A Contract Marriage
At the far end of a quiet, secluded street sat an empty yard and a single, weathered building.
One day, a noble lady who could not have looked more out of place in such squalor paid an unannounced visit.
"Harte of the Holy Knights. Am I correct?"
Dressed in a lavish scarlet gown that suited her impeccably, she questioned me with an imperious tilt of her chin. The moment the intruder's identity clicked, a cold sweat broke across my brow at the sheer absurdity of fate.
Elphesia Luminel.
That was the name of the breathtaking woman standing before me.
In my past life, she had been the villainess of a romance fantasy novel I once read. Her venomous tongue and merciless cruelty were infamous enough to make anyone wonder if a human heart beat in her chest at all. She had been such an overwhelmingly formidable villainess that she rendered the supposed final boss completely invisible by comparison, even prompting readers to joke about whether she had wandered into the wrong genre.
Yet, a villainess was still only a villainess.
The only thing awaiting her at the end of the tale was the tragic demise orchestrated by the world's protagonists.
A bad ending... Yes, much like my own.
"It was quite an ordeal tracking you down," she continued, her ruby eyes narrowing slightly. "The Temple shielded you so fiercely that uncovering your whereabouts felt nearly impossible."
That should have been the case, and yet...
"Well, it turned out for the best in the end. I found you after all, which means I can make my proposal."
"A proposal? To me?"
She was the cherished pearl of an illustrious ducal house and a cold-blooded strategist of high society. There was not a single point of contact between someone of her station and someone like me, yet without a beat of hesitation, she thrust a sheaf of papers toward me.
"Marry me."
"Excuse me?"
"Ah, to be precise, a contract marriage. These documents contain the terms I prepared for our mutual agreement."
"Aha... Marriage. And a contract marriage, no less..."
Honestly, my head spun so violently that I felt on the verge of fainting. As my mind raced, grasping for how on earth to respond, my gaze caught sight of several pairs of wide, curious eyes peeking through the crack of the slightly ajar door behind her.
Only then did I manage to force words past my lips.
"Before anything else, let me just ask... Are you out of your mind? We've never even met, and you suddenly show up demanding... marriage?"
"I have my personal reasons. Besides, I prepared myself for whatever it takes before standing here today."
"Is that so? Then did your preparations happen to account for this as well?"
I gave a subtle wave toward the doorway, beckoning the little onlookers inside. After a moment of hesitation, the children pushed the door open and slowly filed into the room.
Two boys, and one little girl.
Among them, the girl scampered over with a radiant beam and clung tightly to my waist.
"Daddy!"
"...What did you just say?" Elphesia froze.
"What's going on, Daddy?"
As if to etch the truth indelibly into the mind of the noblewoman holding out her contract, the child addressed me again in a crystal-clear voice. I looked at the petrified Elphesia and offered an awkward, apologetic grin.
"Believe it or not, I've already got kids."
That seemed answer enough, but just in case, I sought to confirm her resolve one more time.
"Did you truly... prepare yourself for this, too?"
Her mouth fell so slack that one could not help but notice how neatly aligned and pristine her teeth were. Paralyzed by utter bewilderment, Elphesia barely managed to squeeze out her next words.
"Y-You...!"
Perhaps it was her answer that day that set the course of our lives into entirely uncharted waters.
Looking back, I still vividly recall that very first crossroads of fate.
The day my entire life was turned completely upside down.