The Creditor Is My Husband? - Chapter 25

So, he couldn’t tolerate the idea of Giselle being comforted by such a fake.

Because she was the woman who would become his wife.

No, even beyond that, she wasn’t someone who deserved such treatment.

“How…”

Giselle still couldn’t believe it and stammered with wide eyes. But Lucas, looking around the gallery, continued calmly.

“All the works in this gallery are mine. Paintings, sculptures, everything. I built this gallery because I couldn’t keep them all in my mansion.”

“Gasp.”

She listened to him in a daze and let out a strange sound without realizing it.

‘Is that the only reason he built this gallery?’

The purpose of this gallery, which every artist hoped to have their work displayed in and every citizen of the kingdom wished to visit at least once, was…

‘Because he didn’t have enough space in his mansion?’

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Lucas frowned at her gaze, feeling a bit uncomfortable. She took a deep breath and replied with a chuckle.

“Just… it really hits me that you’re rich, senior.”

No, even an ordinary rich person wouldn’t do such a thing.

It’s just… this is something only Lucas Taylor could do.

A man from a world so different from hers.

‘Can I really marry a man like this?’

She worried, even apart from the deal she made with him. She wondered if she could truly fulfill the role of his wife.

Their worlds were so different.

Their ways of thinking, their habits—they had nothing in common.

‘Enough. There’s no point in worrying about it.’

Giselle shook her head and spoke again.

“Thank you for the offer, senior. But I’ll just take the sentiment.”

“You’re refusing the painting?”

Lucas frowned, seemingly not expecting Giselle’s refusal. She nodded at his question.

“I hope others can also find comfort in this painting, just as I did. If you gift this painting to me, I would be monopolizing this warm comfort all by myself.”

“……”

“This painting is perfect right here.”

Giselle nodded again with a smile. Lucas listened to her words and looked at the painting once more.
It was a painting he hadn’t thought much of.

To be honest, it was one of the paintings he had bought through his secretary without even looking at it properly.

Simply because it was a painting by a promising artist.

Simply because it had investment value.

……But Giselle’s words made him see the painting in a new light.

The rough hand of the woman in the painting.

And Giselle, who had gone through hard days.

‘……Should I contact Raoul Puhenna?’

Lucas squinted his eyes and muttered to himself at the sudden thought.

* * *

“Pfft.”

Giselle suddenly covered her mouth with both hands and stifled a laugh while staring ahead.

Lucas, who had been resting his chin on his hand while looking out the car window, chuckled and turned to her.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course! I got to see the paintings and sculptures I wanted to see. Besides, thanks to you, I got to enjoy them leisurely on a closed day… Ah, but the museum staff must have been annoyed because of us. And the driver too.”

Giselle stopped mid-sentence with a guilty expression. Before Lucas could respond, the driver spoke up first.

“No, it’s fine! It’s my job to serve the President.”

“But you should rest on your days off.”

“Haha, you don’t know. If I come out on a holiday, I get to rest on a weekday instead. Plus, I get a generous holiday allowance. I’m sure the museum staff are the same.”

The driver, who had been focused on the road, glanced at Giselle and smiled.

“Really? That’s a relief.”

She sighed in relief at his words and looked back at Lucas. He raised an eyebrow at her surprised expression.

“Did you think I was a ruthless employer?”

“No! It’s not that…”

Giselle laughed awkwardly, feeling embarrassed.

He was indeed a good employer. He was meticulous and demanding at work, but the salary and employee benefits were incomparable.

‘Well, I’ve never worked anywhere else, so I can’t really compare.’

She scrunched her nose awkwardly and looked out the window. They had almost reached the company building.

At that moment, Giselle spotted a cat.

A cat, basking in the sunlight and rolling around in front of the building entrance, was their target for the day.

“A cat! Lucas, the cat has finally appeared!”

As soon as the car stopped, Giselle eagerly opened the door and jumped out.

