Looking for a Husband to Confine Me - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
“Ugh!”
The moment I turned away from his gaze and walked with a nonchalant expression, I bumped into someone coming from the side without noticing. I stumbled, losing my balance, and a strong hand grabbed my shoulder from beside me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you properly.”
Judging by the firm hand on my shoulder and the way I was practically leaning into his arms, the other person was a noble. I didn’t want to draw more attention to myself than I already had, so I raised my head, forcing a sincere apology.
I spoke, looking into the man’s face.
“….”
The man didn’t react to my words, only staring down at me.
“…Uh.”
He should have said something polite, like “It’s okay,” or at least gotten angry. He was still practically holding me in his arms.
I tapped his hand on my shoulder with my fingertips. The man’s eyebrows twitched, forming a crooked expression.
What’s with that look?
I wanted him to take his hand off me, so I reached out and pushed him away.
‘Damn it, he won’t budge.’
I looked up at him, surprised by his even more solid body than I expected. The man’s jet-black eyes stared at me as if piercing through me. It was unnerving.
But somehow, his face seemed familiar. Where had I seen him?
“Excuse me, I’m sorry. I didn’t check where I was going.”
His silver hair, fine as silk, contrasted sharply with his jet-black eyes. His skin was so pale it seemed almost white, making his red lips stand out even more. The man, with only his lips colored, seemed almost provocative.
I found myself drawn to his pale red lips, unable to look away. Sensing my gaze, he moved his lips slightly. A surge of strength went into the hand holding my shoulder.
“…You.”
“Yes?”
“Who?”
His eyelids blinked slowly, and his low voice, as if lazily unfurling, reached my ears. He narrowed his eyes slightly, giving me a faint smile.
The first thought that crossed my mind when I heard his voice was:
“Why are you suddenly talking informally?”
Oh, I’m crazy. I was so lost in his face that I blurted out the thought I was having to myself. He’s handsome, but informal speech is informal speech. The problem was that this was a banquet, and I was trying to let it slide.
‘I’m screwed.’
The man’s eyes widened slightly, as if startled.
“Ah, sorry. It’s a habit.”
“….”
“You can talk informally too.”
The man didn’t seem to have any intention of changing his tone. Instead, he even patted my shoulder lightly, as if telling me to talk informally to him as well.
“I don’t want to… sir.”
“Why?”
I spoke politely, as if trying to assert my pride. The man tilted his head to the right, looking at me.
Ugh, handsome guys look good no matter what expression they make. I realized that again, belatedly. But the more I looked at him, the more familiar his face seemed.
“I don’t talk informally to people I’m not close to.”
“Really? Then we can become close.”
“I’m sorry, but I…”
I was going to firmly tell him I had no intention of becoming close to him.
After all, I should have listened to my grandmother’s advice from my past life: Be careful of people who approach you without reason. But the man’s voice was faster than my words.
“Damian, that’s my name. Call me by it.”
“…What?”
“Then I’ll see you again, Amelia.”
The man, Damian, whispered in my ear and then walked away. It was only after his hand, which had been holding my shoulder as if embracing me, disappeared.
“Damian.”
I muttered his name softly and stared blankly at his retreating figure.
Could it be that the man just now was Damian Ditronil?
Damian Ditronil.
He was a person who had suddenly appeared in society two years ago. His exact birth was unknown, but rumors said he was the illegitimate child of a noble. However, there was no one who looked like him, and he didn’t seem particularly close to anyone, so the rumor was unlikely to be true.
“I can’t believe it.”
This was the first time I had actually seen him. He usually didn’t attend banquets.
Damian Ditronil, whom I had only heard about in rumors, had a face that was oddly familiar. He was none other than a candidate for my (contract) husband.
“This is absolutely ridiculous.”
But the face I had seen in the photo was a little different. No, to be precise, he didn’t look that different, but his aura was completely different from the photo.
Damian Ditronil in the photo was a man with a well-defined muscular body and an expressionless face. He was said to have actually worked as a mercenary, so his muscular body wasn’t a lie. Moreover, in the photo, it looked like the buttons of his shirt were about to burst!
‘How can a person change so much just by their aura?’
