Please Repay Me with Marriage! - Chapter 32

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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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Repay me by marrying me!
Chapter 32
“Marquis, it’s Damond.”
“What is it?”
“Hawk Sir has just arrived at the mansion with a guest.”
“Oh?”
Irene had hoped, if only for a moment, that it might be Leonard, and the disappointment that rushed through her was impossible to hide.
Kiri must have seen it on her face, because she let out a small laugh.
Irene cleared her throat and spoke in a dignified voice, as though nothing had happened.
“They’ve had a long journey, so take the guests to the separate villa we prepared so they can rest properly. Tell Hawk to come here. And tell the head cook to prepare dinner for this evening.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Some time later, Hawk entered Irene’s study.
“Hawk Ness reporting. I have carried out my lady’s orders and returned.”
“Report.”
“Yes. First, as you instructed, I went to the Mercenary Guild headquarters and…”
Irene pressed a hand to her forehead when she heard that the Iron Blood Mercenary Corps had been hired for nothing, but when she heard they had been challenged to a duel with a gloved hand, she nodded in approval.
“And I handed over the 30 million rarc, just as you ordered.”
“Is that so? Well done.”
Irene praised him, but Hawk let out a groan.
“Are you sure that’s alright? Even so, it’s thirty million rarc. Of course, for you, my lady, who is spending five hundred million on the dowry gold, it’s hardly a dent…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m expecting to get it back twice over. And while I’m at it, I’ll be rid of that wretched good-for-nothing I can’t stand to look at.”
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation, and it was clear she had something else planned.
Hawk knew that when she wore that expression, there was no need for him to worry, so he merely shrugged his shoulders once and let it go.
“And as you said, the Count’s Lady’s luggage was… quite modest. So on the way here, I bought all sorts of things. A lot of them.”
Hawk held out a bundle of receipts to Irene. Kiri was so startled by the thickness of the stack that she snatched it from him.
“Good heavens… How much is all this? You bought a necklace made with a Blue Diamond? Isn’t it a bit much to spend so freely when it isn’t your money, big brother?”
Under Kiri’s glaring eyes, Hawk’s shoulders drooped with a pitiful whimper.
Having wasted so much money that he had fallen to the point of living on his sister’s allowance, Hawk always shrank in front of Kiri whenever money came up.
“No, you heard what the Marquis told us repeatedly. Make sure the Lady never has to bother with money or suffer any blow to her pride because of it.”
“Why? What happened?”
Irene took the receipts from Kiri.
Checking the one on top, she saw that four million rarc had gone on the Blue Diamond alone. Adding up the dresses and everything else, the total came to five million rarc.
It was hardly enough to put a dent in Irene’s coffers, but it was certainly a considerable sum.
“Well, at the jewelry shop, some noblewoman picked a quarrel with us. What was it… Schultz?”
“…Schultz?”
“Ah, yes. Schultz. I think she said she was Lady Schultz of House Schultz. She said she’d never seen Lady Zenis before…”
“Lady Zenis?”
“Oh my, you’re already on first-name terms with the Count’s Lady?”
The creases between her brows smoothed out at once, and a flush of color spread across Irene’s cheeks. Under her hopeful gaze, Hawk hurriedly waved his hands. “It’s not like that.”
“It just happened that way, there’s no deeper meaning… Anyway, the moment she heard the House of Elpias name, she looked down on us as poor nobodies, so I told them to hand over everything, including the Blue Diamond the young lady was trying to buy.”
“Then you must have bought it. Well done. I’ll give you a bonus.”
“M-Marquis!”
“If something similar happens again, do the same. Especially if the other party is from the Schultz House.”
Irene handed out a bonus on the spot, using the seal and cheque book she had gotten back.
Hawk was beaming with delight, but that cheque ended up in Kiri’s pocket. As was only natural.
“It must have been a tight schedule. You did well. Get some proper rest today. Just run one errand for me first.”
“What errand?”
Irene took a sheet of paper from the drawer and quickly jotted down a short note.
“Take this to Shadow.”

