My Contract Husband Demands a Divorce - Chapter 68

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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 could understand why he was saying that.
Although the Huniswald Mansion was under my name, it was practically Prince Kildian’s safehouse.
He could come and go whenever he pleased, and the Butler was his man. There was no telling how many other servants had already turned their backs to side with him.
We hadn’t been caught yet, but no matter how careful you were, a long tail was bound to be stepped on eventually.
“But if we suddenly move or replace the servants, it will only draw more suspicion.”
“I’ll take care of that part.”
Arpeggio firmly grasped my hands.
“Lyntis, you should just rest for now. You must have suffered terribly through all of this.”
“I’d love to, but…”
I hesitated for a moment, letting my words trail off.
What Prince Kildian said yesterday weighed heavily on my mind.
He had demanded that I persuade the diplomatic delegation from Nodis Kingdom to arrange a marriage alliance with him.
He was already treating me halfway like one of his subordinates.
Giving me orders, threatening me, and entering my room whenever he pleased.
If it were before, I would have swallowed it alone without telling Arpeggio.
But Arle had protected me during the Kinship Council even when I was framed.
Through this incident, I realized that more people than I thought cherished me, understood me, and wanted to help.
And that if I tried to bear everything completely alone, someone would feel deeply hurt.
“Prince Kildian came to see me yesterday.”
Arpeggio knitted his brows.
“To the Huniswald Mansion? I heard Princess Lucretia was discovered quite late. Did he visit you after that, Lyntis?”
I looked toward Shan.
This involved him too. I couldn’t quite gauge how much I was allowed to say.
The secret passage? The research? Or the fact that I had agreed to give Prince Kildian one billion every month?
“Well…”
As I deliberated, Shan opened his mouth.
“There is a passage in the mansion that Prince Kildian can use to come and go at will.”
“What?!”
Arpeggio leaped up from his seat.
“Then Prince Kildian has been barging into a grown woman’s room without permission all this time, and at such a late hour?”
“No! Yesterday was the first time he actually entered my room.”
“How do you know that! You go out often, Lyntis, so he could have easily snuck into your room while you were away.”
I hadn’t thought of that, but hearing it now, it seemed entirely plausible.
Since it was Scheit and not Shan, he wouldn’t have particularly stopped Kildian even if the prince said he was going into my room.
The moment Arpeggio realized my silence meant agreement, he pulled out a chocolate, popped it into his mouth, and began to chew fiercely.
It was a sign that he was stressed.
After emptying a whole box, he even snatched away the chocolate I was holding.
I meekly handed over the chocolate, which had melted slightly on the surface.
“Anyway, he said it’s my fault his fiancée is locked in the basement, so I should take responsibility and fetch him a new one. The Princess of Nodis Kingdom.”
I had no intention of stepping forward to broker a marriage between Prince Kildian and the Princess of Nodis Kingdom.
He was the type of man who would ruthlessly drain the princess of everything she was worth if necessary, only to discard her afterward.
Knowing exactly what kind of person Prince Kildian was, and since I held no personal grudge against the Princess of Nodis Kingdom, there was no reason for me to play matchmaker.
What sin had the Princess of Nodis Kingdom committed to deserve a marriage with someone like Kildian?
Furthermore, though it was unofficial, I had a history of rejecting Kildian’s proposal myself.
Offering a match I had rejected to someone else was simply bad manners.
Listening quietly, Shan also frowned.
“The Princess of Nodis Kingdom should only be fifteen years old.”
Arpeggio, however, looked completely unfazed.
“He is a greedy man, after all. That’s why he invests so heavily in our business.”
Hearing this, Shan spoke up.
“Receiving his investment is practically pouring water into a bottomless pit. All the living expenses the Lady gives me are flowing straight into his pockets anyway.”
“How much a month?”
“One billion.”
Arpeggio’s expression turned icy cold.
Unable to tolerate financial losses, he looked every bit a true Rootsild.
“That secret passage, do you know where it leads?”
We both shook our heads.
Arpeggio adopted a deeply contemplative expression.
He didn’t seem to find it particularly strange that Shan was ignorant about the underground passage.
After a brief thought, I opened my mouth.
