I Ended Up Snatching a Marriage With the Male Lead! - Chapter 72

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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’d gone and gotten into a sham marriage with the male lead.
Episode 72

“For whose benefit, exactly?”
“……Yes? Of course for Your Grace’s sake.”
Emilia’s face registered bewilderment.
There was no way he’d want to be in a state where he’d surrendered his bed to someone else.
Especially when he’d come back to the Mansion tonight because of her and must be exhausted.
“I see.”
At her words, Kaiden let out a soft laugh.
“Now that you’re awake, come sit.”
He gestured toward the sofa.
Emilia narrowed her eyes at Kaiden’s cryptic remark, then swung her legs down from the bed.
‘What is this, some kind of compensation?’
A pair of slippers sat directly below.
And not the dirt-caked ones that belonged in the garden—brand new ones.
Emilia shrugged and made her way to the sofa across from Kaiden.
He set down the documents he’d been reading and asked her a question.
“So what did you want to talk about?”
“Ah, it’s something related to the Princess.”
“The Princess?”
“Yes.”
Emilia ran her fingers through her tousled hair and continued.
“That knight who delivered Her Highness’s letter to me—he was the one guarding the Princess.”
It was something she’d heard before parting with Lucas.
“Do you happen to know him?”
At that, Kaiden seemed to think for a moment before nodding.
“Earl Ernst’s retainer, you mean?”
“That’s the one.”
“I know him by sight. Earl Ernst and I are acquainted.”
“Really? Thank goodness.”
As Emilia relaxed, Kaiden looked at her with curious eyes.
“Actually, I know him a bit myself.”
Kaiden stiffened momentarily.
“You know him?”
“Yes, as it happened.”
Emilia explained her connection to him—how they’d met when investigators came after her house collapsed.
Kaiden furrowed his brow and asked, “So he’s the reason you were injured that day?”
“No? Actually, he’s the one who saved me from getting badly hurt.”
Emilia smiled softly at the memory.
Though her first impression hadn’t been good, as time passed she realized he wasn’t a bad person at all.
Kaiden listened to her words while drumming his fingers against his knee.
Then, a thought seemed to cross his mind and he voiced it aloud.
“Don’t tell me—the person you met in the Park was him too?”
At Kaiden’s question, Emilia’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?”
“……Just a guess.”
Yet for someone who’d made such an accurate guess, Kaiden’s expression seemed oddly uncomfortable.
‘What is this?’
Emilia felt a brief spark of suspicion, but she pressed on with what she’d meant to say.
“In any case, since he’s someone the Princess trusts and can rely on, we should be able to reach Her Highness through him when needed. In a sense, he’s on our side.”
At that, Kaiden fell silent in thought.
“Lucas…… Lucas, you say.”
Kaiden seemed to be turning the name over in his mind, almost as if testing it.
“Why are you doing that?”
Emilia tilted her head, confused.
Kaiden pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and let out an irritated chuckle.
“It’s just that hearing you call an outside man by his first name bothers me quite a bit.”
“What?”
Emilia blinked.
“You call me ‘Your Grace,’ don’t you?”
“That’s…… I just got used to calling you that way…….”
As if she’d done something wrong, Emilia offered a defensive explanation.
In truth, since she’d been confined to the Mansion the whole time, she’d had no reason to address him any other way and hadn’t given it much thought.
“Especially in the Bedroom.”
Kaiden added, and Emilia’s mouth fell open.
“But you’re the one who dragged me to the Bedroom instead of using the Study!”
Emilia pointed out, and Kaiden raised an eyebrow with an unconcerned expression.
“Then where would a husband and wife talk at night if not the Bedroom?”

“I don’t think so at all.”
Kaiden remained unfazed, utterly shameless about it.
“But we’re just in a sham marriage.”
“A sham marriage is still a marriage.”
As if inviting her to argue further, he crossed his arms and fixed her with an unwavering stare.
Emilia gripped the hem of her skirt and bit her lip.
Of course, Kaiden’s logic was thin at best, but continuing the conversation seemed only to tangle her deeper into his web of words.
“A-anyway, I’ve delivered my message, so I’ll head back to my room.”
Emilia jumped to her feet.
“Sleep well.”
She hurried to the door, her hand already on the knob, when it happened.
A quiet but unmistakable voice came from behind her.
“From tomorrow onward, call me by my name as well, Emilia.”

* * *

The next morning.

Robert had come to her room earlier with a message that Kaiden was looking for her.
Yet Emilia made no move to see him at once, instead lingering in hesitation.
‘He should be coming out soon…….’
After dawdling in the hallway for some time, a figure finally appeared from further down the corridor.
“Herald!”
Emilia approached him with a bright expression.
“W-what is it?”
Herald drew back slightly, somewhat uncomfortable with her intense gaze.
“Good morning!”
“Y-yes, good morning.”
He returned her greeting awkwardly, caught off guard by her cheerfulness.
“You’re on your way to see His Grace now, aren’t you? Let’s go together.”
Herald asked with evident confusion, “Is there some business in the Territory you need to attend to?”
“Excuse me?”
“His Grace is currently at the Territory.”
“Ah…….”
A small sigh escaped Emilia’s lips.
She rolled her eyes slightly before speaking.
“Actually…… His Grace returned last night.”
“……What?”
Herald made an odd sound.
“He came back?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
Silence fell over the hallway.
Herald then murmured in disbelief, “No, last night? That’s impossible according to his schedule.”

Herald looked doubtful as he pressed further, “Are you certain you didn’t see a ghost or some illusion last night?”
Emilia was about to say she’d seen more than just passing through—
“That…… no, that’s not it.”

Instead, she led the still-suspicious Herald toward Kaiden’s Study.
Knock, knock.
Emilia rapped on the door.
“Come in.”
Kaiden’s voice came from beyond the door.
‘He’s really here?’
Herald stared at Emilia in astonishment.
Yet she seemed to be hoping he’d open the door first and enter.
Though confused, Herald complied and opened the door.
Kaiden, seated at his desk, looked up and regarded Herald.
“…….”
And his brow immediately furrowed.
There was something plainly displeasing about his expression—unmistakable displeasure.
‘Why?’
The problem was that Herald had no idea whatsoever why Kaiden was displeased.
But one thing he could say with certainty:
asking Kaiden something like “Why have you come back so soon?” would bring down a storm of trouble.
Herald turned his gaze away from his superior, whose expression had turned subtly cold from the moment he entered.
And then he caught a glimpse of Emilia standing beside him—practically glued to his side.
As his eyes moved between the two of them, Herald sensed something odd in the air.
It seemed as though one of them regarded him as an intruder, while the other saw him as a reliable ally.
‘What on earth is this situation?’

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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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