* * *
This was not Zenis’s first time in the capital, but it was the first time her head had been completely swept away by a journey like this.
“Welcome. We’re honored to have you at the Blair Marquis Residence.”
“I’m Jane, and I’ll be attending to you during your stay.”
“I’m Maria. I look forward to working with you, my lady.”
“Your party may use this villa. We’ve cleaned every room on the first and second floors in advance, so please choose whichever room you like best. If you wish to go out, just let us know beforehand, and we’ll have a carriage, a driver, footmen, and a servant to guide you ready.”
“A welcome dinner for your guests has been prepared for this evening, but should you feel hungry before then, we can have some light refreshments brought up.”
“I’ll prepare your bath water. Please wait a moment.”
“I’ll assist you with your bath, my lady. If the water is too cold or too hot, please tell me at once.”
“Shall I give you a massage? Which fragrant oil would you prefer?”
“Please choose whatever loungewear you’d like from here. I apologize that we could only prepare ready-made clothes on short notice. Tomorrow I’ll have a tailor come and make you new garments.”
The journey from home to the capital had been full of trouble, but what followed their arrival at the Marquis Residence was no less overwhelming, and it left Zenis dazed.
When she came to her senses, she was sitting on a plush sofa, her weary body sunk into the cushions.
Her hair, dried quickly and combed to a silky finish, carried a lovely fragrance. The loungewear, which the maid had apologized for being ready-made, clung softly to her skin.
And she wasn’t the only one enjoying such luxury.
Not only Sara but Michel too had bathed and been massaged, and both of them were now sprawled out across from her, utterly at ease. Bin and Hiss had gone to the dining room to eat, complaining that they were hungry.
“Piling up such precious Chocolate like a mountain and eating it. The Marquis of Blair really must be rich.”
“The young lady used to eat it this way too, back in the day…”
Beside Michel, who was tossing Chocolate into the air and catching it in her mouth, Sara dabbed at her wet eyes with a handkerchief.
“I’m sure the late madam is pleased, wherever she is. Miss should be receiving this kind of treatment all along.”
“…If Mother were here, I think she’d tell us never to let our guard down.”
“Hm?”
“Am I the only one who finds this situation strange?”
Zenis hadn’t touched the Chocolate Michel was raving about, nor the fragrant flower tea beside it.
She fiddled with the hem of her fine, wrinkle-resistant garment, her lips moving restlessly.
“I understand that the Marquis is marrying my brother. But that doesn’t mean he has to go this far to be kind to us, does it?”
“Why wouldn’t he? He’s family to the one who’s marrying him, so of course he should treat us with the utmost care. Besides…”
Sara glanced around quickly, cupped a hand over her mouth, and lowered her voice to a whisper.
“I heard the Marquis fell for our Count at first sight.”
“Isn’t that exactly the problem? What if he brought me here to use as a hostage?”
It was Michel who burst out laughing at that.
“Oh my, isn’t the young lady’s imagination running a bit wild? You needn’t worry about that. Why would a man of the Marquis’s standing stoop so low as to take a family member hostage?”
“B-but you never know what might happen.”
Michel waved her hand, insisting there was truly nothing to worry about, as Zenis flushed red in the cheeks.
“If that were his intention, would he have treated us as honored guests? The Marquis is simply trying to win favor with the people around Leonard. He’s in love, after all.”
“Love…”
After everything they’d been through, Michel’s trust in the Marquis of Blair had grown quite firm. Her voice came out brimming with confidence, but Zenis only grew more confused.
Holding a wedding ceremony in a rush, barely a month later, giving 500 million in Dowry Gold, and bringing her all the way to the capital to lavish such treatment on her. All of it, they said, was because he had fallen in love.
‘But no matter how much he’s in love… Isn’t handing over 500 million as Dowry Gold ridiculous?’
Even fifty million Rarc would have been enough to make her gasp at how excessive it was, and now it was five hundred million.
“Whew… I’m going out for some fresh air.”
“Shall I come with you?”
“No need. You should rest too, Sara. It’s not as if this place is dangerous… I’ll just take a little look around the garden and come back.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Perhaps everyone agreed that the Marquis Residence was not a dangerous place, for Sara and Michel let Zenis go off alone without a fuss.
Zenis stepped out into the garden, walking past flowers and shrubs trimmed into dainty shapes, releasing a heavy breath.
‘If only my brother were here, I wouldn’t feel this uncomfortable.’
Thinking there was no valid reason for any of it, she felt uneasy no matter how well she was treated.
Had she been in the same situation before Mother passed away, she wouldn’t have felt this way at all.
Only after losing the sturdy roof and walls that had shielded her from the fierce wind and rain did Zenis understand. The goodwill and kindness that had been freely given to her were never really a given at all.
Those who had treated her kindly for their own reasons turned their backs on her coldly the moment those reasons disappeared.
Even pity was a luxury she couldn’t afford to feel ashamed of. People mocked her without hesitation, though she was pleading desperately for help.
Even her fiancé, who had confessed that he loved her dozens of times.
‘Oh, right. My love for you was sincere. But marriage is reality, isn’t it? Zeni, please don’t try to drag me down into the pit of hell with you. Not if you truly love me.’
“Such nonsense about love…”
Zenis flicked a small pebble with the tip of her toe. It didn’t roll far before it stopped, so she chased after it and kicked it again, once, twice, three times.
‘The Marquis fell for my brother at first sight? And what if that love fades? What happens when he starts to regret the five hundred million?’
Tap.
‘What if he asks for that money back, and my brother can’t return it? Won’t we be left owing five hundred million?’
Tap.
‘No matter how I think about it, something’s off. This is wrong. Even if no one else keeps their wits about them, I have to…’
Thunk—
“Eh?”
Zenis, kicking the pebble without a thought, felt something small catch against her toe.
The ball bounced, tumbled, and rolled away. It was a toy made of silk, the kind that looked expensive at a glance.
Worried she might have damaged it, Zenis hurried over, picked up the ball, and brushed off the dirt.
‘Its owner must be nearby… Oh.’
Behind a garden tree a little distance away, a small child was hiding. Her face and the hem of her skirt were more than half exposed, so I’m not sure if you could really call it hiding.

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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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