I Was Tricked Into A Fraudulent Marriage By The Obsessive Villain - Chapter 3 Part 10

She dug her nails into the palm of her hand and tried hard to pull herself together.

The client is lyactually my husband. So, he’s the villain and……

He was searching for me… …?

Thinking that way, everything fell into place.

Hardin is the only noble family known for their smooth golden hair and purple eyes.

A wife who ran away while her husband was on a long business trip.

Who is quite fond of men.

“……”

For a moment, Iona couldn’t help but find herself pathetic.

Yes. Every situation was pointing to herself.

“……This crazy X.”

Iona Hardin, this crazy XX.

She clenched her fist and struck her head recklessly.

It was the first time she felt so desperately pathetic since she found out about the fake marriage.

She thought she was a person who lives by thinking little by little.

As her thoughts gradually organized, she began to worry about how to handle this situation right away.

Is it okay to run away like this?

My family. And the guild. Can I guarantee the safety of my people?

— If you’re going to run away, do it now.

— I will handle the client’s retaliation.

“…….”

Both of them said it was okay for her to leave. But……

— Can you sign here?

— If it comes to this, I will have to kill you.

“……No.”

She was the only one who knew how dangerous the villain was.

Others still don’t know the danger of the villain.

He’s still hiding his fangs. His victory in the war was just a temporary respite. 

After all, he’s the one who will eventually stain the throne with blood. 

And the only person who knew that he was the most dangerous person in this world was her. 

Can Austin handle the wrath of the angry villain?

“… Hoo…”

As she lost in endless worries, the carriage passed through the inner gate after crossing the outer gate.

“…..”

If I stay quiet, I can escape through the castle gate. 

If I hide for a while as Austin suggested, maybe the situation will resolve itself. 

But… 

“Wait… wait, stop.”

Iona said, tapping the coachman. 

“Yes? Are we stopping here? I thought we need to quickly cross the castle gate, ma’am.”

“It’ll only take a moment.”

The coachman parked the carriage near the stable exchange near the inner gate, saying that he couldn’t stop in the middle of the road. 

The coachman left his seat, excusing himself that he’ll be drinking some water for a moment.

Iona ran her hand through her hair and thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

I have to go back. 

The villain already knew that she had run away and lived in hiding with the guild. 

So it was obvious what would happen to her. 

– You’ll have to die. 

“….”

She was afraid her neck would be broken by his hand, but there was nothing she could do. 

She couldn’t turn away from her people. 

Besides, it was the villain who had been wary of her, and he even brought the fraudulent contract with him, so it wouldn’t be easy to kill him. 

“I guess that’s a good thing…”

Iona muttered with a bitter smile. 

Yeah, this is how it is. 

She tightly held her trembling fingertips and reassured herself that she was okay, then stepped out of the carriage. 

“Uncle Coachman. I’m sorry. I have to go back to the castle now…”

“M-Mrs. Hinkel…!”

The next moment, the coachman’s frightened voice came from behind. 

When she turned her head at that voice… 

“You…?” 

A silver-haired man was standing there. 

“How…?”

For a moment, he wondered if he was looking at the wrong person.

“I have something to say.”

The coachman who was held by the knights behind the man caught Iona’s eye.

“…..”

Iona instinctively scrutinized the man’s attire.

It was not his usual neat attire.

It was clearly the attire of a nobleman.

“…..”

Iona instinctively stepped back for a moment.

The man then smiled and approached slowly.

The man’s red eyes curved as if amused.

It felt strange.

Looking at the man’s face, Iona felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

It was clearly the man she knew, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was odd.

Yes, those cold, shining red eyes.

It wasn’t the warm gaze that used to look at her.

There was no warmth in the man’s eyes.

Uuung—.

The moment the man began to approach, the couple stone in her pocket began to resonate.

“W-Why is this…”

Iona trembled as she took the couple stone out of her pocket and held it in her hand.

