Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 70

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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 70
How much do medicines cost, anyway?
He probably told her that body aches weren’t anything serious—just rest and she’d be fine.
But when I saw the worry pooling in Linea’s eyes, I pretended not to notice.
“So from now on, if I’m sick, I have to tell Mom no matter what?”
“Yes.”
Relieved that she’d kept her secret well, Linea beamed at me, and I smiled back as brightly as I could manage.
“You’re almost all better!”
When I spoke with such cheer, Linea threw her arms up with newfound energy.
Her temperature, which had been high all morning, had returned to normal.
It seemed that her recent good appetite and active play had built up her stamina, which helped her recover quickly.
“You’re looking a bit sturdier now, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Linea nodded seriously.
“Everyone in the house was so worried when you were sick.”
Especially the servants—they were beside themselves.
―Could she have caught something more serious?
―I was thinking the same thing. How is it possible for someone to come down with a cold and body aches so severely they can’t even get out of bed? I’m really concerned.
‘I heard that no one from the Rakan Duchy House ever gets sick as children.’
I couldn’t make sense of their comments—it was the first time I’d seen a small human actually fall ill.
Linea hesitated for a moment before asking me something.
“But… where did Father go?”
“Your dad? You mean Carcel?”
She hadn’t forgotten how Carcel had cared for her while she was sick.
Seeing her ask with such shy sweetness, I laughed.
“Even though he wanted to stay glued to your side, he had urgent matters to attend to, so he said he’d be back soon.”
“I see.”
Linea seemed embarrassed at having asked, and she giggled a little.
“Why don’t we eat together when he gets back? If you can’t make it to the dining room, we can eat right here in bed.”
“I can go!”
“You mustn’t push yourself. If you get sick again, you need to tell me honestly.”
Since she was such a gentle child, when I spoke with concern, she nodded obediently.
That was when it happened.
Someone knocked urgently at the door.
“Yes?”
I called out, and the door swung open. I turned to see who it was, but…
“Oh? Who… what?!”
I’d expected a maid or a butler, but the person who entered was entirely unexpected.
“M-Mother-in-law?!”
It was an alluring, strikingly elegant woman of middle years.
She gazed down at me languidly, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
“So, dear. Only now did I hear that my granddaughter was ill?”
My mother-in-law pronounced “only now” syllable by syllable, her eyes sharp as a blade.
“I’m sure Carcel hid it from me, afraid I’d come looking.”
“Linea is almost completely better now. She came down with it last night, but after the physician Carcel called gave her medicine, she’s improved greatly.”
“Needlessly fragile, like a delicate doll.”
Behind my mother-in-law, a line of servants filed in.
Each one carried a box.
Puzzled, I stared at them and asked.
“Wait—what are those?”
“Well, creatures as uselessly small as you and yours shouldn’t fall ill from the slightest breeze, should they? I made a special trip to the Rakan Duchy storehouse—or rather, I ransacked it—and brought these.”
At a casual gesture from my mother-in-law, the servants opened every box in unison.
“This is an Ancient Dragon’s Heart Stone. It’s a precious medicinal material that restores vitality to a weakened patient.”
Watching this, I went pale.
‘Restore vitality—that stuff can resurrect someone on death’s door!’
The next servant continued the explanation regardless.
“This is a 100-Year-Old Mountain Ginseng imported from the Eastern Region. It’s a rare natural herb excellent for strengthening immunity and recovering from exhaustion.”
Again, I shook my head in disbelief.
“This is a potion made by condensing and distilling two hundred mandrake roots. It smooths the body’s metabolism.”
Here they were, offering such rare and precious materials, speaking of energy restoration and immunity as if it were trivial!
‘Anyone with eyes can see that’s the grade of medicine a terminal patient takes to extend their lifespan—not something you give to someone with a cold and body aches!’
I opened my mouth carefully.
“Um, Mother-in-law? Linea is better now, so there’s no need for her to take medicine.”
“That can’t be right.”
“Why not…?”
My mother-in-law responded bluntly to my flustered protest.
“No one in our family catches colds. I’ve never seen a child get one before.”
“Mother-in-law? Ordinary children typically suffer from unexplained high fevers at least once a year?”
“That uselessly adorable little creature will need to eat precious medicines regularly beforehand, without a doubt.”
