Duke Ashillean’s Contractual Marriage - Chapter 15-1

Chapter 15 part 1

Fortunately, neither Rudante nor Countess Illencia greeted him. All he could see now were the faces of the other scholars full of concern.

‘My neck!’

Louismond frantically felt his neck as soon as he woke up. Luckily, his neck was still intact.

‘I’m alive.’

He was finally able to properly look around his surroundings after that. Louismond and the other scholars were gathered in Duke Dominent’s private room. Their hands weren’t tied, but their complexion was dark.

“What happened?”

“You’re so quick to ask.”

Peony sighed deeply, “The House of Scholars has collapsed. They said it was the Emperor who  destroyed it, and that they will hire all of us here – as Imperial Officials.”

“Imperial Officials?”

“Didn’t they say that they would protect the House of Scholars? That’s what they promised when she was still a King, but she couldn’t keep it now since she was the Emperor – because she never made such a promise as the Emperor.”

“… That is a cowardly lie.”

“Exactly. Well, take this first. I took what they gave out earlier.”

Peony handed Louismond’s identity card she received in his stead.

[– Louismond Fen Lux Amel von Graham]

He was tied back to the name he had barely shaken off. And it wasn’t only his name that returned, but also,

“Louismond! My grandson, the apple of my eyes!”

Count Graham came running in tears shortly after. He formally protested to the Duke Dominent and said that he had come to pick up Louismond.

“Ah….”

Louismond felt his mind wander again.

‘wouldn’t it be better if I had died earlier? I would have set fire to the Graham’s mansion as soon as I opened my eyes if that had been the case, before abandoning them. I think I can really do it this time.’

Not knowing what Louismond was thinking, Count Graham his tearful reunion monologue.

“You looked thinner.”

“Why did you walk into that rough place with your own feet like that?”

“I haven’t had a single night of comfortable sleep because I was worried about you.”

Blah blah blah. 

If one would only focus on his tearful expression and desperate voice, they would think there was no other caring grandfather in the world than him. His eyes – he might have been deceived if it wasn’t for his eyes glistening in greed.

‘What? Why are you looking at me like that?’

Shivers ran down his spine.

‘Aren’t you supposed to turn away from the tyrant’s illegitimate son in this situation because you didn’t want to do anything with me?’

The tyrant had died, and the era of the new Emperor had begun. Count Graham seemed to be also doing well. In that case, it would be advantageous for him to cleanly kill the tyrant’s illegitimate son and stop pretending to be strangers, but Count Graham was still obsessed with him for some reason and was still greedy.

It was by no means normal.

Rudante, Duke Dominent’s words were still in his mind before he fainted twice. His previous seven lives and studying at the House of the Scholars made Louismond smart. But he could hardly find the answer even with his intelligence, however, Count Graham spit it out with his own mouth.

“Louis, seduce the emperor.”

Rumble, rumble, the carriage was running fast. Louismond shivered listening to his words, as he had yet to come back to his senses and his motion sickness kicked in after a long time of riding the carriage.

“Alright. The Emperor… what? What did you say?”

He freaked out one beat later.

“The new Emperor has yet to marry. I think she had a high standard for men as she had those good-looking Dukes beside her. She doesn’t even blink an eye no matter how many people you put beside her.”

“Why would you tell it to me…?”

“What did I tell you, that you are the only man suitable for the Emperor. Sweetheart, do your best to seduce the Emperor.”

“….”

“If the Emperor takes you Louis, don’t you think you will gain legitimacy of the previous Royal Family and she’ll have another handsome man?’

Was he really running that mouth because I don’t have enough to cover my face? Seeing that he was spouting out nonsense rather than a fart, he was obviously using his hole rather than his mouth.

(T/N; This is a bit hard. So Louismond is saying here that his fart and words were coming out on the opposite hole. Rather than words with sense coming out of his mouth, he feels like he was rather using his butt hole because he was spouting nonsense. He would rather a fart come out of his mouth. Anyways, if you are still as confused as I am and someone is willing to comment down and explain it, please do. Thank you~)

“No way you’re serious, right? You’re only joking, right?”

He was his blood-thirsty maternal grandfather in any case. He tried to push him down into the abyss for the battle of the throne, then they treated him as trash when he became useless for them. Didn’t you frown on me and pretend you didn’t know me when I was promiscuous in my first life? You were that kind of person. 

“You can do it, Louis. Putting you inside the Emperor’s bedroom wouldn’t be a big deal to me if I use a little force. Of course, you also know how to get in there, right? Hmm?”

I can’t believe you’re laughing merrily when you just said that to your grandson. 

‘No, was he originally like this?’

Looking back, it seems like Count Graham was originally this demanding – a snob who can push his daughter inside the tyrant’s bedroom for power, and his illegitimate grandson into the battle for the throne.

‘I knew he was a greedy human being, but I didn’t think that he would push me inside the new Emperor’s bedroom, the tyrant’s illegitimate son, because of my face.’

This is amazing. He even forgot that not too long ago, Rudante, Duke Dominent, attacked his Adam’s apple and passed out twice.