Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 119

“I heard you and Brianna haven’t known each other that long. So why do you care about her so much?”

At his probing question, Lily snorted. “Affection for someone doesn’t always grow with time. Sometimes you just know everything about a person the moment you meet them. That’s how it was for me with Brianna. That’s why I helped her move in next door.”

And that sentiment applied to Lucius as well. The day he first met her, he had seen through Brianna instantly.

A kind and gentle woman who never harmed anyone.

But that didn’t mean she was a pushover. If she had been a weak-willed woman, she wouldn’t have pointed a gun at someone to get her bag back.

“Spending a long time with a rotten person doesn’t change anything. People don’t change. That’s a truth I know well. And that’s why I don’t trust nobles in general. Especially high-ranking ones like you, who were raised to rule others from birth.”

Lily glared at him, her brows arched high.

“I heard Franz Linares got seriously injured during a hunting trip on your estate.”

Lucius stared at her silently, caught off guard by the unexpected topic. The fact that she already knew about what had happened just yesterday was fairly surprising.

Reading his expression, Lily gave a cold smile. “Rumors about nobles spread fast in the theater world. Since we survive on their patronage, we’ve learned to be quick on the uptake. They say someone accidentally shot him. But was it really an accident?”

Yesterday, Lucius had toyed with Franz like a well-fed cat playing with a mouse. Franz had pointed his gun at Lucius several times while fleeing, but every shot missed. A man who had already decided to run couldn’t possibly kill the one pursuing him. It was the same on the battlefield. The moment someone resolved to flee, the fight was already lost.

“There’s another strange rumor going around—that he didn’t just get injured physically, but something’s wrong with his head now, too.”

Thanks to his war experience, Lucius knew well how to break a perfectly sane person.

It was simple: crush their hopes of survival just before they could reach them.

When someone flees in fear of death again and again, only to have even their slimmest chance of escape snatched away—and finally realizes there’s no way out—that’s when the human mind collapses.

And someone like Franz, who had never built anything with his own efforts, was weak enough to break with just a few hours of being hunted.

“They say he’s rambling nonsense and doesn’t even remember what happened yesterday.”

“I only heard about the accident afterward, so I don’t know the details.”

“You didn’t do it yourself, then?”

“Why would you think that?” Lucius asked to gauge how much she knew about Franz Linares’s misdeeds.

Lily let out a sigh. “Duke, I’m not asking why you did it. I’m just telling you I already know you’re capable of doing such a thing without hesitation.”

Her gaze briefly dropped to Brianna’s face, asleep against his shoulder, before returning to meet Lucius’s eyes.

“I told you, didn’t I? Sometimes, you just know everything about a person at first sight. Seeing you up close confirms one thing—you’re not a man with much mercy. Not like someone I once knew.”

She must’ve meant Florian.

Lucius took a sip of wine and recalled what had happened recently.

Carl had quickly tracked down the aide who sent Florian’s letter and brought him before Lucius. The man, named Remy Scheper, met Lucius the day before returning to military service.

And he explained the reason for the delayed letter:

“…Honestly, when Lord Florian died, I was terrified. He had asked me to deliver the letter in case something happened to him, so I realized immediately this wasn’t an ordinary death. I couldn’t say anything to the investigators—I was afraid I’d be killed, too. I even considered destroying the letter. But I couldn’t do it. I owed Lord Florian too much to just toss it away. That’s why, even if it’s late, I’m giving it to you now.”

Perhaps Florian’s letter could have disappeared midway without ever reaching Lucius. The reason the aide had held onto the letter to the end despite the risks was because of the kindness Florian had shown him.

So many people had been drawn to Florian. Back at the academy, he would always greet even the janitors with warmth, and with his gentle nature, he mingled well with people from all walks of life. Regardless of status or age, everyone at the school couldn’t help but like him. It was something that came naturally just by spending time with him—realizing that Florian was an utterly harmless and good person.

In contrast, people had always found Lucius intimidating. Even though he had never done them any harm. That, too, must have stemmed from an instinctive understanding. That he was, as she had said, not a merciful man.

“Brianna said the Duke was a good man, but I don’t believe it. That a noble of your rank would give up all the benefits of marrying into a similar social status simply for love? I’ve been through too much in life to believe that. I don’t know what kind of words you used to convince Brianna into marrying you, but remember this: if you plan to use her for your convenience and then throw her away, I will never let it happen…”

“Brianna will live by my side, as my wife and the mother of my children, until the day she dies.”

Lucius cut Lily off.

“So there’s no need for that kind of worry.”

At his firm declaration, Lily’s brow twitched.

“Have you never considered the possibility that Brianna might leave you first?”

The moment she said it, his face stiffened slightly. The composure he had worn until now wavered for the first time.

“That will never happen. I won’t allow it.”

“Don’t be so sure. Most women stay by their husbands simply because they can’t live alone. But Brianna? She can live perfectly well on her own.”

“Miss Lily Serna. If you truly are Brianna’s real friend, then your role isn’t to stir up a woman who’s living her life well. It’s to sharpen your skills and become the best singer in Bastogne. And from time to time, visit Brianna like this and keep her company.”

At his low, slightly threatening advice, Lily burst into laughter. It was surprising to see a man who stood at the pinnacle of power—a man who had destroyed a noble’s life so completely that no one dared to voice suspicion—react so sharply to the idea that his wife might leave him.

Perhaps their marriage wasn’t entirely a lie, Lily thought, and spoke with a trace of humor.

“Alright. Since I’m backed by the Duke’s patronage now, I’ll make sure that support doesn’t go to waste and become the greatest singer with my own talent. I do believe in earning what I’ve been given. In the meantime, you’ll need to work hard to keep Brianna’s heart with you. Competing with the dead is always harder than with the living, after all.”

***

Lucius brought it up three days after Lily’s visit.

“We’re going out. Get ready.”

He then instructed a maid to dress her in clothes that would be as comfortable and easy to move in as possible. When Brianna asked where they were going, he simply smiled in response.

She wore a comfortable dress that reached just above the ankles and a pair of low-heeled shoes. Since the afternoon was already well past, she wore only a bonnet and skipped the parasol.

When she came out ready, she found Lucius dressed in a similarly casual shirt and trousers. The fabric was clearly high-quality, and the cuffs were adorned with jeweled buttons, but from afar, he could easily be mistaken for a commoner.

Instead of a carriage, he helped Brianna onto a horse, and they began riding together.

“Where are we going?”

When they passed through the front gate of the ducal estate, Brianna asked again. Lucius pointed ahead.

From the distance, a bell rang out. It was the sound from the clock tower in front of the train station.

“The festival begins today. Didn’t you know?”