The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living [Novel] Chapter 75

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Chapter 75

However, he decided not to get greedy.

“A beloved woman? What on earth… If this gets known, the engagement that’s perfectly intact will end up broken. Where in this world is there a woman who’d want to marry a man who turns into a monster?”

Wasn't it Brisa herself who had said those very words in the Eastern Region last time?

He forcibly suppressed his lingering hopes.

And the second topic he had intended to discuss back then was…

“I knew all along that you were constantly wishing for that annulment.”

Leopold had no idea Brisa was thinking that way.

To be completely honest, after Brisa’s mother passed away, he had assumed Brisa would be the one wanting the annulment.

After all, that engagement had been arranged entirely because of her mother, and her own wishes hadn't been factored in anywhere.

During their time at the Academy, Brisa had always spoken critically about her mother entering into a political marriage.

“Do you think my mom could’ve been happy? It was just a marriage forced upon her…”

Therefore, Leopold had thought it best to show her as much consideration as possible by annulling the engagement at an appropriate time.

When it seemed she was naturally growing closer to Harrison, he, who had been joined with her 'by force'…didn't intervene. He felt he had no right to do so.

Yet, Brisa’s voice when she spoke of the annulment had sounded far more bitter than he had anticipated.

“In more ways than one, it was an engagement where your side took all the losses.”

It seemed she herself had spent a great deal of thought on the unbalanced terms of the arrangement.

He realized he needed to speak more candidly with her about the engagement and the annulment.

However, after being thoroughly shocked by 'El's' true identity, he hadn't even been able to bring the topic up. And from the very next day, he had turned into a puppy.

He felt he couldn't ask Brisa for a chat about a past engagement when she was so busy with the contest.

However, that perspective gradually shifted as he watched Brisa.

Three weeks into the competition.

In Dalia’s field, the wheat was growing tall and fast. Having secured a tall variety of wheat seeds beforehand, it was obvious it would yield plenty of grain as well.

On top of that, a few days ago, it was said she had bought massive quantities of fertilizer to spread over her field.

Meanwhile, Brisa hadn't even sown her wheat seeds yet. She was merely meticulously sorting through the seeds.

In the fields where wheat should have been growing, only green manure soybeans were thriving. Eventually, unable to hold back any longer, Leopold knocked on Brisa’s door.

If this situation persisted, it seemed there was no need to keep suppressing his desire to talk to her.

“Leopold?” Brisa asked from inside the room, sounding slightly surprised. “What is it?”

“Brisa, are you busy?”

“I’m fine for now. Um, do you want to come in?”

Leopold stepped inside Brisa’s room.

Brisa, seemingly getting ready to go out, asked while picking out a ribbon, “What brings you here?”

Leopold let out a small sigh and sat down before speaking. “It feels a bit late, but there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

At that, Brisa’s eyes widened as she looked at him.

Just as Leopold was furrowing his brows, wondering if asking to talk was really something to be so shocked about…

Brisa asked extremely cautiously, “…Leopold, I’m sorry, but… um, is there something wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell today or something?”

“Huh? Nothing’s wrong at all.” Leopold questioned elegantly in return. “I’m feeling no different than usual.”

He had checked the mirror several times before knocking on Brisa’s door. There was no way anything was amiss.

Yet Brisa hesitated before saying, “Um… that’s where the puppy usually sits…”

Leopold gasped in sheer horror. Instead of sitting on a chair, he had sat down right on the plush cushion on the floor.

Come to think of it, this was his first time entering Brisa’s room in human form.

Since entering a girl’s room was breach of etiquette, they had always talked in places like the dining hall or the reception room.

However, in his puppy form, he had slept and eaten meals in this very room.

Because of that, he had naturally strolled over and taken a seat right where he always settled down.

“Ah.” Leopold’s mind went blank as he scrambled to his feet.

“Sit here.” Brisa hastily offered him a proper chair. “There must have been some kind of mix-up. I do that all the time, too.”

“I know very well that you don't do that at all, but thanks for brushing it off like that anyway.” Leopold expressed his sincere gratitude.

Brisa rolled her eyes and replied, “In the dynamic between you and me, I’m always the subordinate anyway, so I don't have much choice.”

At those words, Leopold lowered his voice and questioned back, “…What on earth do you mean by that?”

“If I want to see the puppy even one more time… I have no choice but to stay on the owner’s good side, right?”

“Ah.”

At the completely unexpected answer, Leopold let out a heavy sigh.

Come to think of it, Brisa still missed the puppy dearly. As proof, she hadn't even cleared away the puppy’s cushion.

“So, what is it you wanted to say?” Brisa asked, fingering the golden ribbon she had just picked out.

Leopold awkwardly cleared his throat for a moment before asking all at once, “By any chance… Brisa, you don't actually think I wanted an annulment all along because of the conditions, and then used your brother’s appearance as the perfect excuse to send the annulment papers, do you?”

To the fourteen-year-old boy, the girl’s mind was difficult to navigate.

Especially a girl like Brisa, who always maintained the exact same expression.

“If that’s what you think, there’s something I need to tell you.” Leopold continued, sensing his palms turning strangely clammy for some reason. “I just… assumed you would want the annulment. Since it was an engagement made without your consent.”

Instead of getting annoyed at him for bringing up an out-of-the-blue topic, Brisa quietly looked at him.

Staring into those light blue eyes, Leopold felt his mind calm down slightly.

While he couldn't carelessly speak about the curse of the Archduchy of Nosen, he could at least reveal that he had a secret if necessary.

If the public perception was a concern, he intended to handle the aftermath himself.

“And if anyone took a loss in that engagement, it was you, not me. It’s true I wanted an annulment, but that wasn't because you were lacking; it was because I felt like I was doing something terrible to you. Because…”

“No, Leopold.” But Brisa quietly interrupted him. “You don't need to explain everything.”

“…What?”

“You said it yourself on the way out of the Duke of Devostan’s estate, didn't you? That you had a hidden card.”

Leopold paused to recall that moment. Come to think of it, he felt like he might have said something like that.

“It worked out for the best. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in a noble marriage. If a match was forced through despite mismatched conditions, it means they have a hidden card up their sleeve.”

It was just something he had said in passing.

As if reading Leopold’s thoughts, Brisa said matter-of-factly, “I don't forget a single word you say.”

In that instant, his heart dropped with a sudden thud.

Overwhelmed by a dizzying sensation he had never experienced in his life, Leopold was momentarily flustered.

He couldn't possibly explain… what kind of feeling this even was.

It was just a plain, unembellished sentence uttered in an ordinary place with nothing special about it.

“Well, I’m sure you had your own reasons weighing on your mind. And right now, you have an expression that says you really don't want to talk about it.”

Brisa, who had just dropped a bomb on his heart, continued as if it were no big deal.

“So you don't have to say it. You…” She hesitated for a second before speaking clearly and distinctly. “You’re allowed to do that with me.”

Leopold understood what Brisa meant.

He had never once spoken about what happened with her mother on the day of their engagement party. That was because it was painfully obvious Brisa wouldn't want to talk about it.

Since it couldn't be a pleasant memory, he had truly hoped she would simply forget it.

However, it seemed Brisa hadn't forgotten a single bit of it.

“You’re allowed to keep at least one thing to yourself without being forced to tell me, too. Honestly, that’s the only way my own mind can feel at ease.”

The girl, ever precise in her calculations, spoke like that.

“Don't force yourself to talk just to show me consideration… Don't do it. Because I won't do it either. I know really well just how exhausting that is.”

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