The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 156

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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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Side Story: Marrying Kyle (7)
From the moment I first conceived of it, I harbored doubts about whether such a thing could ever be created.
It had never existed in this world before.
First and foremost, I needed the skills of the greatest summoner.
And over the course of a year, my unwavering support for the research, along with my fervent dedication to traveling across other continents to procure rare materials whenever necessary, had all been poured into this endeavor.
“You’re giving this to Kyle, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
I nodded and held the box close to my chest.
‘What expression will he make when he sees this?’
I found myself growing curious.
I would be grateful if he liked it, even just a little.
Imagining Kyle’s reaction, I found myself missing my husband far more than I expected.
Being separated during our newlywed phase was difficult for me as well.
But it was I who had instructed him not to contact me until I reached out first, as I would be extremely busy.
He had honored that request faithfully until today.
However, the very next day.
Unexpected news arrived at the Duchess’s Residence.
* * *
“Your Grace, you must come outside for a moment.”
The following day, Victoria called me away from my office, where I had been diligently working through the accumulated paperwork.
I followed her to the front gate of the Duchess’s Residence.
There was something strange there.
Suspicious by any measure.
A single weathered, heavy-looking box.
“It was delivered to the front of the Duchess’s Residence early this morning. The guards say it was placed here so silently they didn’t even notice. We called in various specialists, including a mana appraiser, to investigate our suspicions, but they found nothing particularly unusual about it.”
“Hmm.”
The box was roughly the size of what an adult man could carry in his arms.
The lid bore only crude metal fittings, and it wasn’t even locked with a proper lock.
Yet suspiciously, these words were written on top:
[ To Your Grace. Open this only yourself. ]
Victoria spoke with obvious disdain.
“Shall I have it disposed of immediately? Whoever did this must surely be mad. The way they skulked about like a rat and left it here in secret proves it.”
This damned curiosity of mine.
Unable to resist, I finally forced open the heavy wooden box.
And I was utterly shocked.
Even more so than the guards standing beside me.
“Gasp!”
Inside the box—the kind a commoner might use for farm tools—lay an abundance of brilliant diamonds.
They sparkled with such intense, radiant light, like fragments of the sun itself, that they were clearly of the finest quality.
My jaw dropped.
“Insane! Who just throws something like this in front of their house and leaves?!”
“Perhaps the Empire’s most virtuous and benevolent individual. Judging by how they placed diamonds in such a crude box, they even possess ‘aesthetic humility,’ it seems. Hehe.”
“…Just a moment ago you called them a lunatic who hid like a rat and left, Victoria.”
The capitalist butler, holding a diamond with a gloved hand, swiftly brought it before his monocle (while authenticating it in the process) and observed it as he spoke.
“A rat? I distinctly recall saying they were an angel, did I not?”
“It appears to be genuine…?”
“Even if my arm breaks, I shall personally escort this diamond box to the vault, so please have no concerns, Duchess.”
She seemed quite taken with the diamond box, and without summoning an attendant, she carried it inside herself.
Remarkable. Truly remarkable.
No wonder the Duchess’s Residence and territory ran smoothly while Mother was bedridden.
But who could have left it?
‘Hmm?’
While I was pondering this, I discovered a small letter on the floor where the box had been.
I opened it without hesitation.
[ I heard that the Duchess Valienne is establishing an Orphanage.
I hope this proves helpful.
– Anonymous B- ]
“Oh, this handwriting seems familiar?”
I’ve definitely seen it before. And if it’s ‘B’….
I pressed my forehead with a slap.
Bijae Winston.
This relentless daughter-in-law fanatic had simply sent me a gift because he missed me!
I told him not to contact me, yet he chose anonymity instead.
“And he’s even subtly hinting at it….”
Not content with writing it in his obvious handwriting, he even added the cute hint of the letter B.
While providing such massive support.
I should express my gratitude, shouldn’t I?
Yes, like a streamer receiving a donation, let me turn on the video call and give a reaction….
* * *
When I turned on the video call from the Office, Kyle and Anette’s Father appeared side by side like birds perched on a branch.
“Anette.”
“Our beautiful daughter-in-law…! I’ve missed you. Have you been overwhelmed with arduous duties? Your face seems a bit drawn.”
If I answered yes, it seemed like every nutritional supplement in the Empire would arrive at my doorstep immediately, so I waved both hands.
