I Only Left Because It Was Contract Marriage

Chapter 1

Back when I could still wear thick clothes, I used to feel a surge of emotion every time it snowed.

There were even times I thought it was quite picturesque to see the snow silently covering the ground.

Staring blankly at the falling snow, I once even indulged in the arrogant illusion that it was blanketing the world’s filth.

“Ha.”

For some reason, the current situation felt starkly different, and the contrast unsettled me.

Snow was pouring down mercilessly from the sky, but the snowflakes falling from the gray heavens turned into an unpleasant gray mess as they piled on the ground, making it damp and filthy.

Everywhere I walked, footprints were left behind. Even so, my feet were too cold to spare any attention for them.

Walking quickly in short steps was the only way to escape the biting chill.

But my legs had no strength left.

If only I could hurry to a place untouched by the snow, I might be able to warm my frozen feet and wash away the cold clinging to my chest like snowflakes.

Maybe because I hadn’t eaten anything, my body had no strength at all.

I was desperate to keep moving, but even that thought felt like it was fading away. Strangely enough, even though the cold air stabbed my lungs like needles, the sharp sensation did nothing to clear my head.

There wasn’t a single part of my body free from the chill. My hands were numb, my cheeks felt like they would shatter like glass, and my ears stung as if they were being sliced by thin sheets of ice.

There was no one in sight.

The path from the cabin on the outskirts to the village always felt this long and lonely.

Walking this road always weighed heavier on me than the freezing of my body.

‘Sella, your father is sorry.’

‘The Duke of Verdian — it’s because of him that our family ended up like this.’

‘All because of that damn ancient grudge…!’

‘Sella, you must avenge our family! Never forgive the Duke of Verdian!’

‘It’s all because of the Duke of Verdian that we ended up like this!’

Suddenly, my last conversation with my father came to mind, and a painful tightness filled my chest.

“Haa…”

I barely managed to move my feet, and each time I stepped on the snow, it made a crunching sound. I focused on that sound as I walked,

So that useless thoughts wouldn’t fill my head.

At some point, the hair I had tied up came loose, falling over my shoulders and sliding down to my chest.

Because my hair was so light-colored, it was hard to see the snowflakes clinging to it. It almost looked as if my hair and the snow had already become one.

As more time passed, the snowflakes stuck to my hair began to melt from the warmth of my breath, making my hair glisten.

The sparkling droplets looked almost like finely crushed diamonds.

For a fleeting moment, I wondered what it would be like if I could melt away with the snow, disappearing completely.

…

But to keep walking, I had no choice but to convince myself that standing still wouldn’t change anything.

My hands were completely numb. I should have lifted my skirt to keep it from getting soaked by the falling snow, but without gloves, I couldn’t hold it up for long.

All I could do was tuck my hands into my sleeves and walk as best as I could.

So, I continued to walk, step by step, dragging my frozen body forward.

Finally, when I arrived at the village, I let out a breath of relief.

I headed straight into the shop that always gave me work.

There wasn’t much I could do.

The only ways I had to make a living were by weaving lace or doing embroidery.

Knock knock.

I knocked on the door, then walked in right away.

The door opened with a cheerful jingle, and as soon as Madam Labeis, the owner of the dress shop, saw me, she greeted me with a warm smile.

“Welcome! I was just about to send someone to fetch you — I’m so glad you came.”

“Hello.”

As she spoke, I saw another attendant nearby preparing some tea.

“It’s about the lace you delivered to Mason’s Dress Shop the other day. We’d like to…”

Madam Labeis was speaking when—

“It’s been a while.”

The man who had ruined my life came into view.

“Oh my, isn’t this Lady Celia Zartova?”

And standing by his side was a familiar young lady.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been scraping by, begging for work in places like this just to survive?”

The man was none other than the Duke of Verdian, the one who had brought ruin to my family.

“How pitiful you look,” he said, raising one corner of his mouth in a crooked smirk.

“There must be no life more miserable than yours right now.”

It was blatant mockery.

The first time I saw him, I was nine years old.

Back then, I had no idea who Diego Verdian was.

At the time, I was just a foolish little girl sulking after a minor argument with my father, wandering alone through the woods.

The place I ended up was a graveyard. It was the year that marked exactly one year since my mother had passed away.

As a child, it was even harder for me to accept the parting that death brought.

Everywhere in the mansion, traces of my mother remained — the embroidery with her initials on my clothes, the habit of naming things we picked out together…

It felt as If her presence lingered everywhere, making it unbearable to accept that she was truly gone, that no matter how much I missed her, I would never see her again.

“How long are you going to cling to your mother’s shadow!”

