I Ended Up Snatching a Marriage With the Male Lead! - Chapter 46

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

I’ve ended up in a flash marriage with the male lead
Episode 46

* * *

Meanwhile, at that same moment.
Iban stared down at the books and papers spread across the desk, his expression somewhat dejected.
He’d already finished the homework Emilia had given him long ago.
‘I’m done already. Now what?’
Iban swung his legs as he pondered this.
Climbing down from the chair and fiddling with toys didn’t help either.
The hours without Emilia seemed to crawl by at a glacial pace.
‘I’m running out of time to spend with Emilia now…….’
Iban remembered well what Duke Valen had told him before coming to this Mansion.
That in a few months, he would have to go to the Hiprei Kingdom.
The thought sobered him for a moment, but he quickly rallied himself.
And with determined steps, he left the room and headed for the Study.
But the Study already had a visitor.
“Oh? Iban?”
“Herald!”
Iban’s face brightened as he hurried over to Herald.
“What brings you to the Study?”
“I’m, I’m bored!”
“Ah, so you’re bored.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Herald looked down at Iban with eyes that held a hint of envy.
Today his supervisor had given him an unusual amount of work.
As a result, he’d left the Mansion at the crack of dawn.
And that wasn’t all—he had another outing scheduled soon, leaving him no time to catch his breath.
Then suddenly, a thought struck him.
“Ah!”
At his exclamation, Iban blinked.
Herald’s face, which had been weary just moments before, now brightened considerably.
Soon he spoke in an exaggerated tone.
“No way! Bored, you say? What a terrible predicament! How about we play something fun together?”
“……?”
Iban was bewildered for only a moment before his face filled with anticipation, and he nodded eagerly.
“Yes, yes!”

* * *

“Do I do it like this?”
Iban, sitting in a Study chair whose seat his feet barely reached, looked at Herald and asked.
“Excellent! Yes, Iban. You’re doing wonderfully! Isn’t it fun?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Iban nodded, diligently sorting the documents on either side as Herald had instructed.
To be honest, it didn’t seem particularly entertaining, but the time did seem to pass a bit more quickly than before.
Herald watched Iban for a moment, then let out a small cough.
He did have some conscience, and watching those tiny hands labor made him feel a twinge of guilt.
“When you become accustomed to seeing letters like this, your Imperial Language will improve even more.”
“Really?”
“Of course, ha.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Iban began examining the documents with renewed enthusiasm.
“Come to think of it, you really do speak well now.”
Herald, who had foisted his work onto a child, murmured while resting his chin on his hand.
“When you first spoke to me, you said you wanted to learn the Imperial Language, I believe.”
“That’s right!”
Iban answered vigorously at those words, his small hands moving busily.
Shortly after, the not-particularly-enjoyable game came to an end.
Herald checked the time, then let out a long sigh and rose from his seat.
“Iban, I have some business to attend to now, so I’ll need to take my leave. Will you stay here?”
“Yes! I’ll read books and wait for Emilia!”
Left alone in the Study, Iban soon found himself lost in thought.
The truth was, he’d wanted to learn the Imperial Language for one reason alone: Emilia.
Before meeting her, the thought had never even crossed his mind.

Iban had few memories with his mother.
She’d always lain helplessly in bed.
What if his mother didn’t wake up tomorrow? The thought haunted him.
Whenever such thoughts came, Iban would approach his mother’s side and take her pale hand.
Then a faint smile would cross her ashen face.
“[Our Iban holds my hand, and it doesn’t hurt at all.]”
“[Really?]”
That alone made Iban happy beyond measure.
So every day without fail, he held his mother’s hand.
That small gesture was the beginning and the end of each day.
Then one day.
“[Mother?]”
He took his mother’s hand as he always did, but there was no response.
And her hand was colder than usual.
The faint smile that always came didn’t appear.
“[Nursemaid! Mother, Mother…….]”
Iban ran to the nursemaid.
And when the nursemaid saw his mother’s condition, she collapsed where she stood and wept bitterly.
“[Nursemaid, don’t cry, don’t cry.]”
Iban grabbed the nursemaid’s sleeve with trembling hands.
But the nursemaid brushed him away roughly and wailed with abandon.
“[This is all because of you, Iban! If only you hadn’t existed!]”
Resentful words poured forth without end.
He didn’t understand everything the nursemaid said, but one thing became clear.
He would never again see his mother smile at him.
After that, Iban was left alone with the nursemaid.
She, who had never approved of him even when his mother lived, now provided only the bare minimum and neglected him.
Then came one occasion when she flew into a rage.
It was when he took an interest in the Imperial Language.
Having watched children playing outside and returned home, Iban tried mimicking their words.
And that day, he received a sharp slap across the cheek from the nursemaid.
“[Iban! Didn’t I tell you not to associate with Imperial people!]”
“[I’m, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.]”
That night, Iban fell asleep with his burning face cradled in his hands.
After that, even as he lived in this vast Empire, Iban felt like a foreigner speaking a different language, and he stopped wanting to learn the Imperial Language.
But then—
“Rather, I’m [grateful] to you.”
After meeting Emilia, who spoke those words to him.
Iban became curious.
What had she said before the word grateful?
What had she said while talking with Herald?
Just as Emilia understood my words, I wanted to understand hers too.
So for the first time, I approached Herald and asked to learn the Imperial Language.

“Hehe.”
Iban smiled warmly, recalling when he’d met Emilia again at the Mansion.
And at that very moment.
A commotion drifted in from outside the Study window.
‘What’s that?’
Iban tilted his head curiously and rose from his seat.

* * *

It was while Emilia was speaking with Kaliana, wondering if there might be a way to resolve her problems.
Suddenly Kaliana stopped mid-sentence and glanced toward the back.
When Emilia turned her body, Kaiden appeared.
“Oh, did the conversation end well?”
At her question, Kaiden gave a slight nod.
Then he jerked his chin toward Kaliana and asked.
“Who is this woman?”
“Ah, this person is…….”
Emilia trailed off and turned to look at Kaliana.
Kaliana shrugged casually in response.
“Just someone ordinary who harbors a grudge against a washed-up Merchant Guild Leader.”
“A grudge?”
Emilia then asked Kaliana’s permission before briefly explaining the situation to Kaiden.
In the meantime, Kaliana studied the tall man.
Not her type, but undeniably handsome—the kind of man whose beauty could make eyes pop out of their sockets.
Yet the way he bowed his waist while listening to the woman seemed curiously familiar.
‘A lover?’
Though outwardly he appeared quite respectful, the gaze he cast down at the seemingly innocent woman carried the aura of a predator stalking its prey.
‘Though I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere…….’
As she was thinking this, the man withdrew his gaze from the woman and looked at her.
And he was walking toward her—deliberately, not hurriedly.
Her bewilderment lasted only a moment before the man looked her over once and spoke.
“Let’s talk alone for a moment.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————