Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband

It was a list of people I had dealt with so far, excluding the mercenaries.

“I hope you can help me identify the ones associated with Kairos Hadid. Some of them might be using another name he goes by.”

“Hmm… and?”

“I want to move the funds to a different place without him noticing… in the most untraceable direction possible. Create new identities as well. I’ve roughly filtered the list.”

“I see. Should I move this, too?”

Asking that, Annie pointed to the floor.

“No, just take some assets… and I also want to know if there’s a way to annul the marriage without going through a lawsuit or mutual agreement. Divorce is fine as well. I just need to know if there’s a way. I can handle the solutions.”

“Annulment, huh…”

“And after we escape, we need to hide as well. Once we leave here, we have to make sure to leave no trace behind. You know what I mean…”

“I understand. If the slightest thing goes wrong or deviates, both you and I will be at Kairos Hadid’s mercy. We’ll be sold as slaves or become playthings in the arena, that’s for sure.”

The harsh words made me tightly close my eyes.

Noah was the villain, and I understood that… nonetheless, his reputation seemed much worse than I had imagined. While I needed Annie’s help, even so, it wasn’t easy to talk that way about the man I loved.

“I’ll leave the rest to you. I’ll let you know about the other matters once things start progressing.”

Annie pursed her red lips.

“Hmm… let me think about it a bit more.”

While saying that, Annie’s eyes kept flickering towards the paper with my assets written on it.

“But before that, can I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

I was curious about what she wanted to know.

“Was it true that he really raises monsters instead of animals?”

“….”

“Was it really true?”

“No, he doesn’t raise any monsters at all.”

“I see… well, rumors can be different from reality. Even though I am knowledgeable about Kairos Hadid, there’s always more to know. He must be an extraordinary person.”

“I understand that feeling.”

“He hasn’t shown any signs of violence towards you, right?”

“Not at all.”

“Well, it seems that way, but I just wanted to make sure. I was truly surprised.”

Just hearing my story seemed to shock Annie. She swung her feet and furrowed her brow before stretching for a while.

Eventually, she straightened her posture.

“If I were to refuse the deal, what would happen to you?”

Suddenly, the room went silent. Without realizing it, my mouth had gone dry. I responded calmly, placing the teacup down.

“I would have to handle it on my own.”

“Oh, so that’s how it would be.”

I chuckled in response to her words. It was a way of saying not to worry. Regardless, if she helped me, I’d compensate her generously.

“I know your feelings because I’ve experienced it before as well. But I promise, for thid final request, you will earn a substantial amount of money to settle this and live comfortably.”

Annie’s mouth hung open, and she let out a small gasp. She then let out a loud laugh through her red lips.

“Just when I was contemplating, you brought up something like that? What am I supposed to do?”

I smiled warmly at her. I already knew that Annie wanted to settle down and retire, it was something I had known for a while.

“I have to convince you somehow, and for me, it’s an unavoidable choice.”

“That’s too much, seriously!”

Despite her words, her furrowed brow deepened even further. Engrossed in contemplation, she absentmindedly toyed with the numerous gems adorning her nails until, abruptly, she forcefully struck the table in a burst of frustration.

“Fine.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll do it. I might as well take the risk and give it a shot. Actually, I had an unfortunate encounter with one of Kairos’ men in the past, so I was already unlucky. Besides, since even the name Annie was becoming tiresome, let’s give it a try, why not.”

“Thank you.”

Thanks to that, I could also smile brightly.

‘Alright, Annie had joined me as well.’

“Oh, just in case.”

Annie put some documents into her bag and continued.

“Yes?”

“There probably won’t be a need for it, but since I came here as Hazel’s friend…”

“That’s right.”

“Could you try your best to prevent any encounters with Kairos Hadid? If I really have to face him, I don’t have the confidence to stay calm in front of him…”

Annie trembled as if she was genuinely scared.

“I’ll do my best.”

“I don’t mind if you make me do anything. Just please do your best to prevent it, understood?”

In acknowledgment of her sincere plea, I could only offer a nod. As Annie departed, I resumed my work in the confines of my office, only to be interrupted by a gentle knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Nigella was out on a job, so I raised my head to see who it was, but I could only see the white hair.

“Boss, it’s Ginger.”

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Ginger bowed her head respectfully and entered.

“I didn’t ask for you separately. Is there a customer?”

“No, it’s not that… ”

Taking a seat on a nearby chair, Ginger sat upright, clenching her fist. In the meanwhile, I remained silent, refraining from uttering a single word to her ever since I entrusted her with the task of negotiating the deal.

