A Shadow Cast in Paradise - Chapter 69

Egon smiled naturally as he watched Lea’s confusion.

“You could say it’s a guarantee for a new identity? As it happens, this ‘Egon’ needs a wife too.”

“Marriage……”

“Don’t feel burdened. It’s about exchanging what we each need externally. It’s a kind of transaction.”

Egon said he wouldn’t want anything more than that in terms of a marital relationship.

Since he’ll be very busy in ‘Eclas’s’ body anyway, he’ll rarely return to this Janna island.

‘Well, he’ll have to have a real marriage under the name of Eclas Bitel……’

For the benefit of the Bitel family, he would choose a well-regarded young lady instead of a hidden traitor.

In the end, it’s just a formal relationship on paper out of necessity.

“It won’t be bad for you either. People pay less attention to married women than single women living alone.”

This would also help in avoiding Sched Lester’s pursuit.

His proposal was reasonable.

The thought occurred that it might be a cheap price if she could obtain this peaceful life just by signing a marriage vow.

But why was she thinking of Sched at this moment?

Even though she had left everything behind, foolishly.

“……May I ask why you specifically need my name?”

Lea asked, unable to pick up the pen readily.

He had numerous birds, and could likely arrange a fake marriage without Lea’s help.

Egon carefully observed her expression and asked.

“What’s bothering you?”

Lea fidgeted with the hem of her clothes.

“As you know, I…… don’t want to create more relationships I have to be responsible for.”

Heresy, treason, the sins she had committed.

She had left to be free from them.

Even if it was fake, the concept of marriage felt burdensome.

Perhaps her sins might harm him too…

Then Egon slowly rubbed his eyebrow in thought before speaking.

“It doesn’t seem like a contract that requires particular responsibility…… Then, how about this? We set an end to this fake marriage.”

“An end…?”

“We make a vow on the premise of divorcing after 5 years.”

It was a fake contract marriage where they were just lending each other’s names anyway.

The contract’s validity period, 5 years.

With an end set, there was no need to feel responsible.

“This seems like I’m letting you off quite cheaply.”

Egon bent slightly to meet her eye level and smiled brightly.

His smile seemed to urge her signature.

Lea clenched her fists tightly.

He was right.

Compared to what he had given her, lending a fake name once was nothing.

How expensive could this mere name be?

As he said, she was someone who ‘had to cooperate due to debt’.

She had received too much from him to be stubborn.

It would be foolish to refuse his offer at this point.

Was there even a choice to refuse in the first place?

If she refused, where would she go?

Lea quietly closed her eyes and organized her thoughts.

‘Yes. This might be better for forgetting him.’

Sched. That name that kept coming to mind needed to be erased too.

With this marriage, she might be able to let go of any remaining feelings or lingering attachments for him.

Lea eventually nodded.

Egon smiled with satisfaction and drafted another contract document, then handed over two papers.

A marriage vow and a divorce contract.

The contradiction clearly proved the false nature of the relationship.

5 years. A short time in some ways, long in others.

It seemed like enough time to wrap up her life outside and start anew.

At that moment, Egon suddenly seemed to recall something and looked at Lea.

“Ah….. Even though it’s a marriage, do you think we need to hold some kind of simple ceremony?”

He asked, worried that he might have failed to consider Lea’s feelings.

Even if it was a contract marriage, it was Lea’s first marriage in life.

She might feel disappointed if it ended with just scribbling a fake signature on paper.

But Lea shook her head as if to say no.

A white dress or a wedding ceremony…… didn’t seem particularly necessary.

It was a contract that would end in 5 years anyway.

There was no need to show it to anyone or receive blessings.

“Should I sign here?”

She picked up the pen Egon handed over and signed ‘Lea’ on the small board.

He also signed ‘Egon’ next to Lea’s name.

Their marriage was concluded at a small garden table on the sunlit beach.

It was the fastest and simplest wedding ceremony in the world.

[This is the timeline separator]

The Golden Castle in the center of Sizzlon.

Eclas smirked as he looked at the marriage vow in his hand.

‘So it ended up like this, Louise.’

To think that the fine and beautiful young lady would sign to marry the merchant Eclas Bitel.

The noble young lady who once seemed as high as the sky had now become a canary trapped in his cage.

Who would have known?

That the young lady of the Grand Duke’s family, who should have carefully chosen a partner and held a grand ceremony, would end up in such a hasty marriage.

‘Even though it’s just a 5-year contract……’

The divorce contract added after the marriage vow was irritating.

It was true that he felt disappointed to only gain 5 years after bringing her to the island, giving her a house, and hiding her from Sched.

He had thought she would fall easily since she was cornered, but as expected, the young lady was not so simple.

‘……But who knows what will happen after 5 years.’

By then, she would realize.

That she had nowhere else to rely on.

That this marriage was necessary for her.

Eclas inserted the marriage vow into a leather file folder, contemplating the future.

At that moment.

