Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 183

The problem was that the two men were entangled, their bodies grappling and rolling over one another again and again. Every time she was about to pull the trigger, their positions shifted, and she nearly shot Lucius by mistake.

Above all, she couldn’t use her left arm now, which meant she had to shoot with only one hand. Accuracy couldn’t possibly compare to aiming with both hands. She had practiced shooting one-handed before, but training and reality were entirely different.

I can’t do it.

The hand holding the gun trembled. The thought that Lucius might die from a single mistake froze her whole body in an instant.

While Brianna hesitated, the fight tilted in favor of the crown prince. Lucius had already lost far too much blood from the gunshot wound in his leg. His face, drained of all color, was proof of that.

“Kh…!”

The crown prince locked one arm around Lucius’s neck and began to strangle him. Lucius tried to shake him off with force, but when the crown prince pressed down on the wound in his leg, he let out a groan of pain and his arm fell helplessly.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll kill you first. Then that woman afterward…”

When he raised his head, the crown prince saw Brianna standing in front of him. She was pointing a gun at them. His lips curled into a twisted smile.

“…It seems the Duchess had talents I didn’t know of. Planning to shoot me with that? With one hand?”

He noticed her hand trembling around the gun and narrowed his eyes.

“Go ahead, shoot. If you don’t care whether your husband gets hit. But think very carefully. He’s already lost so much blood that even the smallest wound could kill him immediately.”

Brianna clenched her teeth. She tried aiming again but, in the end, lowered the gun without firing.

“Why? Do you lack confidence?”

The crown prince then aimed his own gun at Lucius. Lucius tried, as before, to grab the barrel and push it away, but the muzzle only moved closer toward him.

“Brianna…”

Then Lucius spoke, biting his lip.

“Do you remember what I told you before? What to do once you have a gun in your hand?”

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Brianna nodded. Of course she remembered. If not for that advice he had once given her, she would have given up on everything long ago back in Harzen.

“Believe in yourself and fire.”

At those words, Brianna hastily wiped away the tears clouding her vision. Now was not the time to falter. If she didn’t want to regret it, she had to act.

Brianna raised the gun again and aimed at the crown prince. He sneered even as she pointed it at him.

“Go on then. Do as you please. As if you could hit me with that toy…”

Bang!

The gun flashed. Without a moment’s hesitation, she had pulled the trigger, and the bullet pierced directly through the crown prince’s forehead.

“……”

His mouth opened slightly. His eyes, wide with disbelief, fixed on Brianna. A line of blood trailed down from his forehead like a tear, dripping off his cheek. In moments, his entire face was drenched in blood.

“Luce!”

Brianna rushed to him without delay. Lucius pushed the crown prince’s body away and pulled her into his arms.

“First, we need to stop the bleeding.”

Brianna tried to tear her underdress to use as a bandage, but ripping fabric with one hand was impossible.

“Luce, I can’t use one arm. So you’ll have to…”

“Your arm is injured?”

He saw her left shoulder hanging limply and gasped. Then, seeing the blood running from her temple, he recoiled in alarm.

“Your head, is your head all right?”

“Is my wound the problem? Look at this. Your leg is bleeding profusely!”

However, it was clear he was not listening to her. His gaze remained fixed, carefully examining Brianna’s shoulder that was dangling loosely.

“Brianna, bite down hard.”

He grabbed Brianna’s shoulder with both hands.

“This will hurt a little.”

Before the words had even finished, there was a sharp crack as her shoulder snapped back into place.

“Ah…”

Brianna immediately realized her shoulder had been set properly. Just as he said, it was so painful in the moment that she couldn’t even scream, but strangely, once it was reset, there was no pain at all.

Lucius confirmed once again that her shoulder was back in place and muttered quietly, “This is serious. Once it’s dislocated, it could become habitual… You’ll need proper treatment to prevent that…”

“Shut that mouth before I kill you myself.”

Brianna snapped sharply at him as she tore her underdress with both hands. Her eyes were already brimming with tears.

“Not once but twice you get shot! Are you insane? Do you really want me to watch you die?”

“Fortunately, the crown prince wasn’t as good a marksman as you. I lost a lot of blood, but the bullet itself only grazed me. It’s not a wound worth worrying about…”

“You’ve still lost a lot of blood. No matter how shallow the wound, people die if they bleed too much!”

Brianna began to wail and sob uncontrollably. Yet even then, her hands were quick and precise as she tied the torn fabric around his leg.

“Brianna, I won’t die from this. I just feel a little dizzy…”

“Just try dying. If you do, I’ll follow you right away!”

Lucius let out a faint laugh. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

And as soon as Brianna finished tying the wound, he pulled her tightly into his arms.

“Today, you were truly brave. Brianna.”

He gently stroked her hair with his hand.

“You must have been terrified… But you saved me.”

Only then did the reality begin to sink in. She had killed a living person with her own hands.

The moment she realized it, her body began to tremble violently. Brianna turned her head to look at the dead crown prince, but Lucius covered her eyes with his hand.

“Don’t look. It’s not something a lady should see.”

Brianna nodded and buried her face against his chest again. Once her trembling had eased somewhat, Lucius moved his eyes slightly to glance to the side. The crown prince was lying face down in a pool of blood. It was a fitting end for a villain.

“Did you really come here all alone?”

After a while, she asked him, and he nodded. “Yes.”

“Why did you come? For what reason?”

“I told you. No matter where you are, I will come to find you.”

Brianna lifted her head and looked at him.

“I…”

And then she broke into sorrowful sobs.

“I hoped you wouldn’t come, but at the same time, I wished you would. Because I wanted to see your face one last time before I died.”

He let out a faint sigh. Lucius wiped the blood trailing from her temple with his sleeve, then brushed away the wetness around her eyes with his fingers and said softly.

“If seeing my face before you die is such a wish, I’ll grant it as much as you want. We’ll grow old together until we’re grandparents, and I’ll die after you.”

“Then promise me. Promise you’ll never die before me.”

Lucius laughed. “I promise I’ll go at least one day after you.”

Brianna sniffled and asked, “But what do we do now? We need to get out of here, but your leg…”

Lucius grimaced as he stretched his injured leg.

“Carl will be here soon.”

“Didn’t you say you came alone?”

“I told Carl I’d go alone. But knowing him, there’s no way he’d just listen quietly. Soon enough…”

Before he could finish, the door burst open with a bang. Carl froze at the sight of the floor soaked in blood, then quickly spotted the two of them.

“Duke! Madam!”

And almost in tears, he rushed toward them.