Please Kill My Husband - Chapter 56

It was a largely intentional act. Everything from wearing the veil to revealing her name to speaking forcefully.

She was already well aware of how the name Ludmila was used among businessmen.

She had heard jokes from socialites and businessmen’s wives about meeting more than five of her.

Therefore, she thought there wouldn’t be much of an issue with covering her face and reciting her name.

However, while one can hide their face, they cannot change their voice. Especially since Ojenil was someone she had actually met and spoken with a few times.

He was a sharp and perceptive man. There was no way Ojenil, who caught even the smallest changes like a shark, wouldn’t notice her voice.

So she changed the most basic thing she could control.

Arrogant and haughty. She acted and spoke like the Khan people they imagined.

Even if her voice seemed similar, without seeing her face, they couldn’t solidify their suspicions.

Creeak-.

With the sound of the door opening, Bell, who had been sitting on the opposite side, stood up.

Ludmila, holding Barhan’s hand as he tried to rise as well, shook her head just enough to make the veil flutter slightly.

Barhan, noticing her intention, closed and opened his eyes once to show he understood.

Click, click-.

As the sound of footsteps drew closer, the man who passed by her and approached Bell revealed himself.

Ojenil. The very same person she had met and spoken with a few times before.

“You’ve arrived, Director.”

“Yes, good work, Bell. I’ll be here, so you can go out now.”

A calm and polite voice. Ojenil, who gently patted Bell’s shoulder to praise his efforts, turned around.

As he looked over Ludmila and Barhan once, the sound of Bell leaving the room was heard.

Ojenil took his business card from his pocket and handed one each to Ludmila and Barhan, then smiled slightly.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ojenil. Thank you for taking the time to come here.”

Unlike Barhan, who hurriedly pocketed the card, Ludmila stared at it as if it were a mere scrap of paper, then arrogantly tossed it onto the table.

Thud-, as the card fell, the eyes of the two people except Ludmila glanced at it and then looked up.

Facing eyes mixed with bewilderment and strange emotions head-on, Ludmila leaned back languidly in her chair.

Barhan was perplexed by how different the Ludmila he knew was from the Ludmila showing this behavior now.

Before coming here, he had been told not to be surprised no matter what she did, but he never imagined she would act so rudely.

Forcibly swallowing his desire to call out Ludmila and ask what she was thinking, he anxiously looked back and forth between the two.

Ojenil, too, stared at his business card for a moment before suppressing a small laugh.

The silence stretched on until he pulled over a new teacup and poured half-cooled tea into it.

Finally, gently grasping the handle, Ojenil lifted the teacup and his eyes sparkled.

“Branch Manager Bell must have sufficiently set the stage… Shall we get straight to the point without wasting your precious time?”

“Yes, that would be excellent.”

Barhan quickly answered before Ludmila could open her mouth.

It was a response tinged with concern, not knowing what Ludmila might say.

Suppressing a small laugh at this, Ludmila looked at Ojenil, who was still observing her.

“I heard from the branch manager that you wanted to see me. Might there be a reason?”

“Well, it’s nothing much…”

“It’s because I’m displeased that a mere branch manager greeted an investor who intends to invest a considerable amount, not just a penny or two, after calling them all the way here.”

A voice interrupted, snatching away Barhan’s right to speak just as he was about to continue with a smile.

Glancing sideways at Barhan’s dumbfounded expression, Ludmila shifted her gaze back to Ojenil.

“Even the wolves of the Send Plateau bow their heads and send their leader when they need to rely on humans for food. So what makes you so great that you send your subordinate instead of coming yourself?”

Ludmila sat up straight and haughtily stared at Ojenil.

“Aren’t you in a position to receive investment?”

Barhan fidgeted nervously at the blunt question.

What on earth are you trying to do! Barhan’s eyes were screaming that, but Ludmila remained calm.

In fact, this was a very natural way of conversation in this situation.

The one who needs money bows to the one who offers it. It was a very basic attitude based on economic logic.

Sometimes this reverses, with those asking for their money to be accepted occasionally appearing, but that’s only when the investment opportunity is very promising and investors are abundant, which didn’t fit the current situation.

Ojenil needed investors and money.

For him to act this way after calling them here was essentially disrespecting the Khan people.

