Hiding My Identity From My Husband - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 10

“I didn’t get a proper look yesterday, but now I see it—every single dress is beautiful, miss!”
Mardi exclaimed as she organized the wardrobe.
“How did you manage to choose only clothes that suit you so perfectly? You have an extraordinary eye for fashion!”
“…I didn’t choose them. Lu picked them all out.”
Mardi’s eyes widened.
“The master must be quite fond of you, miss.”
Why did it always come down to that conclusion?
“There’s no other way he could have selected such perfectly fitting clothes to enhance your charming features!”
More likely, Lu was simply mad about fashion and couldn’t bear my questionable taste. That seemed the more reasonable explanation.
I harbored reasonable doubts, but said nothing.
On the surface, we were a well-matched couple.
“Hehe, at this rate, I wonder if the master will end up choosing your wedding dress too.”
Now that I thought about it, they’d said the wedding would take place before the season ended.
I wasn’t sure it needed to happen quite so soon, but…

—The wedding must happen, naturally.
—Even though everyone knows Charel is in the Capital, the letters still keep coming to me.
—Once we hold the wedding, people will finally show restraint. There’s no help for it.

And so it had been decided.
I felt a strong premonition that the stomach cramps would return, and I let out a heavy sigh.
“The wedding is being planned step by step, so please don’t worry too much.”
“Yeah. I’m not worried.”
“In any case, we should prepare for tonight’s party!”
Mardi clapped her hands together as she spoke.
She then pulled one of the arranged dresses from the wardrobe and held it up for me to see.
“This Navy Dress would be perfect. The off-shoulder line is elegant without being excessive, and it comes with a choker as well. The butterfly-shaped ribbon decoration will make you and it look like a matching set.”
“All right… I don’t mind. Just dress me.”
“Of course!”
And so began the ordeal.
Getting dressed was manageable enough.
But what came after—the makeup, the hair styling—that was truly…
‘Fighting outside would be far more fun.’
Sitting motionless while being groomed and adorned was torture to me.
In any case, an age seemed to pass.
By the time the sun that had hung at its zenith began to tilt toward the horizon, the preparations were finally done.
“You look so beautiful, miss…”
“Today you’ll be the most beautiful woman in the entire Empire!”
I looked at myself beyond the mirror.
I did look somewhat better than usual.
“Yes. Thank you. You’re all the best.”
I held up my thumb in approval as I spoke, and the maids flushed with delight.
“Now let me arrange the hem of your skirt one last time. To put the finishing touch…”
“No. I’ll do it. Would you all leave?”
The maids looked puzzled, but seemed to accept it as inevitable; they tidied up and slipped out of the room.
Click.
The door closed, and alone at last, I thrust my hand beneath the mattress of the bed.
My fingers closed around the Musket and Knife I’d removed from the wardrobe yesterday and hidden in advance.
“Lucky that skirts are so wide.”
Tonight wasn’t simply about attending a party at the Marquis’s residence.
The alchemist, Temis, must certainly have drawn Henry’s attention—the little one had known of Temis’s existence, after all.
With no way to predict what might unfold,
I needed to be thoroughly prepared.
I fixed the Knife and Musket into the Garter Belt cinched around my thigh.
‘Let’s just hope I won’t need to use these.’
After tidying up the hem of my skirt, I opened the door.
“……Lu?”
And there he stood, waiting just outside.
“You startled me. If you’re standing at the door, you could at least say something.”
I spoke to him, but Lu simply fixed his gaze on me without answering.
I felt oddly self-conscious and added an explanation.
“I was late because I was grabbing my Musket. You never know what might happen, so I brought it just in case.”
But Lu remained silent. I began to worry—had I said something strange?
“Lu? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Only then did his eyes blink.
He withdrew his gaze from me, turning his head slightly as he spoke in a low murmur.
“……It suits you well.”
He sounded embarrassed saying it.
“Well, yes. Thank you.”
I felt awkward too, so I replied offhandedly and linked my arm through his.
“Come on. We’ll be late.”
But somehow I felt his arm had gone stiff.
Hmm.
That must be my imagination.

