ITMWG 131

Chapter 131….

Don’t Even Think About Chasing Me Away.

Altair had clearly only swung his arm lightly, but the sound was tremendously heavy.

The man looked at Altair in bewilderment, and Nadia, too, gaped in amazement.

However, Altair merely shrugged with nonchalance that was completely out of place in the situation.

“I’m sorry. I was just stretching because I was stiff.”

“That stretch… reached my face…?”

“It seems my arm is longer than I thought.”

As Altair confidently asserted this ridiculous excuse with a cheerful smile, the man was left speechless and just gaped.

“Have you finished paying your respects? Then, instead of staying here, let’s go to the Vine’s mansion. I was actually planning to proceed with the wedding quickly anyway, so this works out well. I hope you meet the bride as well.”

“Would you mind?”

At the mention of marriage, the man’s eyes sparkled as he smiled.

He showed absolutely no intention of declining Altair’s proposal. In fact, if he were coming to offer condolences on behalf of the family, it would be proper for the Baron to step forward in person. The fact that he went out of his way to send his second son meant he had him go to the capital to finalise the marriage arrangements, so he was likely waiting for a proposal like this.

“I will gratefully accept your offer then.”

The handsome man’s gentle smile was quite a pleasant sight.

Well… to Nadia, who already knew his true nature, it felt nothing but pretense.

The reason this man was rushing into marriage was to proudly present and raise the child he had kept hidden.

He also intended to use his wife’s personal assets to help with the family’s difficult financial situation.

Ultimately, it meant he planned to bring a woman in, make her work herself to death, and drain her completely.

That’s probably why he’s acting so sweet.

Melissa, who knew nothing about his hidden backstory, would fall for him completely.

Since both this man and Melissa were trash, if they met a decent person, the other person would be pitiful; thus, bringing them together would be beneficial to society.

It seemed like it would be a truly rewarding matchmaking arrangement.

❈❈❈

As expected, Melissa was overjoyed to meet the man.

She seemed completely absorbed in finding a breakthrough—marriage to a wonderful man—in her desperate situation, and appeared to be taking other problems lightly.

It was indeed the simplicity typical of Melissa Vine.

Thanks to this, the wedding proceeded in a flash.

The wedding was to be held on the man’s estate, and since they volunteered to cover all the associated costs, there wasn’t much for us to prepare.

Melissa seemed to expect the wealthy man’s family to be preparing a grand wedding, but…

Considering the man’s family’s circumstances, it was highly likely that the ceremony would be conducted in a simplified manner.

The situation is similar to when I married Altair.

Nadia, too, left the Marquisate of Vain empty-handed, believing that the man’s side would handle everything.

If Melissa had been even a little perceptive or clever, she might have noticed that something was amiss, but unfortunately, she lacked even a shred of common sense or shrewdness.

This was despite the fact that the man had been visibly anxious, insisting that he wanted to take Melissa with him when he returned to his territory.

The man seemed eager to settle things before Melissa found out about the rumours surrounding him.

Melissa, too, wanted to avoid the rumours from the capital reaching the man’s ears, so she readily accepted his proposal.

Thanks to this, she was now hurriedly preparing to leave.

In fact, since she had nothing, there was no need to pack her bags, but she appeared to be cautiously glancing around, trying to secretly take some valuable jewelry or gems.

Of course, since Anna was keeping a watchful eye on her, it would be difficult to achieve her goal.

“Prince Orca really picked the right person.”

“That’s right. He picked someone who looks decent on the outside but is rotten on the inside.”

Actually, the same was true for Melissa.

She had quite a pretty face on the outside, so the man seemed satisfied as well.

They were a well-matched pair in many ways.

“But that man… did he look okay to you, too?”

“Yes. Everyone’s eyes are pretty much the same.”

If he is a handsome man in the eyes of others, then naturally, he was to her as well.

However, Altair didn’t seem to like her answer very much.

Looking at her with a somewhat sullen expression, Altair silently took her hand and gently rubbed the back of it.

It was the same hand the man had kissed on when they ran into each other at the funeral.

That silent protest felt somehow cute, and even though Nadia thought it was strange to find this big man cute, she let out a small laugh.

No matter how much I think about it, Altair seems to have a strong attachment to what is ‘his own’.

The villainous Duke in the novel, who willingly stepped forward to handle difficult tasks for the sake of his territory, Aylesford, and his subordinates, also had a strong attachment to what was ‘his own’, so this must just be his nature.

“Did it bother you?”

“If the situation were reversed, you would have been bothered, too.”

“Well, I suppose so, but…”

Of course it would be. Because I like Altair.

Just the thought of another woman holding his hand made her feel incredibly depressed.

“But the reason I’m bothered is probably different from Altair’s.”

“How is it different?”

“Altair might dislike another man approaching his wife, but I despise another woman approaching Altair.”

“It doesn’t seem different at all.”

“It is different. Completely.”

When Nadia shook her head firmly, Altair tilted his head as if he didn’t quite understand.

He seemed even more puzzled because it was rare for her to refute his words this firmly.

“I’ve never let another woman hold my hand, so what is the problem?”

With a sulky face, Altair pulled her slightly closer, ran his hand through her long hair, and let out a deep sigh.

