The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me - Chapter 114

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 114

…He’ll use any means necessary to stop the engagement.

Why doesn’t he understand?

The more stubbornly he acts, the more my resolve hardens.

‘The fiancée of Count Evantes.’

It’s a position that would give me considerable power.

At the same time, it would be a solid shield to protect me.

It’s not without its concerns… but this is clearly the best option in the current situation.

‘But what was that conversation about?’

【I… killed ‘that woman,’ so you resent me.】

It’s a story that has nothing to do with me, yet it keeps bothering me like something stuck in my throat.

Who is that woman? Who did they kill?

And did they actually kill someone or not? The more I think about it, the more complicated it becomes.

The more I mulled over that conversation, the more my mood plummeted to rock bottom, making my stomach churn.

I have a feeling this is something I absolutely shouldn’t know.

…This was all Roji’s past. Yet I couldn’t pretend not to know.

“I came to see the Count.”

While lost in thought, I had arrived in front of Arzen’s room.

I gestured to the gatekeeper standing at the door to open it for me.

“The Count has gone out for a walk in the garden.”

At this hour?

Isn’t it rather late to be going out for a walk?

I nodded vaguely in acknowledgment and headed straight to the garden.

As I stepped outside the estate, a cold wind hit me.

My body shivered. I’m already sensitive to cold as it is.

I complained about my weak constitution while looking for Arzen.

If I couldn’t find him quickly because of the cold, I planned to come look for Arzen again tomorrow.

Then I spotted Arzen in my field of vision, touching the bare tree branches.

He seemed to notice me belatedly and turned his head to look at me.

“Roji.”

“Aren’t you cold?”

“You look cold.”

I was the one who asked, but Arzen looked at me pitifully as I shivered.

What. Why.

I belatedly examined Arzen.

Seeing him walking around this garden wearing just a thin shirt, he seemed to be managing fine.

“Let’s go back inside the estate.”

“It’s okay. I’ve gotten used to it a bit. Let’s talk here.”

It was true. My body temperature had adapted to the outside temperature, so it felt less cold.

I didn’t want to waste time moving to a different location inside the estate.

“I came because I have something to ask. First, if I get engaged to you, Count, it’s only natural, but how will you handle that false accusation of me being a criminal?”

“It seems you’ve made your decision?”

I nodded. I didn’t have a choice to begin with anyway.

“I can’t have a criminal as my fiancée, after all.”

That’s one problem solved.

“Then will you help me maintain my position as Baron Seiblain’s aide?”

“Yes.”

Arzen answered readily.

“You seem quite obsessed with the House of Sablain.”

“…Obsessed?”

“Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come to accept this proposal.”

No, what are you talking about when you didn’t even give me a choice to begin with?

I sighed and answered.

“Because that place was my life.”

Three years was quite a long time.

Everything I had built up during that time, everything I had made mine in this world, was all there.

These were things I couldn’t easily give up right now.

“And the position of Count Evantes’ fiancée isn’t bad either. Isn’t it a position anyone would covet?”

“Do you covet it too?”

“I’m going to try coveting it from now on.”

If only I could escape from those crazy bastards by doing so.

But Arzen remained silent.

He looked at me with quiet eyes whose intentions I couldn’t read.

“How long will the engagement period be?”

“…Engagement period?”

“You’ll marry someone else, won’t you?”

Arzen is the epitome of an arrogant noble to his very bones.

I was quite surprised when such a person proposed engagement to me.

Because I never expected him to make such a proposal to a commoner he looked down upon.

“How long do I need to stay by your side, Count? I want to hear a clear timeframe.”

Arzen furrowed his brow.

Judging by his expression, something about my words seemed to have rubbed him the wrong way.

However, before trying to please him, this was something I needed to clarify.

‘If he says the timeframe is indefinite, let’s run away.’

This was my biggest concern in the current situation.

I’m accepting the ridiculous condition of becoming his fiancée because of blackmail, but the reason I haven’t decided to run away immediately is because there are benefits to it.

But if the period gets too long, I can’t agree to it.

I have my own life; I can’t live tied to him.

“At most, one year.”

“One year?”

I expected him to say something arbitrary like ‘stay until I’m satisfied,’ so this was unexpected.

“One year is enough?”

“One year is enough. After that, I’ll guarantee you freedom and compensation.”

“What kind of compensation will you give me?”

“I’ll grant you whatever you want.”

For a blackmailer, these are quite generous conditions.

Since the beginning was so bad, I was a little afraid of this situation flowing in my favor.

“…Why are you offering such generous conditions?”

It was so strange that I had to ask.

“Well.”

Arzen closed his mouth again.

Strangely, his smile seemed a little wistful.

* * *

Rumors really were unpredictable.

As soon as I accepted Arzen’s proposal, the rumors spread immediately.

【Do you remember that woman Count Evantes was looking for?】

【Turns out she wasn’t a criminal after all!】

【He came all the way down to the North searching for his lost love!】

【What a romantic!】

After hearing all the rumors floating around the Northern Castle, I felt utterly dismayed.

It’s better than being called a criminal, but…

Arzen, can’t you spread rumors normally?

I sighed and picked up the newspaper.

[Monster Attack on Persen Trade Route, Administrative Embezzlement Exposed… Mysterious ‘Benefactor’ Saves the Empire Once Again!]

It seems there was quite a big incident recently.

‘Persen Estate is right next to this place, isn’t it?’

[Last week, a disaster occurred when a horde of monsters suddenly attacked the trade route in Persen.

However, in the midst of despair, the Benefactor appeared and instantly subdued the monster horde,

even exposing hidden crimes and restoring safety to this land.]

‘Benefactor…’

I stared at the illustration in the newspaper for a long time.

No matter how much I searched my memory, this character didn’t exist in the novel.

Who on earth is this person?

The world had been in chaos since the war.

The being who emerged through that gap was so indistinguishable in gender that people called them both a saint and a holy man.

A large number of believers who worshipped them had even emerged.

[…someone testified to seeing pink hair fluttering from under the Benefactor’s robe.]

[Stories say they possess exceptionally beautiful features…]

‘Pink hair? What is this?’

Just recently they were saying the Benefactor had black hair. Now they’re arguing it’s pink hair.

‘Why is the reporting such a mess?’

This newspaper company even receives patronage from nobles and is quite wealthy, isn’t it? It’s not a place that writes articles carelessly…

There was nothing more to glean from it.

…Something felt unsettling. Looking at them stirred up indescribable emotions.

I had been planning to investigate them anyway.

…Once I become Arzen’s fiancée, it’ll be easier to learn about them.

I put down the newspaper I was reading. My head was getting complicated, so I felt like I needed to take a walk.

【I’m thinking of holding a party soon. I’ll announce the fact that I’m engaged to you there.】

The words Arzen left a few days ago lingered in my mind.

Arzen seemed to be planning to announce it to the northern nobles first.

‘Why bother?’

That was my immediate thought upon hearing it. He could do it after going to the capital, so why rush to handle it here?

I glanced out the window. I’d been seeing many carriages entering the estate lately. There were quite a lot of nobles trying to curry favor with Arzen.

I had just started walking down the corridor with restless feelings.

When I encountered a man in white priestly robes.

Startled, my body froze.

“Why are you here…”

I found myself muttering upon seeing him.

I definitely heard he had left the North.

“Getting engaged, are we, Roji?”

Rihardt looked at me with a smooth smile.

“You kissed me, but you’re marrying another man?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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