The Stand-In Villainess's Contract Marriage: I Was Divorced After a Year, But For Some Reason, My Ex-Husband Seems to Be Looking for Me - Chapter 13

“Who is it from?”

“It’s from the head of the Kirina Duke family, Lord Kararize.”

Liana was surprised and widened her eyes.

She never expected a marriage proposal from a duke’s family to come her way, especially as someone rumored to be a wicked woman.

It would be one thing if an older duke wanted her as a second wife, but Lord Kararize, the head of the Kirina Duke family, had just inherited his title and was likely not much older than Najé.

“Why…”

There was no way she could feel happy about such an inappropriate proposal.

As Liana remained cautious, Najé explained calmly.

“Lord Kararize was acquainted with Count Tweed. It seems that during his lifetime, he even proposed a marriage with ‘Lana.’”

Liana was aware that Count Tweed had been searching for a marriage partner for her sister.

However, she never thought that he would reach out to the duke’s family as well. He must have truly cared for her sister as if she were his own daughter.

If he knew her sister was being referred to as his mistress and was looked down upon, he would have surely corrected the rumors right away and restored her sister’s honor.

No one had informed Count Tweed of such rumors.

Now, Liana thought that her sister should have made a proper appeal.

“Outwardly, it seems he intends to claim that he accepted the marriage proposal to repay the debt to Count Tweed for his kindness during his lifetime.”

Unaware of Liana’s regret, Najé continued speaking.

“Outwardly?”

“Yes. He has no intention of marrying. However, as the head of a duke’s family, he needed to take a wife. Therefore, it seems he was searching for someone who met his conditions.”

Liana sensed that it seemed like a contractual marriage and felt slightly relieved.

Otherwise, there would be no way for the young head of a duke’s family to propose marriage to someone like her, who was rumored to be a wicked woman.

“What are those conditions?”

Liana asked calmly, and Najé appeared a bit surprised. But he collected himself and began to read from the documents he had.

“Immediately after the engagement, the marriage must take place. A wedding ceremony and a reception party are not necessary. The contract period is one year. After that, a prompt divorce is to be granted.”

Furthermore, Liana would need to live in the Kirina Duke residence during the marriage, but she would not have any contact with Lord Kararize.

She would not have to escort him to evening parties or gatherings either.

However, she was free to attend alone. It seems they wanted her to continue her extravagant lifestyle as before.

(They want to claim that I was reluctantly taken as a wife due to the wish of Count Tweed, but that I am indeed a wicked woman and that I was divorced in a year.)

It seems they didn’t want to even see each other while living in the same residence after getting married. Moreover, they intended to divorce in just one year.

Even if her counterpart was rumored to be a wicked woman, it was quite a selfish offer.

Indeed, Najé was making a bitter face while explaining.

“Though you would become the Duchess of Kirina and could live lavishly, that period would only last for a year. If you were divorced for such reasons by a duke’s family, you would never be able to enter society again.”

He was explaining, but it seemed he did not intend to force Liana into this marriage.

Rather, it seemed he wanted to suggest that she not have high expectations and instead marry a normal partner.

There was no doubt he disliked Liana, but it seemed he did not intend to throw her to just any man as a bride.

However, if he was asking for such selfish conditions from a marriage partner, there would surely be some form of compensation.

Moreover, the Kirina Duke family was quite wealthy.

“What’s the compensation?”

When Liana asked this, Najé wore a look of disbelief, yet handed her a sheet of paper.

“If the marriage is established, it seems this amount will be paid immediately.”

Liana gasped at the amount, which exceeded her expectations.

(This much?)

The amount listed was substantial enough to affect the life of a single woman, and Liana knew it would have a significant impact.

(With this, I can buy my sister’s medicine…)

Not only that, she might even be able to pay off the remaining debts and leave some funds for her sister’s new life.

If it could save her sister’s life, Liana didn’t care what happened to her future.

In fact, she had thought that if her sister got married, she would enter a convent and spend her days taking care of children.

As Liana stared intently at the document, she looked up and met Najé’s gaze.

“I will accept this proposal.”

She stated firmly.

Since the day their parents passed away, her sister had always protected Liana.

So now it was Liana’s turn to protect her sister and the Karota family.

For that reason, Liana had been thinking that she would be fine with being treated as a mistress, making a contractual marriage a favorable condition.

However, her answer seemed to catch him off guard. Najé looked at Liana with surprise.

“Are you really going to accept such a marriage, even with a duke’s family, under these conditions?”

“Yes. It’s convenient for me as well. I would be happy if we could move forward with this soon.”

It had already been about fifteen days since her sister began taking the medicine.

At first, Liana was anxious about whether it would be effective, but recently it seemed her sister’s health was gradually improving.

Her sister’s appetite had increased, and the days spent bedridden had decreased.

The effectiveness of the medicine was indeed good news for Liana.

It seemed her sister was also experiencing the effects of the medicine, as she was taking it diligently without Liana needing to remind her.

If they continued the treatment like this, her sister would surely recover.

Therefore, Liana had to prepare the cost of a year’s worth of medicine by all means before the fifteen days were up.