“Does a pretty woman like you know how to make cookies?”

Several men crowded the door to Marcus’ house as they grinned lecherously at Cordelia.

There were plenty of others watching, but the thugs were infamous for being bullies around the area. No one was willing to risk themselves to help. They were just watching without getting involved.

If one had to be blamed, it was Cordelia for being so gorgeous and Marcus for carelessly leaving a beautiful woman like this at home. He was just giving others a chance to take advantage of the situation.

Cordelia’s heart thumped as her face paled, but she tried her best to remain calm.

“I hear that the new bride is a rich heiress?”

“No wonder! Rich heiresses never go into the kitchen. How’d she know how to bake cookies?!”

“Beautiful, you mustn’t know our local custom, huh?”

The thugs’ eyes were basically glued to Cordelia.

“Women who get marr

“It’s okay. I’m here.”

Marcus asked Cordelia to go inside and close the door.

The girl followed obediently, but the man did not go in after her. She heard a few dull thuds outside the house before the men’s agonized moans and cries were heard.

Cordelia looked out the window. Marcus had beaten those thugs down. They were bruised and swollen as they begged for mercy on their knees.

The ground in front of the house was all bloody now.

In spite of this, Marcus did not seem satisfied. He picked up the stick that Cordelia had used and hurled it down on one of the men’s legs.

“Try to harm my wife again and it won’t just be your leg that gets broken next time!” Marcus’ voice was a deep growl, and each word was oozing with threat.

The thugs ran off in terror, and Cordelia hid inside, trying to calm her thumping heart down even though her panting still gave it away.

Marcus entered at that 

Josiah slapped a hand against his thigh, only now realizing that he had dug his own grave.

“B-Bro… Fredric, you’ve got to help me!” Josiah grimaced. “I never thought of stealing Z’s woman! Besides, my type isn’t pure and chaste women like Cordelia! Z probably has a loose screw or something to actually like this type of woman…”

Fredric sipped on some tea with a cryptic smile. Yeah, he had never known that the cold, brutal third heir of the Hamertons, who had always stayed away from women, had not only become Marcus Grist but had actually made an effort for a girl like Cordelia Jenner.

“Didn’t Z say that he isn’t bothered by the marriage? He’s just using it to hide his identity…”

“And you believe what he said?” Fredric rolled his eyes at Josiah. “Just wait and see. I don’t think things are as simple with Cordelia. Heh, who knows if Z will want to return to Centrolis when the time comes!”

…

After lunch, Marcus left, letting Cordelia know he was going out.

The village was not huge. Before Cordelia had come, Marcus had always gone up the hill along the village path. Not many people were there and the air was fresh, so it was a great place to be alone.

He often needed some quiet time to meticulously plan for the future.

Today, however, he could not get peace of mind. The filth coming out of Yelena’s mouth through the phone kept echoing in his ears.

Marcus took a deep breath and decided to go up the top when someone suddenly shouted at him from the back. “Hey, Marcus!”

A young man waved his arm as he jogged up the path below.

Marcus paused and frowned lightly.

“I thought it looked like you from down there! Didn’t expect you to be so fast. I had to run to catch up!

“Oh yeah, you’re all healed? Do you need me to get you more meds?”

Marcus nodded, answering without much emotion, “Thank you, it’s all healed. Thanks for going to the trouble.”

“We’re bros. Don’t mention it!”

The man patted Marcus’ shoulder, and the two of them went up the hill together.

Honestly, Marcus was grateful for the man. Seth Stafford was his name, and he came from a decent family, one of the rare few who were rich in the village.

Seth was also the only university student in the village, and he had graduated from med school. The year he had come back after graduating, he had met Marcus, who had been nursing his injury at home. The man was warm and kind. He was the only one who had checked on Marcus every other day, sometimes sending him prescribed medicine, when the entire village had found him too eccentric and hard to approach.

Their unexpected friendship amidst that hard time had given Marcus a sense of warmth… only for it to turn into a burden later.

Who knew how Seth had found out about the relationship between the Grists and the Jenners, but he had actually broadcast the marriage pact between the two families. The whole Jangasas had been waiting to laugh at the Jenners. If they refused to marry their daughter over just because the Grists had fallen, it would turn into another piece of juicy gossip in the business field later on and the Jenners would become the prime example of someone lacking credibility.

Caught in the predicament, the Jenners had been forced to make Cordelia marry Marcus in Yelena’s place.

“Oh, right, I haven’t asked you about newlywed life!” Seth grinned gleefully as he scanned Marcus. “You look radiant. Having a good time with your wife, huh?

“Speaking of which, I’m basically your wingman. When are you taking her to meet me?”

Marcus tried to force a smile through his glower, looking extremely unnatural.

Back when he had come to nurse his injury in this village, he had only taken Marcus’ identity after coincidentally finding out that the Grists were gone and Marcus Grist, based on his ID, looked incredibly like him.

He had concealed his real identity so he could prepare himself and get his plan ready. Getting married had not been part of his plan!

It was kind of hard to handle Seth when he got too friendly…

“Right, I heard that the Jenner heiress doesn’t have the best temper?” Seth asked, looking at Marcus in concern. “Hah, she grew up being doted on, after all. It’s no wonder she’d have a bit of a tantrum. Try to keep it together. Don’t try getting even with a woman!”

“Mm, I got it,” Marcus answered flatly.

Although the marriage had been unexpected, it was fortunate that the person he had married was not the heiress of the Jenners. If he had married Yelena Jenner, he might have actually wanted to choke Seth to death.

Since the two men had not met for some time, Seth invited Marcus to have a drink at his place. Just as Marcus struggled to find a way to reject the offer, a few older women ran up the path to the hill.

“Gosh, Marcus, you’re here? Hurry back home!”

“Your dear wife will be crumbling soon otherwise!”

Gossiping was the favorite activity of older women in the village.

“Gah, your wife’s too pretty. The men are all captivated by her with one glance. And you’re still in the mood to roam around the hill? Things will be going south if you don’t go back now!”

Marcus seemed alarmed as he rushed back home.

“Does a pretty woman like you know how to make cookies?”

Several men crowded the door to Marcus’ house as they grinned lecherously at Cordelia.

There were plenty of others watching, but the thugs were infamous for being bullies around the area. No one was willing to risk themselves to help. They were just watching without getting involved.

If one had to be blamed, it was Cordelia for being so gorgeous and Marcus for carelessly leaving a beautiful woman like this at home. He was just giving others a chance to take advantage of the situation.

Cordelia’s heart thumped as her face paled, but she tried her best to remain calm.

“I hear that the new bride is a rich heiress?”

“No wonder! Rich heiresses never go into the kitchen. How’d she know how to bake cookies?!”

“Beautiful, you mustn’t know our local custom, huh?”

The thugs’ eyes were basically glued to Cordelia.

“Women who get married over here have to bake cookies to bring them to the neighbors! You got married a few days ago, a

Chapter 15