“The Empire’s etiquette is a mess. Kissing a lady’s hand as a greeting? That’s nonsense. This whole thing needs to be revised.”

If it had come from someone else, Nadia would have dismissed it as a joke, but since it was Altair—who had actually overhauled the inheritance laws—she was somewhat worried.

“Don’t waste your energy on such strange things. You already have enough work.”

“This isn’t strange at all. It is an important task to protect your hand, Madame.”

Altair stared intently at her hand.

Feeling that if she gave him time to think deeply, he would indeed find a way to accomplish this absurd task, Nadia quickly changed the subject.

“Please return to Aylesford once Melissa’s wedding is finalised.”

As if completely taken aback by her words, Altair furrowed his brow slightly.

“That sounds like you’re telling me to go back alone.”

“People will be agitated if the Lord is away for too long. I cannot keep Altair stuck in the capital for long while I deal with my own problems. The major issues are all resolved now, so I can handle the rest on my own.”

“Do you think I would agree to that?”

“No. That is why I am telling you this separately.”

“If you knew, there would be no need to say more. I cannot leave you alone in the capital and return by myself.”

“But it has been a long time since you left Aylesford. Are you planning to neglect your precious estate like this?”

Altair’s affection for the estate was undeniable. Keeping him would not be good for him, nor for Aylesford.

Altair seemed well aware of this, too.

“I am contemplating a way to look after both you and Aylesford. I’ve made quite some progress.”

“Progress?”

“Yes. It is a problem I have been thinking about since the time we were preparing to revise the inheritance laws.”

That was a time when it wasn’t even certain she would become a Marchioness.

Altair had foreseen today’s problem and was preparing for it all the way from back then.

As expected of a competent villainous Duke…!

As Nadia’s eyes widened in admiration, Altair let out a chuckle and lightly tapped her forehead.

“Just think about yourself. If you try to think about various things with this small head of yours, it’ll explode in no time.”

“But Altair, your head isn’t that big either…”

“It’s bigger than yours, though.”

“Tch… Then what is this method you came up with with that big head of yours?”

“Hmm. It’s building a kind of high-speed carriage.”

A high-speed carriage?

When she tilted her head at the unfamiliar term, Altair explained the story in more detail.

“Ordinary carriages are pulled by horses. I was devising a method to replace this power source with the power of magic stones. Horses get tired while running and have a limit to the speed they can pull, but since there is no limit to the power that can be created by magic stones, it would be possible to travel back and forth at a much faster speed.”

As she listened to the story, something came to mind.

Is it some kind of car?

A carriage that runs on fuel called magic stones.

While the appearance and function might be very different, the concept was certainly similar to a car.

Just hearing about it makes it sound like developing this would be incredibly difficult.

Altair clearly stated that ‘progress has been made’. This meant there had been some degree of success.

“Actually, this method came to mind right after we discovered the Magic Stone Mine, but I put it aside because it was too complicated. Recently, however, I felt the need for it. I have gathered a team to invent it, so you will be able to see a prototype soon.”

Altair was speaking nonchalantly, but in reality, it was anything but nonchalant.

“…This is a massive invention!”

Nadia jumped up in surprise.

Wasn’t the scale too grand for something invented simply out of worry about leaving a pregnant wife alone?

“If it’s necessary, it needs to be made. Is there any need to argue about whether it’s massive or not?”

“But the research costs must have been enormous, too…”

“Is money the problem right now?”

It was a self-indulgent remark that would have made an ordinary person shout, ‘Of course money is the problem!’

“Besides, if development goes well, you could recoup several times the research costs.”

He was right.

If there were a vehicle much faster and more stable than a horse-drawn carriage, wealthy nobles would come laden with gold bars, shouting, ‘Please, sell that to me too!’

Then, he would be able to earn several times the profit of selling ordinary magic stones.

Right. The villainous Duke in the novel didn’t become a tycoon simply by discovering a magic stone mine.

He was able to amass great wealth because he made good use of the discovered mine.

Nadia realised once again that Altair was no ordinary person.

And also the fact that she had become the wife of someone far more remarkable than she had imagined.

The more she thought about this, the stronger her resolve to fulfill her role as a wife became.

“I-, I’ll do my best too!”

As she clenched her fists and steeled her resolve, though looking at her with a puzzled expression, Altair nodded.

“Alright. Let’s do our best together. Don’t even think about chasing me away.”

❈❈❈

Melissa elegantly climbed into the carriage.

The day had arrived to leave for the North for the wedding.

Melissa was brimming with excitement, anticipating a dream-like marriage.

It was a pity that she couldn’t secretly take anything of value because the lady-in-waiting Nadia had brought from Aylesford was keeping a watchful eye, but she decided to be satisfied that she was able to leave the capital without being discovered as the notorious penniless loser she was known for.

Besides, her future husband was incredibly handsome and kind.

That girl Nadia married a country nobleman and returned to the capital swaggering around, didn’t she? Why couldn’t I do what Nadia did?

Furthermore, the estate Nadia married into was poor, whereas the one she was marrying into was wealthy, so their starting points were different from the start.

Hmph. I can become even greater. Then, perhaps I could get revenge for what that girl Nadia did to me back then.

Filled with immense confidence, Melissa began to paint a beautiful dream in her mind.