Strategic Marriage with the Mad Villain - Chapter 45

“You’re not working these days, are you?”

“Huh? Theron.”

I was engrossed in reading a book when Theron pulled up a chair and naturally settled next to me. I looked at him casually, then was startled.

“Is it okay to be seen like this?”

“Ah. It’s fine. No one else can see anyway.”

I’m not sure what trick he used to make that possible, but surprisingly, I could easily accept it. After all, Theron is the guild leader of Anas.

Anas is known to be privy to everything that happens in the capital… No, he’s someone who even knows about gold veins deep in abandoned lands.

So for him, a magical tool capable of such tricks is…

“By the way, what are you reading? Asilite Geopolitics…? Why are you reading a book like this?”

‘A book like this.’

It’s an excellent book that comprehensively explains the history of the Asilite Empire in relation to its geographical features…

I thought he wouldn’t be very interested even if I passionately explained, so I focused on the book again. But then Theron placed a ledger on the table.

“I recently closed a big deal. Since I came to meet a sensitive fellow, I brought it along.”

I was going to check it later if possible, but hearing that he closed a big deal, I gently closed the book.

As I checked the ledger, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at the amount, which had an extra 0 than what I expected.

“Oh my… Suddenly this much?”

The amount felt large even the last time I checked, but this is several times more than that, right?

It still didn’t feel real that all this money was mine, even after looking again.

But seeing the ledger made me a bit worried.

‘This amount is too large to simply overlook.’

“By any chance, Father…”

“What are you asking? He’s about to collapse foaming at the mouth.”

Father had only been advancing victoriously without a single failure in all his businesses so far. So I thought he would be even more outraged by this incident, and sure enough.

“He hasn’t even been properly exploited yet, so it’s a big deal. He might collapse grabbing the back of his neck and die like that later.”

His eyebrows were furrowed as if worried, but his voice was full of amusement.

‘In many ways, Theron seems to get along well with Reus too.’

Theron, who had been silently clearing his throat, leaned diagonally with his arms crossed.

Perhaps because his frame was so large, his sturdy body wasn’t hidden even though he was only wearing a white shirt.

I was absentmindedly looking at Theron when my gaze went to the exposed skin under his rolled-up sleeves.

‘He has a lot of scars on his body…’

Reus’s body, which I see every day, was clean without any traces of scars, but Theron’s body was full of scars to the point where I was surprised that I only noticed it now.

‘If Theron is working with Reus, it means he also has something to repay the emperor, right?’

Then Theron turned his head a bit delinquently and stared at me intently.

“By the way, you know what? There’s a bug on your hair.”

The moment I heard those words, my thoughts came to a halt.

‘What did he say is on my head right now…?’

I wanted to tell him to remove it right away, but my mouth wouldn’t open as I wished. In the end, I could only mumble a few times and stiffened in place.

“The size, oh my… How did something like that get on your head? It’s the first time I’ve seen one that big.”

While I was in a state where I wanted to faint with my eyes open, Theron only raised his eyebrows as if it was unfortunate, doing nothing.

“Please… Please remove it…”

“Hmm. What should I do?”

* * *

Drwin stopped organizing documents and raised his head, suddenly feeling a chill.

‘He’s still doing that?’

The source of this murderous aura was Reus, who was standing by the window as if nailed there, not blinking an eye.

What’s the problem again today? The atmosphere is so brutal that it seems like he’ll draw blood immediately if touched wrongly.

“Your Highness…?”

But Reus was so focused on something that he didn’t hear Drwin’s voice at all. It was completely different from his usual self, who was always on edge and reacted to the slightest sound.

‘He didn’t hear my voice?’

Drwin, wondering if he was being ignored or if Reus really didn’t hear, even put down the pen he was holding and observed Reus’s behavior.

What was Reus looking at then?

It was the sight of Roel and Theron conversing. What could they be chatting about so cordially, sitting face to face for so long?

Don’t they have anything else to talk about with each other?

Reus’s eyebrows gradually began to slant at the sight that somehow looked intimate.

It bothered him that Theron didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving, but what bothered him more was Roel’s reaction.

She didn’t seem to find Theron very difficult.

Although her expression was not visible as her back was turned to him, he could tell just by looking at her back, making his mood worse. And at the same time, an unpleasant sense of unease rose from a corner of his heart.

But then, Roel suddenly stiffened her body. She stayed frozen like that for a while, then suddenly grabbed Theron’s sleeves with both hands!

Theron didn’t push Roel away even though he knew Reus was watching.

