Translator: Nox

Looking for the Villainess’s Contract Husband

Chapter 29

It was by chance that Lucian Floyd noticed the connection between the priest Cesare and Marquis Diarmuid.

Rustle—

“……?”

A few dozen minutes ago. At dusk.

Lucian suddenly sensed a presence below, closed the book he was holding, and cast a fleeting glance downward.

Beneath the massive tree where he sat perched, a stranger came into view.

Clad in a white robe embroidered with gold thread, the man was glancing around incessantly, his expression thick with wariness.

Lucian’s silver eyes, devoid of warmth, scanned the man indifferently.

‘……A priest, judging by his attire.’

Lucian’s gaze sank coldly.

He had been hiding atop the tree in this secluded spot behind the orphanage for nearly a day to avoid the priests.

He hadn’t expected anyone else to seek out this place.

Least of all a priest.

“…….”

Sensing something suspicious in the priest’s demeanor, Lucian suppressed his presence even further and watched his movements.

“Whew.”

Once the priest reached the base of the tree, he finally seemed convinced no one was around, letting his shoulders slump with a sigh.

He muttered quietly as he pulled a sealed letter from his breast pocket.

“Damn it. These orphanage teachers don’t know the meaning of flexibility. If the Marquis sent this in such a hurry, there must be a reason……”

‘The Marquis?’

Lucian’s brow furrowed slightly at the priest’s words.

Every priest solemnly swears before God to sever ties with the secular world the moment they are baptized.

Not even the Imperial Family is an exception.

The moment one becomes a priest, all ties to the secular world—including their family—are cut, leaving only a servant of God.

There was no one who did not know that this was the fundamental rule of the Temple.

‘Of course, I didn’t think everyone in the Temple was of one mind.’

Hearing the word ‘Marquis’ brought an instinctive sense of unease for some reason.

And Lucian’s intuition was exactly right.

“Why suddenly ask me to find some girl……”

“……!”

At the priest’s puzzled murmur, Lucian’s shoulders stiffened for a split second.

It was an agitation so sharp that the other man might have noticed immediately had Lucian not been so focused on hiding his presence.

Fortunately, the priest did not seem particularly sensitive to mana or presence, as he remained focused solely on the contents of the letter.

Lucian composed his breathing and called out for ‘it’ in a low voice.

‘Hey.’

A spot in the air flickered minutely, and the purple butterfly he had spoken with once before appeared.

The butterfly fluttered lightly around Lucian, speaking directly into his mind.

—What if you get caught by that priest because you called me?

The tone was somewhat mocking. But Lucian replied without so much as an eyelash flickering.

‘You know as well as I do that there’s no Divine Power coming from him. A priest capable of using Divine Power wouldn’t be wandering around an orphanage like this in the first place.’

—……And?

‘Go see exactly what that letter says.’

—Tsk. Honestly, you have no respect for me. You’re the only one who would use a Fragment of God for such menial chores.

The butterfly flapped its wings a few times in annoyance.

However, when Lucian continued to stare in silence with chilling eyes, it eventually succumbed to his pressure, muttered “impudent brat,” and descended.

While the translucent purple butterfly fluttered silently over the priest’s head to check the letter’s contents.

The priest, having finished reading, let out a small groan and clicked his tongue.

“Well, I have to do what I’m paid for. I haven’t seen a child matching this description so far…… Ah. Was there one who was sick? I should check before I leave.”

Muttering to himself, the priest tucked the letter deep into his robes and began walking toward the children’s dormitory.

Lucian watched the priest’s retreating back as he listened to the butterfly relay the contents of the letter.

‘Brown hair so light it almost looks silver, and pale blue eyes. A fair and thin frame.’

Lucian was now certain that the ‘Marquis’ the priest spoke of was Diarmuid, and that he had ordered the priest to find Laviella.

His thoughts organized, Lucian immediately leapt from the tree.

Despite jumping from a considerable height, his movements were as natural as flowing water, belying his refined appearance.

Landing with a soft thud, he began to follow the priest silently.

