Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 139

He embraced Brianna with his usual goodnight greeting. Then, after pulling away, he kissed her on the forehead and headed to his room.

Brianna was now recovered enough to spend the night with him, yet he still hadn’t touched her. Even though she knew it was because he was being considerate and worried for her, she couldn’t help feeling bitter.

Unless she reached out to him first, he would never fall asleep in this bed with her. Just like how their kisses only began when she initiated them. He was always gauging her mood, trying to accommodate her wishes as much as possible.

Lucius was still bound by a heavy yoke. He lived not for himself, but for others. A sense of duty to fulfill his role as a member of the ducal family, and a sense of responsibility to uphold his promise to a deceased friend—those things shackled him, and he didn’t even realize it.

If just one of those were lifted, he might become a little more free. What would the freer version of him look like?

It was a bit sad that she would never get to see that version.

***

The Night of the Patrons was held on a much grander scale than originally planned. Not only did established nobles attend, but many from the rising bourgeois class who had recently taken interest in the arts also vied for invitations. Brianna sent invitations to as many people as the venue could reasonably accommodate. As a result, it became the largest event ever held at the ducal residence.

“Brianna, when on earth did you manage to prepare all of this?”

On the day of the event, Veronica shook her head in amazement and sincere admiration. Despite her experience hosting countless balls, she had never seen an event so extensive and varied.

From art exhibitions and concerts to operas, formal banquets, and a ball—everything had been prepared perfectly. Normally, a first-time host would make some mistake, but the ducal staff moved in perfect coordination under Brianna’s command, like well-oiled cogs in a machine.

“Once the event starts, flaws will show up. They always do.”

Even back in Harzen, she often had to make last-minute changes on the day of events she thought were perfectly prepared. Sometimes there wasn’t enough food for the number of guests, or they had to revise the entire plan due to the weather.

The villagers had laughed off such issues, but the nobles here would seize on any excuse to gossip maliciously.

“All I can do is pray it ends without incident.”

At Brianna’s words, which sounded like she carried the weight of the world alone, Veronica laughed brightly.

“Brianna, do you know what mistake I made when I hosted my first banquet after getting married?”

“What was it…?”

“I didn’t realize two guests shared the same name and paired a countess in her seventies with a young man barely twenty as partners. I broke into a cold sweat watching that grandmother and her grandson’s peer sitting side by side.”

Veronica pressed her forehead and shook her head, while Brianna burst into laughter.

“Later, the countess came to me and said she’d enjoyed spending time with a handsome young man for the first time in ages and thanked me. In comparison, whatever mistakes you might make are nothing.”

She then went on to recount many of the mistakes she’d made early on after becoming a duchess. Brianna laughed so hard she nearly doubled over.

It was at that moment that Lucius entered the room.

“What’s so funny that I can hear you laughing all the way from outside?”

Smiling at his question, Veronica shrugged lightly. “We were talking about my embarrassing stories.”

“Ah, if it’s your embarrassing stories, then perhaps…”

“Son, I don’t know what you’re about to say, but it’s probably not good—so keep that mouth shut.”

Seeming worried he might spill something too outrageous, Veronica quickly cut him off. Then, after offering Brianna one last word of encouragement, she left the room in a hurry.

“Well then, shall we head out too?”

Brianna rose from her chair. The event was about to begin. It was time to leave and greet the guests.

But instead of leading her out of the room, Lucius stood still, his gaze resting quietly near her neck. Raising his hand, he gently touched the pendant of the necklace she wore. With his thumb, he softly stroked the teal-colored gem that resembled her eyes.

“…It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen you wearing this.”

“Ah…”

Brianna hadn’t worn this necklace for some time. Ever since reading Florian’s letter, she had never once put this piece of jewelry on. It had been a wedding gift from him. Fortunately, thanks to her many other accessories, neither Lucius nor the maids had found it odd.

But she was planning to leave soon. Which meant tonight would be her last chance to wear it.

This would be the final time anyway. Thinking so, Brianna had chosen this necklace for her jewelry tonight.

“The maids said, since the dress is plain, I should wear something flashier.”

Normally, the host of the ball was the main character of the evening. But tonight was different. The stars of this event were the patrons and the artists being supported. Brianna had deliberately picked the most inconspicuous dress she owned. She had worried the necklace might be too flashy in contrast, but once it was on, the combination turned out better than expected.

“What do you think? Do I look pretty tonight?” Brianna asked with a deliberately playful sparkle in her eye.

Lucius immediately smiled. “You’re truly beautiful. Just like you were on our wedding day…”

He whispered softly, and only then did Brianna recall that she had also worn a white dress on their wedding day. Naturally, his mind would wander to that memory.

Brianna, too, slowly retraced the memories of that day. The words he had spoken, the complex emotions she had felt.

Back then, overwhelmed with confusion, she had thought she couldn’t read his intentions at all. Why had he suggested a contractual marriage? She assumed the contract would end naturally once they had a child.

What she hadn’t realized at the time was how deeply she would come to love him. And that it would be her, not him, who would end this marriage.

Wait—come to think of it.

It was during that time she was most consumed by the grief of losing Florian. And amid all the confusion, as her life took a strange turn, she also felt a small thrill.

Yes, even though she had felt awkward and uneasy around him, she had also been inexplicably drawn to him. Looking back now, her feelings then became clearer.

And with that realization came a shock like being struck with a hammer.

If she had already been drawn to him on their wedding day, then when exactly had these feelings begun? Had she not fallen for him gradually after they married?

Then, Brianna finally realized. The pounding heart when she watched fireworks with him for the first time, the fluttering she had thought was due to the noise—it wasn’t that at all.

She had already liked him back then. Long before she ever promised marriage to Florian.

Looking back, the day she accepted Florian’s confession had been the very day Lucius had wounded her most. In that utterly miserable moment, when she wanted nothing more than to cry her heart out, Florian had appeared and comforted her. And as she looked at him, she had thought, Florian would never hurt me like that.

“Brianna?”

Suddenly, tears spilled down her cheeks. Lucius called out to her in surprise, and Brianna quickly shook her head, wiping her tears away.

“S-sorry. I was just thinking about everything that’s happened lately, and the tears came without me realizing…”

Lucius pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped away her tears. Then, he wrapped her in a deep embrace.