This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 217

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 217

I caught a glimpse through the roses in the flower bed. There, hidden from sight, Camen and Heart were watching me intently.
Heart’s eyes were sharp enough to pounce at any moment, while Camen’s face was marked with an angry, choleric scowl and a monstrous grin sketched in chalk.
‘So the moment Kimarise uses force, it becomes illegal. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to ask those two for help instead?’
Bloden had already given me permission to use them as needed, so it should be fine.
But it was better for Camen and Heart to stay out of sight. The more the spirits appeared, the more the Empire’s people would admire yet fear Bloden’s power.
‘That’s why in the original work, the spirits hid their identities unless absolutely necessary. But breaking that would feel wrong on my part.’
So I would only call on those two if Kimarise and the knights seemed about to truly clash.
‘If things get really desperate, I can escape with their help. But how am I supposed to resolve this?’
Among the people I knew, only Bloden and Count Enox’s family could help me in any meaningful way.
Part of me was also confused.
‘Isn’t it difficult to help me while breaking the law? The Emperor can’t break the law, after all.’
Honestly, I had no idea if this could even be solved.
“Ugh, I can hear Hailey’s brain working from here.”
The person who spoke up with mockery at my worry was Nelloa, who squeezed through the knights and stepped forward.

* * *

-My lord, we have a problem.

After Robinson had his shins kicked by Hailey, Kimarise immediately reported the situation to Bloden.
Just as Bloden closed the gate, he mounted Crockel’s back upon hearing the report and gave Kimarise his orders.

-Don’t let anyone approach Hailey until I arrive.

And then, barely a day later, this catastrophe happened.
-My lord, disaster has struck!
In that instant, Kimarise felt the urge to kill them all.
Whether it was from witnessing the scene of them trying to drag Hailey away firsthand, or because Bloden’s emotions were now strongly transmitted to him, he couldn’t say.
As long as Kimarise was pretending to be human, he had to wait for Bloden to arrive. But watching this spectacle made his stomach turn, so Kimarise asked Bloden tentatively.
-So, my lord. Can’t I just kill all of them?
-What about the psychological shock Nuna would suffer?
-Ah…….
With this revelation, Kimarise took a deep breath to calm his mind and spoke to Bloden.
-I will endure as much as possible. Please come as quickly as you can, my lord.
Meanwhile, Nelloa, unaware that Kimarise was exercising such patience, suppressed her urge to laugh loudly as she approached Hailey, who was glowering at her.
“Congratulations on the marriage, Hailey.”
“You did this? You put on a show.”
At Hailey’s accusation, Nelloa couldn’t hide her rising smile.

‘Come to think of it, you’ve never actually beaten me in a direct confrontation, have you? So why do you keep coming to poke me and end up losing like this?’

When Hailey had said those words to her, Nelloa had been so frustrated she couldn’t sleep properly for three days. But this time, she’d finally landed a proper blow on Hailey.
The way Hailey’s eyes were glaring at her was proof enough, and she felt so good she was practically trembling with glee.
“You know, Hailey. You said I’ve never beaten you in a direct confrontation, right?”
Watching Hailey’s brow furrow further, Nelloa whispered softly with a victorious smile.
“That’s because the protagonist usually loses while going easy on the villain. Then wins in the end.”
“You just wait. I’m not letting this go.”
At Hailey’s warning, Nelloa scoffed.
“What are you going to do if the Countess of Snoril doesn’t take a foreign princess lightly? Look, even if the Emperor changes the law, it’ll take at least a year. By then, the Countess of Snoril will probably have had a baby or two.”
Nelloa chuckled and passed Hailey, opening the entrance to the house and peering inside, clicking her tongue in disapproval.
“Well, well. Just as I thought.”
Ever since Nelloa found out that Baron was actually Bloden, she’d been curious about one thing.
When she first saw Hailey’s house, there wasn’t a single decent piece of furniture. Yet even as time passed, the cottage’s exterior never changed.
‘Bloden couldn’t possibly keep living like a beggar.’
Sure enough, the interior was filled with furniture and tableware that wouldn’t look out of place in any noble manor.
“So it was just a beggar costume on the outside. You were definitely sucking up to Bloden. But what’s this smell?”
Nelloa, who had been clicking her tongue, suddenly wrinkled her nose and sniffed.
‘That scent… surely not?’
Nelloa strode into the house without warning.
“Who do you think you are, barging into someone else’s home?”
Hailey’s protest echoed behind her, but with the Knights still at a standoff, her feet were tied—Nelloa had no reason to heed it.
She swallowed hard, following the aroma until she found the pot beside the fireplace.
‘Good heavens!’
White tofu fragments peeked above a pale brown broth, their edges catching the light. At the sight of the finely chopped cabbage, green chili, and scallions, Nelloa’s eyes went wide.
‘This is… miso soup!’
In that instant, drool spilling from her lips, Nelloa grabbed a ladle and began eating straight from the pot. The moment the rich, savory taste of miso slid down her throat, tears streamed unbidden down her cheeks.
‘How strange. I figured this unlucky wretch could only manage rice cakes on a stick, yet here she is making all sorts of things.’
She knew, of course, that eating someone else’s food without permission was improper.
But Nelloa had been inhabiting this body for over a decade now. She had lived as a Princess, dining on rare delicacies from mountains and seas, yet the flavors of Korea had never stopped calling to her heart.
For someone in her state, miso soup was not a thing one could endure missing.
With her eyes glazed over, Nelloa rummaged frantically about until she found leftover rice, which she mixed into the broth. Soon the interior of the house echoed only with the sound of her loud slurping.
It was only when the pot showed its bare bottom that Nelloa came to her senses. Having devoured an entire pot, she belched silently and set the ladle down.
‘Remarkable—the more I eat, the more vigor returns to me.’
So this was how she’d seduced Bloden.
With this newfound understanding, Nelloa wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and stepped before the mirror to check for any splatters—then froze in shock.
‘What… what is this situation?’
Her reflection was transformed from this morning. The sagging skin around her eyes had tightened, and the nasolabial lines that massage had failed to remedy had visibly softened.
As she touched her face, Nelloa realized her skin’s elasticity had shifted.
Recently, she had been creating Derivative Gate Seeds one after another to keep Bloden occupied outside as much as possible.
‘I thought I’d exhausted myself and needed several days of rest.’
After a moment’s consideration, Nelloa activated her Special Ability. And the instant she saw a pair of Derivative Gate Seed and Signal Stone materialize in her palm with scarcely any effort, she grasped something enormous.

