Chapter 100.1

Chapter 100.1

André’s mouth snapped shut, struck dumb.

Mentioning lovers had been a mistake.

He had been taught never to speak unless it was necessary, never to open his mouth until every thought was settled. Every word that left him carried the heavy ballast of the Lafayette name, and that weight made slip-ups and regrets rare.

Yet now, if he could, he would have swallowed the words back down.

He had never intended to treat Miran as a mistress, but in the end, that’s exactly what it came down to. Contract marriage or not, the fact remained that for three months he would be married to another woman. Any explanation he gave, however carefully framed, would sound like nothing more than a pitiful excuse.

A bead of sweat rolled down his spine. The low hum of the air conditioner filled the silence, but despite the room being set at a steady seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit, the air felt suddenly stifling.

He hadn’t realized how hard it was to persuade someone who wasn’t swayed by his name or his status, who wouldn’t bow to his authority. At last, he understood why executives in his office sweated buckets whenever they faced him alone in that cool, air-conditioned space.

In the end, André shed his jacket.

“It’s only for three months.”

After long deliberation, his reply landed heavy.

“Ah…”

Miran muttered faintly, her voice dragging.

“Say it again.”

This time her voice rose a notch.

“…Back home, we call a woman like that a mistress.”

“…”

It was the first time he had heard the word, but the sound of it was unpleasant. He hesitated, unsure how to respond, when Miran spoke again.

“People in the upper class are used to arranged marriages, right? So for you two this marriage isn’t that unusual? Did that woman also say it was fine if you had a… another woman?”

“She was the one who suggested it. Lorraine has a man of her own.”

After a pause, Miran murmured,

“I see.”

She lowered her head, lost in thought. He stressed again,

“Miran. This marriage is business to me. A temporary contract.”

Miran twisted her interlaced fingers and muttered,

“But still, for those three months you’ll have to look like a married couple. Living in the same house, going on a honeymoon, meeting family, going to the opera together like today…”

André chose his words carefully.

“I’ll be renting a place temporarily. I’ll show up there now and then, but I won’t sleep there. No honeymoon either. There may be one or two official events I’ll attend with her. That’s all. Every detail will be written into the contract.”

Miran silently dropped her gaze. A heavy silence fell between them. Only the tick of the clock filled the room until, in a low, sunken voice, she murmured,

“…I understand.”

Then she lifted her head and met his eyes.

“If that’s all, can I go to bed now? I’m tired.”

André’s heart froze.

The warm light that always flickered in her shining brown eyes, like fireflies on a summer night, was gone. What remained was a hollow, quiet stare, impossible to read. He swallowed hard.

“…All right. Rest.”

Miran rose quietly and brushed past him like the wind. André clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, suppressing the impulse to pull her into his arms.

He knew she needed time to think. She was still at an age where emotions outweighed reason, and she had always been someone who lived by her feelings. It was only natural that news of his marriage would wound her.

But looked at coldly, it was only three months out of the long life still ahead. It might take her some time to accept it… but Miran loved him. In the end, she would yield to him, just as he wished.

Just as she always had.

‘That unlucky bastard.’

Suddenly Lorraine’s curse came back to him.

Through this marriage André had found a way to resolve all the problems pressing down on him in a relatively short time. If things went according to plan, he could protect the company and still keep Miran at his side.

Victory in a grueling war was almost within reach, yet he could not understand why he kept feeling like a cowardly loser.

Pressing a hand to his forehead, André let out a heavy sigh and lowered his head.

–

Miran lay in bed but could not fall asleep for a long time. She tossed and turned, replaying André’s words over and over.

She understood what he had said, but that didn’t mean she accepted it. To an ordinary person, the whole story was bizarre beyond belief.