I read through the contract over and over.

But no matter how many times I read it over, this was a marriage contract instead of an enslavement agreement

The first thought that came across my mind was rather simple.

Has he gone nuts?

Getting married wasn’t even on my list of the crazy things he could make me do.

I guessed maybe he’d lock me up on an island somewhere far away or something.

Marriage? Was he married in the original novel?

At least from what I remembered, there were no mentions of him getting married.

Did my actions last night screw up the plot of the novel and in return drive him mad…...?

“My lady, His Grace is planning to deposit the payoff of five hundred million markas to the Holy City financial services under the Arlez family name once you sign this contract. We expect that you will receive a certification of debt settlement from the Holy City authorities before noon tomorrow.”

He had a concerned look on his face.

He seemed worried that I wouldn’t understand the financial jargon in the contract, like ‘amortization’ or ‘fulfillment of obligation’.

I wasn’t mad about it though because he meant no ill intention.

To be honest, I was too shaken by the fact that I was about to get married to care.

All I could do was let out empty chuckles at the ridiculous situation that I was in.

Alas, it wasn’t like I had a choice; I was to sign whatever contract the Duke devised.

“I’ll sign it……”

I murmured in a drained voice as I languidly tossed the contract papers on my dining table.

But there was no way we had something as expensive as a quill at our place.

All we had were brittle sticks of charcoal, unfit to leave their marks on such fancy paper.

Noticing my predicament, the man pulled out an ornate quill and a file to put the contract on from his satchel.

With one knee under the table in an attempt to stop it from wobbling, I signed the contract.

As I carefully scripted my name, I felt the old gentleman study my face carefully with curious eyes.

Zahid is indeed a man full of ambitions, thirsty for power and wealth, but his passions never really included women.

His character was written in the common trope of a careless heartbreaker that all the women fall for.

That man decides to take a wife out of nowhere.

The protagonist has only chosen the most efficient and fool-proof way to keep me by his side.

However, others would probably think otherwise.

I mean, my looks weren’t that bad, to be honest, but I wasn’t the prettiest girl in town either.

As his servant, the old man probably couldn’t help but be curious how a random slum girl managed to get the Duke to marry her.

Checking that the contract was signed and final, he carefully folded it into thirds and put it back into his satchel.

Then he went on to officially introduce himself.

“I apologize for the delayed introduction, my lady. I am Dymon Sykes, the head butler of Carnoire castle.”

His name rang a bell.

I’m pretty sure I’ve read something about him starting to work for the Carnoire family back when Zahid’s parents were alive, and that he was the most trusted aide to Zahid.

Dymon was so trusted, in fact, that Zahid would think twice about beheading his foes if Dymon advised against it. Of course, he would still behead them: just after giving it a little more thought.

“The Duke wishes for you to enter the castle at your earliest disposal, my lady.”

Upon listening through Dymon’s explanations, I realized that Zahid basically wanted me to spend the day getting things ready and move into his castle the first thing tomorrow.

He also handed me a bag full of gold coins for emergency use.

Swiftly taking the bag from his hands, I hesitantly opened my mouth.

“Thank you. My siblings, though…….”

“Ah, your siblings, you can bring them with you to the castle tomorrow. He has prepared everything your siblings will need at the castle, so there is nothing to worry about.”

Thanking him for his kind assistance, I showed Dymon the way out.

As soon as he left, I collapsed into the dining chair.

He did keep his promise - we wouldn’t ever have to worry about being hungry or shelterless.

I just didn’t realize that it would be through marriage.

What on earth was he thinking?

My tiny side-character brain couldn’t possibly grasp what was going on in the protagonist’s mind.

I turned towards the twins’ beds, and I was met with two pairs of round eyes.

They hurriedly pretended to be asleep.

“Cheryl, Ethan.”

As soon as I called out their names, the two sprinted towards me with questions loaded and ready to fire.

“Oh my goodness, Aerta. You’re getting married?”

“Y… You’re getting m..married? Why……?”

I couldn’t tell them that I sold myself to the protagonist.

That would break their tiny hearts.

I decided to turn the five hundred million markas worth of marriage deal into a fairytale romance.

“It was love at first sight.”

Of course, Cheryl didn’t buy any of it.

“...... It’s because of us, right?”

“What are you talking about Cheryl?”

“I’m not a kid, Aerta. If it weren’t for us two……”

Her bright eyes began to tear up.

“I…… I don’t need fancy meals. I can eat once a day. I don’t mind if I starve all day, even! So please……”

“Cheryl.”

“......”

“I’m doing this for me, not anybody else, honey.”

I lied once more as I lulled Cheryl and her intransigent pout.

“I really do love him.”

Fury and frustration continued to burn in her fiery-red eyes.

“I want to be an adult. As soon as I get strong enough……”

She grumbled with both her little hands scrunched up into angry fists.

“I’m going to kill anybody that hurts you.”

It wouldn’t even take till adulthood for her wishes to come true.

Five more years and they will actually gain the power to do whatever they please.

At that moment, I was given a chilling reminder that these innocent souls were capable of severing tongues and wrists for me.

