Looking for a Husband to Confine Me - Chapter 6
Chapter 6
‘I know you’re acting like a fool without a care in the world, but snap out of it. What are you going to do if the family business goes bankrupt in ten years? You’ll end up on the streets.’
‘…Ugh.’
‘It’s not you who’s amazing, it’s the family business. What will you do if you lose even that? You need to start acting right now.’
The young Luke seemed flustered as I looked down at him from above.
‘Haah. Luke, Luke Randy. Get a grip.’
‘Are you done?’
‘I’m not done yet. I’m afraid of your family elders, not you. I find you annoying. I’m irritated.’
Luke’s face showed shock, as if he had heard something he shouldn’t.
‘I, irritated?’
‘Next time, I won’t hold back.’
‘Yeah, yeah, what are you going to do if you don’t hold back? You’re just a kid who can’t do anything, just like me!’
Luke seemed to be losing his pride as he spoke. He was admitting that he was just a powerless child.
‘If you keep this up,’ I continued to look down at Luke, raising the corner of my lips. Then, I tapped his neck with my index and middle fingers.
‘I’ll bite you.’
Swoosh, the small snake I was training slithered down my arm. I rubbed its cool skin against Luke’s neck. I could see goosebumps rising on the boy’s skin.
‘Wh, what is that?’
‘I don’t know. What do you think?’
Luke Randy’s eyes were filled with fear at the contact with something unknown.
‘Let’s be good, okay?’
I whispered that and stood up. Even after I left, Luke didn’t move, still lying on the dirt floor. I thought it was over since he didn’t come near me or bother me after that.
However, I was wrong.
When I saw Luke, who had been quiet since that day watching me, I thought he had a cute side. I even wondered if I had been too harsh on a child.
But I never imagined that expression was him plotting to get back at me. And for the rest of his life, at that.
“How have you been?”
The face of little Luke was gone, replaced by the face of a sly and handsome man. I gasped, seeing Luke’s brazen face.
“How do you think I’ve been?”
“Right? You must have been busy with wedding preparations.”
“….”
“When I last heard from your father, it seemed to be going smoothly.”
Luke watched my reaction as he spoke.
What a jerk!
He was spitting out words, knowing about my engagement with Hector, even the annulment. I wanted to spit in his face.
The young Luke’s first act in carrying out his scheme was to approach Hector Asid, who was close to me. Especially at the time, Hector was constantly circling around me, the one who had saved him. He must have befriended Hector to get information about me.
In the end, Luke became my childhood friend along with Hector, creating a long-lasting feud.
“If you’re saying that to get back at me, you’re wrong. I don’t care right now.”
Luke looked surprised by my indifferent response.
Luke, wearing a sheep’s clothing, revealed his true nature when he was twelve. He didn’t approach me, but my father, Frad Hazel, the Count. Luke lent money to Frad, who had nowhere else to turn for funds, through a place he had created as a hobby.
It was called ‘Heylandirone’.
It was a financial business aimed at nobles with bad credit. It was called a financial business, but it was basically loan sharking. It was a place that only operated loans. In the end, more than 60% of Count Hazel family’s debt came from Heylandirone.
I should have known Luke’s true nature from a young age. I never imagined he would be obsessed with me for revenge for that incident.
“Right. I thought you would be crying for days because of the annulment with Hector.”
“….”
I did cry. Not for days, but for one day.
“I told you to do well. Though, Hector would never marry someone like you.”
He started laughing out loud. I wanted to grab his head and smack it when I saw him enjoying himself.
“But I can’t believe you’re already attending a ball like this.”
Luke’s blue eyes, after stopping his laughter, slowly scanned me from head to toe. As he hummed and nodded, his golden hair swayed in front of me.
“…What?”
“Are you trying to find a new partner?”
“….”
He’s quick-witted.
I turned my head without speaking. His brow furrowed and he pouted.
“Who’s next? Is it that guy?”
Luke pointed to Damian. He was slumped in a chair in the ballroom, staring blankly into space, looking like he had been drinking heavily.
‘This guy is really out of his mind.’
