The Creditor Is My Husband? - Chapter 43

‘Oh, wait. Then…’

She blinked as she reached the end of her train of thought and made an assumption. Her green eyes, which had been blinking rapidly, soon began to waver in confusion.

“Senior, then… did you really come out to date me?”

Why? Why? Why on earth?

Dozens of question marks seemed to float above Giselle’s pink hair.

Just because they agreed to get married doesn’t mean they become ‘real lovers’, right?

They weren’t obligated to do that either.

“Hmm… It seems there’s a big difference in how you and I think about our ‘marriage’.”

Lucas let out a laugh mixed with a sigh at Giselle’s bewildered face, then looked at her with his smile fading.

Giselle instinctively shivered as she met his deep, unfathomable, navy gaze.

Thump thump.

Her heart suddenly started beating fiercely, seemingly asserting its existence. At the same time, an unfamiliar sensation ran through her entire body.

No, it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.

She had already experienced this taut feeling in the bathroom the day before.

Gulp.

Just as she had in the bathroom, Giselle unconsciously swallowed and tightly gripped the hem of her dress.

Lucas’s gaze slowly moved down to her hand. She startled and clasped her hands tightly again. Even though it was just his gaze, her hands felt hot as if they had been burned.

“I have no intention of becoming just a husband in name with you.”

His gaze, which had been lingering on her hands, moved back up. And Lucas spoke while directly meeting Giselle’s wavering green eyes.

He said he had no intention of becoming just a husband in name.

“T-Then…”

Giselle pondered his words several times before her eyes widened. A blush slowly spread across her face as if red paint had been dropped on it.

Lucas, who had been quietly observing her reaction, continued in a somewhat playful tone.

“I think what you’re imagining now is probably right. Judging by your red face, it seems you’re having some naughty thoughts.”

“But we’re not really getting married! It’s just that your interests and mine align, so…”

She blushed even more at his words and tried to argue in her own way. Lucas chuckled and leaned his upper body towards her.

“What, what are you doing now…”

Giselle leaned back, trying to avoid Lucas who was approaching her. But in the confined space of the car, there was a limit to how much she could move away.

Eventually, the distance between them narrowed to the point where they could clearly feel each other’s breath on their skin.

Thump, thump, thump.

As if Giselle’s pounding heart wasn’t enough, it beat even more fiercely. Being in an enclosed space, she felt like he might hear her heartbeat.

Unable to bear it any longer, she tightly shut her eyes. At that moment, Lucas’s low voice was heard.

“How many people do you think get married just for love?”

“…Pardon?”

She opened her eyes again and looked at him. The man who had made her heart race spoke with a hint of cynicism, which seemed out of place in this situation.

“Even excluding things like political marriages. Are there really people who marry purely for ‘love’?”

“T-That’s…”

Giselle’s gaze gradually lowered as she listened to his words. At the same time, her uncontrollably racing heartbeat began to settle.

Love.

Giselle, muttering that illusory name in her mouth, gave a bitter smile.

Other women might dream of marriages built on such love, but at least she didn’t.

That was the kind of story you’d only see in novels someone had made up. It was beautiful because it wasn’t reality, and thus something to admire and dream about.

She knew better than anyone that real reality wasn’t like that.

She was the proof of that.

She, who was born in that reality.

Lucas, seeing that she was no longer blushing or rolling her eyes in embarrassment, sat up straight again. Then, looking at the scenery visible through the car’s windshield, he spoke in a calm tone.

“You’re pretty.”

“……?”

Giselle frowned, wondering what nonsense he was suddenly spouting. Lucas turned his head to look at her and smirked.

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s true, you are pretty.”

“No, why would you say such a thing…”

She couldn’t make sense of the conversation at all.

He seemed about to continue the conversation in a suggestive direction, then cynically remarked about how few people marry for love, and now he’s casually saying something embarrassing to hear.

