Looking for the Villainess’s Contract Husband
Chapter 24
I stared at Benjamin in silence for a moment.
His face was calm, and his eyes remained steady.
It was the kind of attitude that could only be shown by someone who had truly accepted their fault.
‘Hmm.’
Glancing down, my eyes landed on my palm, which was wrapped tightly in white bandages.
The wound I got because of him still throbbed, but…
‘Wounds heal.’
Besides, that was what Mom used to say.
[Genuinely feeling sorry for someone is much more difficult than you think, Livi.]
It was a late afternoon when Mom had burned the letter the Marquis sent along with the supplies. Those were her words as she brushed my hair.
Mom, who had been humming while brushing my curls, suddenly looked somber.
Through the mirror, I saw her lower her gaze and part her lips as if talking to herself.
[…Because there are some who go their whole lives without ever feeling sorry for anyone.]
She was likely talking about Marquis Diarmuid.
I hadn’t seen what was written in that letter, but I didn’t say anything because I could more or less guess.
I mean, whatever the Marquis had to say, it would have just been a matter of whether it was a little bit of nonsense or a lot of nonsense.
Anyway, the point was that Benjamin was now swallowing his pride and offering me a sincere apology.
Feeling a bit deflated, I let out a faint sigh and replied.
“I’ll accept your apology. It’s not like what you said was entirely wrong.”
However, that didn’t mean Benjamin’s actions were right.
I opened my eyes wide to look him straight in the face and added firmly, “But from now on, don’t just try to threaten someone with force just because you’re angry. That’s a really bad thing to do.”
“……Yeah.”
Benjamin replied, dropping his head low.
Seeing him like that made that strange hollow feeling inside me grow a bit deeper.
‘Sigh, right. He must have had a hard time living here in his own way.’
No matter how much this place took in children with nowhere to go, it was still an orphanage.
It could never be a permanent sanctuary.
“And I have someone coming to pick me up soon. I only stopped by here briefly because I had someone I needed to avoid.”
“Ah……”
“So don’t worry. But you have to keep it a secret from the others.”
“Okay. I understand.”
Benjamin nodded vigorously, his face looking much more relaxed than before.
“And come here for a second.”
“Huh?”
“I said, come here.”
When I beckoned him with a flutter of my hand, Benjamin tilted his head.
When I urged him on with a sharp look, he approached hesitantly, his face still not entirely devoid of wariness.
“……This much?”
“Closer.”
“Then this……”
“……Geez, you’re so timid.”
“Wh-who are you calling timid?!”
Benjamin shouted, his face turning red.
I wondered how someone with such high pride managed to apologize.
Anyway, I managed to coax the boy—who was like a wary mountain bird—to come right next to me.
I could have gone to him, but…
Since I was the one receiving the apology, it felt strangely like a blow to my pride to go to him myself.
Still, he came, so I’d let it slide.
Rustle—
Swallowing a sigh, I reached into my pocket and pulled my hand out, holding it out to Benjamin.
“Here, take it.”
“What is this?”
“I wasn’t going to give it to you, but I am because you apologized. It’s chocolate.”
I had expected to give it to him in a much better atmosphere.
Did I ever think things would get this twisted?
After many twists and turns, the chocolate I had brought ended up in Benjamin’s hand.
I smiled brightly, feeling better now that I had achieved my goal.
“Our first impression wasn’t great, but please take care of me while I’m here. My real name is Laviella. Can I… call you Benjamin?”
At that moment, Benjamin’s face went blank.
I tilted my head as he stood there with a dazed expression, saying nothing for a long time.
“S-sure. Do whatever you want.”
Benjamin stammered, suddenly averting his eyes.
Was it because of the sunlight? His ears looked a bit red. Well, it was probably just my imagination.
“But I saw the other kids calling you Benny-hyung earlier.”
“I told you to call me whatever you want. Benny is a nickname. More importantly, is your hand okay?”
“It hurts so much. I think it’s about to fall off.”
“What?!”
“I’m joking.”
When I replied with a shrug, Benjamin shook his head in disbelief.
“……Don’t joke if you’re going to make that face. I thought my heart was going to drop.”
“What kind of face was I making?”
“Anyway, a face that definitely didn’t look like you were joking. More importantly, can I see the wound?”
“……? Sure.”
