I Ended Up Snatching a Marriage With the Male Lead! - Chapter 15

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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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I’ve gone and gotten into a flash marriage with the male lead
15

“Let’s wrap up the pleasantries and head to my study.”
With that, Kaiden smoothly ushered Emilia into the Mansion.
He intended to draw up an employment contract with her.
Herald, having spotted this absurd turn of events, found himself left with no choice but to step forward.
“Excuse me, sir?”
“What.”
But the reply that came back was dismissive, no matter who heard it.
The smile Herald had forced onto his face cracked visibly.
‘Why? Why, he says!’
Naturally, Kaiden’s schedule for the day did not involve a simple return to the Mansion.
The addition of an interim appointment—escorting this woman—had been inserted instead.
She had been his lord’s savior, a benefactor whose kindness had preserved his life, so Herald understood that much.
But this Duke seemed to have forgotten where they were even supposed to be going.
A second deviation from the agenda was utterly unacceptable.
Still, he had to preserve his lord’s dignity in front of their benefactor.
Herald communicated silently with his eyes: ‘I accepted your coming this far, did I not?’
He had served as this man’s aide for quite some time, so this sort of wordless understanding came naturally. He had that much faith in their rapport.
“Ah, right.”
Kaiden nodded as if comprehension had dawned.
Then he handed over Emilia’s luggage to Herald.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Put her in the central guest room on the third floor.”
“But I—”
Herald’s words trailed off at Kaiden’s command. Then the layout of the Mansion came back to him.
‘This man.’
He’d chosen the finest guest room in the entire estate!
After a moment of silence, Herald spoke again.
“Forgive me for reminding you, sir, but you do have an appointment waiting?”
Kaiden made a low clicking sound with his tongue, as if the memory had only just returned to him.
Herald could scarcely believe it.
“Now that you’ve remembered, shouldn’t you be on your way?”
“How long could it possibly take?”
“It won’t take terribly long, but we’re already running short on time. Every moment we stand here, more time slips away.”
At that, Emilia, who had been observing their exchange, ventured carefully into the conversation.
“If you’re pressed for time, wouldn’t it be better to go right now? The contract can wait until later.”
In truth, there was no real urgency to drawing up the contract.
“Will you wait for me?”
“Of course.”
Emilia nodded readily.
“Then we’ll handle it this evening.”
Watching Kaiden made her feel rushed herself.
“Yes, yes. I’ll be right here waiting for you to return, so don’t worry.”
So Emilia spoke in the soothing tone one might use to calm a restless child.
“I’ll be back soon.”
At her words, Kaiden’s expression grew noticeably more satisfied, which caused Emilia to tilt her head quizzically.
‘Was Kaiden always this impatient?’

* * *

With that, Kaiden and Herald departed the Mansion once more.
Once the two men had vanished, an elderly butler of dignified bearing approached Emilia from where he’d been standing at a distance.
“I am Robert, the butler.”
“Oh, I’m Emilia. Please, call me freely.”
Emilia turned to greet him.
“Yes, Miss Emilia. During your stay, I shall ensure you want for nothing.”
Robert, who had received a brief explanation from Kaiden, bowed respectfully.
In his hands was her luggage, which he’d received from Herald.
Seeing this, Emilia reached out in surprise.
“Oh! Let me carry it!”
“Absolutely not. I shall show you to your room. Please, come along.”
“Of course.”
Emilia answered somewhat awkwardly to Robert’s firm refusal, and was about to move on empty-handed when—
Ivan called to her with sparkling eyes.
“Emilia!”
“Would you like to come up with me?”
She asked with a smile, and Ivan responded eagerly.
“Yes, yes!”
And he quickly took her hand.

* * *

Upon entering the room she’d been shown to, Emilia stood transfixed, taking in her surroundings.
It was spacious, and the furnishings were each so antique and refined they might have belonged in a museum.
‘Just looking at it, this must be terribly expensive.’
As she wondered whether she truly deserved such a fine room, a voice came from behind.
“I’ll place your luggage here.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
With his task complete, he gave a slight bow and left the room.
His footsteps were remarkably quiet, befitting a man who had spent decades in service.
‘Robert, the butler…’
Emilia recalled what she knew of him from the original story.
‘If I remember right, he was the one who opposed Kaiden and Reina’s betrothal contract to the very end.’
Not that she didn’t understand why.
Having served the Valen Duchy for generations, his resistance to an illegitimate child was natural enough.
But since the household staff supposedly regarded him as a good superior, there seemed little cause for concern.
Emilia took another look around the room, then settled into an upholstered chair that appeared quite comfortable.
‘This room really is lovely.’
As she relaxed, an uneasy feeling crept over her.
‘I hope this Mansion is sturdy.’
But she immediately realized her thought was absurd.
Sturdy—and far more than that. This Mansion must be worth far beyond any measure of coin.
Unlike her own home, which had crumbled from some unexplained calamity, leaving no hope of compensation.
Even now, the memory made her wince.
‘For a house to collapse all of a sudden…’
Then, suddenly, Emilia froze.
‘Wait. Hold on.’
Hadn’t something similar happened in the original story?
A building collapsing in the Capital.
Since the main storyline hadn’t truly begun yet, she’d never thought to connect the two…
And back then, there had even been serious casualties.
‘What was the cause again?’
As Emilia traced back through the events of the original story, she abruptly rose from her seat.
‘Right! It was that, wasn’t it?!’

* * *

Baron Hariben swallowed hard as he watched the man across from him leaf through the contract.
A young Duke who had inherited his title early after his parents’ passing.
For all his neat, ascetic features, he was said to possess a rather sharp temperament.
‘Certainly…’
His expression never changed as he reviewed the contract, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Probably calculating losses and gains with ruthless precision behind that blank face.
It was just as Hariben swallowed again that—
Kaiden set the contract down on the table and spoke.
“Let’s proceed as written.”
“G-Thank you!”
Baron Hariben’s expression brightened visibly.
“Then the next matter is—”
“Yes! Please wait just a moment!”
Eagerly, he rose from his seat and hurried out.
Kaiden, who had been about to say “Let’s discuss the next item later,” swallowed instead.
He crossed his legs and withdrew his pocket watch to check the time.
‘Not even an hour has passed?’
Kaiden doubted his own eyes.
In fact, just moments ago, the Baron’s words had seemed so drawn out that the urge to terminate the contract and leave had suddenly welled up inside him.
Though he hadn’t acted on it, it spoke to how slowly time was moving.
As he waited for the Baron to return, Kaiden’s gaze drifted toward the window—
‘What was that?’
Something felt oddly familiar about the scene, and his brow furrowed.
‘I must have been mistaken.’
Yet a vague unease settled in a corner of his mind.
Kaiden nudged Herald with his elbow.
“Hmm?”
Not a secret lover exchanging covert signals, Herald gave him a bewildered look at the sudden, cryptic gesture.
So Kaiden jerked his chin toward the window and asked.
“Did you see that woman go by just now?”
“Go by?”
Herald shifted his gaze toward the window questioningly.
But there was nothing remarkable outside. Only the usual bustle of Capital street traffic.
“What woman?”
“Didn’t Emilia pass by?”
“Pardon?”
There was only one woman his lord could possibly be referring to.
‘What nonsense is he talking?’
Herald’s face crumpled like crumpled paper.
“Miss Emilia is naturally at the Mansion. You personally brought her there, using your precious time to do so.”
Kaiden nodded in agreement at Herald’s pointed reminder.
Right. He had indeed done so.
“…But then why are you so restless?”

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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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