Bawin almost let out a mocking laugh at Aria’s request for money.
A person who was supposed to be the young lady of the Hersher Duke’s family was asking to borrow money from others.
If he didn’t know the circumstances, he might have thought by now that she had spoken with some other intention in mind.
But Bawin already had information from investigating her.
‘It must be difficult to bring this up to the Duke. How could he help her after she acted so rashly on her own?’
No matter how much the Duke of Hersher cared for her, this was clearly an act that crossed the line.
How could even she bring up to her father that she almost killed someone, or that she made a contract without the family head’s knowledge?
Bawin smiled bitterly, already knowing the full contents of the agreement she had signed through a reliable source.
At this point where she could become a criminal in front of the Imperial people in an instant, she was in a vulnerable position with her weakness grasped by the worst possible person.
Bawin pondered. Whether to firmly reject her here and let her be punished, or not.
‘If all her crimes were exposed, would even Duke Hersher abandon her?’
But this method was not Bawin’s preferred option.
What he was aiming for was none other than the Hersher family to which she belonged.
And more precisely, Duke Hersher who had driven his own family into a quagmire was the ultimate goal.
Bawin wanted to see it.
The sight of Duke Hersher wailing after losing everything he held dear, including what he loved most.
That’s why Bawin wanted to use her.
“I can certainly help you with that much.”
“Is that really true?”
“Yes. Anything is possible for the young lady’s sake.”
“Viscount.”
As soon as Bawin finished speaking, Aria rose from her seat and threw herself into his arms.
Bawin almost pushed her away at Aria’s sudden action.
Fortunately, before pushing her away, he relaxed and ended up in a posture of embracing her.
“If it weren’t for you, Viscount, I would be suffering greatly right now.”
“Young lady.”
Aria whispered quietly in a tearful voice.
Seeing this, Bawin showed a gentle smile as if everything was fine and quietly comforted her.
‘So this is how she made people her allies one by one.’
But that gentle smile was filled with coldness.
For Bawin, who had been through thick and thin, such incidents were countless.
That’s why her behavior just seemed pathetic to him.
‘Those who lived comfortably in the shade provided by their parents would fall for this.’
Thinking that one of those who fell for it was Lloyd, he held back the laughter that was about to come out.
“In return, could you write a memorandum?”
“A memorandum, you say?”
Hearing Bawin’s words, Aria’s body stiffened for a moment.
Already in a bad situation because of the memorandum she had written at the Odoi house, she felt reluctant to write another one.
“Yes. The beginning and end of a matter should be clear, after all.”
But even if she felt reluctant, it was something she couldn’t avoid.
Aria moved slightly away from Bawin and still showed a pitiful appearance.
Knowing that this appearance was an act, Bawin wanted to tell her there was no need to try so hard, but he held back and took out a piece of paper.
Seeing the paper, Aria examined the contents written inside with her eyes.
“You can write here how much you need, young lady.”
“In return, what should I give you?”
“There’s nothing in particular I need from you, young lady.”
“Nothing, you say?”
When he mentioned a memorandum, she had thought he would surely demand something, so she showed a bewildered expression when her prediction was shattered.
Meanwhile, Bawin, enjoying the changes in Aria’s expression, said to her.
“If it’s money you’ll pay back eventually without defaulting, there’s no need to demand anything more, is there?”
Considering the enormous funds of the Hersher Duke’s family, it wasn’t an amount she couldn’t repay.
Aria also didn’t feel particularly worried about this part.
“However, I think some kind of safeguard is necessary.”
“A safeguard, you say?”
“Yes. There’s a condition that if you can’t repay the money, this mansion will be used as collateral. What do you think?”
“But I don’t have that kind of authority…”
“The family head’s seal is enough for me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Aria was about to raise her voice saying it was absurd while frowning.
No matter how urgent, she couldn’t accept the condition of putting up the Hersher family mansion as collateral.
“And if you repay the money before that, it’s fine, isn’t it? Then this memorandum will be as if it never existed, and you’ll be able to immediately escape from your current predicament.”
Escaping from the predicament.
Aria felt entranced by those words.
