Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 87

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 87
The atmosphere seemed to be growing tense, so I clapped my hands together sharply to clear the air.
“Well then, Isaar? You’ve stated it quite precisely.”
I smiled toward Isaar.
“The truth is, while I came partly to check on you, I also came to prepare for tomorrow.”
The Emperor would surely rage tomorrow and question both Carcel and Isaar about the situation.
So we all needed to tell the same story.
Before the Emperor drew out his Lie Detection Artifact and forced us to use it.
At least with the few people he trusted, he’d be less harsh.
“First… some of what you said is true, and some is false.”
“What?”
“For one, I didn’t know Carcel was the Duke Rakan until our wedding night, when I found out.”
Upon hearing this, Isaar looked at Carcel as though he were utterly mad.
“So we can set aside the meeting with Carcel, and secondly, my meeting with the Crown Prince.”
“I already know about that. His Majesty told me.”
“Right. Then I’ll assume you know everything you told His Majesty, and regarding the Crown Prince’s assassination attempt—”
I fixed Isaar with an unwavering gaze as I spoke.
“That’s right. I foresaw it.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you also predict more or less that I would?”
Last night, Carcel had summoned Isaar. And when Isaar arrived at the marquis’s residence, though astounded by our story, he followed along willingly.
He already trusted me to some degree.
“As you suspected, I do have some Foresight. Of course, I wish I could know everything about the world.”
Perhaps because I was more forthcoming than he expected, Isaar fell silent.
Of course, I was experiencing Possession, but I’d phrased it in a way he could understand.
“And in truth, regarding today’s assassination attempt—I wasn’t certain, only prepared.”
“You said you foresaw it.”
“As I just said, what I know is extremely limited. I only had fragmentary information that Linea and the Crown Prince would become entangled in an assassination incident during the fireworks.”
I held his gaze firmly and spoke with conviction.
“I knew nothing of the timing or the perpetrator.”
Carcel also nodded in agreement.
“If Asha were a spy or harbored some wicked intent, why would she bother preparing and invite more suspicion?”
At the same moment, Isaar’s pupils shifted slightly.
When I nodded from beside Carcel, he added:
“She could have simply pretended to know nothing and merely prevented Linea from attending the fireworks that day.”
“But I couldn’t simply stand by if I knew something might happen to the Crown Prince.”
In the end, Isaar’s expression showed he’d accepted this reasoning.
“…There was a diviner among my blood relatives from House Terisa, if you trace the lineage back.”
“Really?”
I—no, Asha—had a family history I’d never known about.
“I’ve met her before. That woman had similar abilities to yours.”
Isaar’s eyes took on the look of someone searching through memory.
I ventured to ask him something I’d been curious about.
“…I apologize for asking, but how old are you, if you don’t mind?”
“Shh.”
Isaar placed a finger to his lips and quieted me.
I’d never thought much of his informal speech because I already knew he was well over a hundred years old.
“Tomorrow I’ll go speak to His Majesty first. You can simply evade the issue and claim you had no involvement.”
“You’d do that much for me?”
“What do you think will happen if the Emperor hears the word Foresight?”
Isaar’s expression turned into a bitter, cold smile.
“Whether you’re Carcel’s wife or not, you’d likely be dragged away and interrogated.”
“A witch hunt…”
As I hugged myself and trembled, Isaar shook his head.
“This isn’t an era barbaric enough for such things. But they won’t release you until you’ve revealed everything you foresaw about the Crown Prince’s assassination.”
“Exactly. But what if tomorrow His Majesty gives the Lie Detection Artifact to you and Carcel?”
What if my name comes up?
But then Isaar let out a derisive laugh.
“You think the Lie Detection Artifact makes people spill truth freely? Magic cannot determine what is true and what is false.”
“What?”
“It simply analyzes what you say, your reactions when questioned, and various physiological responses to determine truth from falsehood.”
Realization dawned on my face.
Then Isaar spoke as though asking if I understood now.
“That’s why such an artifact doesn’t work on someone like Carcel, and naturally means nothing to me.”
“It’s far more scientific than I expected.”
“His Majesty has already been warned that if the person being interrogated panics, the results can be corrupted.”
It’s essentially a polygraph machine.
I nodded.
“I should be going now. The painkiller’s wearing off.”
Isaar got to his feet.
A cookie still dangled from one of his hands.
“See you tomorrow.”
With that, Isaar bid us farewell with just a glance before vanishing in a flash of blue light.
“…Phew.”
I exhaled, exhausted.
Carcel looked down at me with concern.
“Are you alright?”
“More or less. I just hope His Majesty doesn’t summon me tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry about that. After all, Asha knew nothing and merely assisted our plan.”
Strangely, his words felt reliable.
Perhaps because he seemed like a man so solid nothing could topple him.
“Asha?”
I let out a short breath and fell into Carcel’s embrace.
With my arms around his waist and my cheek buried against his chest, a sense of security washed over me.
Carcel seemed momentarily flustered, but soon began patting my back gently.
I wondered if this was how Linea felt when nestled in his arms.
Safe and comfortable—so much so that drowsiness was beginning to take hold.
For a long time, Carcel and I simply held each other without speaking.
“…Asha, aren’t you hungry?”
“I’m starving.”
“Shall we go have dinner together?”
At his coaxing tone, I merely nodded, still burrowing my face into his chest.
He chuckled, lifted me up, and set my feet upon his own.
“Then shall we walk to the dining room like this?”
“What if someone sees us? I’d die of shame.”
Given that I’d recently been caught in displays of affection with Linea and my mother-in-law, and had made my displeasure quite vocal, Carcel laughed.
“Oh, and the Festival continues through tomorrow, did you know?”
“Yes, but will the Festival go on properly after the Crown Prince’s assassination attempt?”
“In a time like this, they’ll make the Festival even grander. It wouldn’t do to make people anxious, not for the Crown Prince.”
People know Lucian is constantly under threat of assassination.
They’re even aware that the perpetrators are so cunning and thorough that there’s still no solid evidence to identify them.
If word spread that the Crown Prince had nearly been assassinated in the Inner Palace, the very heart of the palace, during a Festival like this, people would be far from pleased.
So they’d be trying to redirect attention.
“Won’t you be interrogated tomorrow too?”
“I’ll have plenty of time to return and make the evening Festival.”
“Then shall the three of us—you, Linea, and I—go to the Festival? Just our family?”
Linea thought today that she had truly enjoyed the Festival, but of course, it hadn’t been real.
At my words, Carcel’s eyes softened and he let out a low laugh.
“The night market would be even more fun. There are all sorts of entertaining events throughout the Festival grounds.”
“Wonderful!”
In truth, I’d been here for only just under three months since the Possession began.
So there was much about Linea’s birthday and events like this Festival that I hadn’t properly learned yet.
What was ordinary to them was entirely new to me.
The thought of experiencing this Festival together with Carcel and Linea for the first time filled me with genuine excitement.
“Then let’s be careful tomorrow, come back, and go to the Festival together!”
The chest of the man looking down at me vibrated with a deep rumble.
When I looked up at him, Carcel was suppressing laughter.
“Why?”
“Because an excited Asha is adorable.”
“Oh, honestly. Anyway, let me see those burns. After you wash up, I’ll apply salve for you.”
When I stepped back from him, Carcel obediently extended his forearm.
“Goodness, it’s quite red, isn’t it?”
“It’s mild, so it should heal quickly with just salve.”
Upon hearing that, I hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Carcel, do you happen to know anything about the Phoenix?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————