Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 4

“Damn, all I found is a watch? Damn it…” The man grumbled, surrounded by items he had pulled out of the bag. When he noticed Lucius’s presence, he looked up. Seeing a young man in fine clothes, still showing signs of youth, the thief smirked.

“What do you want, kid? Got business with me?”

“My business is with that bag.”

“That your bag? No? Then mind your own business and get lost.”

“It’s not your bag either. So why don’t you get lost?”

“Ha, trying to play hero, huh? Did your mommy never tell you not to meddle in other people’s business?”

“Do you always do what your mommy tells you at your age?” Lucius said with a disdainful expression.

“What?”

“Or do you just do the opposite of what she says? Judging by your petty theft, it seems you’re picking all the wrong choices.”

The thief’s face twisted in anger. “You’ve got a sharp tongue, don’t you, kid?”

The man stood up, drawing a dagger from his coat. Already irritated by the lack of valuable items, the presence of a nobleman further soured his mood.

“I don’t care if you’re a noble or not. If you don’t want to die, you better run away now.”

Lucius instinctively reached for his sword but hesitated. He realized too late that he wasn’t carrying it since he was outside the academy. Besides, using a sword against a commoner would cause a lot of trouble later. He would have to write a report and deal with the consequences if the man got injured or worse.

As Lucius let out a light sigh and removed his hand from his side, the man’s sneer widened. “Scared, huh? Never killed anyone before, have you?”

“Are you going to keep yapping or are you actually going to do something? You’re starting to bore me.”

“Why you little—!” Furious, the thief lunged at Lucius with his dagger.

Lucius sidestepped, avoiding the attack easily. He struck the man’s wrist, causing him to drop the dagger with a clatter. As the man stumbled, Lucius kicked him hard.

“Ugh!” The man groaned, writhing on the ground. He looked up to see Lucius picking up the fallen dagger, and frantically waved his hands.

“Wait! Hold on a sec—!”

Shnk!

The dagger flew and embedded itself in the ground between the man’s legs. His eyes followed the blade down, realizing how close it had come to hitting a very sensitive area. The blade quivered slightly, its sharp edge a hair’s breadth from his groin.

The man swallowed hard, understanding that the throw was precisely calculated.

“Get lost,” Lucius ordered.

The man scrambled to his feet and fled in panic.

Left alone, Lucius began gathering the scattered belongings and placing them back in the bag. The contents were sparse: a change of clothes, some writing materials, and a few books. One bundle of papers caught his attention, particularly the name on the front page.

“…Grisha Astrid?”

Grisha Astrid. He was known as one of the greatest novelists and intellectuals of the era, with many of his works being essential reading at the Bastogne Academy.

But why was his name on this bundle of papers?

As he pondered this, he heard footsteps approaching.

With a growing sense of unease, Lucius looked up to meet the widened teal eyes staring directly at him. He could see anger quickly replacing the initial shock on her face, and he immediately understood he had just made another misstep.

“Uh…”

He started to explain but stopped when he saw a gun in her hand.

A gun? He had never heard that Brianna Everett knew how to use one. And how was she carrying such a dangerous item?

The click of the gun being cocked accompanied her calm voice.

“Hands up.”

Lucius quickly raised both hands.

“Step away from my bag!”

He took a step back immediately, complying with her command.

The woman approached slowly, still aiming the gun at him. Her stance was steady, suggesting she wasn’t handling the weapon casually. Lucius found himself oddly captivated by her teal eyes, which were focused intently on him. Strangely, he couldn’t look away from those blue-green eyes.

“How can someone who looks so proper be stealing another person’s bag? Aren’t you ashamed?” she accused him fiercely, stepping closer.

Just then, Lucius noticed a pen lying right in front of her foot.

“Watch out.”

“What?” she snapped.

“Mind your step,” Lucius warned softly.

The woman hesitated, her instinct to look down momentarily halted by skepticism. She scoffed, lifting her chin defiantly. “Do you really think I’d fall for such a—aaah!”

She slipped on the pen, and the gun flew out of her hand. Lucius quickly reached out to catch her by the waist with one hand and snatched the gun with the other.

“……”

“……”

The woman stared up at him, utterly shocked. Her face, which had been full of suspicion and defiance, was now painted with surprise and confusion. For a brief moment, Lucius felt an unfamiliar mischievous impulse.

What expression would she make if he didn’t let her go immediately? Would she be more flustered? Or would she get angry?

But as the corner of his lips started to twitch upward, his expression hardened.

What am I thinking? This is a woman I’ve never met before.

Lucius quickly released her waist and helped her stand upright.

“Thank you…”

When he disarmed the gun and handed it back to her, she took it with a bewildered look. It was understandable. Not only had he caught her when she nearly fell, but he also returned her weapon.

“Are you Miss Brianna Everett?” Lucius asked directly.

She looked astonished. “How do you know my name?”

“I’m a friend of Florian’s. He couldn’t come today because of an important engagement, so he asked me to meet you,” Lucius explained.

“Florian sent you?” she asked, still incredulous.

Lucius nodded. “On my way to find you, I saw a thief running off with your bag. I chased him down and retrieved it. The thief has fled.”

Brianna covered her mouth with her hands. “I’m so sorry! I made a terrible mistake…”

“It’s alright. I created a situation that led to your misunderstanding. Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Lucius—”

Before he could finish, she exclaimed with a mix of surprise and excitement, “Are you Lucy? Florian’s best friend?”

“……”

His face turned icy, and he ground his teeth in irritation. The woman flinched and quickly bowed her head.

“I’m sorry! I’ve heard your name so often that it slipped out…”

Lucius thought to himself, When I get back to the academy, Florian is the first person I’m going to kill.

***

Brianna glanced furtively at the man seated across from her. Since boarding the carriage, he hadn’t uttered a word. He sat with the straight-backed, elegant posture characteristic of nobility, quietly gazing downward.

He must be angry.

Of course, he would be. I mistook the person who retrieved my bag for a thief and even pointed a gun at him.

And that wasn’t all. I called him by a nickname without permission—one he apparently dislikes.

“Lucius gets really annoyed when I call him Lucy, but his reaction is cute, so I keep calling him that. He doesn’t often show his feelings, you see. But other guys are too scared to call him that because Lucius can be pretty intimidating,” Florian had once said with a bright smile.

Recalling Florian’s cheerful face, Brianna put a hand to her forehead in embarrassment.