I Was Tricked Into A Fraudulent Marriage By The Obsessive Villain - Chapter 3 Part 9

— Hey. Are you okay?

— …..

— It’s not a good place to be like this. In front of someone else’s store. If you’re going to die, do it over there. It’s my competitor’s place.

— …..

For someone on the brink of death, her words were quite casual.

— Alright then.

After briefly gazing at Austin, Iona just passed by him.

Then she turned back and took a few steps.

— Ah, seriously.

She suddenly approached Austin, ruffling her hair abruptly, and knelt down in front of him, looking into his eyes.

— Hey. Judging by your clothes, you look like you have some money. And you’re half good-looking. It’s a waste to throw your life away like this, isn’t it?

— …What… What do you know?

What do you know about me? 

Austin, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke out.

He was a person who should disappear with the rain.

A person who committed an unforgivable sin.

— I don’t know. How can I know someone I’ve just met? You’re good-looking. But…

— …..

— If you’re still breathing, you have to try to survive somehow. It’s instinctive.

Her purple eyes were fixed straight on Austin.

— If you crawled all the way here with holes in your leather armor, you must have wanted to live, right?

Iona pointed to the trail of blood that extended behind Austin.

— …

It felt like he was being hit in the head with something.

Did he want to live?

Was that why he ran away?

After committing such a heinous act, did he still… want to live?

Well… it’s convenient that she needs a hand at the moment. It worked out well.

I’ll take you. 

Iona reached out her hand.

Austin took her white hand and stared at it.

I’m Iona Ha… no, Hinkel. You’re just a piece of biological waste left on my property, so you’re mine. That’s why I have to pick you up.

With nonsensical reasoning, Iona lifted Austin up.

Come with me. We’re shorthanded because we’re about to open for business.

Iona picked up Austin, who was on the verge of death in the rain.

And she fed him.

Eat up. You have to eat something to move, right? Judging by those muscles, it looks like they need a lot of fuel. Hurry up and open your mouth, won’t you?

And dressed him.

H-How can I wear these clothes!

— Oh, why! If I bought them for you, put them on without complaining!

— How can I wear such tattered clothes… H-Hey, wait!

She made him work and move.

Go and fix this.

— …What did you leave me with? Isn’t that too presumptuous?

— You’re mine now, aren’t you? Since I hired you, stop complaining and go work.

— You. If you keep doing this, you’ll end up as a guild errand boy for good. Recruit more people and find a specialization…

— They liked the way you handled this job and want to make it a regular thing. They want to make a deal. You can take Runkel and…

— Leader. So, this is how it is…

She forced him to keep living.

That’s how Iona slowly, over time, nurtured him.

By the time his abdominal wounds and the chest wounds that he got from the master’s sword had healed.

His world was already filled with Iona.

No, looking back, it might have been since the day they first met in the rain.

His master.

His savior.

But his savior… didn’t want him.

“It would have been better if you had just let me die like that. Then… it wouldn’t have been so painful.”

“Why are you doing this?”

The events of ‘that day’ between them were like an unspoken taboo.

Iona avoided any mention of the day she first met Austin until now. Whether they were alone or with others.

She wanted to cover up Austin’s identity and his hidden circumstances.

Suddenly, when Austin mentioned that day, Iona’s eyes shook.

Is it because I was wandering around in De Libertas? That’s…” 

Iona made an excuse with an expression that clearly showed she didn’t understand.

“….”

Austin stared at Iona for a moment, then slowly approached her. 

There was something in his hand.

As Austin approached with a deep expression on his face, Iona took a step back without realizing it. 

Austin’s forehead wrinkled as he observed this scene.

“Hinkel Guild Vice Leader Austin. As per the Leader’s orders, I found the client’s wife.”

“What…? Suddenly? No, how…? Where?”

Iona’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s at Austin’s words. As Austin approached Iona, the resonating object in his hand began to hum.

Hummm…

The strange vibration caught Iona’s gaze and focused on the object in Austin’s hand.

“That is…”

As Austin approached, he grabbed Iona’s hand. His large hand lifted what he was holding over her white hand.

“A couple stone…”

As soon as the marriage stone touched Iona’s hand, it glowed and reacted.

Hummm…

The sound resonated throughout the room.

“I found the client’s wife, Iona Hardin.”

“What… is this?”

It felt like her mind went blank for a moment. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing in front of her.

“Is this… a mistake?”

“The couple stone doesn’t lie.”

Austin said firmly.

Beep beep beep…

Somewhere, a sharp sound like an alarm echoed in her ears.

