Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 40

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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 40
Mother-in-law stared at me in bewilderment, hearing something she’d never encountered before.
“What are you talking about?”
“So when I suddenly came into a large sum of money, I’d just succeeded at a recent investment.”
I pointed toward the man across from us.
“That man is the manager of the boutique Talote, which I’ve been visiting frequently—he oversees all the VIPs there.”
“And?”
I spoke to Mother-in-law, whose expression betrayed her growing confusion about where this was heading.
“You know there’s a dress so rare it’s sold only to VIPs with excellent performance records, right?”
“…Yes. The one I’ve been wanting.”
“Exactly. So I’ve been building up my performance record all this time to buy one for you.”
I lifted the hem of my own dress slightly to show it off.
Then, with a regretful expression, I pouted and shook my head.
“But now that I’ve finally built up enough performance, I can at last purchase a dress. And yet! Merry.”
I let out a soft sigh and glared at Merry.
“To suspect my relationship with the manager and pin such a preposterous accusation on me—aren’t you ashamed? I’ve been supporting you all this time, even giving you silver coins regularly to help me out!”
“What do you mean?”
“When I give you money, you tell me in advance about my lady’s schedule or whatever schemes she’s planning against me, don’t you?”
I tilted my head innocently.
“Otherwise, how would I even know your name? I don’t know the names of any of the other maids.”
Mother-in-law’s eyes filled with suspicion in an instant.
They were not bound by trust. They were entangled only by mutual self-interest, making betrayal and distrust come easily.
You just had to dangle the smallest possibility in front of them.
“Mother, this manager practically controls who gets that dress, and you’re treating him this way!”
I reproached Merry.
“Can’t you let him go at once and apologize?”
“B-but that can’t be right. No, this person definitely said—”
And it was then that the man, still facing Mother-in-law’s uncertain gaze, finally spoke.
“It’s all true. The Countess Delmore asked me earnestly, so I promised to procure a dress for her…”
The manager spoke in a cold voice.
“But it seems that won’t be possible now.”
At that, Merry’s face twisted in shock as she confronted him.
“Wait, you definitely told me you were meeting Asha Delmore intimately and came here willingly, so why are you changing your story?”
“My identity is certainly that of Ruben Karlen, manager of the boutique Talote in Lombardi. I have my business card right here.”
He drew a business card from his inner pocket and offered it to Mother-in-law.
“I’ll be passing that particular dress to someone else, but other dresses remain available anytime. Please visit us again.”
With that, having played his part, Ruben bowed politely to Mother-in-law and took his leave from the Countess Estate.
As Ruben passed by, our eyes met for a brief moment.
I gave him nothing but a light nod.
Meanwhile, Merry was protesting her innocence.
“No! This morning at seven o’clock, I definitely saw the two of you together, being intimate! And then he came back and took Miss Linea out again at nine o’clock—I saw it all!”
“At seven o’clock I met with him briefly to confirm whether he’d definitely give us the dress. Today is the day it’s being worn, after all.”
I held up two fingers as I continued speaking.
“There are only two of that dress in the Capital. One was already claimed by Countess Annexa, and we could have had the other one, but…”
I let my words trail off deliberately.
Mother-in-law’s and Merry’s faces twisted into different expressions of distress, making a pitiful sight.
I exhaled a small, deliberate sigh.
It was then.
That I heard Mother-in-law’s roar pierce my ears.
“You!”
And in that same moment, my lips curved into a smile.
But let me rewind this to yesterday at seven in the evening.
* * *
After finishing my communication with Karsel, I asked Linea a question.
“Why don’t you go to the dessert shop over there and have a snack while I step out for a moment? I’ll be right back.”
“Okay!”
I ordered brownies and ice cream for Linea, entrusted her to the shop owner with whom I was already acquainted, and slipped into a nearby pub.
The pub, just beginning its evening service, was still relatively quiet.
“Master!”