The butterfly followed at Lucian’s side, speaking with a hint of surprise.

—How rare to see you making a face like that.

“What are you talking about?”

—You look quite human. Why are you so anxious?

“……What?”

Lucian asked back reflexively and stopped in his tracks.

But he soon let out a dry laugh, composed his expression, and started walking again.

“The contract I signed, even while risking dangerous variables, is on the verge of falling through. Do you expect me to just sit back and watch? Stop talking nonsense and get back in.”

—……I suppose. No way you’d be any other way.

Seeing Lucian return to his usual self, the butterfly conceded easily and vanished, melting into the air.

After the butterfly disappeared, Lucian was pursuing the priest when he caught a glimpse of a shimmering light in the corner of his eye and turned his head.

There, a glass window in the building wall captured the sunset and his own face together.

“…….”

His silver eyes stared at the dark silhouette reflected in the window for a moment, then turned forward again as if he had lost interest.

“Divine Power won’t work anyway. You may return to the other children now, Priest-nim.”

Fortunately, Lucian was able to hide Laviella from the eyes of the priest, Cesare, by a hair’s breadth.

……Though he hadn’t expected to find Laviella collapsed in the hallway, gasping for breath.

“Ugh……”

Laviella looked up at Lucian with eyes half-lidded from fever.

The shoulder he touched was so hot he could feel it clearly even through his gloves.

“Don’t be startled.”

Startled by the fact that Laviella had collapsed and that her condition was more serious than he had thought, Lucian instinctively pulled her into his arms.

“Ella. Can you see me? Where does it hurt the most right now?”

Lucian walked quickly, holding Laviella close so that Cesare could not see her face.

Even amidst the haste, he held her firmly to ensure she wouldn’t be jarred, fearing her condition might worsen.

“My heart, and my head……”

Laviella squeezed out the answer with great difficulty.

It was plain to see she was already half-delirious.

Her small head tilted helplessly and slumped against his chest.

A face where the shadow of death loomed large.

The moment he saw that pale face, like white sand that might slip through his fingers at any moment, his heart inexplicably sank.

‘……Damn it.’

For the first time since he lost his parents and was taken in by Jack, Lucian removed his gloves.

Pulling them off with his teeth, Lucian placed his bare hand on Laviella’s forehead.

Just before skin met skin, his fingertips trembled so minutely it was invisible to the eye.

‘Ah.’

It felt like plunging his hand into a fire.

Not simply because of the fever, but like a candle flame just before it burns out.

The sensation of touching a life burning itself out intensely, racing toward death.

The feeling transmitted so vividly through his fingertips was overwhelming; just as Lucian was about to pull his hand away instinctively—

“Ha……”

“……!”

Laviella let out a thin breath and buried her face in his hand.

Against his exposed palm, the tiny creature that felt as if it would break at a mere touch burrowed in, as if entrusting him with her entire being.

Laviella’s face, which had been contorted in pain, gradually smoothed out. Vitality began to return to a face that had been as pale as a corpse.

Lucian watched it all without blinking. A strange emotion rose from the soles of his feet.

‘Why…….’

Why do I find this sight so satisfying?

* * *

Blink, blink.

With every blink, the world became clearer. I lay in bed, staring blankly up at the dark ceiling.

……Wait, did I fall asleep?

“……!”

The moment I felt the discrepancy, I bolted upright by reflex.

But did I suddenly get stronger while I was sleeping?

My body lurched forward much further than I intended. As the blanket rushed toward my face, I squeezed my eyes shut instinctively.

“You shouldn’t move so abruptly.”

However, thanks to a firm hand catching my shoulder, I was spared from face-planting into the bed. That voice and touch brought my memories rushing back.

“Lucian……!”

I had collapsed in the hallway because my heart hurt so much, and then Lucian said he’d take me to the infirmary and picked me up.

Horrified by the late-returning memory, I turned my head.

Lucian was sitting on a chair by the bed.

For some reason, he wore a slightly surprised expression, but he soon smoothed it over, his eyes crinkling into a smile.

“……Yes, Laviella.”