The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

The parenting gathering had grown since it began.

More families joined than before, bringing more children to meet. With guaranteed attendance, the gatherings naturally became more frequent.

As a result, Glen found himself summoned to another mansion for socializing yet again.

Today's gathering was at a Count's residence who'd recently moved to the capital. Unlike Viscount Peter's estate, Glen's escape options were limited here.

Determined not to miss her chance, Rochelle Peter clung to Glen's side, chattering non-stop.

"What should we play? The others are playing tag again, but I'm worried my dress might get stepped on."

'The others' naturally revolved around Tina.

Tina was incredibly popular among the children. Her innocent personality and adorable looks created an amazing effect that seemed to purify everyone.

The girls fussed over Tina, while the boys developed subtle crushes on her.

Glen's situation was different.

Having shown his avoidant and quiet nature from the first gathering, the girls quickly lost interest.

Only two or three young ladies still approached him persistently.

Rochelle Peter was clearly one of them.

"Should we have tea like the adults? Or maybe... hide-and-seek?"

"Not interested."

Despite his cold rebuffs, Rochelle's interest never wavered.

In truth, Rochelle, raised pampered in a viscount's household, had a strong sense of pride. Normally, she'd glare at someone with Glen's callous attitude.

But even that lofty pride and anger vanished when she saw Glen's face. Like someone who can't stay mad during an argument just by looking at their spouse, Glen seemed to have that exact effect.

So Rochelle, transformed into the picture of a gentle lady, asked with a bright smile.

"Then what kind of game do you like, Glen? Tell me too."

"... Tying grass."

"What?"

"Nothing, never mind."

Glen pretended it was nothing while plucking a few blades of grass. Then he began delicately tying knots, weaving the joints together.

Rochelle felt a sense of déjà vu at this strange behavior.

"... Where'd you learn that?"

"I didn't learn it anywhere."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"I heard a rumor."

"A rumor? What kind?"

"They say if you succeed a hundred times without failing, God will grant your wish."

Rochelle was speechless for a moment at Glen's words.

But after a brief pause, she calmly asked again.

"... What wish do you want granted?"

"I wish time would pass quickly."

"I... see."

Glen simply found the parenting gathering boring. That's why he mentioned wanting time to pass quickly.

However, Rochelle took it differently.

She saw it as a dismissal - that he wanted the gathering to end soon because she was annoying - essentially telling her to get lost.

No matter how heavenly Glen's looks, there's a limit to what one can take. Rochelle felt she'd reached that limit and silently left.

Glen ignored her completely, oblivious.

Unaware of the anger filling Rochelle's face.

---

---

Thump, thump, thump!

As soon as she got back to the viscount's house, Rochelle Peter rushed up the stairs. Ignoring all the servants, she ran to the top floor corridor and grabbed the narrow railing.

Her destination was an ugly attic room. The entrance, which you had to stoop to get through, looked like a mouse hole.

Rochelle threw open the attic door. A gross grassy smell wafted in as the shadowy figures of her hated twin sister appeared like a ghost.

"Who...?"

"It's me."

"Rochelle..."

Echo mumbled her sister's name timidly. Meanwhile, Rochelle twisted her lips in disgust, as if even hearing Echo say her name was insulting.

Those always-closed eyes. And that gray hair like a sewer rat's fur. Yes, that rat-like hair, seemingly untouched, looked too dirty to even touch.

"Disgusting... It stinks. Ha, this is no different from a stable full of hay."

"A stable...?"

Insults that wouldn't have bothered her before now brought shame. Because Glen now had a place in Echo's world.

If Glen also thought her room was like a stable, it would break her heart. So she prayed silently, hoping Glen and Rochelle's opinions would be different.

Rochelle interrogated Echo, whose shoulders had hunched.

"You, tell me honestly. Who did you meet here?"

"Huh...?"

"I said, who did you meet here?"

"I, no, I didn't. I absolutely didn't meet anyone. Really."

Rochelle bared her pearly white teeth.

Though smiling, it was more like a sadistic grin over pitiful prey than anything pleasant.

"Ha, you didn't meet anyone? You? Don't make me laugh."

"Believe me, Rochelle... I really didn't meet anyone. You know... the only people who come here are the meal servers."

"My, aren't you quite the actor now? You think I came to this musty room for no reason?"

Thump!

Echo felt like a huge boulder had fallen in her chest.

Could Rochelle really know something and have come looking?

Could it possibly be about Glen?

A shapeless fear wrapped tightly around Echo.

"Why, why are you... I don't know anything... Okay? You know that."

"Oh? You don't know anything, you say?"

The next moment, Rochelle crossed her arms and lowered her voice threateningly.

"Then... why does Glen know about it?"

Flinch!

The moment Glen's name came up, Echo's body jerked as if shocked. Rochelle wasn't about to miss such a small change.

"Tell me, why is Glen plucking grass and tying knots?"

"He, he might have just done it for fun..."

"Why!"

Rochelle forcefully cut off Echo's words. Then, after a short silence, she cornered Echo completely.

"... Why is Glen talking nonsense about wishes coming true if you tie it a hundred times?"

"Maybe he heard rumors...?"

"Ha, rumors? Don't make me laugh."

Rochelle let out a mean laugh and revealed the harsh truth.

