I Ended Up Snatching a Marriage With the Male Lead! - Chapter 92

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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 eloped with the male lead.
Episode 92

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“What in the…”
Aaron’s eyes wavered with shock.
Aaron released Selena’s arm and strode toward House Valen with quickened steps.
His eyes bloodshot, he clenched his teeth as he spoke.
“How exactly did this happen, Duke?”
Kaiden lifted an eyebrow with a puzzled expression.
“Is there some problem, Your Highness?”
At that moment, urgent hoofbeats announced the arrival of Monstera the Marquis.
He froze at the sight of the game lying beside Kaiden.
“This… this!”
Monstera dismounted and strode toward Kaiden in quick, heavy strides.
“Your Grace!”
He called out in an indignant voice.
“That is my kill, is it not?”
But Kaiden met his complaint with remarkable composure.
“How is this the Marquis’s game? Does it have a name tag attached?”
“No, but—”
The Marquis’s teeth ground audibly.
How had he even found all of these and taken them?
“I hunted this modest game with no small effort for my beloved wife, and to have it slandered without any evidence would be most troublesome.”
Kaiden’s brow furrowed as though displeased.
The Marquis found himself at a loss for words.
To Emilia, watching from a distance, Kaiden appeared utterly shameless.
‘Well, I’m glad he found it all…’
Those kills were indeed stolen from what Aaron’s faction had prepared.
Emilia recalled the time when she had been pondering what method Aaron was using to make Monstera the Marquis champion.
Understanding his scheme first would allow her to prepare a countermeasure.
But she discovered his plot in an unexpected place.
When she’d visited Kaiden’s office, a peculiar document title had caught her eye naturally.

A Collection of Kindling for Burning Pariznan

It was a title that inevitably sparked curiosity about what it contained.
So Emilia asked with keen interest.

“What exactly is this document?”
Though somewhat reluctant, Kaiden explained the nature of the document.
“…It’s a record of the Pariznan family’s misconduct.”
“Ah, so that’s why the title.”
Emilia immediately understood, recalling what Caliana had told her.
“Could I take a look?”
Intrigued by the curious title, she wanted to see what Caliana had uncovered.
Kaiden readily agreed.
As Emilia scanned the contents with curious eyes—
‘This is…’
A particular section stood out.
Specifically, it detailed how the Pariznan family had secretly supplied Forbidden Ore to the Imperial Family—ore that was now prohibited for use.
And that ore was indeed the very culprit behind the Mana Sinkhole that nearly brought catastrophe to the Capital.
Of course, it would only later be discovered that this ore caused such sinkholes.
Primarily used to sedate game during hunting, this ore had been forbidden since the Previous Emperor’s reign due to other dangers.
The stone had never been properly disposed of and remained abandoned at the old Hunting Grounds, eventually causing the Mana Sinkhole.
‘But if they’ve recently received a secret supply of this ore…’
It was certainly for some nefarious purpose.
And that purpose would almost certainly relate to the Hunting Competition.
From this, Emilia concluded that Aaron’s plan involved pre-capturing game and hiding it throughout the Hunting Grounds.
‘If he killed the prey beforehand, it would be obvious.’
So they must be hidden in secluded places, barely clinging to life.
Eyes bright with understanding, Emilia then examined the Hunting Grounds’ maps and identified every likely location where game might be concealed.
Though she couldn’t pinpoint exact coordinates, knowing the general areas was enough.
Because she had something to rely on.
After that, Emilia submitted her entry to the Hunting Competition and presented the map to Kaiden.
“According to Lucas, where the ore is present, the flow of mana becomes tangled. You should be able to sense it, shouldn’t you?”
That was true—there was a man here who could feel the mana coursing through the earth in response to the ore.
So using this map, he would be able to locate the game with precision.
But something about her phrasing seemed odd, for Kaiden let out a dry laugh.
“When exactly did you prepare all of this?”

