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

“Boss! They’re heading that way! Catch them!”

“Where are you running to…!”

“Ugh…!”

“All right. We’ve caught the thief you mentioned. Shall we settle now?”

“Yeah, sure. That’s right, Mrs. Hinkel.”

“You saw he was carrying a weapon, didn’t you? Life hazard pay, plus a search coverage surcharge because we searched over ten miles. And one of my kids got injured. Including the injury compensation, you’ll need to pay a total of 100 gold coins.”

As usual, she diligently handled requests.

“You guys have all gone mad. Get out! We don’t need any of this, you lot! What are we going to do when we earn a tiny amount of money but spend as much as a sack of rice?!”

“B-Boss… Should we unbutton our jackets? Huh? Undo them?”

“Just get lost!!”

As usual, she diligently managed the guild.

One month had passed.

Fearing that the client would show up and expose her identity, Iona finally felt relieved after a day, two days, and a month had passed without the client appearing.

“We’ve searched everywhere, but we can’t find a single trace.”

“…Keep searching until I tell you otherwise.”

Apart from doing a background check on the client’s identity.

It wasn’t just that suspicious client that had slipped her mind.

The man from Solar was already fading from her busy daily life.

And Johanna’s warning not to wander outside.

Some time later, an article about the coronation of the Ninth Prince was featured in the newspaper.

…It has come.

Iona muttered to herself as she read the newspaper headline, feeling something crumbling inside.

She picked up her pen, suppressing a deep sigh.

There wasn’t much time left for her.

There were things she needed to do before then.

Ensuring the guild could function well even without her. Ensuring they wouldn’t starve.

On a dark night with flickering candlelight, influenced by a gust of wind, Iona began organizing her documents with her pen.

***

— Ah ah. Can you hear me? A Thousand Silver Coins is on the run. Report your position and sightings.

— This is Whale Ale. No sightings from my end.

— This is Sparrow. No sightings here either! But why is the target code named A Thousand Silver Coins?

— Oh, they’re offering a thousand silver coins for capturing it.

The Hinkel Guild was currently on a mission.

The request was to capture the gardener who was spreading false rumors about the wife having an affair.

I thought it would be easy to catch a gardener! I accepted the request without much thought, but…

The gardener was no ordinary person.

It seemed like the gardener was sowing seeds of discord as the client claimed.

Chasing the gardener from the streets all the way to the mountains.

— This is Bald Eagle. No sightings here either. But why am I Bald Eagle…? Hey, Married Woman. How about you?

“…..”

Iona’s footsteps halted at the sound that pierced her eardrums.

A voice that seemed to drag her up from hell spoke.

“…Who is the XX who chose my code name as Married Woman?”

— …It’s R, Runkel.

— It’s not me! It was Chagall!!

— Why are you lying, bastard…! Liars don’t go to heaven, you asshole…!

— What is this? You’re in trouble too. Hey, you think I don’t know how much money you borrowed from me, and forgot about it?! Even a liar like you can’t escape, you bastard!

“…Is this for real.”

Iona furrowed her brow at the voice pouring out of the artifact inserted in her ear.

Soon, Iona shook her head and resumed her steps.

She reacted sensitively to each rustle of the leaves.

And then, in the next moment.

“….”

Iona’s pupils suddenly contracted.

The figure of someone walking down the path came into view in her violet eyes. It was the target.

Iona quickly hid behind a nearby tree and observed the target’s movements.

The target looked around, then veered off the path onto a small cabin off the main trail.

Seeing this, Iona spoke up.

“Here. A Thousand Silver Coins is here. In the forest cabin.”

— What? A cabin? You went all the way there?

— Wow! How did you find it, Boss?

— You’re supposed to call her by her code name, Married Woman! That’s a rule violation!

— Tsk. Talking about rules. I’m a stickler for rules, anyway.

“Ah, be quiet. I’ll drive her down from here, so block the bottom and wait.”

— Okay.

— Yes, Married Woman!

“Don’t call me Married Woman…”

Iona stealthily approached the cabin.

She peeked through the window; it seemed like the target was inside the cabin.

At first glance, it was a shabby cabin. But there was no easy way to enter from outside except through the door.

If she entered through the window, she would likely flee through the door.

In that case…

Iona took a deep breath and swiftly flew up to perch on the roof.

Lightly perched on the roof, Iona carefully surveyed the area.

After a while, she noticed a particularly worn-out area.

Thud thud.

She tapped it lightly with her foot. This should do it.

“Ugh!”

She broke through the roof with her foot and squeezed through the gap.

“What, who are you!”

The target’s eyes widened at Iona’s sudden appearance from above.

“What the, who are you!!”

“Who am I? I’m your master!”

“Holy sh…!”

A Thousand Silver Coins tossed things around.

Iona dodged the flying objects one by one and confronted the target.

When the chair she threw, hoping it would hit this time, didn’t do any damage, the target broke the window and threw themselves outside.

The window broke with a sharp sound, and the target began to run away.

