Hiding My Identity From My Husband - Chapter 2

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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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Episode 2

Whoooooosh—
The steam locomotive’s whistle cut through the air.
I’d been dozing against the window; now I cracked my eyes open.
Glancing out to gauge where we were, I saw the capital—Ortker—approaching as the next stop.
I stretched my stiff body and began preparing to disembark.
Just yesterday, I was in Seongguk’s capital.
But today—
when I came to my senses, I found myself on a train bound for the Empire.
‘This doesn’t make any sense.’
No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t make sense. But that’s precisely what command does—makes the senseless happen.
‘God, no.’
I buried my face in my hands and groaned inwardly.
I should explain who I am first.
My real name is Charles.
I belong to the Empire—specifically, to Catakel, a clandestine organization.
Catakel handles the dirty work that keeps the Empire running behind closed doors, and I grew up there.
I’d become quite an accomplished Agent, and after coming of age, I took on increasingly significant missions—until one day, a crucially important assignment landed on my desk.

[Infiltrate Guardian in Seongguk. Ascertain their movements.]

Guardian, unlike Catakel, is an official intelligence organization under Seongguk.
Publicly, it’s said to preserve Seongguk’s sacred law and order, monitoring heretics and seditious factions within—
but in truth, it’s an espionage apparatus that surveils foreign powers and noble houses, gathering and manipulating intelligence. It was established after the war with the Empire thirty years ago.
The Empire, naturally, has been sending spies into Seongguk ever since. When my predecessor died, the assignment passed to me.
To understand Guardian’s internal workings and operations, I’d infiltrated their ranks three years ago under the forged identity “Sharan”…which brings us to the present.

—You’ll need to go marry that Agent Rubantés.
—Help him recover the Sacred Relic from the Empire.

And just like that, I was heading back to the Empire.
‘God, my head.’
I clutched at my temples, exhaling heavily against the weight of this unbelievable reality.
Then it happened.
“Forgive the intrusion. That seat ahead appears vacant—might I impose upon you?”
An elderly gentleman, wearing a bowler hat pulled low, asked courteously.
Familiar as the request was, I smiled and gestured toward the empty seat.
“By all means.”
“My thanks.”
He offered a slight nod and settled across from me.
I glanced around.
The other passengers were preoccupied with gathering their belongings for the next stop—no one was paying us any mind.
“So that Lu Bansen was with Guardian. Remarkable.”
The old gentleman spoke from behind his newspaper.
He was my contact from Catakel.
The voice that carried the Director’s orders.
“We could have made arrangements if we’d known beforehand. Why didn’t you report it?”
I kept my eyes on the hand mirror and answered without moving my lips.
“Guardian Agents aren’t privy to each other’s missions. I myself only learned of this unusual situation when I was briefed.”
He turned a page of his newspaper—permission to proceed.
“The Empire still doesn’t know the Sacred Relic has gone missing, I assume?”
That’s right.
The reason the Empire wouldn’t return the Sacred Relic despite Seongguk’s repeated requests was simple: the Empire didn’t know where it was either.
It had vanished without warning.
We can’t even determine if it’s still in the Empire at all.
That’s why both the Imperial Court and Catakel have mobilized to search for it.
“I don’t know. Which is why they’re sending their top agent to the Empire to search for the Sacred Relic.”
The man turned another page of the newspaper. I seized the pause to voice my own thoughts.
“I need to go back.”
The man’s grip on the newspaper tightened slightly.
“We have agents stationed in Seongguk. If you leave now, there’ll be a gap in our operations.”
“That’s not your concern.”
The man continued in an even tone.
“Do you know why we approved your return?”
“…No.”
“To obstruct Rubantés. To recover the Sacred Relic before he does.”
Damn. I should have seen this coming.
“Remember this: the Sacred Relic must never fall into Seongguk’s hands. You will find it first, no matter what.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
This was infinitely harder than infiltrating Seongguk in the first place.
I had to obstruct the sharp-eyed Rubantés without revealing myself, and recover the Relic before he did.
Ha.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
“And arrange for Rubantés to be recruited into Catakel afterward.”
“…Excuse me?”
My head snapped up before I could stop myself, and I stared at him.
But the man had already folded the newspaper, tucked it under his arm, and risen from his seat.
“I’ll be waiting for your report.”
With that, he left. Down the rattling corridor of the train.
Whooooosh—the hiss of steam struck my ears again.
‘@&#@#&@*!#!’
I muttered curses under my breath and twisted in my seat.
What? Recruit Rubantés?
‘That’s insane.’
Rubantés is the adopted son of the High Priest of Seongguk.
How was I supposed to persuade him to betray the man who raised him as his own child?
‘If that were possible, I’d have turned the Pope himself by now!’
And that’s not even the worst of it.
He already suspects me.
He hasn’t uncovered my identity yet, but it’s certain he’s watching me with suspicion.
‘Otherwise, he’d ignore everyone else—he wouldn’t bother scrutinizing just me.’
Not only was I trapped in a sham marriage with a man who already distrusts me, but now I was supposed to obstruct him and then somehow bring him into Catakel.
“Hehehehe……”
Could I actually pull this off?
I closed my eyes again.
The darkness behind my eyelids felt like a prophecy of my own future.
Just as dark. Just as hopeless.
This is maddening.

