Chapter 16

Chase replied naturally, as if ready.

“This is not strange. After the death of the ex-duchess, the Heinst family had no mistress for more than two years. The little lady knows the condition of a family without a wife.”

“It has to be messy.”

“Yes, that is why you are urging the marriage since you received a title half a year ago. It is not surprising that you suddenly get married.”

“However, to put a baroness in the place of a Duchess ········, ”

Chase smiled slightly with a meaningful face.

“It’s because the little lady doesn’t know it very well.”

“What…?”

“You care about young master more than anyone else.”

It’s a vague statement, but Charlotte will soon understand…she can at least get the meaning of the words.

“You mean you’re not going to marry someone who could be a threat to Theo.”

It was a common theme in romantic fantasy novels read in Korea.

The younger brother could steal the position of Carcel’s son, and possibly become the next duke.

For the Duchess, Theo could be seen as a danger to the future of her children.

Even if Theo wasn’t interested in the Duke position, the people around him wouldn’t leave him be.

If the Duchess’ family were in power, she might do something for Theo to eliminate the possibility.

In the worst case scenario, they might pretend to be in an accident and kill him.

‘What does a three-year-old know now?’

I wonder how someone could do that, but some people would do more than I can imagine especially if the interests were intertwined.

So Carcel decided to sign a contractual marriage with a woman from a humble family to avoid any eventuality.

Someone who really cares about Theo without having wealth or power. Yes, just like Charlotte Lannia.

“But it is very surprising. It’s not like I’ve met the Duke before ······.”

“You can make as many stories as you like, little lady.”

Charlotte put her face in her hands and sighed.

It was understandable why Chase offered the Duchess seat.

However, this suggestion is still not accepted.

Furthermore, Charlotte could not refuse coldly.

It was because of Theo.

‘ What about Theo without me? What will happen to Theo?’

Charlotte knew that Penelope, in half a year’s time, would appear.

‘Of course, even if Carcel doesn’t feel comfortable with Penelope because of the different events from the original, he’ll definitely be interested in her because she’s the destined person.’

And if he finds out that Penelope is the destined person, he will still offer Charlotte a marriage contract so that Theo can control Mana. The process was different, but it was clear that the results would be the same.

If anything is different from the original story, it’s that Theo is still with us, and if he’s lucky, he can find another right person later.

But this was not enough.

Half a year is a short time, but it was a very long time for Theo, and in fact, he had run out of strength several times in the past few days of his stay in Lannia Palace.

The worst case that could happen would be another seizure on the way to the capital. Charlotte looked up and asked as if she was holding onto the last hope.

“What about the former candidate? I’m sure Theo had the right person because he was safe until now.”

Questioned Charlotte, and realized that she had pressed a landmine when she saw Chase’s face, which had been smiling the entire time, quickly darkened.

Sure. Chase came up with an answer she predicted.

“Sir Heather was the right man.”

“Well understood”

What else should I ask.

“ Anyway, that’s why I’m asking the little lady to do it. It is not easy to find the right person, and if the little lady does not help us, we do not know when we will find someone else. “

” ·······. “

“Of course, I know it’s not an easy decision. I also know it’s a rude request. However, if you accept the offer, we will pay enough for it. “

Charlotte fell silent and continued to think. However, no clear conclusion was reached even if I thought about it over and over again.

My head kept shouting no. But at the same time, Theo’s face kept showing up before my eyes, the shining face that followed her like a duck.

“What will happen if I decline this offer?”

Charlotte could not come to a conclusion and asked him in a subdued voice.

Chase replied painstakingly as if he didn’t even want to imagine such a thing.

“We will respect the will of the young lady. However, what happened should not be leaked, so we have no choice but to erase the little lady’s memory.”

“···········.”

“But I think the young lady will agree to this suggestion, and I hope so.”

Carcel, who had been listening in silence to the conversation, got up from his seat and approached Charlotte. Then he politely bowed.

“Please, miss”

“My Lord!!”

Chase looked at Carcel with a look of dismay.

The same goes for Charlotte’s surprised face.

It was Duke Heinz. He only bows before the imperial family.

He actually bent over to Charlotte for his brother’s sake.

Charlotte had a lot on her mind.

He could have been able to blackmail Charlotte by using his position as a Duke.

Had he threatened Lannia’s family with accusations of collaborating in Theo’s assassination, Charlotte would have accepted the contract marriage without hesitation.

But he did not. Although Theo might be in danger without Charlotte.

Charlotte opened her lips after great thought.

“Can you give me some time to think?”

*****

as Charlotte left the drawing room, she headed to Theo’s room.

As soon as Theo, who was playing with Emma, found her, he ran up to her, when he saw her entering through the room door.

Sadly, he twisted his lower lip and quickly shed tears without a sound.

“Sister…”.

“Theo, why are you crying?”

Charlotte looked at Emma, hugging Theo.

Emma murmured, fumbled.

“I’m sure he had fun with me.”

“Did he? Theo, you said you had fun with Emma. Why are you crying? Did you cry because you wanted to see me again?”

“Mhm.”

Charlotte noticed that nap time had passed when she saw Theo rubbing his eyes on her shoulder.

Charlotte was upset, but she looked even more upset when she saw him getting sleepy.

“Come on, Shall we take a nap?”

“Ahh…no.”

Theo shook his head in refusal, but nodded at Charlotte’s suggestion to read a fairy tale.

Charlotte put him to bed and read him a fairy tale.

She read the letters from the book with her eyes and told fairy tales with her mouth, but her head keeps thinking of something else.

Naturally, the proposal was heard from Chase a short time ago.

Charlotte quickly covered Theo, who fell asleep and sighed, and picked up the document Chase had given her.

To sum up the long and long papers, it was like this.

The contract is a bit long, but Chase told me not to worry, so I’m sure there are some compromises.

Charlotte stared at the letters “five years” before continuing to read.

Half a million?! Did I read the number wrong?

I rubbed my eyes and looked at the documents again because I wanted to make sure. But the numbers remained the same. It was 500 thousand, not 50 thousand.

It’s an amazing amount of money.

“I knew that the Heinst family was one of the richest in the empire, but the Lannia family’s debt to the Routine family was 50,000 gold coins.”

‘I thought I was on the verge of a forced marriage because we don’t have 50,000 gold. But half a million gold was such an incredible case…’

Moreover, it is not half a million gold in five years, it is half a million gold per year. It seems that the Heinst family had put forward conditions that Charlotte could not refuse.

Perhaps as a guarantee for her safety.

Charlotte was pretty shaken by this condition, to be honest.

‘I can pay off Count Luton’s debts in full.’

The Routine family’s debt will soon be resolved just like that.

The debt was still there, and I had to worry about what would happen.

As long as Lannia’s family focused on farming, they had to continue being affected by the weather.

Even if they developed another industry, they did not have enough money.

“But if I accept this offer……?”

Not only her, but everyone in Lannia’s family can live in luxury.

Charlotte still vividly remembers the unforgettable struggles of the past great year.

Children who should be happy without worry, dry up slowly, and breathe hard because they were hungry.

Even elders who can not stand the harsh winter.

She also clearly saw her father, who wept bitterly in front of the graves of one of the children.

The following spring, the fathers laid flowers in front of the children’s graves and vowed never to let this happen again, but a firm vow alone did not solve the problem of farming.

No matter how prepared they are, misfortune could be repeated.