The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

A child lay curled up in the grass, trying to sleep.

His small, gaunt frame and half-closed eyes reflected the night sky above.

The pale moon. Shooting stars streaking across the heavens. Twinkling starlight. Despite the passage of time, the night sky remained cruelly beautiful.

History compressed the boy's past into a single phrase.

'Child of the defeated nation.'

Or, the youngest prince of a country that dared to break its treaty with the empire and throw a tantrum.

The last surviving royal of a fallen kingdom.

But now just a vagrant, the boy hazily recalled fading memories of the palace. Back then, his steps were small, his speech clumsy. He was unable to live without help from those around him.

Much had changed.

Sometimes wandering, occasionally stealing, always navigating an endless solitude.

Firmly believing something awaited at the journey's end.

That's when it happened.

Grumble...

His hungry stomach growled. Though familiar, the beautiful starry sky made the boy feel wretched. He hated the brilliant heavens that contrasted so starkly with his situation.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, he felt utterly worthless.

Resenting the sky because there was no one else to blame.

Venting his frustration at his own weakness on something so pointless. He couldn't fathom why he'd survived this long.

"..."

He closed his eyes.

He would rise at dawn and walk again.

He'd live tenaciously and reward himself handsomely for enduring past and present.

Though he harbored such lofty ambitions.

That night, the boy had no idea that the deep darkness would stretch far longer than usual.

---

---

A typical morning.

An unexpected guest knocked on the orphanage door without warning.

"Hey! Are you in there?"

The man at the door was the lord of the domain. The Court Count who should have been at the imperial palace by now.

I rushed to open the door at the arrival of this VIP.

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"Welcome, Count. Have you come to see Yulian... I mean, him?"

"Ah, well. To check on the prince and... take care of some other business... Anyway."

Unable to make sense of the Count's rambling, I calmly invited him in.

"Would you like some tea?"

"I'd appreciate that."

The Count sent his attendants away and entered the orphanage alone. Looking around awkwardly, he spoke.

"I knew it was small, but it's even tighter than I expected. Maybe I should've invested more..."

"If your funds were traced, it could cause problems all around."

"That's... true."

Even now we receive a modest living allowance for taking care of Yulian. But there's a limit to what we can accept. If the amount kept increasing, people would get suspicious.

I seated the Count at the table and offered:

"Shall I call him?"

"Just call him Yulian, like in the letter. After spending so long at the palace, I'm worried even the walls have ears."

"Alright."

The Count nodded in agreement.

I quickly gathered the children and brought them before the Count, who was just about to pick up his teacup.

"It's been a while, Lord Yulian."

"You can speak casually. The director does, so it would be odd for only the Count to use honorifics."

"That's... well, yes. Ah, I see."

The Count awkwardly agreed, even as his eyes darted about, checking Yulian for any signs of trouble.

"Are you... are you doing alright?"

"I'm managing well enough. Sometimes this small orphanage even feels bigger than the huge imperial palace."

Yulian's assessment was more positive than expected. I couldn't help but look at him with pride.

'Oho...'

He usually grumbles and acts difficult, but deep down he has such sincere feelings. I'll have to tease him even more from now on.

Meanwhile, after chatting with Yulian, the Count finally noticed the girl hiding behind me.

"Hmm, is that child a recent arrival?"

"Well, yes. Tina, say hello to the Cou... I mean, to our guest."

"Um, hello... My name's Tina... I'm ten years old..."

Tina seemed quite uncomfortable with the stranger.

In truth, she'd spent her whole life wary of people, so even exchanging greetings was commendable.

The Count smiled kindly and said:

"You're the same age as Yulian. I hope you two get along well."

"... Yes. I understand."

Tina gave a small bow.

The Count appeared deeply impressed by her adorable demeanor.

"My, what a cute child. Her eyes are especially beautiful, almost inhuman."

"Haha, our Tina does have a certain angelic quality about her."

"Indeed she does."

The Count's intuition was razor-sharp. He's quite perceptive to notice Tina's partly non-human nature.

