I Ended Up Snatching a Marriage With the Male Lead! - Chapter 76

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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 ended up in a hasty marriage with the male lead.
76

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“C-Cedric! W-wait, just a moment!”
Reina was being dragged down a street lined with Aristocratic Mansions, her wrist locked in Cedric’s grip.
It was the same place where the Earl Illeike Mansion stood—where she had spent what felt like an eternity trapped.
The familiar scenery made her body tremble uncontrollably.
Until Cedric had insisted on an outing and forced her into the Carriage, she never expected to return here.
She could only gauge his mood by the severity of his expression, which had grown darker by the hour.
In truth, Cedric’s disposition had been sour for some time now.

“Hey, so Emilia became a duchess?”
“…What?”

Emilia was undoubtedly the name of the woman who had been Cedric’s intended bride.
Reina’s mind went blank at the news he delivered.
‘That woman became a duchess?’
But before her mind could even process what he was saying, Cedric erupted.

“And you know what she said to me after becoming duchess? She called me insignificant—me! When she was nothing but a common girl!”

The mere memory of that day sent fury coursing through Cedric’s veins.
Simultaneously, the thought gnawed at him: if he’d belonged to the House of Illeike, none of this would have happened. She would never have dared to look down on him like that.
So Cedric had made up his mind on the spot—he would take Reina to the Mansion right now and show them what was what.
That was when Reina gripped her wrist, gasping in pain. “C-Cedric, let go. Please……”
But Cedric’s eyes had already rolled back with fury, and he paid her no mind, dragging her onward.
Passersby cast curious glances, but none stepped forward to help.
Finally, as tears streamed down her face, Reina opened her mouth.
“S-sob… wait. There’s something… something I have to tell you……”
Cedric’s footsteps halted abruptly.
“What?”
He turned to face her, his expression cold as ice.
Reina choked back her sobs and forced out the words.
“Y-you can’t… you can’t go into the Mansion…!”
“What do you mean?”
Cedric’s brow furrowed deeply as he demanded an answer.
Terror seized Reina’s heart, making it race. But she could hide the truth no longer.
If she went to that Mansion in this state, something far worse would happen.
Her lips trembled as she forced out the confession.
“I… I’ve been keeping something from you all this time……”
Finally, with her head bowed low, Reina revealed the truth.
That she was actually a bastard child of the Illeike family.
That the position of son-in-law in that prestigious house—the one he’d yearned for—had never held even the slimmest possibility.
There on the street, Reina confessed her shameful secret like a penitent making a confession.
“……”
But Cedric said nothing in response.
She had expected him to demand why she’d deceived him.
She’d braced herself for his fury, for curses and rage.
Yet contrary to her expectations, Cedric simply released her wrist and let his hand fall away.
His sudden silence kindled a fragile hope in Reina’s heart as she kept her head lowered.
After all, she was carrying his child now.
They were family—surely that counted for something……
Reina gathered her strength into her trembling frame and slowly began to raise her head.
“…!”
The color drained from her face.
“So… you’ve been deceiving me this whole time?”
Cedric’s eyes blazed with fury.
In the next instant, a sharp blow caught her across the face, and time seemed to freeze.
And with that strike came the echo of words that had haunted her for days.

Not long after, a Carriage came to a halt. A man stepped out as the door swung open.
Emilia recognized his face and called out to him warmly.
“Alex!”
Alex’s eyes widened in surprise, and after a moment of hesitation, he hurried over and began shaking Emilia’s shoulders vigorously.
“Is it really you? Are you really Emilia?”
“Y-yes, so please stop……”
Despite the rather violent greeting, Emilia protested gently, but Alex’s excitement refused to settle.
“Do you have any idea how shocked I was when I got your letter?!”
“I… I can tell.”
Emilia nodded even as her body was being shaken about.
Just then, a sharp clearing of the throat sounded nearby.
“Ahem!”
It was Robert, the butler, who had been waiting beside Emilia.
His stern gaze fixed pointedly on Alex’s hand, which rested upon Emilia’s shoulder.
Catching that warning-laden stare, Alex flinched.
He quickly withdrew his hand from Emilia’s shoulder and shuffled back a pace.
Only then did Robert’s expression soften.
“Shall I show you to the Reception Room, sir?”
He spoke with formal courtesy, bowing slightly.
“Thank you, Robert.”
The easy gratitude in Emilia’s voice made Alex’s jaw drop in disbelief.

Alex found himself seated in the Dining Room of Valen Mansion—a space utterly foreign to him.
Even someone as artistically blind as Alex could see that the grand chandelier and wall decorations were nothing short of extraordinary.
As he continued his meal in that opulent setting, a thought struck him.
‘This is deeply uncomfortable.’
His mind drifted back to the moment he’d received Emilia’s letter.
When he learned that his childhood friend had suddenly become the Duchess of House Valen, he’d nearly fainted from shock.
Soon after, Alex began to harbor dark suspicions—that Emilia had become some nobleman’s plaything and bartered away her future.
From his time working in the Imperial Palace, he’d learned that entangling oneself with the nobility brought nothing but misery.
Cedric, for instance, had been noble in name only, and he’d shown nothing but contempt for both Alex and Emilia.
But upon arriving at the Mansion, those worries had eased considerably.
Emilia looked radiant, and the household staff treated her with nothing but respect and warmth.
Everyone, it seemed, held her in genuine affection.
That discovery had lifted a great weight from his heart.
And the conversation he’d had in the Reception Room afterward had proven rather surprising.

“What? Wound Treatment Medicine?”

She wanted to acquire the formula for the Wound Treatment Medicine he’d developed.
For an astronomical sum, no less.
Alex had agreed without hesitation.
After all, he’d researched it on his own time, so it belonged to no one but himself.
There was no reason to refuse.
So he’d confirmed that Emilia was doing well, made a profitable deal, and was ready to head home—or so he thought.

“Still, since you’ve come all this way, wouldn’t you like to stay for dinner? The Mansion’s head chef is truly exceptional.”

At those words, Alex’s interest was piqued.
He figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and accepted eagerly.
But now he couldn’t help thinking: he should have just gone back to his lodgings and eaten bread instead.
“……”
Alex sat beside Emilia, looking decidedly uncomfortable as he stole a glance at the man seated on her other side.
‘He may be her husband, but to me, he’s the Duke—someone so far above my station I can barely breathe in the same room.’

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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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