I Ended Up Snatching a Marriage With the Male Lead! - Chapter 79

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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 marrying the male lead in a shotgun wedding.
Chapter 79

* * *

Selena sat alone in her Office, where silence had settled for the first time in ages.
Then her gaze drifted to a stack of papers lying on one corner of her desk.
‘Mana sinkhole investigation and damage compensation measures.’
Recently, based on information Lucas had provided, she’d launched an investigation into the mana sinkhole that had appeared in the Capital.
And that investigation had yielded an unexpected result.
They had managed to prevent what could have been a devastating earthquake beneath the Capital itself.
Had it gone unaddressed, the loss of life and property would have been catastrophic.
She’d been grateful to whoever had provided that crucial information—
‘Only to find out it was the Duchess herself.’
Really, what were the odds of such a coincidence?
Selena soon rested her chin on her palm, her expression troubled.
It was the thought of Lucas, worn down by heartbreak, that made her chest ache.
“I hope Lucas will find his spirits lifted soon.”
Selena had forced Lucas to take leave, and made a point of urging him to visit the Ernst Estate.
From the family stories she occasionally heard from him, she knew the Ernst family was remarkably close-knit.
Time spent with those he loved would surely restore him.
It was a remedy unavailable to her own circumstances.
Soon Selena pushed aside her wayward thoughts and began to review the documents.
Scratch, scratch.
In the quiet of the room, only the whisper of her fountain pen against paper could be heard.
A pause.
A sound came from beyond the door.
Growing steadily closer—it was unmistakably the sound of footsteps.
‘…Who is it?’
Selena set down her fountain pen with deliberate quietness.
She turned her attention toward the door, and without so much as a knock, it swung open.
Her heart sank as she recognized the uninvited visitor.
“Aaron…”
She exhaled her brother’s name like a sigh.
“Hello, sister. It’s been a while.”
Aaron smiled with the playful ease of someone his age.

* * *

Selena regarded her younger brother, who shared her hair color and eyes, and finally spoke.
“As you know, there’s no one here to serve tea.”
“That’s fine. I didn’t come to drink tea with you anyway.”
Aaron shrugged from where he sat on the opposite sofa.
He then scanned Selena’s shabby Reception Room and remarked offhandedly, “Your escort knight isn’t here today?”
“No. But what does that have to do with you finding me?”
“Nothing really… I was just wondering where you’d sent him.”
Aaron followed with a meaningful hum.

“…Again?”
Something odd about his phrasing made Selena respond with a question.
Lucas had never been away from her side since becoming her escort knight.
Even his rounds through the Capital only took half a day.
He was always at her side.
“For example, somewhere like the Valen Duchy?”
At those words, Selena’s breath caught.
Her unguarded reaction made Aaron’s mouth twist into a smile.
“Just as I thought. It was you, wasn’t it?”
Aaron nodded as if he’d already deduced as much.
At the same moment, Selena’s heart began to pound violently.
The fingertips that had grown cold since Aaron’s arrival now trembled uncontrollably.
Aaron gazed at her frightened expression with evident amusement.
“Mother doesn’t know yet. Or rather, she doesn’t even suspect, from what I can tell.”
He shook his head as if to say there was no stopping him.
“But don’t worry. I won’t tell her just yet. I’d rather not lose you like I lost Lorelai.”
At those words, Selena clenched her teeth.
“Don’t you dare speak her name.”
But Aaron paid no heed to the hostility in Selena’s eyes.
“Come on, don’t be like that. I was so bored after Lorelai disappeared, you know?”
“…Bored?”
“Really, I couldn’t believe how bored I was after that.”
Aaron smacked his lips as if genuinely disappointed.
“So I was just about to get myself a new toy, but you got in the way. Didn’t you?”
Selena glared at Aaron without answering.
But Aaron continued speaking as though her response was unnecessary.
“So instead, shouldn’t you be the toy?”
…
“I’m going to hold a hunting tournament, and I need something special for the grand prize.”
Aaron laughed as if delighted by the very thought.

* * *

“The rain is coming down hard.”
At the sound of rain pelting the windowpane, Emilia’s gaze shifted toward it.
The light drizzle that had started after lunch was now coming down in earnest.
“Emilia!”
Just then, Ivan rushed into the room clutching a book.
“Ivan? Would you like me to read to you?”
“No!”
Ivan shook his head firmly at Emilia’s offer.
Instead, he hurried over to her and laid the book down.
What Ivan had brought was a fairy tale book with short stories from various lands.
“Look, look at this!”
“What is it?”
Ivan opened to a page, responding to Emilia’s curious look.
“Here!”
“The rain fairy?”
“Yes! It says if you ask the rain fairy, the rain will stop!”
At this adorable remark, Emilia burst into laughter.
“But it says here you have to go find them yourself to ask, doesn’t it?”
“Then what do I do…?”
Ivan mumbled dejectedly.
He seemed restless from being unable to go out to the garden all day.
After a moment’s thought, Emilia asked Ivan, “Would you like to make a rain fairy doll instead?”
“A doll?”
Seeing Ivan blink, Emilia laughed playfully.

Emilia looked down at the completed dolls.
As she glanced between them and the illustrations in the fairy tale book, an awkward smile crossed her face.
‘These don’t look like rain fairies anymore.’
The dolls they’d made looked quite different from the rain fairy depicted in the storybook.
For one thing, Ivan had fashioned hair from brightly colored yarn.
And there was another reason—
Laura, who could easily sew dresses, had put her skills on full display.
Even the fabric Robert had brought was no ordinary material.
‘My, how luxurious….’
As a result, the dolls were dressed well enough to attend a gala.
“Ahem! I’ve made so many dolls for my siblings! This level of work is nothing for me!”
Laura spoke with obvious pride.
“Laura, you’re amazing!”
Ivan clapped from beside her.
Seeing this, Emilia hoped Ivan was having fun.
‘Maybe the fine clothes will make it grant her wish better.’
As she was thinking this, Ivan’s voice came again.
“I’m taking this one!”
Ivan selected the doll with brown yarn hair and hugged it tightly to his chest.
“I’m going to sleep with it!”
“Is that so?”
“What about Emilia? You should take one to your room too.”
Ivan had already forgotten about using the doll to make a request of the rain fairy; he simply liked the doll itself.
“Hmm.”
Emilia considered, letting her gaze pass over each doll.
Many had striking hair colors—red, green—but—
“I’ll take this one.”
Emilia picked up the doll with black hair that somehow drew her eye.

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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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