Chapter 28
====
[Article 1. Meals shall be taken together at least once a day.
Article 2. Official external events shall be attended together.
Article 3. Individual lives shall be respected, but a regular consultation and conversation time shall be held once a week.
Article 4. Any sudden changes in emotional state shall be shared immediately.
Article 5. Any illness or injury shall be reported immediately.
Article 6. At least six hours of sleep shall be obtained per day.
Article 7. Weapons other than sharp instruments and drugs shall be stored in a designated place and shall not be used without prior approval.]
"......"
Ludville slowly raised his head.
Odelia seemed to be thinking, 'What else should I add?' and was seriously contemplating other clauses.
At first, he thought she was suggesting some kind of romantic game...
But after reading it carefully, these clauses were nothing like that.
"Meals? Official events?"
Ludville scoffed as if he was dumbfounded.
On the other hand, Odelia nodded with an utterly serious face and added.
"Even if it's a contractual marriage, I think that much is obligatory. There are other people's eyes to consider."
"Why do I have to report my emotional and physical condition?"
"That's... if Your Highness gets sick, it will affect the contract, so it's natural to always check your health..."
"Controlling weapons and drugs is...?"
"...The presence of objects that stimulate the eyes increases fatigue."
Ludville looked back at the impromptu contract as he listened to the increasingly rambling excuses.
Then, narrowing the space between his eyes, he said.
"Princess, do I look like someone who's going to leave a will and disappear tomorrow?"
No, he looks like someone who wouldn't even leave a will.
But Odelia couldn't say that directly, so she pretended to drink tea and feigned ignorance.
"Of course not. It's a misunderstanding."
"You must think my eyes are just for decoration."
She even wrote 'regular consultation' and then crossed it out and changed it to 'conversation'.
Ludville was dumbfounded.
But Odelia remained undeterred by his reaction and insisted.
"Anyway, these clauses are also for me, so I hope you will abide by them. It's not like they're difficult to keep."
Of course, it wasn't difficult.
Just annoying.
"How can this possibly be a clause for the Princess in the first place?"
"If Your Highness is safe and sound, won't I be able to wield power to my heart's content?"
"Wouldn't it be much easier to be widowed?"
Ludville retorted casually, in a cynical tone.
At that moment, Odelia's face hardened.
She pressed her lips tightly together and remained silent, then muttered quietly.
"Absolutely not."
"......"
Ludville was momentarily speechless at the sight.
Somehow... his heart fluttered and he felt uncomfortable.
What could it be?
This unpleasant yet familiar feeling that stirred his senses, which had been dormant for so long.
Meanwhile, Odelia returned to her calm face as if she had never been angry and added matter-of-factly.
"Even if I become a widow, vassals will tear me apart for being an unqualified woman who has taken the title. I might even be accused of assassinating you."
"......"
"So Your Highness must stay alive. No matter what."
Ludville stared at her without a word.
Her words sounded plausible, but he felt a sense of unease, as if she was hiding her true intentions.
If she was really only greedy for power, she would have laughed off such criticism and tried to win it on her own.
'I don't know what her purpose is.'
He felt like he had grasped a clue, but it was endlessly repeating, returning to square one.
Ludville inadvertently met her gaze.
It was blue.
Vivid, clear, transparent... familiar.
'...Again.'
His heart began to beat faster and faster for no reason.
He took a breath and tried to look away from her.
'...No. It's not her.'
When he looked into those light sky-blue eyes, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were similar to the woman he was looking for...
That woman... was always crying.
He didn't remember exactly, but there was a sensation that remained vaguely, as if covered in fog.
She was so fragile that she seemed like she would break if he touched her, and she was the kind of woman he felt he had to protect by her side...
But what about this woman?
'Didn't she even beat up a thief on her own?'
Far from asking for help, she was always doing something on her own, and she didn't need his help at all.
The precious youngest daughter of the Cardel family.
The bloodline of a hero loved by the people of the empire.
She was not in a dangerous situation at all, and she had no thought or reason to rely on him.
'In the first place, the reason why Princess Cardel was missing for three months was because of an independent runaway... no, an escape.'
In order to seize power for herself.
Even if she was from a Duke's family, she was only the third daughter, not the heir.
In the meantime, when he mentioned compensation, she calmly presented a contract.
Everything about the marriage and the situation, as if she was going to take the lead...
Ludville shook his head as if to shake off his thoughts, and chuckled.
"I know for sure that you are not the woman I was looking for."
"......Is that so?"
Odelia asked awkwardly.
Ludville stared at her for a moment, then smiled languidly without bothering to say the words that were lingering in his mouth.
'A partner I can contract with without love or pity...'
The reason why he was increasingly liking the Princess must be because of that.
"But it's funny. You're presenting conditions before I've even agreed... Your plan must have started with the assumption that I would naturally accept this marriage?"
"I won't deny it."
Odelia readily admitted.
Of course, she didn't act that way because she was confident that she would win his heart.
It's just that she was only interested in saving Ludville.
He was a terminally ill man with only a short time to live.
He had no right to criticize her wish to spend a meaningful time in just five short years.
"In the end, Your Highness will end up making a deal with me. ...Because you'll need me."
At Odelia's calm words, Ludville frowned slightly and tapped the contract.
"If you're so confident, then yes. Show me. That you can't live without me."
I'll be looking forward to it.
Ludville added quietly and smiled.
His smile, with his memory lost, was always like this.
His lips were raised, but his eyes were cold.
It was a beast's composure, as if he could bite someone's neck at any moment.
