Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 30

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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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Episode 30
“I love it!”
Linea’s eyes sparkled.
I couldn’t help but laugh at how eager she was to be helpful, finding her utterly endearing.
Linea spent a long time wandering through the Boutique, studying the dresses with careful attention.
“I’m only buying two.”
At my words, the child’s expression grew even more serious.
After much deliberation, Linea narrowed her choices down to five candidates.
I started a fashion show, just as Linea had done for me before.
“It’s beautiful!”
Linea clapped her hands and stomped her feet with delight.
“Which one do you like best?”
“They’re all so pretty….”
Though they leaned more toward Linea’s taste than my own, she ultimately chose two dresses.
“I’ll change into one of them before we leave. Can you have the one I took off and the other altered and sent to the Delmore Earl’s Residence by tomorrow?”
“Of course, madam!”
Ever since I’d started buying multiple dresses at once, the service had improved noticeably.
After paying, I took Linea’s hand and walked back out into the street.
“We still need to pick a gift for Lucian today. What do you think would be good?”
“What do boys usually like?”
“Well… that’s a good question.”
My expression became just as serious as Linea’s.
Linea was simply struggling with not knowing what gift boys might enjoy, but I had the added problem of knowing that Lucian was the Crown Prince—which gave me a headache.
‘What on earth do you give to someone who has everything?’
Perhaps children like that actually prefer simple handwritten letters or heartfelt gifts?
Suddenly, the image of a wealthy man flashed through my mind.
Carcel’s gold-toothed smirk glinting, the arrogant way he’d draped his arm over the side of an open carriage.
‘The man with thirty-two bank accounts and eight property deeds.’
At that very image, I quickly shook my head back and forth.
‘That’s seriously warped!’
But one thing was certain—Carcel would definitely understand boys’ tastes!
“Linea, why don’t we contact someone we know well?”
At my suggestion, a question mark seemed to appear above Linea’s eyes.
I promptly headed for a communication booth.
Linea and I stepped into the booth together, and I placed a call to Carcel.
‘He might not pick up.’
But to my surprise, he answered quickly.
[Asha?]
“Carcel, if you’re busy, it’s okay to hang up!”
[I’m not busy at all.]
Even as he said that, someone behind him exclaimed, “But you still need to sign off on these documents—!” followed by a dull thud.
The line went quiet.
“C-Carcel?”
[…Ah, my apologies. A fly was just buzzing around.]
My eyes narrowed.
‘It really was a fly, right?’
Do flies these days speak in human voices?
Even as I thought that, I pressed ahead with my question.
“Actually, Linea and I have been invited to a luncheon today hosted by her new friend. He’s a boy.”
[Ah, I see.]
“And he comes from a very wealthy family. What on earth should we give to children like that?”
To my question, Carcel responded with an answer that seemed to require no further thought.
[Surely a sword? Swordsmanship is a basic accomplishment, after all.]
“Hmm….”
If it were a sword, Lucian probably owned more than ten already.
And besides, I was about to meet the Crown Prince—I couldn’t bring a real blade into his presence, not even with my identity hidden.
I pressed my forehead and asked again.
“Is there something less dangerous?”
[A dagger? A rapier? A mace?]
“Do you really think any of those are less dangerous?”
Carcel’s frame of reference was seriously different from mine.
‘I mean, from what I know about Carcel’s background, there’s nothing particularly odd, but the way he thinks about weapons, it’s like he spent a decade rolling around on a battlefield with no sense of caution at all.’
[I seem to have misjudged. For a safer gift for a boy, perhaps a hunting hound or a falcon would be better.]
“No! The child isn’t going off to war! He’s just a normal ten-year-old boy from a very wealthy family, that’s all!”
[Then….]
Carcel seemed to have fallen into thought for a moment before responding.
[Something made specifically for that child alone might be better. A wealthy child who can have almost anything won’t be moved by ordinary gifts.]
“Would a letter or a dessert work?”
[That might actually be better. When I was young, my diet was mostly oatmeal porridge and dried meat, and the snacks my mother occasionally sent me were more precious than anything else.]