And soon, the two’s bodies got closer and closer.

At that moment, Reus’s body involuntarily sprung forward, but got caught on the window frame with a loud thud! If the floor had been a little lower, he might have jumped out right then and there.

Reus, whose movement was obstructed, immediately turned around and stormed out of the office.

Left alone again, Drwin approached the window where Reus had been standing, looking puzzled. Through the window below…

‘Deputy Empress?’

Currently, Theron’s appearance is invisible to other people, so to Drwin, it looked like Roel was sitting a bit unnaturally. But that didn’t matter at all.

“What in the world did the Deputy Empress do wrong…!”

For the sake of the Deputy Empress, should we close up the office window? Or get rid of the garden altogether!

Drwin was hopping from foot to foot, having somewhat extreme thoughts.

* * *

“What, what are you doing… Did you remove it? You removed it, right?”

“Tsk, this is… Haa…”

“Theron, you’re listening to me, right…? Right…?”

“Don’t raise your head. It’ll move, okay?”

“Don’t just talk, hurry and remove it…!”

“It’s so big that it’s a bit hard for me to grab it with my bare hands…”

As soon as he said that, I felt my hair moving.

The wind hadn’t blown, and Theron hadn’t moved his hand either.

Then how big of a bug is crawling up my head for my hair to shake like that?

Unable to say anything now, I closed my eyes tightly and just held onto Theron’s clothes.

After what felt like an eternity, Theron finally gave me the answer I wanted.

“Ah, it’s done.”

“It’s… It’s done? You removed it? Are you sure? Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

I slowly opened my eyes. Then suddenly, Theron’s hand appeared in front of my eyes.

But that thing sitting on his index finger…

“I, a bu…”

“It’s huge, right? I had a hard time catching it. Do you know how careful I was so it wouldn’t fly away before showing it to you?”

“…”

“Oh my. Are you angry? Sorry.”

He only says sorry, but Theron looks like he’s about to die laughing, trying his best to hold back his laughter.

No wonder he’s friends with a villain!

I was so angry at the sight that my hand moved before I knew it.

“You surprised me!”

Smack!

I was more surprised at my own action of hitting his shoulder. Theron, who had been looking at me for a moment, finally burst into laughter, unable to hold back.

“Ah− sorry. But I didn’t lie. Just look at it once.”

There was nothing more hateful than the sight of him giggling and releasing the butterfly.

I was annoyed at myself for falling for this trick, and the pain in my hand from hitting his iron-like shoulder was also irritating.

“…I was really surprised.”

And at that moment, ridiculously, a teardrop that had excessively welled up in one eye fell with a plop.

Theron, who couldn’t stop laughing, got flustered and immediately got up. Then, as Theron’s hand was approaching my face…

Something big and white suddenly entered my field of vision. Then, with a loud smack, it roughly hit Theron’s hand away. Before I could even check what it was, my body was pulled up somewhere.

When I came to my senses, I was in someone’s arms.

“Reus…?”

Where did this man suddenly appear from?

‘Shouldn’t he be in the office at this hour?’

I was trying hard to grasp the situation that unfolded in an instant, but Theron’s voice, which somehow sounded more amused than before, was heard.

“You came much faster than I thought. What’s the rush that you ran all the way here?”

Reus only frowned without answering.

The two just stared at each other without a word. The atmosphere was strangely… tense, in a way that’s hard to explain accurately.

Then the situation ended with Theron raising both arms and getting up from his seat.

“Ah− I’m going, I’m going. You’re giving me a dirty look.”

Theron turned around and looked at me.

“Ah. I’ll apologize for making you cry today. See you next time, Roel.”

Theron, who waved his hand playfully, quickly disappeared from sight.

‘I thought the two were close?’

Even if they weren’t on intimate terms, they must have become close by maintaining a relationship for quite a while with the plan of treason. But strangely, it seemed the opposite now.

As if there was an unresolved grudge between the two.

But then Reus started walking.

‘Why, why does he keep going?’

I mean… while still holding me!

He must clearly feel my gaze on him, but Reus didn’t stop walking. Then, the steps that had been constantly moving forward abruptly stopped without warning.

“If someone sees, they’ll think I made you cry.”

“Ah…”

Only then did I think of my state and hurriedly wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of my eyes. Then Reus began to move again. He doesn’t seem to show any signs of stopping.

“You can put me down now, Your Grace…”

Reus stared at me intently for a moment. Then he casually said,

“Since I’m already carrying you, I’ll escort you to your room.”

“…What? Why, why…”