Looking for the Villainess’s Contract Husband
Chapter 20
‘But now, the Esperanza option has opened up. No matter how much he weighs the pros and cons, the Marquis is bound to lose his head over this.’
For Marquis Diarmuid, who had been forced to settle for a second-best option, this was an unparalleled windfall.
If he played his cards right, he could have the Duke of Esperanza dancing on his palm.
So, even if he spent the coming days in a battle of wits with Jack, meticulously calculating the benefits this marriage would bring him, his mind was likely already made up: Gretel would marry Jack.
‘And for that marriage to go through without a hitch, the variable known as "me" must not exist.’
The moment Jack told the Marquis he wanted to marry Gretel Diarmuid after meeting her, the Marquis would grit his teeth and hunt for the escaped Laviella with everything he had.
If Laviella were to appear and be revealed as Gretel’s daughter, the marriage talks with the Esperanza family would undoubtedly fall through.
Laviella looked at Jack with a calm gaze and spoke.
“The Marquis probably won’t suspect that I persuaded Paul to help me escape. After all, to him, I’m just a nine-year-old child. He’ll think Paul took pity on me out of guilt and ran away with me.”
In any logical world, how could a nine-year-old who grew up locked in a tower successfully persuade a knight twice her age?
It was much more natural to assume that Paul, feeling guilty for his harsh words to Laviella, had smuggled her out.
“Paul said he worked as a mercenary from the Kingdom of Tyrenal before becoming a knight for the Diarmuid family, so the Marquis will likely think Paul is trying to flee to Tyrenal with me.”
If Paul really intended to run away with Laviella, how would he act?
When backed into a corner and anxious, people tend to seek out familiar environments.
Furthermore, staying within the Empire meant eventually running into the Marquis’s pursuit party. It would be better to cross the sea to the Kingdom of Tyrenal, where the Marquis’s influence was weak.
…That was likely the most rational conclusion Paul—or someone in his position—would reach.
Wicked as he was, Marquis Diarmuid was a clever man; he would easily deduce as much.
“Actually, the port with ships heading to the Kingdom of Tyrenal is south of the Capital, which matches the direction of the trail Paul and I left.”
Then, what should Paul and Laviella do to evade the Marquis’s eyes?
The best way was for both of them to stay within the Esperanza estate.
There was no place safer than the residence of the continent’s strongest Aura Master, where the Esperanza Knights—the order with the highest number of Aura Experts on the continent—were stationed.
“However, even if Paul can be hidden among the Esperanza Knights, word will inevitably leak out if I stay at the estate. There are only boys at the estate, and the Marquis will have to visit several times to prepare for the wedding.”
Laviella was a girl. And publicly, there were no young girls at the Duke’s residence.
If the estate began regularly purchasing dresses and items for a young girl, word would eventually get out no matter how strictly they swore the staff to secrecy.
Even if that weren't the case, they had to consider the possibility that the Marquis was keeping a close watch on the Esperanza family.
“Besides, for our plan to be a complete success, I need to be in an orphanage. It’s a relief my birth was never registered; it’ll make it easier to pretend to be an orphan.”
“Right?” Laviella concluded with a bright smile.
As Jack watched her face, he felt a sharp ache in a corner of his heart.
‘…What kind of child in this world…’
…could smile like that while saying they "don’t exist" in the eyes of the law?
But he knew it would be impolite to bring that up.
In the end, Jack could only nod at Laviella’s request to ‘plant an Esperanza person in the orphanage just in case.’
*
“Hmm.”
Immediately after stepping into the orphanage, the first thing I did was roll my eyes as I found myself trapped under five sets of curious gazes surrounding me.
“……Hooo-mmm.”
The Director of the orphanage looked down at me, her brow furrowed.
A suspicious groan escaped through her pursed lips.
A man standing beside her, who appeared to be a teacher, whispered softly into her ear.
“It doesn’t seem like a lie that she’s an orphan. Just look at that frizzy hair. You can’t fake that kind of neglect.”
‘It’s curly, you know\!’
I even finger-combed it this morning\!
I can hear you, you balding uncle\!
I wanted to scream that out of pure indignation, but I forced my mouth shut and swallowed my words.
‘Patience.’
This is all to save Mom.