“Wait, was it that board—”
I nearly revealed that I’d looked into his background.
Good grief, he’d attended a boarding school.
Imagine giving a child nothing but oatmeal porridge and dried meat.
“Yet somehow you grew so tall, Carcel. Despite eating only that during your growth years.”
[Genetics. If I ever have a child, they’d probably grow just as tall as me even if they starved through their growth period. In any case, I think I’d have been more moved by snacks.]
I recalled how delighted Lucian had been last time with ice cream and brownies.
So instead, I should get him some dessert that even the imperial kitchen staff would never make for him.
Along with Linea’s handwritten letter thanking him for the invitation!
“Thank you. You’ve solved my dilemma.”
[…That’s good to hear.]
A brief silence fell, and there was something slightly dejected in the tone of his answer.
I’d met with him a few times now, and though his voice rarely fluctuated in pitch, I could still detect hints of emotion.
‘Is he a bit disappointed that I haven’t arranged to meet him?’
Feeling that, I bit my lip.
And I gently probed.
“So Carcel, would you like to meet tomorrow for a bit? We need to revise the contract.”
[Is that so?]
Though there was no particular difference from before, I could tell he was slightly more excited.
Carcel continued.
[My legal advisor’s office is in Lombardi.]
“Then let’s meet tomorrow in front of the statue in the center of Pecia Square in Lombardi!”
[What time would be suitable?]
“I should work around your schedule, not the other way around.”
[How about two o’clock in the afternoon?]
As he asked, I heard someone behind him cry out, “But the Elder Council meeting is then!” through the receiver.
The sound became muffled as if he’d covered the mouthpiece, then it went quiet again.
I asked suspiciously.
“Are you sure that’s okay?”
[It’s fine.]
He answered with composure, as if nothing were the matter. And he added something else.
[Oh, and Asha.]
“Yes?”
[I’ve brought a ring from my mother.]
A ring?
“A p-proposal?”
That was the only thought that crossed my mind.
Linea’s eyes lit up the moment she heard my words.
I stroked her hair and then naturally drifted down to her cheek, gently pinching her soft skin as I spoke.
“I’m not emotionally ready yet.”
My startled heart was gradually finding solace in touching her cheek.
At that, Carcel spoke to me in a deep, assured tone.
[That’s fine. I won’t marry anyone but you anyway. Whether you accept it or not is your choice, so it’s only natural.]
This man, really.
I knew he wasn’t lying.
When someone charges forward like this, there’s no avoiding it. No turning away.
I kept biting my lips.
It made things worse knowing that Linea was listening to our conversation.
In the end, I had no choice but to respond.
“Let’s… talk about it tomorrow when we meet!”
[Then I’ll see you tomorrow at two o’clock.]
“Oh, would you like to talk to Linea before we hang up?”
At my question, Carcel let out a soft laugh through the receiver.
[I’d like that. If I’m lucky, she’ll be my daughter.]
“Ugh.”
Since he wasn’t wrong, I couldn’t even muster a rebuttal and simply handed the receiver to Linea.
Linea took it and immediately greeted him shyly.
“Please take good care of Mother.”
“Linea!”
“Yes, see you again later.”
Already, the two of them were speaking as if our marriage was a foregone conclusion.
Linea handed the receiver back to me, and I let out a deep sigh before speaking to Carcel.
“I’m hanging up now. You’re impossible.”
[Asha. Do you know what?]
“What now!”
I threw back a curt answer, embarrassed, and he spoke slowly.
[It feels like I’ve become the husband waiting for his wife and daughter to return home. Like the two of you are about to come back to the Marquis Residence.]
“…….”
Heat rushed to my head hard enough to make it tingle.
This man is absolutely insane!
[I really miss you very much.]
At the sincere emotion in his deep voice, I couldn’t control the burning in my chest and managed only one thing.
“I-I miss you too! Goodbye!”
The sensation of his hand gripping mine firmly before we parted yesterday seemed to linger in my palm even now.
So before I could even hear his response, I hastily cut off the call.
‘My cheeks are burning.’
Linea, who’d been staring up at me intently, opened her mouth.

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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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