Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 77

Lucius let out a sigh.

“…Alright. Bring warm water and towels to the room.”

“Yes, of course. And you’ll need to pay for the room upfront.”

“I don’t have money on me right now, but I’ll leave this as collateral.”

He took something out from inside his coat and handed it over. It fell into the innkeeper’s palm with a soft thud. At first, it looked like a gemstone. In fact, it was. The round red ornament was a ruby, surrounded by several dark-colored gemstones intricately set into the shape of two eagles.

And the innkeeper soon realized that this emblem was very familiar. If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, what he was holding was none other than the Carlisle family crest.

“Oh!”

The innkeeper, overwhelmed, almost dropped the crest before hastily catching it again. Only then did he realize who the man before him must be. The crest was an item that only direct descendants of the family could carry. That meant this man had to be one of the two brothers of the Carlisle family. Since Duke Carlisle had a limp, this man must be the younger brother.

“Uh, well…”

“Keep that with you. Tomorrow, someone from my family will come to settle the bill. Is that acceptable?”

“O-of course!”

The man immediately took the key and went up to the second floor. The innkeeper screamed internally. Someone from the Carlisle family—at that—was staying in this tiny inn on the outskirts of the capital.

***

Lucius hadn’t expected much when he chose the nearest inn, but thankfully the room, while small, was clean.

He laid Brianna down on the bed and checked her condition. Aside from a few scratches on her arms and face, she seemed to be uninjured. It looked like she had lost consciousness due to the shock, and all she needed was to stay warm to recover.

But that was the biggest problem…

Lucius looked down at Brianna with a troubled expression. He had to admit that he was facing one of the greatest dilemmas of his life. He knew that he had to get her out of her wet clothes to prevent her body temperature from dropping, but the thought of how embarrassed she might be later made it difficult for him to act.

After hesitating for a long time, he made up his mind and reached for her clothes. If he didn’t warm her body soon, she might catch a cold or develop a fever. There was no more time to hesitate.

He started by loosening the ties at her chest. As the strings were untied, the soft curves of her pale, milky skin were revealed. For a moment, Lucius found himself staring, entranced. He bit his lip hard.

Get a hold of yourself, you beast. This is not the time for such thoughts.

From that point on, Lucius focused solely on removing her clothes quickly. He pulled open the bodice and removed the skirt in one swift motion. Fortunately, she wasn’t wearing a corset, and beneath her dress was just a simple slip. But even that seemed impossible for him to remove, so he left it as it was. It was thin enough that it would dry quickly.

He quickly covered her up to her neck with a blanket just as the innkeeper knocked on the door. The innkeeper left the warm water and towels outside the room. Lucius used the warm water to clean the dirt and dust from her face and hair. Then, he moved her to a dry part of the bed.

Only after all that was done did Lucius finally let out a breath of relief. The task that had taken less than ten minutes had exhausted him more than running across a battlefield all day.

Now that he was somewhat calmer, Lucius sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at Brianna’s face. He reached out and touched her forehead and cheek. Thankfully, she was much warmer now, and her complexion was improving.

I’m so glad you’re safe. If anything had happened to you, I…

Lucius let out a soft sigh, brushing the wet hair away from her face. He meant to stop there, but as if possessed, his fingers traced her cheek gently, then brushed against her lips. As his thumb ran over her soft lower lip, Lucius pulled his hand back abruptly and stood up. If he touched her any further, he feared he might do something he couldn’t take back.

He moved away from the bed, sitting in a chair far across the room, watching over Brianna. It was as if an invisible boundary lay between them—one that he dared not cross. And he began to think carefully about what he would say to her when she woke up.

It was going to be a long, long night for him.

***

When Brianna opened her eyes again, the room was dark. She blinked a few times, and then she remembered what had happened right before she lost consciousness, causing her to gasp.

“You’re awake?”

A man’s voice came from somewhere, and she let out a small scream. She realized she felt exposed—only in her thin slip. Hugging the blanket tightly, she curled up.

The voice of the man who had planned to sell her into a brothel echoed in her head. Could it be that they hadn’t killed her but had taken her to such a place instead?

As she shivered, the voice spoke again, this time gently.

“Brianna, are you alright?”

The voice was familiar. It was…

“…Lucius?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Ah…”

The tension drained from her body. Somehow, her body instinctively recognized that she was safe now, simply because he was there.

She spotted him sitting in a chair some distance away from the bed, staring at her like a statue. She had no idea how long he had been sitting there.

“How…”

As she tried to ask what had happened, he responded, “May I come closer so we can talk?”

Brianna pulled the blanket up to her neck and nodded. If it had been any other man, she would have screamed at him to stay away, but Lucius was different. She knew he would never harm her.

Lucius stopped at the edge of the bed and asked, “How are you feeling?”

At his question, Brianna took a moment to assess herself. She ached all over, and the scratches stung a little, but nothing hurt too badly.

“I’m alright. Nothing feels too uncomfortable.”

Lucius, who had been watching her closely, let out a sigh of relief.

“Then we can move on to the next matter. Someone from our family happened to see you being abducted, and that’s how we were able to help.”

It seemed odd that he would say it was just a “coincidence.” Even if someone from the Carlisle family had seen her being taken, how had they known it was her and reported it to him so quickly?

But now wasn’t the time to worry about those details.

“Thank you for saving me.”

Brianna remembered the conversation between the two men in the rain. One of them had said they had been paid to kill her and dump her body somewhere. Who could have ordered such a thing?

“I overheard the men who kidnapped me talking. They said someone hired them to do it. They were paid to kill me and dispose of my body… Do you know who might have ordered this?”

Lucius fell silent at her question. If he didn’t know, he would have answered immediately. The fact that he was hesitating meant he knew exactly who was behind it.

Brianna waited patiently for his answer, and eventually, he replied, “It was Viscount Robert.”

Brianna gasped, looking at him in shock.

“Why would he…”

“I think the viscount and his wife must have found out about the inheritance you received. They’ve been struggling with debt collectors, so they must be desperate for that money.”

“Oh…”

Brianna covered her mouth with her hand. Only now did she realize that, since she was an orphan, if she died, all of her inheritance would go to the Robert family. She had been too consumed by grief over Florian’s death to even consider such matters until now.

“…It must have been Margot. She’s the one who told them.”

Brianna clenched the blanket in her fists.

“The only ones who knew about the inheritance were you, me, and Margot.”

She hadn’t heard anything about Margot since she was expelled from the count’s estate. But knowing how vengeful Margot was, she must have gone to the Roberts as soon as she heard of Florian’s death—determined not to let Brianna keep the inheritance.

Lucius remembered what Brianna had told him about Margot before, and he nodded. “That seems very likely.”

“Why won’t Margot leave me alone…”

Brianna buried her face in her hands. What kind of terrible fate was this? A childhood friend had now tried to kill her.

Seeing Brianna’s distress, Lucius spoke softly, “That maid is probably already dead.”