He was one of the final candidates, but I was slightly disappointed. I adjusted the rankings in my head. But how did Damian know my name? He even asked me what my name was at first, which makes it even more mysterious.
As I stared at Damian, Luke blocked my view. He then said in a dissatisfied tone.
“Forget about him. He’s crazy.”
“You think he’s crazier than you?”
Why does he keep bothering me?
The reason I dislike Luke but still included him as a candidate was because he was one of the few who met the requirements. Even so, I don’t want to contract with him at all, so I’m keeping him as a last resort.
I know why he tricked Count Hazel into taking on a huge debt. It’s because his pride was hurt by what happened to me when I was a child. He just wants to see me beg and despair.
So, I’m going to keep him as a last resort.
‘I don’t want to ask that guy for anything either.’
Surprisingly, Luke doesn’t have a fiancée yet. As far as I know, he gets proposals for arranged marriages several times a day.
“What, why are you looking?”
“Just… aren’t you going to get married? Though, the woman who ends up with you is going to be miserable.”
“Mind your own business. Since when has you shown any interest in me?”
Luke, who had clicked his tongue, suddenly froze. He looked down at me and slowly opened his mouth.
“Hey, Amelia. Do you… maybe have a thing for me?”
“Are you crazy? Don’t say such awful things.”
It was a last resort, but I definitely wasn’t interested. I didn’t want to get tangled up with this guy if I could help it.
As soon as I finished speaking, Luke’s expression turned menacing. His eyes were definitely blue, but they seemed to be spitting fire.
“I hate you too! You’re the worst. The worst!”
“Yeah, yeah, good. We’re not interested in each other,” I replied casually and turned back to Damian. Even so, was an alcoholic really better than Luke?
An alcoholic wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.
For now, I hadn’t come to the banquet to meet Damian or Luke. This banquet was for the princes from a foreign country, Haroon Kisha and Bashar Kisha.
My goal was to prevent the poisoning of Bashar Kisha, the younger prince who had nothing to do with the succession.
The Kishan Kingdom was located to the west of the Lefkind* Empire. A vast desert lay between the two countries.
*Note: From the context, I assumed that this was Ronellid Empire mentioned in the first chapter where FL lives. But the raws stated them as two different empires? I’m not so sure, but just in case there’s a mistake somewhere, this is subject to change.
Unlike the Kishan Kingdom, whose territory was mostly sand dunes, the Lefkind Empire had a variety of climates and lands. The Kishan people, who desired a vast and fertile land that wasn’t desert, had long coveted the Empire and waged war.
The war, which had continued for hundreds of years through battles and truces, ended fifty years ago. The outcome wasn’t a clear victory or defeat. The two countries joined hands and made peace.
As a symbol of their peace, the two countries sent their princes and crown princes to each other’s countries under the guise of studying abroad. The time for sending them abroad was when a new king ascended the throne.
‘The Kishan’s long-reigning king recently passed away.’
I heard that the new king, who ascended the throne because of the previous king’s death, was also quite old. That’s why the princes, who had already come of age, were sent to study abroad in the Empire.
I glanced at the two princes, the focus of all the nobles’ attention in the banquet hall. They had exotic appearances, unlike the Lefkind citizens.
As princes from a desert country, their attire was unique. Their skin was darker than that of the Lefkind people, and their black hair stood out. While there were black-haired people in Lefkind, these two princes’ black hair was much darker.
Golden eyes, proof of their royal bloodline, shone from within their black hair.
‘The short-haired prince in front is Haroon Kisha, the older brother, and the long-haired prince behind him is Bashar Kisha.’
I recognized Bashar Kisha at once, with his long black hair tied loosely below his shoulders.
“Finally here?”
I was watching the two princes from afar when Luke’s voice, which I had momentarily forgotten, reached my ears.
I stiffened and turned to him.
“…You’re still here?”
“What?”
Luke’s expression crumpled at my words.
I don’t know why he keeps sticking around even though he gets annoyed whenever he sees me. If he’s trying to annoy me, it’s a pretty effective method.