“No, I’m doing well.”
Though I was indeed overwhelmed with work.
I needed to return to the Duchess’s Residence soon, so I was rushing through as many tasks as possible.
But.
My husband’s innocent beauty seemed unusual today.
‘I haven’t seen him for a day and he’s become even more handsome!’
Was it because I had wanted to see him yesterday…?
Watching him smile with his dimples deepening as he looked at me, I felt a flutter of excitement all over again.
In that moment, two words that had flowed with his warm breath came back to me.
His voice had been soft and low.
‘Tonight.’
“….”
My face flushed on its own for no reason.
“My dear, is everything well at the Duchess’s Residence?”
“Oh!”
I startled and opened my mouth.
“Actually, a most generous benefactor came forward today and provided tremendous support to the Duchess’s Residence!”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. When they heard we were establishing an orphanage in the territory, they donated an enormous quantity of diamonds…! What a truly kind person. Oh, ‘Anonymous B’.”
I clapped my hands awkwardly and laughed.
My father was delighted, his face eager to reveal that it was him.
“So it has been quite helpful then?”
“Yes. I’m truly grateful.”
At that moment, my husband muttered something under his breath, his face darkening.
Though it was merely a murmur, I distinctly heard him say, ‘How petty of him.’
My father seemed to have heard it too, as he lifted the corners of his mouth and looked at my husband.
“….”
…He was testing him.
My father-in-law was testing my husband with the expression of ‘a concubine who has borne a son.’
As Emperor, I sensed danger. I quickly changed the subject to prevent any further conflict from erupting.
I thought it would end as just a small incident.
I didn’t know then.
What kind of ripple effect this small exchange would create.
The next day, another suspiciously large box was delivered to the Duchess’s Residence.
“Hoho, I wonder what other ‘anonymous angel’ has graced us with such generosity.”
Victoria rubbed her hands together eagerly, this time even bringing a jeweler’s magnifying glass.
She was determined to appraise it properly.
The box was noticeably larger than yesterday’s.
As I nervously opened it, even the guard’s eyes widened in shock, and he staggered backward.
“Gasp.”
Inside were all manner of rare treasures—an ancient crown from distant ages and a black sword that seemed impossible to appraise.
But the most striking part was.
That diamonds had been used as packing material to cushion these treasures.
…Normally one would use straw, wouldn’t they?
‘This has Larva’s handiwork written all over it.’
I shook my head.
“Anyone can see this is stolen goods. These are impossible to dispose of….”
“I know someone who converts stolen goods into cash quite seamlessly. Thank you. I’ll add this to the Valienne Duchy budget.”
Victoria, how on earth do you know such a dangerous person?
After Victoria whisked away the box, what remained was, predictably, a single letter lying carelessly behind.
‘Let me see what excuse he used this time….’
[ I wish for the development of Valienne Duchy Academy.
I hope this proves helpful.
-Your Anonymous Husband- ]
…This madman… He’s not even anonymous anymore!
I decided to ignore it completely, sensing that any reaction would spell disaster.
But had I already missed my chance?
Every single day, sponsorship boxes arrived at the Duchess’s Residence multiple times.
The excuses for sponsoring varied wildly, and eventually, when he ran out of things to say, he resorted to sheer absurdity upon absurdity.
‘A sponsorship for the 312th apple tree planted in Valienne Territory’ was actually a thing!
The boxes grew progressively larger and more grandiose, until eventually the boxes themselves became gold.
On a day when I was desperately trying to ignore this mad sponsorship relay,
disaster finally struck.
Crash!
Late at night, the second floor of the Treasury Vault at the Duchess’s Residence collapsed under the weight of the sponsorship boxes.
I jolted awake from sleep in a panic and looked down upon the devastated sponsorship scene below.
“….”
“….”
Even Victoria, for once, muttered with a blank stare.
“The men of the Winston Family are truly remarkable, Your Grace….”
“Summon him at once.”
“Yes?”
I didn’t have Shasha’s talent for summoning magic, but I could summon my husband and Father-in-law without much difficulty.
And quite immediately at that.
* * *
I stared intently at the two men before me.
The Winston father and son, summoned to the Reception Room of the Duchess’s Residence and standing side by side, both fidgeted nervously and avoided my gaze.
“….”

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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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