Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 4

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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 4
Something clicked in my head, and clarity struck like lightning.
There was no clearer answer than this.
‘He’s a scammer.’
Sudden, excessive good fortune landing on my doorstep inevitably led to one thing: fraud.
And right now, romance wasn’t my priority.
In the end, I forced an awkward half-smile and declined.
“I’m terribly sorry, but my feelings have changed in such a short time.”
“Pardon?”
“I… I’m now responsible for a child, and seeing how mismatched our timing is, I don’t think we’re meant to be together.”
I smiled without a trace of regret and made clear my refusal.
At that, Carsel’s expression seemed to blur strangely—he looked deflated somehow, almost pitying.
He remained silent for a long stretch, his lips sealed.
His prolonged, heavy silence made me self-conscious, so I too held my tongue and waited.
But there was one consolation.
‘I don’t often get the chance to reject a confession from such a handsome man—thrilling, sure, but dating a con artist in the middle of all this? That’s a no.’
It wasn’t so different from rejecting some celebrity’s confession.
The audacity of a minor villain like me!
And finally, after seeming to gather his thoughts, Carsel lifted his gaze and met mine.
His wavering, beautiful crimson eyes looked sad.
“You were the first person to express interest in me, and I wanted to get to know you. But seeing you again now…”
“I’m not what you hoped?”
Even as I spoke, Carsel did the same.
“On the contrary. I’ve gained a certainty I didn’t have before. So I’ll wait, however long it takes.”
“What?!”
Why would he wait?
I wanted to shake my head and protest, but the Duke’s resolve was firm.
He pulled a Business Card from his inner pocket and offered it to me.
“If you ever have need of me, contact me here.”
“There’s no need to—”
“House Delmore’s reputation is not good. If you wish to leave, you may contact me at any time.”
Carsel’s eyes held an unwavering light.
“I’m telling you this after long deliberation—I can’t afford to miss this opportunity again.”
“…Thank you.”
Con artists these days were remarkably persistent.
‘Does he know I have two thousand Gold on me?’
I couldn’t fathom any other motive.
* * *
Carsel—hiding behind the identity of Carsel, the Duke of Rakan, who conceals himself behind the title of the Marquis of Rivandel—had never known love.
Not once in his entire life had he received a woman’s attention.
When a lady would approach and hover near him, he would gaze at her with slow, candid eyes and murmur.
―Is there something you wished to say?
He was simply curious. Why did she keep circling him without purpose?
If she wanted to speak to him, why not simply say so?
So he’d ask politely, and strangely, the ladies would break into cold sweats, look uncomfortable, and hurry away.
Carsel often wondered.
‘What on earth is wrong? I still don’t understand.’
The fact that the head of a ducal house remained unmarried at twenty-four was deeply unusual.
Carsel himself had always imagined his future—a happy marriage, a harmonious household.
He harbored a small wish: to have family waiting for him when he returned from slaying monsters.
But the problem was…no woman ever even attempted to have a conversation with him.
Carsel Rakan concluded this must be because he lacked charm.
‘Otherwise, why would no one show him interest, as if by agreement?’
Even when he approached first and asked a lady to dance or speak, the response was lukewarm at best.
Most women seemed uncomfortable or eager to avoid him.
Half-resigned, having tentatively given up on marriage, Carsel met Asha.
Logically, she should have shown no interest in a man like him.
But Asha glanced sidelong at him, and then blushed, exhaling a small sigh.
At first, he thought she was signaling her displeasure at his standing nearby.
But he quickly learned otherwise.
Whenever their eyes met, she would bite her lip slightly and suddenly turn away.
She had even confessed!
Unlike other women who recoiled in fear at the mere sight of him.
Of course, even so, Carsel didn’t harbor any particular interest in her.
‘It was merely gratitude—for the first time, a woman had found him attractive.’
The moment he learned she had a fiancé, he’d shelved even that.
But her husband died quickly under sordid circumstances. And then, as if by fate, he encountered Asha again.
Thinking it might be a sign from heaven, he had simply invited her with courtesy.
‘Something is different.’
His once-colorless life suddenly took on vibrant hue.
From the moment he first saw her silhouette, to that instant when she turned to look at him.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
The world around them blurred; only Asha’s smallest movements registered in his awareness.
Her delicate, doe-like face, her dignified chestnut hair, and her large hazel eyes brimming with life today—he couldn’t tear his gaze away.
And that flush of crimson coloring her cheeks, not fully hidden by the coquettish curl of hair near her ear.
So fresh and lovely it moved him to admiration—he broke the code of gentlemen and couldn’t help but marvel.
So Carsel found himself more tense than usual, his words emerging stiff and blunt.
And she gazed at him with glistening eyes, almost as though she resented him, before looking away.
Just that was enough to set Carsel’s heart in turmoil.
“I… I’m now responsible for a child, and seeing how mismatched our timing is, I don’t think we’re meant to be together.”
Her smile as she refused him seemed to shimmer before his eyes.
Carsel thought.
‘Is it because she’s no longer another man’s fiancée or wife that I feel no pangs of conscience?’
Yes. A perpetual bachelor, Carsel began interpreting all of Asha’s conduct through his own lens.
‘Her sense of duty in raising a child alone, her thoughtful care even as she must reluctantly refuse his confession, and that vibrant, spirited face!’
He was now certain: the person he’d been searching for was Asha Delmore.
In truth, all those reasons he’d laid out were mere excuses—he’d simply fallen at first sight.
Then Asha spoke.
“There’s somewhere I meant to stop on the way home…”
“Tell me.”
Her voice trembled faintly as she spoke, her shy face earnest.
The way she couldn’t quite meet his eyes seemed terribly bashful.
“I wanted to buy some toys and snacks to bring back.”
“For your daughter?”
“Yes.”
Carsel studied her in silence.
Not even her biological daughter.
And despite knowing her for barely two months, she doted on the child.
Yes, Asha was a kind person indeed.
Carsel opened the window connected to the coachman’s bench and issued an order.
“Take us to the finest toy and confectionery shop for children in the area.”
“As you wish!”
Carsel closed the window again.
The moment he turned back, his eyes met Asha’s, who had been staring directly at him.
“Oh…”
Carsel offered her a smile.
He’d heard that the first thing a man should do for a woman he loves is always smile, so she feels at ease in his presence.
So he turned toward her with the gentlest smile he could muster.
Yet the moment they entered the shop, Asha only lowered her lashes more pitifully.
‘This time, I won’t let her slip away.’
With desperate determination, Carsel conceived a most nefarious strategy.
It was none other than…
“Buy everything from here to there.”
Throwing money around.
And so he began his earnest campaign of ‘seduction.’
Though he’d never actually courted a woman or held a proper conversation with one, he wasn’t ignorant of the theory.
After all, fundamentals matter.
Carsel had heeded the advice of Matt, his self-proclaimed love expert of an aide.
―Buy her whatever she desires, my lord. Show her that you’re the sort of man who can spend freely for her sake!
―So, display my wealth.
―But do it naturally, my lord!

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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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