Raising my Fiancè with Money

Personal Question

Lilia was sweating internally.

She didn’t expect to be so nervous when introducing her fake lover.

It was fortunate that Karhan had been able to answer  mother’s tricky question correctly.

It was worthwhile to buy a lot of love books.

Upon hearing Karhan’s answer, the count and his wife’ gazes softened a little.

But, it’s too early to let her guard down.

“…..”

Cliff, Violet, and Heinley glanced at each other.

This time, Lilia said she liked Karhan’s sweetness. That he’s even ‘nice and polite’.

It was similar to when she had first brought Richard. Lilia introduced him as a ‘kind and caring person’.

So they all thought that she was blinded by love this time too. They wanted to get rid of the rose-tinted lens from Lilia right here.

They were planning to make Karhan reveal his true nature and break up with Lilia by asking questions as harshly as they did for Richard.

After the exchange of eyes, Heinley opened his mouth.

“I have a personal question.”

“Ask me.”

“I heard you’ve been on the battlefield for a long time.”

It was time for a question that could not be avoided. As soon as their eyes met, Lilia gave him a glare as if asking what kind of subject he was bringing up.

“I don’t mean much by asking this question. If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer.”

Heinley had the nerve to lie, even though he was so full of personal feelings.

The reason for asking this question was simple.

Numerous warriors liked to talk about their sagas. Even those who pretended to be humble were bluffing when the plate was laid.

Lilia had heard the question, and hoped that the illusion would be shattered.

“War… was voluntary.”

Karhan slowly opened his mouth.

Long ago, Karhan’s family wanted him out of sight.

In particular, their eldest son — Karhan’s older brother, Blaird, considered him to be a thorn in his flesh from an early age.

The suffocating house was like a battlefield for Karhan.

In the end, he was half pushed and enlisted in the battlefield voluntarily.

At that time, Karhan was a boy who could not even hold a coming-of-age ceremony.

“I was in a conflict zone on the edge of the empire and………”

After returning to the capital, his memories of the battlefield seemed to come back to life.

The days when he would be relieved to be alive.

Days when the person who spoke to him today could be buried in the ground, using his own hands, the next day.

In a place that crossed the border between life and death, the emotions that were clumsily expressed disappeared even more.

“There aren’t any very interesting stories. It’s a battlefield.”

Heinley’s eyes narrowed.

He thought Karhan would be bluffing, but he reacted unexpectedly.

Upon investigation, he heard that Karhan had been on the battlefield for a long time, and that he had done quite a bit of work.

‘I thought he’d tell a saga proudly… he’s sparing his words?’

Karhan was so expressionless that Heinley had no idea what he was thinking.

Heinley pondered for a moment, then calmly chose his words.

“Actually, we care about the duke’s rumors.”

Heinley finally spoke frankly.

Karhan’s reputation in the empire was very bad.

In particular, the rumor of Karhan being a battlefield murderer was the most famous.

His one and only sister’s new boyfriend is a murderer!

Before acknowledging the relationship between the two, it was a priority to find out the truth of the rumors.

Before Karhan could open his mouth, Tesion, who was standing behind him, answered.

“I’m a pretentious person. Can I answer you instead?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Tession.

Standing tensely, Tession thought the situation was his own fault.

In order to block those who approached Karhan, he deliberately did not block the rumors.

It was almost a fact, so it was only natural for Lilia’s family to mention the rumors.

“The rumors floating around are not true. It’s just that you’ve been misinformed. In fact, the little duke has made many notable contributions on the battlefield…. The little duke has also saved my life.”

“Not only me, but hundreds of people were also saved due to the duke”, Tesion claimed.

Heinley’s expression darkened.

‘I can’t prove whether what he said is true or not, but it didn’t seem false just by looking at it…’ 

Heinley lifted his glasses.

“I see. You must have made it to the rank of a general or commander of the Knights.”

“No, I was discharged as an officer.”

Everyone was taken aback by Karhan’s answer.

He just said that you saved hundreds of people…? 

There were even rumors floating around that he had taken part in numerous warfares and had made a brilliant contribution.

However, an officer was a soldier who could easily be elevated to the rank of a subordinate nobleman.

It was a very humble reward for his fame.

Heinley doubted what Karhan’s purpose was, but he decided to move on without any further questioning.

Unless Karhan was a pushover, he would have taken care of having other forms of compensation on his own.

After Heinley’s question, Violet’s turn came.

“As you know, my daughter is old enough to think about marriage.”

“As a parent, I think I should move on with this topic.” Violet explained, asking for Karhan’s understanding.

“What do you think about marriage?”

‘How long has it been since I started dating?’ Lilia looked at Karhan.

However, the two had to keep their marriage in mind as they were old enough to be wedded.

It’s time to date on the premise of marriage.

“……I have an idea.”

The family’s expression was difficult to perceive due to Karhan’s slow response.

