Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 24

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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 24
Thinking of his mother always gave Carsel a throbbing headache.
She only ever looked at him with that expressionless face. He could scarcely remember having a proper conversation with her.
As a child, Carsel had grown up believing that family was inherently a distant thing.
Yet that coldness belonged to him alone.
Instead, he had felt a deep camaraderie with the comrades who bled beside him on the Battlefield, though there was one way in which they differed from him.
‘They hunted Monsters to death so they could return safely to the families waiting for them.’
Watching them, Carsel would feel a strange discord in his chest.
Looking back now, that discomfort likely stemmed from some lack—some void he carried.
A longing for a place to return to, something he had never possessed, always slept somewhere deep within him.
As Carsel surfaced from his reverie, someone approached him, breathless, with a question.
“Your Grace, will you permit a communication from Countess Asha Delmore?”
It was Pion, his aide, who had rushed here from afar with this news.
In that instant, Carsel’s eyes flashed an electric blue.
“Connect me at once.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
Carsel abandoned the roses and everything else, striding immediately toward the manor.
He couldn’t keep Asha waiting.
Fortunately, Carsel reached her in time to hear her voice.
[Hmm, Carsel? Do you have time tomorrow? If you do, would it be all right if I came to the Ribandale Marquis Estate with Linea?]
And her message was, mercifully, exactly the kind of contact he had been hoping for.
* * *
The next day, Linea and I set out for the Ribandale Marquis Estate.
“Linea, the person we’re meeting today is……”
My words caught in my throat.
How on earth was I supposed to introduce Carsel?
‘Even if Carsel and I were to marry, Linea wouldn’t think of me as her mother yet. I can’t go calling him her stepfather.’
Linea hadn’t realized the nature of this visit and was simply waiting for me to finish speaking.
“So, um… we’re going to look at a house.”
I left out the part where it might be a newlywed’s home.
“And maybe someday Linea will live there too.”
“Ah……”
Linea’s eyes widened, and then she asked me hesitantly.
“Are you… remarrying?”
“Where did you hear the word ‘remarriage’?”
“Grandmother said you could leave and remarry anytime.”
Ah, so my mother-in-law had already planted those seeds in Linea’s mind.
I chose my words carefully.
“I see. Well, I’m not remarrying right now, but it’s possible someday. And when that happens, I’d like to take Linea with me.”
“Oh.”
Linea looked genuinely surprised.
I waved my hands hastily.
“Of course, only if Linea wants to! I’m not forcing you at all!”
As I spoke, I suddenly caught on something Linea had said.
“Wait—did you just call me ‘mother’?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
Linea flinched, squeezing her eyes shut as she apologized to me.
I felt a twinge of alarm watching her tremble, her face drained pale.
Linea rushed to apologize.
“I shouldn’t have called you that. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”
“No, I asked because I was happy about it.”
At home, she’d been criticized for far smaller slips of the tongue, so apology had become habit for her.
I did my best to meet her eyes and spoke as calmly as I could.
“That you think of me as your mother—that really moves me.”
I wasn’t saying it just to be kind.
All this time, Linea had been so careful with her words, cautious even about touching me. Learning that she thought of me as her mother all along filled my chest to bursting.
‘My goodness. I thought she was still wary of me, so I needed to keep my distance.’
Linea looked down shyly, worrying her lip.
I grinned mischievously and teased her.
“Will you call me that again? Just once more? ‘Mother’?”
“N-no.”
“Why not? I love hearing it!”
Even knowing heat was rising to Linea’s face out of embarrassment, I couldn’t help but smile at her.
Silly child.
The feeling was like taming a young kitten that had been shivering, famished, hiding from the rain.
Perhaps because Linea had been so careful, watching every word and flinching from my touch, the joy I felt was doubled.
“Actually… there’s something I wanted to give you yesterday.”
Whether to escape my continued teasing or for some other reason, Linea reached into her pocket and withdrew something.
“What could it be?”
I took the small cloth pouch she offered me, extending my hand without thinking.
“It’s nothing special! Don’t get your hopes up too high!”
As I stared at the pouch with curious, eager eyes, Linea cried out, her face flushed bright red.
“Really? I can’t know if it’s special unless I look, can I?”
Slowly, I untied the ribbon-knotted cloth pouch.
And inside was……
“Oh, a bracelet!”
It was a beaded bracelet—made from the very beads Linea had bought yesterday, spending all her savings.
“Goodness. When it’s made like this, it’s truly beautiful.”
Either Linea had fine taste and steady hands, or my expectations had been too low, because the result was better than I’d imagined.
“It’s not that good.”
Linea shook her head at my praise, but I showered her with compliments anyway.
“No, really. When I saw those beads at the stall, I never thought they’d come together into something this lovely.”
It was honestly good enough to sell.
“The pink with the pearl tone is so vibrant—it’s perfect for spring. Can I wear it now?”
Linea nodded, her cheeks flushed to bursting.
Fortunately, the dress I’d worn today was the pale pink one I’d bought last time, and it paired perfectly with the bracelet.
“I felt like something was missing, but with Linea’s help it’s perfect now! Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“But what about Linea’s? Didn’t they have other colors?”
At that, Linea reached back into her pocket and shyly showed me another bracelet in a different color.
“This is cute too! You should wear yours too. We’re wearing matching couple bracelets!”
Pleased at the suggestion, Linea quietly slipped the bracelet made of yellow beads onto her wrist.
‘Cheese kitten.’
Today she’d braided her hair in two plaits and tied them in a round knot at the top, making her look particularly fluffy.
In the spring sunlight, she looked just like an adorable little Tevy cat.
Since the last time, yellow had become Linea’s trademark color—it suited her so well that I had to bite back my laughter.
And to think that Linea had spent all her money on beads yesterday because of me.
Could there be a more precious gift for a child?
She had thought hard about what she could do within her means and come to that conclusion.
Compared to that, an expensive jeweled bracelet would have been worthless.
I continued to fidget with the bracelet as I spoke to Linea.
“I’m going to treasure this forever. Thank you, sweetheart.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Next time, you could make bracelets for those new friends you’ve made too.”
At my words, Linea tilted her head questioningly.
“Is that okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? Your friends will love such pretty bracelets.”
“Hehe.”
Linea laughed freely in front of me for the first time.
“Oh! Linea just laughed in front of me!”
“Oh!”
Linea was startled by my excitement.
I smiled warmly at her.
“I hope Linea will keep smiling like that for me.”
At those words, Linea turned shy again and didn’t answer.
But fortunately, the silence didn’t last long.
The iron gates of the manor opened, and as our carriage proceeded up the drive, the landscape beyond the window transformed.
“Wow.”
I thought I’d seen enough ornate gardens when I visited Countess Aneksa’s estate.
But the Ribandale Marquis Estate’s gardens were on a different scale entirely.
‘Carsel’s pride in his rose garden is certainly justified.’
The fact that these vast grounds were nothing but a garden was a novel sight.
And after traveling some distance, the carriage finally arrived before the manor.
It seemed the household had learned from the gates that the carriage was approaching, because a line of servants stood stiffly in front of the manor.
“We’ve arrived.”
The driver’s voice and the opening of the carriage door came together.
Carsel, who had been waiting, came forward and extended his hand to me.
“Was the journey not too taxing?”
“It was very comfortable.”
I bit my lip and took his hand.
His grip was firm, holding me steadily.
Once I descended, it was Linea’s turn.
Linea peeked her head out and stared at Carsel.
And Carsel smiled warmly at her.
“Oh no!”
He’d forgotten that despite his handsome features, his face was rather frightening!

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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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