My father, shouting those words, had tried to take away all the belongings that reminded me of her.

And so, almost by instinct, I had found myself once again at her grave.

“Ah…!”

Nearby was a small pond, built as part of the graveyard’s landscaping. It was a privately maintained cemetery, tended by caretakers.

In the pond swam koi fish — not the most expensive kind, but by no means cheap either.

“Oh no…!”

I could only watch as the ring — my mother’s keepsake, far too large for my small fingers — slipped off, rolled across the ground, and with a soft plop, fell into the pond.

At nine years old, I wasn’t very tall. And the pond wasn’t shallow either.

But at that moment, I had no ability to think rationally.

With tears streaming down my face, I dove straight into the pond.

“Ah!”

I hadn’t realized just how deep the pond was.

I was immediately overwhelmed by the terrifying sensation of the ground vanishing beneath me.

From the surface, it hadn’t seemed that deep — perhaps because of the trees lining the pond that always cast shadows across it.

I kept sinking into the depths, desperately struggling to stay afloat, trying to survive.

But no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t swim properly in my heavy dress.

Eventually, I lost consciousness.

When I came to, a boy was staring down at me, his clothes soaking wet.

“Are you crazy? Are you trying to die or something?”

But the first thing that crossed my mind wasn’t that I had almost died.

“Ah…! The ring…!”

“What?”

“Th-the ring my mother gave me…”

I thought I needed to dive back into the water, but fear paralyzed me.

My body was trembling uncontrollably, and every breath I took burned my nose.

I couldn’t tell whether it was tears blurring my vision or if it was the pond water stinging my eyes — everything kept shifting between cloudy and clear, making me feel even more disoriented.

“The ring fell into the pond?”

“…Yes.”

“Do you have any idea how deep that water is? If you don’t want to die, give it up.”

In that moment, it felt like I couldn’t breathe.

Tears filled my vision, choking my throat and making it hard even to draw breath.

“It… it’s my mother’s keepsake…”

He didn’t listen to my desperate words.

Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be a young noble himself.

“You’ve swallowed a lot of water. Forget about the ring — you need a doctor.”

“…Ah.”

He let out a sigh and lifted me onto his back.

Without hesitation, he carried my weakened body down the hill where the graveyard lay.

At the bottom, there was a crowd gathered — among them, I spotted my father, desperately searching for me.

“The young lord of Verdian?”

“…Count Zartova.”

It seemed the two recognized each other at once.

“What have you done to my daughter?! Is this your way of exacting revenge?!”

“Ah…”

“Celia, come here!”

My father quickly pulled me from the boy’s back and shielded me behind him.

“Hah.”

The young lord of Verdian — Diego — looked at me with an emotion I couldn’t quite understand.

And after that day…

Although I had given up hope of ever retrieving the ring.

“Young lady, someone has sent you a letter.”

Exactly one week after that encounter, I received a small envelope containing my mother’s keepsake.

That was my first meeting with him.

Of course, I wouldn’t find out until much later that the boy was Diego Verdian.

“If you ever need help, come to the estate. I have no intention of taking revenge on you.”

He said that before turning away.

As Diego turned away, the young lady who had been standing close to him looked at me.

Her large, cat-like eyes scanned me from head to toe, and then she let out a soft, mocking laugh.

“Ah, how pitiful. Who would have thought Count Zartova would just die like that?”

“….”

“If Count Zartova could see Lady Celia like this, he would surely be devastated.”

Lady Argaris said this while stealing a glance toward where Diego had already exited.

Then, approaching me, she lowered the hand that had been covering her mouth.

It was impossible to ignore the wide smile that spread across her face.

“Serves you right. You acted all high and mighty just because you had your father to rely on — and look at you now.”

She let out a snicker.

Though her voice was filled with contempt, sharp and malicious like a needlepoint,

“Let’s just get going.”

Perhaps I had already grown calloused enough that her words didn’t hurt.

Among all the things I had heard when my family fell, this was hardly the worst.

Maybe that’s why Lady Argaris’ hostility and barbed remarks barely grazed me.

“Still pretending to be dignified. How disgusting.”

She said, and turned her back to me.

“Ah, but if you come and apologize…”

She pulled off the shabbiest ring from her finger and dangled it mockingly.

“Maybe I’ll give you this.”

“….”

“Don’t want it?”

Her voice was laced with amusement.

“Well, even if you refuse now, you might change your mind later. If you do, come visit our estate anytime.”

With that, she cast one last disdainful look over me, turned, and walked out.

Jingle, jingle!

Once the two of them had completely left, the little bell on the door fell silent.

Madame Labeis’ boutique became as quiet as if a mouse had died.