I Was Tricked Into A Fraudulent Marriage By The Obsessive Villain - Chapter 1 Part 3

Chapter 1 Part 3

“…… No way.”

The image of a young boy flashed before her eyes. Seeing Iona’s distorted expression, Johanna grabbed the cushion next to her and threw it.

“Do you remember now? Do you remember now!?”

“But that was just something kids do…”

“What are you talking about? Logically, when you sign something, you should at least read it first!”

At Johannna’s voice, Iona lowered her trembling gaze and stared at the paper in her hand.

She skimmed through the contents written under the title of ⟨Engagement Contract⟩. Among them, her sight fell on the last part of the contract.

⟨Clause N. This contract promises to proceed with marriage unconditionally. In the event of failure to fulfill the marriage, all assets of the party responsible for breach of contract will be transferred to the other party.⟩

— Carvain Tenebres

And even below that, the name of the villain was signed.

“……. Ugh.”

“Sister!”

“I-Iona!”

Her legs gave way, and she fell backward, landing flat on the floor. Iona stared into empty space and muttered to herself.

She had twisted her own life.

And on that night, Iona ran away.

To escape from the villain.

***

“……Hooh.”

Iona let out a sigh as if the ground was collapsing beneath her.

As soon as she found out she was a married woman, she ran away. It had been three years since she fled from her family. She took all the inherited assets and started an information guild.

Well, it was more like a job guild than an information guild.

The damn villain and her supposed husband, Ninth Prince Carvain, left for the battlefield before reaching adulthood. And he returns to the capital…

“……This year.”

It was this year. She felt a chill run down her spine for a moment.

“At least I remember this, hooh.”

She was relieved that she remembered when the villain would return, but at the same time, she made up her mind firmly.

I have to finish it within this year. Before the villain returns from the battlefield.

Once the villain returns to the capital, there’s no way they can get divorced.

He wouldn’t let her go easily even after deceiving her into marrying him.

Suddenly, a question popped up in her head.

‘Why did the villain, who falsely accused me of a crime, try to marry me?’

Although she asked herself countless times, she couldn’t come up with an answer.

With a grim expression, Iona stared at passing men while stirring her tea with a teaspoon.

“Hey, Recdol. Your muscles are amazing. Did you exercise?”

“Haha. Yours is amazing too, ma’am.”

“Nexis… Your jawline has become sharper. Can I touch it with my finger? It looks like it could cut.”

“…Ma’am. Do you know how scary it is when you act like that?”

Nexis shivered as he rubbed his arms.

“If you keep acting like that, you’ll be arrested for adultery, man. Get a grip!”

“…Is it really okay not to report that person?”

The cafe employee spoke while trembling like a cedar leaf.

“That’s just her hobby. She flirts at every passing man.”

The owner didn’t even turn his head, as if he was used to it, and brewed tea.

“Haah…”

Ignoring the employee’s gaze, Iona let out a deep sigh and clenched her fist against her chest.

She couldn’t even touch the handsome men on the street!

As she trembled with all the divorce papers she had written, someone tapped her shoulder from behind.

“What!”

“Whoa, calm down, Captain. It’s time for the meeting.”

It was Runkel, the leader of the guild’s operations.

“We agreed to have new guild members today. Did you forget?”

A white young man standing behind Runkel slightly lowered his head and greeted her.

“Let’s go up quickly. Everyone’s waiting.”

“…….”

…Idol material.

Iona evaluated the young man’s appearance inwardly as she walked towards the upper floor of the cafe.

The guild office of Hinckel Guild was located on the upper floor of the cafe.

A plaque engraved with the guild’s motto flashed above Iona sitting on the pedestal.

⟨We do everything but kill people!⟩

That was the reason why the guild established by a noble lady who had just come of age could succeed.

She was willing to take on any task except murder.

Thanks to that, the guild, which had only the vice leader and herself, now had over ten guild members.

Iona’s skillful handling also played a big part in the rapid growth of the guild.

Perhaps it was due to her efforts to save as much as possible in her previous life, but Iona’s sense of money was different from that of ordinary noble ladies.

The people on Rotis Street, where Iona mainly traded, used to say with their mouths closed.

Mrs. Hinckel has an acute sense of money.

When it comes to money-related matters, she clings to them like a hunting dog.

“Grund, what is this? We only made this much profit, so why are the expenses like this?”

“Captain… um, well…”

“Why were the expenses for the previous Smith’s Association incident also so high? This, here, and even this, it’s all unnecessary spending!”

“That… no, you see, I was trying to save, but…”

“You guys don’t know how to save. Huh?! Saving! Do you know that even a single copper coin dug from the ground is valuable!”

Iona breathed fire from her mouth as she looked at the ledger in her hand.

The guild members were discreetly watching each other as they witnessed Iona breathing fire like a dragon.

