The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

Elphisia's day began at dawn.

She opened her eyes in the ducal couple's bedroom to see Harte's white hair pressed against the pillow, his eyes closed. She longed to caress his face and hair, but it was impossible. Harte's superhuman senses would have reacted instantly to even the slightest touch.

So Elphisia had only one option. She lay still, eyes wide open, gazing at him - that was all she could do.

'You sleep so soundly...'

Watching Harte was bittersweet. She was happy to see him sleeping so peacefully, yet pained by the inability to get any closer.

Contract marriage.

An absurd name for these shackles.

Still, without this arrangement, Harte would have coldly rejected her. That was just like him, unnecessarily pious, viewing women as stones.

As a contracted wife, she couldn't approach him on her own. One careless move might have sent him fleeing beyond her reach, which would be troublesome.

So he had to choose her. Only when he liked her enough to want to seduce a wife who outwardly rebuffed him could they gradually close the distance between them.

'What if you remembered our time together?'

Would you have been embarrassed? Or perhaps unexpectedly taken a more active approach? Even as a woman who loved you, it was hard to say for certain.

While she might have lost her senses if Harte had approached her unconsciously even then, who knew about the husband before her eyes.

Still, she thought it was rather fortunate.

If your life was a calm lake, Elphisia Luminel was the stone creating ripples. She hoped you'd forget the memories of hope and pain she had caused you.

May you reclaim a life filled with happy memories.

She prayed for you every morning.

'... Surely you could forgive this much mischief as payment for my prayers.'

She closed her eyes naturally. Then, under the guise of tossing and turning, she narrowed the distance between them. With just one roll of her body, Harte's warmth enveloped her entirely.

She locked her arms around him like hugging a soft pillow, and slyly rested her thigh on his palm. The perfect sleepy act.

Flinch!

The sensation of her thigh being touched came through vividly. Surely Harte had opened his eyes and realized the situation.

Even if he tried to gently pull away, her locked arms made movement impossible.

But you weren't the type to wake your wife early in the morning just for your own convenience.

Indeed, he was desperately trying to ignore the soft thigh in his grasp. He probably didn't want to use an uncomfortable method, but had no choice.

'I must become your wife, not just your contractual partner.'

So please endure a little.

At least until the day you openly want to flirt with me.

---

---

Elphisia's morning began when sunlight filtered through the windows.

At that time, Elphisia uncannily stirred and returned to her sleeping position. Did it get cold just as darkness faded?

Lately, Elphisia seemed to unconsciously use me as a heater while sleeping.

It was very troublesome. Extremely troublesome.

Not only did she show her face at a pretty angle as if on purpose, but even her breathing was angelic and gentle.

And that wasn't all.

The soft breast touching my locked arm was bearable, but the plump, firm thigh severely tested my patience. Being an unavoidable pervert, I ended up harboring lecherous thoughts towards Elphisia.

I had to never defile Elphisia, yet since committing that sin once, her seductive figure too easily infiltrated my subconscious.

'I am... irredeemable trash.'

I was irredeemable trash, but I couldn't show it. Elphisia used our marital bedroom without complaint because she trusted me.

She had no idea that every early morning, our contact area far exceeded the limit.

I had to keep it a secret. To protect her dignity, if nothing else.

But... but...

"... Elphisia."

"Yes?"

"Was there... a banquet today or something?"

"No?"

"A parenting gathering perhaps?"

"If there was, you'd know, wouldn't you?"

"Ah... right."

If Elphisia had an event to attend, I as her husband would certainly have known. Yet why did it seem like Elphisia was trying to go to an event I didn't know about?

'Elphisia... if even your casual clothes were this sexy... I...'

I simply couldn't understand. Why did she maintain such a defenseless attitude?

'The side slit of the skirt... it's distracting...!'

It wasn't like last time when one leg was fully exposed in a straight slit. However, through diamond-shaped openings scattered along her thigh, her skin breathed in fresh air. Especially the part with a mole was so exposed that I didn't dare look directly.

"Harte."

"Oh, y-yes?"

"What are you glancing at so furtively?"

"I-I'm not peeking at anything...!"

That was right. Rather than peeking, I was averting my eyes. Well, that was technically true. Painfully true.

'Why wear such clothes when you're not even going out...'

Sometimes I wished she'd dress as sloppily as possible. I'd have liked to gift her sweatpants if I could.

'Sweatpants... they don't exist in this world, but sweatpants would have been nice.'

