Please Kill My Husband - Chapter 29

The old man was worse than she had thought.

When Aden and Beressa talked about the old man named Courto Benar, she thought he wouldn’t be much different from the so-so aristocrats in the capital.

After all, they also treated women like their belongings and frequently changed their partners.

It didn’t matter if he had 42 wives or 420. She thought it would have nothing to do with her.

“Hehe, pretty, so pretty.”

However, the old man she actually faced far surpassed her imagination.

He not only freely grabbed and kneaded her hands, but also casually placed his hands on her shoulders.

When he sneakily approached and tried to put his hand on her leg, she felt a terrible feeling as if a bug was crawling on her.

“What are you doing!?”

In the end, Ludmila, who let out a sharp cry, got angry as if forgetting her status for a moment, but such an appearance seemed to stimulate Courto even more.

Narrowing his eyes and reciting the words “I like your feistiness,” he became even more clingy.

It was to the point where the butler added, “You mustn’t do that. She is the Duke’s guest,” but Courto didn’t even pretend to listen.

As if he was determined to live and die only for today, he wouldn’t let her go.

“What does it matter if she’s the Duke’s guest? It’s a problem that can be solved by giving her a few coins. The Duke would rather be pleased.”

Rather, in a tone that seemed to be teaching Salom, his face turned red.

Courto was reckless. If she tried to ignore him, he got angry, saying how dare she ignore his words, and even if she tried to run away, it was also impossible because the soldiers he brought blocked the surroundings.

He acted as if this castle was his own.

“Yes, yes, how old are you? You seem to be older than the youngest. Come on, drink up. Chug it down.”

“Take it easy. I didn’t come here to drink or to be your drinking partner!”

She tried to dissuade the old man who kept offering her alcohol, but as if such efforts were of no use, Courto lightly trampled on her efforts.

With only thick lust in his eyes, he kept sticking close to Ludmila, who was roughly rejecting him, and the more he did so, the more her face turned ashen.

In this situation, dignity and class were of no use.

The old man who barged into the Duke’s castle and behaved inappropriately was filled with only unpleasant desires.

Finally, Ludmila, who couldn’t stand it anymore, stood up from her seat.

“Stop it! If it’s not about business, I’ll be leaving now.”

It was an assertive attitude unlike her usual self, but if she didn’t do this, it seemed Courto wouldn’t stop.

But as if mocking her thoughts, Courto also got up and approached Ludmila.

“Hoho, I thought you were innocent, but your sharp eyes are also quite attractive. How about it? I like you. Don’t you like me too?”

“…Pardon?”

“If you marry me, I can let you enjoy luxuries you’ve never tasted in your life. I can let you do whatever you want and whatever you desire. How about it, hmm?”

“That’s… It’s alright. I don’t need luxuries.”

“Hoho, how bold.”

She had just escaped from Kedilen, and she had no intention of becoming the 43rd concubine of an old man.

No, even if she were to be the legal wife, not a concubine, she had no interest.

If it was a man who was rude and had no manners like this, she would rather bite her tongue and die.

Courto narrowed his eyes at Ludmila’s resolute attitude and curled the corner of his mouth.

“Alright, you’re a merchant. Fine. If you listen to my words well, I can help you make a fortune. Isn’t that why you became a merchant in the first place, because you like money?”

Ludmila bit her lip thinly at the sight of him persistently making advances as if he had no intention of backing down even when she said this.

As Ludmila’s eyes searched for a way to escape, they suddenly met the sunset flowing through the window of the reception room.

Meanwhile, Courto gestured to his soldiers.

Following his gesture, they grabbed Ludmila’s shoulders and forcibly sat her down on a chair.

Courto, who brought a glass of alcohol to Ludmila, who was struggling to get up again, gave a smirk.

“If you keep resisting like that, I can’t help but feel upset. Would it be alright if I immediately collect the bond I gave to the owner of this castle? You’ll be thrown out on the streets right away.”

At that moment, the content that seeped into Ludmila’s ears was a perfect shackle that bound Ludmila, who was trying to get up.

Beressa, who had just dismounted from her horse, shook her head as if tired.

Her hair, dyed even redder by the sunset, undulated like waves.

Beressa wiped the sweat on her face with a handkerchief, and suddenly, noticing the long line of carriages next to her, she narrowed her brows.

In the meantime, Salom, who ran out of the door in a hurry, bowed his head in front of Beressa.

“You’re here, Miss.”

“Yes. But what are those?”

As far as Beressa knew, there were only a few people in the tribe who rode such luxurious carriages.

Among them, the most troublesome name was drawn in her mind, but it was a question she asked to confirm, just in case.

Salom bowed his head carefully with a restless face.

“Viscount Courto Benar is here.”

“…That old man is here?”

For a moment, Beressa’s face turned cold and distorted.

As Salom only nodded his head with difficulty, Beressa sighed. She told him she was worried when he showed interest yesterday.

In the end, Beressa’s lips slanted crookedly at the act committed by the old man who couldn’t control his lust. She took off the coat she was wearing and handed it to Salom.

