Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 52

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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 52
Carcel introduced me to everyone with natural ease as the Marquess’s wife.
I felt embarrassed by the title and laughed awkwardly.
The manager then smiled brightly and guided us in.
“Welcome. Your daughter is quite beautiful, isn’t she? We’ll prepare a room for you at once.”
Carcel, as if it were the most natural thing, walked in step with me toward the room we’d been shown to.
‘Husband and wife, then.’
The thought made my chest flutter like a thousand butterflies taking flight all at once—the idea that we appeared to people as such.
I pressed my lips together and sat across from Carcel.
With Linea settled beside me.
“Asha, please order whatever you’d like. Don’t hesitate.”
“Hmm… would you choose for me today, Carcel? I’m not particular about seafood.”
“And you, young miss?”
Linea tucked her hair behind her ear with a delicate gesture and shook her head.
“I like everything!”
“Then it’s decided! Carcel will choose for us.”
I sent him an eager look, and he let out a soft, warm laugh.
“In that case, I think raw oysters with a vinaigrette of lemon and shallots, crab consommé, and lobster with butter sauce, along with a flounder dish, should suffice.”
“Wow, I have no idea what you just said, but it all sounds delicious.”
At my words, Carcel’s eyes crinkled as he smiled.
He pulled a bell rope and ordered from the server who entered.
After the server left, I turned to Linea and asked.
“Linea, today we’ve finally become a family of three—you, me, and the Marquess. How do you feel?”
In truth, Linea was the most important person in this marriage.
Though she seemed to accept the wedding, I noticed she was quieter than usual, as if something else weighed on her mind.
I gazed into Linea’s eyes, clear as a summer sky.
“Family…”
The child rolled the word around in her mouth, and then, without a word, she opened her arms to me.
“Hmm?”
Without speaking, Linea allowed me to embrace her.
In my arms, she clung tightly to my neck, just as she had last night.
Instead of pressing her, I simply patted her back.
She wasn’t the type to throw tantrums or be overly clingy by nature.
I would have been grateful if she’d let herself be this way more often, rather than acting so mature for her age.
And now Linea nuzzled her head against my neck like a small child seeking comfort.
That endearing gesture made me smile.
“What is it?”
“I still can’t quite believe it.”
The child’s voice wavered with barely suppressed emotion as she tried to laugh.
“It doesn’t feel real.”
“I know. You’re killing me with cuteness, my darling.”
I pulled Linea close and rocked her gently.
She let out a soft giggle.
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“Mom…”
“What is it?”
I continued to comfort Linea as she kept calling to me.
Soon she spoke in a tentative voice.
“Mom, is it okay if I tell you something I want to do with you?”
When I’d once asked Linea what she liked, she said she didn’t know.
The fact that she now had something she wanted to do felt like tremendous progress.
“What does my Linea want to do? Whatever it is, I’ll make it happen.”
“Well, my birthday is coming up soon, and… I’d like to have a birthday party with my friends. And with you and the Marquess too.”
“Ah.”
I suddenly understood why Linea was saying this.
Of course. Now that I thought about it, that made sense.
‘The moment Linea first realized she loved Lucian.’
Lucian was Linea’s only friend, and she was his.
In the story, Linea was forbidden from having birthday parties.
Naturally, she never held one and received no birthday celebration.
On her twelfth birthday, alone and sorrowful, she celebrates by herself when Lucian calls to her from beyond the wall.
Lucian celebrates her birthday, shares cake with her, and gives her a gift.
For Linea, Lucian becomes the first friend to remember and celebrate her birthday—and the one she falls in love with.
As they grow, they naturally become each other’s first love.
Fortunately, Linea’s birthday hasn’t passed yet this year, so I should be able to give her a party.
I glanced toward Carcel.
He opened his mouth gently.
“I shall arrange the most magnificent birthday party in all the world. If you wish, I could invite every nobleman to celebrate your daughter’s natal day.”
Something flashed in Carcel’s eyes. He smiled, curling his lips in amusement.
I shook my head.
“Rather than that… I’d like to invite only children her own age. After all, Linea needs friends her own age.”
“When is the young miss’s birthday?”
“Come to think of it, Linea’s birthday is in two days. Goodness, I’ve been so scattered I didn’t think to prepare a party.”
