This Villain Is Mine Now

Chapter 15

“What on earth is going on?” bellowed the Marquis of Redwood as he stormed into the Grant mansion late that afternoon.

Yesterday, he had concealed Diane’s reddened cheek, bruised from his own hand, with heavy makeup and waited for Archduke Grant to arrive with a proposal. After berating his foolish daughter, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying all day, the Marquis noticed that Diane’s eyes quickly became wet again, as if she had more tears left to shed despite having cried so much already.

However, even after the appointed time had passed, Lyle Grant had not shown up at the Marquis’s residence.

As the minutes ticked by, Diane’s face gradually regained its color while the Marquis’s mood sank to an all-time low.

Finally, he decided to confront Lyle Grant directly, marching to his residence and kicking the front door open. The startled servants hurried over, alarmed by the Marquis’s rudeness.

“Where is the Archduke? Bring him out immediately!” he shouted.

Seeing the butler approach, trembling, the Marquis’s voice grew even louder. A mere butler bowing and scraping wasn’t enough to soothe his anger. He needed to see that arrogant young man groveling and apologizing profusely.

‘This insolent fool, I was generous to him out of pity, and he dares to mock me like this?’ thought the Marquis, already scheming to reduce Diane’s dowry by using the breach of contract as an excuse.

Lyle Grant was a predator, a raptor like an eagle. Such birds were trained with food, kept hungry, and fed just enough to keep them obedient.

No matter how proud he was, Lyle’s financial lifeline was in the Marquis’s hands. Eventually, Lyle’s only option would be to humble himself and cater to the Marquis’s whims for even a penny more.

“Marquis, please calm down,” the butler implored.

“Calm down? Do I look calm to you? Fetch the Archduke immediately! Does he think he can mock me and expect me to remain calm?” the Marquis roared.

At that moment, a voice echoed from the staircase.

“What’s all this noise about?”

The Marquis snapped his head up. Lyle stood there in a shirt and black trousers, looking like he hadn’t even considered going out.

The Marquis, seething with rage, rushed towards him.

“Archduke, what is the meaning of this? How can you be so disrespectful and not keep your promise?”

Though Lyle was technically young enough to be his son, addressing him with such insolence was highly inappropriate given Lyle’s status as an Archduke.

The Marquis behaved as if Lyle were a mere servant. Watching him quietly, Lyle finally spoke. “The disrespect here seems to be yours, Marquis.”

“What… what did you say? Are you out of your mind?” The Marquis stared at him, incredulous.

“You’re making a mistake. Do you think I’ll continue our dealings after this? You need me, not the other way around.”

Seething with anger, the Marquis couldn’t comprehend why Lyle, who had sold the title of Archduchess for a mere one million gold coins and ten knights, was now acting so arrogantly. Breathing heavily, he immediately struck at what he believed to be Lyle’s weak point.

The Marquis’s anger flared up again. This pauper, needing his money, was now being insolent.

Whenever the topic of money arose, Lyle would usually concede, no matter how much his eyes promised retribution. He would always end up agreeing to the Marquis’s demands.

But this time, Lyle’s response was unexpected.

“Well, we’ll see about that,” Lyle said.

“What… what do you mean?”

“Let’s see who really needs whom here,” Lyle replied calmly.

The Marquis sensed something was off.

Until their last meeting, Lyle had been nothing more than a brash youngster to him. His martial prowess might have been useful on the battlefield, but it was useless in the circles of central nobility, where money and power were the true weapons. Lyle had been thrown into this world unarmed.

But today, Lyle seemed different. He didn’t appear as desperate, and the Marquis had a sense that he was no longer in control.

Clearing his throat nervously, the Marquis glanced at Lyle, who was still looking down at him without a blink.

“Well, alright then. Maybe there was some urgency on your part. If you apologize, we can let this slide. Just let me know when you plan to propose! I need to prepare my daughter,” the Marquis said, trying to cover up his loss in the power struggle.

Lyle let out a small chuckle before speaking. “Marquis Redwood, do you not understand what it means that I didn’t show up at the agreed time?” His smile broadened into a more pronounced curve.

“You’re more oblivious than I thought.”

The Marquis blinked in surprise, then his face flushed a deep red.

“Do you realize what you’re saying?” he demanded.

“Just what you understood. The deal is off. I’m not accepting your proposal.”

“Lyle Grant!”

“Marquis Redwood, you must have thought you could control the Grant Archduchy with that paltry sum. I’m afraid you’re the one who’s at a disadvantage here. I won’t be swayed by you any longer.”

Lyle gave a slight nod to the butler. “Our guest is leaving. See him out,” he instructed.

“Wait, Archduke! Archduke!” The Marquis called after him, but Lyle did not look back. He walked straight to his study, leaving the Marquis fuming behind him.

“I’m telling you to choose someone who can offer more.”

He could almost hear the slightly smug tone of her voice.

Whether choosing her over the Marquis of Redwood was the right decision, Lyle still wasn’t entirely sure. But seeing the Marquis’s flushed, angry face made him think he had made the right choice by accepting her proposal.

***

“My lord, the guest has left.”

The butler returned to the study long after the commotion had died down to report the situation. He mentioned that the Marquis of Redwood had caused quite a scene, refusing to leave, but even so, the butler’s expression was one of relief.

Despite the family’s decline, the Grant lineage, with its history dating back to the founding era, was a great noble house. Watching the newly minted noble, the Marquis of Redwood, treating Lyle with such disrespect simply because of his youth was a daily frustration for the butler.

“Well done, sir.”

“What do you mean?” Lyle asked.

“Refusing to deal with the Marquis of Redwood,” the butler explained.

The usually reticent old man seemed particularly talkative today. Lyle looked at him with a faint smile.

“Even though the previous Archduke committed a crime, the Marquis of Redwood is practically an enemy. I was never comfortable with the idea of his daughter becoming the Archduchess,” the butler continued.

The butler remembered the young Marquis of Redwood from his earlier years. Back then, he had been a low-ranking knight in the service of the previous Archduke, not even granted land and merely holding the title of a viscount. His meteoric rise to become a Marquis had been a result of exposing House Grant’s rebellion and leading the charge to quell it.

“I still can’t understand what happened that day. A sudden rebellion… I can’t believe the previous Archduke would do such a thing,” the butler said, his voice tinged with disbelief.

“Enough, butler. Don’t speak of the past,” Lyle ordered, cutting him off.

The butler fell silent.

“Instead, bring me the jewelry box that holds my mother’s accessories,” Lyle instructed.

“The jewelry box? It’s in Madam’s room. I’ll bring it right away,” the butler replied.

“…No, it’s fine. I’ll get it myself,” Lyle said, rising from his seat.

As he ascended the stairs, he heard hurried footsteps scurrying away. A door slammed shut, and a flash of blonde hair disappeared from view. Lyle stared in that direction for a moment before turning his head away. His mother’s room was in the opposite direction.

“Please include a ring, even if it’s a simple one. My parents might be persuaded, but if I don’t receive a ring with the proposal, my mother will be disappointed. If necessary, I can cover the cost.”

“That’s something I can handle.”

“Well, alright. Just don’t go overboard. It’s only for appearance’s sake; there’s no need to go to extremes.”

He had planned to propose to Elaina in a few days. As she suggested, any suitable ring would suffice. After all, it was just for a one-year marriage.

But now, Lyle found himself looking into his mother’s jewelry box.

“Though I’ll be your wife for only a year, I’ll do my best to help revive the Grant Archduchy.”

Even if she was to be his wife for only a year, she had promised to do her best. Therefore, as her husband, even if it was only for a year, he felt he should show her the same sincerity.