Hiding My Identity From My Husband - Chapter 39

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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 39

I remember it still, vivid as if it were yesterday.
That day, when my life was fading, about to evaporate into nothing.

Cold rain fell, and the damp earth beneath me siphoned away my body heat with merciless speed.
How had it come to this?
Clutching my empty stomach, I prepared to meet death with dignity, as my final moments drew near.
But then—
A figure emerged from the darkness.
His footsteps were neither rough nor hurried. Quiet. Certain.
A Black Coat, soaked through by rain, hung heavy from his shoulders. Long hair clung damply to his face. Transparent droplets traced down his forehead.
Yet the silver eyes he carried burned with crystalline light, even in the dim murk of that rainy night.
He looked down at me.
One hand buried in his coat pocket, the other smoking a cigarette, he studied me in silence for a long moment.
Then he spoke quietly.
“Do you want to live?”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. There was no strength left in me.
But he seemed to need no reply. He moved with utter naturalness—knelt down, gazing calmly at my broken form.
And then he extended his hand.
“Take my hand, if you want to live.”
That hand was neither harsh nor oppressive.
Yet it carried a weight—the weight of a hand never before offered to anyone.
Watching it extend through the falling rain, I thought:
If I take this hand, I will survive.
But.
The moment I grasp it, my life will cease to be my own. That certainty washed over me like ice.
And yet…
I didn’t want to die. Pitiful as my life was, I wanted to continue it, wanted somehow to cling to existence and know something of living.
So there was no real choice at all.
After that day, I became an agent of Cataclysm, and I lived only for Baylor.
He was my savior. He was to me as a father.

—You were never meant to survive alone.

True.
I survived not because I was special. Because he chose to save me.

—I gave you a choice. You followed me of your own will.
Yes.
I could have died that night. Instead, I took his hand. It was a pledge—that I would become his.

—You are what I have made. You cannot live by your own will.

Without Baylor, I would never have come this far. I have only ever walked the path he showed me.

—Only I will ever acknowledge your existence.

It is the truth.
I cannot exist as myself.
My existence is valid only through Baylor.
Therefore.
I must live as Baylor wishes.
My life, my worth—all of it belongs to him.

* * *

“It’s been far too long. Come here, let me see your face.”
Baylor spread both arms wide, beaming.
Ordinarily, the sight of him would have brought me peace—the way one feels seeing a father.
But today, inexplicably, that comfort didn’t come.
Why?
The answer arrived swiftly.
‘Because I’m doubting Cataclysm.’
I had drawn a conclusion from the information Pinky had given me.
‘I came here to verify that suspicion, not because I wanted to see him.’
Since this visit wasn’t the usual pleasure-seeking one, I couldn’t help but feel unsettled.
I approached Baylor with these thoughts churning in my mind.
“It’s been some time, sir. Have you been well?”
“There’s no need to be so stiff with me.”
Baylor wrapped me in an embrace and patted my back gently. His touch was warm, yet unease lingered.
“You look a bit gaunt to me. Haven’t you been sleeping well lately?”
“Ah, no. I’ve just been losing sleep recently—it’s nothing to worry about.”
“Don’t forget that health comes before everything else.”
With concern etched on his face, Baylor guided me to the sofa.
“By the way, have you seen Adrian since then?”
Since then—he meant after Themis’s death.
The memory twisted my stomach again.
“…No. We haven’t been in contact since then.”
“Hmm. He’s been wanting to see you rather badly.”
I don’t want to see him.
I’d rather avoid him if possible.
But…
I forced a bitter smile and nodded.
“I’ll make a point to visit him soon.”
“Good. Yes, you should.”
Satisfied with my answer, Baylor chuckled and turned toward the back of the room.
Judging by the clinking sound, he was retrieving a Whiskey Glass.
“Speaking of which, it’s nearly Asmeralda’s anniversary of death.”
There it was.
I drew in a sharp breath. My hands trembled; I clenched them into fists.
“Will you attend?”
“Yes.”
It was a question that needed no deliberation. I had no choice.
Baylor chuckled softly, as if my immediate response pleased him.
“Asmeralda will be gladdened on the other side, knowing you still honor her memory.”
Baylor approached the opposite sofa and set the Whiskey Glass on the table.
“Of course, it was because of you that my daughter died.”
Again. A crack in my chest.
My heart plummeted. I gripped my fists tighter.
It was true.
Asmeralda died because of me.
More precisely, she died because I failed to protect her. Had I been stronger, had I tried harder, she might have lived.
The familiar sickness returned. Bile rose in my throat, burning.
“Since you’re playing the part of my daughter so well, I want you to know it’s all right.”
“Th-thank you, sir.”
I bowed my head, breathing heavily. Baylor’s laughter made the weight upon me settle deeper.
“In fact, I was thinking of summoning you soon anyway. Your name has become quite renowned in high society lately.”
He was referring to the incident where I’d happened to save some nobles, making the newspapers.
I answered quickly.
“That was merely a coincidence.”
“I know.”
Baylor smiled wryly.
“You wouldn’t interfere with our affairs.”
My heart grew heavier still.
I gripped the fist resting on my thigh and steadied my breath.
“Sir.”
And he fixed his gaze on Baylor.
“So I must ask you this.”
“Speak.”
“What is this ‘work of ours’ that you mentioned?”
Baylor did not answer.
Instead, he studied me intently.
Those silver eyes of his held perfectly steady.
They contained a hard light—neither cold nor warm.
I instinctively straightened my spine.
And I drew in a slow, measured breath.
Because now I had to ask the question I came here to ask.
The upheaval that struck the Imperial Faction nobility.
And the Modified Aura that spread to manipulate the noble heirs.
“Everything that has happened since I came to the Empire—”
I spoke, my eyes narrowing.
“Is it all for the sake of a coup d’état?”

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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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