The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

Status: 5/week mon-fri

Illustrations: posted in discord

Somewhere in the corridors of the Duke's mansion, various conversations were taking place.

Cardi Luminel - the true master of this vast estate - froze in place, overhearing a secretive conversation in his own home.

'What's this? Who's whose son?'

It was about Glen.

It had been clear from the start that Glen was Letitia Baskhill's son. For a royal of Glen's age to be born outside Cardi's knowledge, he had to be Letitia's child.

But... just as he was about to check on his granddaughter out of boredom, his superhuman hearing caught something strange.

[And Letitia Baskhill's partner and your father is... the Demon King, 'Starke Rzel'.]

???

......??????

His thoughts came to a stop. He replayed what he'd heard several times to make sure he'd heard correctly.

It was unmistakably Elphisia's voice. These were the words of his own daughter, who never uttered nonsense even in jest. Even if she downed a bowl of poison and lost consciousness, she wouldn't spout such madness to the child.

'That child... not only a descendant of the Baskhills but also the rightful heir of the Demon King?'

What?

What the hell?

What on earth had his son-in-law picked up?

Setting aside the arrogant Third Prince, following a half-dragon with the rightful heir of the Demon King was going too far. What twist of fate had led him to collect all these rare children?

He'd even heard later that Echo was a fragment of a miracle.

Everything happening around him seemed to defy understanding.

'And yet...'

Nevertheless, Cardi's eyebrows drooped.

'Why don't they tell me anything...'

Perhaps it was because he was reaching an age where he was becoming sentimentally sensitive. Apart from the shock, a wave of disappointment washed over him. But it was an awkward time to pretend he knew, so Cardi ultimately chose to turn away.

His retreating figure looked somewhat lonely.

---

---

The clock hands had turned and turned, now pointing to the time when the sky was growing dark.

Normally at this hour, Yulian would have returned to the Imperial Palace, but today was different. As if it had been planned all along, dinner was prepared.

It was a full family dinner for the first time in a year. Since Harte had been in a coma since last year's hunting festival, the sight of the family truly gathered was quite unfamiliar.

When Harte and Elphisia entered the dining hall with the four children, Cardi was already seated. At that moment, Harte, uncharacteristically perceptive, sensed a strange atmosphere.

'Somehow, the Duke seems to be in a bad mood... Did something not go well?'

In truth, Cardi's face was always grumpy. The same could be said for Elphisia, having inherited her father's temperament. Yet the reason Harte could somewhat sense this was probably because he had grown accustomed to Elphisia.

"Ahem. Everyone, take a seat."

Cardi gestured from the head of the table. Though his voice wasn't particularly sharp, it gave an impression of roughness. But no one except Harte seemed to notice the discomfort.

Harte cautiously ventured to speak.

"Um... Duke? Has something unpleasant happened?"

"Unpleasant? Nothing of the sort! Hmm..."

As Cardi vehemently denied it, Elphisia spoke up.

"Harte. You must have forgotten after waking up after a year, but Father's face has always looked unwell."

"What."

Cardi blurted out a single word like a death rattle. Yet strangely, not a single person in the dining hall contradicted Elphisia's words.

Though it was the truth, Cardi felt quite hurt.

It was just then.

"No, Mom! Grandpa smiles so well for me!"

Like Cardi's only light, Tina jumped to his defense.

"Besides, he plays with me better than Dad. Dad always makes excuses not to play when it snows, but Grandpa even calls the Sword King Unit knights to have snowball fights with me!"

"Granddaughter...!"

Indeed, neither daughter nor son-in-law could compare to his granddaughter.

Baptismal name be damned, Cardi felt immensely proud thinking that his granddaughter was worth more than all of them.

"No, no, that's not true."

If there was a problem, it was the unwelcome Third Prince butting in.

"The face the Duke shows you is clearly special treatment. If you saw how chilling his gaze is when you're not around, you'd probably be shocked."

"Really? Grandpa?"

To Tina's innocent question about the truth, Cardi denied it while folding his arms.

... Even citing questionable statements.

"Ahem, how could that be? There's a reason the Sword King Unit's recruitment rate has been rising day by day. It's increased by 35% this year alone. It's all because everyone is falling for this old man's kindness and raising their hands to join."

"I knew it was Grandpa!"

Tina, still young, didn't realize.

That the Sword King Unit's vertical rise in recruitment rate was complexly intertwined with various welfare benefits and honors...

"Yulian, if you keep bothering our grandpa, I won't let you off easy! I might just transform into a dragon and breathe fire, and I won't take responsibility!"

"W-What?! More like spitting blood, what do you mean breathing fire!"

"I can breathe fire! I'm going to practice and do fire shows!"

"That's dangerous!"

"Ugh... if you keep picking fights, I won't do 'that' for you!"

"... Ugh."

'That' referred to using the power of the Bloody Dragon to alleviate Yulian's fatigue. For Yulian, who had been living exhausted lately, it was like absolute power.

Meanwhile, Cardi was so pleased with Tina standing up to royalty for his sake that he wanted to give her a piece of the Duke's territory.

'Ah...'

The sight of that little one shutting up the arrogant boy with her loud voice was nothing short of admirable.

Cardi closed his eyes gently and curled up the corners of his mouth.

'This is life, isn't it.'

---

---

The next morning.

As always, Cardi punched in at the Imperial Palace.

Just a year ago, Cardi had been holed up in the Duke's mansion, but after the hunting festival, his daily routine had changed.