“I apologize. It seems my attitude was not satisfactory. I sincerely apologize.”

He bowed politely after putting down his teacup. Ludmila, who had been following his movements with her eyes, gave a dry laugh.

“If it’s alright, I’d like to discuss a solid investment from now on. How about it, is that okay?”

Ojenil, once again adjusting his posture, looked at the two and asked gently.

Seeing Ludmila’s silent demeanor, Barhan knew it was time for him to step in. He tried to erase his awkward smile and forced out a hearty laugh.

“O-Of course! Isn’t that right!?”

He had heard from Ludmila more than a hundred times how important this contract was.

Seeing that even Ludmila had come in person, it was clear that its importance was beyond words.

For the Khan people, and for himself.

Barhan continued his tearful struggle to do his job in the stiffly frozen atmosphere.

“It would be better to withdraw.”

But that struggle was mercilessly trampled by Ludmila’s voice that burst out while they were in the midst of exchanging investment plans and talking.

This time, not only Barhan but even Ojenil looked at her with surprised eyes.

Ludmila, who had stood up, looked down at Ojenil, who was looking up at her, and twisted the corner of her mouth dryly.

“They say you can see the whole by looking at one part.”

“L-Ludmila?”

“The more I think about it, investing money here doesn’t seem like a very pleasant idea. Let’s consider the investment as if it never happened. Let’s go, Barhan. We need to hurry to meet Fredik in District 5.”

With a voice as cold as it was chilling, Ludmila turned around and left the room.

Looking at the suddenly empty space with bewildered eyes, deep worry settled in Ojenil’s gaze.

Aden, who was having lunch, glanced at the space right in front of him. The empty seat felt unusually large today.

Just a few months ago, such a scene wouldn’t have been special, but now it was different.

Aden readily admitted that he felt someone should be there, and that person was Ludmila.

He should have gone with her. Even if she refused, he should have moved himself.

Aden wanted to approach her as she was about to ride Rubik and ask her to go together, but he couldn’t bring himself to say those words.

Every time he saw that face full of a sense of mission to finish something, it felt wrong to assert his own feelings.

This wasn’t why he had brought Ludmila.

A strictly contractual relationship. He had thought he would never deviate from that framework.

But just as the scent arrives before the wind when the seasons change, by the time he came to his senses, his eyes were already directed towards her, and his heart was even further ahead.

“Are you here?”

The familiar voice was heard just after the tightly closed door had opened.

Aden furrowed his brow as he glanced at Benjamin, who had entered through the door. To think that this was what appeared to soothe the emptiness that had been welling up.

Aden felt even more keenly the absence of someone’s empty seat.

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s not polite to give such a harsh look to a friend who came to keep you company because you looked lonely.”

“I don’t think I need that kind of consideration.”

“Still as bleak as ever, I see.”

As Benjamin pulled out the chair where Ludmila usually sat, Aden pointed to the seat right next to him.

“Don’t sit there, sit next to me.”

“Huh? Why?”

When Benjamin tilted his head, Aden replied gruffly.

“Because I don’t want to look at your face directly across from me.”

“…”

Benjamin, who let out a laugh of disbelief, twisted the corner of his mouth and nodded.

Quietly cursing Aden, Benjamin took his seat and brought over a water bottle to pour water into a cup.

“Come to think of it, it’s been two days since Ludmila left, right? She should have arrived by now.”

Even if her horseback riding skills weren’t that great, the horse she rode, Rubik, was a horse among horses.

That child, who could safely make up for its owner’s shortcomings, would have no problem covering the distance to the capital within two days.

“It’s so bleak, by the way. I didn’t notice before, but now that she’s gone, I can really feel it. The difference between Ludmila being here and not being here is quite significant.”

“Is that so.”

Though his response was dry, this was actually something Aden was feeling as well.

She might not know it herself, but she was a woman whose presence stood out even when she was just standing still.

It might stem from her appearance or atmosphere, but even without that, the abilities she had shown here and her uniquely noble demeanor clearly revealed Ludmila’s presence.

Benjamin swallowed a laugh at the sight of Aden quietly continuing his words.

He was someone whose words had noticeably decreased since Ludmila left.

Observing this from the side, Benjamin could easily guess that the reason was because of Ludmila.

Such an easy-to-read fellow.