I Ended Up Snatching a Marriage With the Male Lead! - Chapter 54

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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 rushed into marriage with the male lead.
Chapter 54

“My wife holds a certain child very dear, and I have installed him as Formal Heir.”
At those words, the Empress immediately saw through the Duke’s scheme.
Veins stood out in her eyes.
‘This is utterly absurd—!’
Clearly, he was speaking of the Emperor’s illegitimate child.
‘How did word of this even get out?’
The Empress’s hands trembled with fury.
‘Formal Heir? How dare he—’
A house’s position as Formal Heir was not something even the Imperial Court could meddle with as it pleased.
Which meant that even if she revealed the illegitimate child’s existence, she could not bring him to the Imperial Palace.
Heedless of the stares of the surrounding nobles, she glared at Kaiden, her trembling hand betraying her rage.
“I had not intended to reveal this so openly, but since Your Majesty seems inclined to offer her congratulations, I would like to request something in light of your benevolence.”
The Duke continued with brazen composure.
“Would you perhaps be able to adjourn the meeting early? I am, after all, a newly married man.”

* * *

While an unforeseen commotion erupted in the conference hall,
Alex, freshly returned from his assignment, was walking down the corridor with his Senior Colleague.
“Ugh, I’m dying. Really.”
As the exhausted Alex rubbed the back of his neck, his Senior Colleague gave his shoulder a light pat.
“Good work. Since you’ve been granted plenty of leave this time, go back home and get some proper rest.”
“Ah, home…”
“What? Haven’t you been back to your Hometown in a while?”
“Well, not exactly, but I figured if I went back, I’d just end up hearing more nagging.”
Alex made a face as if he’d grown sick of it.
Every time it was the same lecture, yet somehow each version was a different flavor of tiresome.
Still, this time he did think he might head down to his Hometown during the leave.
He needed to bring back the Medicine Bottles he’d been researching privately.
As he was casually organizing his schedule in his head, something stirred inside the Imperial Palace building.
“The Palace seems rather busy today, doesn’t it?”
“Ah, that’s right—new administrators are coming in, so it’s a hectic period.”
“Ah, I see.”
His Senior Colleague clicked his tongue at that.
“You really don’t have a clue how the Palace operates.”
Alex, his successor, had come to the Palace in quite an unusual manner.
Normally, people studied at the Academy, took the exam, and then entered the Palace through the standard route.
By contrast, Alex had been directly scouted by his superior.
His superior had gone on assignment, spotted medicines that Alex was selling at a street stall, and been so impressed that he’d brought him into the Palace.
It could be called a Special Recruitment.
At first, those who rejected him for being a commoner with a Special Recruitment soon accepted him.
His skill was simply that outstanding.
‘Yeah, skill is all that matters in the end.’
While his Senior Colleague silently acknowledged Alex’s competence, Alex yawned and regarded the new administrators with indifference.
And watching them, a face naturally came to mind.
‘I wonder if she’s doing well.’
His friend Emilia, who was working at his mother’s General Store.
She had such a dull look about her, and everything she did was slow and plodding.
No wonder even his mother doted on Emilia more and worried about her more than she did about him.
‘Especially after she found out about the engagement, I’d wager.’
It was Emilia who got engaged, yet somehow his back was the one catching the grief.

“I’m going insane, absolutely insane!”
“Why are you blaming me?! Did I get engaged to that guy?”
“My goodness, why won’t you take an interest in such a decent young man!”
“Since when do I have to date someone just because they’re decent?”

At his resentful tone, his mother had lamented, ‘Why did I have to give birth to just this one son…’

“If I’d known it would come to this, I’d have forced you to take him even if he wasn’t to your liking.”
“…Mother, he’s your son too.”

Back then, his mother had spent a good while venting to him.
Of course, he understood that Emilia was wasted on that fool Cedric.
From his perspective, Cedric was nothing but a worthless wretch.
‘Brain-damaged fool who does nothing but slack off.’
He’d probably flunk the exam again this year and spend his time drowning his sorrows in drink while dumping his woes on Emilia.
It was painfully obvious.
Alex shook his head as he mentally painted that tiresome picture.
And just as he was about to move on,
‘What’s that?’
He caught sight of what looked like a familiar back of a head.
‘No way.’
Clearly, all this late-night research had ruined his eyesight.
Otherwise, there’s no way that idiot he knew would be in this place.
He decided he must have been seeing things and started to move on,
“Huh?”
“What is it?”
His Senior Colleague turned to look at him with a puzzled expression.
‘Did he spot an ex-girlfriend or something?’
Struck by what seemed like a shocking reaction, curiosity naturally arose.
He craned his neck and followed Alex’s gaze.
But all he saw was a swarm of newly appointed administrators.
At that moment, Alex muttered in a serious tone.
“Is he here for some kind of job experience?”
His Senior Colleague found this baffling.
How could he have just explained everything and now be spouting such nonsense?
Then, as Alex’s gaze sharpened, one of the men turned his head.
“That bastard!”
Alex immediately set off with long strides.
And he pulled Cedric out from among the crowd.
“What?”
Cedric, dragged outside, shook his arm free and smoothed the wrinkles from his robe.
Alex found his nonchalant demeanor infuriating.
“What on earth are you doing here?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
Alex took in the Imperial Palace Uniform that Cedric was proudly wearing.
“You… you… surely not… you blockhead can’t possibly…”
As Alex stammered and lost his words, Cedric smirked.
Then he puffed out his chest and spoke.
“Yeah, I passed.”
‘This is insane.’
At the news of the fool’s appointment, Alex’s expression crumpled.
At the same time, a fierce urge to resign washed over him.
Though in different departments, the thought of having to keep seeing that bastard’s face around the Palace filled him with disgust.
Moreover, from the emblem on his Imperial Palace Uniform, Cedric belonged to the Finance Department.
For someone like Alex, who worked in a department that received budget allocations, this could prove to be quite a headache.
Just then, interpreting Alex’s expression in his own way, Cedric said offhandedly,
“If even a guy like you got in, there’s no way I shouldn’t have.”
Cedric spouted his usual nonsense without the slightest self-awareness.
Ever since the old days, Cedric had harbored intense jealousy and envy toward him—though he’d made a show of hiding it in front of Emilia.
Watching Cedric with his insufferably smug attitude, Alex swallowed a sigh.
One of the perks of working in the Palace was not having to lay eyes on this bastard’s face…
‘No, never mind. Just think positively.’
After all, this should be good news for his friend Emilia, shouldn’t it?
It had already been over four years since the two of them got engaged.
That was all the time Emilia had devoted to this fool.
So now that he’d passed the exam, Emilia would finally be able to set down that burden.
“So Emilia came up to the Capital with you, then?”
He naturally assumed Emilia had come up to the Capital with him.
‘I should congratulate her and see her face.’
But then Cedric’s face scrunched up.
“Emilia?”
For some reason, his tone sounded distinctly off.
And Alex had heard that particular inflection quite often before.
It was the tone Cedric used when he didn’t give a thought to Emilia’s efforts and was being a selfish brat.
“I don’t know.”
In that instant, Alex caught something unsettling in the answer. So he spoke in a slightly hardened tone.
“What do you mean, you don’t know? She’s your fiancée—you should at least know where she is.”
“Fiancée?”
Cedric then let out a scoff and replied with obvious irritation.
“What fiancée? We broke up.”
…What the hell kind of nonsense was that?

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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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