“Do you have a map? One centered around downtown, along with a map of the standard underground facilities.”
While Arpeggio summoned the butler to fetch the maps, I walked over to the desk.
I grabbed a ruler and a pen from Arpeggio’s desk before returning to sit beside Shan.
Then, I overlapped the two maps brought by the butler.
Securing them with a paperweight, I aligned the ruler and drew a straight line connecting the Palace to the Huniswald Mansion.
“As you can see, the distance is quite far. They wouldn’t have dug a tunnel just to connect a secret passage. But I also doubt they placed the entrance anywhere other than the Palace. He arrived at the mansion before us yesterday, and seeing how comfortably he moves back and forth, it didn’t seem like he traveled a long way just to use the passage.”
Beneath the straight line I had drawn, the underground waterways were intricately tangled.
Some were currently in use, while others were abandoned.
I marked all of them on the map with the pen.
I crossed out the underground waterways currently in operation, and did the same for the ones opened during rainy weather.
What remained were a few waterways used by the old kingdom. Although their current condition was unknown, only one passed directly beneath the Huniswald Mansion.
“It’s highly likely they are using this waterway by connecting it to their passage.”
I pointed with my finger toward the riverside section connected to the underground waterway.
“We could cause this area, the entrance leading to the riverside, to overflow and flood the waterway.”
Next, I pointed to a spot along the underground waterway’s path that was still a vacant lot.
“Or under the pretext of constructing a building, we could block this section off. Then he probably won’t be able to use the secret passage to reach the Huniswald Mansion anymore.”
From beside me, Shan let out a short breath, somewhere between admiration and sheer disbelief.
“Why on earth do you even know which waterways are currently in use and which ones are not?”
“Doesn’t everyone look into that much when purchasing a mansion? It’s an expensive property, so it would be troublesome if it got flooded whenever it rains heavy.”
Arpeggio nodded with a proud smile.
“As expected. I always knew you were meticulous, Lyntis.”
“I cannot even fathom the sheer scale of your meticulousness. My Lady, you truly have a talent for speaking of extraordinary things as if they are perfectly ordinary.”
“You flatter me.”
When I replied shamelessly, Arpeggio burst into laughter.
With the laughter still lingering on his face, he rolled up the two maps and tucked them away.
“I’ll handle the passage myself. I might as well negotiate a few other matters with the Prince while I’m at it.”
Hearing that Arpeggio was going to step forward personally, I instinctively grabbed his wrist.
“The other things are fine. Just block the secret passage discreetly so it doesn’t look obvious, Arle.”
“No. Lyntis, you aren’t just any Rootsild; you are the heiress of the previous Family Head. You hold the highest status among all the women of the Rootsild Family here in Melbern. No one is allowed to treat a member of the Rootsild Family this way.”
“But what if things go sour between you and Prince Kildian? What if he tries to do something to you…”
“Don’t worry, Lyntis. If something happens to me, you are the one who will inherit the family. I don’t have an heir yet, nor am I married.”
“I’m not worried about the family or the position of Family Head. I’m… I’m worried about my only remaining family.”
A brief look of surprise crossed his face, followed by a wry smile.
“…Then you have even less reason to worry. Prince Kildian would much rather cater to my whims slightly than deal with you as the Family Head. That path is far easier and safer for him. Even setting that aside, he cannot easily discard me.”
Seeing him assure me with such confidence made me feel at ease, as he clearly had a reliable card up his sleeve.
Arpeggio was not the type to bluff.
When I nodded, Arpeggio patted the back of my hand a few times.
“Lyntis, no matter what happens, never forget that you are a Rootsild. And remember, I am someone who always puts the interests of the Rootsild first.”
It was practically a declaration that he was on my side, not Kildian’s.
When I looked up at him in surprise, he offered a warm, gentle smile.
Yet, there was a great deal of strength in his grip.
The wrapper that had covered the chocolates rustled inside his hand, stripped of its contents. He crumpled it up, tossed it aside onto a random surface, and stood up from his seat.
“I should truly send you off now. I also have to head out this afternoon.”
Nodding, I stood up from my seat, squeezed his hand firmly, and then let go.

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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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