Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 48

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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 48
“I should go. I have an important engagement.”
“Safe travels!”
“Get my contact from Carcel.”
Isahar waved his hand dismissively, and his figure vanished in a flash of blue light.
“He’s gone.”
“He’s always like that—comes and goes like the wind. He hates staying in one place.”
“But we managed to finish everything we set out to do today!”
I held up the things I’d obtained, my eyes bright with satisfaction.
So what I’d gained today were the contract and the recording magical device.
And when I returned to the Count’s Residence after depositing the contract at the bank, I arrived precisely at the moment Linea was being abused.
* * *
“I’ve recorded everything on the magical device I obtained today.”
Carcel wore a troubled expression.
“To be honest… I’d hoped we’d never need to use it.”
Using it meant Linea had suffered abuse.
“Is your daughter all right?”
“Perhaps.”
I couldn’t be certain of Linea’s condition with any confidence.
She seemed more withdrawn than before.
I forced a smile.
“Still, Linea is a strong child. She’ll be fine, as long as she doesn’t have to go back to that house.”
If she returned, Mother-in-law’s abuse would surely escalate, and Linea’s wounds would deepen.
Reading the darkness in my eyes, Carcel reached out his hand.
He wrapped mine gently in his, the gesture full of comfort.
At his warmth, I offered him a faint smile.
“I’ll help you help Asha, and I’ll make sure your daughter can be happy too. She won’t have to go back to that house ever again.”
“……”
“By any means necessary.”
His words carried absolute conviction.
I squeezed his strong hand in return.
“Thank you.”
Carcel had truly given me everything he possibly could up until now.
“Honestly, you’re too good for me, Carcel.”
“When praise comes at the start, the ending is rarely good news.”
His suspicious look struck me as amusing, and I burst out laughing despite myself.
“What? I can’t even compliment you? That’s ridiculous.”
“Especially when excessive praise usually ends with ‘but we’re not right for each other, so let’s stop,’ doesn’t it?”
“Why don’t you try saying that now?”
To my teasing question, Carcel shook his head with a pensive expression.
“We still have one more date.”
His oddly forlorn look amused me, so I shook my head.
“Don’t worry! I was joking.”
Carcel gazed at me with an unreadable expression, seeming lost in thought, and finally spoke.
“Today… once the Former Countess learns of this, she won’t take it lying down.”
“I was already thinking of visiting the law office this morning—the one I knew beforehand.”
It was that lawyer who’d given me the imperial legal precedents for taking my adopted daughter in a divorce and told me what evidence was needed to prove abuse.
Then Carcel made me a proposal.
“What if we entrust this case to my legal counsel?”
“Well, I’ve only consulted so far and haven’t retained him, so it should be fine… but are you sure?”
I worried I was asking too much of Carcel.
“As long as Asha agrees, absolutely. I’ll give him advance notice at dawn.”
Time was precious, so I was grateful for his offer.
I gently swung the hand I was holding.
“Hehe.”
The gaze upon me as I laughed seemed unusually fierce.
After my brief laughter, Carcel slowly parted his lips.
“Asha, I didn’t mean to say it like this…”
In that moment, our eyes met in the empty space between us.
Those eyes held a desperation I couldn’t help but recognize.
“Since things have come to this point, I’d like to gain the right to bring you under my protection.”
Perhaps thinking I’d find it burdensome, Carcel explained calmly.
“Remember when we spoke of a contract marriage? What if we started with that?”
“If it’s a contract marriage, at least I know what I’d gain… but you’re just asking because you like me, right?”
To my pointed question about his tendency to do anything for me, he continued.
“My mother has been pressuring me to marry anyway, and I’d be able to live under the same roof as you and your daughter, so there’s nothing but advantages for me in this contract marriage, isn’t there?”
“Hmm.”
I could just tell him I love him right now.
But telling him something I couldn’t boldly declare would be for my own advantage—that felt wrong.
‘Or more accurately, I’m too preoccupied with my situation to think about my feelings for Carcel.’
That’s just how I am.
Romance requires a certain peace of mind to even be possible!
Carcel spoke to me in a voice even lower than usual.
“I want to be more reliable support for you than anyone else… and I think it’s easier to convince people if we appear to be in a relationship they can understand.”
“I do like you, honestly. It’s just that I’m thinking too much about things.”
Just thinking about what today might bring is already giving me a headache!
Carcel nodded as if he understood everything.
“You always calculate and worry about countless potential troubles in advance, don’t you?”
My mouth clamped shut at those words.
I couldn’t deny it.
Carcel always understood everything, even without being told.
His kindness toward me made me forget sometimes, but just like when we first met, he remained sharp, as though he concealed a blade at his back.
“You’re always desperate, like someone fleeing a fire demon, while somehow trying to take responsibility for everything kindly.”
Carcel gazed into my eyes with lazy tenderness and smiled faintly.
“I find that side of you charming, and I love it.”
I bit my lip.
Then Carcel tightened his grip on my hand.
It was only my hand he held, yet—
Suddenly all my strength drained away, and for some reason I felt utterly helpless.
Carcel whispered softly to me.
“Sometimes I harbor the shameful desire for Asha to be like an innocent child who knows nothing, entrusting everything to me and simply leaning on me.”
“That’s…”
“I’ve never felt this way toward anyone but you.”
Carcel’s smile looked demonic—sensual and wicked.
Spellbound by him, I found myself unable to do anything but swallow dryly.
“So, Asha, will you marry me?”
At those words, my eyes widened.
“That means…”
“I wanted to give you time, but I believe the moment has come.”
Carcel released my hand and withdrew a ring case from his inner pocket.
True to form, he rose from the sofa and dropped to one knee.
“Oh.”
The jewel on the ring inside the opened case was larger than anything I’d ever seen in person.
Even at just that sight, the color drained from my face, and Carcel spoke to me.
“Don’t feel burdened. The moment you accept this engagement ring, it simply means you’ve agreed to a contract marriage with me.”
“But you just told me not to feel burdened?!”
It only made me feel more burdened!
“Let’s make the beginning simple and light.”
Carcel whispered to me slowly in a hushed tone.
“For me, it’s enough just to share a name with you. And you’ll be able to do anything you want by using me as your backing.”
Mesmerized by his piercing gaze upon me, I parted my lips.
“I want to give you the legal power to wield me as a tool, so that no one can ever harm you or your daughter.”
Carcel was more sincere than ever.
“Even if you don’t choose this contract, I’ll actively help you go to the Delmore Count’s Residence today and bring your daughter home.”
“Carcel.”
The moment I called his name, Carcel’s words suddenly lengthened.
“And regarding your business, I’ll continue to provide everything you need. I wouldn’t disadvantage you for refusing to be engaged to me, but still…”
“Carcel!”
Only then did he stop speaking.
Perhaps because I’d taken so long to answer.
Carcel’s gaze grew increasingly anxious, and I wanted to reassure him.
So I simply extended my left hand to him without a word.
Seeing this, Carcel’s lips trembled like a fool’s.
Wearing an indecipherable expression, looking up at me with blushing cheeks, he heard me cry out:
“I was going to say yes from the start anyway!”

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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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