I brushed Linea’s hair back with renewed purpose.
“Linea, shall we make and send out invitations to Lucian and your friends today? With only two days’ notice, we won’t be able to invite many, but—”
“Really? But that must be expensive…”
Linea’s eyes widened with worry at the mention of cost.
I spoke to her with pride.
“Linea, now I can do all the things I’ve wanted to do for you without worrying! It’s not extravagance—surely I can afford a simple birthday party? Spend as much as you’d like!”
I asked Linea.
“And from now on, I’ll give you a monthly allowance. How about you try keeping an allowance ledger?”
“An allowance?”
“Yes. You need to learn money management from a young age. You can spend it on things you want, or save it to make it grow into something bigger.”
“…Could I become rich someday too?”
Now that I’d bought the mine, Linea would inevitably become wealthy.
I planned to pass it all to her eventually, so it was best she learn to manage money now.
I nodded and coaxed the child gently.
“Of course. To become rich, you need to develop the habit of managing small sums carefully from the start.”
At my words, Linea’s expression became determined.
She clenched her tiny fists tight and gave me a firm nod with resolve in her eyes.
“Then I want to become rich too!”
“You… really do?”
‘Linea wasn’t the type to want to become a businesswoman or get rich…’
Maybe there were sides to Linea I didn’t know yet!
“Then starting this week, I’ll give you your allowance. From now on, you manage it yourself, all right?”
Linea answered loudly.
“Yes! I’m going to become rich for sure!”
“I shall provide the young miss with an allowance as well.”
Carcel, amused by Linea’s earnestness, let out a soft laugh.
Watching the child suddenly display such enthusiasm for financial management, I couldn’t help but chuckle along with Carcel.
“You’re adorable, my little one.”
I kissed Linea’s cheeks several times over.
As I pressed light kisses to her plump, rosy cheeks, Linea burst into laughter.
“That tickles!”
“How could I give up kissing something so cute? I can’t! Oh, you’re so pretty.”
“Hehe.”
At last, Linea began to smile freely, her earlier reserve melting away.
Just as the warmth of the moment reached its peak, the food arrived.
With Linea now visibly brighter, Carcel looking at us both with such tenderness, I was able to share our first family meal without envy of any other household.
* * *
After returning home, Linea and I drew birthday invitations by hand and sent them out, and the rest of the day passed uneventfully.
Linea’s timid expression from yesterday had faded, and her face had grown noticeably brighter.
As a result, I too could feel at ease.
‘The daughters of those who raised Carcel are so fond of Linea and care for her so well.’
The servants in the Marquess’s household described her as a rare soft-hearted one, adding a comment each time, but seeing the family portrait made me understand why.
Carcel’s intimidating aura seemed to be a family trait.
While Carcel was out attending to business, I toured the mansion with the butler.
In the process, I saw portraits of his parents and Carcel as an adolescent.
‘His father’s presence was no joke either. His mother looked frightening too.’
Regardless of how handsome they both were, either of them could cow a tiger with a single glance.
‘Tomorrow I should suggest we go meet my mother-in-law.’
Though Carcel had said he’d obtained her permission for our marriage, he hadn’t once suggested we visit her.
Instead, he was moving about with considerable enthusiasm to prepare for the birthday party in two days.
As evening fell, I was shown to the master bedroom we would now share instead of my previous room.
‘He smiled and said, of course, now that I was his wife, I should use the master bedroom, and I couldn’t refuse.’
I dismissed the servants who offered to bathe me, and after washing myself in the bathroom, I hesitated briefly in the dressing room.
‘Though it is our wedding night, since this is a contract marriage, there’s no strict need for us to actually consummate it, is there?’
But Carcel hadn’t said anything to the contrary, so it seemed we’d be sleeping in the same room…
I fiddled aimlessly with the cosmetic toner and rose oil sitting on the vanity.
‘Even if we’re not spending a wedding night together, if we’re sharing the same bed, it would be polite to smell pleasant, wouldn’t it?’
I made excuses to myself and applied rose oil in several places.
Finally, steeling myself, I opened the door to the master bedroom adjoining the dressing room.
The moment I opened it, Carcel was casually sitting on the bed.

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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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