Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 152

The man craned his neck and secretly peeped into the yard.

The woman was hanging laundry there. It had been raining for several days, and perhaps because today was finally a sunny day, she was hanging up piles of backed-up laundry—blankets, clothes—one by one on the line in the yard.

“She really is pretty…”

Jonas swallowed and observed the woman. At a glance, she seemed ordinary, but on closer inspection, she was a beauty rarely seen in the countryside. Her skin was fair and clear, her figure slender enough to catch one’s eye, and above all, her speech and demeanor had a refinement that could rival that of a noble lady. It seemed she had once served a noblewoman, and the influence had rubbed off. She was clearly different from the girls in this village who had grown up doing hard labor since childhood.

“I have to make her mine somehow…”

Jonas muttered quietly while stroking his chin.

He wasn’t the only man in the village eyeing her. Since the woman first arrived in the village about six months ago, many men had been watching her with interest.

Of course, the woman had one flaw—she had been married.

Her husband had gone off to war and reportedly died. She must have loved him deeply, for her face would darken every time he was mentioned.

It was a bit disappointing that she wasn’t a maiden, but Jonas considered it a good thing in its own way. She already knew the pleasures of a man’s lower body, so she’d likely be more susceptible to temptation than a naive virgin. Perhaps she was already suffering from subtle frustration every night.

If he could just find the right opportunity to approach her physically, she might fall for him. The problem was that creating that opportunity was exceedingly difficult. She rarely went out, and there were annoying obstacles in the way.

When the woman stretched her arms high to hang a blanket on the line, her rolled-up sleeves slipped down, revealing her white, smooth arms up to the elbows. Each time she rose onto her toes, her slender calves peeked out between her skirt. Since she always wore long clothes even in hot summer, such exposure was rarely seen.

Did she know that covering up so much while revealing only glimpses of her skin stirred a man’s desire even more? Maybe, behind that innocent face, lay the qualities of a temptress.

Just as Jonas lifted his chin further to get a better look at the woman—

“Ack!”

Someone suddenly grabbed his ear. The pain was so sharp it felt like it would tear off, and Jonas screamed.

“Wh-who is it! Who…”

Then he saw the face of the man gripping his ear and ground his teeth.

“Levin, it’s you again?”

The man sighed deeply. “That’s what I want to ask. Jonas, you again? You perverted bastard?”

“W-what? Pervert?”

“If peeping at the home of a woman who lives alone isn’t something a pervert would do, then what is?”

“Peeping? Who said I was peeping? I was just passing by!”

“Yeah right, as if anyone would believe that.”

When Levin let go of his ear, Jonas finally escaped. He rubbed his aching ear and growled.

“And you, why are you always hanging around this house? You’ve got a wife, don’t you? Aren’t you secretly living a double life? What if Natalie finds ou—ugh!”

This time someone smacked the back of his head, hard. As he turned to yell who it was this time, Jonas saw a woman holding a baby in one arm and fell silent. Her other hand was raised in a clenched fist—she must have hit him with it.

“Has this pervert gone mad? Talking nonsense about someone’s precious husband. What? A double life? Do you want to die today?”

In the end, Jonas backed away. If it were just one of them, maybe he could handle it, but no one could withstand this couple’s joint assault. Especially Natalie—she was known as the fiercest woman in the village.

Wolves had been circling this house, salivating, but no one had ever dared to step foot inside. That was because this couple always showed up and chased them off whenever a fly dared to buzz near.

“Tch!”

Jonas finally fled, cursing under his breath. Only then did the homeowner, sensing the commotion, peek out from the gate.

“Did someone come by again?”

“Whoa, whoa, just come inside first. We’ll talk inside.”

Natalie waved her hand like she was herding cattle and ushered her into the house. Levin followed after Natalie and closed the door.

“…That happened again, huh.”

Brianna murmured as she served tea to the couple. It was something that had occurred occasionally since she had settled here. Just when she thought the men lurking around had disappeared, they would appear again, and each time, this couple stepped in to help her.

“Yeah, it’s like they’re in heat or something, pulling that same crap regularly. Next time, I should just grab some scissors and snip their cocks off. Seriously…”

As Natalie unleashed her vulgar words without hesitation, Levin quickly covered the baby’s ears with his hands as the child sat on his lap. He then shot his wife a sharp look.

“Come on, watch your mouth in front of the kid…”

Brianna chuckled and patted the head of the baby, who was giggling in the middle of it all. If not for these two, she might have been in quite a predicament by now.

“Thank you every time. It must be such a hassle, and it’s not like it’s only once or twice.”

“Thank us? We’re the ones who owe you. We’re just repaying that debt.”

“I told you before you didn’t have to repay it…”

“Ah, enough of that. This tea is really delicious. I honestly think the tea you brew is the best in the world. Maybe it’s because you used to serve noble ladies?”

Natalie quickly changed the subject and let out a bright laugh. Brianna smiled with her and took a sip of tea.

“Hey, are you… Nana?”

Six months ago, when she came to this village of mercenaries, Brianna thought no one would recognize her. She had visited occasionally with her father as a child, but she barely remembered anything herself.

But as she wandered around with her bag, searching for an inn for the night, a woman had approached her.

“You’re Uncle Heinz’s daughter, Nana, right?”

Heinz was definitely her father’s name. And ‘Nana’ was the childhood name she had used when her parents were still alive.

“Who…”

“Don’t you remember me? I used to play with you all the time when you were little.”

Only then did an old memory faintly return to Brianna. There had been an older girl who always played with her amidst the big, burly mercenary men.

“…Natalie?”

When Brianna said her name, Natalie was overjoyed and immediately hugged her.

“I knew it was you even from afar. How is it that your face hasn’t changed a bit since you were a kid? But what brings you here? Did you come with your dad? Where’s Uncle Heinz?”

Brianna hesitated at the flood of questions. In a small voice, she told her that her father had passed away a long time ago. At that, Natalie fell silent. Then, all of a sudden, she snatched Brianna’s bag.

“Have you eaten? Judging by the looks of it, you haven’t had a meal yet. Come to our place first and eat!”

That day, Brianna went to Levin and Natalie’s house, ate dinner, and even spent the night.

But at first, the couple’s kindness wasn’t entirely welcome. Perhaps it was because she had grown used to the cold people in the city, but she couldn’t help suspecting their intentions—why would someone she hadn’t seen in nearly ten years be so kind?

Maybe they were planning to do something while she slept.

With such thoughts, she stayed up all night. In the middle of the night, loud noises came from the couple’s room, followed by the sharp cry of a baby.

Wondering what was going on, she went to check and saw that the baby, who had seemed a bit uncomfortable during dinner, now had a burning fever. The couple was panicking, holding the child, not knowing what to do.

“No matter what we do, the fever won’t go down. What do we do!”

As Natalie clutched the baby and sobbed, Brianna urgently said, “We can’t just sit here. We need to go to a doctor, don’t we?”

But Levin shook his head. “Of all days, the village doctor is out today.”

“Then how about another village? Surely there’s a doctor there too?”

“There is one in the nearby village, but…”

Before he could finish, Natalie burst into tears and shouted, “That doctor doesn’t treat people like us. He only sees nobles!”