Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 102

“Now I understand why we never found the one who killed my brother.”

The person who murdered Daniel had left almost no trace, but there had been a few small clues: strands of hair, footprints, and the limited testimony of a few locals near the villa.

They had searched every possibility, scouring for the culprit, yet they had come up empty-handed. Until now, Lucius had believed that the evidence was simply too scarce. However, the truth was that the culprit had never even been within their investigative reach in the first place. If the assassin had been sent by a figure within the Holy See, then it wasn’t a soldier or a mercenary—it was a Holy Knight.

Only the Pope had the authority to investigate a Holy Knight.

“So it was a Holy Knight who killed Lord Daniel.”

Carl, realizing the same truth, erupted in fury.

“They must have panicked when we started investigating the church. They were afraid that the traitor within the Holy See would be exposed!”

“My family has deep ties with the Holy See. The moment we learned the identity of the traitor, His Holiness would have known as well. That’s why they conspired with the Crown Prince to eliminate my brother as quickly as possible.”

If Florian had survived and revealed this information, perhaps Daniel wouldn’t have been killed. If they had known in advance that there was a traitor within the Holy See, they would never have requested an official investigation from His Holiness. Instead, they would have acted with extreme caution, anticipating that sensitive information could be intercepted.

Lucius let out a deep sigh and issued an order to Carl. “Find and bring me the person who sent this letter. It was Florian’s assistant before he died—I remember the name was Remy. He was likely stationed at the front lines all this time and recently went on leave.”

“Understood.”

Carl bowed and exited the study. Once he was gone, Lucius resumed reading the remaining portion of the letter.

[Lucius, this is everything I’ve managed to uncover. I hope that even after my death, this information proves useful to you. And now, I need to talk about Brianna.]

Since this was Florian’s will, Lucius had expected there to be something about Brianna. That was why he had sent Carl away—this was something he needed to read alone.

Feeling a strange mix of tension and apprehension, Lucius continued reading. Whatever Florian had written, it no longer mattered. It was already too late.

[If I am unable to return to Brianna and end up dying here, Lucius, I want you to marry her.]

Lucius froze in place.

Marriage?

[You know this already, don’t you? You bear some responsibility for my death. I was investigating military corruption at your request, and that’s what got me killed.

I don’t mind dying. I don’t blame you, not even a little. Truly, Lucius, I was happy to help you. As your friend, I was glad I could be of use.

But I cannot stand the thought of Brianna being left all alone.]

Lucius tightened his grip on the letter, exhaling a rough breath before continuing to read.

[Of course, you’re already engaged. I know breaking off the engagement would be difficult. Realistically, it would make more sense to ask you to take care of Brianna while remaining married to Lady Kirchner. But do you really think that jealous woman would sit idly by?

And if you look after Brianna from the shadows, filthy rumors will follow. Think about it—if a nobleman with a wife takes care of an unmarried commoner woman, who do you think will suffer more when scandal erupts?

The world will turn on Brianna, hurling stones at her. And that is something I will never allow.]

Florian’s prediction had already come true. When Brianna revealed that she had spent a night at an inn with Lucius while trying to save him from prison, she was immediately dismissed from her job. Before leaving the Count’s household, she had suffered countless humiliations. The slap marks on her face when she collapsed unconscious in the carriage had made it clear that she had been struck.

If Lucius had failed to stop Brianna from leaving that day, she would still be suffering from those vile rumors, struggling alone.

[So, Lucius Carlisle, if I die, you must marry Brianna in my place. As her husband, you must cherish her and take care of her for the rest of your life.

This is not a request. This is my first and last command to you.]

Until now, Florian had never forced anything upon Lucius. Under normal circumstances, no matter how much he worried about his beloved, Florian would never have urged a man who was already engaged to break off his betrothal and marry his lover instead.

So, just as he had said, this was the first and last time he was imposing his will on Lucius.

But Lucius already knew this wasn’t the only reason.

The reason Florian was being so adamant.

“You knew all along, didn’t you…?”

A trembling breath scattered into the air. Lowering his head, Lucius let out a pained whisper.

“You knew that I had feelings for Brianna all along…”

Just as Lucius knew Florian’s heart well, Florian also knew Lucius better than anyone.

Florian wanted his friend to marry Brianna without guilt after his death. That was why he chose this method. By including such a binding request in his will, even if Lucius took Brianna for himself out of personal desire, he would feel less guilty about taking his dead friend’s beloved.

How had he figured it out? Lucius had thought he had hidden it well. He had fought against the urge to reach for Brianna countless times, severing his own feelings over and over again. Had he let his guard down without realizing it…?

[And Brianna, too—■■■]

The next words were completely blacked out with ink, making them impossible to decipher. After that, the letter ended with a final farewell.

[It seems it’s truly time to say goodbye now.

Goodbye, Lucius. My only and dearest friend.

Every moment spent with you was a joy to me.

I pray that endless light will always be with you both.

Your friend,

Florian Robert.]

Lucius let the letter slip from his trembling hands onto the desk. Then, covering his face with shaking hands, he quietly wept.

***

“It seems I raised my son poorly.”

Veronica had been fuming for some time now. Staring at the cooling dishes before her, she gritted her teeth and slammed her hand against the dining table.

“I should go and drag that boy out myself!”

“M-Mother! Please calm down!”

Brianna hurriedly grabbed hold of her. From the way the Dowager Duchess looked, she seemed ready to storm into Lucius’ study and drag him out by the collar.

Veronica’s anger quickly gave way to surprise as she blinked at Brianna in confusion.

“Just now… did you call me ‘Mother’?”

Brianna responded with a bright smile. “You told me to call you that when I was ready.”

A month ago, when Veronica had warmly welcomed their marriage, she had made a rather shocking request.

“From now on, call me ‘Mother.’ And starting today, you are my daughter.”

Brianna had stared at her in disbelief. She had expected the Dowager Duchess to have serious objections to their marriage—even if she didn’t go as far as grabbing her by the hair, Brianna had thought she would at least strongly oppose it.

After all, instead of marrying a noblewoman of high status, her son had chosen an orphaned commoner. Even if Brianna had been the one to clear Lucius’ name, Veronica could have easily repaid that debt with money. There was no reason for her to welcome the sudden replacement of a noble fiancée with a commoner bride.

Yet, contrary to all expectations, the Dowager Duchess had not only accepted Brianna but had also insisted on being called ‘Mother.’

The real problem, however, had been Brianna herself. Having lost her mother at a young age, the word ‘Mother’ had become foreign to her, a relic of the past. The Dowager Duchess had urged her to use it immediately, but Brianna simply couldn’t bring herself to say it.

In the end, she had asked for more time to prepare herself. Veronica had told her to use the term whenever she felt ready, and today, at last, she had.

Though, in truth, she had blurted it out in a desperate attempt to stop Veronica from scolding Lucius for skipping dinner.

Feeling much better, Veronica instructed the servants to reheat the food. Then, with a warm smile, she said to Brianna, “Let’s eat without him. I’ll scold him later. Of all days, he chose to skip the first dinner after his wedding… This is not like him at all.”

Brianna let out a small, bitter smile.

Earlier, when she had heard from the maids that Lucius had returned, she had rushed to the entrance to greet him.

But when she arrived, he was nowhere to be seen.

The maid, flustered, had told Brianna that the Duke must have been too busy with urgent matters.

Returning to her room, Brianna found herself wondering—why had she assumed he would come looking for her first the moment he arrived home?

How foolish of me.