Is it wrong for me to like seeing the villain suffer [24]
There was no reason for a wedding, just signing a contract was enough, and yet Arkell remained silent for a while.
So I said:
"You hate complications, don't you? This would be much easier."
He did not answer, and merely lowered his gaze while muttering: “I never said that I hate complexity.”
But I ignored his words and extended my hand towards him.
“Let us succeed together.”
He answered quietly, wrapping his hand around my hand:
“From now on, address me without reservation.”
Then he added in a low voice, still holding my hand:
“In Kayin, husband and wife are equal. Even if our marriage is just a contract… we… zu…”
But he stuttered every time he tried to complete the word.
I smiled and said to him: “A couple, right?”
His lips pursed tightly before he answered: “Yes... that’s what I mean.”
I wondered inside myself:
'What makes him find it difficult to say something like that?'
Then I shrugged my shoulders and said:
“Well, I will soon write you a formal contract... No, I will write it.”
The situation was so critical that I felt what he was feeling.
Then she remembered saying:
“Ah, I agreed to eat with Naran, won’t you accompany me? I mean… accompany me?”
I didn't finish my sentence due to excessive hesitation, and Erkel laughed lightly, which made me even more embarrassed.
(Whoever does not understand, she is hesitant because she is addressing him in an informal language)
“It's no use, it looks like I'll be acting like I used to for a while.”
He replied: “But in Cayenne there is a husband and a wife...”
She interrupted him, saying: “How about we address each other with mutual respect until we get used to it? You address me with respect, and so do I.”
He knocked a little, then smiled softly: “So be it, my wife.”
Then my throat dried up from the intensity of his words. If his charming face smiled in that way, it seemed as if he was outside the boundaries of reality.
I said, pretending to be calm:
So...we'll have dinner together?"
“…….”
But he remained silent.
“Things won't be solved if you keep evading Naran.”
He muttered hesitantly:
“But… would he want to see me?”
I held his face firmly in my hands:
“It's okay! I'll tell him I brought you, and he won't object.”
I smiled confidently, and he stared at me for a long time without speaking.
“Let's go together. It's true that my tastes are sometimes a bit harsh, but I think seeing two brothers living in peace might be a beautiful sight.”
He was so confused that he almost stuttered:
"W-what! Beautiful?!"
“Then we have something to tell him... our marriage is in a contract.”
"True. Even if it's a contract, it's important news. But how are we going to tell him?"
I smiled and winked with one eye:
“Leave that to me.”
He looked at me for a moment before returning to smiling with that faint smile:
“As you wish, my wife.”
❖ ❖ ❖
When I went down with Arkell to the dining hall, we found Naran, Sylvia, and a number of servants gathered.
Naran's gaze trembled slightly when he saw Arkell standing next to me.
“Naran, I invited Erkel to have dinner with us. You don’t mind, right?”
“……”
He did not answer, so I continued:
“I would like you two to get along.”
The servants realized the tension of the situation, and they knew that the relationship between them was not well, so they looked at us anxiously as if they expected another quarrel.
But Naran contented himself with a calm smile and a gentle gesture:
“If it makes you happy, Lizzy, I'm all for anything.”
Some of the servants covered their mouths in shock, while others muttered in astonishment:
“Wow… Third Master would say something like that?”
None of them had ever seen Naran so obedient before.
As for Arkel, he contented himself with staring at him silently until his eyes met Naran's eyes, and the latter said:
“All for Lizzie.”
A tense atmosphere prevailed in the place, until Naran returned to break the intensity, saying:
“I'm tired of always being avoided in one house.”
Arkel whispered his name:
“Two fires...”
But Naran smiled and said in a reproachful tone:
“How long will you be standing? Lizzy is hungry, so sit down.”
Then a faint smile appeared on my lips, almost invisible:
“Okay.”
The servants' eyes widened, unable to believe what they were seeing.
As for me, I sat quietly in their astonishment, placing the napkin on my knee, while looking at the table, which was decorated with more diverse dishes than at the previous breakfast, until I salivated from the intensity of the delicious smells.
“Eat well, Lizzie.”
“Miss Lizzy, we hope you enjoy your food today too!”
“I worked harder this time than last time.”
“If the food is not enough, let us know, we will bring you more, Miss Lizzy.”
While Naran and the servants were competing to speak one after another, Erkel, who had remained silent until then, could not remain late, so he opened his mouth and said:
“…Have a nice meal, wife.”
Immediately after that word, silence filled the place as if cold water was poured on everyone.
As for Arkil himself, he calmly continued cutting the piece of steak on his plate as if nothing had happened.
“A.. are you crazy?!”
