Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 42

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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 42
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“So, you’re saying I should hire this person as a mage to assist me with my work?”
“Yes.”
Karsel answered without a moment’s hesitation, and I found myself opening and closing my mouth uselessly, utterly at a loss.
‘Are you trying to bankrupt me?’
The cash I had left was a thousand Gold.
If I scraped my account clean, I might squeeze out a few dozen more Gold from my savings.
But even that wouldn’t be nearly enough.
Cold sweat beaded on my forehead as I ventured carefully, “But… do you truly think I can afford to pay this person a proper wage?”
Because—the man Karsel had just introduced to me.
‘He’s the Tower Master!’
Magical Engineering, the foundation of the state-led industrial revolution.
The Tower Master was the one who had made an enormous contribution to advancing this field.
A being who had lived over a hundred years without aging—distinctly inhuman.
It wasn’t hard to recognize him at all.
The man sitting across from me was radiating an entirely different aura as he regarded me with unconcealed displeasure.
Add to that his rare, lustrous long ivory hair and those pale green eyes.
Karsel, standing beside me, kindly explained, “Don’t worry about the money.”
“I’ll cover it. I don’t want to owe Karsel any more than I already do.”
“I understand. This man here needs ten Gold monthly, but if you find that burdensome, I can adjust further.”
“Ten Gold?!”
It was a lie.
The Tower Master only moved his considerable weight for affairs at the state or provincial level.
‘If it’s anything less than that, it’s not even worth the Tower Master’s attention!’
So how astronomical must his true price be?
No matter how precious Mana Stones were as minerals, investing him in a venture worth three million Gold in assets ten years hence wouldn’t make financial sense.
‘At minimum, it should cost forty thousand Gold a month.’
Yet when Karsel quoted ten Gold, I was left stunned.
‘That’s even less than a junior mage’s weekly wage.’
And despite Karsel saying this, the Tower Master didn’t deny it.
He simply stood with his arms crossed, studying me with an unreadable gaze.
‘Is he seriously accepting an annual salary of one hundred twenty Gold?’
Twelve million won a year?!
This man whose pride reached the heavens?
“Are you… truly certain that’s acceptable?”
I stammered out the question with a face that screamed disbelief, and after a moment, the Tower Master nodded.
I felt Karsel shift slightly behind me and turned to look at him.
But the Karsel I saw over my shoulder was simply grinning with gentle, wide eyes.
‘Was that not it?’
I turned back to the Tower Master across from me, and he spoke.
“It’s fine.”
“Then I’m grateful, though…”
“How were you certain there were Mana Stones there without conducting a Surface Survey first?”
Mana Stone Mine development begins when mages are dispatched from the Magic Tower to conduct a Surface Survey in response to a request.
Once that’s confirmed, they map the approximate flow of the ore veins before beginning exploration.
After that, samples are collected, quality is verified, and then actual mining begins.
And the Tower Master was someone very experienced in such matters.
I smiled ambiguously. “That’s a trade secret, so I’m afraid I can’t reveal it…”
“You haven’t signed a contract yet, so it’s confidential, then.”
“There’s certainly some truth to that.”
The Tower Master—Isar.
A capable man who acted on whim and curiosity, doing exactly as he pleased.
I couldn’t afford to give him an inch.
‘Isar is described in the original work as having the strongest curiosity among all the characters.’
The gaze Isar fixed on me grew sharper.
“Hmm.”
At that sound from Isar, Karsel made a suggestion. “Why don’t we sit down and draft the contract first?”
“Let’s do that.”
And so I found myself caught between them, looking back and forth, utterly flustered.
‘How on earth did Karsel manage to manipulate Isar like this?’
And on top of that, they were speaking to each other in casual terms?
Few people in the original work could make such a request to the Tower Master, who notoriously ignored what others said.
And Karsel was never mentioned alongside the Tower Master.
I found myself wondering how they’d become so close.
Then Karsel asked me, “Asha, would you care for something to drink?”
“Just a cup of tea, please.”
At that, Isar’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“And you?”
When Karsel asked Isar in that utterly dry tone, he tilted his head and answered,
“Alcohol.”
