Raising my Fiancè with Money - Chapter 57

Become The Real Successor

TL: Jasmine

His heart dropped and lost its place, Karhan’s face turned red and he felt as if he would die soon. When his grip weakened, Richard pulled out his wrist. And he raised his head proudly,

“Until when are you going to lie?”

“I can’t stand to see my innocent fiancée being deceived by the Young Duke.”

Richard glanced at Lilia. Lilia was looking their way with her forehead narrowed. He noticed that Lilia knew nothing.

“Does Lilia know that you’re not a real heir, Young Duke?”

“What are you talking about? Stop talking nonsense.”

Lilia intervened immediately.

“I didn’t know you’d say something crazy.”

“Do you think I’m lying?”

Richard asked back. Lilia turned her head without answering and stared at Karhan. Karhan, who was standing as if he was broken, dropped his head without saying anything.

“Karhan.”

Lilia quietly called Karhan. However, there was no answer. Richard whispered to Lilia, barely swallowing laughter,

“Look at that, Lilia. You were deceived by the Young Duke.”

Richard, who stood fully as if proud, revealed the secret that Karhan had not told so far,

“You would have imagined being a duchess’, but the Young Duke is just a scarecrow. He’s a temporary successor.”

Despite hearing insulting words, Karhan still failed to refute. Lilia looked at Karhan, who couldn’t raise his head. Now she could see why Karhan sometimes reacted strangely.

A face that hesitated as if he had something to say whenever the story of his succession came out. When she was invited to the duke’s office, he acted like he was sitting on a thorny bed….. After listening to Richard, she understood everything

“Do you think the second son, who is not even in the Duke’s periphery, can succeed? When the eldest son returns, he will be kicked out of the family.”

Where did Richard pick that up? He even dug into Karhan’s family history. Lilia, who wasn’t listening, turned her head to look at Richard.

“So, what does that have to do with me?”

“What?”

Richard was bewildered as to her unexpected response.

“Did you think I would cling to you after hearing that?”

“No, I….”

Lilia shot back fiercely without giving him a chance,

“I knew you were trash, but I didn’t know you’d do a background investigation.”

Lilia slowly exhaled to suppress her rising anger. She wondered why Richard came confidently, and he thought that revealing Karhan’s weakness would change her mind. It was also a talent to get rid of the affection that wasn’t there.

“Karhan.”

Lilia called Karhan one more time. Only then did he raise his head. The eyes shaking like water after a stone was thrown were pathetic. As if he had committed a crime, Karhan could not make eye contact with Lilia in the end. Lilia bit her lip softly and then released it,

“I have something to tell you, so get in the carriage.”

Karhan hesitated but eventually boarded the carriage as Lilia said. Then as Lilia also tried to get on the carriage, Richard shouted,

“Lilia! Listen to me!”

Lilia beckoned to Frances and Malek. They immediately grabbed Richard’s shoulders. He struggled with all his might like a bug caught in a spider web, but he couldn’t shake off the two,

“I can’t let go of this!”

Lilia looked at Richard as if staring at a target. If she had three arrows and was able to kill him in one shot, she would shoot Richard all three times without hesitation.

“There’s only one reason you’ll come to me in the future.”

Lilia completely cut off any room for argument.

“When bringing the consent form for the breakup.”

Leaving that behind, Lilia got into the carriage. She heard him shouting from behind her back. You are going to regret it, you won’t cling to him anymore…… Lilia ignored it and told the horseman.

“Let’s go”

The carriage door closed. Richard was seen through the window. Not long after that, it was clear that he would return after eating some grass.

The tightly closed gate opened and the carriage ran toward the garden. Only the sound of the wheels rolling filled the carriage. Lilia closed the curtain and saw Karhan sitting in the opposite corner.

As soon as her gaze reached, his eyelids slowly went up. Black eyelashes trembled like a butterfly wet in the rain. Lilia waited silently without saying anything. Karhan exhaled a little. It was not long before a tightly locked voice came out,

“…..Sorry for hiding it.”

Karhan paused for a moment with a pale face. And muttered in a guilty voice,

“I should’ve been honest from the beginning…….”

Lilia noticed that Karhan seemed to have something else to say to her. She saw him hesitating over and over again, but she just let it go, thinking little about it.

