Raising my Fiancè with Money

Deal

At Heinley’s remark, Lilia stiffened in surprise. She doubted whether the words that came out of his mouth were correct.

Lilia knew how satisfied Heinley was with his current job. He was into public service to the extent that he even refused to take over a successful business. He said he would get a promotion there soon, but he suddenly resigned.

“What? Why?”

Lilia forgot that Karhan was hiding behind and asked Heinley.

“You said you were getting promoted soon.”

“… rejected.”

“What do you mean rejected? Why?”

Heinley, blinking his red eyes, hesitated to answer. Lilia opened her mouth, wondering if it could be,

“Is….. it because of me?”

“No.”

He immediately denied it, but.he could not hide his trembling eyes. Lilia, who was convinced, bit her lips and then let them go,

“Did Marquis Tersian cause this?”

He didn’t answer. Lilia, who thought that was answer enough, lowered her eyes. She was worried that Heinley, who works for the Marquis of Tersian, might be at a disadvantage because of her. But Richard finally involved Heinley. Lilia, who distorted her face, asked slowly,

“Maybe the reason the last few times you came late…… Is it because of that?”

“It’s not your fault.”

Instead of denying, Heinley drew the line firmly. But Lilia knew. That it’s all her fault.

This would not have happened if she had listened when Heinley had objected to her relationship with Richard from the beginning. She wanted to help him, but it was a problem that money could not solve.

Despite raising objections, it was clear that the Imperial family would side with the Marquis of Tersian. The position of the Tersian family in the imperial palace was solid. Lilia clenched her fist with her trembling hands. She couldn’t bear to look at Heinley’s eyes.

“… I am sorry”

Lilia, who bowed her head deeply, muttered. Heinley, who was staring down at Lilia, reached out. However, his hand could not reach Lilia and hovered in the air. He also did not know how to comfort Lilia. Lilia, whose shoulders were trembling silently, looked up.

“I can’t stand still like this. I will do my best.”

“It’s my job, so don’t try anything.”

Heinley flatly refused. The reason why he had not informed his family so far was because he thought it was a problem he had to solve by himself. Heinley didn’t want Lilia to feel guilty because of him.

“I don’t intend to go out smoothly either. I’m planning to publicise the corruption of the Marquis of Tersian.”

Of course, it may get blocked by the upper people. But Heinley was determined to do everything he could.

“…….”

Karhan, who had his back against the cold wall behind the front door, listened to the conversation between the two. He roughly grasped the situation. What Lilia was most worried about and had in mind had happened. It was all because Lilia had been dealt him, a useless hand.

(T/N: if Karhan hadn’t been useless, things wouldn’t have escalated till here)

Feeling frustrated, Karhan grabbed only the hem of his innocent clothes. When Lilia offered a deal, what she asked of Karhan was his status. She tried to use the Evantheon name as a shield so that Richard doesn’t go on a rampage.

And in return, Lilia decided to prevent Karhan’s engagement. However, unlike Lilia, who fulfilled everything Karhan wanted, Karhan failed to fulfil his role.

Lilia had been the first to tell him that it was no longer a contract but a favour between friends, but it always remained as a debt in his heart.

Lilia and Heinley’s conversation was no longer audible. When the drunk Heinley stumbled slightly, Lilia called in the employee and entered the annex. The sound of the door closing was heard, and Karhan slowly removed his back.

After leaving a message to the employee that he would return, he got into the carriage. In the dark carriage, Karhan remained motionless and immersed in his thoughts.

So far, he has only received from Lilia. She has done so many things for him, someone who was insignificant. That’s why he wanted to do what he could now.

When the carriage arrived at the Duke’s mansion, the surroundings had already darkened. A swarm of stars floating in the sky replaced the light. Upon entering the building, Karhan walked to the top floor of the main building, where he had not walked for a long time.

As he climbed the stairs, his steps gradually slowed down. Deeply buried debris-like emotions and old memories flowed through the cracks.

Karhan grabbed the handrail with a frown.

Karhan, who shook his head to drive away his distractions, thought only of Lilia. Then, as if wings were on his feet, his steps gradually accelerated.

When he reached the top floor, an empty hallway came into view. A lamp hung on the hallway wall and lit up the dark hallway like a guide. As he walked along the light of the lamp, an employee who was walking from the opposite direction stopped in surprise. He looked like he had never expected to encounter Karhan here.

“The Duke?”

“H-he’s in the library.”

Upon hearing the employee’s answer, he headed straight to the library. At the end of the hallway, there was a thick wooden door. Karhan took a deep breath and then knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

After a while, a heavy low tone was heard from the inside. Nervous, Karhan put his hand on the doorknob. When he opened the door, he saw a huge bookshelf surrounding all directions. The bookshelf, which was firmly built like a wall, was packed with so many books that he could not read them all even if he read all his life.

