Dear Contract Husband, I Didn't Know You Were Like This? - Chapter 3
‘There really is not much to life, is there.’
She once thought that the man who nearly became her husband would come to claim her head.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t afraid.
But now, this was a future wrought by a series of choices Maya had made.
Images of her swearing in as captain of the knights resurfaced.
How naive she had been back then.
She had served the wrong sovereign and by the time she realized it, it was already too late.
Standing at the last moments of her life, Maya reflected on her life.
‘It was full of regrets.’
Now, she just wanted peace.
If the Emperor died, her contract would be nullified, and the original humanity of Maya Pendragon would return.
Maya couldn’t endure that.
The thought of reliving the days she lived assimilated with the Emperor was terrifying and dreadful.
‘I want to decide my own end.’
Holding the sword she had always carried, Maya decided to end it all herself.
And she plunged the sword into herself.
The first thing she felt when the sword pierced her heart was relief.
‘It’s finally over.’
Clutching her bleeding chest, Maya exhaled shallow breaths.
She felt relieved but regret remained.
‘If I had known it would come to this….’
Then perhaps she would have chosen differently.
“…Maya Pendragon!”
A loud, panicked voice called her name.
In her fading vision, she saw an unfamiliar figure rushing toward her.
A handsome man with distinct features, perhaps more vivid than her future ever could have been.
A stranger.
‘Who is that?’
Maya frowned.
Voices calling him Grand Duke followed the man.
Then Maya realized the person before her was Tristan, the Grand Duke.
‘So this is what he looks like without his helm.’
“Maya Pendragon.”
He rushed over with a shocked expression and supported her.
It was a warm touch, unfamiliar to Maya.
The Grand Duke, who once exuded an aloof aura like the Northern mountains, furrowed his brow.
“Why… Why would you take your own life?”
“Because there’s no reason to live.”
Cough.
Maya coughed up blood and murmured.
Could he see it?
The despair she had endured, and even more despair after that.
“I just… I wanted to live for someone who believed in me.”
Why was such a simple wish so hard to fulfill?
Tristan, the Grand Duke’s grip tightened around her.
Did he understand her?
No, of course not.
Maya gasped for air and turned the conversation.
“But Grand Duke, you really are handsome…”
It had been a while since she was so honest with her thoughts, and it felt liberating.
Monster, my foot.
The man was more beautiful than anyone she had ever seen.
‘He looks younger than I thought.’
His face still carried traces of youth, unexpectedly.
He even looked like a teenager at most.
“Your crimes should have been fairly judged. Dying like this is cowardly. And…”
Tristan spoke with determination, a hint of impatience on his face.
It seemed like he had more to say.
The hands hurriedly supporting her were warm, and his eyes looking at her were firm.
In contrast to the Emperor’s murky gaze, looking into his eyes, she realized he meant what he said about not killing her out of personal vendetta.
‘…Even his personality is perfect, just like his face.’
As Maya watched Tristan, so different from the Emperor, she chewed over the past.
Had Tristan been her contractor, she wouldn’t have turned into a murderer.
“I should have met you, Grand Duke….”
Grasping her fading consciousness, Maya listened to Tristan’s voice.
“I wanted to meet you too.”
Tristan’s words surprised her.
“…Because you were the only way to break my curse.”
Even as her senses dulled, his voice was sweet.
But his words jolted her back to alertness.
‘Curse?’
The idea that the Grand Duke was under a curse was entirely new to her.
Was that the reason why he constantly wore a helm?
Yet, contrary to the wild rumors, there seemed nothing amiss with his face.
Noticing her wide-eyed stare, Tristan smiled.
“It would have been a chance for Milord to finally return to his own age….”
“He’s already getting used to losing hope.”
The bitter voices, seemingly from the Grand Duke’s men, were shrouded in shadows.
‘I’m someone who deserves to die.’
Yet, she’s hearing that she was the only way to break the Grand Duke’s ‘curse’.
Like the Emperor, he needed her, but unlike the tyrant, he respected her choices.
It was as if he understood her decision.
A hot surge seemed to rise within her.
“I hope you rest peacefully.”
Tristan’s sincere words struck her heart.
What curse?
Why stop speaking….
Ah, she wanted to hear more from Tristan, but her mind was slipping.
‘If there is a next life, please don’t let me repeat the same mistakes.’
She whispered her last will internally as her eyes slowly closed.
A deep sleep enveloped her.