But Lucian wrapped it so meticulously with bandages that I wasn’t sure what he’d be able to see.
Though a bit puzzled, I obediently held out my hand to Benjamin.
Immediately, Benjamin’s expression darkened.
He took my hand in both of his, cradling it as if it were something incredibly fragile.
He looked like someone examining a glass bead that might shatter with the slightest pressure.
“……It must have hurt.”
Muttering softly, Benjamin let out a thin sigh.
As his warm breath tickled the bandage, I felt a strange sensation.
I was just about to see if I should pull my hand away when he suddenly lowered his head and pressed his lips to the back of my bandaged hand.
“Wh-what……”
Mom had told me that this was a greeting used by knights to show extreme respect to young ladies or noblewomen.
Even with the bandages and herbs in between, I was unusually flustered by the soft sensation.
But the funny thing was that Benjamin, the one who had kissed the back of my hand, was even more flustered by my reaction.
“W-what’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, it’s not that, but why on the back of my hand……?”
“Hyung said that when you’ve committed a great wrong against a girl, you should apologize like this……”
Benjamin, who had been rambling, suddenly grimaced as if realizing something. He shouted out in anger.
“That hyung, seriously, teasing his own dongsaeng like that……!”
However, the shock of Benjamin’s words easily blew away the shock of him kissing the back of my hand.
My mouth fell open.
“You……”
“Ah.”
“You, you have a hyung?”
At those unexpected words, a sense of betrayal surged like bathwater about to overflow.
I stood up abruptly, raising my voice.
Benjamin, who had quickly pulled his hand away, bit his lip and stepped back.
“……He’s not my biological brother. Anyway, I’m sorry about today. I’m leaving now.”
With that, Benjamin dashed out of the infirmary in the blink of an eye.
All that remained in my sight was the wide-open, swinging infirmary door and the empty hallway.
“……Wait, he was the one who got mad at me for lying?”
There was no one left to hear my belated grievance.
“……Hmm.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Thick fingers tapped on the documents lying on the desk in a steady rhythm.
Marquis Diarmuid flicked his pale blue eyes.
He looked down at the documents on the desk.
The top of the document was labeled ‘Marriage Contract,’ and at the very bottom, two signatures sat one above the other.
Staring intently at the top signature, the Marquis furrowed his brow.
‘……Jack Esperanza.’
Unconsciously, he tightened his grip.
The corner of the marriage contract crumpled slightly with a crisp sound.
‘What on earth is he planning?’
The real Jack Esperanza was not the type of person to sign a marriage contract with the Diarmuid family so easily.
[Ah, I’d like the wedding to proceed as quickly as possible. I want to call the young lady my wife even a day sooner.]
But not only did Jack Esperanza readily sign the marriage contract the Marquis presented, he even urged the marriage along with such undignified words.
According to Jack, he had come here thinking he would check if Gretel Diarmuid’s beauty, so famous in the world, was truly as exceptional as they said, only to fall in love with her at first sight.
Honestly, it wasn’t entirely believable.
His stomach still turned when he thought about how Jack had looked at him as if he were a bug in the street every time they crossed paths.
However, Jack’s attitude toward Gretel was vastly different from the one he showed the Marquis.
Before leaving the Marquis’s estate, he had kissed Gretel’s hand with a face that looked like it might melt at any moment.
[Even the beauty of Vanessa, the first saintess and the goddess who protects the Empire, might lose its luster before you.]
……While spouting such cringeworthy nonsense.
It was horrifying to think about it again.
The Marquis squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
But regardless of the disgust or suspicion, there was no doubt that this was a great opportunity.
How many times had the Marquis been looked down upon?
There were more than a few people who had treated him like a bug, looking down on him simply because their rank was higher than his or because he didn’t have noble blood in his veins.
Through this marriage, the Marquis had gained a definitive excuse to interfere with the Esperanza Dukedom.
Considering that the Esperanza Dukedom was a family that served as the backbone of the imperial nobility, his status would rise even higher.
Thinking of such things, he could generously overlook whatever little scheme Jack might be playing.
At that thought, the Marquis regained his composure.
Leaning back in his chair, he clicked his tongue as he remembered Gretel, who had blushed ever so slightly at Jack’s behavior.
‘No matter how much she acted like it was the love of the century, in the end, it didn’t even last ten years.’
