CH 1.09

“Come on, Claude-sama, please listen to me.”

Please don’t hand me over.

If I really am left with Elise, tomorrow I’ll be floating in a river somewhere or dying in the middle of nowhere.

That’s for sure.

I feel like she’s in the mood to do that.

I’d like to believe that my husband was not so cruel.

But I didn’t trust him, so I grabbed his clothes tightly.

I was not ready to fight head-on yet, so I was desperate to appeal to my husband, as I’d really like to stay undetected.

I’d rather go on with my life as I have for the past month, unchanged.

I don’t want to go through the trouble of fighting, Husband.

You dragged me into this, you devil!

The voice in my mind was quietly and desperately complaining about the danger in my life, and my husband, who was skilled at reading the air, gently patted me.

But that was how ruthless and profit-minded my husband was.

There was a slightly distant look in his eyes. He was probably thinking of demanding something from me later on.

Comparing my husband to Elise, who wanted to get rid of me, I chose my husband instantly, so I gave up persisting.

“Claude-sama!”

When my husband took me in his arms and turned on his heel, as if it were too much trouble to say anything back, Elise shouted at his back.

“I say again, please leave that lowly fellow. Besides, you’re supposed to be spending the day with me! Don’t you know I’ve prepared so much for this day?”

“I refused the invitation because it’s from you. I just came to tell you that lately you’ve been doing too much as you please with the prestige of the Duke of Lindbeld in social circles. If you do anything further to undermine the Lindbeld dukedom, you’d better be prepared.”

“Whoa, do you believe the words of such insignificant people rather than me? But, Claude-sama, that kind of threat wouldn’t work on me. And if you do, I’m sure Father Andre will put a stop to it.”

She sounded vaguely proud.

And the chill in the air that my husband emitted made me shiver.

“Is that so? ――……Then put your trust in my father and see what happens. I’d love to hear what kind of response you get. Oh, and Elise. It seems that I have somewhat similar tastes in women to my father ―― I prefer someone young and tender like her. It’s quite intriguing to watch their innocent reactions.”

Oh, stop it.

I don’t want you to leave me behind, but don’t say anything to stir things up.

It’s a taboo to talk about age with women, Husband.

I mean, Husband…are you trying to anger her?

It’s kind of freezing out here, from what you’re brewing.

“Now, let’s go to your room. I’ve got a lot of time on my hands now that my errands are over.”

That’s why! 

Please don’t bother to say those things out loud.

That intense gaze has now evolved into a murderous intent.

My husband turned back the way he had come.

Of course, Elise had tried to stop him, but for reasons unknown, she was not allowed to leave the house, or to set foot in the main residence.

My husband was somewhat irritated, crossed the corridor with huge strides and went up the stairs.

Then he kicked open the massive and magnificent door.

I was so startled by his violence that I froze in his arms.

The door suddenly opened with a crash, and the person in the room froze as well and turned around.

My husband said a few words to the person.

“Call the tailor and the jeweler right now.”

Then…

The husband set me down on the soft sofa while the other person stared at us, agape in disbelief.

After setting me down, he hurriedly went into the next room and brought three thick volumes of documents.

Incidentally, the other person who was in the room with me during that interval ―― my master’s secretary who was present at the wedding ―― could only follow his orders.

My husband came back immediately, placed a document on the desk and told me with cold eyes, as I looked up at him in a daze.

“You should at least thank me for your life. Read this immediately. You can finish it by the end of the day tomorrow, right?”

Err…

It’s too thick, don’t you think?

I glanced at it and saw that it was a series of very detailed letters and numbers.

What? You want this by the end of the day tomorrow?

For some reason, I felt a gaze on me, and when I followed the source of it, I saw that the secretary was looking at me sympathetically.

Hmm, could he help me? I smiled and got a glare from my husband in front of me.

At the same time, the secretary turned pale and turned away.

“I’m sure you can figure it out. By all means, keep up the good work…As for a success fee, I’ll take you from living the minimum life of the poor to living the average life of a commoner.”

Whoa! I knew it!

Yeah, sure enough!

I’ve been wondering who the culprit was.

It’s absolutely my husband’s fault.

That’s why I thought I’d kill him.

It’s true that I’m the one who said it’s a minimal lifestyle, but you’re interpreting it too much to your own advantage.

I’d like to demand a fee.

The husband was smiling with the corners of his mouth turned up, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

That was why I could only keep my thoughts to myself.

“I’m sure you’ve seen the futility of your far-fetched approach… I’ve let you make your own move, by all means. Did it make you happy?”

I wasn’t happy at all.