I Ended Up Snatching a Marriage With the Male Lead! - Chapter 90

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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 ended up in a rushed marriage with the male lead.
Chapter 90

“I was simply hunting beasts, as one does.”
At those words, Cedric’s mouth fell open.
What on earth had he ever done to deserve this man’s enmity?
Shouldn’t a knight of the Imperial Palace, tasked with the safety of competitors, be assisting him instead?
Worse still, the man had just called him a beast.
Cedric’s insides churned with fury.
At that moment, the red-haired knight addressed the man before them with an odd tone of voice.
“Your Grace. There are people about, so perhaps you might keep the hunting rather quieter.”
Upon hearing this, Cedric froze. Then his eyes went wide.
“Y-Your Grace? Could it be….”
Cedric murmured almost unconsciously, his face going rigid.
“Emilia’s…?”
At that, the man’s gaze turned glacially cold.
“Dear me.”
The red-haired knight beside him shook his head sadly.
Only then did Cedric understand why arrows had suddenly come flying his way.
Cedric gritted his teeth.
‘That woman, Emilia!’
She’d clearly maligned him to the Duke.
In front of him she’d gone on about not needing to flaunt her position as the Duchess, yet she’d boasted endlessly regardless!
Her behavior was positively devious.
‘Damn it!’
Had he known such a predicament would arise, he’d never have provoked her when they met at the Imperial Palace.
‘No, wait. Why should I—’
Yet even so, the injustice of it burned in his chest.
The thought that he’d had to treat that insignificant girl carefully left a bitter taste in his mouth.
With that, Cedric ground out his words.
“Your Grace. What Emi—that is, what the Duchess told you, I haven’t a notion, but…that’s all nothing but spite born from her own malice! You don’t know how cunning she is, Your Grace! You’re being deceived!”
Yes. A high-ranking nobleman accustomed to seeing only flower-like noble maidens might well find himself momentarily intrigued by a commoner.
But soon enough, he’d realize she was nothing special.
And he’d surely beat his chest in regret for marrying such a girl.
Then he’d certainly remember what Cedric had said.
“It may feel fresh now, Your Grace, but you’ll soon tire of her and see her true self!”
He might even thank him for the warning.
Yet the response to his words came not from Kaiden, but from the red-haired knight.
“This bastard’s truly lost it….”
“What? What did you say?”
Cedric blinked at the soft murmur.
But Lucas merely shook his head and spoke to Kaiden instead.
“Your Grace. For your information.”
He gestured with his chin toward a nearby path, rather lazily.
“Going that way, you’ll find the ground becomes very unstable. There’s a cliff, so by no means venture that direction.”
Lucas pointed toward the opposite side.
“That way leads to a deep ravine, and further still, a swamp. Unfortunately, I have duties today, so I can’t guide you personally—regrettable, truly. Choose according to your preference, I suppose.”
Then he shrugged and added casually,
“Of course, I’m informing all competitors about these dangers today.”
“Thank you for the information.”
Kaiden replied evenly, raising an eyebrow.
Lucas glanced at Cedric then, before turning back to Kaiden.
“Ah, and it seems you’ve somehow injured the wrong arm. That’s not the one.”
As Lucas turned to leave, Kaiden called him back.
“Wait. A moment.”
“Yes?”
Lucas tilted his head curiously.

* * *

Whoooooo—!
A trumpet blast sounded across the entire Hunting Ground, announcing the end of the first half of the Hunting Competition.
When the trumpet sounded, competitors had to emerge from the forest within fifteen minutes and bring all their kills to the Central Tent.
Failure to do so resulted in automatic disqualification.
Soon, competitors began appearing in ones and twos.
Emilia, who had been waiting inside the Tent Camp, stepped outside to wait for Kaiden’s return.
“Oh, Your Grace!”
Emilia spotted Kaiden and smiled faintly.
As he approached her, she leaned close and whispered,
“You still had so much time left. What were you doing?”
At her playful question, Kaiden let out a soft chuckle.
“I was up to no good, I’m afraid.”
“Pardon?”
Emilia blinked at his cryptic response.
Just then, she noticed the medical attendants hurrying into the forest.
“What? Someone’s hurt?”
“How the hell did someone end up in that accursed swamp?”
“And injured at that! We’ll need several hands just to pull them out—what a nuisance!”
Emilia’s expression grew worried.
“Someone’s been hurt.”
…….

