This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 105

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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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Chapter 105

As soon as news of the Deathknight sighting spread through the office, a fierce competition broke out among reporters eager to be dispatched immediately.

‘Is there anyone among you who knows what Lord Raven Aner looks like?’

Clark, who had access to the Imperial Palace, easily won the competition with that single statement, and throughout the ship journey, he was so excited about catching a massive scoop that he could barely sleep at night.

But to see Raven as soon as he arrived at the hotel he was using as lodging.

“Fortune is smiling on me.”

Clark couldn’t help but smile. At the same time, one question arose.

‘If Lord Aner is here, then this place must also be connected to the Gate incident… Who are that masked man and the young lady?’

Just then, he heard a question from some ajusshi standing a little distance away.

“But what’s the relationship between those young men and the young lady?”

Clark had been curious about the same thing, so his ears perked up. But the answer provided by the ajusshi next to him was truly unexpected.

“I heard they’re just neighbors?”

‘Ne, neighbors? That can’t be right?’

It was absolutely ridiculous.

A busy aide who assists the Emperor living next door to a young lady that even he, who had been in and out of the Royal Court several times, was seeing for the first time.

‘Is the young lady a merchant’s daughter?’

If Raven was staying in an upscale residential area, that would make sense.

“I was curious when I was standing in line to buy rice skewers that the young lady was selling, so I asked. That’s what she told me.”

‘Rice skewers that the young lady sells?’

Honestly, he didn’t really know what rice skewers were. But if she was a merchant’s daughter, it wouldn’t be strange for her to be trading something.

However, what was puzzling was that the ajusshi who claimed to have traded those rice skewers with that young lady had a protruding belly, worn clothes, and a red nose. Even though it was daytime, he reeked of alcohol and didn’t look like he had much money no matter how you looked at it.

Another ajusshi who had been listening to the conversation looked puzzled.

“So they’re… nothing to each other? Does that make sense?”

“Right, the man is so handsome and the young lady is that pretty?”

In response to the first ajusshi’s questioning, the ajusshi who had said they lived next door grinned.

“That’s what they say, but from what I can see, not yet… you know.”

“Right, not yet…?”

Everyone smiled warmly.

“We might hear temple bells ringing soon. Hehe.”

‘Jackpot scoop!’

Clark’s eyes lit up as he quickly jotted down a note in his notebook.

【Raven Aner’s lover, who is she?】

But the ajusshis’ next words shocked him.

“By the way, I heard that young lady was an illegal resident until recently?”

‘Il, illegal resident?’

“That’s true, but she has good business sense, so our Lord recognized her. Now she’s a proper resident of our domain.”

“She even received recognition from Emperor and was treated on the top floor of this hotel, so that says it all.”

The shoulders of the conversing ajusshis straightened even more and they puffed up with pride.

“Ah, our domain residents are truly different.”

‘What on earth is this about? No, did I hear that correctly?’

Clark felt extremely confused but tried to organize the information.

The story about an illegal resident doing well in business and gaining recognition from the Lord sounded absurd, but he supposed it could happen.

But the story about receiving recognition from the Emperor and being treated on the top floor of a hotel made no sense at all.

‘Are those rice skewers really that amazing? Enough to receive recognition from Emperor?’

It seemed like he needed to gather more information, but those people were already chatting about other topics, so asking them probably wouldn’t yield any useful information.

‘With this many people gathered, I should walk around a bit more.’

After moving a few steps, he could hear other ajummas talking.

“Oh my, a young lady like that should be blessed.”

“No matter how I look at it, the men next to her seem to treat her well… but they don’t seem to be in that kind of relationship, right?”

“They’re not in that kind of relationship. I can tell just by looking, you know?”

At those words, Clark found himself nodding unconsciously.

‘Even if she has good business sense and received recognition from the Lord and His Majesty, if she was an illegal resident, she must be from humble commoner origins. There’s no way Lord Aner would be in an intimate relationship with such a woman.’

It seemed better to erase the note he had written earlier.

Then the woman who claimed she could tell just by looking said:

“Those two men are in that kind of relationship with each other.”

‘Cough!’

“Ah. So that’s why.”

