Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 54

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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 54
In that instant, our eyes met.
For the first time, gazing at him so intently, I noticed how beautiful the pomegranate red that dominated his irises truly was.
And in Carcel’s eyes, too, I saw affection and urgency directed toward me.
Those transparent, beautiful eyes—as if mirroring the soul itself—made me nod slowly after a long moment.
‘Even if Carcel really were Duke Rakan, he still went to such needless trouble for me.’
That he lied to me rankled, but I’d hardly been forthright about my own identity either.
And Carcel had never once pressed me on how I’d learned about the mine.
“Just this once, though! Next time, no matter what you say, I won’t give in!”
“Of course.”
Despite my sharp tone, the corners of his mouth curved with satisfaction.
‘Why is he smiling like that? And he’s handsome on top of it.’
Does he know how easily he shakes my resolve?
……He did.
The moment he started to rise, I hastily pulled the blanket toward me, creating a blanket fortress.
“Asha, may I lie beside you?”
“For deceiving me, you can sleep in another room.”
“There’s no bed in the other room.”
“Liar!”
At my cry, Carcel chuckled softly.
“That was a lie. But might we sleep together?”
“You’re not planning to lie again and sneak something, are you?”
“I would never. I’m a gentleman who always respects his wife’s wishes.”
“Then go to another room.”
Hearing that, he refused with brazen ease.
“Protecting my wife’s side is also a husband’s duty.”
“If you can’t be honest—”
Looking at that playful face, I doubted anything would happen tonight.
I ended up sticking only my face out of the blanket fortress and laid down a punishment.
“Then sleep at the foot of the bed without a blanket. The moment you try to come close to me, that’s it.”
“You have my word.”
With that settled, Carcel lay down beside me……except.
The problem was that he was such a large man that, pressed against the foot of the bed, he was already far too close.
“……Asha, this isn’t a lie or a trick—I’m genuinely making an effort.”
True to his word, Carcel was curling his bulky frame as best he could.
Seeing him look so cramped, I lost what I was going to say.
“Fine, fine. Just don’t cross that line and get some sleep.”
I was too exhausted to argue further.
I sighed, wrapped the blanket tightly around myself, and squeezed my eyes shut.
Soon the room darkened as he extinguished the light.
With the silence that followed, I found myself far too aware of Carcel’s presence.
‘Before, at least I was too bewildered and exasperated to feel the tension.’
But with such a commanding presence, I couldn’t ignore him.
I kept my eyes squeezed shut, fighting for sleep.
Honestly, it had been so long since I’d slept beside anyone that the strangeness made sleep slip away again and again.
He lay motionless as if already asleep, his breathing steady and even.
Only then did I part my lips and whisper.
“……Sleep well.”
But no answer came.
‘He must be asleep.’
Feeling discouraged, drowsiness seemed to creep up on me again.
Just as I began to squirm beneath the blanket, seeking a comfortable position, a voice reached me.
“Asha.”
My heart nearly stopped.
“What?”
Though my voice was still curt, I heard him laugh softly before he spoke.
“May we sleep holding hands?”
“……You’re not a child, Carcel. Just hold hands.”
“I do have a touch of insomnia, actually.”
At that, I opened my eyes and turned my head toward him.
“Liar.”
“I’m serious.”
Once more, I glanced into his eyes.
Even in the darkness, those eyes burned like flames—and they seemed truthful.
My reply came out more petulantly than I intended.
“So what?”
“If you held my hand, I think I could sleep well.”
“That’s such an obvious ploy.”
“Does that mean you dislike it?”
To his brazenly straightforward question, I reluctantly drew my hand from beneath the blanket.
“Just this once, I’ll fall for it.”
How can something so transparent be a little endearing?
I was exasperated with myself, but handing over my hand for a night seemed manageable enough.
“Only holding hands. Nothing more after this.”
“Thank you.”
Turning toward me, Carcel extended his left hand and enveloped my right in his grasp.
‘His palm is a bit rough, but large and firm—it feels nice to hold, though I suppose that’s strange to admit.’
And seeing Carcel’s face so pleased over just a hand, illuminated by my eyes now adjusted to the dark, I had no choice.
My eyes growing warm, I pretended not to notice his hand holding mine.
Carcel’s temperature, cool like a cold-blooded creature at first, gradually warmed from my own heat until it turned pleasantly lukewarm.
And finally, this time, I closed my eyes in comfort.
Slowly, sleep found its way to me.
* * *
Carcel’s eyes opened at the sound of steady, rhythmic breathing.
‘How strange.’
Sleeping beside someone was new to him.
Of course, he’d spent plenty of nights cramped among soldiers, enduring every foul stench imaginable.
But he’d decided not to count those.
Asha was truly the first person he’d shared a bedroom with in any meaningful sense.
And she smelled wonderful.
A crisp, fresh scent like newly cut flowers—fitting for her vibrant, lively spirit—tickled the tip of his nose.
‘I thought she’d certainly reject me today.’
He’d been certain she’d never give him even a sliver of a chance.
Yet somehow, today Asha had accepted him.
Carcel understood something.
If Asha had truly believed him beyond saving, she would have refused with conviction.
This was a final kindness.
And Carcel was not the sort to let such opportunities slip away.
Carcel gazed at Asha, cocooned in blankets, sleeping with a slight snore.
‘Precious.’
Looking at her sleeping beside him, darkness stirred slowly within his heart.
‘This base desire to see her and keep her hidden from everyone else—this is despicable.’
Pathetic.
Propping his torso up slightly, Carcel rested his chin on his hand and gazed down at her.
He did have insomnia, though to be more precise, his body required far less sleep than most.
Three or four hours a night sufficed.
Even in complete darkness, only his eyes shone white.
Her loosely parted lips, her pale face gleaming even in shadow, that defenseless expression despite all her efforts to shield herself—
He could have gazed at her endlessly, perfectly content.
‘Today, she called me “myself” for the first time.’
It felt different from when she said his name.
Each time her full, glistening lips formed that word, his ears tingled.
So endearing was she when flustered that he’d wanted to pretend not to hear and keep listening.
Somehow, his own eyes began to close.
That constant vigilance, the nerves always sharp even at midnight, finally began to settle.
Still gripping her hand firmly, he lay down again.
Carcel drifted slowly into sleep.
* * *
The next morning, at breakfast, I spoke to Carcel.
“Carcel, shall we visit your mother today?”
“Pardon?”
“Honestly, I think you avoid suggesting a visit to the Husband’s Family Home because you don’t want to burden me.”
Carcel made a considering noise.
I pressed forward.
“But she is your mother, and we should inform her of our Marriage Registration, shouldn’t we?”
“I’d recommend against it.”
“Why? Are you at odds with her?”
“Mother and I don’t have a particularly poor relationship, but……honestly, we’re quite at odds on many things. It’s not an easy dynamic.”
Since Carcel seemed reluctant, I eventually relented.
“Is that so? I may have spoken carelessly and burdened you. I’m sorry.”
“……Let’s go. Today.”
“Why? If you’re unwilling, it’s fine.”
“On reflection, though Mother and I aren’t close, there’s been no real incident between us, and we’re both independent people, so perhaps that’s all there is to it.”
He spoke to me.
“It feels wrong to make you suffer on my account.”
“You wouldn’t be making me suffer. Besides, who else would know whether I visit her? Just the servants here.”
How would anyone in the world know whether I see his mother or not?
I shrugged.
“Of course, High Society probably already knows we’ve married from the invitations sent yesterday.”

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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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