This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 19

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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 19

“Oh my. There’s no stopping him.”

I giggled as I scooped up rice with the spoon.

“What side dish should I give you?”

“That stew? What’s it called?”

“Bean curd stew.”

“Yeah, I want to try that too.”

When I dipped the rice deep into the bean curd stew, steam rose up in wisps.

“Wait, it’ll be too hot for you to eat right away.”

I blew on the rice to cool it down.

Then, the moment I met Baron’s wildly shaking pupils and completely reddened face, I realized I had unintentionally given him a culture shock.

Ah, I’m not his mother.

“Sorry, blowing on it with my mouth would be a bit weird, wouldn’t it.”

I put the rice I had been blowing on into my mouth. I couldn’t waste precious food.

Baron’s mouth fell wide open in surprise.

“Huh? But that’s the spoon I was eating with?”

“Hey, what’s the big deal.”

It really wasn’t anything to me. But Baron’s face turned red all the way to his ears, which made me worry instead.

“Ah, sorry. Even if I’m okay with it, you might have found it unpleasant.”

Baron shook his head while covering his mouth.

“N-no. I’m fine with it.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

I brought a new spoon and scooped fresh rice and bean curd stew, then waited a moment for it to cool.

Meanwhile, Baron, who had been sitting quietly, carefully opened his mouth.

“Nuna.”

“Yeah?”

“Um, about putting a spoon that someone else ate with in your mouth.”

“Yeah.”

“Would you be okay with what other people ate with too?”

“Ewww! Are you crazy?”

Just hearing it made me shudder, and I unconsciously waved my hands in disgust.

Ugh, I almost dropped the rice I was cooling back into the stew!

“That would be gross.”

“…Huh? B-but you’re totally fine with the spoon I ate with?”

“Well, you’re our family.”

Baron’s eyes widened.

“Only me is okay.”

“O-only me?”

“Of course. We’re family. Here, it doesn’t seem hot anymore. Say ahh~”

I fed the properly cooled rice to Baron. Baron opened his mouth like a baby bird and ate it again this time. Seeing him chew so well made me feel like my own stomach was full.

“Oh my, what a cute kid. You have to chew thoroughly.”

Baron nodded but couldn’t meet my eyes. He still seemed embarrassed with his ears flushed red.

Well, since he was born a noble, the culture shock must be quite significant.

* * *

After finishing our meal and doing this and that, it was already time to sleep.

When I came back from washing up, Baron was sitting against the headboard with bright eyes, wearing his new pajamas.

The fairy tale book we bought during the day was on Baron’s lap, making me smile naturally.

“Now we just need to light the lamp and tell Serch we’ll see him tomorrow and let him outside.”

At Baron’s words, I placed the lamp on the nightstand and opened the door.

“See you tomorrow, Serch.”

Then Serch went outside as if he had been waiting.

“Wow, he’s really smart. I wonder what his intelligence level is?”

As I muttered to myself and closed the door, Baron handed me the fairy tale book.

“You’re going to read it to me, right?”

“Yeah.”

I sat side by side with Baron and opened the book.

“Northern Gate Picture Fairy Tale.”

The background illustrations that looked like they were drawn with crayons caught my eye. At the same time, my head tilted naturally.

Under a blue sky without a single cloud, white snowy mountains and ice flowers bloomed beautifully. The gate drawn alone in the middle was sky blue.

‘Don’t they usually depict backgrounds where villains appear with a dark and gloomy atmosphere…?’

The material was taken from reality, but it seemed to be drawn prettily to protect children’s innocence. I read the fairy tale aloud.

“Once upon a time, there lived a warrior who was born with divine power.”

The fairy tale was about a brave warrior who defeated the monsters pouring out from the Northern Gate.

“The warrior could summon and command demons, spirits, and ghost legions.”

The warrior had black hair and red eyes. Various ghost legions were drawn around the warrior, but they were all depicted cutely, probably to protect children’s innocence.

“But great power comes with a price, and divine power had side effects. The side effect was that the more he used his power, the more invisible he became to people’s eyes.”

The warrior had a sense of mission to protect the Empire and defeated all kinds of monsters at the Northern Gate where the winter winds were harsh, again and again.

“The more the warrior used his power, the more invisible he became to people’s eyes.”

Still, people didn’t forget the warrior and continued to bring clothes, food, and weapons near the Gate. For the warrior fighting the monsters.

