The Villainess Has Proposed a Contract Marriage - Chapter 100

100 – She Proposed a Contract Marriage (Complete)

The study of the Lumineel Duchy, shrouded in twilight.

Elpisia Lumineel was sitting at her desk, frowning. Harte was reminded of her past, when she was only a memory, and felt a pang of sadness.

The difference from before was that she now wore cute glasses with rounded frames. The curved temples of the glasses gave her an intellectual impression.

“I’m back.”

“It took a long time.”

“There was a situation.”

After a moment, Elpisia, who had been sitting upright like a compass, pushed her chair back and put down her pen. Then, she offered Harte a seat.

“Sit down.”

In front of the desk, a sofa and a simple tea table were arranged in parallel lines. Harte had chosen a random sofa to sit on, but Elpisia unexpectedly took the seat right next to him.

Although she knew that facing each other was the norm when talking to someone…

“Um… Elpisia?”

“Don’t be shy and speak up.”

“… No, nothing.”

“There’s no need to be coy.”

Elpisia chuckled and muttered to herself, as if reminiscing about the past.

“It feels like we’ve returned to that time…”

“That time, you mean.”

“Yes, that time.”

“That time when you would scold me, breathing down my neck, and I couldn’t even catch my breath.”

At that moment, Elpisia’s hair stood on end. It was an optical illusion created by her trembling body.

“W-what nonsense…! You’re the one who kept repeating foolish things and got frustrated, aren’t you?!”

“That’s right, just like now.”

“You…!”

Elpisia moved her lips, but her voice didn’t come out, as if her vocal cords were blocked. It seemed like she was thinking of counterarguments in her head.

“This fool…”

But Elpisia’s words stopped there. Her face was, of course, flushed red.

“I miss those times, Elpisia.”

“Huh, why me?”

“I’ve known you for quite a long time, so just hearing your voice is enough.”

“…”

Suddenly, an interesting idea popped into Harlte’s head. After reviewing it internally, he thought Elpisia would quite like the idea. So, Harlte recalled his usual sly expression and the image of himself staying in the temple.

“Are you upset? Don’t get angry, Elpisia.”

“What, what…?”

“I was wrong. I won’t tease you anymore.”

“What, suddenly… what a stupid thing to do…”

Elpisia couldn’t even finish her sentence, it was so ridiculous. For a moment, she genuinely thought Harlte had gone crazy.

She needed to snap him out of it immediately.

She had to…

“… Ugh.”

It felt like a switch had been flipped, and something had been turned on.

Harlte’s eyes, like a wet puppy’s, were hard to shake off, even after a long time. Elpisia clearly realized that she was nostalgic for the past that had disappeared.

It was only natural, given that she had lived with the memories of her past before her regression, which was almost 10 years ago. The reality where the Harlte she knew didn’t exist was too lonely.

It was the same when she met Harlte, who had become the director of the orphanage.

The density of the time they spent together had been reset, and she had to build new relationships while holding onto her memories alone.

It was clear, but… stimulating her old nostalgia like this…

“Damn it…”

She couldn’t help but bite her upper lip and avert her gaze. It seemed like she was getting more and more entangled in this ridiculous situation.

“Don’t look away and look at me, Elpisia.”

“Stop it!”

“Really? Seriously?”

“The Harlte I knew would listen well if I said something, right?!”

“I’ll always listen to what Elpisia says.”

“Ugh…!”

Harlte’s big, round eyes sparkled. The title of “great actor” wasn’t excessive. At least, Elpisia could assert that.

“If you’re like that, then I have my own thoughts too…!”

“Yes?”

Elpisia grabbed Harlte’s ears with both hands. Immediately, her strength forced Harlte’s face onto her thigh.

Plop, and in that moment, Harlte’s head felt Elpisia’s touch.

Harlte’s hair stood on end.

“You, do you like this? This… knight theme is so perverted…!!!”

“Who said they were perverted?!”

“It’s ridiculous that the concept is falling apart…!!!”

Elpisia scolded Harlte while still holding him in place. As she looked at her husband, who was now sitting on her lap, she was about to smile.

“You’re good at talking, but you don’t back it up with action, Harlte.”

As the only daughter of the Lumaniel Duchy, her training level was high. However, compared to Harlte, who was unprecedented throughout history, it was pitiful.

If Harlte had genuinely maintained his gentlemanly demeanor, he would have been left in the dust.

In other words, Harlte had succumbed to his desires. His body had finally acknowledged it honestly.

“Really? You like that? You’re like a perverted bishop who’s been touching my thigh since our first meeting.”

“Khuh…”

Harte stood at a critical crossroads. If he said he liked it, it would be like admitting his weakness to lust, and if he said he didn’t, it would hurt her feelings.

… No, even that was just an excuse.

“I can’t just push her away… it’s impossible…!!!”