In any case, even if she had provided him with all the suspected locations of the game—
‘…The man’s thorough.’
He could have secured victory by collecting from only some of them.
But Kaiden had been quite thorough indeed.
Emilia’s eyes grew slightly tired as she looked at the pile of accumulated kills.
Judging by the Marquis’s reaction, he hadn’t left a single location unchecked.
Having decided to do this, it seemed he’d meant to thoroughly needle both the Marquis and the Prince.
While Emilia briefly dwelt in memory, the exchange between Monstera and Kaiden continued.
“You stole the game I had captured, didn’t you, Your Grace?”
Kaiden sighed and responded.
“Then how about we request that His Highness investigate whether what you say is true?”
At Kaiden’s suggestion, the Marquis’s eyes widened as though he’d struck gold.
Of course, if he asked the Prince to investigate, he’d surely side with him.
Besides, those kills that Kaiden had brought were truly prepared for him!
The stag with those unusual antlers, the white-furred wolf—all of them!
But then Kaiden continued.
“Ah, of course, for the sake of fairness, we’d need to bring other nobles along. We could all go to where I supposedly seized the Marquis’s game.”
“What… what?”
“Is there some particular reason that shouldn’t happen?”
“Well, that is…”
Naturally, he couldn’t investigate various parts of the Hunting Grounds with other nobles present—it would only expose evidence that the Competition had been rigged.
The Marquis’s lips trembled as he ground his teeth.
He couldn’t simply let the Duke take all his kills like this…!
Then came the moment.
“Enough.”
Aaron, who had been glaring sharply at Kaiden, spoke quietly.
“B-but Your Highness!”
The Marquis called out in alarm.
“I told you to stop, Marquis.”
The warning in Aaron’s words made the Marquis flinch.
He couldn’t allow the Marquis to prattle on any further.
The fool would surely say something unnecessary if left unchecked.
If it became known that the Hunting Competition had been rigged and the victor predetermined, no greater disgrace could befall him.
No matter how much the Empress and others backed the Marquis, this was beyond what he could bear.
Meanwhile.
Toot-toot-toot!
The trumpet announcing the end of the Hunting Competition sounded.
And without needing to confirm it, the identity of the victor was unmistakable.

* * *

“Sh-shall I announce the results… Your Highness?”
The attendant, gauging Aaron’s mood, asked hesitantly.
Aaron clenched his fists and clicked his teeth.
“…Go ahead.”
The attendant cleared his throat and called out loudly from beside the platform.
“W-well, I shall now announce the champion of this Hunting Competition!”
He gestured toward Kaiden as he continued.
“It is none other than the Duke of House Valen!”
“Wahhhhh!”
The uninformed nobles either clicked their tongues in disappointment or offered their congratulations to Kaiden.
The attendant approached Aaron and extended a tray.
Without hiding his discomfort in the slightest, Aaron lifted the Victory Medal from the tray.
And he pinned it to Kaiden’s chest.
“Congratulations, Duke.”
Having to stretch his arms upward due to his shorter height was humiliating enough.
Aaron forced one corner of his mouth upward, having barely suppressed his rage.
“But I understand the Duke is already married and has no other close relatives.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
When Aaron broached the subject, Kaiden acknowledged it quietly.
So Aaron raised his concern.
“Then the reward I prepared seems unnecessary—instead, perhaps something else…”
But then Kaiden cut him off.
“No, Your Highness.”
And he directed his gaze to the flower that lay on the tray alongside the medal.
A single Moonlit Flower—the bloom that symbolized Selena.
Originally, it was meant to be taken by Monstera and Selena together.
Kaiden gently lifted the flower and turned toward Selena, who stood bewildered.
And he presented the flower to her.
At Kaiden’s mysterious action, the nearby nobles began to whisper.
Kaiden then spoke with perfect composure.
“As Your Highness noted, I already have a beloved wife, and I have no other close relatives.”
He glanced at Aaron and smiled faintly as he continued.
“So I shall return the right of choice regarding marriage to Your Highness the Princess.”
At that moment, Selena’s eyes widened in shock.
“So please, Your Highness, may you too one day marry someone you truly love with all your heart.”

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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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