Contract Marriage with the Villain Who Will Kill Me

A sunny day in early summer, fifteen years ago.

The White Party, the most luxurious tea party hosted by the founding Emperor Constance Rentworth, was in full swing. The emperor, draped in a bright red royal robe, exchanged a glance with his grandson.

Young Kaiden recalled the words the emperor had spoken to him the previous night.

“I am thinking of giving you the position of crown prince.”

Kaiden, with wide eyes, quietly listened to his grandfather’s words. The blue moonlight cast a shadow on his face.

“Not Edwin.”

“But, Uncle is a great man. Why such a difficult decision…?”

The emperor’s piercing blue eyes, filled with intensity, were focused on his grandson, who was still a boy.

“I will pass the position of crown prince to you.”

A complex expression flickered between the emperor’s narrowed eyes and furrowed brow. At the time, Kaiden was too young to understand why.

“In due time, I will do so. For now, just keep working hard as you are.”

Squeals!

At that moment, Kaiden was pulled from his thoughts of the previous night by the sudden sound of women’s small screams. A few women were causing a fuss over a cat.

Kaiden sighed softly and reached for his glass of water. Just then, he overheard whispers near his ear.

“That’s the prince, isn’t it?”

“A prince? Please. He’s a half-blood and the son of a traitor…”

“Still, he’s the son of the emperor’s beloved daughter. Watch your words!”

He could hear everything clearly. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard such talk, and by now, he should have been used to it.

His heart pounded heavily.

“Now he’s an orphan with no one. What will happen to him?”

“Born wrong from the start, he’s only making the empire uneasy.”

“But he’s quite handsome, isn’t he? Maybe he takes after his Kark father.”

Thump, thump. Uncontrollable anger and overwhelming fear surged through the veins of the ten-year-old boy. Kaiden calmly lifted his glass and took a sip. The cold water cooled him down a little.

“How dare they spout such nonsense.”

Suddenly, the faces of the gossiping nobles turned pale. And then, a cheerful voice followed.

“Brother.”

It was his cousin, Bardi, and his uncle, Edwin Rentworth. The father and son, with their strikingly similar red hair, gleamed in the sunlight.

A smile spread across Kaiden’s face.

“Running your mouth like that will only get you hurt.”

Edwin sternly scolded those around him.

“How dare you speak ill of my nephew! You fools, you don’t even understand the grand vision of the founding war hero, my father.”

Edwin sat down with a thud, crossing his legs, and winked.

“Go for a ride, clear your head.”

Kaiden, who had been feeling stifled in the palace, welcomed the suggestion. The sharp, hateful stares directed at him were something he still hadn’t gotten used to. Maybe with time, as he grew older, it would get better.

“Alright, let’s go, brother.”

Bardi, always full of mischief, grabbed Kaiden and headed for the Hanover duke’s annex.

“Why are we going here?”

“There’s a way out here.”

Bardi giggled as he led them into the garden. The shadows of the trees, beginning to grow lush, danced under the warming sunlight.

The beautiful garden led into a forest.

“Who would’ve thought this was here…”

It was fascinating.

“Bardi!”

When they were alone, Kaiden always called him by that name, as Bardi had asked. But when Kaiden turned around, there was no one there.

Something was wrong.

An instinctual fear gripped his legs.

“Bardi, where are you?”

And in that moment, a powerful blow struck Kaiden’s body, causing him to stumble. The impact was strong. Before he could even understand what was happening, Kaiden lost consciousness in an instant.

***

When he opened his eyes again, he was in a place devoid of any sunlight. The sound of torrential rain filled the air. It was loud and threatening, almost ominous.

“He’s regained consciousness.”

The voice of a man rang out, sending a sharp pain through Kaiden’s head. The noise grew louder and quieter intermittently. His body was wrapped in makeshift bandages, but for some reason, he couldn’t move.

Clang.

The cold sensation of handcuffs binding his arms was chilling.

What is this…

Bang, bang, bang.

He gritted his teeth and struggled, but the heavy metal only clanked with a metallic sound.

“Don’t bother.”

A man holding a candle appeared in the shadowy room. He was large and broad-shouldered, with cold, piercing blue eyes and red hair.

“It’s your uncle.”

Edwin Rentworth. Despite being an adult, he had never been granted the position of crown prince. The brother his mother had trusted was smiling at him.

As the torchlight joined in, Edwin’s blue eyes glinted even more menacingly.

“You and Bardi sneaking out of the palace today makes you officially missing.”

“What do you mean…”

Wham.

A blow landed on his side. He gasped for air.

“It seems the emperor has gone mad, planning to make you the crown prince. Guess you learned a lot from that mother of yours, huh?”

