Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 33

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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 33
What on earth was happening in the middle of the night?
I quickly bent my knees to reassure Linea, stroking her cheek as I spoke.
“Linea? What’s wrong? Did something happen, sweetheart?”
“I’m… sorry.”
“No, no. I’m just worried. Are you all right?”
Linea nodded quickly at my words.
“Would you like to come inside?”
“Yes.”
Something had clearly happened, so I brought Linea into my room at once.
It was the first time she’d entered this room herself, and the child observed it with curious eyes for a moment.
“It’s not much different from your room, is it?”
“It smells wonderful.”
“Ah… that’s the scent of the Rose Flowers. The Marquis gave them to me as a gift that time you saw him.”
I pointed to the roses I’d placed in a water bottle by the window.
As I did, I sensed that Linea’s mind had settled a bit.
So I sat on the bed first, patting the space beside me to call her over.
“But Linea, why did you come out without sleeping tonight? Hmm?”
Linea obediently sat beside me.
The moment I saw the small hands gripping the pillow tightly, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders.
“Tell me. Don’t hold back.”
As I coaxed her gently, the child finally opened up.
“… I had a nightmare.”
“A nightmare?”
“Yes, it was terribly frightening.”
Terribly, frightening—she was using expressions she didn’t normally use, which told me just how scary the nightmare had been.
I’d had nightmares daily in the early days of Possession, and I’d experienced sleep paralysis too.
When your body suddenly changes and your life is upended, it’s impossible not to feel the stress.
Even I was frightened then—how much more so for a small child like Linea.
“So you came to my room? Hugging your pillow like that?”
Linea seemed embarrassed by my playful teasing and only gave a slight nod.
I burst out laughing.
Then I leaned down and gathered her into my arms.
“You little thing, you’re so cute.”
Linea’s body went rigid, as if she hadn’t expected this reaction.
“You did the right thing. From now on, whenever something like this happens, come find me anytime, all right?”
As I held her small body and slowly patted her back, Linea remained still.
But soon, without a word, she reached out and hugged me back, still holding her pillow.
With the pillow between us, the embrace became even softer, and I felt a flutter of warmth.
“Are you still frightened?”
I lifted the hand that had been patting her back and ran it through her hair.
At that, Linea shook her head inside my embrace.
I picked her up, drawing her small body close. She still wasn’t very heavy.
‘I’ll make sure she grows strong and healthy until her body becomes too heavy for me to hold.’
I stood and spoke while holding Linea in my arms.
“Shall we sleep together tonight? The bed is a bit narrow, but would that be all right?”
“Yes!”
Linea agreed while wrapping her arms around my neck.
Fear no longer lingered in the child’s eyes.
I lay back down on the bed, held Linea against my chest, and pulled the blanket over us.
It was a single bed, but it was just right for the two of us.
“Yawn.”
Linea, who at first enjoyed my hand patting her back and squirmed beneath the blanket, let out a yawn.
Drowsiness slowly filled the child’s eyes.
‘Just a little longer and she’ll be asleep.’
As I held and gently patted her warm, soft body, my own eyes began to close almost as quickly as Linea’s.
And at some point, I drifted off to sleep.
* * *
At that very moment, Urigelra, Asha’s mother-in-law, who had just returned from the dinner party, turned her head in her room.
“What were those two doing today?”
In response to Urigelra’s question, Mary, who was removing the pins tightly set in her hair, answered.
“Every day they dress Miss Linea in different clothes and go out. They rarely eat at home. They also summon hired carriages to go somewhere, as I’ve confirmed.”
Day after day, traveling by carriage and buying expensive clothes and dining out?
Tallied together, it was no small sum.
“Where could that girl be getting so much money? She doesn’t even have an inheritance from her birth family.”
No matter how hard Urigelra thought, she couldn’t fathom how Asha was earning money.
And since she wasn’t working anywhere on a regular schedule, it was all the harder to grasp.