It wasn’t an illusion. The couple stone was truly resonating.

It should not respond to her since she was the one who’s holding it.

Then, the current resonating object is…?

“Are you trying to run away again?”

The man’s voice echoed in her ear.

The man slowly closed the distance.

“…..”

The man raised the corner of his mouth as if he had seen a ghost when looking at Iona.

He approached and held Iona’s hand that was holding the couple stone and kissed it slowly.

“Now, you can’t escape.”

“…..”

“Wife.”

The corners of the man’s mouth curved into a smile.

“…Carvain.”

A new name spilled from his lips.

The name of the man she wanted to avoid at all costs.

“Yes, Iona.”

“You know my name.”

His red-eyed gaze entangled her.

It was a gaze that seemed to forbid her from avoiding eye contact.

Her fingertips trembled in response to his sharp gaze.

— Can you sign here?

— Iona…

The image of a young boy overlapped with the graceful face that raised the corners of his mouth.

— Please give me just one more day.

— I will ensure that this pretty wrist doesn’t fall.

Lately, he had been hiding his true identity while he was with her.

The trembling in her fingertips gradually spread through her nerves and dominated her entire body.

Like prey in front of a predator. She couldn’t even breathe properly.

“…..”

At that moment Carvain, who had been silently gazing at Iona, took one step closer.

Thud.

“…..”

And Iona lost consciousness right there.

Carvain gently caught the powerless pale body.

His large hand tightly gripped her slender waist.

After silently gazing at Iona for a moment, Carvain slowly lowered his head and whispered in her ear.

“Now, you can never escape.”

I won’t let you go.

Carvain’s mouth twisted into a smile.

His red eyes emitted an indescribable light.

“Ugh… ugh…! No… signing… ugh.”

“Hey, Your Highness. Let go, will you? You’re obviously giving her nightmares.”

“Mind your own business.”

Ugh, this heartless guy, this one.

Jonathan swallowed his curse and gazed at his dear lord.

Carvain placed Iona on his knee.

His thick arms had no idea how to handle her slender waist.

From the moment the Grand Duchess fainted and collapsed,

her head, which was resting on his broad shoulders, was gently shaking.

Continuing to mumble in pain as if having a nightmare,

“No……”

Despite the Grand Duchess’s mumbling, Carvain paid no attention and held her in his arms.

Ugh, cruel man.

As he watched this scene, Jonathan shook his head and moved to the back of the carriage.

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes, Your Grace. We will depart now.”

Jonathan nodded in response to the knight’s words.

The ramshackle carriage the Grand Duchess had been riding in was now occupied by Carvains knights instead of the Grand Duchess.

“Hey. Let’s go.”

“Ah, yes. Yes, I understand.”

The coachman was pale with fear.

The carriage that the Grand Duchess had ridden was now carrying the knights and heading to its destination.

The Grand Duchess. So that no one knows that Mrs. Hinkel has been taken away by Carvain.

“Well… It may only buy us time, but at least we can gain some time right now.”

Jonathan muttered as he watched the departing carriage.

It wasn’t just them who were targeting the Grand Duchess.

It was clear that not only Duke Hardin, but even the Second Empress was targeting the Grand Duchess.

They wouldn’t be able to deceive them for long with such a shallow strategy, but at least they could buy enough time to reach the Grand Duke’s residence.

As the shabby carriage moved away, Carvain and the Grand Duchess’s carriage also began to move.

Jonathan recalled the imperial inauguration ceremony as he watched the departing carriages.

— His Majesty couldn’t attend due to poor health.

The Emperor ultimately did not show himself. It was an open act of ignoring Carvain.

It wasn’t hard to see who was responsible for the Emperor’s absence.

From the Emperor, who was obsessed with color, it was a well-known fact that the Second Empress would offer everything from maids to court ladies and even courtiers to the Emperor’s bedchamber.