"That's something I made up on the spot. Such rumors can't and shouldn't be going around, you know?"

"What...?"

"I'm saying it's nonsense I carelessly told you to kill time! Do you understand?!"

Rochelle just meant to mock her sister's stupidity. But Echo's reaction was more dramatic than Rochelle expected.

"No, it can't be... It's not true... Rochelle..."

Echo clung to a thin thread of hope and asked in a shaky voice.

"You're lying...?"

"Sorry, but unlike some people, I hate lying."

"..."

Rochelle's confession wasn't just about bullying.

Tying grass may seem like a silly task at first. But that silly task was the only hope Echo had blindly believed in until now.

She thought her wish would come true someday.

She believed that if she worked hard, even God would be moved by her dedication. So she believed that by the time she grew up, she could be happy as part of the viscount's family.

It was basically brainwashing.

But now, the very person who had repeatedly planted this idea completely denied it.

"Everyone... knew about it..."

"So?"

"You too... You too... You said if there was something you wanted, you'd weave grass..."

"Am I crazy? I'm not a gardener, why would I touch such dirty things?"

"You said wishes would come true..."

"Oh my, did I? I think I said they might come true."

"..."

Rochelle looked down at Echo with a blank face. If she could see Echo's eyes open, she was sure those eyes would be a wonderfully ripe color.

'To think such a creature caught Glen's attention? Not knowing her place...'

Rochelle felt Echo was getting ahead of herself without knowing her place. It made no sense for her inferior sister to be better than her in any way.

Isn't that what Mom and Dad always said?

Whenever Echo came up, they'd get upset and constantly told her that she and Echo belonged to different worlds.

... So, Echo shouldn't be better than her at anything. From looks to men, nothing at all.

Rochelle's anger faded a bit.

Tormenting Echo seemed to have lifted her bad mood.

This was enough. Deciding so, she turned to leave, but Echo grabbed her ankle.

"What... what should I do now?"

"What?"

"If tying grass was a lie... how can I make my wishes come true...?"

Wham!

Rochelle roughly shook off Echo. Then, from outside the attic, she left one cold remark.

"How should I know."

Bang!

She slammed the attic door shut.

Through the small door that barely blocked sound, faint sobbing could be heard.

Echo wove grass in the narrow room without a single ray of light.

"It can't be... It's a lie, it must be a lie... Rochelle was just being mean... She must have lied..."

Snap.

Snap.

Snap.

Her fingertips kept shaking like butterfly wings. Because of this, even tying one knot was hard, and they kept breaking easily. Only after all the grass in her hands was torn to pieces did Echo pull her knees to her chest.

Echo was filled with sadness for the first time in a long while.

It was a feeling she'd forgotten since Glen started visiting, one that had become unfamiliar as she slowly let it go.

"Hic... What should I do..."

They say I can't be happy.

It was all fake, apparently.

I wanted to be like that girl Tina. I wanted to walk together on sunny streets.

Apparently I was never meant to do that...

"I miss you..."

Echo vaguely imagined Glen's face.

Though she didn't know what he looked like, she imagined he had a kind expression.

She had touched his face before, but it's impossible to picture someone's face through touch alone.

"I miss you... Glen..."

So it's okay if she doesn't know his face.

She just wants to see his heart with these two eyes.

"I miss you... I don't want to miss you..."

Echo was hit with a strong feeling.

No matter what Glen's heart was like.

Whether ugly or beautiful.

She felt she would want Glen no matter what.

Now, there was nothing left in Echo's world except Glen.

So, even if he hated her, Echo couldn't let go of Glen.

If that happened... the meaning of living would disappear completely.

---

---

Creak.

The attic door opened with an especially annoying noise today.

As always, Glen had climbed over the viscount's wall to meet Echo.

Rochelle was sure Echo had met Glen on the day of the gathering at the viscount's house. No matter how much she doubted, she couldn't have imagined Glen visited as a night guest almost every day.

Not knowing what happened today, Glen casually greeted her.

"Hello, Echo. I'm here."

Echo, sitting with her back against the wall, greeted Glen with a sad expression.

"... Welcome, Glen."

"Echo? Did something happen?"

"Glen..."

Glen immediately noticed Echo was upset just from her voice. Meanwhile, Echo was so glad that Glen recognized her sadness just from her greeting.

Yet her courage was messy, making it hard to open her closed eyes. She was still too scared to look into Glen's heart.

"Hey, I..."

Just as Echo was about to speak.

Rustle!

Something fluttered, and at the same time the world went dark. Echo, who had her eyes closed from the start, was slow to understand what was happening, but Glen was different.

Months of training made Glen quickly wrap his arm around Echo's waist.

But darkness surrounded them everywhere.

A damp, pitch-black curtain seemed to stick thickly to the space, as if a veil had been spread around.

"Welcome, little ones."

Just as a monster was about to reach out its claws along with a sweet voice.

"Oh, you."

A voice all too familiar to Glen drove away the darkness in an instant.

Boom!

With a thunderous sound, a huge mass gouged out the road's blocks.

A gust of wind blew in, followed by pieces of the road scattering everywhere.

Glen squinted, seeing a wall protecting them from the debris.

"Director...!"

There stood Harte's back - a sight that shouldn't exist.