“Where is he, that person.”

“He’s in the reception room. And that guest…”

“I know.”

It was obvious why he came to see her, so she didn’t bother asking.

Beressa pulled the hair tie that had tied her hair up.

With a short ping sound, the hair tie came loose, and the tied hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.

As she walked, Beressa neatly arranged her hair with both hands, lightly patted her clothes, and then opened the door to the reception room.

At the bold action without even a knock, Salom, who was following behind, let out a surprised gasp, but what was already done couldn’t be undone.

“Uh?”

When Beressa entered the room, what she encountered was the sight of an old man embracing the shoulders of a beautiful platinum-haired lady and offering her a glass of alcohol.

“Beressa!”

Ludmila Perez Erdi, who was frowning and refusing the glass, shouted with a bright face as if seeing a savior when Beressa entered through the door.

Beressa’s eyes slightly distorted at the bizarre scene before her, which didn’t match the beautiful sunset that was just beginning to set in the background.

Approaching the two, Beressa roughly extended her arm and pulled Ludmila Perez Erdi.

“What is the meaning of this? I’m sure I told you not to set your eyes on her.”

“Hmph, Beressa.”

Courto, who had been acting like a sleazy old man until a moment ago, stood up from his seat with an arrogant face, scratching his chin.

“There’s no need to be so serious. I simply came in person because I heard the child next to you is so lovely and pretty, and I wanted to take a good look at her.”

“Then you should have left quietly after your good visit. How do you explain what I just saw?”

“Is there anything to explain? It’s exactly as you saw.”

As if he had no intention of making excuses or twisting his words, Courto gave a smirk.

As Beressa’s brows narrowed, biting her lips, Courto clicked his tongue.

“I like that child. I want to make her my new concubine, so don’t interfere anymore and step aside.”

“That can’t happen. I’m sure I told you it’s not possible.”

“Heh, do you think there’s anything impossible for me here?”

“She is the Duke’s guest.”

“That damned Duke, Duke! What’s so great about the guy pretending to be the owner of a tribe abandoned in this remote land!”

Courto, shaking his shoulders with a chuckle, looked at Ludmila Perez Erdi with sticky eyes.

“In just a few years, he might have to sell even this castle due to lack of money. Times have changed. The ancestors I saw in my childhood, who valiantly crossed the plateau and confronted the empire, are all dead. What’s left are only the remnants subjugated by the empire.”

“……”

“The era when everything could be solved with power has come to an end long ago. Now it’s money. Only those who have money can maintain both power and strength. That’s why even the owner of this castle, who doesn’t have it, can’t say anything to me, right?”

Courto, who emptied the glass on the table in one gulp, had a glistening mouth.

He casually threw the glass on the floor.

With a clang, as the shattered fragments scattered in all directions, his eyes glistened with desire once again.

“Now, if you’ve talked this much, you should understand. Step aside. I still have business with that child. If you go and quietly close the door and wait, I’ll figure out and give you a suitable value, so don’t be impatient.”

“That can’t happen.”

“Come on, step aside quickly.”

Following Courto’s gesture that clicked along with those words, the soldiers approached Beressa and Ludmila Perez Erdi.

He had no qualms about using force. Beressa bit her lips and took a stance as if to respond to the soldiers.

“It’s a useless act, child.”

Courto, who was watching that sight and shaking his head as if it was pathetic, let out a thin laugh.

The faint sunset still hadn’t cleared, and the reception room was dyed red. The sturdy soldiers seemed ready to trample Beressa and snatch Ludmila Perez Erdi at any moment.

Courto’s eyes were filled with desire as if he really liked that sight.

“You’re doing something amusing.”

The tense atmosphere was broken when the soldiers reached out their hands to restrain Beressa.

The gazes of the people in the quiet reception room gathered towards the door.

The tall man, surrounded by darkness as if the sunset had already passed, swept the interior of the reception room with his golden eyes resembling a beast.

The corner of his mouth slanted upwards. His curved eyes seemed as if he was watching an entertaining play.

“Oh, you’re here, Duke? I heard you had a gift for me, so I came to receive it like this. Hehe, thank you.”

Courto, half-drunk, greeted Aden with a smirk.

Even with a voice and attitude that couldn’t be distinguished as mockery or greeting, Aden stood upright like a tree and stared at him intently.

“This time, I received your gift well, so if you need help next time, let me know. I’ll lend you as much money as you need. Haha!”

Courto, who let out an unusually hearty laugh, filled the reception room with a boisterous laughter.

The dry eyes silently watched that sight, slowly rolling and glancing at Beressa and Ludmila Perez Erdi.

The corner of his mouth, which had been twisted, dropped crookedly at the red eyes looking at him.

“Now, if you understand, step back… Duke?”

Courto, who was staggering and slowly continuing his words, raised his head when he noticed Aden approaching him.

When did he come close? Aden, who was silently looking down at Courto’s face, which was momentarily tinged with perplexity, slowly lowered his head and brought his lips close to his ear.

“Have you gone mad with longing for a coffin, mongrel?”