Urigelra understood well enough.
That Asha was useful precisely because she was a naive young woman with no economic means, no connections, and nothing but her own body as her total asset.
Seeing her earn money like this and take Linea about town on her own whims filled Urigelra with rage.
“We need to find out where she’s getting her money. As long as she controls the purse strings, she’ll corrupt Linea and make her disobedient.”
“Shall I have her followed?”
“Yes, that seems necessary. I’ve been too patient in watching and waiting—things have gone too far.”
The only reason Urigelra hadn’t thrown out her insolent daughter-in-law immediately was that someone needed to care for Linea during the Social Season.
Still, Linea had inherited her mother’s beautiful features.
‘In ten years she’ll be presentable enough to marry into a good family and receive a proper Dowry.’
Urigelra’s plan was to have Linea married off immediately upon reaching adulthood, then drive her daughter-in-law from the house at once.
Only then would the accounting work out for all the money she’d invested in Linea and her daughter-in-law.
‘So until then, I need to find out how she’s making money, cut off that source, and keep her confined at home.’
Thinking thus, Urigelra sent Mary away.
“You may go now.”
“Yes, ma’am. Should you need anything, please say the word—I shall attend to it from anywhere at all.”
Mary spoke with a respectful and devoted expression.
The ornaments and coins that Urigelra occasionally threw her way kept Mary’s purse well-lined.
As Mary left the room, Urigelra’s eyes, watching from beyond the mirror, turned cold.
“I won’t be able to use that one much longer.”
Other servants had long since reported that Mary was clearly a spy—several of them had come forward.
So this was the last chance Urigelra was giving her.
‘Let her try once more if she dares. Both of them are in the palm of my hand.’
Of course, it never occurred to her that Asha would soon escape the Marquis Estate and walk out of it with pride.
And so the night deepened, tangled with the conflicting thoughts of those under one roof.
* * *
The next day, before I went to see Carcel, I spoke to Linea.
“Linea, I might not come home until evening today, all right? If you get hungry, go to the kitchen and ask for a meal.”
“Yes!”
“I’ll pick up some books and snacks for you on the way back.”
“Yes!”
Despite her cheerful response, as if to assure me not to worry, I looked down at the child with concern.
And just as I was about to leave—
“M-Mother!”
Linea suddenly called out to me.
I spun around, startled.
Linea fidgeted with her clasped hands, hesitating, and then cried out to me.
“C-Come back soon!”
Only then could I smile with relief.
“All right, I’ll be back soon!”
Leaving Linea behind, I climbed into the hired carriage and headed toward Lombardi once more.
The dress had arrived this morning and fit well when I tried it on.
‘More elegant than the last one, and today I even did my hair… and a little makeup too.’
As I found myself more conscious of Carcel, I’d unconsciously started paying more attention to my appearance.
I’d even done my hair in a half-tie, borrowing one of the pins I’d given Linea.
Since the effort showed more than before, I felt oddly self-conscious.
And soon after arriving in front of the bank, I retrieved the Contract from the safe.
Today’s meeting place was Petia Square in Lombardi.
Moments later, a familiar Black Carriage came into view as I stood before a statue in the square, holding my bag close to my chest.
That carriage, which had looked like a coffin at first, now seemed almost welcoming.
I walked toward the carriage.
The coachman seemed to recognize me and brought the carriage to a stop at the square’s entrance.
The coachman descended and opened the carriage door.
“Carcel!”
I waved my hand brightly at him as he stepped out of the carriage, smiling widely.
So now seeing Carcel’s face made me happy.
Carcel looked at me, his eyes full of laughter, and curved his lips into a smile.
Even as the coachman closed the carriage door, he said nothing, merely gazing down at me intently.
His gaze was deep and concentrated, and I tilted my head at him in question.
“What’s the matter?”
* * *
And right now, Carcel’s heart was on the verge of stopping.

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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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