Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 180

Brianna placed what she was holding next to the bouquet. The pouring sunlight struck it, glimmering with a golden brilliance. It was the ring Florian had given her along with his proposal at the graduation ball.

Since marrying Lucius, she had always kept this ring in a place where it wouldn’t catch his eye.

“Lucius wouldn’t say anything even if I kept this ring for the rest of my life. Just as he pretended not to notice when he saw me wearing it.”

Not long after they had promised to marry, she had made the mistake of dropping this ring in front of him. At that time, instead of scolding her for still wearing her former fiancé’s ring, Lucius only advised her not to pick up things she had dropped by herself.

“I don’t ever want to hurt him again. As you already know, the one I love now is Lucius. So I think it is right to return this to you.”

If she continued to keep the ring, one day it might catch his eye again. Then Lucius might misunderstand that she still hadn’t forgotten Florian. That was why she had to return it to him now. Even if she was called a selfish and bad woman who thought only of her own happiness.

“But surely you’d say I did well.”

Brianna knew it. Right now, rather than feeling hurt, Florian was surely scolding her for keeping it until now instead of returning it sooner.

For her to live a happy life with him. That must be what Florian most wished for.

So Brianna was able to give him her last farewell with a smile.

“Goodbye, Florian. My precious and beloved friend.”

Brianna kissed the name engraved on Florian’s headstone. Every memory she had shared with him since childhood was incomparably precious to her.

He was someone who, though he had grown up without receiving his parents’ love, always gave nothing but smiles to those around him.

“I’m sorry. And… thank you.”

That was why, if she were to love someone, she had believed that person would surely be Florian. But in the end, she loved someone else. She was sorry for that, and she was grateful that even knowing everything, he had sent Lucius to her without any resentment.

Once she had finished her farewell, Brianna rose from her place. As she turned after leaving the bouquet and ring in front of the stone, a dark shadow fell over her.

***

Lucius opened the cover of his watch. After checking the time, his gaze naturally lingered on the inscription engraved inside the lid.

[To my beloved Lucius Carlisle]

At the sight of it, the corners of his lips lifted into a gentle curve. With a click, he closed the watch and turned his gaze toward where Florian’s grave lay.

It’s taking quite a long time…

Lucius leaned back against the carriage and looked up at the distant sky. After staring endlessly at the drifting clouds, he turned his eyes again toward where Florian’s grave was.

At first, he had waited for Brianna with relative composure, but as more time passed than expected, he couldn’t help but grow a little anxious. He wanted to go back and bring her at once, but that was something he must not do.

This was the time he had to step aside so that the two could properly say their farewell.

However, once more than twenty minutes had passed, Lucius realized something was wrong. Could it really take this long? Just as he was thinking this, a carriage rushed toward him at great speed.

“Your Grace!”

The man who jumped out of the abruptly halted carriage was Carl. He ran straight to Lucius and shouted without even pausing for breath.

“New information has come in regarding the Crown Prince’s whereabouts. As we suspected, he didn’t go abroad. He’s now within the country!”

Carl hurriedly handed over the documents he was holding to Lucius.

“The telegram states that the Crown Prince has already entered Schwerin.”

The very first page was a letter sent by the Imperial Princess of Kazak. And below it was a document investigating the Crown Prince’s whereabouts.

Lucius quickly read through the Princess’s letter first. It contained the results of the investigation conducted after the ship that had carried the Crown Prince returned to the Empire. The main point was that the captain testified that he had dropped the Crown Prince off at Lübeck Port in the Kingdom of Schwerin.

This time, Lucius unfolded the documents beneath it. They were reports his informants had gathered while investigating major port cities.

Ten days ago, an employee working at Lübeck Port had gone to the authorities to file a report. Pointing to a wanted poster with the Crown Prince’s face, he stated that a man with the exact same face had entered the port.

But the authorities completely ignored his report. Their reasoning was that unless he was mad, the Crown Prince would never return to Schwerin, so it must have been a mistake.

Lucius crushed the papers he was holding in his hand.

If the Crown Prince, who had already lost everything, left safety behind to return to Schwerin, which was as good as enemy territory, there could only be one purpose. It would be revenge against House Carlisle that had brought him to ruin.

“Does that mean he is not targeting Mother?”

Until now, he had thought that if the Crown Prince sought revenge on someone from House Carlisle, it would more likely be his mother. With the identity of a wanted man, it would be much easier to cause trouble abroad than within the country.

And yet, he had deliberately returned to the Kingdom…

“But, Your Grace.”

Carl looked around warily.

“Where is Madam at the moment? Why are you not with her…”

At his continued words, Lucius drew in a sharp breath.

Since realizing the danger posed by the Crown Prince, he had never left Brianna alone. Wherever she went, he always assigned guards to protect her.

The only time he’d left Brianna alone outside of the ducal residence was this one time.

Right now.

Lucius immediately ran toward Florian’s grave.

What he was met with there were the flowers and ring trampled underfoot, strewn across the ground, and a single note placed in front of the headstone.

***

When she opened her eyes, what she saw was a wooden floor.

Her arm hurt as though it were being torn out. The back of her neck throbbed as if struck. As Brianna tried to move her body, she quickly realized she was not free. At the moment, she was tied to a chair with ropes.

Why is this…

As she puzzled over it, memories just before she lost consciousness slowly returned. After bidding farewell to Florian and turning back, she encountered a man. When she resisted the man who covered her mouth and tried to drag her away, he mercilessly struck the back of her neck with the edge of his hand. That was her last memory.

“So you have come to your senses.”

At the distant voice, Brianna flinched and trembled. She lifted her head to look ahead. As her blurry vision cleared, she saw a man approaching her.

His hair was as red as flames, and his eyes were a deep golden color. Among the people Brianna knew, there was only one man with such features.

“Crown Prince…”

Gerhardt Lars. The man who had once been this country’s crown prince. But now, he was a wanted fugitive who had fled far abroad, and yet here he was.

The moment she saw him up close, Brianna realized how much his appearance had changed. If not for his striking hair and eye color, she might not have recognized him at first sight.

Although he had never been considered an exceptionally handsome man, the Crown Prince had once been thought of as having a fairly decent appearance. But now, he looked so haggard that it was hard to believe he was the same person. His skin was rough, his eyes and cheeks were sunken, and the expression that had once been full of relaxed smiles was now dry and lifeless.

Brianna moved her gaze to observe her surroundings. It looked like a mountain lodge, or perhaps a small villa. There was a small window on one side and a fireplace on the other. Next to it was a pile of stacked firewood.

This place is…

“Judging from your expression, I suppose you’ve never been here before? Since it’s a significant place, I thought Duke Carlisle would’ve brought you here at least once.”

At his words, Brianna cautiously asked a question.

“…Where is this?”

“A villa in the ducal hunting grounds. More precisely, the place where the previous duke died.”