Before Violet could ask Karhan again, Lilia coughed out loud.

The three immediately shut their mouths as they stared lightly at Lilia.

There was still a pile of questions they wanted to ask Karhan, but if they asked more, Lilia would be angry.

Cliff, who confirmed that some time had passed, first raised himself and said.

“I told them to prepare dinner. Shall we head in now?”

Everyone left the room and headed for dinner.

Lilia and Karhan stood side by side and walked first.

Cliff, Violet and Heinley, who were watching them from behind, talked in small voices.

“The first impression I had of Karhan was that he was scary, but I think he’s better than Richard. He’s very polite.”

“Maybe our standards have gone too low because we’ve only seen trash.”

“Father, it’s still too early to let your guard down.”

Hainley, who was staring at Karhan’s back, gave his father a light scolding.

Still, he agreed that a more serious and taciturn person would be better than a troublemaker who would make people want to slap his mouth.

“My family… is a little extreme. Was it okay?”

Lilia, who was ahead of her family, quietly asked Karhan.

After hesitating for a moment, Karhan spoke frankly.

“…it was scary.”

Lilia was really sorry.

He’s a man who can barely get a refund…

Even Lilia, who had become accustomed to the behavior of her family, often found them difficult to handle.

‘At the very least, when you eat, you won’t be attacked by questions like before.’

Arriving at the banquet hall, Karhan paused.

It was a great supper.

The size itself was similar to the banquet hall owned by the Duchess of Evantheon, but the Bloden Mansion was superior in terms of furniture, furnishings and decorations that filled the room.

At the splendid banquet hall with nowhere to turn, Karhan was a little more elated.

Everyone who arrived at the banquet was seated.

The employees who were waiting in the back brought out the food one after the other.

Dozens of bowls filled the table.

There were so many dishes that he didn’t know what to eat first.

Karhan hesitated, holding only his fork.

Cliff saw it and asked.

“Are you not happy with the menu?”

“…….No.” Karhan shook his head.

‘I guess I should eat something quickly before I get misunderstood.’

“…..”

Lilia glanced at Karhan.

In front of him was only a bowl of meat.

The employees seemed to have decided that he would like meat based on his appearance.

Lilia called in an employee to carry plates.

Can you rearrange the vegetables to be in front of the Little Duke?”

“What? But…”

The employee glanced at Karhan.

Karhan opened his mouth when the employee seemed to be worried that he might get angry if he were to serve only vegetables.

“I’m fine now.”

“If possible, it’s best to eat what you want to eat.”

Eventually, the employee brought the food back.

After checking the menu, Karhan seemed satisfied, and the furrowing of his eyebrows loosened a little.

Karhan grabbed the tableware and started eating.

It was a neat and textbook way of eating.

It wasn’t as elegant as Heinley’s, but it wasn’t superfluous.

As he took a bite of the green vegetables, everyone looked at him curiously.

Karhan’s appearance made him seem like he was a carnivore at the top of the food chain, so it felt strange to see him eating vegetables.

Then the employee, who was glancing at Karhan, tipped the bowl of hot soup over.

“Oh!!”

Karhan reflexively moved his body at the same time as the scream was heard.

And then, one beat later, there was the sound of glass breaking.

Soup dripped down the table and onto the floor.

The soup, which should have been poured on Lilia’s shoulder, dripped down as it wet Karhan’s arm.

“Karhan, are you okay?”

Lilia jumped up from her seat.

Hot steam rose from the wet clothes.

But Karhan sat still, like a person who could not feel pain.

“Sorry. I’m really sorry….”

The employee did not know what to do.

Having no time to appease the employee who apologized over and over again, Lilia grabbed Karhan’s arm that wasn’t injured.

“Just in case you don’t know, I’ll have to wet it with cold water.”

Lilia and Karhan immediately left the banquet hall.

“…..”

Lilia’s family, who watched all of it, could not say anything for a moment.

It was a really bad situation.

If Karhan had not stopped it, Lilia, who was wearing a robe that exposed her shoulders, would have suffered from serious burns.

Not only did he not miss the opportunity to save Lilia, but it was also surprising that he had no hesitation in having hot soup be poured on himself for Lilia.

As they sat down at the quiet banquet, they were contemplating.

“…I thought he was a villain without fail, but I think he’s a better person than I thought.”

Cliff mumbled first.

“When he comes back, I have to say thank you.”

At Cliff’s words, Violet and Hainley nodded slowly.

“He feels a little different from the rumors circulating in the public.”

“…Of course, I can’t say that he’s a good person right away.”

Everyone was silent at Heinley’s words.

They had the basic premise that all those in love with the second child of the house, Lilia, were bad.

Still, Karhan Evantheon seemed to be good… at least to Lilia.

“Hmm, he seems like a much nicer person than the rumors…”

After thinking about it for a while, they made a decision.

For now, let’s look at it a bit more.