Translator and Editor: Lea and Ishy

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Chapter 21

I was letting out my prepared speech automatically like a vending machine, but I stopped in the middle.

“Is it not enough?”

“No!”

It was neither one thousand nor two. It was five thousand gold.

That much was enough to plan the rest of my life after my contract with Lennox was over.

‘If I save money every month, I don’t have to worry about making a living for a while, do I?’

Meanwhile, I could see a bright halo behind the attractive man in front of me.

I hurried before Lennox could change his words.

“I have no more say!”

“Let’s have my doubtful future wife write in our sacred contract.” Lennox pushed the completed contract toward me.

“It’s fine,” I added as I nodded.

“When I invalidate the spell’s effects and Father returns to his senses, he may ask Your Highness for this and that as a wedding condition because I was supposed to marry Marquis Velott.”

“You don’t mean the son of Marquis Velott, do you?”

“Sadly, I don’t.”

“Though, I heard that the Marquis had a big accident recently.”

“That’s why without my knowledge, my marriage partner was changed to the young Marquis.”

Lennox chuckled at my grumbling. “That’s understandable.”

He briefly evaluated the situation and gave me the answer I wanted.

“I don’t care what your father wants. I can fit into his requirements, and..”

He smirked as he finished, “if necessary, I don’t need to use gentlemanly methods.”

“That’s a more reliable answer.”

He and I burst into short laughs at the same time.

When my laughter became softer, Lennox gazed at me with a serious look on his face.

“This contract is unfavorable to you in many ways. Do you know that?”

“There’s nothing we can do. We regret more when we lose money.”

“Or just tell me if you have any more conditions. I’d listen to all of them. Check.”

“Please cut me some slack!”

“The world of victory is cold.”

“This is enough. I’ve been promised with a faithful marriage as I wanted, without the involvement of neither my dowry nor the Viscount’s money,” I replied by blocking his surprise attack.

“What if you regret it later? Check.”

“Ah, seriously!”

My breath hitched as Lennox neutralized my shield one after the other. All I could do was look for a moment to slip away.

“I want to ask you something.”

He was constantly attacking, but he put his hand to a stop and asked.

“What is it?”

“Do your duties include nightly duties to your husband?”

“Pardon?”

“Check.” Lennox resumed his attack while I was out of spirits due to an unexpected mental attack.

“You’re so mean!”

“I’m strategic.”

“Did you really have to do that?”

“Never let your guard down on the battlefield.” He seemed like a persistent man.

I didn’t want to lose this round. I wanted to block his attacks with all my might, but there were few pieces left.

‘If it goes like this, there’s no chance of winning.’

Sink or swim, I had to try to make a winning move.

‘All or nothing.’

I raised my head to look at the man sitting opposite to me with a table in between.

Lennox Kravant.

In the original work, the name made an appearance only once.

But here, he was a man I chose to help me survive.

I would definitely win the game I started.

Even if it was equivalent to a gamble.

***

That was how a few turns went by.

“Now it’s your turn, Your Highness.”

His eyes widened as he looked down at the chessboard as if he couldn’t believe it.

Even though it was for a moment, he smiled. A very pleasant smile.

“Perfect check.”

No matter how many times he aimed, my king kept avoiding him.

It was a draw.

Finally, Lennox decided to withdraw from the game.

I won.

“Now tell me. How to invalidate the spell.”

“This is it.”

“I beg your pardon?”

He passed over the paper he was holding.

“Whatever the contract is, the most important thing is its documents.” he smirked playfully.

“A marriage contract does not require the seal of the head of the household.”

Marriage contract.

The paper with ancient magic twinkled softly.

“To invalidate the spell, you need to create a situation where the spell cannot be established.”

“A situation where the spell cannot be established?”

“The spell cast on the Viscount prevents Lennox Kravant and Olivia Brienne from getting married.”

“Oh, then..”

The spell would not be established after our marriage.

“If we get married, the spell will lose its effect.” I looked over the marriage contract again.

Lennox’s signature at the bottom of the document was clear as day.

