Lila stayed silent, knowing that was the best decision. She finally saw his true colors , but she saw this coming, so her expression remained calm. She knew Lacias's intentions from the very beginning.
"You've already given me all the information I wanted. You even found the rat. And gave it all to me on a silver platter." Lacias held up the information about the spy in one hand.
"I have everything I ever needed right here. I can just kick you out right this moment and you would be back to square one, square zero actually now that you have no cards up your sleeve."
Lila's face was still as calm as the wind on a shy night.
"In short, you're of no use to me now. So, why should I accept this offer?"
He was expecting her to be nervous and tense, with a look of confusion and demise on her face, but instead her expression was entirely blank. What is going on in her head? The more he thought about it the more he was interested. Little did he know that she was looking for the right line, the right moment, to shoot her bullet. Like a hunter watching its prey. She knew the stars had to align just right, and she only had one shot.
"Unfortunately, I'm not useless. I didn't take out all my cards without thinking about it."
Lacias looked at Lila with eyes that glistened with interest. He was already filled with anticipation.
"The only way to get through the path they want is to use the pass of the Marshmell family."
"..." This was not part of his predictions.
"You can buy a pass from me. Because the cost is the same."
Lacias was supposed to feel cornered, but he truly admired her final card. He had no choice but to admit this woman who knew how to use her head would be of great help to him. If he missed this opportunity and got pulled to the other side, she would quickly emerge as a threat.
"Okay. What are the terms and conditions of the contract?"
In fact, Lacias was already planning to hold onto her even if it wasn't for the contract. He wanted to keep her around him. He was ready to accept an unfair contract, as smart people were very hard to replace. He knew that it didn't happen very often, but he seemed to grow a quick liking to her. Besides What on earth would she suggest? Money? Honor? I could provide all of them without losing a spec on my hill.
Alas, Lila's answer was anything but those. Far from them actually.
"Please marry me."
"I'm ... Sorry?!"
*
"Did I hear that right? Did you just ask to marry me"
Lacias's fearful demeanor was gone and replaced with a surprised face, Lila couldn't help but laugh at his sudden change in attitude.
"You heard correctly," she said with a muffled voice, due to her hand covering her mouth
Lacias regained some of his posture, but he still had a dazzled expression, like he was still trying to piece together the reason, so Lila decided to add an explanation.
"To be precise, what I'm proposing is a contract marriage. One year would be enough."
The reason for the one-year contract was simple in her mind. Just like the original novel, Lila would send Hir to Lacias. But she would do so much earlier. In the original story Lila sends Hir to Lacias, after Lacias specifically requested her to send him. This was after a long period of neglect and abuse of course. However, Lila being in Mrs Marshmell's body now, wanted to try and remove that period of neglect by sending him to Lacias much earlier. She knew that she couldn't remove it herself as she would remain a trauma to him regardless of how she treated him in the future.
If the story still goes in order, Hir would be recognized by Lacias as his successor, he would then be afflicted with all sorts of hardships and evil intentions. So in order to stop the affliction, Lila was planning to live with Lacias for a year in order to show him that Hir is a suitable successor to the Huppert family and make sure that he leads Hir on the right path. Then she would leave quietly like she was never there in the first place. The plan seemed flawless in theory, but Lila knew that things could easily go wrong so she had to be focused at all times.
"I know you probably don't trust me yet-."
Lacias interrupted Lila with an outrageous laugh
"You never cease to interest me"
"How about if I successfully deal with the spy, the deal is established?"
"Hmm, I will think about it then."
"As for the details, let us write a contract."
It had been a long time since Lacias was intrigued by someone. He missed the feeling of thrill from a conversation so much that he lost hope in people. But Lila seemed different. Not only did she interest him with her wits, but she also humored him. The thought of keeping her around only grew stronger.
Lacias replied to Lila with a silent glare so she tried poking at him again "So you don't like the thought of getting married?"
"No. That's not the case, I actually quickly grew a Liking to you." He claimed with a warm smile. "Can't we really get married rather than doing a contract marriage?"
She couldn't deny the fact that he had a pretty smile, but she didn't respond to it assuming that it was just a joke.
"It's an honor. We will be good partners," she said nonchalantly.
YOU ARE READING
Living as the Villain's Stepmother
FantasyI became the villainess stepmother who is doomed to suffer greatly in the hands of the male lead, who will return as a tyrant due to his years of child abuse. I can't die like this. No, I was determined to survive. However... Why does avoiding a gru...
