The Elven Duke Reluctantly Marries The Cursed Lady - Chapter 44
Slicked back black hair, an ugly monocle, rounded eyes, and a face framed by a thick beard. He was wearing a frock coat in accordance with proper etiquette when visiting nobles, but the outfit seemed to clash with his stocky build and gave him a rough atmosphere. The corrupt merchant Tritoma Celsia lived up to the appearance of a typical villain.
He strode toward Count Northpole, ignoring Hydrangea who was visiting as a guest.
Meanwhile, Count Northpole looked up at Tritoma Celsia with a terrified expression.
What on earth is he afraid of?
Since he did not understand the situation, Hydrangea stood by the sidelines and observed the two men.
“U-uh, um, I-I am currently entertaining a guest. C-could we talk later?”
“Haaah? I don’t give a damn what you’re doing right now!”
One would not think that he was a merchant by his coarse language and inconsiderate behavior. Hydrangea saw for himself why the man was ridiculed as an unscrupulous merchant.
“O-Orchid, could you please show Mr. Celsia to the other guest room—”
It was impossible for the elderly butler to accompany such an unruly man.
He had a feeling that Tritoma Celsia would hit anyone who approached him, so Hydrangea threw a bone knife which was inscribed with a spell on the shadow of the butler known as Orchid. The elderly butler could not move from his spot.
It was Shadow-binding magic which was magic close to a curse.
“Orchid, what are you doing!?”
“F-forgive me, Master. I could not move my feet.”
The butler seemed to think that he was unable to move due to fear, but the reason why he could not move was because Hydrangea had bound his shadow.
Now, how should I deal with Tritoma Celsia?
Just as he turned his attention back to them, Tritoma Celsia approached Count Northpole with huge strides, grabbed him by the lapels, and lifted him up. Count Northpole’s body dangled mid-air in a flash.
“Guuuh!!”
“You told me you wouldn’t marry off Violette. Why did you give her away to some nobody!? Which bastard did you give her away to!?” [1]
Apparently, Tritoma Celsia had proposed to marry Violette.
He is old enough to be her parent. Why on earth does he want to marry her?
“Out with it!!”
“Uguhh…”
Hydrangea’s marriage to Violette has not been made widely public. Therefore, the news has not reached Tritoma Celsia’s ears.
“Tell me where the bastard is!!”
“Uuuhh…”
Again, Count Northpole remained tight-lipped.
Does he think he is protecting me, who is Violette’s husband?
Since he was there anyway, Hydrangea decided to de-escalate things before anything dangerous happened.
“Hey, don’t do anything dangerous.”
However, Tritoma Celsia did not heed Hydrangea’s words.
“You son of a b***h! Say it, or I’ll k*ll you!!”
“Let go of him and let’s talk about this calmly.”
He was also ignored the second time he called out to the man.
“Say it! Say it, I said!”
There was no third time.
Hydrangea blew Tritoma Celsia away with a low-level Wind magic spell.
Tritoma Celsia was suddenly hit by a blast of wind and was blown away. Unable to protect himself, he helplessly fell over. Although he crashed into the wall, he got up right away.
“Wh-what the hell are you doing!? I’ll sue you for assault!”
“Before you do that, I should also report you for suspected extortion. I only acted out in self-defense.”
“You—!”
As he stood up, he balled his hands into fists and attacked.
Hydrangea pulled out the bone knife from the butler’s shadow and threw it at Tritoma Celsia’s shadow.
“Guh!!”
Suddenly bound to his shadow, he fell on the spot, unable to move.
“Tritoma Celsia. What purpose do you have for coming here?”
“This has nothing to do with you!!”
If I keep quiet about this, he might harm Count Northpole further.
Judging it to be the case, he decided to reveal his marital relation to Violette.
“It does. I am Violette’s husband after all.”
“Haaaah!?”
“Wh-why were you able to marry her!? No matter how much money I offered, this family never agreed to marry her off to me!”
“…..”
Is Violette’s marriage the reason behind Syran’s assault case against Tritoma Celsia?
He has a mage backing him. I couldn’t help but think that the cat shifting curse is related to them.
“What have you done to Violette?”
“What did I do? Hah, you should be asking what Count Northpole did! I-I had nothing to do with it! He was mad for using that strange magic to turn his daughter into a cat!”
“What?”
Translator’s Notes:
[1] Nobody, bastard – the original expression was 馬の骨 (uma no hone, literally “horse’s bone”) which is a derogatory phrase to describe a person of doubtful origin.
