Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 148
“Were you still awake at this hour?”
He spoke in a somewhat reproachful tone as he reached out his hand to Brianna. His hand that touched her cheek was cold. Turning her head slightly, Brianna kissed the calloused palm and forced a bright smile.
“I couldn’t fall asleep.”
Lucius sat on the bed and pulled Brianna into his arms.
Then, a scent reminiscent of childhood, the same one she used to smell on her father when he returned late at night, wafted from him.
“…You smell like the wind.”
“A smell?”
Lucius, worried that he might be giving off a strange odor, hastily pulled away and sniffed at his clothes.
Brianna burst out laughing at the sight.
“Not like that. I mean the smell of the winter wind. My father used to smell like this whenever he came home late at night in winter.”
That cold scent filled with wind caught in the collar. Refreshing yet somewhat metallic—it was a scent Brianna loved. So she used to bury her nose in her father’s arms and inhale deeply for a long time after he returned. Thinking back now, she wondered if it was because she was happy that he had returned home safely that made the scent even better.
“You must miss your father a lot.”
Still dressed in his outer clothes, Lucius lay down on the bed next to Brianna. Then they began to chat quietly.
“Yes, he was a good person. After my mother passed away, he did his best to raise me. He even learned how to tie hair from the lady next door and used to tie mine in a different style every morning.”
His hair-tying skills were so bad that one could hardly call them decent, even out of courtesy. But as time went on, he improved so much that village mothers with daughters would watch and learn from him.
Lucius laughed heartily at the story. While kissing a handful of Brianna’s dark brown hair, he suddenly spoke as if a thought occurred to him.
“Once I wrap up the work I’m currently doing, how about we go and visit your parents?”
Brianna looked at him with wide eyes.
“Visit… them?”
“Come to think of it, I’ve been too thoughtless. I should have visited them earlier and thanked them for giving me their daughter…”
Lucius suggested visiting Harzen after sending the crown prince to prison. Brianna nodded. Of course, she already knew it was an impossible plan. After tonight, she wouldn’t be here anymore.
“…So, if we go to Harzen… we should greet the people in the castle who’ve taken care of you too…”
Perhaps due to the heavy workload over the past few days, he began to doze off. His speech gradually slowed, and then Lucius closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Lying next to him, Brianna stared at his deeply sleeping face. Then she reached out and gently touched his forehead, carefully sliding her fingers down so as not to wake him. She slowly caressed his neat eyebrows, sharp and tall nose, and firmly shut manly lips. Until the last sun she would see with him would rise.
At last, when his eyelids began to twitch under the morning sunlight filtering into the room, indicating he was about to wake up, Brianna quickly closed her eyes.
“Oh… did I fall asleep just like this last night?”
Rising from the bed, Lucius murmured softly. He gently stroked Brianna’s hair, pulled the blanket up to her neck, and got out of bed.
Then came the sounds of him getting ready to go out—washing in the bathroom, putting on clothes.
Having finished getting ready alone without a servant’s help, the sound of his footsteps approached the bed where Brianna lay.
“I’ll be back, Brianna.”
The moment he left his parting words with a kiss on her forehead, Brianna suddenly felt a lump in her throat.
Was his voice always this gentle? The thought that she would never hear such words from him again made her feel as if tears might spill at any moment.
Soon she heard him moving away. When the door closed with a soft click, Brianna opened her eyes.
Without even putting on her slippers, she ran barefoot to the window. And with her eyes, she saw Lucius off as he left in his carriage.
Just before getting into the carriage, Lucius looked up at her window, as if a thought crossed his mind. Brianna quickly hid behind the curtain. A moment later, when she looked out the window again, the carriage carrying him was already heading for the main gate.
“Goodbye, Lucius.”
Brianna said her farewell in a small voice he could not hear. That was the last time she saw Lucius.
***
As the carriage carrying Brianna arrived in front of the theater, a staff member immediately came out to greet her. The moment Brianna, with his support, stepped down from the carriage, two escorts quickly followed by her side. Brianna briefly glanced at them and then headed straight to the second floor.
“Brianna.”
Lily was already waiting in the royal box seat located at the very center of the theater.
“Lily.”
Seeing the two greet each other warmly, the escorts exited the room. From now until the end of the opera, they would guard the door so that no one could enter.
As soon as the door closed, Lily whispered softly, “Are you ready to leave?”
“Yeah.”
Brianna pointed to the bag the staff had left beside her, and Lily nodded.
“Then, as soon as the overture starts, let’s change our clothes.”
Brianna sat down and looked down at the theater below. From here, not only the stage but the entire audience could be seen at a glance.
“…Come to think of it, we once talked about this seat, didn’t we?”
The two looked at each other and smiled. Back then, Lily was a bit-part singer dreaming of becoming the star of the opera, and Brianna was an ordinary woman who had come here looking for a job.
“Right. Back then, I never imagined I would be sitting here watching a performance. This is the designated seat of the Duke of Carlisle’s family, which we couldn’t even dare to glance at.”
“Lily, thank you so much for everything.”
Brianna expressed her gratitude to her. A dear friend who had shown kindness to a stranger even before she moved in. When Brianna had come here alone, knowing no one except Florian, Lily had been a great help by her side. Without her, she might not have endured the loneliness and hardship of life in the city.
At that, Lily snorted lightly. “I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to having the Duchess as a friend, I’m enjoying the luxury of watching an opera from the royal box.”
Soon, music announcing the start of the performance began to play, and the lights illuminating the audience went out. As it became nearly pitch black, the two quickly changed clothes behind the curtain covering the box. Since Lily had once lent her dress to Brianna before, her clothes fit Brianna perfectly, as if tailored for her.
“Take care, Lily.”
Brianna gave Lily a tight hug one last time, and Lily patted Brianna on the back.
“Take care of yourself, Brianna. Be sure to contact me as soon as you’re free from that man.”
“Yeah.”
There wasn’t much time—they had to leave before the lights came back on. After a brief farewell, Brianna pressed the wide-brimmed hat low over her head. Then, carrying her bag, she opened the door.
The escorts standing outside glanced at her as she stepped out but, after checking her outfit, turned their heads forward again.
With her face as hidden as possible under the hat, Brianna quickly exited the theater. Since the performance had already started, the hallway was empty except for a few staff members.
After catching a carriage in front of the theater, she asked the coachman to take her to the train station. Everything was going according to plan, but she couldn’t let her guard down yet. Not until the train started moving.
The carriage soon stopped in front of the train station plaza. Stepping out with her bag, Brianna took a moment to reflect as she looked around the plaza she hadn’t seen in a long time.
This was where she first met Lucius. He helped her when her bag was stolen, only to end up having to raise both hands while being held at gunpoint.
Recalling the look on his face full of dismay back then, Brianna smiled.
It had only happened last year, but it felt like something from many years ago.
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TOFU_Babe
oh Brianna, she should’ve just communicated with Luce when she found Florians letter. However he’s also guilty of overly poor communication AND he shouldn’t have hidden her miscarriage either. Both are ridiculous.