Even my sharp-witted stepsister seems to doubt this marriage.”
She didn’t want to say this to him, but she had to be honest.
They were bound together by this contract, after all.
This wasn’t something she could handle alone.
“Since we’ve entered a contract marriage, I want to do it properly. That’s good for both of us, isn’t it?”
Hearing that, Dominic felt something strange.
He was the one who had made the plan and pulled her into it—
Yet now she was the one encouraging him to make it work.
Elin waited for his answer, and Dominic gave a short nod.
“Alright.”
With a bitter smile, he added,
“You’re right. For one year, we should become a more perfect Duke and Duchess than any other couple.”
He had briefly forgotten the purpose of this marriage, but she reminded him clearly.
With the Crown Prince and the Hayan mine still unresolved, the last thing he needed was rumors about marital discord.
“Even if you don’t like me… you only have to endure it for one year.”
Elin said it almost like a request.
The words one year struck deeply in Dominic’s mind.
“As you know, the capital’s social circle survives on gossip every day. I don’t want to give them any reason to talk about us. And I don’t want to be questioned endlessly at home either.”
Dominic knew the nature of high society better than she did.
Rumors about the Duke and Duchess would be like throwing fresh prey to hungry hyenas.
Just thinking about it made him feel tired.
“And….”
Elin hesitated before speaking again.
“You don’t have any feelings for me anyway. So sharing a room shouldn’t matter. Nothing will happen. I’ll think of you as my sibling from now on.”
Dominic, who had just lifted a glass of water, suddenly choked and coughed.
“Are you alright?”
As Elin stood up worriedly, he raised his hand to stop her.
“I’m fine.”
Wiping his mouth, Dominic thought he needed to send her away quickly—
Before she said something even more shocking.
Think of him as a sibling?
If Higgins or Crown Prince Jonathan heard that, they would laugh at him forever.
He couldn’t believe she said something like that so seriously.
“I understand what you mean. I’ll do as you say from now on. I’m tired of people suspecting things too.”
Only then did Elin smile in relief.
“Thank you… for agreeing.”
Dominic felt confused.
Why was she thanking him?
“Ah!”
Elin suddenly sat back down, as if she still had something to say.
There’s more?
Dominic felt like he might lose his mind.
“This is something else I’d like to ask….”
Fidgeting with her nightgown, she spoke carefully.
“Maybe… no, definitely—my father and stepmother will come to see you.”
“Is it strange for in-laws to visit their married daughter and son-in-law?”
“Yes.”
Her firm answer made one of Dominic’s eyebrows rise.
“It’s embarrassing to say, but my family sees my marriage to you as an opportunity… to get money from you.”
Her blunt words left Dominic speechless.
If she could say that so openly, he could already imagine what kind of people her family were.
With a faint smile, he said,
“Now that we’re family, helping your father’s business wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”
Elin looked at him in shock.
She had expected anger—
But he accepted it too calmly.
“Pardon? But….”
Dominic was known as someone who succeeded in every business he touched—
And someone who was ruthless in the process.
On the other hand, her father failed at everything he tried.
And yet Dominic was saying he would help him.
Elin quickly came to her senses.
“There’s no need for that. You made a contract with me, not my family. You don’t have to worry about them—”
“Didn’t you say you want this marriage to succeed? That you don’t want people to misunderstand?”
He cut her off, throwing her own words back at her.
“To the outside world, your family is now my in-laws. If I treat them coldly, what do you think people will say? Didn’t you think that far?”
It felt like Elin had been struck.
She hadn’t expected him to interpret things that far.
“Y-you can refuse politely by saying the business isn’t viable. If they bother you, I won’t be able to bear it, so—”
A slightly twisted smile appeared on Dominic’s lips.
“Because it would feel like your family sold you to me? You may be fine with it, but your pride won’t allow your family to act that way?”
His direct words left Elin speechless.
She had offered herself in this marriage to escape her situation—
And he exposed that truth without hesitation.
Dominic looked at her calmly as she stood there in shock.
“You don’t need to be proud in front of me. That’s how marriages work anyway—whether among commoners or royalty. People exchange what they need.”
“….”
“I promised to give you everything in exchange for borrowing you for a year. So what you receive is your right. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Sitting at his desk, Dominic closed the document.
“I’ll handle your family matters. You don’t need to worry about them.”
Elin stood up, looking drained.
“The only family I have is my younger brother in the hospital. So you don’t need to concern yourself with anyone else.”
After bowing slightly, she left his study.
Dominic watched the door for a moment, then leaned forward, folding his hands.
“Not family?”
He had guessed her situation at home wasn’t good—
But not this bad.
Well… if they were willing to sell their daughter to a drunken old man, it says enough.
He quickly lost interest in her family matters and focused on something else.
“Even after your mother returns to the villa, I think it’s best if we share the same room.”
Meanwhile, Rosana, who was returning home with her husband, leaned out of the carriage window.
“Dear, isn’t that Elin?”
At her words, Baron Nelson also looked outside.
“And the person with her… that looks like Charlotte.”
The two got into a carriage and headed somewhere.
The baron and his wife watched carefully, trying to guess their destination.
“If they’re going that way, the only place would be the Royal Hospital. They must be going to visit Edward.”
Rosana leaned back with a disappointed sigh—
Then suddenly perked up.
“Dear! Let’s go to the Linderto estate right now!”
“Go there? What do you mean?”
The baron looked confused.
“Why would we go when Elin isn’t even there?”
“Oh, come on! Think about it. This is our chance since Elin isn’t there!”
“…Wait!”
Only then did Baron Nelson understand her intention, but he hesitated.
“You heard what Elin said before. She didn’t even reply when we wrote to visit. Now that she’s married, she’s clearly avoiding us.”
“But still… how can we go there without her?”
The image of Duke Linderto crossed his mind—
His cold expression and intimidating presence.
Just thinking about meeting him made the baron uneasy.
“Have you already lost your nerve? Didn’t you say this business must succeed?”
At Rosana’s sharp remark, the baron bit his lip.
“You’re right. With the Duke’s support…”
If word spread that the Duke was interested in his business, it would attract investors immediately.
“Let’s go.”
The baron and his wife changed their destination—
And their carriage began heading toward the Linderto estate.