“Now I understand after hearing that.”

“Oh my, that poor young lady. Isn’t there a decent man somewhere? Of all things, the men around her are all…”

What kind of delusions were these ajummas spinning about the great Raven Aner?

“That can’t be right.”

The moment the bewildered Clark muttered to himself, the gazes of the conversing ajummas focused on him.

‘Eek.’

Flustered by their attention, he cleared his throat and forced his lips into a smile.

“There are quite a lot of people gathered here. I just arrived in Snoril and don’t really know what’s what, so what’s going on?”

At his words, the ajummas looked Clark up and down.

To the ajummas, he appeared to be in his early thirties, neatly dressed in a suit, and a handsome man with blonde hair combed back properly.

“Hmm, but his height is a bit modest. 175?”

Though it was out of the blue, Clark was secretly startled by the accurate number and quickly lied.

“I’m taller than that.”

Clark felt self-loathing for lying without realizing it and demanded to know why.

“Why, why are you asking such a thing?”

“You look like a noble, are you?”

“Well…”

Clark rolled his eyes and then nodded. This question wasn’t too bad.

“Heh, I suppose it shows. I’m from the Capital.”

Soon the ajummas’ eyes lit up.

“Well, though we’ve just met, you’re handsome and have a good impression, but are you married?”

“…Excuse me?”

This time it was such an out-of-the-blue question that Clark wiped away the cold sweat that naturally appeared.

“I, I’m married.”

Immediately, the ajummas’ expressions turned cold.

“Aw, what a shame. Even if his height is a bit lacking, he would have been perfect for that young lady.”

“I, I’m not short, I tell you.”

Clark rubbed his face. But the ajummas seemed much more friendly than the ajusshis and appeared to know a lot of rumors.

‘Might as well do some reporting while I’m at it.’

He pointed at Hailey and forced a smile.

“So, why is that young lady doing that?”

.

.

.

After hearing all the ajummas’ stories, Clark clicked his tongue after parting with them.

“Her name is Hailey. She saved children who were about to be kidnapped and sold, and saved orphans who nearly died in this Gate incident. What an amazing young lady.”

He nodded while watching Hailey and Raven’s group, who had already boarded a carriage and were receiving people’s farewells, and the cat that hopped up to follow them.

Though some questions remained, he was finally starting to understand a little.

“Rice skewers are a new snack that young lady developed. The Lord provided identity guarantee to collect taxes. Separately from that, since she was a benefactor of the Orphanage Gate, His Majesty gave her some recognition.”

Having put a period to his conclusion, he put his notebook in his chest with a satisfied expression.

It wasn’t the content he had originally intended to cover, but this was excellent material for an article.

【Raven Aner’s Lover, Who Is She?】

The headline he had written first caught his eye.

‘If I just leave out the Gate story, I could weave together the relationship between Raven Aner and this Miss Hailey, couldn’t I?’

Though it was a gossip article, it would sell like hotcakes in the capital.

Raven Aner was also famous as an ice-cold man who never got involved with anyone.

‘Though the Regent publicly supports His Majesty the Emperor, we at the Roan Times know that’s not actually the case.’

Given that, an article about the Emperor’s closest aide losing his mind over a romance with a woman of illegal immigrant origins could work in Anna’s favor.

And if Anna gained an advantage, her brother Duke Roan would surely acknowledge Clark and give him a bonus.

Clark unconsciously clenched his fist.

‘Yes, I’ll use this opportunity to solidify the Regent’s position. Then I’ll have connections to the Imperial Palace too!’

The more powerful backing you had as a journalist, the better, and to secure his connection with Duke Roan, he absolutely had to land this scoop.

‘After covering the area around the Gate, I should visit the government offices and the Lord… and I need to meet this Miss Hailey too.’

According to the information the ajummas gave him, she definitely sold those rice cake skewers twice a week, from 1 PM to 4 PM, for exactly three hours.

Even if he didn’t know when she’d resume business, they said word would spread soon, so he could just wait and meet her then.

‘Since they said it’s a popular business, buying just a few won’t be enough to win her favor. I need to buy fifty or a hundred at once to show I’m a VIP customer.’

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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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