— Since I cannot hold the coronation ceremony, I will conduct it. I am his companion and the Empress of this country. So swear allegiance to me, Grand Duke.

It was a blatant disregard of palace protocol.

The era of the Second Empress had continued since the First Empress was defeated in the palace struggle ten years ago.

No one dared to raise their voice against the almighty Second Empress.

The Second Empress herself smiled gently and presented herself as a compassionate mother, proud of her children despite not being their real mother.

— Quickly kneel. You are my son, aren’t you? Grand Duke. Kneeling before your mother is nothing.

— That XX…

Jonathan muttered under his breath.

This was the Second Empress’s scheme.

If he withdrew from pledging allegiance here, he would not receive the position of the Grand Duke.

However, if he knelt before the Second Empress, it would show to all the nobles that the Grand Duke was still under the Second Empress’s control.

It’s a desperate situation where he couldn’t do anything right.

‘……’

In the midst of this, Carvain raised the corners of his mouth as he faced the Second Empress.

And then, he accepted the Grand Duke’s sword from the Second Empress’s hand without a word.

— What…!

Pushing past the bewildered Second Empress, Carvain began to ascend the platform.

Carvain’s sudden actions caused a stir among the audience.

His unhesitating steps came to a halt in front of the throne, and he knelt down.

In front of the empty throne.

As Carvain knelt in front of the throne, the previously restless hall fell silent.

At that moment, the nobles understood Carvain’s intentions.

— Carvain Thanatos Tenebres. I pledge eternal allegiance to the Empire.

— …..

Carvain’s pledge of allegiance resonated through the grand hall.

The image of the silver-haired figure, bowing under the bright lights, seemed almost sacred.

The Second Empress trembled and clutched the hem of her dress.

Jonathan alternately looked at the Second Empress and Carvain, smiling with a sense of relief.

In this empire, the Emperor’s mere presence was enough to rule.

Even when the Emperor was absent, it was a basic principle of imperial law to always be mindful of his presence.

The act clearly aimed at this concept.

It was a move that pierced through the gap left by the deliberate absence of the Emperor.

“She had quite a look on her face.”

Jonathan chuckled as he recalled the distorted expression on the Second Empress’s face.

The trap she set had been turned against her by Carvain, and in the end, the Second Empress acknowledged Carvain’s pledge of allegiance.

If she didn’t acknowledge it, she would be denying the Emperor.

“Anyway, I feel sorry for Duke Hardin.”

She lost her sister to a man like His Highness.

Jonathan muttered as he rose above the murmurs of the gathered nobles, standing alone with dignity.

It seemed that Duke Hardin had intended to confine the Grand Duchess until the end of the grand duke’s coronation ceremony and party.

But it was clear that this action was taken without knowing Carvain Tenebres well.

‘She must have thought that she could keep her confined until after the party. But she doesn’t know Carvain.’

Jonathan could bet on Carvain’s actions immediately after the coronation ceremony.

And now, Carvain had come to fetch his wife right after the ceremony instead of attending the party.

It didn’t matter what the nobles said behind his back.

“I’m the only one who has to deal with this. Me. Ugh, that ghostly man. How did he know his wife would try to escape today.”

Jonathan grumbled as he watched Carvain’s carriage pass by.

At least it was fortunate that the Grand Duchess was not at Hardin Manor.

He almost made a mistake that would have led him to barge into Hardin Manor.

“I… Your Grace… if you continue to insult Her Majesty the Grand Duke like this, what will happen if it reaches His Highness’s ears?”

A newly arrived attendant cautiously interjected.

“That bastard knows I chew and spit him out! I have earned the right to curse him for eternity in exchange for my loyalty.”

Jonathan ground his teeth as if he were putting porridge in his mouth.

“Hiyah!”

When Jonathan set off following the carriage, the knights followed behind. 

They had one destination. 

The newly ascended Grand Duke’s mansion. It was the residence of Grand Duke Thanatos.