“Cain, bring some light refreshments and a glass of drink. The usual one he always takes.”
The servant bowed and disappeared.
With just the three of us remaining in the parlor, Isar spoke slowly.
“By the way, how did Countess Delmore come to know Karsel?”
“Isar.”
A warning tone rumbled from beside me.
Isar lifted both hands in acknowledgment. “Hardly an earth-shattering question, but you’re sensitive.”
“Don’t speak to Asha about anything unrelated to work.”
“Then I’ll stick to business matters.”
Isar lifted his gaze and fixed me with those mysterious eyes as he asked a question.
His expression had turned serious, and I found myself clenching my fists, feeling as though I were sitting in a grueling interview.
After a long silence, Isar finally spoke. “Are you and Marquis Rivandel in a serious relationship?”
This time, Karsel’s voice grew sharper and louder. “Isar!”
“If my employer were to break up with a close friend during the contract period, it would be awkward, wouldn’t it?”
“That won’t happen, so be quiet.”
Karsel’s low voice carried an edge to it.
‘From others’ perspective, it would look like I seduced Karsel to use him, wouldn’t it?’
Even if things work out between me and Rivandel, I’d benefit far more than Karsel would.
I spoke calmly to Isar. “Are you curious?”
“A little?”
“Then once we’re a bit closer, I’ll tell you. It’s not really something I should discuss with someone I’m not well acquainted with yet.”
Going forward, I’d be seeing Isar far more often than Karsel.
‘Not just for mining, but eventually anything related to Mana Stone refinement will require a mage as well.’
Of my thousand Gold, seven hundred would go toward sample collection and the first phase of mining, while the remaining three hundred was meant to hire a junior mage for six months.
Mana Stones and mages were utterly inseparable.
‘If I don’t win Isar’s favor, I’ll eventually cause Karsel trouble.’
I needed to solidify my relationship with Isar now.
So it would be better to steer the conversation toward something Isar would find interesting.
“And you know, our Mana Stone Mine might occasionally yield certain… unusual varieties of Mana Stones?”
“…Hmm.”
“Since this venture is still in its infancy, I can’t promise grand benefits, but when unusual Mana Stones are mined, Isar will be able to keep them for the duration of your employment.”
Isar was effectively classified as a non-human entity within the work, and having an important supporting character meant he naturally had weaknesses too.
When I smiled, Isar seemed momentarily at a loss for words.
The fact that he—a man who found everything tedious—agreed to participate in Mana Stone Mine development was precisely because of Variant Mana Stones.
Even with his connection to Karsel, it made no sense for him to accept such meager payment and involvement without that incentive.
He must have felt exposed.
“From where do you get such certainty about something in a mine that hasn’t even been explored yet?”
Isar muttered helplessly, as though bewildered.
My eyes sparkled as I spoke. “Sometimes people exist outside Isar’s common sense.”
“…You?”
“Sometimes I can know things others don’t yet understand beforehand.”
I couldn’t say it was possession, so I decided to pose as a fortune teller instead.
When I spoke thus, Isar studied me for a long moment.
I smiled slyly and continued, “Isar might even have the most intimate secrets I’m aware of.”
“You expect me to believe such quack fortune-teller nonsense?”
“If you find it hard to believe, you don’t have to. However…”
I let my words trail off as I met Isar’s gaze.
I smiled as brightly as I could and finished, “Why do you want Variant Mana Stones so badly? I won’t speak of it in front of Karsel.”
“…Hmm.”
Another powerless laugh escaped him.
Contrary to his sprawling, listless posture, Isar seemed genuinely intrigued.
“Fine, then. We’re signing a contract anyway, aren’t we?”
“You never said you’d respect me as your employer, though?”
“Do I need to respect you just because you hired me?”
“I’m meticulous when it comes to business. The hierarchy needs to be clear, don’t you think?”
‘He obviously sees right through me already.’
At my words—spoken as though I were the one with all the power—Isar let out a sigh that seemed to come from his very depths.
“Karsel, your lover seems to be quite the unusual woman.”
“I told you not to speak carelessly about Asha.”
“She doesn’t seem particularly special to look at, though…”
Isar’s gaze swept over me.
“Yet peculiar, all the same.”

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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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