Reasons for Contract Marriage - Chapter 85

***

“Excuse me…”

How much time had passed since she boarded the coach? Brianna slowly opened her heavy eyelids at the sound of someone calling her. A middle-aged woman seated across from her was looking at Brianna with a worried expression.

“Are you all right? You’ve been looking unwell for some time now.”

“Ah…”

Brianna touched her face with her hand. She knew her face was hotter than usual. At first, she thought it was because of the slap she had received, but now she realized her forehead was burning as well.

It seemed the strain of everything she had gone through was catching up to her all at once.

“I think I’m coming down with a fever. Thank you for your concern.”

“Oh, dear.”

The woman clicked her tongue softly.

“It looks like you’re traveling a long distance. What will you do if you’re sick? Where are you headed?”

Brianna clenched the travel bag resting on her lap. In truth, she had only resolved to go as far away as possible and had not yet decided on a destination.

“Where are you going, ma’am?”

When Brianna turned the question back, the woman smiled.

“My daughter lives in Cassel, and she’s about to have a baby. I’m on my way to see her. She’s scared of giving birth and begged me to stay with her.”

At the mention of the word “baby,” the previously quiet coach suddenly became lively.

“That’s a wise decision. Having your mother by your side during childbirth gives you courage.”

“Oh, if it’s her first child, she’ll have a tough time.”

Having been idle, the passengers chimed in one by one. Listening to their conversation, Brianna slowly lowered her head.

She envied the woman she had never met. A loving mother to worry about her and an adorable baby on the way—how happy she must be.

A baby…

Brianna pictured a baby’s tiny, wriggling hands, with the scent of milk wafting in the air. She wanted a baby of her own. Having been alone since losing her family, she wished to meet someone connected to her bloodline as soon as possible. But given her current situation, such a simple happiness felt utterly out of reach.

“What’s that carriage?”

A man who had been peering out the window muttered to himself. When others looked at him, he shrugged and gestured toward a carriage.

“There’s a dark carriage speeding toward us. It looks like it’s chasing us.”

“A dark carriage?”

“Wait a second… It seems like there’s an emblem on it…”

The man squinted at the carriage for a long moment before his eyes widened in surprise.

“Huh? Isn’t that the Carlisle family’s crest?”

“What?”

The passengers all crowded to the windows. Brianna, however, remained seated, lost in thought.

The Carlisle family?

“It’s really coming this way.”

The coach was now speeding across a quiet field, far from the bustling city. With no predetermined path in nature, there was no reason for the other carriage to follow this route—unless it had business with this coach.

“By the way, have you heard? The second son of the Carlisle family was arrested on suspicion of killing the Duke.”

The topic shifted to the Carlisle family.

“You’re quite behind on the news. The younger brother was already released. It was revealed that on the day the Duke died, he was at an inn with some woman.”

“A woman? Who was she?”

Brianna quickly lowered her head. She knew they couldn’t possibly recognize her face, but just listening to the conversation made her feel exposed.

“From what I hear, the woman volunteered to testify… Huh?”

At that moment, the speeding carriage quickly caught up to the coach. The dark navy carriage overtook them in an instant and blocked their path.

Neigh!

The horses whinnied loudly as they came to an abrupt halt. As a result, the coach also stopped suddenly, shaking violently.

“What’s going on?”

“What’s all this about?”

As confusion filled the coach, Brianna pressed herself against the wall, clutching her bag tightly. If her instincts were correct, this commotion was entirely because of her.

Moments later, bang! The door of the coach was thrown open with enough force to break it. The man scanning the interior with a sharp gaze was, as she had guessed, Lucius.

His eyes immediately found Brianna amidst the crowd. His sharp gaze pierced her like the eyes of a hawk locking onto its prey, but Brianna could only stare at him in bewilderment.

How does he always find me so easily?

Even so, she thought he would soon ask her to get off the coach with his usual composed tone. That was the Lucius Carlisle she knew.

But his actions were entirely unexpected. He shoved his large frame into the coach, grabbed Brianna, and roughly pulled her toward him.

“Luci… Aah!”

Brianna started to call his name but let out a scream as he suddenly yanked her. Like a hapless rabbit caught by a ravenous predator, she was swept away by Lucius in an instant. All that remained where she had sat was her travel bag, left behind in the commotion.

The passengers began murmuring again.

“What should we do? Should we just let this go?”

It looked no different from a kidnapping. The only difference was that the man was openly abducting her in broad daylight. Ignoring her struggles, Lucius carried her in his arms and strode toward the carriage he had arrived in.

“But if he’s using the Carlisle family’s carriage…”

At someone’s words, everyone fell silent. With the Duke of Carlisle dead, there was only one direct male heir left in the family. Realizing the dark-haired man they had been gossiping about was Lucius Carlisle himself, the passengers swallowed nervously.

For some reason, he returned to the Carlisle carriage and then approached the coach. Though he was essentially the kidnapper, no one dared to confront him. Partly because of the weight of the Carlisle family’s name, but also because his solid, well-trained physique made it clear he could overpower multiple people with ease.

Instead, when he calmly held out his hand, one man quietly picked up the fallen bag and handed it to him.

Lucius gave a faint smile. “I apologize for the disturbance. Please accept this as compensation. Goodbye.”

He left a heavy pouch on the coach seat before closing the door. Dumbfounded, the passengers opened the pouch to find it filled with gold coins. For a moment, no one could close their gaping mouths.

***

Brianna finally found her voice just as the carriage started moving again.

“…What are you doing?”

She tried to speak calmly, but her trembling voice betrayed her. Despite witnessing everything herself, she couldn’t believe what had just happened. He had practically torn her out of the coach and brought her here. Like a beast fiercely protecting its territory.

“How did you know I was on that coach…”

Perhaps because of the series of sudden events, her head spun, and her body felt as heavy as wet cotton. Brianna leaned against the carriage wall, breathing heavily.

Watching her with furrowed brows, Lucius looked down at the hand he had just used to grab her. When he had held her earlier, he had noticed her unusually high body temperature.

“Brianna, hold on a moment.”

He placed his large hand on her forehead. Only then did he realize she was burning with fever.

“Brianna!”

Brianna collapsed into his arms, unconscious. Though she vaguely heard his frantic shouts, the sound soon faded away.

She remained bedridden for a week. Throughout her feverish dreams, memories of the past year and the people she missed visited her, bringing both joy and sorrow.

Even in the grip of a high fever, Brianna could feel someone holding her hand whenever they had a chance. She could tell the rough hand that always gently touched her face belonged to the same person.

When she finally opened her eyes a week later, Daniel Carlisle’s funeral had already concluded. And Lucius was no longer the second young master of the Carlisle family—he was now the Duke of Carlisle.