Kaiden recalled what his mother had said before she went out to sea.

“Not yet.”

“And even though the old man despises me, fine. But you? Not even Bardi, but you?”

And the emperor’s words too.

“I will pass the position of crown prince to you.”

“I told him I wasn’t the right person for it.”

Kaiden was frustrated. He had never wanted any of this. Why…?

“You weren’t?”
“I don’t know anything about it.”

He was only ten years old. Too young to understand anything. Edwin knew this too, yet there was not an ounce of sympathy in his gaze or his lips as he looked at his nephew.

“Just a short while ago, we went through that chaos because of the war with the Kark, and now you, a cursed being, not only run rampant in the palace but even aim to become the crown prince? Do you think that’s acceptable?”

Holding a candle, he brought it closer as he spoke.

Hearing such words from the uncle who had always been so kind to him, dismissing everyone else, made his entire body tremble instinctively. No matter how hard he tried to stay composed, it was impossible.

“Do you think that’s even remotely possible?”

Edwin’s eyes, filled with madness, came right up to Kaiden’s face.

“That’s why you need to disappear now.”

A sharp dagger grazed Kaiden’s throat and moved up to his cheek. With a slight pressure, a clean cut opened on his once unblemished cheek, and blood began to flow.

“Once again, I’ll be taking out the trash for the empire.”

In that instant, Kaiden’s eyes flickered. The whites of his eyes turned a shade of blue.

“What… what is this…?”

“Oh, you don’t need to know all the details…”

Edwin Rentworth’s broad shoulders tensed.

“What did you do to my parents?”

Kaiden tried his best to hide the tremor in his voice, but Edwin only scoffed at his efforts and shook his head.

That can’t be.

“Why would my father not recognize this?”

Edwin’s voice, as cold as a sharp blade, pierced Kaiden’s ears.

“Change this brat’s hair color, so he don’t get talked about.”

His arrogant voice echoed through the underground prison.

“Yes, understood.”

Gregory Hanover, Duke of Hanover. Kaiden bit down hard on his teeth.

“Your Grace,”

Just then, a voice reporting to Edwin was heard.

“What is it?”

“The palace doctor is asking if you can come to Duke Gregory Hanover directly. It seems the young lady of Hanover is in a critical condition.”

Gregory Hanover.

Amidst the continuing pain, Kaiden heard the distant voice and Edwin’s response.

“Critical condition?”

“She collapsed a few days ago for an unknown reason and has been suffering ever since.”

“An unknown reason?”

“Apparently, she’s been muttering incomprehensible things whenever she briefly regains consciousness.”

Edwin clicked his tongue.

“Send me there.”

The sound of a torrential downpour soon filled the air, breaking the silence. It was truly a fierce storm.

“Since I owe them this place, I should at least make sure the daughter is in good health.”

With that, the heavy door closed. Kaiden quietly listened to the rain, holding his breath.

He didn’t know then, exactly, that his life would be confined to that cellar until one full moon night, when he ran out into the Duke of Rohana’s gardens, bleeding.

***

Rohana slowly opened her eyes. She didn’t even remember how she had fallen asleep.

Her nightclothes were soaked in cold sweat, as if she had been running a fever all night.

As she slowly rose from bed, a maid, hearing the sound, hurried over. The sitting room, where she had neatly dressed herself and emerged, was as pristine and perfect as if nothing had happened.

Her gaze slowly shifted toward Kaiden’s side of the room. The study door was slightly ajar.

Just then, she heard a gasp from inside the study.

It was a rough, irregular breath. It sounded like someone in the throes of a nightmare. Frowning, Rohana made her way toward the study.

When she opened the door and entered, she saw him sitting at his desk, head lifted, breathing heavily.

His complexion was poor, and he was still dressed in the same clothes as yesterday.

The study was a mess, with piles of documents stacked like mountains, as if he had worked through the night.

When their eyes met, he quickly masked his expression with an air of nonchalance, so swift it made her wonder if the previous scene had been a mere illusion.

“Are you feeling better?”

Rohana had intended to ask if something was wrong but instead decided to keep her question brief.

“Yes.”

A quiet silence settled between them.

“Did you sleep there?”

“I dozed off for a bit,” Kaiden said, pressing his hand to his forehead.

“I heard a sound…”

Kaiden gave a faint smile and shrugged as he stood up and approached her. Rohana looked up at him for a moment, then lowered her gaze.

Having frequently suffered from nightmares herself, she could easily recognize when someone else had one.

She wanted to ask but also didn’t.

Suppressing the knot that had risen in her throat, Rohana turned away.

At that moment, a large hand grasped her wrist. Though she could easily have pulled free, something about the touch made her unable to move.