Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 135

It was easy to predict that the woman would be carrying a gun at her waist. From the moment she held a knife to Brianna’s neck, Brianna had been waiting for her to let her guard down, and fortunately, she had managed to divert her attention while speaking.

Rather than recklessly subduing Brianna, the woman cautiously assessed the situation.

“Throw that knife on the ground.”

At Brianna’s command, the woman dropped the knife she was holding. Brianna kicked it far away.

“Everything on your ankles, waist, and wrists—throw those on the ground too.”

Having always been around her father, it wasn’t hard for Brianna to guess there were more weapons on the woman’s body. The woman seemed to click her tongue for a moment, but she obeyed Brianna’s words. However, when she reached for her waist, she suddenly froze.

“Don’t dawdle. Drop it.”

The woman glared fiercely at Brianna, but eventually threw the weapons and pouch she had at her waist onto the ground.

Brianna kicked the weapons away as she had with the knife. Then she picked up the pouch and checked its contents.

“This is…”

Inside were several notes—messages exchanged between the mercenary leader and the Crown Prince detailing the conditions being offered. Among them was also a letter.

It was a signed pledge from the Crown Prince stating that even if the mercenaries occupied and pillaged the Mont region, no responsibility would be held against them afterward.

With this, there was no need to wait for the Empress of the Kazakh Empire to bring proof of collusion. They could charge the Crown Prince with treason and bring him to trial immediately.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, a thrill surged through Brianna. It meant she might witness the Crown Prince’s downfall much sooner than expected.

“…But why are you still here?”

Yet there was one thing she didn’t understand. They already had the document with the Crown Prince’s signature—so why was this woman still here? She had no reason to remain any longer. For safety’s sake, she should’ve fled by now.

“You have the Crown Prince’s signature. Why are you still lingering here?”

The woman only bit her lip and said nothing. But Brianna already knew the answer.

“…So the Crown Prince isn’t the only one who needs to sign.”

At Brianna’s words, the woman’s face turned pale. She looked stunned, as if Brianna had struck a nerve.

“Are you staying in the palace to wait for that person?”

“…Who the hell are you?”

Just as Brianna was about to answer the woman’s astonished question, she heard a sound behind her. A blunt object struck her head, and she lost consciousness.

***

“…What should we do with her?”

“…Take care of it properly…”

When Brianna opened her eyes again, she faintly heard a man and woman speaking nearby.

She suddenly recalled a similar experience—when the Robert couple had hired someone to kill her. It had been a stormy night, raining so hard she could barely see. Lucius had come to save her just as she was facing death. Looking back, that moment had marked a turning point in her life. Since then, everything had changed.

Brianna closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again. Her blurred vision cleared, and she could see her surroundings.

She was still in the forest, and judging by the height of the sun, not much time had passed. But it wasn’t the edge of the woods where she had been before. Tall trees packed densely and the damp air suggested she had been moved deeper into the forest while unconscious. Tilting her head slightly, she could see a horse nearby.

“That woman knows too much. She has to die.”

“But she’s not just any noble—she’s the Duchess of Carlisle. How do you plan to deal with the fallout?”

“That’s why we have to stage it as an accident! We’ll say she went for a walk alone and slipped off a cliff.”

“Damn it! How did things get so complicated?”

The man lashed out at the woman, and she leapt up with a shriek.

“It’s not my fault! Sure, I was a bit loose-lipped, but how was I supposed to know she’d figure out even the things I didn’t say?!”

And just like before, the two of them were plotting how to kill her. Everything was so similar to back then that Brianna let out a quiet laugh.

No, one thing was definitely different.

Brianna soon pressed her lips shut.

Back then, she had been ready to die. The people she loved—her parents, Madam Linares, even Florian—were all gone. There had been no reason left to keep living.

But now, it was different. She couldn’t die meaninglessly here.

Because Lucius was here. And perhaps even a child that might already be growing inside her.

Last time, she had been caught the moment she tried to run. This time didn’t seem much different.

In that case…

Fortunately, her hands weren’t tied and her mouth wasn’t gagged like last time. As she heard the man approaching, Brianna kept her eyes shut, pretending to be unconscious. And the moment he touched her body, she threw the dirt she had been clutching in her hand into his eyes.

“Aagh!”

Leaving the screaming man behind, Brianna ran toward the horse she had spotted earlier. But before she could reach it, the woman grabbed her.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

This time, it was the woman who drew her gun and aimed it at Brianna. Even with the barrel pointed directly at her, Brianna smiled.

“He said a gun that’s not fired is more dangerous than not having one at all. I guess he was right.”

“What?”

“You won’t shoot. If you fire, people will hear and come running. Then it’ll be hard to make my death look like an accident.”

The woman let out a hollow laugh, seemingly at a loss for words. Brianna seized the moment, grabbed the barrel, and yanked it hard. The muzzle jerked upward and the bullet fired into the air.

Bang—a deafening shot echoed through the forest. Startled birds exploded into flight, flapping wildly above.

“Damn it!”

Cursing, the man scrambled onto the horse. He extended a hand to the woman.

“We have to run! Get on!”

The woman glared at Brianna with a murderous look. Only now did she realize the Duchess had goaded her into firing.

Infuriated, she raised her gun again, but the man barked, “Are you crazy? Don’t shoot! Do you want everyone to know we’re here? We need to get away while we can!”

The woman ground her teeth. From start to finish, this woman had outmaneuvered her. A plain noblewoman had played her like a fool. The shame was unbearable.

She couldn’t let it end like this.

Stab.

The blade pierced flesh, and for the first time, the beautiful lady’s face twisted in pain. That gave the woman deep satisfaction.

“It was nice meeting you, Duchess of Carlisle. Just thought I’d say goodbye properly.”

With a cold smile, she climbed onto the horse. The two of them quickly disappeared from view.

Left alone, Brianna blankly looked down at her stomach.

“Ah…”

With trembling hands, she grasped the dagger’s hilt embedded in her belly. It felt so vivid in her grip, and yet it all seemed like a dream.

“Ha…”

Strangely, she laughed. But then the searing pain hit, and she collapsed on the spot.

From there, her memory came only in fragments. Someone came and lifted her. She was moved to the duke’s mansion. She lay in bed for a long time, hovering between life and death. The only thing she knew for certain—Lucius was always by her side.

And one dusky evening, Brianna opened her eyes, sensing her condition had improved. No one else was in the room. A faint light leaked from the crack under the door connecting to Lucius’s room.