Hiding My Identity From My Husband - Chapter 41

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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 41
04. Suspicion
[To Bayler,
I report on this month’s developments.
The situation in the border regions remains unstable.
Unsettling movements are being detected from all quarters,
and the Counter-Intelligence Department is monitoring them closely.
You once told me something.
That no matter how deep the darkness grows, light will eventually arrive.
As you said, dawn will surely come. Yet whether we shall see that light remains uncertain. An ill wind blows from every corner.
Though difficulties are anticipated, we must fulfill our assigned duties.
I can only hope it is not already too late.
I shall end here.

L.]
On the road home.
I recalled the letter I’d read at headquarters.
The letter’s contents were, at the end of the day, a routine political report.
But I found myself drawn to the familiar scent and embellishments on the letter, and especially to the initial “L” written at the close.
She knows the workings of Internal Imperial Politics intimately, and there is only one person who writes with the initial “L”.
‘The Empress, Laila.’
I already knew it as fact that the Empress was attempting to involve herself in Katakl.
That’s why she was said to be in conflict with Bayler.
But looking at the letter’s contents…
‘There’s no conflict?’
How to describe it. A subtle current ran through it.
As if she favored her opponent.
‘Surely not.’
Could the reason Bayler is staging a coup be Laila?
If he became the husband of a member of the imperial family, his ascension to the throne would meet with no resistance, so…
It felt as though my eyes had suddenly snapped open.
Now that everything fit into place.
‘Their supposed conflict was nothing but misdirection.’
While setting traps to discern who supported the Empress and who supported the Captain, they meant to reorganize and expand their forces.
‘Then what of Henry?’
From what I know, he does not support Laila. But given that he was searching for something else, it appeared he did not support the Captain either.
‘If Henry has come to understand all of this…’
He might have fled.

—I wonder if you’re curious about what happened to Henry.

The fact that Bayler said this meant Henry’s fate remained uncertain.
‘Henry might not be dead.’
He could have grasped the full situation and run.
‘Should I search for him?’
Finding him and learning how matters truly operate within Katakl would be a sound course of action.
Yes.
I would search.
Find him and ask him directly.
What were the odds of a successful coup?
If the chances of success were very low, and Bayler’s eyes were blind with some fleeting dream, I would stop him.
However much I might be merely a puppet moving at his command, I could not let Bayler leap into a pit of fire with his own two feet.
‘I’ll find Henry.’
The moment I reached this conclusion, one method came to mind.
There would be no shortage of time to move tomorrow itself.