Time seemed to elapse longer than anticipated, and my anxiety grew. However, on that day, Ginger finally arrived. In fact, I had subtly hinted that Ginger Perian could rush out and speak to Kairos that day.

Since the plan worked out as intended, I chose not to bring it up.

“Have you made a decision?”

Although I had secretly hoped, outwardly, I decided not to show too much anticipation.

“Boss, may I speak freely?”

“Go ahead and speak.”

Then, Ginger coughed loudly and unnecessarily. In the end, she gave me a challenging look.

“I will make the deal.”

I felt a sigh of relief at her words. She had chosen me over Kairos—or more accurately—she had chosen the money.

“You’ll make a deal with me? Even if it’s risky?”

“Regardless of the risks, it’s equally dangerous either way. If both options are risky, I’ve decided to choose money.”

“Oh…”

I had always thought she only chose money.

“And… you’ll really…pull it off?”

I immediately understood Ginger’s words. She was referring to her lover.

I nodded readily.

“I will.”

“I will serve you faithfully, boss!”

At my answer, Ginger stood up straight, bowing 90 degrees.

As she raised her head again, I was taken aback by the desire in her eyes, as if they were bursting with longing for money. She really was serious about money… Anyway, I was naturally pleased that she would stand by my side.

When I extended my hand to Ginger as a sign to shake hands, she hurriedly approached me.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Me, too, boss. Oh, should I call you ‘Master’?”

Ginger seemed to be ready to wag her fox tail at any moment.

“Hmph, no. Just call me boss. It’s easier and more comfortable that way. Do you know what you need to do first?”

“Yes, I’ll report to Nigella discreetly without arousing suspicion about what you’re doing.”

“Good. There shouldn’t be anything difficult for a while. As long as you don’t tell Nigella anything, you’re free to do whatever you want.”

“Understood. Um… but boss, could I touch that gold bar just once?”

“Well, um, okay.”

At her words, I willingly let her feel the gold bar. Ginger exclaimed with a determination that she would do her best and shouted ‘Good luck’ before leaving.

As she left, instead of the gold bar I had shown her initially, I handed her a small gold bar as a gift. She wiped away the drool from her mouth and even jokingly begged me to place shackles around her neck to ensure her loyalty.

I had given it to her as a gift because, originally, she wouldn’t have been a character I easily encounter, yet she readily agreed like this. I had already hinted at it once.

However, Ginger chuckled, asking how she could survive in this world if she found the situation intimidating. With her consent, I placed a stronger hint to prevent any mishaps that could arise from Kairos finding out.

Although I couldn’t go as far as death, I hinted at erasing all memories, which was practically tantamount to scrambling the brain, making it dangerous.

I warned Ginger that if she betrayed me, she would lose her life on the spot.

It was uncomfortable for me to deliver such a threat to someone I regarded as my own, but I attempted to perceive it as a necessary precaution for our mutual safety, which provided me with some solace.

Above all, it was better than being caught by Kairos.

* * *

Almost two weeks had passed.

The peak of summer was approaching.

On that day, I didn’t see any suspicious behavior from Noah that would suggest he had heard anything.

When I casually mentioned that a friend was coming on vacation to Ferrarium, Noah didn’t seem to have much doubt. In the meantime, Annie diligently played the role of the friend on vacation, and I occasionally introduced her to some people to continue our meetings.

Ginger was also faithfully keeping me hidden from Nigella. And today, I heard the results of Annie’s first mission.

“Normally, it would take about a week to find a list like this, but he had really made it incredibly difficult. So it took a long time. There were even handlers assigned to each name. It was really challenging to find them, to the point where I doubted my abilities. I’m sorry for the delay.”

“Ha…”

I wondered how meticulously Kairos Hadid had hidden them, and when I saw the list, I realized how far he had hidden the fact.

I pondered over each name marked in red.

Count Lachman, Viscount Rentain, Marquis Maifey, and even Noah Edith… they were all additional titles of Kairos Hadid. The other five names were also people associated with Kairos as his subordinates or followers.

Fortunately, the remaining twenty or so names had no connection to Kairos though the problem was that either they had only done business with him once, or they were insignificant people to begin with.

That meant that almost all of my key business contacts were related to Kairos.

Ha!

I thought Count Lachman was somewhat trustworthy. No wonder Noah Edith was like that, and even Viscount Rentain had so much money. I thought all nobles were rich just because I came from a commoner background!