“Uh…”

The driver, who was about to open Lucas’s door, was startled and let out a sound.

After all, which noble lady acts like that?

But instead of being displeased or disapproving, Lucas let out a helpless laugh.

“She’s quite unique.”

He opened the car door himself, seeing the driver still in a daze. The driver, realizing late, hurried over.

“Oh! P-President!”

“It’s fine. Wait here for a moment. We just need to catch the cat.”

Lucas waved his hand at the driver and leisurely walked towards Giselle, who had run ahead with a cage in hand.

“Why did you leave this morning without seeing me? Do you know how long I waited after that?”

Contrary to her hasty exit from the car, she was now squatting in front of the cat, chattering away.

The cat, seemingly unfazed by her presence, lifted a paw and groomed itself, occasionally responding to her words.

“Meow.”

“Oh, right. You must be hungry. Wait a moment.”

Giselle, who had been chatting with the cat, suddenly remembered something and took out a handful of round cat food from her small bag.

Something you wouldn’t expect to find in a noble lady’s bag.

Standing behind her, Lucas couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

“I didn’t bring your bowl today. As you can see, my outfit is like this.”

Unaware of the man standing behind her, Giselle continued to talk about the inconvenience of her flowy dress.

One might wonder if the cat could even understand her.

“……”

At that moment, the cat, which had been listening with a sullen expression, turned its gaze to Lucas standing behind her.

Their eyes met—clear, transparent cat eyes and indifferent dark blue eyes.

“Meooow.”

The cat let out a long, discontented meow, seemingly displeased with his presence, and then approached Giselle’s hand to eat the food.

Chomp chomp.

Only the sound of the cat eating could be heard. Giselle watched the cat with its head down on her hand for a moment, then looked around.

Lucas, sensing she was looking for him, moved closer. Just as he was about to reach for the cat, Giselle shook her head in alarm.

“……?”

He withdrew his hand and looked at her in confusion. She glanced at the cat and then pointed to herself with her other hand.

“I’ll catch it.”

Despite the cat not understanding human language, she whispered in a low voice.

“Giselle, you want to catch it?”

“It’s better if I, who’s a bit familiar, do it.”

Giselle nodded at Lucas’s question, her lips set in a determined line.

However, he had no intention of simply agreeing to her suggestion.

“No, it’s better if I, a man, do it. Open the cage… Giselle!”

But he hadn’t accounted for one thing—Giselle’s quick actions.

The bold, proactive moves she had seen since their academy days.

“Ah!”

As Giselle tried to scoop up the cat, it reacted sensitively and swiped its paw.

“Giselle!”

With Lucas’s shout, blood dripped from Giselle’s arm.

* * *

No one should be idle.

At least not in the Taylor household.

The Taylor family’s long-standing motto applied not only to the Taylor bloodline but also to their employees.

However, thanks to having a robust employer who doesn’t catch a cold even in winter, the Taylor family’s physician, Fernan, was once again spending his time today holed up in the depths of the study, reading a book.

“Yawn… While someone is out on a date with his fiancée, here I am, reading these boring books.”

Fernan sighed as if lamenting his situation, ruffling his brown hair that covered his forehead with his palm, and soon started to chuckle.

“But still, our Master going out on a date over the weekend, that’s truly surprising. He was someone who only knew work, whether it was weekdays or weekends.”

No matter how much he nagged that one shouldn’t live too harshly, Lucas Taylor would just scoff and brush it off. But suddenly, he announced his marriage, shocking everyone, and then went out early in the morning claiming he had a date over the weekend.

「A date, you say? It’s not like that, Fernan. I just have some business to attend to. Lady Anticia asked for my help as well.」

Fernan recalled Lucas, who had sternly denied it with a long explanation, and chuckled again. Although he served Lucas, he was also a friend who had been with him since childhood. But he had never seen Lucas ramble on about something unnecessary like this before. Usually, just saying ‘No’ would have sufficed.