Looking For The Villainess’s Contract Husband

“Libby. Don’t leave my side, okay?”

“Okay. I won’t.”

I nodded firmly and clung to her arm.

Together, we slowly walked to the carriage and climbed in.

The carriage, devoid of any insignia to conceal our identity as members of the Marquis’s household, was plain on the outside but lavish on the inside.

It was large enough for two people to sleep in comfortably.

Not that it made me happy.

‘It’s basically a mobile prison.’

I clicked my tongue without realizing it.

No matter how luxurious it looked, the carriage’s true purpose was clear—it was meant to ensure we couldn’t escape.

The leader, Gilbert, seemed like a cautious and suspicious man. Despite the knights standing guard on either side of us, he followed closely behind, blocking any potential escape routes.

Once my mother and I were inside, Gilbert personally locked the carriage door securely.

My mother discreetly pressed her hand against the door and pushed, but it didn’t budge.

“Hurry up! The Marquis is waiting!”

Gilbert barked orders at the knights, and the area outside grew noisier.

As the carriage began to move with a jolt, I clung to my mother, biting my lip anxiously.

‘So this is how it’s going to be.’

If things continued like this, we would end up exactly as the novel described—separated and imprisoned by the Marquis, with my mother becoming a puppet villainess who met a tragic end.

I glanced out the window, desperate to find some way out.

That’s when my eyes met Paul’s by chance.

“…!”

Paul flinched violently and quickly turned his head away.

His overly startled reaction made me narrow my eyes.

‘…Interesting.’

Maybe, just maybe, he could be useful.

“Mom, sit here.”

“Thank you, sweetie.”

Mom gave a faint smile and stroked my head. Then, as if feeling nauseous again, she covered her mouth with one hand and took deep breaths.

Peeking over her shoulder, I noticed the knights near the carriage, who had been keeping a watchful eye on us, finally turning their attention elsewhere.

It felt exhausting, as if their first instinct was to doubt us even when someone was unwell.

At that moment, a soft whisper reached my ears.

“Libby, where is Sir Gilbert right now?”

Startled, I looked down to see my mother, her face still pale, one hand covering her mouth. Her voice, however, was clear and firm—nothing like someone who was sick.

‘Was she acting, at least partially?’

I couldn’t help but feel a small sense of admiration. In a similarly quiet tone, I replied,

“He’s over there, talking to the other knights.”

“I see. And the ones guarding the carriage?”

“They’re looking toward Sir Gilbert.”

“Thank you. Stay here for just a moment, okay? I need to check on something. Stay quiet.”

“Okay.”

After hearing my response, Mom glanced around cautiously.

The knights were busy tending to the fire, preparing meals, or otherwise occupied. The two guarding the carriage seemed to have relaxed after seeing my mom appear unwell, chatting and laughing with their comrades.

Moving slowly and carefully, as if not to draw attention, Mom stood up and began walking, her eyes fixed on the forest as though searching for an escape route.

She had just taken another step when—

“So… wait, what?”

One of the knights, who had been chatting with his comrades, suddenly noticed the empty spot beside me. His face stiffened as he quickly looked around.

Upon spotting Mom, he hurriedly blocked her path.

“What are you doing, my lady? The captain specifically instructed you not to leave the vicinity of the carriage.”

Mom flinched slightly, her shoulders trembling as she stopped in her tracks. She hastily composed herself and replied nonchalantly,

“…I was just taking a walk. I thought walking around would help ease my nausea faster than sitting still.”

“If you’re feeling that unwell, perhaps you should take some medicine.”

“I can manage without it. If there’s medicine, I’d rather it be given to my daughter.”

Mom brushed him off coldly and turned back toward me.

As she walked away from the knight, I noticed her subtly biting her lip, trying to keep her frustration in check.

‘It’s not going to be easy.’

Seeing her like that made me sigh involuntarily.

For two unarmed people with no power, the level of surveillance we were under was excessive.

‘At least there’s some chance of escaping on the way to the capital. Once we enter the city walls, it’ll be impossible.’

I held Mom’s hand as she sat back down beside me, gently patting it as I mulled over the situation.

I began reviewing everything I had painstakingly pieced together over the past few days.

‘The Marquis’s goal is to use Mom to produce an heir with Diarmuid blood, then mold that heir to his liking to seize control of the Duke’s authority.’

If that was the case, then the partner didn’t necessarily have to be ‘Patrick Bryan.

‘Patrick is absolutely out of the question. No way, not in a million years.’

Mom would inevitably be drawn to Patrick, who resembled my late father, and Patrick was destined to fall in love with the princess.

I didn’t want Mom to suffer by harboring feelings for someone whose heart was meant for someone else.

‘To satisfy the Marquis, the man would need to hold at least a duke’s title.’

He should also have a personality completely opposite to Patrick’s—cold and unfeeling—someone Mom would never fall for.

On the flip side, he shouldn’t be someone who would obsess over Mom either.

And finally…

‘He has to be someone I can negotiate with, trading our safety in exchange for cooperation.’

Surprisingly, there was only one person in the entire empire who fit all those criteria.

‘…The Duke of Esperanza.’

Jack Esperanza.

He was one of the extras in ‘The Princess’s Man.’

—

By evening, the sound of owls hooting echoed throughout the forest.

The knights gathered around the campfire, eating a simple dinner while grumbling amongst themselves.

“How many times has it been now?”

“If we’d stuck to the original schedule, we’d have been out of the forest by now. But we’re barely halfway through.”

“Camping out is fine once or twice, but this freezing forest? It’s ridiculous.”

As one knight spoke, others began putting down their wooden spoons and chiming in.

Their utensils were crude, and their bowls held a watery stew with barely two pieces of anything solid in it.

To minimize the load for faster travel, their meals had been reduced to dried rations or this barely edible stew.

Cold and hunger make people irritable.

As they continued their conversation, their voices grew louder, their faces twisting in frustration.

“At this point, isn’t she just faking it? I heard she got caught wandering around earlier.”

“Forget the lady. The daughter’s the bigger problem. She gets a fever five times a day. Every time we stop the carriage for her, it slows us down.”

“If the medicine isn’t working, wouldn’t it be better to just ignore it and head straight to the capital?”

“She doesn’t even seem likely to recover. Honestly, the daughter’s basically a prisoner anyway—”

Clank.

The loud clash of a spoon against a bowl interrupted the conversation.

The knights fell silent, startled, as Paul, who had been sitting among them, set his spoon down and glared at them.

“That’s enough. Regardless of the circumstances, they’re still the people we’re tasked with serving. Badmouthing someone who’s already suffering is uncalled for.”

One of the knights who had been leading the complaints bristled and started to stand.

“What? What’s with this guy—”

“Hey, calm down. If the captain hears about this, it won’t end well for us.”

“Since when did he start caring about others so much?”

“Ugh, my food’s cold now.”

The other knights, wary of Gilbert, who was eating with another group nearby, quickly restrained him.

Though some of them shot Paul mocking glances, none pressed the issue further.

Paul remained silent, not touching his spoon until everyone else had resumed eating.

Eventually, he sighed and took a sip of stew directly from the bowl.

“Excuse me, sir.”

“Pfft!”

Startled by the sudden voice behind him, Paul spat out his stew.