I greeted him with a bright smile, and Master let out a quiet sigh.
“Yes.”
He’d apparently sensed I had another request.
“I need a favor. Can we step into the kitchen?”
Going even into the pantry storage, I made my request to Master directly.
“Connect me with the manager of Talote.”
“Why?”
“Because I have information he wants. Information he’s been searching for a long time.”
The eyes behind Master’s mask seemed puzzled.
I elaborated for him.
“I’ve found out where his ex-lover is, the one he’s been so desperately seeking. And since I won’t be taking money as payment, connect us as soon as possible.”
How did I know?
From one of the stories related to Linea, information came out.
Linea actually solves everyone’s problems—not that she’s trying to, mind you.
True to the Cinderella story heroine she is, Linea does good deeds and leaves smiling, expecting nothing in return.
But I’m too worldly for that.
So Master contacted the manager that day, and the manager replied he could meet the next morning at seven o’clock.
The man who’d regarded me with suspicion received the information. And afterward, he agreed to perform, as I wished, when the time came.
‘Mother-in-law is incredibly greedy and loves being the center of attention—nothing beats a limited-edition dress from Talote.’
She’d coveted it several times throughout the story as well.
Amusingly, Mother-in-law saw Countess Annexa as her sole rival, shadowboxing against thin air.
So if Countess Annexa had bought ‘that’ dress and I’d tried to buy it for Mother-in-law but failed because of Merry?
‘She’d be furious enough to torment Merry to death and cast her out.’
Now the vicious rumors spreading and the closed-off future would belong not to me but to Merry.
Mother-in-law truly had a natural gift for that sort of thing.
As I’d predicted, Mother-in-law’s face flushed red with anger as she reached for Merry.
“You said with your own mouth that this bastard was my daughter-in-law’s lover!”
“I-I thought… I really did say that…”
Merry’s stammering was truthful.
What’s written in this notebook is information I’d planted for her to find, and that man told Merry, who’d been trailing him, that we were ‘intimate’—exactly as I’d instructed him to.
Judging from how readily he played along with my performance, he probably found his ex-lover.
‘He had the look of someone about to dash off and check.’
It was a beautiful love story among the supporting characters—they’d met as first loves in their teens, separated due to parental opposition, and Linea had coincidentally reunited them ten years later.
‘I never thought it would be used like this.’
I smiled slyly as I spoke.
“Mother, I’ll buy one for you next time, if the ‘opportunity’ arises.”
I’d already slipped past Mother-in-law, who was too busy tearing at Merry’s hair, and climbed upstairs holding Linea’s hand.
We were already beneath her notice.
Hair flew through the air, and screams echoed through the house.
After I came upstairs, I washed Linea, dried her hair, and dressed her in pajamas, but she remained unusually quiet.
Normally, when I washed her, she’d laugh if I teased her with her own hair.
Both Linea and I had finished preparing for bed.
I patted Linea’s chest as she lay in bed and asked, “Are you very tired, sweetheart?”
At that, Linea shook her head.
“Then why are you so quiet today? Hmm?”
Playfulness seized me, and I slipped my hand under the blanket to tickle Linea’s ribs.
“Is something wrong? Won’t you tell me?”
I was secretly worried—had Mother-in-law’s screaming triggered some old trauma?
Perhaps my concern reached her, because Linea finally broke into giggles.
“Why, you’re keeping secrets from me now? Hmm?”
“If I say it… I was worried you’d feel burdened.”
“Me? Why would I!”
Pressed by my relentless questioning, Linea finally opened her heart.
“Today, I thought Grandmother was really going to throw you out.”
“I won’t be thrown out that easily. I have to take our Linea with me, so how could your mother give up so soon? I’ll keep pushing until Linea and I escape together.”
At those words, Linea fell suddenly silent.
My eyes widened.
“What?”
But instead of answering, Linea turned her face away and buried it in the pillow.

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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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