Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 19

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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 19
“Ah, and regarding the Land Purchase Contract, I’ll handle it directly with my lawyer next time and make sure my name is excluded from it. We can do it whenever you’d like.”
I’d been meaning to discuss the contract with him anyway.
I nodded at him.
“Thank you. In any case, I needed a husband with both wealth and a legal status higher than the Count House.”
“Is that why you’re proposing a Contract Marriage to me?”
I nodded at him.
“When I looked into it, there were only two unmarried men with titles higher than the Count House — the Rivandel Marquess House and the Rakan Duke House.”
At my words, Karsel’s gaze seemed to briefly avoid my eyes.
I spoke to him as if it were obvious.
“But frankly, you might not need to marry me at all, right?”
Of course, I remember clearly that he said he wouldn’t marry unless it was someone he truly loved.
And I also know that the person he likes right now is me.
But knowing that I don’t yet feel the same way about him—how could I go through with this?
As I was about to continue, Karsel answered hastily.
“It’s very necessary.”
“Pardon?”
“Marriage to Asha is necessary.”
“Yes, yes. Just hear me out first.”
This is exactly why I’d found it so burdensome to bring up a Contract Marriage in the first place.
“My original plan was to fill in whatever gaps you had, and in exchange, ask you to help me get Linea into my Household Register.”
“Have you changed your mind now?”
“The more I talk with you, the more I think it wouldn’t be right to do that to someone who’s being genuine with me.”
Even now, though he looks like a Doberman, he actually seems to be wagging his tail as enthusiastically as a Golden Retriever.
It felt wrong to treat his feelings so carelessly.
Of course, Karsel had a different opinion.
“I’m fine with such a contract. As long as Asha will marry me.”
“I can’t bring myself to use you so shamelessly. Anyway, that’s why I thought about it.”
If using him without feeling anything makes me uncomfortable, then why not solve the root cause?
I came to a clear answer.
“If I can come to like you enough to return your feelings, wouldn’t that solve everything?”
“Ah…….”
“Why don’t we go on three proper dates?”
Even at blind dates, they say a couple decides whether to date or not after three meetings.
Ever since I’d realized that Karsel wasn’t as dangerous as he looks, I’d opened my heart to him to some degree.
But then Karsel threw out an unexpected question.
“What if, even after three dates, Asha still doesn’t develop feelings for me?”
“Then I’ll have to find another way. Either find someone else to help me, or solve it myself without finding anyone.”
I could stay at the Delmore Count House a while longer, become anonymous, and then slip away with just Linea in the dead of night.
I could ask the Guild Master to create a new identity for me and start a fresh life in a completely different country outside the empire.
Of course, that would only be if Linea wanted it too.
But honestly, this plan felt somewhat illegal and burdensome to me.
So I added casually.
“Though I don’t think it’ll come to that.”
“Honestly……, I have no confidence I can win Asha’s heart. I don’t know how to seduce anyone.”
“Pardon?”
Then what was all that tail-wagging about?
I stared at him with a bewildered expression.
Then Karsel, sharp and cold like the first day we met, smiled with a cynical twist.
“I’ve never received anyone’s affection except Asha. I suppose I must lack masculine charm.”
Despite his intimidating appearance, seeing such a devastatingly handsome man say something so self-deprecating left me flabbergasted.
I blinked helplessly, unsure where to even start refuting him, when Karsel muttered self-mockingly.
“I’m not particularly handsome, my way with words isn’t exceptional, and all I have to show for is wealth…….”
“Hey, Karsel?”
I raised my index finger to stop him from continuing with these ridiculous statements.
Furrowing my brow, I probed him carefully.
“Are you joking right now?”
“Pardon?”
“Is this just you being modestly polite?”
Surely he didn’t genuinely believe he had no charm?
But Karsel only screwed up his face vaguely. He still seemed confused.
Finally, I just blurted it out at him.
“Karsel, you look scary, but you’re handsome! Incredibly so!”
When he heard my words, he slowly closed and opened his eyes.
“You looked so handsome at first glance that I initially thought you were a con artist who preys on women, so don’t think that way.”
Upon hearing that, Karsel looked at me. His gaze fixed on my face.
I’d blurted that out without thinking because I was flustered by his absurd comment. But now that I’d said it, I wondered if I’d overdone it.
Embarrassed, my cheeks flushed slightly as well.
So I hastily added something else.
“Of course……, a handsome face isn’t everything.”
“Then what’s your ideal type, Asha?”
Karsel studied me.
My ideal type.
I met Karsel’s eyes as he tilted his head slightly, waiting for my answer.
I wanted to give a plausible response, but I couldn’t lie.
“Honestly, I’ve never really thought about it. Life has been so busy I’ve never even been in love before.”
“Is that so?”
“Ah, but there is one thing I’d prefer to avoid!”
The words suddenly came to me.
“As long as he’s not a frightening man like the Rakan Duke.”
“Not a frightening man like the Rakan Duke……, pardon?”
He’d been continuing as if in agreement, but now he looked at me with a puzzled expression.
I nodded at him seriously.
“Really. It would be nice if he were handsome, but it’s not essential. And if our personalities and values align well, that would be even better.”
“No, no, but before that. Why do you absolutely rule out the Rakan Duke?”
“Well.”
Karsel’s question sounded strangely urgent.
I answered as if it were obvious.
“Because he’s a frightening man who can end a person’s life as easily as squashing a fly, and who never reveals his true identity.”
Though he was the only other man among the two who possessed the qualifications I needed, he was definitely not someone I’d consider as a marriage candidate.
“……That might be a prejudice, don’t you think?”
Karsel asked me in a curiously restless manner.
“Do you know him?”
For a moment I almost said something about him having the same name, but I stopped myself, worried I might reveal that I knew something about the Rakan Duke.
“That couldn’t be.”
“Right? You don’t have any personal connection with the Rakan Duke that might have offended you with my words, do you?”
Karsel seemed to be breaking out in a cold sweat for a moment, then regained some composure.
“I don’t know such a person.”
Karsel answered firmly, his gaze oddly downcast.
I nodded as if I’d expected nothing less.
“He’s extremely secretive, so of course you wouldn’t know him.”
“I suppose……, that’s right.”
“Then, Karsel.”
At the sound of his name, Karsel looked back at me.
I smiled slightly at him and asked.
“What do you think? Starting from today, should we go on three more proper dates, and if we both develop feelings, get married?”
I’d thought he might ask for time to think.
Instead, he simply conveyed his decision in a low voice.
“I don’t need three dates. Whenever Asha comes to like me, that’s all I need.”
“But you don’t need to worry about that.”
Embarrassed by my own words, I licked my lips slightly.
“I’m already starting to become interested in you.”
First it was wariness, then doubt, and now curiosity.
Since I’d confirmed he was someone trustworthy to some degree, it seemed hard not to like him.
Instead of answering, Karsel quietly bit his lip.
Ah, again.
‘It’s not just my cheeks that are flushed—my neck is warm too.’
Is that why his entire face had turned red earlier?
‘Because I carelessly touched his cheek and he became conscious of me?’
At the thought, my own heart rate suddenly surged.
The room somehow felt warmer.

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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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