“Gasp… Cough…”

She suddenly felt as if her breath was being cut off, and she pounded her chest with her fist.

“Leader… Calm down. Okay?”

Despite Austin’s efforts to calm her down, Iona didn’t hear him. 

The couple stone given by the client responded to me. That means… 

So does that mean the client has come to my guild and requested to find me? 

Something pierced through my mind like a blade.

In that case, did he know everything when he made the request? 

Me. Did he know that Mrs. Hinkel is Iona Hardin…?

For a moment, a scene from her childhood appeared before her.

— Iona…

The villain’s tearful face came to mind and then disappeared like mist.

It felt like the ground beneath her was collapsing, and she was falling into a distant abyss.

So, you deceived me again.

“Leader…”

“….”

Iona hesitated on the sofa, supported by Austin.

Her labored breaths continued to escape through her lips. 

It felt like someone was drilling into her head. 

Even breathing was difficult.

“How… did you know that I’m a Hardin?”

She opened her mouth, struggling to compose herself.

“…I knew from the beginning. I know other members of that family. I found out about the wife by searching among the nobles in the capital with their characteristics.”

Her head throbbed.

The client was the villain, and the client’s wife was her. She thought she had hidden her identity well, but Austin knew about it. 

Everything she had built up felt like a sandcastle. 

It seemed like all her efforts up to now had been in vain.

Austin calmly spoke as he gazed at her.

“It seems that the Leader didn’t know that she’s the client’s wife.”

“….”

“I thought you didn’t know. You’re someone who doesn’t include yourself as a variable when carrying out tasks.”

Iona remained silent and just listened to Austin’s words. 

She felt so pathetic that she wanted to stab herself with a knife.

“Hooh…”

She bowed her head and tightly grasped her hair.

What should she do now? Should she return to the villain?

The villain already knew that she had been hiding and living like this. But if she didn’t go… 

“Don’t think about it anymore.”

In the next moment, a large hand covered Iona’s hand.

Unbeknownst to her, Austin was now kneeling beside Iona, his gaze fixed on her.

“I’ll handle this. You need to escape quickly before the client arrives.”

“…What are you talking about.”

“Run away and escape from your husband.”

“…..”

“If he’s confident enough to make a request at a guild where the Leader is, then he must already know.”

That the Leader is the client’s wife.

“…..”

Iona’s violet eyes shook uncontrollably at Austin’s words.

“I will handle the client’s retaliation.”

“How?”

“I have the power to do so. You know that.”

Austin smiled slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. Apparently, he was trying to borrow the power of the place she had escaped from. 

She wanted to tell Austin not to do that and that there was no need for him to go to such lengths. 

But her lips, pale from the shock, didn’t know how to open.

In the next moment, Austin, who had been staring at Iona with a pitiful look, reached out.

His large hand reached out towards Iona’s face.

“…..”

But his trembling fingers did not touch her pale skin. Austin withdrew his hand with a bitter smile.

“If I could… I would like to stay by the Leader’s side for the rest of my life.”

“…..”

“But more than that… I prefer to see you live the way you want.”

She gazed at Austin, who looked dangerously close to breaking down at any moment.

“Because you didn’t want to return to your husband, you tried so hard to divorce him.”

Then Austin brought a black robe from one side of the room and draped it over Iona.

“Go. Hurry. I’ve arranged a carriage at the back door. Escape the capital. Think about everything else later.”

Austin took Iona’s hand and led her away.

“No. This way… I can’t…”

I couldn’t leave like this. 

The guild? Austin, who looked completely desolate? 

Johanna? My family? 

There were too many things that were deeply rooted in me. I couldn’t go anywhere like this. 

But her head felt paralyzed from the headache that had been attacking her since earlier. 

Thanks to that, She couldn’t say anything and just got into the carriage.

“I’ll take care of the guild, so hide for now.”

“Austin. Wait…”

“Until your husband gives up on you.”

When the time comes, I will come to pick you up.

“This time, keep your promise. Stay quiet.”

After momentarily locking eyes with his blue eyes, he immediately set the carriage in motion.

“Hey!”

The carriage raced on.

Iona stared blankly into the void and soon rested her head against the carriage.

It hurt as if someone had grabbed her hair from behind.

Her brain refused to function normally. Her consciousness kept getting hazy.

I want to run away.

I don’t want to do anything. Just like this……

Her trembling eyelids closed.

“…No.”

Iona raised her eyes and shook her head vigorously.

This wasn’t the time to be lost in shock.

Pull yourself together. Let’s organize things.