Recently, everyone around her had been insisting on her marriage to Lloyd.
However, Aria absolutely did not want to marry Lloyd.
If she could receive this money and settle everything that happened at the Odoi house while simultaneously shaking off her relationship with Lloyd, there was no reason for her not to do it.
Only, she felt uneasy about signing a memorandum with the mansion as collateral, but as Bawin said, it would be fine if she repaid on time.
“Alright. I’ll do as the memorandum says. But I have a condition too. Please don’t let anyone know that I wrote this memorandum.”
Aria requested not only to keep the contents of the memorandum secret but also the very act of writing it.
In fact, thinking about it, what could she demand in this situation?
Bawin wondered if she was properly aware of her current position.
‘Well, if she were properly aware, she wouldn’t have agreed to this foolish condition.’
He smiled with satisfaction and said.
“Very well. I’ll do as you say. Please stamp your seal here, and the Duke’s official seal here.”
“Isn’t my seal alone enough?”
“Given that it’s a matter involving this much money, to properly process it as a transaction between families, we need the Duke’s as well.”
Aria didn’t argue further and just replied that she understood.
Bawin rose from his seat, satisfied.
“Then I’ll provide the money after you stamp the seal and bring it to me.”
Bawin left the memorandum as it was and stood up.
Whether because there was nothing more to discuss, Aria didn’t try to stop Bawin as he left.
She just bit her lip while looking at the empty spaces in the memorandum.
Bawin, who had been watching Aria like that until the door closed, turned his head at the voice coming from behind.
“What brings you here?”
The person he encountered as soon as he came out was none other than Duke Hersher.
Though slightly surprised by the appearance of the person he had just been talking about, Bawin didn’t show any more emotion than necessary.
If he showed it here, it seemed like some troublesome things might happen after leaving this place.
“I simply answered the young lady’s call.”
Despite clarifying that he came at Aria’s invitation, Duke Hersher couldn’t hide his suspicious expression.
“Even if there was a call, I’d appreciate it if you refrained from now on. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but my daughter is scheduled to be married soon.”
“My congratulations in advance, Duke. And I understand your feelings as a father with a daughter. I too will not visit this place after today.”
There would be no reason to visit this place from now on.
If he were to visit, it would only be after acquiring this mansion.
The Duke still seemed displeased with Bawin, wearing an unsatisfied expression.
“Yes, if you know your place, it would be best not to set foot here again.”
He passed by Bawin and headed towards the room where Aria was.
Though there was a loud noise coming from inside the room, Bawin didn’t care.
‘Knowing one’s place, who’s he to say such things.’
Now all that awaited him was ruin.
Bawin decided to let him enjoy what little peace he had left.
* * *
“How are you feeling?”
“Hmm, I feel refreshed.”
“I’m so glad.”
Clea had spent several days motionless on the bed.
She wanted to get out of bed as soon as possible, but was unable to do so due to the restraints of others.
Clea asked a question to Rufia, who was attending to her at her bedside.
“Lord Oberon has seemed busy lately, do you have any idea what it might be about?”
“I’m not sure about that either. Even if I ask, he won’t tell me.”
“I hope those words aren’t a lie.”
“I swear it’s not a lie.”
Clea gave a bitter smile at Rufia’s answer.
She almost sighed at the sight of her lying while swearing.
Being confined to this bed like this, she couldn’t know what was happening outside.
If she tried to move around out of curiosity to find out, those around her would stop her, saying her wounds would worsen.
Just as Clea was deeply pondering when she might be freed from this bed,
“Clea, are you alright?”
“This time you came empty-handed as I asked before.”
Admund came to visit the room.
Recently, every time he came, he kept bringing something with both hands full.
Beautiful bouquets of fragrant flowers, elegant accessories, snacks that looked delicious just by looking at them, and so on.
So Clea had asked him not to bring anything anymore, saying his feelings were enough.
Fortunately, this time there was nothing in his hands.
Just as Clea was feeling relieved,
“This time I prepared something different.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened once more, and soon a familiar person entered.
“How is it? The gift I prepared.”
The one who entered was the maid who had voluntarily taken the blame for Aria before.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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