“The warrior happily defeated monsters while wearing and eating those things. Since everyone in the Empire was safe and happy thanks to the warrior, it couldn’t be better. …The end.”

It was a very short fairy tale, so I finished reading it quickly.

The transparent warrior standing on the monsters smiled brightly while raising his sword high, and below the mountain range, people brought offerings and worshipped the warrior, calling him a god.

What kind of fairy tale is this.

I glanced over and saw Baron’s expression had darkened. He didn’t look entertained at all, making me feel sorry for reading this fairy tale.

I didn’t know it would have this kind of ending either.

“It’s a bit weird, isn’t it?”

Only then did Baron look at me.

“…Huh?”

“The fairy tale ending seems a bit strange.”

I closed the book and pushed it aside.

“Ajumma recommended it saying it was popular, but next time I should check the content beforehand.”

“Why is the ending weird? It’s a happy ending.”

I gave Baron, who was asking back indifferently, a goodnight kiss on his forehead and laid him down on the bed while answering.

“The protagonist has to be happy for it to be a happy ending.”

Baron, who had puffed his cheeks briefly, sighed through his nose.

“But it said the warrior was happy too. And because the warrior fought, everyone can live safely.”

“But wouldn’t he be lonely? Since people can’t see him anymore.”

“Even with the demon, ghost, and spirit legions?”

“The warrior is human.”

“…Is that important?”

“The legions that fight enemies together would be important too. But wouldn’t a human want to live among other humans? I think I would.”

The violet eyes looked at me intently and asked again.

“That could be true. But still, if one sacrifices, many can live, right?”

I was so shocked by this shocking statement that I unconsciously widened my eyes and stared at Baron.

‘Do the Empire’s children who read this fairy tale end up thinking this way?’

Baron’s gaze looking at me subtly pierced my heart, but I didn’t hastily say anything and turned off the lamp on the nightstand and lay down.

Lying still and staring blankly at the ceiling where not even a sliver of light existed, I mulled over what Baron had said.

‘One sacrifices so many can live.’

Those words kept making me think of the male lead, Bloden.

‘Fortunately, the female lead Nelloa saved the male lead and they got their own happy ending. But until then, wasn’t he lonely at the Northern Gate?’

When I was reading the novel, I only saw it as a salvation narrative setting for the romance.

Now that it had become the world I lived in, I suddenly felt sorry for Bloden and found myself unconsciously muttering softly.

“That doesn’t seem right.”

“…Hm?”

“You weren’t asleep yet.”

I turned on my side and gently patted Baron.

“Nuna.”

Baron, who had been lying down properly, turned his body and lay on his side facing me.

“What do you mean that doesn’t seem right?”

“Well, the Warrior is human too. He just doesn’t say anything because of his sense of duty as a Warrior, but that doesn’t mean he’s happy. I think the fairy tale’s ending is wrong somehow.”

I pulled Baron into my arms while lying down.

“Look, Baron. When I hold you like this, what do you feel?”

Baron was silent for a moment. Then he spoke quietly.

“I can hear Nuna’s heartbeat. You smell warm and nice.”

I had expected something like ‘warm.’

Baron’s response made me feel good and I couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m glad you think I smell nice. How do you feel?”

His small hands hugged me tighter. Baron was burrowing into my embrace.

“Good. And Nuna is amazing. You feel strangely warmer, so I don’t want to let go. Um, that is, well… how should I put it.”

Even while acting spoiled, he tried hard to express himself properly. Baron was so cute that I hugged him even tighter.

“It’s probably the warmth between people. So, like the temperature of feelings we share with each other?”

I slipped my fingers through Baron’s hair and slowly stroked it.

“The Warrior is human too, so he would need someone who could feel this kind of emotional warmth with him. But an ending where he becomes invisible and can’t have that? That’s sad.”

Baron stayed still. I wondered if he was getting sleepy.

“I think an ending where the side effects and Gates completely disappear would be better. Then true peace would come to the world and the Warrior would live happily ever after, loved by people.”

Baron, who had been quiet, chuckled softly.

“Hehe. That really sounds like a fairy tale.”

I pressed my lips to Baron’s forehead. Then I continued speaking slowly.

“I wish reality could be like that too. Then our Baron wouldn’t have to go to the battlefield either.”

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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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