What on earth was the Rakan Duchy House?
Even the servants nodded in agreement, as if they too had never seen an ordinary child like Linea before.
“In any case, I’ll have someone prepare a nutritional supplement using all three of these by today, and you’re to feed it to her every day.”
“Mother-in-law, that much could resurrect someone at death’s door. It’s really too much…”
“And you too, dear—you’re taking it as well.”
“Me too?”
My mother-in-law let out a derisive snort at my bewilderment.
“What do you think makes you different? You’re just a slightly larger version of that small creature. You could catch a cold anytime.”
“Well, I suppose… but I just take fever-reducer and pain reliever, sleep, and get better…”
“What Carcel should have done long ago, I’ll have to do myself, inconvenient as it is.”
Despite her complaints, my mother-in-law’s eyes held genuine affection as she approached Linea’s bed.
Faced with her overwhelming presence, I could only smile awkwardly.
Linea followed suit, lowering her head politely with a shy smile.
“Mother-in-law, hello.”
“You can just call me Grandmother.”
Since my mother-in-law was still a stranger to her, Linea seemed uncertain and tested the word carefully.
“G-Grandmother.”
My mother-in-law took a sharp breath as she gazed down at the frightened child.
“Hah, hah, haah.”
“Mother-in-law, are you all right?!”
“I thought this child was uselessly delicate, but in some ways, she’s quite potent.”
My mother-in-law clutched at her heart.
“She has a dangerous ability to cause cardiac arrest.”
Then she suddenly bent her upper body toward Linea.
“I shall have to stay here for a while until the child recovers.”
Linea couldn’t withstand her gaze and gripped her blanket tightly.
“This uselessly enchanting little thing.”
“Th-thank you.”
Having grown somewhat accustomed to such expressions through Carcel, Linea didn’t burst into tears.
In the midst of all this, there came a quick knock and someone entered the room.
“Mother!”
“Why have you come?”
“Did I not tell you that Linea was ill? Why did you insist on visiting?”
“My granddaughter is sick. You expect her grandmother not to visit her sickbed?”
My mother-in-law’s eyes were full of malice as she scoffed, exasperated.
“It’s unfortunate you’re here at all.”
“What exactly are you planning to do with those?”
“I’m giving my child something good to eat. What business is it of yours?”
“Giving such things to a young child would be poison instead. No matter how good the ingredients, excess can cause harm.”
Carcel collected the boxes one by one from the servants’ hands.
Then he passed them to Matt.
“Lock these away where Mother can’t touch them.”
“Understood!”
With a single gesture, Carcel had the precious medicinal materials—treasured elsewhere—whisked away.
Watching this, my mother-in-law fixed him with a cold stare and spoke.
“You dare put away gifts I brought for my own child? How petty. So we’re competing now, are we?”
The old friction between them seemed to linger.
My mother-in-law continued speaking.
“I intend to stay here for several days. My granddaughter looked at me so uselessly adorably and asked me not to go—what can I do?”
“Mother-in-law, Linea never said anything like—”
My stumbling protest was casually ignored as my mother-in-law signaled the servants directly.
The servants left, then returned carrying several pieces of luggage.
“Mother-in-law, what is all of that?”
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying, so I packed enough belongings for about a month, just in case.”
But the luggage kept multiplying.
“About a month’s worth of things…?”
“You’re quite perceptive. It could be a month—or possibly longer. I’ll stay until my precious pup is fully healthy.”
“Precious pup…?”
Now that Linea had been branded a “pup,” she blinked in confusion, and Carcel answered her unspoken question.
“She’s recovered significantly, so Mother should be able to leave now.”
“Would you prefer I create another patient in this house besides my pup?”
“Is that a threat?”
Carcel spoke with exasperation.
“When I was injured, you never once came to see me—not even one visit. And this was when we lived in the same house.”
“Is there something else you wish to say to me?”
“Yes. If I listed all the grievances from that time, there would be much more.”
At Carcel’s words, my mother-in-law’s expression hardened.
First she sighed as if exasperated, then her lips trembled.
“I… I…”
My eyes widened.
Could she be apologizing? Because she wanted to be with Linea?
Carcel also looked bewildered as he stared at his mother.
In that tense moment, my mother-in-law finally spoke.
“You should have told me sooner!”

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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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