“Olivia.”

He looked at me with the most serious expression possible.

“Lastly, I’ll ask. Are you confident you won’t regret marrying me?”

I picked up the pen instead of answering.

Then, without any hesitation, I signed my name on the place next to Lennox’s.

The paper shined with a golden glow, signaling that our contract had been established.

I smiled as I looked up at him, “I won’t regret it.”

The game was finally over.

***

It was quiet in the middle of the night.

I walked through the path leading from the mansion to the main gate with Lennox by my side.

“It’s late. Would it be okay? Your Highness can stay overnight in the guest room.”

“If you were going to stop me, you should have told me before I came out,” he said, even though he knew I said it out of politeness.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Embarrassed, I touched my nose and coughed.

“Can you stay here?”

“Pardon?”

“There’s someone in the viscounty who’s after your life. Our marriage will be revealed tomorrow at the latest, but I don’t think they will wait.”

As he said, there was a possibility that my opponent would try to hurt me as soon as they could.

“Did you find out the culprit?”

“Yes.”

Carinne was the most likely suspect, but it was only a guess.

‘I haven’t found any solid evidence yet.’

Above all, considering the different progress from the original, I couldn’t be certain that Carinne was not involved with the darkness.

“Any guesses about the reason why the culprit is after you?”

“Reason?”

“If they’re trying to harm you, there must be a corresponding reason.”

“Well, maybe..”

An event in which Carinne took control of Olivia’s body and killed Olivia’s soul trapped in Carinne’s body.

It was during the engagement with Prince Edwin.

“I have to clean up an obstacle that blocks my path.”

At the execution site, Carinne had certainly told Olivia that.

A bulb lit up in my head the moment I remembered the scene.

‘Then won’t it be solved when I marry Lennox?’

If Carinne bullied Olivia and wanted to kill her, wasn’t it because Olivia was going to become the Crown Princess?

I couldn’t believe there was such a simple way. Now that the contract had been established, I was safe....

Wait.

Was I really safe, though?

‘Why is it so easy?’

I paused when the thought crossed my mind.

Logically, I was right about the escape. Indeed, but..

Somehow, the aftertaste felt very bitter.

Considering my experience, my ominous hunch was always proved right when a disaster followed.

Even now, my survival antenna was blinking like crazy, signalling a warning when there shouldn’t have been any.

‘Something feels weird.’

I started to feel as though it was not a simple problem to solve.

‘Let’s wait and see. I don’t have to be pessimistic about the situation.’ I quickly shook off the complicated ideas.

“Have you ever done anything to deserve a grudge? Something a person isn’t allowed to do?”

“You know everything, yet you’re scratching my insides on purpose? Are you still going to be like this after you’re done with my research?”

At first, he seemed to have a cross expression on his face, but he quickly returned to his usual insensitive look.

‘Hey, my handsome future husband. I noticed your face.’

“Relax, I was joking.”

“Thank you very much.”

As I was snorting, I realized I arrived at the main gate.

I could barely make out the shape of the carriage.

Lennox turned to look at me.

Those red eyes—with no remaining mischief in them—faced me.

“If you want, you’re allowed to come with me.”

I wouldn’t deny that it was a tempting offer now that I was able to leave the Viscount’s mansion as I wished.

But the moment I remembered someone, I shook my head.

‘I can’t leave my Ash behind.’

Although he was very talkative, he was affectionate and thoughtful.

I didn’t want to make him feel terrible by abandoning him, even for a short while.

That would really break his heart.

“That’d be a lot of trouble. I have some things to pack. But..”

Therefore, I was willing to take a short risk.

“Would it be possible to pick me up again when the sun comes up?”

***

As soon as I returned to my bedroom after sending Lennox, I started to look for Ash.

“Ash, where are you?”

However, no matter how many times I called his name and used our secret communication method, I received no answer.

“Where did he go..”

I was searching for a long time until I remembered something.

“Oh, did he go to that room?”

I left the bedroom to go to my original room, holding a small bed lamp to guide me.

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