Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 178

“Shall we go pay our respects to Florian tomorrow?”

That morning, while eating together, Lucius had casually said it.

Since that day, mentioning Florian’s name had become natural. Now, when speaking of him, neither of them became anxious or glanced at the other uneasily.

“You’ve never once visited Florian’s grave…”

As Lucius said, Brianna had never gone to his grave since his death. At the funeral, she hadn’t been invited, so she had to watch from afar, and on the anniversary, she hadn’t been there.

Brianna gave him a bright smile.

“Alright. Let’s go together.”

She had always thought that one day she should go pay her respects to Florian. If Lucius went with her, Florian would surely welcome the visit of his longtime friend.

Perhaps, she thought, she might even be scolded by Florian. He would ask why they had only come together now, when he’d brought them together long ago.

“I am glad. You seem much more at ease than before.”

Lily let out a sigh of relief.

“When I heard the news that you had returned, I worried so much. I wondered if perhaps the Duke had forced you back. But seeing you now, I no longer have that worry. The Duke is treating you well, isn’t he?”

“Of course. And I am trying to treat Lucius better too. He has already done more than enough for me.”

“How exactly are you treating him well? Surely not in bed?”

At the mischievous question, Brianna’s face instantly turned scarlet. Lily, meanwhile, clutched her stomach and burst out laughing.

“Hey, you have been married for over a year now, haven’t you? How can you still blush over something like this?”

“Rather than that…”

Recently, there had been a change between them. Before, though their nights had been passionate, they had maintained a certain decorum in public, keeping their distance. But these days, their displays of affection had become much more frequent.

Especially Lucius, who would always smile as though he were the happiest man in the world whenever Brianna ran into his arms or kissed his cheek.

“Rather than that? What is it?”

As Lily’s eyes sparkled and she kept probing into her private life, Brianna shot her a glare and stood up from her chair.

“Enough. I’m going home.”

“Oh, so now you cannot even be apart for a moment? You two are still burning hot, aren’t you? Hm?”

“Are you going to keep this up? You really have no idea that I’m carrying something very frightening right now, do you?”

“Something frightening?”

When Brianna revealed the gun hidden under her dress and showed it to her, Lily almost jumped out of her skin.

“That is a gun! Why are you carrying something like that?”

“Lucius gave it to me as a gift.”

“What?”

At those words, Lily was even more appalled.

“With all the wealth he has, leaving behind beautiful, fine gifts, why of all things would he give you that?”

“Recently, I heard the news that the Crown Prince’s whereabouts are uncertain.”

Brianna tucked the gun back inside her clothes, and Lily’s mouth, already agape, dropped even wider.

“The Crown Prince? That lunatic who fled abroad to avoid arrest?”

Brianna nodded. “Until it’s revealed where he is, I decided to carry it for self-defense. Because out of his desire for revenge against Lucius, he might attack me, his family. The Dowager Duchess is also ending her travels and will be returning soon.”

There had been another change in her relationship with Lucius recently. That was that there were no longer any secrets between them.

Before, he hadn’t told her honestly about the threats surrounding them. But this time, he’d told her everything truthfully.

“The Crown Prince might be plotting something behind the scenes, so for the time being, it’s best if you carry a gun. Of course, I’ll thoroughly protect you, but this is only in case of the worst.”

The gun that Leona had once given her was too large to carry on her person. She had only carried it for self-defense during the long journey from Harzen to Bastogne.

On the other hand, the gun Lucius gave her was small and light, making it easy to carry. But it was also trickier to handle, so she was still practicing shooting whenever she had the chance.

“Handling a new gun these days is actually quite fun. I’m thinking of asking Lucius to get me another one.”

“Wow, now I really think you two were made for each other. A husband who gives his wife a gun as a gift, and a wife who gladly accepts it.”

Lily shook her head as she left the tearoom first, saying that if a man gave her a gun as a gift, her love would die out in an instant.

***

When Brianna returned to the ducal residence, Lucius was lying stretched out on the sofa in the study. His heavy eyelids were firmly closed and his body didn’t move at all. No matter how she looked at him, he seemed to be in a deep sleep.

Brianna closed the door that had been left open and tiptoed toward him so as not to wake him. Then she sat down leaning against the sofa and looked down at his face.

It was the first time she had seen him asleep somewhere other than the bed.

So this man could also nap so defenselessly, she thought, as she gazed at his sleeping face to her heart’s content.

She didn’t want to wake him. She disliked interrupting his deep sleep, but she also didn’t want to waste this time when she could look at him freely in the study.

In truth, since the last time they had made love here, Brianna had avoided being with him in the study. She knew all too well that if he tempted her, she would once again find herself beneath him, moaning.

But as she kept staring at his angel-like sleeping face, the impulse to touch him and kiss him grew stronger and stronger. The initial resolve to look at him briefly and then leave vanished without a trace.

If she just gave him a light kiss and pulled away, surely he wouldn’t know.

Brianna lowered her head and carefully pressed her lips against his. The moment she felt the soft sensation, she tried to pull away, but at that instant, his strong arms pulled her body close.

“Lucius!”

Before she knew it, Brianna was on top of him.

“You were awake?”

His black eyes, staring straight at her, showed no sign of drowsiness. No matter how she looked, they were the eyes of someone who had been awake for quite some time.

“Since when were you awake?”

“From the moment you entered the room.”

“You fraud!”

Brianna hit his chest with her fist.

“Are you a spider or a carnivorous plant? Why did you set a trap to lure in someone passing by innocently?”

“But if you had known I was awake, you wouldn’t have come in.”

“Of course not! I know just how sly you are…”

Lucius, who had been smiling, bit down on her lower lip and sucked deeply.

“Brianna, if you wanted that claim to be convincing, you shouldn’t have stolen a kiss first.”

Then his tongue slipped in deeply. Fearing that things might go too far again, Brianna tried to turn her head away, but he grabbed her by the nape of her neck. Holding her struggling body tight, he whispered low into her ear.

“If you stay still, it will end with just a kiss, but if you keep resisting, I will thrust into you until you cry.”

At that explicit remark, her ears instantly burned. In the end, Brianna stopped pushing him away and actively accepted his kiss and touch.

True to his word, Lucius only ended it after sucking her lips until they were swollen. Then, keeping Brianna on top of him, he leisurely caressed her body with his fingers.

The afternoon sunlight streaming through the window spread faintly over their bodies. Unlike before, when they had sought confirmation of love only through physical desire because they lacked certainty in each other, now they were mentally at ease and deeply peaceful.

The sound of his heartbeat pounding beneath her ear, his warm body temperature, and the pleasant floating sensation as if her body were drifting in the air made Brianna hum softly.

“What song is that?”

“A song my mother used to sing to me when I was little.”

“I’ve never heard it before.”

“Really? In Harzen, it’s a song everyone knows.”

“Keep going.”

Brianna settled herself fully on top of him and began to sing. When the song ended, she even imitated the grand bow Lily made on stage.

“Dear gentleman, if my song pleased you…”

Lucius, holding back laughter, echoed her words.

“Pleased you?”

“Would you now grant me the chance to sit on the sofa?”