“Looking at it that way, there is no guarantee that you won’t side with Pascal either, Mr. Marcus. Just as you said, I cannot pay the commission fee right away, and it will be a long-term commission.”
“I am…….”
Marcus looked into Rayna’s straight eyes and bowed his head slightly. Rayna had not yet noticed, but his ears, slightly revealed between his hair, were faintly flushed red.
“You can trust me. Our guild values trust above all else. No matter what the situation, we place the client first and do our best to complete the commission.”
“That is something I heard from the Etam Guild as well. To be honest, I am somewhat questioning why you so readily accepted the commission after listening to Vivi.”
“That is…….”
Marcus swallowed his dry saliva.
“Vivi, who came to find me, looked so desperate that I simply could not bring myself to refuse. Though I might not look it, I have a weak spot for children. And…….”
“And?”
Marcus glanced at Rayna and smiled.
“It is nothing. At any rate, if you trust me and my guild and give us the commission, I will do my best just as I said.”
“Doing your best alone is not enough. You must make it certain.”
Marcus let out a haha laugh.
“Yes. I will complete it with certainty.”
“Very well.”
“Pardon?”
“I will place the commission.”
“……Just like that, so easily?”
At his rather foolish question, Rayna relaxed her stiffened expression and laughed out loud softly.
It was for just a fleeting moment, but Marcus’s expression turned dazed.
“Weren’t you the one who asked me to trust and leave it to you first, Mr. Marcus? So why react like that? Have you lost your confidence now that it has come to this?”
“No, it is not that. I just did not know you would trust me and make the commission this quickly.”
“To be precise, I trusted Vivi, not you, Mr. Marcus. There are very few people Vivi treats so comfortably. Also, I liked your attitude toward Vivi. Above all, I do not have many other options right now.”
Rayna shifted her posture and began to speak in earnest.
“You probably heard from Vivi, but I am currently legally unmarried, and I must marry in order to receive the inheritance. To prevent someone like me from entering a sham marriage, they said that if a divorce happens within three years, the inheritance can be invalidated.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Therefore, let us make the marriage period three years for now, and agree to divorce after that. We can add a special clause stating that if my younger brother returns before then, I will hand over the inheritance to him and then divorce.”
“Sounds good.”
“And although it is a contract marriage, it seems we will have to stay together for a while after the marriage to avoid raising suspicions from others. Is that alright?”
“That is also fine.”
The two of them exchanged detailed contract terms for a while.
Since she had already placed a commission with the Etam Guild before, Rayna spoke by organizing the necessary details clearly and concisely. Marcus accepted most of the items without modification.
Only after coordinating everything down to the commission fee and the payment timing did the conversation come to an end.
“I will draft a contract based on what we have discussed just now and return.”
“Then, please take good care of us from now on.”
“Do not worry. For the next three years, I will be a sweet husband to you, Lady Rayna, and a good stepfather to Vivi.”
Whether it was because she heard unexpected words, Rayna’s eyes widened into circles. Soon, she whispered shyly.
“Yes. I will also try to be a good wife for the three years.”
“Then I shall be on my way. I will prepare so that we can submit the marriage permission form right after drafting the contract.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Goodbye then.”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
Rayna hurriedly called out to Marcus as he was about to leave the room. She cautiously brought up a question that had not left her mind since earlier.
“By any chance, have we met somewhere before?”
The moment he heard that question, Marcus flinched. However, he quickly replied nonchalantly.
“I do not believe so. If I had seen someone like you, Lady Rayna, there is no way I wouldn’t remember.”
“I see. I must have mistaken you for someone else.”
“Goodbye again, then.”
Marcus, who was about to turn around and leave, walked back and extended his right hand to Rayna. As Rayna reflexively placed her hand on his, Marcus’s lips descended upon the back of her white hand.
“……!”
Marcus let out a soft laugh as he looked at Rayna, whose eyes had widened in surprise.
“I will contact you again soon.”
☆☆☆
Anya sister’s name was Anastasia Kerner. I thought she was simply something like Marcus’s aide, but surprisingly, she was said to be the vice guild master.