“I want to hear it with your own mouth.”

Karhan held only his knees with his palm and put them down. He struggled to open his mouth as if he were prepared to be abandoned.

“…. I’m out of my family’s view.”

Karhan brought up the story that he hadn’t told, anyone directly so far.

He lived as if he were a non-existent person in the Duke’s family, and then went to war as if he was half pushed out. Last year, by the order of the family, he took the place of the eldest son for a while as heir. As if telling someone else’s story, he uttered only the facts without putting any emotions in it.

“When my brother returns, I will probably step down from the position of successor. It’s just a temporary job. That’s why I’m not even taking successor classes.”

Karhan, who confessed that he was a formal successor, quietly asked,

“…You’re disappointed in me, right?”

“To be honest, I was surprised.”

Karhan, who for the first time met Lilia in the eye, flinched. Lilia had the same face as usual.

“But I don’t think it’s your fault.”

He hid the facts from her, but at least he didn’t lie. If she had asked, he would have answered honestly.

“By the way, Richard found out that he was not the successor.

The plan went badly. It was even more so because she had been pushing ahead with the plan believing that Karhan, the successor, would have some power

Judging calmly, it was right to destroy the contract with Karhan here and find a new way. It was hard to

handle Richard, but it was too much to take responsibility for Karhan. Lilia stared at Karhan, who was quietly waiting for her decision.

‘But I don’t want to do that.’

If she left, Karhan would be nothing. It was clear that he would be kicked out after spending useless time until the real successor returned.

Lilia recalled when she previously visited the Duchy. The Duchess, who was friendly to her but did not even make eye contact with her son Karhan. Employees who naturally ignored Karhan without greeting him.

She felt something strange, but she thought it wasn’t something to get involved with at that time. Karhan was just a trading partner.

She thought it was a sensitive matter, so she shouldn’t ask first and decided that there was no need to pay attention to it.

‘Is he still just a trading partner to me?’

In the meantime, Lilia’s feelings for Karhan have gradually changed. She kept thinking that if it were this person, she would like to get to know him a little more, to get closer.

It cannot be clearly defined yet, but one thing was certain. Karhan was no longer a trading partner for Lilia. Lilia wanted to continue her relationship with him even if it wasn’t part of a deal.

“Let’s break our contract.”

After a long time, Lilia said. Karhan’s eyes shook briefly. He slowly bowed his head as if he had known the ending.

“Instead, let’s change it to a cooperative relationship, not a transactional relationship.”

Karhan suddenly raised his head. He looked like he might have heard it wrong.

“And about the successor…….”

Lilia continued calmly.

“Karhan. How about you become the real one?”

Karhan stopped breathing.

“I’m just the Count’s daughter after all. But you’re different. Nevertheless, you have the blood of the Duke. You can just become the real one.”

“But I…….”

Karhan’s lips trembled. Even saying these things made his repressed voice sound guilty.

“What I’ve done… There’s nothing.”

It was a very shameful confession. He was born as a deficit in the Duke’s family, but he did nothing superior to others. Compared to the eldest son, who grew up as a successor, his qualities were far behind. It was as impossible for Karhan to become a real successor as building a forest in a barren land.

“No one will support me.”

“Karhan, think of you from the past. You said you couldn’t do it when you were doing business with me.”

“You’ve changed this much.”

At Lilia’s words, Karhan looked back on the path he had walked so far. He did everything he thought he couldn’t. Now, rather than thinking that he couldn’t do anything, he started thinking about how he could do better.

However, his family’s oppression was like a lifelong shackle. As Lilia said, he had to confront his family to become a true successor. It was like confronting Taesan Mountain, which he had not been able to overcome in his entire life.

Karhan met Lilia’s purple eyes. Then, strangely, the thoughts of fear dissipated. Karhan answered involuntarily.

“Yes.”

Karhan, who opened his mouth after a long time, replied more forcefully.

“I’ll do that.”

Upon hearing Karhan’s answer, Lilia smiled lightly. Karhan could certainly be a great Duke. To that end, Lilia decided to do her best to help him.

Money was the only thing that’s overflowing to her….. From now on, she was going to raise karhan with money.