Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 171

The carriage stopped in front of the bank. Brianna, assisted by her maid, got out of the carriage. Just as she was about to enter the bank, she noticed another carriage stopping in the alley behind. Without anyone getting out, the carriage stood there with its door closed.

“Madam, what is it?”

When Brianna stopped walking instead of going straight into the bank, the maid asked. Brianna, who had been staring at the motionless carriage for a moment, soon shook her head.

“It’s nothing.”

And she went into the building with the maid.

***

“These are all the traces of the crown prince we have discovered so far.”

Lucius was looking at the documents with Carl. After making inquiries about the crown prince’s movements, they were able to find out that he had boarded a ship at a port located in the western part of the Empire.

However, it was unclear to which destination he had boarded the ship. He could have gone to the nearest Kingdom of Schwerin, or he might have gone directly to the southern end of the continent by circling westward.

“It will not be this place,” Carl said with certainty.

The crown prince was currently wanted in the Kingdom of Schwerin. If he returned home and was caught, even if he miraculously avoided execution, it would be difficult to escape lifelong imprisonment. The moderate nobles had turned a blind eye to his escape so that at least he could save his life, but if he came back and was arrested, they would lose the justification to support him any further.

Therefore, as Carl said, it was more likely that he had gone somewhere other than the heavily monitored Kingdom of Schwerin. No one would willingly jump into a pit of fire.

“At such a time, I should not have forced Mother to travel…”

A voice filled with self-reproach flowed out softly.

Carl sincerely comforted him, “Even without Your Grace’s persuasion, the Dowager Duchess would have gone on a journey soon anyway. She often said she wanted to travel before she grew older once the war ended. She will return safely soon, so do not worry. And it is not yet certain whether the crown prince is targeting the Dowager Duchess.”

Lucius nodded. As he said, the crown prince’s intentions were still unknown. Was he, driven to the edge, seeking revenge on those who had brought him to this state? Or was he seeking another way to live, since there was no future left for him in the Empire?

“We must investigate this further and maintain close contact with the princess…”

Before Lucius could even finish speaking, the door to the study suddenly burst open. In the wide-open doorway stood Brianna, her face full of anger.

Lucius turned to her and asked, “Brianna? What is going on…”

“You swindler! No, you robber!”

At Brianna’s outburst of crude accusations, Carl unconsciously opened his mouth.

At first, he wondered if he had heard wrong. After all, swindler, robber—those were not words that could be associated with Lucius in any way.

His surprise soon turned into anger. He did not know what was going on, but how could she speak such harsh words to His Grace!

“I just came back from the bank.”

But at Brianna’s next words, Carl immediately shut his mouth.

He rolled his eyes toward the duke sitting at the desk. Lucius too, realizing his slip, bit his lip slightly.

In truth, regarding that matter, he had no excuse even if he were called a swindler, a robber, or even worse. And since Carl had directly handled it, he was practically an accomplice.

Instead of helping the duke calm her down, Carl decided to cowardly slip away on his own.

“Then, I shall leave you two to talk. I will take my leave…”

Carl walked out of the study and carefully closed the door that Brianna had flung open. Then, uncharacteristically, he quickly walked away from the study.

Left alone together, Brianna strode toward Lucius, who was sitting at the desk.

“If you have something to say, then go ahead and say it! Why did you do such a thing!”

Lucius, who had been looking troubled, soon turned his hardened face toward Brianna.

“And why did you try to lay hands on that money again?”

“What did you say?”

“Were you pretending to reconsider my proposal on the surface while secretly making plans to run away again?”

Brianna slammed her palm hard on the desk. “Are you seriously saying that? What does it matter how I use my own money? What I am talking about now is your shameless act of touching my money without even a word!”

“If you need money, use mine, Brianna. I will give you as much as you want.”

“Who asked for your money? Why do you keep straying from the point? Lucius, let me be clear. I do not need your money, so put my deposit back the way it was immediately! Who do you think you are to touch it as you please!”

Lucius quietly gazed at Brianna’s face, which was so agitated it looked as though sparks might fly at any moment.

A few days ago, Carl had told him he was worried something unpleasant might happen between them. His concern had not been a mistake. When Lucius left Brianna at the summer villa and returned alone to the ducal residence, his intention had been to tighten the reins around her so she could never think of escaping again.

By isolating her from people, moving any large sums of money she could use for escape far out of her reach, and instilling fear that he could take away her freedom at any time.

What made him abandon all those plans was Brianna’s action of running into his arms the moment she saw him when he returned to the summer villa. When he realized how much she had worried about him, all the intense anger and anxiety melted away at once.

Brianna must love me. Without a doubt. So I will give her more time, so that she can realize her feelings for herself.

But now, he wondered if that had truly been the right decision. If he had not trusted Brianna again and given her freedom, today’s events would never have happened. And by now, Brianna might have been thoroughly tamed, like a bird in a cage that would not even dare think of going out into the world.

“What did I ask you just now?”

Lucius rose from his chair. Looking down at her from above, he spoke as though grinding his words.

“I am your husband. Whether a swindler, a robber, or a shameless man, just as you said, I am your husband. That is why I can touch your property. Because I have that right.”

Brianna’s hand, resting on the desk, curled into a fist. Clenching it tightly, she spoke to him.

“…Even if no one else knows, you know everything. What kind of money it is. With what feelings Madam Linares gave it to me, and with what determination I accepted it and have protected it until now. And yet you took it just to exercise your so-called husband’s right? You, who knew the entire story from the very beginning?”

Brianna’s voice trembled at the end. Until now, she had only seemed angry, but now she looked as though even her soul had been wounded. It was the kind of shuddering emotion one could feel when betrayed by someone they truly believed in.

He knew. He knew better than anyone what that money meant to Brianna. As she said, he knew it all. The very first time he became directly entangled with her was also because of the inheritance left by Madam Linares. Brianna had intended to give it to Florian, Madam Linares’s relative, but when he died, it fell into danger. And that incident became the reason that led to their marriage.

“Brianna, it is true that I am a swindler and a robber, but I am not a shameless man. I only moved that money elsewhere for a time and will return it all to you.”

“And when will that be?”

“When I am certain you will not leave my side.”

Brianna lifted her hand from the desk and looked up at him. Now her face was filled with cold anger.

“Why are you so obsessed with this marriage to me? Why do you cling to it so desperately?”

Because I love you. To the point of madness.

While he swallowed those words, Brianna spoke again.

“I will not ask twice. Lucius, so just this once, tell me honestly. Why do you go this far to cling to this marriage?”

He had prepared a gift for Brianna. And with that gift, he had planned to confess to her. That, in truth, he had loved her for a very long time.

But now that things had come to this, he could no longer delay that confession.

Now, it was time to tell her everything, without hiding anything. Even if, after that, he would hear an answer he did not wish for.