* * *

Marquis Baidon is what you’d call a nouveau riche.
Originally, they lived as a Border Count in the North, at the very edge of the Empire, but by good fortune they discovered a Diamond Mine and gained a considerable fortune.
In exchange for donating the Diamond Mine to the Imperial Court, they received the rank of Marquis and established themselves in the Capital.
Which is why he endures subtle ostracism within aristocratic society—or so the story goes.
‘They were looking down on him for buying his title with money.’
As if they’d forgotten all the effort his family expended for their homeland when they were still a Border Count.
‘That’s why he throws a party once a month, I heard.’
Truth be told, I didn’t understand it very well.
Having long since learned that no one cares for me no matter what I do, I couldn’t quite grasp why the Marquis and his wife struggled so desperately for recognition.
‘But then, everyone has their own way of surviving.’
I gazed out the carriage window. The pointed spire of a mansion came into view—we’d arrived.
“Lu. We’re here now.”
I spoke to Lu, who had remained silent throughout the entire carriage ride.
He turned his gaze from the window and blinked slowly before looking back at me.
“Ah. Already?”
The way he looked at me was somewhat different from usual.
If he normally observed me with that examining gaze, now he was subtly avoiding my eyes.
“Why are you acting so strange today?”
I narrowed my eyes, studying him.
“You’ve been out of it since earlier. Is something wrong?”
Lu blinked slowly once more.
“Yes. Something is wrong.”
“What?”
Genuinely startled, I pressed him further.
But then.
“Charel looks beautiful.”
What nonsense was this……?
“It’s strange. It’s never happened before. Suddenly you look beautiful to me, and I was feeling rather melancholy wondering if something was wrong with my eyes.”
I lifted my head and stared at the carriage ceiling.
I genuinely wanted to hit him.
Just once.
“You’re deliberately trying to pick a fight with me, aren’t you?”
“I’m simply telling you the truth.”
“The truth doesn’t excuse everything. Forget it. What’s the point in arguing with you?”
At that, Lu shrugged.
“Either way, I mean what I say.”
And then he fixes his gaze upon me.
Those eyes, as blue as a lake and without equal, are fixed upon me. This isn’t the observing look from before, nor the suspicious one—it’s something altogether different.
“You look lovely today.”
And so it felt sincere.
Even though it absolutely was not.

* * *

“Good evening, Marquis Baidon. Thank you so much for the invitation.”
The moment we arrived at the party, Lu steered me toward the host.
The Marquis Baidon lit up at the sight of Lu and welcomed us warmly.
“Ah! Duke Vanssen! You’ve come!”
It seemed he’d hoped to swell the guest list by inviting Lu, currently the most celebrated figure in high society.
No wonder he greeted him so effusively.
“I’m grateful for the invitation. But tell me—is this the legendary fiancée everyone’s been talking about?”
“Yes. Charel, make your curtsy. This is Marquis Baidon.”
His eyes found me. I lowered my head in a graceful bow, a soft smile playing at my lips.
“Good evening, Marquis. It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Charel Courtney.”
The Marquis then proclaimed loudly, as though addressing the entire room.
“Well, well! With such a beautiful fiancée, no other woman could possibly catch your eye! Haha! Now I understand why you’ve kept to yourself all this time!”
I felt the weight of every gaze turning toward us. It was clear that Lu’s invitation hadn’t come alone—I’d been part of the spectacle all along.
I scanned the crowd, acutely aware of the eyes upon me.
“I’ve been alone, pining for Charel. So I brought her to the Capital at last.”
“I’d have done the same myself. Delighted, truly delighted!”
The Marquis extended his hand, and I took it with a radiant smile.
Again, the attention converged.
But there was one person whose eyes did not find me.
And that was—
“Found him.”
Lu whispered.
“I’ll go. You stay and talk with the guests.”
I whispered back, then took two steps away.
After that, I excused myself with a pretense of needing to freshen up my dress and slipped from the room.
‘Temis.’
To follow him.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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