Karhan walked into a dark space. When he walked towards the light leaking as his only destination, he found a middle-aged man standing in front of the tall bookshelf. The man was reading a book with only one small lamp at his feet.

The man slowly turned his head. Two men who looked a lot alike looked at each other. After confirming Karhan’s face, his eyes slightly widened and returned to their original state.

“What’s going on?”

The middle-aged man, Duke Evanteon, asked with an insensitive face. When Karhan received his gaze, his voice couldn’t come out of his throat and felt dry.

“……I need your help.”

The Duke’s eyebrows narrowed. He shook his head signalling Karhan to keep talking.

“There’s someone I’m dating.”

Karhan explained the situation concisely but with only the main things. He said that the older brother of his lover works at the Imperial Palace, and that he was treated unfairly in retaliation by her ex-fiance. He even confessed that the opponent was the Marquis of Tersian.

When Karhan’s words were over, the Duke, who was listening without saying a single word, quietly opened his mouth.

“So? What’s the benefit of helping you?”

His heart dropped suddenly. He didn’t think the Duke would accept it gladly, but it was a more negative reaction than expected. Without having time to think and think, Karhan knelt on the floor.

“I’ll do anything.”

Karhan was well aware of his own values. A successor with only a name. He had no power and this was the only place he could put his hopes on. If he could be a strength to Lilia, he could throw away his pride as well

“Anything?”

The Duke looked down at Karhan, kneeling in front of him. He closed the book he was holding in his hand. Thud, as the Duke stretched out his leg, the wind fluttered past Karhan. One step, two steps…….

Karhan felt the Duke passing by him and closed his eyes. His request was rejected. Soon, the sound of footsteps that had gradually moved away little by little, suddenly stopped.

“Good.”

Karhan opened his eyes wide at the voice that sounded like a dream. Karhan, who slowly raised his head, stared at the side where the footsteps stopped. Standing in front of another bookshelf, the duke was inserting the book he was holding in his hand. He ran his fingers through the books tightly kept in the bookshelf.

Finally, his fingers stopped. The Duke, who took the book from the bookshelf, turned his head and stared at Karhan, who was still kneeling.

“Go to the conflict zone after summer.”

***

The Marquis Tersian sat down in a sunny spot and checked the documents. All he had to do was give approval and everything would be handled by his subordinates. The Marquis’ eyes stopped for a moment as he was quickly looking through the documents.

After confirming the content again, he grinned. Heinley Bloden’s promotion was rejected. The last time he complained to the Crown Princess and with her mercy it seems that it was handled well.

“You acted up and down with your arrogance.”

The Marquis muttered to himself.

He was arrogant from the first moment he came in as a subordinate. There were several times he contented with me when I had ordered him to obey me without hesitation

No matter how great Bloden is, the Imperial palace was in Marquis’ palm. The Crown Princess had a strong background, and her friendship with the high-ranking aristocrats was well established.

The Marquis of Tersian imagined Heinley coming to him and begging. It was so pleasant he felt as if the ten-year-old congestion was about to go down.

“I’ll press down your arrogant nose this time.”

A mean smile formed on his lips. When Heinley comes and apologizes to him, he was planning to take his promotion as a hostage and negotiate with him. Since marriage with the Bloden family seemed to be out of the question anyway, he was planning to receive a lot of alimony for the broken engagement.

As he grinned and signed the bottom of the paperwork, a polite knock was heard. When he gave his permission to come in, a stranger entered the office.

“Marquis of Tersian. The Duke of Evantheon is calling you.”

The Marquis narrowed his forehead at an unexpected call.

“The Duke…..?”

What is he upto? Then the Marquis got up from his seat. He and the Duke had occasionally met at the state council but they both had never met privately

The Marquis didn’t know why he was called, but the power and influence of the Evantheon was so great that even the Imperial family could not ignore it. It would be nice to take this opportunity to build a friendship.

After leaving the private office, the Marquis headed to the main palace. The place where the Duke’s agent headed was the Duke of Evanteon’s personal space. His heart fluttered for no reason, wondering if the Duke had to say something only to him

“Your excellency, he’s coming in.”

The authorized agent opened the door. The Marquis went inside alone. Unlike the Marquis’ office which was in a sunny spot, the Duke’s room was a little dark. It was because the curtains were tightly closed and the sunlight did not come in.

His heart, which had been inflated, slowly dissipated, and tension engulfed him. Duke Evantheon, who was standing by the window, slowly turned around. The moment their eyes met, the marquis clenched his fist without realizing it. Obviously, they were of the same age, but they had different auras.

“W-why….. did you call me…….”

When the Marquis Tersian stammered and asked, the Duke replied,

“I want to tell you something about Heinley Bloden’s promotion.”

It was then that the Marquis had an intuition that something was terribly wrong.