Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 97

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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 97
“Hm?”
It was in that moment when I was merely blinking.
Carcel leaned in from behind, half-wrapping me with his body, and whispered.
“Asha, does another man please you more?”
“That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“I’m relieved. I have no desire for unnecessary bloodshed either.”
I shot Carcel a sharp look.
At that, he considerately removed the hand that had been blocking my view.
‘There he goes again with that scheming nature of his.’
Belmon laughed awkwardly at my pointless reproach.
And the moment he did, didn’t the space around his face suddenly brighten as if flowers were blooming?
‘When Carcel smiles, it feels like standing before a wild beast with no weapon. This man is like the sunlight itself.’
Then, with the warm, gentle face of a charming man, Belmon knelt on one knee before Linea and smiled.
“Are you not uncomfortable being here alone?”
Belmon was the first adult who had ever asked Linea such a considerate question.
Perhaps because of this, Linea laughed brightly and shook her head.
“I came with my parents, so I feel like I’ve grown up. It’s wonderful.”
“You may speak freely. You are the Marquis’s Daughter, after all.”
“I’m… I’m happy.”
“Might I present the young lady with a small gift to commemorate our meeting?”
Belmon waited silently for Carcel and my consent.
Carcel and I exchanged a brief glance.
But what Belmon held in his hand was merely a single fresh flower.
‘Wait, he’s not a magician—where did that flower even come from?’
Is that a casanova’s technique? Producing fresh flowers from one’s sleeve?
In the end, I smoothed back Linea’s hair and spoke.
“Linea, you can accept it.”
Upon hearing this, Linea smiled brightly and took the flower.
“Thank you!”
“My pleasure.”
He then rose and, with a light bow, vanished without further words.
‘Perhaps that man is an insider deeply involved in Lucian’s assassination after all.’
Judging solely by appearance, it’s utterly unimaginable.
And so the dinner with the members of the Diplomatic Mission who had arrived early began.
* * *
From the start, because the diplomatic purpose of this dinner was reconciliation, even married couples were not seated together.
Linea and I sat side by side, and I gazed across the distance at Carcel.
“No matter where I go, people always say I have excellent taste. These utensils used today—I selected them myself……”
Carcel sat beside Dischuli, listening to his endless self-praise, his eyes growing dull.
And the members of the Diplomatic Mission positioned around Carcel watched his mood carefully.
‘Ah, so it’s a look of exhaustion that only appears to my eyes.’
For those unfamiliar with Carcel, he must be an enormous threat to bear.
I offered them silent condolences and glanced to my right.
Beside me sat the princess I had seen earlier—Amira.
Her homeland was the Kelveta Kingdom, situated beyond the western border of the Empire.
A prosperous desert kingdom—a sacred site of intermediary trade via the Silk Road.
Because its far end connected to the Empire, exchanges were frequent.
Amira, her curious eyes gleaming, opened her mouth before I could say anything.
“I heard you’re newlyweds. With that frightening Marquis.”
“Yes. This is our daughter, Linea. It’s a remarriage.”
“Linea, pretty.”
Amira turned a warm gaze toward the child.
Linea, in turn, greeted her politely.
“Thank you! Your Highness seems like you’ve stepped right out of a fairytale!”
“I know. I’m quite beautiful.”
Amira, acknowledging her beauty so confidently, was somehow endearing.
‘I heard she had a sister. Was it Princess Safiya?’
These two were the desert king’s most cherished daughters, currently residing in the Empire for cultural exchange.
So they could speak the imperial language, but not perfectly.
But this Princess Amira…
“The Day of Peace……”
In the original work, there was a scene in which a certain princess dies. However, that point hasn’t arrived yet.
‘She was one of the daughters the king loved most.’
And the reason this mattered was… it was entirely an accident caused by the Empire’s own negligence.
And for the most absurd of reasons.
Honestly, I can’t remember that princess’s name.
‘It could be Amira.’
While thinking such thoughts, Amira stared directly at me.
