This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 12

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

Chapter 12

“Creating an account for the child?”

The bank employee went through several procedures to verify Baron’s identity, then took money from me and created a bankbook.

Soon Baron held a bankbook made of folded and bound paper in his hands.

Baron looked bewildered.

“Why are you making this?”

“Thanks to you, I can do nighttime foraging, so you have a right to part of the money I earn.”

“Huh?”

I smiled brightly as we left the bank.

“Every time I earn money, I’m going to save part of it as your share.”

Baron looked even more bewildered.

“Why? Nuna, you’re raising me.”

“Still, we need to save little by little so you can go to the academy later.”

Baron’s eyes wavered.

“A-academy?”

“Yeah. You’ll go to school to study and make friends.”

“I don’t need that kind of thing.”

“Hey, why don’t you need it?”

I stroked Baron’s head and spoke affectionately.

“You’re smart, so you’ll do well at the academy. You’re handsome too, so you’ll be popular.”

“Popular?”

“Yeah, when you get a bit older, you’ll probably have lots of girlfriends.”

“I don’t need girlfriends. I like Nuna.”

The little guy spoke so seriously that I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You only say that because you’re still young.”

Baron’s brow furrowed, but I continued without caring.

“Let’s save money and go to the academy. Study hard and after graduation, you’ll be able to do more things. Since you’re strong, you could become a knight, or achieve merit and regain your noble title.”

Baron made a deflating sound through his lips.

“No. I really don’t need the academy.”

This kid really seems to hate studying.

“You’re doing this because you’re grateful I caught the search, right?”

That was only natural.

Baron handed me the bankbook and kicked at the ground with his foot.

“If you’re really grateful, instead of this kind of thing…”

“Instead of this? Is there something you want?”

“When we go home, even if it’s just for a moment, c-could you…”

“Could I?”

Baron remained silent for a moment, then shyly lowered his gaze. Baron’s face was completely red.

“…give me a piggyback ride? And before bed, give me a goodnight kiss too.”

“Huh?”

“I want to receive a goodnight kiss.”

‘Ugh!’

Really, it was such a childlike request.

This is what they call heart-fluttering!

He was so cute that I unconsciously pulled Baron into a hug and rubbed his cheek.

Cooing sounds came out naturally.

“Aww, our Baron wanted a piggyback ride. But that has nothing to do with the search. We’ll save money in the bankbook, and Nuna will give our cute Baron piggyback rides and goodnight kisses anytime.”

“No, that’s not…”

“Okay, okay.”

Baron tried to object, but I responded casually while crouching down and offering my back.

Even though Baron had asked for a piggyback ride, he seemed shy as he hesitantly leaned against me.

I grabbed Baron firmly and stood up with him on my back.

“Oh, you pretty thing. Hold onto Nuna’s neck properly.”

“Y-yeah.”

Baron wrapped his arms around my neck from behind and buried his face between my shoulders. Along with his warm body temperature, I could feel Baron’s lips curving into a smile.

Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could feel that Baron was very happy, which made me happy too.

Today I should just buy some bread for dinner and seeds for the garden before going home.

* * *

After finishing shopping with Baron on my back, I was humming as we returned home when I discovered a bewildering sight.

There was definitely nothing there when we left this morning, so what’s that?

Workers were building a house on the adjacent lot a little distance from our house.

The construction site was quite large and the building materials piled up like mountains looked expensive at first glance. It seemed like someone’s villa or something was being built near our house.

A well-dressed man holding blueprints was inspecting the site with someone who appeared to be a contractor, and he definitely looked like a noble.

Suddenly he turned his head and looked at me.

“Huh?”

As if greatly shocked, the man’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. The blueprints he dropped fell to the ground with a thud.

Why is he acting like that?

The man rubbed his eyes several times and looked at me again. He clearly couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

No matter how I thought about it, there was no reason for him to be surprised seeing me, so the only possibility left was Baron.

“Baron, do you know that person?”

“No.”

“Then why is he acting like that seeing us?”

“I don’t know.”

Soon the man came to his senses and approached me with a polite greeting.

“I unintentionally overheard your conversation. Do you happen to live in that cottage next door?”

“Yes. But why were you so surprised?”

Was it my imagination that the man’s gaze briefly touched Baron?

“I-I thought the cottage was empty. When I bought the land, I wasn’t told anything special… But there were neighbors here.”

The man cleared his throat and smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Raven.”

“R-Raven?”

I examined the man’s appearance carefully.

Dark blue hair and gray eyes. Pale skin. It was similar to the physical description of Raven, the male lead Bloden’s close aide.

Wow, to see a major character from the novel in person! It seemed like the male lead Bloden was finally about to appear in this city.

“Are you perhaps Sir Raven Honor?”

My heart was pounding with anticipation when the man asked back.

“Pardon? Do you know Sir Honor?”

“Of course. He’s a famous person known throughout the entire Empire.”

He appears so often in the novel too.

When my eyes lit up, Raven cleared his throat with a troubled expression.

“Ah, that’s right. Sir Raven Honor is a famous person. I’m sorry, but I’m just someone with the same name. I’m a merchant by profession.”

“Oh! I’m sorry.”

I never thought of someone having the same name! Ugh, how embarrassing.

I quickly apologized.

“I was rude.”

“It’s fine. Please take care of me from now on. Please call me Raven.”

“Yes, please take care of me. Mr. Raven.”

After exchanging greetings, I looked at the construction site again.

“You must be building a large mansion.”

“Yes. A beautiful grand mansion….”

Raven nodded slightly in agreement, but Baron interrupted in the middle.

“No way, it looks like it’s just about the size of our cottage.”

Raven nodded even more vigorously.

“…is what people usually think! But actually, the little friend you’re carrying has the right answer.”

He rubbed his hands together and smiled cheerfully.

“I’m planning to build it exactly the size of the cottage next door. It looks good when neighboring houses are similar in size.”

“What? But the construction site is so wide? And there are so many materials….”

No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t the amount needed to just build a cottage-sized house and be done. But Raven laughed as if it was nothing.

“The site was prepared with a garden in mind too. After putting up a fence, I’ll plant flowers, dig a pond, and set up a vegetable garden. As for the materials, I misjudged and bought way too much.”

“I see.”

I was nodding without much thought when Baron’s words suddenly reached my ears.

“Really? Then what are you planning to do with the leftover materials?”

I was truly shocked. Not only was he speaking informally, but his tone was arrogant, as if addressing a subordinate.

“Huh? Baron? Who are you talking to right now?”

I deliberately asked in a small voice, but Baron answered as if he wanted everyone to hear.

“Who else? Raven.”

Oh my goodness.

“I’m, I’m sorry. He’s still immature.”

Flustered, I smiled awkwardly at Raven in apology and put Baron down on the ground. Then I lowered my voice even more to scold him.

“Baron, you can’t speak informally to Mr. Raven. You need to use respectful language.”

“Why?”

Baron’s questioning attitude made me even more flustered.

With one eyebrow raised, Baron looked somewhat incredulous at my scolding.

“What do you mean why? He’s someone you’re meeting for the first time, and he’s much older than you.”

“I’ve never used respectful language with anyone except my parents.”

It was the kind of statement that made me automatically smack my forehead with my hand.

‘Oh, right. He’s a noble.’

I sighed involuntarily.

“Did you speak informally to the inn owner too?”

“Huh?”

“If you had spoken informally, that nasty inn owner would have gotten angry with his personality.”

“…Ah.”

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