* * *

After all competitors had emerged from the forest, the Mid-Competition Check was conducted.
As Aaron received news whispered from an attendant, the corners of his mouth lifted.
He glanced at Monstera, the marquis, catching his eye.
The marquis, who’d been anxiously waiting, brightened at once.
Aaron rose from his seat and made his way to the Platform. Looking down at the gathered nobles, he spoke.
“Now that the Mid-Competition Check is complete, let me announce the grand prize for the Hunting Competition.”
Aaron savored the attention fixed upon him, then gestured to Selena.
She slowly ascended the Platform and took her place beside him.
“Could it be that the Necklace the Princess is wearing is the prize?”
The crowd murmured.
At that moment, Aaron took Selena’s arm and pulled her forward, speaking with evident pleasure.
“Marriage to my sister, that is.”
Among the nobles whose eyes had been fixed on Aaron with curiosity, silence fell.
It was a statement that shattered all their expectations.
“Marriage?”
“Surely I heard that correctly?”
All eyes went wide as they questioned whether they’d heard him right.
As if anticipating such a reaction, Aaron spoke with utter composure.
“My sister will soon come of age, yet she has no betrothal. So I thought this an opportunity for me to personally find her a suitable match.”
Aaron shrugged lightly.
“Whoever wins the Hunting Competition proves he has what it takes to be a man, and I intend to grant generous prize money, so a marriage fund will naturally be secured. Surely my sister would make an excellent wife for such a man.”
At this, some noblewoman’s brows furrowed.
Aaron’s words sounded glittering on the surface, but examined closely, they made little sense.
Who decided a Princess’s husband based solely on hunting skill?
Moreover, the behavior Aaron was displaying now evoked the specter of marriage transactions long since abandoned.
It was no different from common laborers in taverns placing their own family members as stakes in wagers—crass and degrading.
“What do you all think? Wouldn’t this give you greater motivation to take part in the Hunting Competition?”
At Aaron’s question, avarice kindled in the eyes of the male nobles.
No matter how neglected the Princess’s circumstances, she was a most tempting prize.
For sons without proper marriage prospects, this was an especially enticing prospect.
One man raised his hand.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
Aaron granted him leave to speak.
“What happens if someone who is already married ends up winning?”
“Ah.”
Aaron’s response was rather dismissive.
In truth, he hadn’t given it much thought. The reason being that the victor was already predetermined.
But since he couldn’t reveal that, Aaron answered somewhat carelessly.
“Well then, I suppose I could extend the choice to a relatives’ household instead.”
At this, some middle-aged nobles perked up.
It was an opportunity to forge ties with the royal family through nothing more than winning a Hunting Competition.
Yet there was one person who, upon hearing this absurdity, had frozen in shock.
‘…What?’
What in the world was that Prince saying?
Lucas immediately turned his gaze toward Princess Selena.
She stood upon the Platform, exposed to the raw stare of the crowd.
“Ha….”
Lucas let out a hollow laugh.
Now he understood why the Princess had seemed so strange these past days.
He curled his lips in a silent curse and drew his sword from its sheath.
He was about to stride toward the Platform with angry steps when—
“Stop right there!”
The Imperial Palace knights stationed ahead blocked his path.
Lucas’s voice turned glacial.
“What, then? My sister’s being put up as collateral. I’m going to have words with that scoundrel—any objection?”
The Imperial Palace knights faltered at the killing intent in his words. But they soon recovered and drew their blades against him.
“Do you realize that constitutes Treason?!”
Yet Lucas paid them no mind, only radiating lethal presence.
At that moment, a small voice came from the Platform.
“Lucas….”
Lucas tore his gaze from the knights and looked up at the Platform.
His master—who had been avoiding his eyes all day—was finally looking at him.
Selena held her collar tightly and spoke quietly.
“Don’t.”
At that, Lucas’s brow creased.
What did his young master take him for?
In the time it took to have him bring some dull tea, couldn’t she have given him advance warning?
And she’d rushed to save some stranger’s life, yet let her own situation slip away like this?
Lucas heard Selena’s command, yet he didn’t loosen his grip on his sword.
If anything, he gripped it tighter.
At his reaction, Selena’s throat tightened, and she spoke again.
“You have a precious family, Lucas. So please….”
Understanding Selena’s meaning, Lucas clenched his jaw.
In truth, he rarely gave thought to consequences.
But threatening the Prince wouldn’t end with just his life.
‘Damn it!’
Was there no other way?
Fury rose and heat flooded his head.
Then Lucas paused.
The Duke’s words to him earlier suddenly came to mind.

“No matter what happens today, don’t lose your composure. Remain still.”

At the time, Lucas had shown his incredulity plainly.
And with good reason—after all, hadn’t it been he who’d burned with fury and broken the Duchess’s former betrothed’s arm?
But the Duke had followed up with a cryptic addition.

“Consider it repayment for the information.”

Could he have meant to say those words with knowledge of this situation in advance?

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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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