Unlike the cold-looking face in the photo, Damian Ditronil, whom I met in person, was smiling lightly, and he exuded a strong sense of lethargy. His gaze, which clung to me, and his voice, which whispered intimately, felt as if he were trying to seduce me.
It was the first time I couldn’t recognize someone just by their aura, a muscular mercenary and a handsome man with a languid air of decadence.
He was handsome, but…
“That man won’t do.”
Damian Ditronil was completely different from the photo. But other than that, he wasn’t suitable for me. Because…
‘His eyes aren’t normal.’
I recalled his eyes, which seemed hazy, as if intoxicated by something. I definitely didn’t want to be involved with an alcoholic. Besides, my instincts were screaming at me to avoid that man. He was crazy.
“How did he even know my name?”
“What are you muttering to yourself about?”
As I uttered my complaint, someone approached. The man’s large physique cast a shadow over the place where I was standing.
I turned my head, thinking that Damian had come back.
“…You.”
It wasn’t Damian Ditronil, but a face I hated even more was smiling slyly.
“Long time no see, Amelia.”
Luke Randy.
The source of the Count’s massive debt, my and Hector’s other childhood friend, who ran a loan shark business disguised as a financial institution.
By the way, this guy is also a candidate.
As a last resort.
Randy’s Bank.
One of the three largest banks in the Empire.
Luke, standing before me, staring at me with a sarcastic sneer, was the grandson of Rupert Randy, the chairman of Randy’s Bank. And I had a persistent, unpleasant history with him since childhood.
“…Luke.”
I couldn’t help but frown when I saw his face.
“What’s with that look?”
Luke tilted his lips up, leaning closer to me.
“You don’t seem happy to see me, Amelia.”
“Well, I didn’t expect to see you here. You seem happy, though.”
“Of course I am. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. You’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you? Us?”
Even as I responded with an uncomfortable tone, Luke didn’t seem bothered. In fact, his smile deepened as my expression soured.
Luke Randy. The sole heir of the Randy family and a connection I had unwillingly formed, unlike in the original novel.
‘I should have been more patient.’
In the novel, Luke was merely mentioned as a ‘foolish boy’ who had bullied Amelia in her childhood. He was a supporting character who appeared a couple of times in flashbacks about how Hector had protected Amelia from the boy.
But for me, those events were reality, not a narrative in a novel. As a child, burdened with a vast amount of debt despite my title as ‘Countess,’ Luke had known about my situation and tormented me.
It was the kind of pure malice that children his age displayed without thinking. Hector had helped, but the bullying didn’t end. My patience was reaching its limit when Luke’s persistent and relentless actions finally pushed me over the edge.
That’s when I blurted out those words.
‘Hey, do you like me?’
While Hector was briefly away, I kicked Luke, who was, as usual, tormenting me, sending him sprawling to the ground. My broken patience didn’t allow me to think about the consequences.
‘Are you crazy? What are you doing, you freak?’
‘Who’s the one constantly bothering a freak like me?’
‘You don’t know who I am…!’
I pressed my shoe down on Luke’s chest, who was trying to get up from the dirt, making sure not to hurt him. He stared up at me, unable to rise.
He hadn’t expected to be shoved around by a girl, I guess. Luke’s young face flushed red in an instant. Fortunately for him, there were no other children around besides us.
I had the sense to pick a place without other kids around, at least. He wouldn’t want to be embarrassed in front of others. Besides, blackmail is best done in secret.
“Luke Randy. You’re the only grandson of the chairman of Randy’s Bank, aren’t you?”
“Even so, you’re doing this? I’ll tell my grandfather!”
“Go ahead. He’s the one who’s powerful, not you. You can’t do anything.”
“W, what?”
“All you can do is run to the adults and whine, ‘She did this to me!’ You can’t do anything to me on your own.”
“You, you, Amelia Hazel!”
Luke couldn’t refute my words, which pointed out that he was ultimately just a powerless child. His face was red as if it would burst.
Crack!
I moved the foot that had been pressing down on his chest. To the side of his face.
I bent my knees and sat down on Luke, as if I were riding him. Like a delinquent.
