This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 13

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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 13

Baron rolled his eyes as if just remembering, then pouted his lips.

“B-back then, I didn’t talk at all. They wouldn’t let me speak.”

“…Ah.”

That could have been the case. I unconsciously let out a sigh of sympathy.

Still, not reading the room and being impolite were different matters.

Moreover, despite his obvious wrongdoing, if I kept spoiling him with “oh my precious child,” Baron would grow up to be a handsome scoundrel.

And the person in front of us had a social status that was higher than ours, if anything, definitely not lower.

I wasn’t even verified for my identity, and Baron was an orphan.

That meant if that person got angry at Baron’s rudeness, we’d be in serious trouble!

So before the situation escalated further, I had to persuade Baron to correct his behavior and apologize.

“Baron, this situation might be hard to understand, but I’m going to try to raise you properly. You know how I feel, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, then from now on let’s use respectful language with adults we’re meeting for the first time. Got it?”

“You didn’t say anything when I spoke casually to Nuna.”

“I’m fine with it, but the person coming as our neighbor might not be. He must have been displeased hearing casual speech so suddenly.”

“No, it’ll be fine.”

“Other people’s feelings aren’t for you to decide. Baron, how would you feel if someone arbitrarily decided your feelings or mood?”

“How dare they?”

At his immediate response, my lips trembled. At the same time, I felt to my bones that Baron was born a noble.

“See? You feel that way too. Other people are the same.”

“Then I’ll just ask.”

Baron proudly lifted his head and asked Raven.

“Raven, are you upset that I spoke casually? Should I use respectful language like Nuna says?”

“Ugh! You can’t do that!”

Startled by his even more arrogant tone, I crouched down and pulled Baron’s head tightly into my arms.

With his mouth blocked, Baron put his hands on my arms as if to resist, but immediately became docile.

Cold sweat naturally ran down my spine. I quickly read Raven’s expression and apologized.

“I-I’m really sorry! I’ll teach him properly!”

Raven coughed a few times and smiled kindly.

“Not at all. I’m fine with it, so please let the little friend speak casually as much as he wants.”

“…Pardon?”

“Actually, I took a liking to the little friend at first sight, and hearing him speak casually makes me feel close to him, which makes me happy.”

‘…Huh?’

“I really like dignified and handsome children, so please don’t worry about it at all.”

“….”

I carefully observed Raven’s expression. He really didn’t look upset.

“I-I hope you won’t scold the little friend you’re holding.”

Come to think of it, I was holding Baron tightly.

“Oh, sorry. You must have been suffocating.”

I quickly let Baron go. As soon as I did, Baron hurriedly stepped back a few paces and covered his face with his arms.

“See, I, I was right, wasn’t I?”

Baron’s stammering face, and even his ear tips, were red. He must have been really suffocated.

“Yeah. Right.”

Feeling somewhat awkward, I scratched the back of my neck once and nodded.

It worked out well, but this time we were lucky. What if Raven had been a mean-spirited adult?

And speaking casually to an adult you’re meeting for the first time is indeed impolite.

I took Baron’s hand and greeted Raven.

“I’m Hailey. This is Baron. Thank you for being so understanding. Well, I hope the construction goes smoothly. See you next time.”

“Yes, Baron-nim. Hailey-nim. I’ll see you again next time.”

Really, his attitude was respectful.

His attitude also made me wonder.

I thought he might be someone who was used to speaking respectfully even to children. But Baron-nim and Hailey-nim?

“We seem much younger, so please just call us Hailey and Baron comfortably.”

He immediately waved his hands.

“Oh, no. I’m more comfortable doing it this way regardless of age.”

“Then I’ll call you Raven-nim too.”

“It’s just my habit, but Hailey-nim doesn’t need to go that far. Raven, or Raven-ssi would be natural and good. Please treat me comfortably. Well then, I need to continue overseeing the construction.”

Raven bowed respectfully to us and returned to where he was originally standing.

“It’s okay to hear casual speech but he has to use respectful language himself, he tries hard to elevate others while lowering himself….”

I muttered to myself and tilted my head, then asked Baron.

“He’s really unusual but kind. Right?”

Baron grinned.

“Yeah, seems like we got a good neighbor.”

“Right. That’s a relief.”

I nodded and brought Baron inside the house, putting down our luggage as I spoke.

“Rest for a bit, Baron. I just remembered somewhere I need to go.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“The government office.”

“Why there?”

“Raven-ssi said he bought land. Maybe the house and land we’re living on also has an owner, so I want to look into it.”

“Ah, you said this wasn’t where you originally lived.”

Baron continued nonchalantly.

“Instead of going to the government office, couldn’t you just ask Raven?”

“Huh?”

“If he bought land, he might know whose land is where.”

“…Nah, that would be a bother.”

“Since he’s a good neighbor, he’ll probably answer right away.”

Baron strode outside. Soon Baron’s voice got louder.

“Raven!”

Startled, I went outside to see Baron raising his hand high and beckoning Raven over with his finger.

Hey, you little rascal!

Raven’s head was turned this way. He seemed to be in the middle of talking with someone who looked like a contractor, holding blueprints.

“Baron! You can’t call people like that!”

“Why? Raven said to treat him comfortably.”

“H-he said casual speech was okay. Treating him comfortably doesn’t mean calling him like that anytime.”

“….”

“You can’t call adults like you’re calling a neighborhood dog!”

My heart was pounding with nervousness and I naturally sighed. It seemed like I’d be constantly apologizing to Raven for a while.

But Baron pointed with his finger.

“He’s coming over just fine though?”

Baron was right. Raven had handed the blueprints to the other person and was hurriedly walking… no, running toward us.

Seeing that made me suspicious.

“Is he just big but actually stupid inside? Or a pushover?”

I became confused as well.

“But wait? He said he was a merchant? If he were stupid he’d only lose money, so how could he be a merchant?”

While I was muttering to myself, Raven approached and very kindly lowered himself to match Baron’s eye level.

“Yes, Baron-nim. What did you call me for?”

There was no sign of displeasure in his eyes as he looked at Baron.

It seemed that despite his appearance, Raven was definitely a pushover. Or maybe he really liked children.

“When buying land, I was wondering if you might have seen who owns the land we’re living on.”

“Ah. I know.”

Raven got up and looked around.

“This is Snoril Domain, but since the sea belongs to the Empire, this whole area is state-owned land.”

He explained with gestures.

“The mountain next to us and the stream flowing behind us are all included in the state-owned land.”

A question naturally arose.

“Can you buy state-owned land?”

“To be precise, you buy usage rights. I bought the usage rights for just the area I’ve leveled out.”

He said you could also find out who had the usage rights. Such places would be marked as “state-owned land occupied” along with the usage rights holder’s name, while other places would just be marked as “state-owned land.”

In other words, where we lived was completely state-owned land.

His words suddenly made me worried.

“Then should we perhaps vacate this house?”

“No.”

Raven answered immediately and smiled brightly as he looked at our cottage.

“I bought usage rights because I need to properly construct a building. Anyone can live on state-owned land without any particular registration. You just have to move out later if someone buys the usage rights, but the lords don’t really stop it either. Realistically, they can’t stop it all anyway. Usually people who live day to day, those without identity guarantees live there…”

His eyes, which had been trailing off, suddenly looked at me and shook greatly.

“Wait a moment. Excuse me, but do you perhaps not have identity guarantee…?”

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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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