I Ended Up Snatching a Marriage With the Male Lead! - Chapter 55

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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 married the male lead in a rushed ceremony
Chapter 55

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“How dare you!”
The Empress strode irritably into her chambers and ripped the Necklace from her neck with rough hands.
Snap!
The Necklace broke, and pearls scattered across the floor.
She rounded on the Aide standing beside her with his head bowed.
“Find out what on earth this means—now!”
“Yes, yes!”
As she paced the room nervously gnawing at her nails, the Aide soon rushed back in with documents in hand.
He thrust the papers toward her.
“Give them here!”
The Empress snatched the documents from his grip.
“Ha!”
Upon reading them, she let out a hollow laugh.
It was true. The Duke had indeed married.
Her eyes widened as she confirmed the name of his bride.
A commoner woman. No family name.
The matter was now undeniably clear.
To keep that bastard child from being taken from her, he had gone through with this absurd marriage.
The Empress flipped to the next page.
Upon seeing the name of the child designated as the official Heir, she began to tremble violently.
She gritted her teeth and asked the Aide coldly.
“What means do we have to bring this bastard into my hands?”
“That is to say…….”
“Speak! Why do you hesitate?”
At the Empress’s prodding, the Aide finally screwed his eyes shut and spoke.
“Currently, there are none, Your Majesty. The reason being that His Imperial Majesty is presently in a Comatose State…….”
“Ha!”
The Empress cried out at the Aide’s explanation.
“Are you saying it is my fault the Emperor has become crippled?”
“No, no, Your Majesty. That is not what I meant…….”
The Aide bowed his head hastily in apology.
Even at the sight of his submission, the Empress’s anger did not subside; she gnawed at her lips.
After a long moment, she took a deep breath and commanded the Aide.
“Investigate everything about this commoner woman.”
“Yes, yes, Your Majesty!”
The Aide answered urgently.

* * *

Kaiden left the conference chamber and quickened his pace toward the palace gates.
Last night she had asked him to take care of it, so he had a duty to report the results to her promptly.
‘My wife waits at home…….’
He hastened his step, thinking of Emilia waiting at the Mansion.
“Damn it! Sir! Wait for me!”
Herald’s breathless voice came from behind him as he rushed to catch up.
As they rode toward the Mansion in the carriage,
Kaiden gazed out the window, considering the carriage’s slow pace, when the Plaza came into view.
And the fountain at its center.
The image of his wife nodding off beneath the bright sunlight flickered in his mind.
His thoughts naturally drifted to what had happened last night.
Now that he thought about it, there was one thing that had bothered him while treating her wound.
The bloodstained hem of her Dress.

“I must have cut myself slightly while searching for the Legal Code in a hurry.”

Emilia had shrugged at the time as if it were nothing.
But thinking about it now, she had already lost several Dresses because of him.
The Bandage wrapped around her body on the train had clearly been the lining of a Dress.
“Turn the carriage around.”
“Sir?”
He commanded the driver without hesitation.
The carriage, bearing the House Valen crest clearly marked, soon arrived at a somewhat unexpected destination.

* * *

The terrace of a Cafe located in the New District.
As always, noblewomen gathered in small groups to enjoy their afternoon tea time.
One young noblewoman noticed a blonde woman who seemed distracted from the conversation and asked.
“Reina, what’s wrong?”
Rosia, who had been deep in thought with a hardened expression, lifted her head abruptly.
“What? What did you just say?”
“Nothing. You’ve been so quiet that I wondered if something was troubling you.”
“……Thank you for your concern, but it’s nothing.”
Rosia offered a forced smile and sipped her coffee.
“Is that so? I thought perhaps you were worried about reaching marriageable age.”
The voice came from someone different from the first speaker.
It was Grillmore, a young noblewoman whom Rosia found particularly disagreeable.
“Shouldn’t you be finding a match soon? If you’d like, I could introduce you to some suitable gentlemen.”
‘This woman…….’
Rosia reflexively glared at that irritating face.
The offer was ridiculous.
She would no doubt introduce her to men beneath her station.
Yet unable to openly refute her, Rosia’s irritation only flared higher.
The House Illake was in crisis.
It was because of Reina, who had suddenly disappeared one day.
‘Where on earth did that bastard go!’
Rosia bit the inside of her lip irritably.
Around the age of ten, her father had brought home a girl his own age, claiming she was his blood relation.
Her mother said she was the daughter born in secret by a maid who had seduced her father when Rosia was conceived.
Though the household was thrown into upheaval for a time, her mother eventually took the bastard in.
The plan was to raise her for a while and then sell her to a wealthy nobleman for a handsome sum, which would greatly benefit the family.
Rosia was also angry, but she endured it, knowing the girl would serve as her own dowry’s counterweight.
Indeed, the girl resembled her shameless mother who had supposedly seduced her father, and she was reasonably pretty.
As the years passed, her beauty only became more striking.
Seeing men eye her because of it stirred Rosia’s resentment.
Yet Rosia had forced herself not to feel jealousy.
Jealousy should spring from longing, and that bastard could never be the object of Rosia’s envy.
Besides, she was meant to be sold to a rich man soon enough anyway.
But just when it came time for the House to recoup what it had invested in raising her, Reina vanished without trace.
Even when Rosia tried to send knights to search for her, she could find no leads, as the House was ostracized both within its own circles and in High Society.
As days passed, the household mood worsened.
It was not only Rosia’s own dowry at stake, but also her father’s investment capital for his ventures.
‘I need to find her soon.’
Rosia ground her teeth.
The noblewoman who had first spoken, noticing that Rosia’s expression was growing darker, changed the subject.
“Oh! Speaking of which, didn’t Grillmore mention holding a party soon?”
“That’s right.”
Grillmore shrugged and continued.
Just as they were discussing the party, one young noblewoman’s eyes went wide.
“Oh…….”
A very handsome man was descending from a carriage.
“……Isn’t that Duke Kaiden?”
At the mention of Duke Kaiden, all the noblewomen’s heads turned at once.
Kaiden was a rare sight in High Society.
Despite being of marriageable age, he seldom attended social gatherings.
Because of this, many young noblewomen who had recently debuted in High Society did not recognize his face.
“Is that man really Duke Kaiden?”
The young noblewomen regarded him intently.
‘Desirable…….’
Rosia, too, swept an appraising gaze over the man.
“But why is the Duke standing in front of the Clothing Shop Street?”
One noblewoman voiced the question that had occurred to her, drawing all eyes to her.
She was right.
The Duke was examining the row of shops lining the street intently, speaking in earnest with what appeared to be an Aide.
He surveyed each store as though assessing it.
At that sight, someone ventured a plausible guess.
“Do you suppose he intends to demolish this street and build something else in its place?”

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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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