* * *

“A yawn.”
I descended the staircase toward the Dining Room, yawning long and deep.
Last night.
Between going out after dark and my mind churning with thoughts, I’d slept poorly, so getting up this morning was a struggle.
Exhaustion made me yawn repeatedly.
“Good morning, Charles.”
Lu, already seated in the dining room, greeted me as I entered.
Despite the early hour, his face showed not a trace of fatigue—bright and clear.
His expression was so free of shadow that it seemed to illuminate the murky feelings that had weighed on me all night.
“You look particularly exhausted today.”
Today, even this concern of his felt gratifying.
Perhaps it was because yesterday I’d seen only people who hated me.
I smiled ruefully and shook my head.
“Couldn’t sleep well, I suppose.”
“Ah, I see. Another nighttime stroll?”
I felt a twinge of guilt, but I pretended not to hear.
“No. I just couldn’t sleep. Don’t suspect me.”
“I’m not suspecting you—I’m simply asking.”
A lie.
Anyone could see he was suspicious.
In truth, even if Lu did suspect me, there was nothing I could do about it.
Any move I made would only deepen his doubts.
And Lu clearly lacked conclusive proof.
Otherwise, he would have acted already.
So all I could do was pretend not to hear and ignore it.
I sniffed once and settled into the dining chair.
“The weather is quite lovely this morning, isn’t it?”
As he’d said, warm sunlight streamed through the large window set into one wall of the dining room.
A gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, evoking the melancholy charm of the season.
Lu gazed at the view for a moment, then turned to me with a question.
“Would you like to go for an outing today?”
I blinked, then quickly shook my head.
“I’m going out alone today. Oh, Mardi—thank you. I’ll enjoy this.”
I speared the salad Mardi had brought with my fork as I spoke.
“Pardon?”
Lu’s face registered surprise as he pressed further.
“Alone? Where exactly are you going?”
Hmm.
To the Harbor, to search for some trace of Henry, the unit commander.
Since he collects ships as a hobby, I can determine whether he’s alive or dead by whether his vessels are still there.
But I couldn’t say that.
So I crunched deliberately on my salad and answered casually.
“Do I need to report everywhere I go to you?”
“Is it related to the mission?”
“No.”
“Then why move about alone if it’s not mission-related?”
I frowned.
“So you simply dislike me going out, mission or not?”
“Yes.”
“How absurd.”
No matter how stubborn Lu was, I couldn’t back down today.
Once I’d resolved to pursue Henry, there was no other choice.
“In any case, I’m going alone today. So you spend your time as you see fit.”
“…I suppose I’ll be disappointed.”
“Be disappointed then.”
“That’s too much.”
“Then be disappointed too much.”
I turned my attention back to the salad while Lu muttered behind me.
So I didn’t catch what expression he was wearing.

* * *

I left the mansion the moment breakfast ended.
But I didn’t head straight for the Harbor.
I left a letter at the Abandoned Warehouse where I’d met Pinky.
The letter told him to find me at the Harbor.
It wasn’t one of our regular meeting days, but what else could I do?
Now that I’d learned of Bayler’s plan, there was far more than one or two things I needed to ask him.
‘I’ll just have to pay him more.’
With that thought, I climbed down from the carriage—and immediately the mingled scent of sand and salt flooded my lungs.
Towering sails and ships everywhere, with people bustling about in all directions.
The Harbor, alive and vivid in its movements, never failed to stir something in my chest.
‘No, not now.’
This was no time to admire the Harbor’s beauty.
I pulled out my notebook and pen, then moved slowly toward the dock.
Henry’s ships, as I recalled, numbered five in total.
I couldn’t remember the exact shape of the vessels, but I did remember the emblem he used as his personal mark.
So finding them wouldn’t be difficult.
If Henry had chosen to flee, the ships would be gone.
But if Henry was truly dead……
‘The ships would still be here.’
I bit down hard on my lower lip.
I’ve said it before, but I truly hate seeing people die.
It’s not just because Asmeralda died because of me.
I simply found the extinction of human life abhorrent.
I suspected this hatred stemmed from the time when children I’d grown up with in the Slums died one after another.
I knew too well how fragile and easily human life could vanish.
And because of that……
I wanted all the more to preserve life.
I wished that no one would die.
‘That’s why I was in the Infiltration Unit.’
If we remained undetected and executed our missions perfectly, the Infiltration Unit could prevent loss of life.
In any case, it was for this reason that I was searching for Henry now.
This search was to determine not only whether Henry lived or died, but also whether Bayler’s coup d’état would succeed.
If failure seemed likely, I would have to stop Bayler.
To save Bayler.
‘Regardless……’
I’d found four ships so far.
Thump-thump.
My heart raced.
I hoped—desperately hoped—that I wouldn’t find the fifth ship.
“……This can’t be.”
A long sigh escaped me unbidden.
There, right before my eyes, was Henry’s last ship, sitting plainly on the water.
My hope that Henry might have fled seemed nothing but a wish, after all.
My heart sank. I traced a brief sign of the cross.
Though I don’t believe in God, I still hoped he’d gone to a better place.
‘There might be something left behind, after all.’
I decided to board the ship and have a look inside.
So I climbed slowly onto the deck and opened the door to the wheelhouse.

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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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