Naran roared, staring at Arkell with eyes that nearly popped out of their sockets.
“What did you just say to Lizzie?!”
“I said my wife.”
Arkell answered coldly, stopping the movement of his knife.
“You've finally lost your mind...?”
Naran muttered as his whole body trembled with anger and contempt.
As for me, because I was busy chewing food, I was unable to utter a word.
'How unlucky I am, I was the one who intended to say that first.'
As soon as Naran suddenly got up with his eyes red, he shouted:
“Don't worry, Lizzy, I'll tear this idiot down right now—”
“It's true.”
I said after quickly swallowing water. Naran looked at me with a surprised face.
"…What?"
“Since everyone is here, I will say it publicly. Wirkle and I...were married.”
tons—
The fork fell from Naran's hand.
The mouths of all the servants opened in astonishment, and only Irkle remained unmoved, who continued eating indifferently.
One of the servants muttered, astonished:
“How…Miss Lizzy, were you forced to do this?!”
“If you're being threatened, just wave the parsley, miss!”
'Is it reasonable for you to speak like this in front of your master?'
I smiled calmly and shook my head, then brought out the phrase I had prepared in advance to convince them:
“—That's how it went.”
Indeed, there was nothing better than this sentence to silence objections.
The servants' faces remained filled with astonishment, but no one dared to argue with me.
Except for one person.
"Kick Kayne! I still hate you deep down!"
Naran suddenly shouted while trembling, then suddenly turned around and rushed off somewhere.
He gave me a sideways glance, as if asking if he should follow him.
“It's okay, I'll explain to him myself later.”
“As you wish, my wife.”
However, before he calmly resumed eating...
“Fuck—!”
Sylvia shouted this time, and turned around and ran back.
'And you, too? Why on earth...?'
I continued to chew my steak as I stared in amazement at their backs, which had turned away.
❖ ❖ ❖
My plan to reconcile the brothers failed, but I barely succeeded in calming Naran down.
When I told him that it was a “sham marriage with a contract,” he stared at me sharply and swore repeatedly that if Arkal violated the terms of the contract, he would kill him with his own hands.
Sylvia, who kept shaking her head madly in agreement with every word, was an addition to that scene.
“But at least, thanks to this I can stay here, right?”
“…….”
While Naran's furrowed eyebrows opened slightly, he said to me seriously:
“If that man tries to harm you in any way... tell me, and I will lay down my life for you.”
'Even though the one who's been hurting him up until now is mostly me...'
I smiled kindly and answered him:
“Yes, yes.”
Then Sylvia turned to me and said:
“And now that you are the mistress of this house... it is appropriate that we address you in a superior capacity, my lady.”
I had accepted the title “wife” reluctantly, but the title “ma’am” bothered me greatly, as it suddenly made me feel like an old woman.
"Call me as you are, just Lizzie. And tell the others, too. Marriage or whatever, I'm still the same Lizzie."
People don't change easily.
Also, just because I am ostensibly a married woman does not mean that I will suddenly become sober-minded.
“Okay, Lizzie.”
“I command you, Miss Lizzy.”
Naran and Sylvia answered together, looking affected.
In the midst of this warm atmosphere, I wanted to give myself rest, but I did not forget that I had another matter to accomplish.
“That being said… isn’t the head of the family supposed to be back soon?”
Reception of the original heroine.
Martha Cain, Arkell's older sister who left for the capital, will return soon.
'In the original story, as soon as Martha returns, Jin Alheim sneaks into Kaien's house under the guise of a servant...'
But the story went awry a long time ago.
I, Lizzie Alheim, who was supposed to have died a long time ago, is not only alive, but also Arkell's wife.
Therefore, it is not certain that Jin Alheim will appear as in the original.
'But one thing is certain.'
If I lose Martha Cain's trust, my plan will end.
Is it possible for her to imagine that the girl she brought as a hostage then left the palace for a moment and then returned and saw her as her brother’s wife?
Martha wouldn't mind me having an excuse to stay here, but the idea that I chose to stay voluntarily would certainly arouse her suspicions.
Martha was the most ambitious and strict of the three Caen brothers.
'I have to show her that I'm really serious.'
I muttered, stroking my chin in thought.
How can I gain Martha's trust?
Fortunately, since she is the original heroine, she has more information than Arkell or Naran know.
'The best way to gain her trust is...'
It didn't take long to think.
I know one piece of information that would drive Martha Cain crazy with joy.
***
Translated by: Snow
I post the chapters in the Telegram group as files, and perhaps if my account is banned after evil, you will find me there
Just write in the Telegram search: snowestellee
Or take a picture of this link and enter it from Google Lens: https://t.me/snowestellee