* * *

But since I couldn’t bring myself to run, I disembarked and made my way off the platform.
I had to get to Rubantés’s Mansion first.
Outside, the streets bustled with travelers.
“Miss Charles?”
I turned at the familiar name and found myself face to face with someone holding a placard that read “Charles”.
Charles. It had been a long time since I’d heard that name, and I lingered in thought for a moment.
“I’m James, the coachman sent by my master to greet you. Welcome, Miss Charles. He’s been waiting so eagerly!”
How did he know I was Rubantés’s fiancée?
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
I assumed Rubantés had arranged it and let it pass.
“Thank you for coming to meet me. How long is it to the mansion?”
“Less than an hour. Please rest yourself. I’ll see you there safely.”
I hesitated at his excessive courtesy, but soon accepted his escort and climbed into the carriage.
A bundle of documents lay on the seat.
‘He must have prepared this for me to review before I arrive at the mansion.’
Once I confirmed the carriage door was closed, I examined the documents.
As expected, they were files prepared by Guardian containing fabricated personal information for both Rubantés and myself.
I’d already reviewed them before arriving in the Empire, but I decided to go through them once more to ensure there were no mistakes.

[Charles Cortney]

Charles is a common name in the Empire. At the same time, it’s also the name given to me by Catakel’s commander.
Charles, Charles indeed.
Of course, Guardian had simply chosen the most ordinary name available.
I had concealed my identity thoroughly, and the only person in Guardian who suspected me was Rubantés alone.
So it should be nothing more than coincidence, but…….
For a coincidence, it was remarkably precise and devastatingly cruel.
The existence of Catakel, which I had managed to forget for a moment, pressed down upon me once more.
As if to say that escape from Catakel would never be permitted.
In any case, having become Charles again through this mission, I turned to the next page with a heavy heart.

[Lu Bansen]

Rubantés’s personal information was listed below.
He was posing as a rising nobleman named Bansen, and I was his childhood friend who had known this Lu Bansen since we were young.
The two of us, who had been friends since childhood, gradually grew fonder of each other as we came of age, and when Lu left for the capital and received a noble title, he immediately proposed and we became engaged—that was the fabricated romantic history that belonged to us both.
“A love story that brings tears to the eye.”
A hollow laugh escaped me. Yet at the same time, bitterness welled up inside.
“Childhood friends, then…….”
I ran my thumb over the letters on the document.
I had grown up as a beggar in the back alleys and had no one I could call a friend.
The children of the streets were not fed well enough to share in bonds of companionship, and they died in such numbers, like autumn leaves scattered by the wind, that we couldn’t even remember each other’s names.
I believed I too would have perished in that way.
If Vaylor, Catakel’s commander, had not rescued me.

—Do you want to live?

I think I asked him in return—what person in this world doesn’t want to live?

—Then I’ll make you live.

Vaylor held out warm bread to me and spoke those words.

—But remember this: your life is no longer your own.
—You are merely alive. Stay alive and repay your debt to me.

And so I became an agent of Catakel.
Not an agent who acts for my homeland,
but an agent who acts for Vaylor, the one who saved me.
Which is to say…….
‘I will succeed.’
I will hide my true identity from Rubantés, obstruct his mission, find the Sacred Relic before him, and after that, recruit him into Catakel—I will accomplish it all.
‘For the commander.’
That is the reason I live.

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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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