“Where are you going!”

Iona widened her eyes and immediately chased after the target.

She was already tired enough from traveling this far. So, she had planned to take them quietly if they admitted their mistake…!

Her white forehead furrowed. At the same time, Iona raised the sleeve of her arm.

I will definitely catch this bastard and demand additional fees! Starting with the additional confrontation cost!

“D-don’t come any closer!”

As Iona rushed closer, the target started throwing a pile of leaves towards Iona.

Thanks to that, Iona, who was running fast, received a shower of leaves and stopped in her tracks.

“Ugh…!”

“Haha! You look ridiculous. Just get the hell out of here!”

The target shouted in excitement.

Just as Iona was about to move again, thinking she had to beat that guy somehow.

Thunk!

“Ugh…!”

With a harsh sound, the target’s body was sent flying by Iona’s kick.

Yes. ‘Flying.’ The body of a tall man.

The target, who had been kicked hard in the back, seemed to have fainted right there.

At the sudden turn of events, Iona’s brain couldn’t grasp the situation.

Her greatly dilated violet eyes slowly looked straight ahead.

“…You.”

“Long time no see, Miss.”

The silver-haired man he met in Solar stood there.

Iona’s mind literally turned white as a sheet when she saw his face.

No, why are you here…?

The man slowly approached and tilted his head to look at the target lying in front of Iona’s feet.

Soon, the man grabbed the target’s hair and lifted him up before slamming him down on the ground.

Thud. Thump.

“W-what are you doing…”

The man’s touch was ruthless; it was as though he was going to kill the target.

Iona reached out and grabbed the man’s clothes, knowing she could lose a thousand precious silver coins at this rate.

“Are you busy?”

In that small touch, the seemingly unstoppable, merciless gesture stopped as if a brake had been pulled.

After staring at Iona for a moment, the man threw away the target he had been holding in his hand.

“I guess you’re busy?”

“Ah, well… as you can see. Thanks to you, it seems like my busy work is over.”

Iona rolled her eyes and stared at the target.

That, that thing is alive, right…?

“Is that so? I’m glad.”

Then the man slowly approached, narrowing the distance between them

“I felt really sad when you left just like that.”

“Oh, haha…”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about why you left.”

I wonder if that night was not so great? It didn’t seem like it.

Feeling an inexplicable pressure emanating from the man, Iona began to take small steps backward.

“Then I heard something interest.”

“Oh, haha, w-what did you hear?”

A premonition struck her that somehow, that interesting thing was something she wouldn’t find interesting at all.

A bombshell exploded from the man’s lips.

“You’re married.”

As he spoke, the man’s eyes curled into a sneer.

“…..”

Iona was speechless for a moment.

The approaching man grabbed Iona’s hand and deeply kissed the back of it.

Her fingertips involuntarily trembled as she felt the rough sensation against her skin.

“I, I…”

Just as she felt she had to say something in defense, the voices of guild members came through the artifact.

— Married Woman. Hey, Married Woman! Did you catch A Thousand Silver Coins?

“…..”

She was unable to respond, and the man gestured as if urging her to answer quickly.

“I… caught him. I’ll tie him to the tree in front of the cabin, so come and take him.”

— Huh? You should bring it, Leader!

— Huh? Hey, Mrs. Hinkel! Are you trying to make us go up the mountain now? Huh!?

Ignoring the complaining voices of the guild members, Iona took out the artifact from her ear.

Then, without saying anything, she grabbed the man’s wrist and gazed at him.

“…Follow me.”

Iona took a few more steps and completely left the walking path.

When they reached a secluded area, she turned around and gazed at the man.

The man obediently followed as if he were on a leash, looking at Iona as if asking what the problem was.

“What do you want?”

“You’re what I want.”

The man’s large hand reached out towards Iona.

As if he didn’t care about her momentary flinch at the hand approaching her, the man grabbed her white hand and kissed her wrist.

Leaving a red mark like a seal, he said.

“I promise I wouldn’t let this pretty wrist fall.”

“…….”

“Rest assured, I won’t let that happen.”

Soon, the man put a ring on Iona’s hand and pulled her towards him with such force that she involuntarily leaned into his embrace.

“Hinkel… Is your husband’s last name Hinkel?”

The man’s eyes burned as he mulled over the name Hinkel.

Beneath his red pupils, indescribable dark emotions were deeply embedded.

It seemed like he could break the bones of the man named Hinkel if he ever appeared in front of him.

The man gently pressed his lips against her white wrist.

“It would be quite sad to think this beautiful wrist could be severed.”

“…..”

The man then brought her ringed hand to his lips and kissed each finger joint.

She wanted to pull her hand away as it felt like it might collapse, but she couldn’t move a muscle due to his strong grip.

Her ears turned red from the rough sensation of his touch.

“Don’t tremble like that. I will keep the secret for you.”

The man whispered as though they were lovers.

The next moment, the man leaned in and said in Iona’s ear,

“You should go on a date with me instead.”