I had to be careful not to let them go down the same road this time.

Ethan hesitantly approached me and asked me the one most important question.

“A…… Aerta? So, who exactly are you getting married to……?”

Distracted by the thought of how to educate these potential massacrists, I carelessly slipped the name of my future “husband”-

“The Duke of Carnoire.”

-a response that made Cheryl and Ethan freeze up.

***

I spent the next couple of hours visiting the places I used to work at, letting them know about my sudden change of situation and apologizing for the inconvenience.

It wasn’t quick and easy because everyone kept asking for a reason.

I couldn’t tell them that I was getting married to the Duke of Carnoire, so I had to come up with all sorts of excuses for their questions

A whole round of resignation drained me to my bones.

On my way home, I took a couple of the gold from the bag Dymon gave me to buy all sorts of gourmet food and headed to pick up the twins from the small inn across the street.

It was also their last day running errands at the inn.

I was going to pick them up on my way home.

They were absolutely livid with me earlier.

When I told them that I would be getting married to Zahid Carnoire, they kept asking me why I was getting married to the Duke and claimed that this marriage was a scam.

I barely got them to calm down after promising them that I’d explain further tonight.

Our last night here at this worn-down shack.

We were going to spend it with just the three of us, feasting on all the food we’ve ever wanted to eat.

Excited to spend the entire night with the twins, I hummed all the way to the inn.

As soon as I saw what was happening by the entrance, however, the blood on my face began to drain in panic.

It was none other than Gale.

Not just him, actually.

He was with a bunch of his thuggish friends, and in front of them were Cheryl and Ethan.

Terrified, Ethan and Cheryl were holding ever so dearly onto each other.

I lost my mind at the sight of the twins trembling in fear.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

I yelled, storming towards the horrendous group of men.

Gale turned his head in my direction and gave me the most nauseating gaze.

“I heard you’re leaving, Aerta.”

He shouted as if the entire town was supposed to be interested in what he had to say.

“I see your prostitution gig was a ravishing success, ey?”

“......!!”

My limbs went cold.

How dare he let his tongue run rogue in front of my younger siblings?

All that I could think of was how badly I wanted to grab him by each lip and tear his wretched mouth open.

Gale aggressively snatched my wrist.

Those foul hands began to taint my body with their vulgar touch.

“Let go.”

“I played along to your little ‘playing-hard-to-get’ game and what do you do? You go on out and pimp yourself out. You-“

I lowered my voice and warned him.

“I said, let go.”

Then things went rogue.

Ethan, who had been trembling in fear till just moments ago, jumped at Gale.

He clung to Gale’s thick, sweaty arms and took a deep bite into it.

Gale’s face twisted in pain as he let out a yelp, and I was able to break free from his stubby moist hands.

Unfortunately, a single bite was not enough to knock him out. Gale, now more furious than ever, drew his foot and kicked the poor boy in the stomach.

“You stuttering bastard……!”

Ethan’s frail body came flying at the wall.

“ETHAN!”

Cheryl and I both screamed his name at the top of our lungs.

But we couldn’t get to Ethan because Gale’s minions held us back.

“Ethan, Ethan!!”

Cheryl, nearly being held mid-air by two freakishly large men, desperately roared Ethan’s name.

She struggled with all her might, but there was no way a ten-year-old girl could escape the grasp of these grown men.

Gale was still riled up from Ethan’s bite, stomped towards the small boy laying on the ground, and kicked him once more.

He approached the boy wheezing and coughing his lungs out, picked him up by his shirt collar, and struck his cheeks.

Ethan’s soft cheeks began to swell up, turning a shade of crimson as he desperately held onto the mitts that still held onto his shirt.

The moment I saw his hand land on my dear Ethan’s face, something inside of me snapped.

Alas, I couldn’t get to him because of these men I had on me.

I lost my composure and began to scream at the top of my lungs.

“GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF OF HIM OR I WILL KILL YOU. DO YOU HEAR ME? I WILL HAVE YOU KILLED!!”

My eyes burned up from all the scorching anger built up inside.

If I had a knife at that moment, I would have stabbed his heart without a single moment of hesitation.

Alas, that wasn’t necessary; what I had was much deadlier than a mere knife.

“A truly wretched sight, indeed.”

A refreshing voice caught everyone’s attention.

The alley, which had been full of agonizing screams and thuggish threats, suddenly went silent.

Even I ceased my delirious screaming.

The owner of the voice swiftly unloaded himself from his steed.

With a slick whip in one hand, the man in his spruce navy equestrian gear ambled down the alley.

Nothing about him being in the slums seemed right.

Every single person in that alley stared at him with gaping mouths.

Even Gale, who had been strangling Ethan, lost his grip at the sight of the man.

Entrancing the entire vicinity with his beauty, he opened his twisting lips and called my name.

“Aerta.”

I could only respond with a half-broken moan.

“Master Carnoire……”

Those bewitching eyes, in which shone two vivid amethysts, curled at the ends into a smile.

And with utmost ease, he let out five simple words.

“Do you want them dead?”