Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 159

“Luce, stop!”

As the gun barrel shifted from Levin to Brianna, Lucius immediately lowered it. Brianna stood with her arms wide open, blocking in front of Levin.

“Levin truly only wants to help me. He’s someone I’m grateful to for protecting me all this time.”

Brianna looked at the man before her with unfamiliar eyes.

No matter who the other person was, he had always been far from rude or disrespectful. Even if it was just at a friend’s request, hadn’t he treated her with utmost politeness and kindness from the very beginning, even though she was just a maid?

And now that very man was pointing a gun at someone out of the blue and asking strange questions like what kind of relationship they had. Even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe what he had become.

“And Levin already has a wife and child. Asking a question like that is incredibly rude to him.”

Only then did Levin seem to realize something was off between the two, and he whispered quietly, “Nana, do you know that man?”

Brianna nodded. Then, after a short hesitation, she quietly said, “…He’s my ex-husband.”

Levin gasped sharply. “Ex-husband? Didn’t you say your husband died in the war?”

At that, Lucius’s expression turned icy. Levin looked back and forth between him—his face even more grim than before—and Brianna.

“N-no way, that guy’s not a ghost or anything, right? Then… your husband didn’t die?”

“Well…”

Brianna bit her lip gently. It had been a lie she told for convenience. If she said she was divorced, she figured in a small village like this, it would only bring gossip and speculation. She hadn’t expected any problems, thinking she’d never see Lucius again anyway.

“I’m sorry. Let me explain—”

“I’ll give you time. Get ready and come out.”

Lucius cut her off coldly. Then he grabbed Levin by the collar and dragged him toward the door. Either too shocked by the word ‘ex-husband’ or too intimidated, Levin offered no real resistance and was pulled outside without a fight.

Left alone, Brianna first took off her nightgown and changed into a dress. At this point, insisting she wouldn’t go with him seemed meaningless. The only choice left was whether she’d be dragged away or walk out on her own.

She pulled her bag from the wardrobe and walked over to the nightstand by her bed. Inside the drawer were her father’s watch and the brooch Lucius had given her, placed neatly side by side.

Originally, she had intended to bury them deep away and forget. But it wasn’t easy, so instead she kept them nearby, within reach. Whenever she missed him, she would take out the brooch and think of the memories they shared.

With a quiet sigh, Brianna packed the items into her bag. There wasn’t much else she needed to bring.

When she stepped outside, two carriages were waiting side by side. Lucius stood tall beside them like a statue. Because this all happened in the middle of the night, the rest of the village was still fast asleep. Only the Levin couple were awake, pacing the yard while holding their child.

“Nana…”

Natalie hurried over to Brianna.

“What on earth is going on? We heard a noise from your house and sent Levin over, and now—who are all these men?”

Before Brianna could answer, Natalie gestured toward Lucius and asked again, “And Levin said that man is your ex-husband. Is that true?”

Brianna silently nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell the truth. I had my reasons.”

“Forget reasons, are you really leaving like this? So suddenly?”

Natalie stared blankly at the bag Brianna was holding. It clearly looked like she was about to leave. Brianna tightened her grip on the handle.

“I’ll contact you later. In my closet, you’ll find some money and a few pieces of jewelry. Consider them a gift from me. Please use them for Romi. Think of it as a token of thanks or even a bit of support.”

“What? But I haven’t even repaid the debt I already owe you, and now—Nana, wait. Let’s just talk about this—”

Natalie grabbed her arm in a hurry, but quickly lost her grip. Lucius had approached, snatched Brianna’s bag, and was already leading her to the carriage.

In a flash of anger, Natalie shouted at their backs, “Hey! This isn’t right, no matter what! If you’re just her ex-husband, then you’re not her husband anymore. How can you just drag her away like that?”

Lucius stopped. Just before stepping into the carriage, he slowly turned and looked at Natalie.

“I’ve never died, nor have I granted a divorce. So ‘ex-husband’ isn’t quite accurate.”

Natalie’s mouth opened slightly. “Th-then… you’re still her husband? But then why was Nana living here all alone…”

“That’s something I intend to ask my wife. Thank you for looking after her. The House of Carlisle will see to it that you’re properly compensated for your care.”

House of Carlisle.

The moment she heard those words, Natalie looked at the navy-blue carriage Brianna was boarding. It was hard to see clearly in the dark, but the emblem on its side showed two eagles—everyone knew that was the symbol of the Carlisle ducal house.

“Oh my god…”

Natalie covered her mouth in shock.

The commoner-born Duchess of Carlisle who had stirred up the entire country—turns out, that woman had been her friendly next-door neighbor all along.

Before she could even process the shock, the two carriages quickly departed.

***

Even after the carriage had been moving for quite some time, neither of them spoke first.

Brianna, who had kept her head bowed the whole time since getting in the carriage, slowly lifted it as the silence dragged on.

Lucius had turned his face to the side and was staring out the window. It was dark out, so nothing could possibly be visible.

Come to think of it, had he lost some weight…?

He had always had a slender body with not a trace of excess, but now he looked even thinner than before. Especially in his face—he had lost so much that his features and aura appeared even sharper than before. That made it even harder to speak to him. No matter how one looked, he seemed to be in a terribly bad mood.

Of course, that was only natural.

“…How did you find me?”

After a while, Brianna managed to ask the question with difficulty.

She had mentioned the mercenary village to him once before. But it had only been in passing, a single moment. Moreover, since her father had passed away long ago, no one in Harzen even remembered it. It didn’t make sense unless Lucius had searched every mercenary village.

“And I didn’t even use the name Brianna here…”

Her parents had called her ‘Nana’ far more often. After both of them passed, it was a name that naturally faded away.

“To our beloved Nana.”

Lucius’s tightly shut lips finally opened. He still spoke while keeping his eyes fixed outside the window.

“It was the inscription on that precious watch you cherish so much.”

Only then did Brianna realize he had known the long-forgotten nickname all along. He must have seen it when he recovered the stolen watch and opened it.

“What do you mean we were never divorced? I clearly left the divorce papers at the ducal residence…”

At that, Lucius took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. As if he had been forcibly holding something back but couldn’t any longer.

He finally turned his head and looked straight at Brianna. The eyes that met hers blazed with fierce, savage intensity. Brianna froze on the spot. Now that she thought about it, he had suddenly changed the moment she brought up divorce earlier.

“Is that all you have to say? To the husband you’re seeing for the first time in six months?”

At his low mutter, Brianna hastily tried to explain. “Luce, I didn’t mean it like that…”

“Luce, Luce, huh…”

He scoffed in disbelief.

“When you left, you were all formal, calling me ‘Your Grace.’ And now you’re back to calling me Luce? Whatever suits you, I guess.”

Brianna gripped her skirt tightly with the hands resting on her lap.

This Lucius was so different from the man she knew, she didn’t know how to respond.

Was it wrong of her to suddenly call him Luce again after all this time?

“…Your Grace.”

Brianna cautiously addressed him, thinking it best not to provoke him now.

But as she met his gaze directly, she realized that Lucius was far angrier than he had been just moments before.

“Lu…”

Just as she unconsciously started to say his name again, he reached out toward Brianna.