Mom said my hair was the prettiest, glossiest, and cutest in the world….
‘She must have been lying…. Glossy, my foot.’
While I was busy blinking back tears, the orphanage teachers, who had been whispering amongst themselves, finally seemed to reach a conclusion. They turned to me with bright smiles and reached out a hand.
“Alright, Ella. Let’s get along. It’s mealtime, so shall we head to the dining hall first?”
“Yes\! I’d love to.”
I answered quickly before they could change their minds and took their hands.
They led me into the dining hall on the first floor.
“Now, everyone. Can I have your attention for a moment? We have a new friend.”
The children, who had been chatting noisily in their seats as they prepared to eat, fell silent at the teacher’s appearance.
Perhaps because the orphanage was sponsored by the Temple, the children’s faces looked relatively well-fed and healthy.
They didn’t look terrified of the teachers, either.
“This friend’s name is Ella. She’ll be looking for her parents with all of you starting today, so please help her out and take good care of her. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Teacher\!”
“Good. Ella, you can sit over there. We need to fill out the registry in the Director’s office after the meal, so follow me then.”
“Understood.”
I nodded and took a seat at the end of the long table indicated by the teacher.
It was my first time facing so many children my age at once, so I felt a bit nervous.
Fortunately, as soon as my bottom hit the wooden chair, the child sitting opposite me suddenly held out a napkin.
“You have something weird on your face. Wipe it with this.”
“Ah… thanks.”
Come to think of it, I had gone out of my way to smear soot on my face to look like a street urchin.
‘…Ugh, how embarrassing.’
Now that I had successfully made it inside, the embarrassment was hitting me late.
After thanking them, I dampened the napkin with a bit of water and wiped most of the soot off my face.
By then, the meal was ready, and plates were placed in front of the children one by one.
“Thank you for the food\!”
The children shouted in unison and began eating.
On the plates were a bit of scrambled eggs, toasted bread, stewed beans, and some lettuce.
‘When I lived in the tower, this would have been a meal for a special occasion. I haven't been at the Duke’s estate for long, but this already looks meager.’
How fickle humans are… I thought, shaking my head slightly.
It would be too conspicuous if I didn't touch the food at all.
Picking up my fork and pretending to eat, I quietly struck up a conversation with the child next to me.
“Um, hi.”
“Hi\! You said your name was Ella, right? I’m Sam\!”
“Nice to meet you, Sam.”
The young boy with a friendly face smiled brightly and shook the hand I offered.
I withdrew my hand and lowered my voice to ask.
“By the way, Sam, can I ask you something?”
“Mhm, what is it?”
“Who’s the boss among the kids here?”
“The boss?”
“Yeah. The strongest person.”
As I spoke to Sam, I slipped my hand into my pocket to check if the chocolate pieces were still there.
‘This isn’t even a bribe. Just a small gesture of goodwill?’
This was a place where I needed to stay quietly to hide from the Marquis.
The children generally seemed innocent, but if I happened to get on the nerves of some territorial kid, living quietly would be impossible.
That’s why I had packed some chocolate before leaving the estate.
I planned to hand it over, claiming I’d happened to get it while begging and had saved it for later.
After all, not many people hate chocolate.
Sam narrowed his eyes at my question, hummed in thought for a moment, and then tilted his head as he gave an answer.
“I don’t know about a boss, but there’s an older hyung who’s the oldest and strongest among us. Over there, in that direction.”
Sam pointed to the other side of the dining hall.
Following the child’s finger, I spotted a boy in the distance whose head stood a good bit taller than the others.
“I told you not to spill, Bell.”
“Uung….”
The boy with spiky brown hair and light green eyes clicked his tongue as he wiped sauce off the chin of the child sitting next to him.
Despite his grumbling tone, his movements were kind and careful.
‘Anyway, that means he’s the most influential one.’
I continued to observe the boy while pretending to eat.
Good. I’ll go talk to him once the meal is over.
And I’ll win him over a bit by giving him some chocolate.
My goal is only one: to live quietly.
Strengthening my resolve, I finished the food on my plate.
In truth, most of the food on my plate had been passed over to Sam, but regardless.
Up until that point, there were no hitches in my plan. Or so I thought, unfortunately.