“Sister, you look young but you are amazing.”
When I showed her a thumbs up, Anya sister laughed pleasantly.
“Fortunately, I caught the Guild Master’s eye and had my skills recognized.”
“What kind of person is Uncle Marcus?”
I asked, resting my chin on both hands.
‘Seeing that the conversation between Mom and Marcus is growing long, they are probably making a contract, right?’
We have to live as father and daughter for at least a few months, or at longest a few years, so it felt like I should find out this and that about him.
Of course, although there were things I had read in the book, the evaluation of actual people around him would be different from what was simply read in print.
‘Besides, Marcus’s weight in the book was actually quite small.’
He had left quite a strong impression, enough for the readers of the novel to ache for Marcus. However, the amount of content he actually appeared in was not much.
It was because during the year Erwin, the male protagonist, turned thirteen, Marcus had left for a distant place due to a commission and failed to return.
Because of the description that even his corpse could not be found, opinions were divided among the readers.
There were readers who argued that Marcus must have died like this, and there were also people who argued he was alive, saying that not being able to find a corpse since long ago was an insinuation that he was alive.
‘For the record, I was on the side that Marcus is alive, but…….’
Regrettably, Marcus did not appear again up to the point I had read.
Of course, since the amount I read was about half, there was a possibility he appeared after that, but I couldn’t be certain.
‘Will he go missing just like in the original work? Since he helped Mom and me, I should also help Marcus avoid meeting with a mishap like the contents of the original work.’
Of course, since I couldn’t just say it directly to Marcus openly, I would have to word it artfully and well.
I tried to recall what kind of commission Marcus had received at that time, and waited for Anya sister’s answer.
Sister, who had been wearing an awkward smile since she heard my question, hesitated before replying.
“He is a good person. He is capable too.”
“And how else is he? How is he toward women?”
“Well, wouldn’t it be better to ask that directly?”
“Right. Ask directly. What are you so curious about?”
“Gasp!”
I let out a gasping sound, startled by Marcus’s voice heard from behind Anya sister.
As Anya sister moved out of the way, Marcus sat on that chair as if passing the baton.
“So, what are you curious about?”
“No, nothing…….”
“Hmm?”
“More importantly, how did the conversation with Mom go?”
“To start with the conclusion, Lady Rayna asked for the commission, and I decided to accept it.”
“Wow! What about the detailed contract conditions?”
Marcus grinned. It was a refreshing smile, but at the same time, it was a smile that also looked ominous.
“It’s a secret.”
“Pardon?”
I, who had momentarily raised my voice, lowered it after becoming conscious of the surroundings.
We were at the innermost seat of the cafe recommended by Anya sister, and whether they had cast some sort of magic, no one turned around to look at us despite my loud voice.
“Why is it a secret? You said you would tell me earlier.”
“When did I?”
“Earlier, before I left the room…….”
I realized my mistake upon looking at Marcus, who was still smiling.
‘Strictly speaking, he didn’t say the words that he would tell me.’
He had merely given me a meaningful wink. The one who arbitrarily interpreted that as meaning he would tell me in a little bit was me.
“So you are really not going to tell me?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“This contract is a contract made between me and Lady Rayna. Telling you, a third party, is a leak of confidential information. It is an action that goes against our guild’s ironclad rule, which puts trust above all else.”
“But the one who made the commission to you in the first place was me, you know?”
“However, the person who actually gives the money is the employer. Isn’t that right? I think you also said to discuss the detailed contract stories with Lady Rayna and that man named Mr. Christopher or whatever.”
“That is true, but…….”
I gathered both hands neatly and looked at Marcus as wistfully as possible. Although he flinched, he ultimately did not speak of the contract contents.
‘Well, it’s probably similar to what I proposed.’
I decided to give up on pressing Marcus.
“I understand. At any rate, it’s a relief that things seem to have been resolved well.”
“And next, it is time to receive the commission fee.”
“The commission fee?”
“There must be something you have to give me, Vivi.”
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
Aghh I loved their relationship 😂😂