Even though Tina's eyes had become much more human-like after suppressing her dragon instincts...

As I was chuckling inwardly, the Count caught my attention and spoke softly:

"Ahem, I'd like to speak with you privately now."

"Ah, of course. Yulian and Tina, why don't you two go play upstairs?"

"Alright."

"Okay!"

Though the Count had tried to be casual, Yulian's face showed he'd already guessed what was up. He'd quickly picked up on the Count's desire to have a private chat with me.

Once the children's footsteps faded, the Count steepled his fingers.

"The current situation is... not easy."

"Are you talking about stuff at the imperial palace?"

"Indeed. I've been so focused on political struggles that I've neglected my own domain. If I'd known, I should've made preparations here too..."

"Forgive me for saying so, but people seem to be living quite well here. I'm not sure what the problem is."

The standard of living is much higher than in other domains. Plus, the tax rate isn't high. I've never heard anyone curse the lord.

"It's not an issue with the domain's people. The problem is that my political opponents are painting me as a crook who turns a blind eye to crime."

"Crime, you say?"

"Yes. Without me knowing, there are miscreants holding illegal auctions in my domain."

"...... Ah!"

The moment I heard the Count's words, I thought of Tina. More precisely, I recalled the seven hunters who had gone to the hills to capture her.

They had tried to catch and sell Tina, but ended up knocked out after her counterattack.

The next day, I'd turned them over to the authorities...

"I heard rumors about vampires and whatnot. Honestly, it's ridiculous, but there were still lowlifes trying to catch them. The problem started when those criminals ended up outside my jurisdiction."

'Uh... oh...?'

"They confessed that the illegal auction site was right here in my domain...!"

'This isn't what I...'

I'd assumed those thugs would flee to another domain with Tina if they caught her. After all, the Count's territory was too peaceful for me to imagine illegal auctions flourishing here.

'Or is it because it's so peaceful...?'

If they exploited the blindspot beneath the lamp, it would truly be a slap in the face.

As I broke out in a cold sweat, the Count continued indignantly:

"... And so I've suddenly become a criminal who turned a blind eye to illegal auctions. I can't even set foot in the imperial palace until this is resolved."

"Ah... I... I see... Um..."

In short, the Count's predicament was... the result of the snowball I'd started rolling by rescuing Tina.

However, the Count volunteered his opinion:

"I know it was you who turned in those human hunters. But there's no reason to hold you responsible. You simply did your duty as a resident of my land."

"Count..."

Honestly, I'm impressed.

How can he separate his reason and emotions so perfectly? Especially given our vast difference in status, he doesn't show any resentment towards the cause of his predicament.

For the sole reason that it was the right thing to do.

'I suppose there's no helping it...'

I don't dislike upright humans.

Moreover, for Yulian and Tina's sake, I should roll up my sleeves and step in here.

"Count, have you found out where these illegal auctions are happening?"

"I've only just had this bombshell dropped on me, so not yet. Once rumors spread, those bastards will move their base... I'm at a loss for how to handle this."

"I see. Well, we'll have to start there."

"Start? You mean you...?"

"Well, you've done a lot for us, and I feel kinda responsible... More importantly."

I deliberately exaggerated in a joking tone.

"Things like illegal auctions... they're bad for the kids' well-being, right? So we should take care of it quickly. I am a proper orphanage director, after all."

"Ha, haha... Indeed. Yes..."

The Count laughed helplessly and then leaned in, his bald head shining benevolently.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how you plan to help. But let me make you a promise. If you manage to fix this situation... I'll treat you as my benefactor."

"For how long?"

"Needless to say, for as long as we know each other."

"You're certainly generous."

In truth, I probably deserve to be treated as a benefactor just for saving his son's hair, but whatever.

With the Count watching my back, I'll be that much further from a bad ending.

This was quite a profitable deal.

"Now then... mind telling me what exactly you plan to do?"

"Well, let's see. Nothing special, just..."

I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Maybe I'll offer up some earnest prayers?"

If my faith reaches, the Lord will surely provide an answer.