‘I understand the Curse Breaking Technique.’
‘I already knew.’

‘Ah. So this was her Special Power. That’s why Bloden…’
Nelloa’s eyes grew cold as she gripped the Signal Stone. Simultaneously, her mind raced through rapid calculations, and she let out a soft laugh.
She had done well indeed to marry off Robinson and Hailey.
‘If things stand this way, even if Bloden learns of Hailey’s ability, a transaction is all they can ever be. They’ll never be together.’
Nelloa tucked the Derivative Gate Seed and Signal Stone into her bosom and stepped outside, speaking loudly.
“Hailey, if you leave right now, you won’t have time to gather your things. As your friend, let me carefully pack whatever the Baroness might need at once.”
“What? Who gave you permission to pack my things?”
“Come now, why be like that between friends? I have this much affection for you, at least. Don’t worry.”
Beaming, Nelloa summoned a few of the Knights and gave her orders.
“Gather every bit of food and ingredient in this house. You—go fetch a cart to haul her belongings.”
“Yes?”
“The food… all of it?”
Seeing the bewildered expressions of the Knights, Nelloa crossed her arms.
“She’s a cook. Without anything else, she can survive—but her pride in her own food and ingredients is extraordinary. Even a brief absence of these, and she’ll be devastated.”
“…”
“You want to see the Baroness growing melancholy? If such a thing happens, the Baron won’t leave any of you standing, will he?”
At last, the Knights set about collecting every scrap of food and cooking ingredient from the house with sheepish expressions. They emptied the frozen storage of its provisions and even stripped away all the Frost Magic Stones, loading everything into sacks and crates.
As the Knights loaded the belongings they’d taken from the house onto the cart they’d brought, Hailey immediately objected.
“What exactly are you taking? What you’re doing right now is theft!”
Nelloa brushed off Hailey’s protest and smiled sweetly.
If she recovered by consuming this food, she would no longer need to spend long hours receiving massage from today onward.
‘All I need to do is wait until she starts cooking again.’
She would have Robinson make Hailey prepare dishes infused with her Special Ability, and once she received the results, the path became simple.
She simply needed to preserve the food she was taking now so it wouldn’t spoil until then.
“My dear, what are you saying? From today on, you’ll be living in the Baron’s Manor, so your things belong there as well. Isn’t that right, Baron?”
“Of course.”
“You heard that, Hailey? I’ll have these safely delivered to the Baron’s Manor.”
With a bright expression, Nelloa winked at Hailey, then set the cart in motion and mounted her horse.
“Well then, I’ll go ahead. You hurry and follow the Baron. What a wonderful position the Baroness is!”

* * *

Nelloa is absolutely insane. To have her house ransacked so brazenly.
I wanted to rush over and stop Nelloa’s actions immediately, but the standoff between Kimarise and the knights was too tense. The moment I moved, one side looked ready to lunge at the other, so I could do nothing but watch helplessly as Nelloa and the cart grew smaller in the distance.
The instant Nelloa vanished entirely, Robinson called out to me with the corner of his mouth curling upward.
“Miss Hailey, or rather… I suppose I should call you my lady now.”
So he’s going to brazenly commit fraud now?
At this point, I couldn’t contain myself any longer.
“That document is a forgery. I never signed any marriage registration with you.”
“What are you talking about? The signature is right here, clear as day. Now then, since you’re my wife, let’s head to the manor and discuss this properly. Standing around here is just wasting time, and that man is the only one getting hurt.”
At Robinson’s gesture, the armed knights finally drew their swords.
“You should think of your brother too. Come on, let’s go.”
Robinson strode forward and tried to seize my wrist firmly.
Crack!
“Ahhhhh!”
But before Robinson could grab me, he screamed and went flying backward. Kimarise had wrenched his arm and hurled him away.
“Y-Your Lordship! Are you all right?”
A few shocked knights quickly rushed to support the groaning Robinson. His right arm hung limply—clearly broken.
“My arm! My arm! Ungh!”
Murder blazed in Robinson’s eyes as he clenched his teeth.
“That bastard broke my arm! He’s a traitor! Kill him—!”
Robinson flinched in fear the moment his eyes met Kimarise’s.
“Damn you. How dare a filthy insect raise a hand against me.”
Kimarise swept his hair back with one hand as he spat the harsh words, his gaze carrying a killing intent so dense it made the air itself shudder.
“I can’t hold back anymore. Just die.”
The instant a black blade erupted from Kimarise’s palm, I gasped involuntarily.
And the next scene was already playing out in my mind.
Robinson and all his knights would die here.
It was then.
“Stop, Kimarise.”
A low voice cut through the air between us. What appeared before my eyes was Bloden, mounted on the back of an enormous wolf.

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