“Young Lord.”

Barnen, his attendant, came looking for him urgently.

As Eclas closed the file folder and looked up, Barnen, with obvious distress, swallowed once before speaking again.

“It seems the Fedica has been detained at Port Calais in Blancas.”

“What?”

Eclas asked seriously in an instant.

The Fedica was a huge ship owned by the Bitel family.

It was one of the largest vessels among those owned by the Bitel family.

“It seems to be a retaliatory decision regarding the recent war.”

The kingdom of Blancas, located in the northern part of the empire, was a country that had recently signed a peace treaty after a war with the empire.

‘I was prepared to take some risks, but I didn’t expect them to be so blatant so quickly.’

Eclas frowned as he examined the documents Barnen brought.

Blancas had been causing border conflicts every three years or so from before.

Unable to endure this, the imperial court declared a large-scale anti-Blancas war last autumn.

Although various incidents occurred, the war ended with dramatic peace talks after exhausting battles.

The empire called this a victory for the empire, but well, in Eclas’s eyes, it was merely a stopgap measure.

And now the flaws in that stopgap measure were opening up again.

“I thought things were going too smoothly….. Are there any specific conditions for releasing the detention?”

“There’s no clear indication of the content. Rather than simply seeking compensation, it seems they made the decision out of retaliation. I suspect they might be taking advantage of the recent turmoil within the empire due to the heretic incident.”

Eclas sighed.

The existence of the capricious and uncooperative Blancas had been a major obstacle to the Bitel family’s business from before.

The reason for taking risks and engaging with Blancas despite this was because Blancas was the gateway for trading with other northern kingdoms.

‘If only the emperor hadn’t been careless in the last war, Blancas wouldn’t be acting so arrogantly like this……’

To even be held hostage so disgracefully.

Blancas demanded bribes or passage fees every time someone passed through their territory and waters, and when the political situation became unstable, trade itself became difficult.

‘If they act like this, it’s quite troublesome for us too……’

As Eclas was thinking while stroking his chin, he narrowed his eyes.

“And one more thing. Lord Sched Lester has woken up.”

Barnen handed the young lord a letter from Ideana.

A cynical laugh escaped Eclas’s lips as he read the report letter.

“As expected of a Lupus, Lord Lester’s lifeline is quite tenacious. And……”

An additional paragraph at the bottom of the letter.

It said that the awakened Sched Lester was looking for Riana Serpens.

It seemed he was moving directly, even though it hadn’t been long since he woke up.

“Always exceeding expectations……”

He murmured lowly, then slowly shifted his gaze to the map hanging on the wall.

A strange light flashed in Eclas’s eyes as he stared at the map depicting the entire continent.

“Well, Blancas isn’t the only one with bad feelings.”

His Majesty the Emperor also has considerable hatred towards Blancas.

They say he still grinds his teeth every night, recalling the humiliation of being captured by the princess of an enemy country?

The emperor probably wants to take revenge for that humiliation before his life ends.

‘We can’t leave such a stain on the achievements of our great Emperor.’

Eclas’s mind raced quickly as he stared at the map showing Blancas and the empire.

“We might be able to…… have some fun.”

He straightened his body and headed towards the desk, stroking his chin.

[This is the timeline separator]

“My lord, perhaps you should take some rest?”

Knight Carlyle spoke as he watched Sched pacing restlessly, unable to sleep.

It had been a month since the duke woke up from his comatose state.

Although the curse was said to be over, his body hadn’t fully recovered due to aftereffects.

Carlyle, who had watched over him for a long time, could tell that his lord’s body had changed.

Although he didn’t show it outwardly, he was clearly feeling discomfort every time he moved his body.

The lord had begun to frequently clench and unclench his hand quietly in unseen places.

As if the sensation when moving his hand was different from usual.

The more this happened, the more Sched pushed himself.

But more than that, the biggest problem was…….

‘I can’t…… feel the aura.’

Although Carlyle hadn’t reached the level of a Swordmaster, as an excellent Lupus, he could sense aura.

But that oppressive energy that used to emanate from Sched was no longer felt.

Whether it was a temporary issue after the curse or whether it wouldn’t improve in the future was unclear, but what was certain was that Sched’s condition was not good.

Yet he was forcing an unreasonable schedule just to find that one woman.

“Tomorrow we should go towards Lecherdame.”

Sched muttered as if he hadn’t heard Carlyle’s advice.

He was anxious.

It had been over a month since Riana Serpens disappeared.

Riana had perfectly concealed herself as if she had evaporated from the world.

He had searched and checked all the places he could think of, but all attempts failed.

It was the same even when inquiring about witnesses.

Sched clenched his fingertips, which still hadn’t regained sensation.

‘Damn it. If only I hadn’t collapsed……’

His self-reproach deepened for the time delayed due to the curse.

During this time, Riana might be fleeing to deeper and farther parts of the world.

He became afraid at the thought that he might never be able to find her.