I Bought the Villains With Money - Chapter 36

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 36.
Diana watched Karman lift his gaze, but she couldn’t begin to guess what he was thinking.
She stared intently into his eyes, yet they held no emotion at all—like gazing into an inorganic golden jewel.
Karman sipped his tea unhurriedly, then turned his head slightly to gaze out the window.
Diana fell into thought.
‘I knew he wasn’t a simple man, but he saw through the act? And yet he just let us leave? Why?’
From the banquet until now, she couldn’t fathom Karman’s true thoughts.
What had Karman been like before?
To Diana, Karman had been someone who sat in the Office, reviewing documents.
He occasionally ate and drank tea, but he’d never spoken in a way that muddled people’s minds.
He had mostly listened, and back then she’d had no opportunity for direct conversation with him.
In this life, Karman had become Diana’s object of study. But today was not the time to embrace her research subject and lock herself away in the Research Room.
“I apologize for attempting to deceive Your Majesty.”
At Diana’s apology, Karman turned his head and looked at both of them.
“It had better not be for a trivial reason.”
Karman set down his teacup. He reclined into his chair and fixed his gaze upon Diana.
His sharp look carried a warning that it would tolerate no deception whatsoever.
“Of course, Your Majesty. But first, there is something I wished to confirm.”
“Speak, Lady Diana.”
“You haven’t forgotten your promise to give Prince Cassion whatever he wishes as a birthday gift?”
Karman let out a soft laugh.
“It seems the lady doesn’t quite understand the weight carried by a king’s words. The late Duke Irenber praised you as extraordinarily perceptive—his tongue fairly ached from it.”
Diana flinched. She hadn’t expected Karman to mention her father, nor had she known that the Duke spoke of her.
“I’m not reproaching you, so don’t be nervous. It was merely an observation that you seemed a bit childish just now.”
Diana couldn’t help but wonder why Chona, Rumdracks, and now even Karman all seemed so intent on remarking that she was childish.
“Let me speak, Diana.”
Cassion had interpreted Diana’s shock at hearing about her father as cause for concern. So he spoke up in her stead.
Karman’s gaze shifted to Cassion.
“Quite right. You came here today to receive your birthday gift, after all. It should be you who speaks.”
At Karman’s suddenly brightened tone, Cassion swallowed hard. He too found it impossible to read his father’s mood.
“Before that—”
As Cassion opened his mouth, Karman raised a hand to stop him.
“I’ll need to hear how you two met first. There’s no record of Diana Viola Irenber in the visitor logs for the Third Prince’s Palace.”
Diana’s breath caught.
She would have to tell Karman that she’d been slipping in and out of the Royal Palace, but her lips wouldn’t obey.
This was different from being caught sneaking about by Julia.
‘Julia had her own secrets, so she didn’t push me hard. But this king is different.’
If he learned there was a gap in the palace’s security, he’d have to report it first. Yet she’d used that very gap to move freely through the palace.
She could be mistaken for a spy and thrown into prison.
‘Even if they cleared me after an investigation, with nothing found,’
rumors of her being investigated would deal a fatal blow to her reputation.
Diana’s lips worked at themselves anxiously. Karman watched every flicker of expression on her face, then waved a hand dismissively.
“Well, that’s not terribly important—we can discuss it later. As I said, today is about giving Cassion his gift. Speak, then, Cassion.”
Diana lifted her head, which she’d bowed.
Was he going to let it pass just like that?
Would he press her again on how she’d been coming and going?
Diana had considered various scenarios and prepared her answers, but Karman asked nothing further.
His gaze remained fixed on Cassion without wavering.
Under Karman’s stare, Cassion’s shoulders drew up. The Karman he’d seen at the Banquet Hall seemed quite different from the one before him now.
At the Banquet Hall, Karman had seemed almost gentle.
Had it all been an act?
Cassion felt foolish for having poured out his resentment over a single kind word.
At the same time, worry gnawed at him. What if he couldn’t obtain permission to marry?
‘I’d be fine, but what about Diana?’
Cassion looked at Diana.
Ever since the mention of the late Duke Irenber, Diana had stood motionless, her gaze fixed on some distant point in the void.
‘She must be hurting at the mention of her father, who passed away so suddenly.’
Cassion reached out and took Diana’s hand where it rested on her thigh.
‘This time, it’s my turn.’
He’d only ever received from Diana; now, he thought, it was his turn to step forward.
Diana turned to Cassion in surprise, but he had already turned his gaze back to Karman.
“Your Majesty, the gift I wish to receive from you is your permission for me to marry Diana.”
“Cough.”
Karman, who had been sipping tea while waiting for an answer, lost his composure entirely. At his eleven-year-old son’s audacious words, he sputtered the tea across his lips.
Kalei approached and offered him a handkerchief. Karman wiped his mouth and waved his hand—a dismissal.
The office fell silent.
The fleeting human expressions that had crossed Karman’s face dissolved away, replaced once more by that familiar mask of stone.