She rubbed her earlobes with her palms, feeling them heat up. At that moment, Lucas looked ahead again and continued speaking.

“And I’m a healthy man. Unless there’s something physically wrong with me, I can’t remain indifferent while sharing a bed with you after marriage.”

“…Pardon?”

“Didn’t you confirm it in the bathroom yesterday? You’re not going to say you didn’t know, are you?”

“Ah… Ah, that, cough!”

Giselle stumbled over her words in surprise at his sudden statement, then coughed. She had thought they would just bury the awkward incident, never imagining he would bring it up like this.

“Even if it’s not love, I intend to be a faithful husband to you. You’re not planning to tell me our marriage isn’t ‘real’ and make me live in celibacy forever, are you? I don’t think you’re that cruel.”

“C-Celibacy? Who said anything about… um, hmm.”

She fanned herself busily with her hand, unable to look directly at Lucas.

He said it wasn’t love.

Just that she was ‘pretty’.

Nevertheless, the fact that he saw her as a ‘woman’ made her heart flutter.

Lucas, watching Giselle flutter like a startled bird, chuckled and then spoke again.

“Anyway, let’s talk about that later. For now, let’s go on a date. You’re not going to mention the bus stop again, are you?”

“I won’t anymore. I was just worried about wasting your time.”

Giselle puffed her cheeks slightly and replied embarrassedly to his words.

…A date.

She rubbed her flushed cheeks with her palms, feeling somehow excited. Lucas started the car again and asked her a question.

“Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“Somewhere I want to go?”

“Or something you’ve wanted to do, anything like that.”

He asked casually, shrugging his shoulders. But Giselle’s expression became incredibly serious.

As if someone had asked her how to save the world, not about a date.

* * *

The used bookstore was dimly lit even in broad daylight. Especially the corner where the old owner was dozing off was even darker.

Lucas glanced indifferently at the old man whose head had dropped so low it almost touched his chest, then looked away.

The shelves were packed with old books.

He slightly furrowed his brow at the musty smell emanating from them.

It would be nice if they opened all the doors or windows for some ventilation, but the owner of this place was just sleeping like the old books he guarded.

Rustle.

Amidst this, the sound of turning pages was faintly heard. Not loud enough to wake the old man from his deep sleep, but enough to smooth out Lucas’s furrowed brow.

“……”

Lucas, who had been leaning against the bookshelf with his arms crossed, turned his head.

His navy eyes captured the image of Giselle, standing by the window a few steps away, engrossed in reading a book.

Perhaps because it was dark due to the lack of sunlight, she had moved near the window after choosing a book to read.

She must have moved closer to the window unconsciously while absorbed in the book.

Lucas, who had been staring at her, let out a chuckle.

‘After all that deliberation, the place she chose is just an old bookstore like this.’

「What’s wrong with a place like this!」

He laughed again, recalling Giselle’s wide-eyed protest.

When asked about places she wanted to go or things she wanted to do, Giselle agonized for a long time.

Perhaps it was natural, given that she had never really enjoyed her life. Dreams always had to be put aside in the face of harsh reality.

「Ah! I’ve thought of something!」

Giselle had spoken up with a bright face just as Lucas’s car was entering the bustling area of the capital.

He had been considering taking her to one of his department stores when he turned to look at her.

「Today, can we really go where I want to go? And do everything I want to do?」

He had nodded unconsciously at her green eyes that couldn’t hide their excitement.

…And this was the result.

A used bookstore.

He never imagined there would be such an old and shabby secondhand bookstore in the capital.

“Cough!”

Just then, he heard Giselle cough. It seemed that dust that had accumulated over time had risen as she turned the pages.

But after coughing a couple of times, she focused on the book again.

‘What on earth is she reading that has her so absorbed?’

Lucas narrowed his eyes, trying to see the title of the book in Giselle’s hands, but then just quietly observed her.

「But we’re not really getting married! It’s just that your interests and mine align, so…」