For instance, leggings to enhance Elphisia's charm, or dolphin shorts... what madness.

After all that thinking, this was what I came up with. I suddenly felt Elphisia sitting demurely at the center of my consciousness. No matter how I tried to steer my thoughts positively, they always ended up on Elphisia.

At times like this, it was best to take my eyes off Elphisia entirely.

Instead, the innocence of children would be the best psychological therapy.

"Papa!"

So I welcomed Tina, running from the far end of the corridor, with open arms.

"My dear daughter. Did you sleep well?"

"No, I didn't sleep well..."

"Oh no, what happened?"

This was an unexpected turn of events. Tina usually slept like a log.

"Well..."

Tina fidgeted with her fists, looking slightly shy.

"I couldn't sleep because I was worried my body might change again. What if I turned into a dragon again...?"

"What do you mean 'what if'? That would be wonderful."

"Papa...!!!"

'No, seriously...'

Right then, I desperately needed animal therapy. To suppress my vulgar lust for Elphisia, I needed peace of mind. Dragon Tina could have guided me to paradise.

But of course, involving Tina in my circumstances wasn't something a father should do.

"Ahem, Tina."

"Uu... yes."

"I think it's a natural phenomenon. Our daughter is half dragon and half human, so either form is your true body."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, you know dragons can freely change their appearance with polymorph, right?"

"Yes. The dragon changed to look exactly like me last time."

She was referring to when Tina was kidnapped by the Bloody Dragon. When cornered, the Bloody Dragon had transformed to look exactly like Tina to confuse me.

"If Tina practices polymorph properly, you won't have to worry about your body changing. Even if it does change, you'll be able to quickly revert back on your own."

"Ooh..."

Tina swallowed an exclamation, then asked me:

"Then I could change into an adult too, right?"

"Of course."

"Like mom, with a super amazing body?"

"Kuk!"

"Papa?"

I was gripped by extreme terror. Tina with Elphisia's body? Not funny at all. Such a thing must never happen.

"... Tina."

"Yes?"

"Even if it's possible, let's not change into an adult."

"Why...?"

"All fathers in this world hate spoilers..."

That was a lie. I wouldn't have minded at all being spoiled about my daughter's future appearance.

But Tina with Elphisia's body was too early, far too early.

If I had to chase away every man enticed by those alluring thighs, a lifetime wouldn't have been enough. If I had to compromise, anything but Elphisia's body would have been fine. Anything but Elphisia's body...

"Um... I understand for now, Papa."

"Good."

My conscience stung, feeling like I'd restricted Tina's freedom with my groundless fears. But since all this was because Elphisia was so alluring, she should rightfully have borne half of my guilty conscience.

... Of course, far from feeling guilty, Elphisia maintained an expressionless face.

"What about that child?"

Just then, Elphisia spoke up.

When Elphisia said 'that child', she usually meant Glen.

Elphisia and Glen. The awkward atmosphere between them persisted. However, since the vampire incident, Glen had been approaching Elphisia more affectionately.

It was a positive change that came after a long time.

Then Tina reported on Glen's whereabouts.

"Glen just left. Looks like he's going to the temple to meet Echo again today."

"Our little one is quite devoted, I see."

"Indeed. He turned out to be unexpectedly proactive."

Tina stared intently at Elphisia, who was agreeing. Elphisia averted her eyes, seemingly uncomfortable with Tina's gaze.

Of course, that didn't serve as a shield to block Tina's next remark.

"Mom, you know."

"What is it?"

"I took a history lesson recently."

Though not as much as Yulian or Glen, Tina also invested time in studying. This involved hiring a private tutor to provide her with some basic education.

Tina recited facts based on what she had learned in class.

"The country called Baskhill was destroyed, right?"

"Yes."

Elphisia answered briefly. Then Tina asked again, with a slightly more cautious air.

"Grandfather personally invaded, didn't he...?"

"That's right, father led the invasion as commander-in-chief."

"But... still... Glen was a prince there, wasn't he? Is that correct?"

If the tutor had known Glen's identity, they would have refrained from mentioning Baskhill. But due to the diligent teaching of an uninformed tutor, Tina had learned the truth.

"...... He was the last-born royal."

As Elphisia confirmed this, Tina's expression darkened.

It was obvious she was thinking about the irony of Glen becoming the disciple of the man who had destroyed his country. It seemed like a cruel joke of fate.

Therefore, Tina's next question was easy to predict.

"Um, so... why did Glen's country have to be destroyed...?"

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