He exhaled a long, measured sigh and spoke.
“Cassion, how old are you this year?”
“Eleven, Your Majesty. Diana is thirteen.”
“Yes, you know. So why do you wish to marry, knowing that?”
Karman was about to refuse outright, but instead he asked a question.
He had made a promise to Cassion, and besides, he decided he ought to hear the boy’s reasons first.
“Because I love her.”
“Cough.”
Another cough burst from him. At Cassion’s shameless answer, even Diana was taken aback.
This was not the answer Diana had wanted. She had planned to persuade Karman with logic.
“Cassion, you’re far too young to speak of love.”
Karman, having barely composed himself, spoke in halting phrases. The mask of stone that had covered his face was already discarded.
He made no effort to hide his bewilderment and astonishment.
“Is it because I’m young that you’ve neglected me?”
“What did you just say?”
“Is it that you told me not to aspire to climb until I could stand on my own two feet?”
With each word Cassion spoke, Karman’s face darkened to a deeper shade.
“Cassion.”
Karman called his name with grave authority—a warning not to cross the line.
Diana turned Cassion’s hand over, which he had been holding.
She slipped her fingers between his and squeezed firmly.
‘Stop, Your Highness.’
If only she could use Telepathy.
‘Wait—now that I think about it, just before my regression, Cassion sent me a Message. Why am I only remembering that now?’
Why hadn’t she thought of this sooner?
Message Sending was a skill only the most accomplished mages could use.
‘I need to find out how Cassion learned to use magical Message Sending.’
For now, though, avoiding Karman’s anger was the priority.
“I did not mean to resent you, Your Majesty.”
Cassion spoke with deliberate precision. Karman fell silent, gesturing for him to continue.
“I only meant that because I was lonely, I wished to have you fill that emptiness.”
“How foolish. Loneliness cannot be filled by another person.”
“Then what can fill it?”
The father and son’s exchange was growing heated. Though their voices remained measured, Diana felt it keenly.
“Power. Authority. Wealth.”
Karman listed them off, folding down his fingers one by one.
“Because people change so easily.”
And he added the reason.
Cassion was left without words. He had said he would marry to gain a person, but he was being told that was unnecessary.
“Then you must marry me instead.”
Diana interjected into the conversation between the two. Karman tilted his head in puzzlement.
“You understand the power of Irenber House, do you not? Having Irenber House as Your Highness’s wings would mean strength, not a shackle.”
Diana suddenly grasped anew the full weight of power her house wielded, and found herself grateful to her ancestors.
Diana met Karman’s gaze directly. Karman’s eyes narrowed.
As he weighed the authority and wealth of Irenber House, Karman admitted to himself that Diana was right.
“You speak the truth.”
The tension that had been drawn taut snapped in an instant.
“Are you granting your permission for the marriage?”
Cassion asked, his voice trembling.
Karman, who had been caught off guard by Cassion’s bombshell declaration, quickly composed himself.
He became once more the king at ease, studying the faces of Diana and Cassion.
“The Lady Diana is remarkably self-assured.”
Karman knew that if he did not grant permission for the marriage, Diana would need to appoint a Guardian.
If that were the case, Diana’s promise to become Cassion’s wings until he reached adulthood would be nothing but empty words.
It was true that Karman needed Irenber House, but what he wanted was a patriarch of Irenber who could fully control the family and aid his reign—not a child like Diana.
Having made his judgment, Karman spoke.
“If you have nothing more to say, then rise, Lady Diana. And Cassion, you are to think of a different gift.”
The word “Dismissal Order” jolted Diana’s mind awake.
“Your Majesty, please hear me out further.”
Karman’s brow furrowed. Diana’s bold attitude was still within the bounds of what could be overlooked given the late Irenber’s friendship with Karman.
But now that she had defied his Dismissal Order and insisted on remaining, if she did not speak words that would benefit Karman, there would be no second chance.
“Speak.”
Karman glanced at a clock, then grudgingly granted her leave.
“The wealth of Irenber House is vast, Your Majesty. For me to marry Cassion means that Irenber’s vast fortune would move with us.”
Diana chose her words as carefully as possible.
But Karman pressed deeper into what she said.
“Did you not say you would give Cassion wings? Why do you think Cassion’s wings would benefit the crown?”
The answer came to mind at once, but she could not speak it aloud.
Karman had uttered not a single word about designating an heir. It was his will not to relinquish the throne.
‘To speak of Cassion as the next king before the king himself would be no different than declaring treason.’
“The question seems difficult for you, Lady Diana. Let me rephrase it. How would Cassion’s wings benefit me?”
The Villains Were Bought With Money (Serialized)
Author | Lee In-hye
Publisher | Kim Ju-hyung
Published by | J Plus Media Co., Ltd. – Tiramisu
Marketing | Han Jae-hyuk
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ⓒ Lee In-hye 2021
※ This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder,
and no part of its contents may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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