Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 72

Daniel pressed his hand to his forehead. Now that he thought about it, the recent stories coming from the frontlines had been far from reassuring. Initially, the tide of battle had been overwhelmingly in favor of the allied forces, but progress had since slowed, and they were struggling to break through. The Kazak Empire moved as if it knew the allied forces’ tactics in advance, which had led to persistent rumors of a traitor among them.

Now, he finally understood why they had chosen such extreme measures. Blowing up the powder magazine to kill Florian was too elaborate a method for simply covering up something quietly. There had to have been subtler ways, but they had acted with alarming haste.

Knowing everything now, it made sense that they had no other choice.

If it had merely been a matter of military corruption, they could have easily covered it up by cutting off the responsible parties. But treason was different. The only way to handle it was to dig until they found the head. So they had tried to eliminate any threat right from the start.

“Our crown prince isn’t satisfied with merely holding his current position, it seems. He can’t be content living peacefully and insists on seeing bloodshed…”

The more Daniel thought about it, the more troubling the matter became. Though the monarchy had lost its ruling power, the royal family was still respected by both citizens and nobles. But now that things had come to this, the situation could only escalate to extremes. And this time, it wouldn’t end in a neatly presented compromise.

“…Anyway, this needs more investigation. We can’t be too careful with this.”

The butler nodded. “Understood. I’ll make arrangements to gather more information.”

“In any case, poor Brianna…”

Daniel sighed softly.

Orphaned, she had lost the two people closest to her, one after the other. He couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for her situation.

If the crown prince was indeed involved in all of this, then Florian had become a victim of the long political struggle that had begun with the late Duke Carlisle.

“Florian had nothing to do with politics, yet he’s the one who died because of it, leaving her all alone.”

A bitter expression settled over Daniel’s face.

He had watched Florian closely for a long time and knew just how upright and unambitious he was. Florian’s wish had been nothing more than a simple future—living in a small house, raising children with the woman he loved. It made his death, caused by human greed, all the more disheartening.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you show such regret for someone else’s situation, Your Grace.”

Daniel looked up at the butler, who spoke with a hint of surprise.

“Is that so?”

“You don’t usually show much interest in people outside of your family.”

Instead of denying it, Daniel smiled. “True enough. Circumstances didn’t allow me to.”

After his father’s death in an accident, Daniel became Duke Carlisle at just seventeen. While many worried about the situation, there was also an undercurrent of expectation—how could someone as young as Daniel, with a disability no less, wield the same influence as his father? There were those who muttered that the Carlisle family was in decline, hoping for both Daniel and the house to fall.

But Daniel defied everyone’s expectations, establishing an even stronger political foundation than the previous Duke. He won over opposing nobles with his overwhelming inclusiveness while dealing ruthlessly with anyone who challenged his authority.

It was only then that people realized the gentle smile of Daniel Carlisle concealed a well-honed blade.

“I had to protect myself and my family from the beasts trying to tear us apart. I couldn’t afford to look after others.”

“You’ve endured well. I’m sure the late duke would be proud of you.

Daniel gave the butler a disbelieving look. “You, of all people, complimenting me? Should I be worried about your health?”

“Now that you mention it, it reminds me…”

The butler cleanly ignored Daniel’s sarcastic remark. After briefly calculating the dates, he continued, “The late Duke’s memorial day is approaching. I thought you’d be going to the lodge alone this time, but it seems young Master Lucius will be joining you again.”

The day before the late duke’s memorial, the two brothers would always spend time at the lodge where they used to go hunting with their father. Their mother had never joined them, calling hunting a brutal pastime for men. Naturally, the hunting lodge became a place filled with memories shared only by the three of them.

On the first memorial of their father’s death, Daniel had taken Lucius to the lodge. Knowing how much his younger brother missed their father, Daniel had tried to recreate what their father had done for Lucius. Though his leg prevented him from joining in the hunt, the brothers found comfort and solace in each other there. It was a tradition they had kept for eight years without fail.

“I thought I’d be going to the lodge alone this time, but thanks to that madman Lucius putting a hole in his arm, I won’t be lonely after all. Should I be grateful for that?”

“I’ll make the usual preparations, then.”

“Oh, and one more thing.”

Daniel stopped the butler, who was about to leave.

“Tell the person watching over… no, protecting Miss Brianna to inform me immediately if she leaves the estate.”

“…Are you planning to meet her, Your Grace?”

Daniel smiled brightly. “Yes, I intend to meet her. Just the two of us. And make sure Lucius never finds out—he’d raise hell and try to kill me if he knew.”

***

Since Florian’s death, Brianna had come to understand that being able to grieve freely was, in itself, a blessing.

When Madam Linares had passed away, Brianna had been able to cry as much as she wanted, surrounded by others mourning with her. She cried until she could cry no more, with plenty of people around her offering comfort. Perhaps that was why she had been able to overcome her grief more quickly than expected.

But this time, even after Florian’s death, she had to carry on with her daily life. She continued teaching Michael, smiling as usual around the staff, showing no sign of her sorrow. The only time she could truly mourn was when she was alone.

On her day off, Brianna went to the last place she had seen him.

The camellia blossoms that had been scattered across the ground were long gone. Now, only the lush green leaves of the camellia tree remained as she stood there, alone, remembering Florian and longing for him.

It still didn’t feel real that he was dead. Unlike Madam Linares, whose body she had seen with her own eyes, making her death undeniably clear, Florian’s death still felt uncertain. She had the strange feeling that he might come back any moment, alive.

They never found his whole body. Perhaps the person who died wasn’t Florian after all. Maybe he had just dropped the brooch there by accident, like the clumsy person he was?

These thoughts spiraled in her mind until Brianna felt ashamed of herself.

Why am I clinging to such futile hopes? Nothing will change because of this…

Just as she let out a deep sigh and turned to leave, she heard an unexpected voice.

“Oh? Miss Brianna?”

She looked up to see Daniel Carlisle waving at her from afar. For a moment, Brianna thought she was imagining things. This was a small park in the suburbs, far from the city center—not the kind of place frequented by nobles.

But the strikingly brilliant hair and the cane in his hand made it clear that this was, indeed, Daniel Carlisle.

Seeing him making his way toward her with his cane, Brianna hurriedly ran up to him.

“Duke Carlisle…”

Brianna bowed awkwardly in greeting, and Daniel called out to her cheerfully.

“Fancy meeting you here, Miss Brianna! What a delightful coincidence!”

“……”