The Stand-In Villainess's Contract Marriage: I Was Divorced After a Year, But For Some Reason, My Ex-Husband Seems to Be Looking for Me - Chapter 29

However, at that time, Kararize had no interest in Liana.

He was preoccupied with preparations to abdicate his title in a year, which kept him busy. Liana, likely threatened by the mention of a penalty fee, never appeared before him and seemed to be living quietly in her room.

Nage, the fiancé of Liana’s older sister, speculated that she couldn’t let go of the luxurious lifestyle she enjoyed as a mistress and had taken on debts. In fact, the money Kararize paid her as compensation had apparently been used to settle someone else’s debts. While Kararize wasn’t interested enough to ask for details, it seemed she had made a considerable payment to just one individual.

Liana was living so quietly that Kararize almost forgot she was the infamous “wicked woman Lana.” Her only outings were visits to a convent she seemed familiar with.

She made no complaints about her reclusive lifestyle, living unobtrusively and without causing a disturbance. At first, Kararize thought she was simply biding her time, pretending to be harmless to avoid being divorced after the year was up.

He knew women could act pure and innocent, pretending to love someone just to deceive them—just like his former fiancée, Valentina.

He was certain Liana was the same.

Yet every time Kararize recalled Count Tweed, he began to wonder if that was really the case.

Despite his stubborn exterior, Count Tweed had been a man of deep compassion. He loved his late wife and daughter even long after they passed, and it was because he reminded Kararize of his daughter that he had taken him in when he was wandering the streets in despair.

Could someone like Count Tweed really have been deceived by a cunning young woman so easily?

The eyes of Count Tweed, when he entrusted Lana to Kararize with his final request, had not been those of a foolish man blinded by love.

No, the only thing Kararize saw in those eyes was pure, genuine affection.

That was why he harbored such animosity toward the “wicked woman Lana,” who had supposedly deceived someone like Count Tweed.

Per their contract, Liana did attend some parties on her own.

The butler reported that, to reinforce her wicked image, they had deliberately dressed her in extravagant gowns and jewelry. According to the reports from the servants, her reputation at these events was, as expected, terrible.

She had no formal education in a noble academy and was seen as rude.

She talked primarily to men.

She even cast suggestive glances at married men.

That was the kind of feedback Kararize kept hearing.

On the one hand, this confirmed his belief that she truly was a wicked woman, but on the other, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was only acting the part because of their contract. Was she deliberately playing the villain?

He didn’t know why he found himself thinking this way.

Perhaps it was because he didn’t want to believe that his benefactor, Count Tweed, had been fooled so easily by a young woman.

As he pondered this, a major incident occurred.

Lana attended a party where Valentina, the daughter of Marquis Madariaga and Kararize’s former fiancée, was also present.

Even after Kararize married Lana, Valentina had continued to send him letters.

She wrote that she was the rightful Duchess of Kirina and demanded that he quickly divorce the wicked woman and come take her back.

From a young age, Valentina had been told that she would one day become the Duchess of Kirina, which had ingrained a deep attachment in her—much deeper than Kararize had anticipated.

But her father, Marquis Madariaga, had already arranged a new engagement for her. According to his plan, Kararize would eventually divorce Liana and give up his title, making Valentina the daughter of the Kirina dukedom, not the duchess. Her new fiancé was from a marquis family, well off and with a suitable lineage.

Yet Valentina disobeyed her father and continued to send letters to Kararize.

Even Kararize couldn’t understand why Valentina clung to him so desperately.

With Valentina and Liana meeting face-to-face at the party, conflict was inevitable.

The story that spread among the public and the report from the servants differed greatly.

According to the rumors, Liana had deliberately provoked Valentina, angering her, and when Valentina couldn’t stand the insults any longer, she threw a wine glass at Liana. But that was all part of Liana’s plan, as she effortlessly dodged the glass.

Unfortunately, behind Liana stood the third princess, Rosita, who had secretly snuck into the party to meet her lover.

The wine glass Valentina threw struck Princess Rosita in the face.

For injuring the face of an unmarried princess, Valentina was reprimanded, had her engagement called off, and was sent to a convent.

The public believed that all of this was part of Liana’s scheme to bring Valentina down.

Considering Liana’s reputation as the “wicked woman Lana,” that version of events seemed plausible.

However, the servants’ report painted a completely different picture.

When Valentina spotted Liana, she approached with her entourage and hurled insults at her.

—”You’re nothing but a fallen noble.”

—”An unrefined, vulgar woman with no grace.”

—”A shameless tramp who was Count Tweed’s mistress but now dares to become a duchess.”

They had reportedly subjected Liana to these unbearable verbal attacks.

Yet Liana remained completely unresponsive. It was only when Valentina, frustrated by Liana’s lack of reaction, threw the wine glass that it accidentally hit Princess Rosita.

The servant had reported it that way.

Kararize trusted his servant, who had sworn loyalty to the Kirina dukedom, and knew Valentina’s personality well enough to believe the report.