They vividly remembered what happened when they once rebelled against Iona’s fiery outburst. One guild member had to dig the ground with a shovel for a whole week to find silver coins.

“…I’ve made a decision.”

At Iona’s resolute words, the guild members swallowed nervously. The tension in the air was as taut as a tightrope.

“This week, the top performer behind the scenes will be you, Grund.”

“Ah…!”

At Iona’s words, the guild member named Grund tightly closed his eyes.

“Are you ready?”

“….Captain! Let me just say… Ouch!”

Just as Grund was about to make an excuse, Iona picked up the sword that was placed on the table and rushed towards him.

“Ouch! Ah, it hurts! It hurts, Captain! Ouch!”

“Come here. You need to take more hits. Doing your job like this?!”

Iona opened her eyes wide and began her punishment. Her skilled hands that selectively struck painful spots were not something she had tried only once or twice.

The reason why Iona was a single woman in her previous life.

In her past life, Iona was a master of K-martial arts.

She mastered Taekwondo, Special Forces martial arts, and Hapkido. She was much stronger than most men. As a result, the men who approached Iona were all challengers who came to test her reputation, and she fought them off every time. Naturally, men learned not to step into Iona’s shadow.

“Um… Guild Leader, your eyes are on fire…”

“Shh. Be quiet. Hey, Runkel, you go first, quickly.”

“Why are you putting it off on me?!”

The guild members whispered quietly in front of Iona, who was glaring at Grund.

In response to the continued glances from the guild members, Runkel, the guild’s action leader, stood up from his seat.

“Ah, C-Captain. Are you in a bad mood? You should use words, just words.”

Runkel spoke while unbuttoning his shirt. His white shirt opened up, revealing his muscular physique.

“…….”

Iona’s sunken eyes suddenly caught sight of his exposed physique.

Other guild members also began to expose themselves. Rolling up their sleeves, unbuttoning their shirts, and taking off their tops.

It was a behavior that did not make sense, logically.

The new guild member looked around with wide eyes in surprise. Then Runkel whispered in his ear.

“If you want to survive, quickly take off something.”

“W-What? Here? Seriously…”

“It’s not like that. Just roll up your sleeves quickly.”

“Ah, okay! Hurry!”

Biting their lips, the surrounding guild members whispered.

“…….”

Iona stared at the scene of exposed flesh that unfolded before her eyes. Vice Captain Austin was also gazing at her with sunken eyes.

It was an unconventional tradition passed down in the Hinckel Guild.

‘If the leader seems angry, just expose yourself,’ they said.

“… We’ll disband here. I’ll give you the report separately.”

Austin spoke and deeply sighed. His blue eyes were deeply sunken.

“Take care of the new recruit there.”

Austin, who got up from his seat, grabbed Iona’s wrist and left, she was hurriedly scanning the muscular bodies with his eyes.

“Hey, hey hey!”

“Hurry up.”

Thud.

As soon as the door closed, the new guild member screamed in surprise.

“Are there sexual favors here…!”

“Hey, you! What kind of talk is that?”

“Hey, newbie. Do we look like the kind of people who would do that?”

The new guild member’s gaze was fixed on the guild member who was shouting, or more precisely, on the shirt that was endlessly open.

‘…Yeah, I think you do.’

He muttered inwardly, swallowing his words in the face of the atmosphere that seemed like he would be killed on the spot if he spoke out loud.

A guild member sitting next to him put his arm around the new member’s shoulder and said,

“It’s not like that. Our leader is just a little perverted.”

“Hahaha! That’s right. Our guild leader is a pervert.”

“Is she…married?”

At the new member’s question, everyone in the room burst out laughing.

“Haha! Yeah, she’s a married woman. She’s a married woman who can’t be cheated on. If you call her a married woman in front of our leader, you’ll die.”

“Don’t even mention the word ‘married.’ I speak from experience.”

“Well, anyway…Hey, newbie! If you want to survive, remember this. These are words that are worth your blood and life.”

At the words of the guild members, the new guild member straightened up and opened his eyes wide. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed his saliva.

“…I’m ready to listen.”

Turning to the white-skinned young man with a fierce determination, the guild members whispered in hushed tones as if it were a state secret.

“If you go to 3rd Street, there’s an old lady named Mrs. Recdol who runs a clothing store. Go there and buy some clothes.”

” …What?”

He thought he was going to hear a hidden secret, but they were telling him to buy clothes. The new guild member was momentarily taken aback and muttered without realizing it.

“Hahaha! That’s right! Mrs. Recdol’s clothes are the best. They’re so tight that even the flesh shows through!”

“No, no. You should also go to the new place by the river. They have clothes without buttons!”

“……”

The new guild member looked at the guild members who were shouting about which store sold more provocative clothing.

…Should I leave now?

***