With her hair, black as ebony, braided abundantly down, and adorned all over with brilliant gold ornaments, she possessed a fascination like that of a savannah cat.
And her gaze—one that seemed impossible to read.
So I tilted my head slightly and asked.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Linea’s companion, that one—trash.”
“Oh my.”
At Amira’s bluntness, I quickly checked our surroundings.
The one seated beside Linea was Walter, after all.
‘It seems they paired them so the children would grow close. But since they don’t match well, they haven’t spoken a word.’
Next to Walter sat the Grand Duchess.
But the Grand Duchess was now preoccupied with conversation with another guest seated to her left.
Princess Amira paid it no mind and continued her warning to me.
“That one—be careful. His eyes are psycho.”
“Hush. Your Highness, you shouldn’t speak so freely at a gathering like this.”
“He threw a stone at my cat in the Inner Palace last time.”
So Walter was indeed a psychopath, just as the original work suggested.
“Is the cat all right?”
“Yes. But its eye bled.”
“Really? Is it still hurting?”
“The eye still hurts.”
Princess Amira, her eyes innocent and childlike, nodded obediently.
“Then… might I visit the Inner Palace later and treat it? I have an excellent medicine.”
I still had some of the Isaar’s Feather left.
Its effects weren’t limited to people—Isaar’s Feather worked on animals and even Demonic Beasts.
“Really?”
Amira suddenly leaned close to me and asked.
Startled by the exotic and sensual scent of oud wafting from the woman as she drew near, I stepped back. She then apologized with an expressionless face.
“Sorry. In the desert, drawing close is a sign of trust.”
“It’s all right. Then if Your Highness sends an invitation to the Marquis Residence, I’ll go and treat it myself.”
“Thank you!”
For the first time, Amira displayed a subtle smile.
As our conversation was winding down, Walter finished his meal and turned to Linea.
“Marquis’s Daughter.”
Contrary to my expectation, Walter called to Linea in a refined manner.
“Oh, yes?”
“You’re friends with Lucian, I hear?”
“Yes!”
Lucian, befitting the Crown Prince, had been seated beside the Emperor and was far away.
And Walter spoke.
“What is it about Lucian that appeals to you so?”
“Um……”
“Don’t misunderstand. I like Lucian too.”
Walter then turned his whole body toward Linea and began to speak.
But the emotion glimpsed in his unchildlike triple-lidded eyes carried a competitive streak—hardly a good sign.
I decided to respond to Walter in Linea’s stead.
“The Crown Prince and we have only recently become acquainted, so Linea’s interaction with him is still quite limited.”
“I didn’t ask the Marquise.”
What audacity.
My lips stiffened slightly.
Then I heard Amira’s whisper from behind me.
“That little bastard’s a psycho.”
Where does the princess keep learning such vocabulary.
I continued speaking to Walter.
“My apologies. Linea is a child who is quite shy with strangers.”
“I know. That’s precisely why I’m making a special effort to grow closer to her.”
As he said this, Walter examined Linea intently.
Just as Linea began to look uncomfortable and falter.
“But I think the Marquis’s Daughter would do better with slightly more modest ornaments, and perhaps letting her hair down.”
Today’s ensemble was arranged exactly as Linea wished—it was the child’s own taste.
Now that Linea was beginning to develop her own opinions, Walter began offering advice.
“And the dress—wouldn’t it be better without such frivolous ribbons and lace decorations? A young lady should take more interest in her appearance.”
“Um……”
Linea didn’t know what to do.
‘Dischuli in miniature, or whatever he is. I barely built up our daughter’s confidence, and he’s trying to tear it down.’
I hid my true feelings and interjected between them.
“I beg to differ. To my eye, Linea is loveliest dressed as she herself prefers.”
Walter then objected with a tone that showed his immaturity.
“Young ladies, even before their debut in Society, once they appear at an official gathering, every social event becomes an interview for marriage—not so different. I’m saying this for the young lady’s sake.”
“My daughter need not marry anyone if she does not wish to.”

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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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