Chapter 21

After waiting for a while, Larissa didn’t even move, let alone answer.

So I just did what I was thinking.

‘I will leave the mansion early tomorrow morning and never come back. If Larissa wants to go with me, there is only one way.’

I glanced around the heavy iron gate.

When I returned to my room after a while, I purposely didn’t lock the basement door.

‘Come out at dawn. Go through the two doors and go up the stairs, and you’ll find a large bag in the corner. Go inside and hide. No matter what, never say anything. Can you do it?’

Still, Larissa did not move.

She just stared at me with her round eyes.

‘Oh, if you really want to take something, you can bring one or two.’

I said so.

Although it was old and worn out in the basement, there were quite a few things. Among them, there must have been something that she loved.

‘But Larissa didn’t come out with anything……’

Larissa had to hold her breath for hours, barely crumpling herself in a bag and not knowing where she was going.

From inside of the bag until today, what Larissa had been holding in her hand for three days was the handkerchief that contained the cookies I had given her.

It was the only thing she brought out of the basement that dominated Larissa’s entire short life.

The dirt on the edges must have come from walking out of the bag to the nearby village.

‘Because we walked on a dirt road for a long time.’

She was on the road following a person called older sister, whom she did not know well.

As she walked holding the hand of an unknown person, she risked her life for the warmth of just a few pieces of sweets.

My throat got hot.

Did you eat all the gingerbread that night? Or leave some to eat while in the bag?

In the stuffy room without a single ray of light, did Larisa smell the sweet smell of gingerbread leftover in the handkerchief?

I realized then.

How courageous this little girl was.

And how much she depended on me.

This child risked her life while escaping from that hellish cellar.

“Larissa……!”

Larissa in front of me was not just a pretty fairy tale character. She was a self-willed, living person.

My eyes were hot. I blinked my eyes, holding back the moment I wanted to hug Larissa.

Instead, I reached out and gently grabbed Larissa’s hands.

Larissa’s shoulders shrugged again, but she didn’t pull my hand away.

Until now, Larissa’s face had only been expressionless or frightened. She didn’t even say a single word.

But I felt like I had finally heard Larissa’s voice.

The two small hands that fit snugly into my hands were very warm.

‘No matter what happens, I will protect you.’

So that there will never be another person who exploits you and squeezes your tears again.

I let go of my hand and took the handkerchief from Larissa.

I stood up and held out my hand.

“Come here, Larissa. I’ll show you how to wash a handkerchief. It doesn’t take long.”

Larissa took turns looking at my handkerchief and face over and over, and finally took my hand.

We headed to the bathroom together.

***

Fabian came the next day at the same time as promised.

We moved to the next room just like yesterday.

I said bluntly,

“I will accept the offer. Instead, I have conditions.”

I handed him a piece of paper.

I wrote this after thinking all night long.

『 – Never make Larissa cry.

– Be sure to keep Larissa and not reveal her whereabouts to other family members, both Blick and Laurent.

– Do not touch Marcia’s body.

– If you ask for a divorce, do it immediately.

– Even if you get a divorce, you won’t hurt Larissa and Marcia. 』

Fabian’s expression as he took the paper became strange.

It was neither a smiling nor an absurd expression, but it was a subtle expression somewhere in the middle.

“There are more entries for Miss Larissa.”

“I wrote the most important thing.”

Actually, I wanted to add one more condition.

‘After divorce from Marcia, Fabian will marry Larissa.’

I thought about it until the very end and finally decided to take it out.

‘Just in case Larissa may not like Fabian.’

I said while raising my chin up and looking straight into Fabian’s eyes.

“If what is written here is not followed, I will get a divorce right away, whether it’s after a year or not.”

Then Fabian won’t be able to maintain the Grand Duke position.

“What if it was made into a contract? How about it? If there is a condition that you want, please write it below.”

Fabian looked at me for a moment, then looked down at the paper again.

He seemed to re-read what I had written several times, and soon he picked up a fountain pen and began to write.

He added only two lines.

『 – If all of the above are met, Marcia must remain married for at least one year.

– Act as the Grand Duchess who shows no intelligence. 』

Are you saying that it really doesn’t matter?

‘It seems to be true that it doesn’t matter if his family’s name is tarnished.’

Fabian looked down at the contract and opened his mouth.

“I have one more thing to tell you. I have no intention of having children in the future. I’m thinking of taking a clever kid from outside and adopting him.”

He pointed out one part of the contract. That’s what I wrote.

『 – Do not touch Marcia’s body. 』

“So you don’t have to worry about this. One of my goals is to end the lineage of the Grand Duke.”

I looked up at Fabian.

He must have been the prince from the fairy tale who was just plain and dignified. He is seemingly perfect, but he has an inside that is unknown somewhere.

That is why fairy tales are written short and concise. Because if the characters’ inner circumstances seem absurd, it can’t be a fairy tale anymore. Because it’s not a story worth reading to children.

‘Whether in a fairy tale or not, it doesn’t matter now.’

I will survive. With Larissa.

‘Larissa, this older sister is taking care of your husband and I will return him to you someday.’

Don’t worry, I won’t touch a single finger of him.

“All right. I accept it.”

Then Fabian looked down at the contract and raised his head.

He made eye contact with mine and slowly knelt down on one of his knees.

Then he pulled out a small box from his pocket.

“Lady Marcia Blick.”

He called my name in a low voice.

‘You have a very nice voice.’

My heart fluttered needlessly. Staring at the red eyes that sank silently, I waited for the next line.

“Will you marry me?”

He opened the lid of the little box. What was inside was a truly dazzling diamond ring.

‘Every time I look at this diamond ring, I think of Larissa.’

It’s probably not intentional, but it’s really a proper ring for her.

“Yes, I do.”

Swallowing dry saliva, I took the ring and put it on my finger. It felt snug in my hand as if it had deliberately adjusted to my size.

“It is the ring of the Grand Duchess that has been passed down from generation to generation.”

Fabian stood up.

“Excuse me for a moment. May I let my aide come in?”

Since it was a contract marriage for each other’s purpose, the romantic scene ended there.

As I nodded, he opened the door leading to the hallway.

Fortus was waiting in front of the door. He came in and held out what he was wearing around his side to Fabian.

It was a briefcase.

Fabian took an envelope and pulled out what was inside. One was marriage papers and the other was divorce papers.

Fabian signed the divorce papers right in front of me and handed them to me.

“It’s a wedding present.”

“Thank you.”

I accepted the divorce papers with a smile.

This is the most important thing to me in this marriage. I could feel my hand holding the documents heavy.

Maybe it’s because of the large diamond ring on my finger.

Soon after, Fabian also signed the marriage papers.

‘A marriage in which the divorce papers are signed before the marriage papers.’

I smiled bitterly and wrote my name under his name.

After signing, Fabian put the documents back in the envelope and handed it to Fortus.

“Come back alive.”

“I’ll be back in three days.”

‘Is Fortus going somewhere?’

Fortus took the envelope and put it in the briefcase.

I could see something metallic light reflecting inside his coat. It was a pistol.

It felt like my heart was getting colder for some reason.

He bowed his head slightly to me as well and left the room.

Fabian looked at me and said,

“Lady Blick, now you are my future wife. When Fortus returns with the signature of His Majesty the King, you will become my wife officially.”

I swallowed my saliva.

Could it be that I have done everything too hastily now?

Can’t I turn it back now?

Suddenly, I started thinking about it.

Fabian may know I’m a little frightened, then he said slowly, in a low voice, but firmly.

“I will protect you until the end of this marriage.”

“……”

Wow, for a moment I almost forgot that this guy wasn’t mine.