The Emperor had been assassinated at the hunting festival hosted in Cardi's territory. Though it was beyond his control, he was in a perfect position to be held accountable.

It was fortunate that Harte, the son-in-law of the Luminel ducal family, had managed to resolve the entire situation. Otherwise, they would have suffered a serious blow.

Yulian, the likely next Emperor, used this as an excuse to order service at the Imperial Palace.

A decision that was hardly a punishment.

In fact, Yulian had taken his side.

"Hmm... Hmm..."

So, having set foot in the Imperial Palace, Cardi kept loitering around the office of Viscount Lloyd Chandler, the Minister of Finance, as soon as he arrived.

"Hmm, hmmmm."

"..."

"Hmmmm. Hmmmm."

"..."

"Ahem..."

"Duke, please stop lingering and leave. Do you have some business with me?"

"Haha... Minister of Finance. You're narrow-minded. Your patience is truly petty."

"What..."

"Well, I suppose those without granddaughters at our age are all like that. Hehe..."

Crash!

There was a sound of a chair falling backward. Its owner had stood up too abruptly.

Lloyd had easily fallen for Cardi's provocation.

"Hmph! My child is just not there yet. Good news will come soon!"

"Hmm, well... that might be so. Though whether it'll be a grandson or granddaughter is yet to be seen."

"What does that matter? Discriminating based on gender in this day and age! You're so closed-minded! Besides, who would think she's your real granddaughter?"

"My, even the closed-minded me treats my granddaughter as a granddaughter, without gender discrimination. But you, so open and enlightened, seem awfully concerned about such things? What a consistent and straightforward person you are. The Imperial Palace sure has a transparent and incorruptible talent, haha..."

"... Kuk."

Cardi stopped his aimless loitering and took a seat on the opposite sofa. Lloyd Chandler, who had been unexpectedly provoked from the morning, was quite displeased, but decided to leave it be for now.

He couldn't bring himself to drive Cardi out, feeling that doing so would somehow bring a sense of defeat.

"This is a story from yesterday, but truly, there's no child like my granddaughter. While my daughter is busy slandering me, my granddaughter defended me with all her heart and soul. The way her love for this old man was conveyed so sincerely, this is why she only grows more adorable as days pass. Ah, of course, she's actually cute too."

"You're completely smitten, aren't you? You used to just tense up your facial muscles after the Duchess passed away."

"Hehe... As much as I'd like to boast about my granddaughter's identity, I think I'll keep this one a secret."

"... Hm?"

He wanted to ask.

He was dying to know the granddaughter's identity.

He was so curious he wanted to laugh happily at Cardi if it turned out to be nothing special.

But it was hard to ask. Somehow, it felt like he would lose if he asked directly.

As he hesitated and missed the timing to press further, the moment passed.

"... Hah. Fine. You've been out of touch with the world, so you probably don't know the reality anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

For the first time, Cardi asked a question. The conversation's initiative had passed from Cardi to Lloyd.

As if finally seizing an opportunity, Lloyd's cheekbones rose smugly.

"You've been crazy since childhood, so you probably don't know, but there's something called the law of nature in this world. Let's see, your granddaughter is eleven this year? Ten?"

"Twelve."

"Aha, even closer."

With a hum of acknowledgment, Lloyd nodded his head. As a result, Cardi narrowed his eyes, curious about Lloyd's intentions.

"What's the problem? For reference, marriage is still far off. I won't send her off unless it's a man who meets my standards."

"No, well, how unfortunate for a grandfather without common sense. I was just thinking that."

"I'm sorry, but our scores at the Academy were pretty much the same, yours and mine."

"Don't worry. I've been working my bones off as Minister of Finance all this time, so if we took a test now, I'd definitely win. Besides, this childish argument hasn't changed a bit from then to now."

"... So, what are you trying to say?"

Cardi's face became infinitely serious. It was almost hostile.

To this, Lloyd Chandler, without backing down an inch, taught him an eternal truth.

"In this world, there's something called puberty."

"That... I know in theory. I'd forgotten since my daughter didn't have such a thing."

"Well... Elphisia was exceptionally brilliant and unique, so that's understandable. But generally speaking, that's how it is."

"Anyway, your conclusion?"

At Cardi's urging, Lloyd grinned.

"As you know, unlike you, my network is quite broad. Unlike you, who had no friends but me. So how many people do you think I know who have grandchildren?"

"Well..."

There must be many.

However, for them to have grandchildren around Tina's age, they'd likely be old folks at least ten years older than them.

"But you see."

"Speak quickly."

"In the old days, grandchildren who used to seek out their grandparents so eagerly... once puberty hits, they avoid them like the plague. To the point of bursting into tears saying they don't want to see them!"

"What...!"

To Cardi, who had frozen for a long while, Lloyd finally issued an order to leave.

Cardi was pushed out of the Minister of Finance's office, not knowing what was going on.

Towards the dumbfounded Cardi, Lloyd offered a final greeting.

"I hope you shower her with affection during the little time left. Ah! Of course, only to the extent that she doesn't burst into tears."

Hehe.

A chuckle tinged with a sense of victory echoed in Cardi's ears.

Cardi barely managed to steady his legs, which were trembling as if he might collapse.

'Puberty...'

That one word kept occupying space in his head. That damned eternal truth.

'Puberty... what the hell is it...!!!'

Why it sought to take away the only ally in his household.

Puberty was simply an unacceptable existence.