After acknowledging his true feelings, Harte suddenly remembered.

They weren’t lovers, but a married couple.

He didn’t need to get worked up over a small gesture like a knee pillow…!

“… I like it.”

“What, what?”

“I want to do it every day.”

“…”

This time, it was Elpisia’s turn to be stunned. She grabbed her own ear with the hand that was holding onto Harte, as if she couldn’t believe what she had heard. Her conclusion was that it was not a dream.

“Is this a dream…”

“This is reality, Elpisia.”

“There’s no way the real Harte would say something so lewd…”

“But Harte, who’s not a bishop, can do it.”

Harte thought that he had been living a more honest life than in the past.

He always had a question.

What was his past life? What was the truth behind the memories that had returned?

The pope guided him to a place where he could find the answer.

It was a sacred hall where saints or holy women received baptism when they inherited the life of the Holy Grail.

As soon as Harte stepped into the hall, the pope nodded.

[Yes… Harte was once a vessel for the Holy Grail.]

[What are you saying, Your Holiness?]

[This is a sacred place where only the representative of the Holy Grail and its candidates can enter. But Harte just naturally stepped inside.]

[That’s…]

Harte instinctively recalled the erased history. The moment when the High Priest’s overwhelming power nullified the divine authority.

At that time, the only thought in his mind was to save Elpisia. So he prayed. He asked to bring her world, which transcended the material world, to this place.

At the same time, a rainbow-colored light repelled the High Priest’s power, coloring the dawn with a hue similar to the pope’s divine authority.

Thus, Harte temporarily became the avatar of the Holy Grail.

[See you later, Harte.]

[Your Holiness?! What am I supposed to do here?!]

The pope didn’t even listen to Harte’s question and closed the door of the sacred hall.

A quiet, pure white space.

There, Harte heard the voice of God.

The beautiful, sorrowful voice that tested him at the end of his tragic fate.

Thanks to that, he realized the whole truth.

The Holy Grail had lowered its divine authority as a price for turning back time. It was supposed to bear the cost of extinction, but it avoided the crisis by leaving memories with the leader of the opposing tribe.

And during the reconstruction of the world, Harte’s soul, which had lost its physical body, had no choice but to settle in another world.

In that world, it was God’s will that observed the present life as a past life.

Therefore, the death of the past life was inevitable. When the world was completely rebuilt, Hart’s soul had to find its place.

This was the truth Hart had come to realize.

‘Are you satisfied? My God…’

How would you see the conclusion of this fate that I had spun? I couldn’t help but wonder, but it was impossible to get an answer.

So, Hart came to a single conclusion.

If I lived the present life faithfully and received God’s blessings, I would surely repay it.

As a recipient of that mercy.

As a lucky person who had the opportunity to make precious people happy.

I would express my gratitude.

“… I’m surrounded by excessive happiness.”

“Is that really okay…?”

“No, it’s not that…! Ahem.”

Hart got up. If he stayed like this, surrounded by Elpisia’s body temperature and scent, his thoughts would go astray.

“I just… felt like I’ve been running busily until now.”

“That’s probably true.”

It might be an illusion born from emotional excitement. Life is like a race towards the finish line for everyone.

It would be strange to look back and get caught up in emotions now.

So, Elpisia decided to move forward, taking a step ahead.

“Let’s make a promise, Hart.”

“A promise?”

“Yes, a promise.”

Then, Hart smiled slyly and asked.

“How many clauses?”

“Three.”

“Just like when we first met at the orphanage.”

They burst out laughing at the sudden joke.

It had been a while since they had a conversation like this, gazing at each other. Especially for Elpisia, who had endured Hart’s absence.

Finally, she opened her mouth.

“First, we’ll fulfill our duties as a married couple.”

“Just like before.”

Elpisia ignored Hart’s teasing and continued.

“Second, more than anyone…”

…

……

As the silence grew longer, Hart called out to her.

“Elpisia?”

Only then did she utter a voice, her lips trembling.

“…… more than anyone… I’ll love you.”

“Elp…”

“My words aren’t over yet.”

“Ah, um, got it.”

Elpisia, with a flushed face, was about to add something, but he cut her off sharply.

The atmosphere became solemn again, and she proposed the last condition.

“Third.”

There was another silence.

For about 10 seconds.

Elpisia, with a face that seemed about to burst, spoke.

“…… You’re the only woman in my life. This life, the next, and forever.”

It was a condition without any room for joking.

Harte immediately hugged her tightly, as if handling a precious treasure.

He replied to his eternal, first, and last love.

“I’ll swear on my name.”

He would become a man who could rely on her for life and support her.

He would share a life without regrets.

Today, tomorrow, and forever.

They would each leave their mark on each other’s lives, cherishing even the mundane routines that would etch wrinkles on their faces.

I will love you forever.

The villainess has entered into a contract marriage (Complete)