Hiding My Identity From My Husband - Chapter 43

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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 43

Bang!
The Wheelhouse door shook violently, but it showed no sign of opening.
Roo yanked the handle roughly, but the metal lock was fixed firmly in place,
and no matter how hard he pulled, the door didn’t budge an inch.
“Ah.”
Roo let out a short groan.
“We appear to be trapped, miss.”
“I know that!”
I shouted.
“And water’s flooding in!”
A cold, viscous sensation wrapped around my feet.
Murky seawater was slowly creeping across the Wheelhouse floor. The ship was tilting at a severe angle. This is madness!
“At this rate, the Ballast Tank appears to have suffered damage.”
“I’m aware of that too!”
Was that thunderous sound earlier the tank rupturing?
Regardless, we’re in serious trouble now.
The ship is listing, seawater keeps pouring in, and the Wheelhouse door is locked.
If this continues, we really could die!
I cursed under my breath, yanked my skirt up, and drew the Pistol holstered at my thigh. I fired at the window.
“……What?”
But the bullet didn’t fire.
“Damn. Did the water get to it?”
I shook out the Pistol and pulled the trigger again, but nothing happened. This is infuriating.
“Stop that. You could make it explode.”
“What about you? Didn’t you bring a Pistol?”
“Unfortunately not.”
“Why not?”
“I didn’t anticipate something like this would happen.”
I was shouting in desperation when the ship tilted sharply again.
I looked out the window.
Through the hazy Wheelhouse glass, the ship’s railing was steadily sinking beneath the waves.
The water had already reached my waist.
My clothes rippled with the current, and the cool air was gradually becoming a clammy, suffocating breath.
What do I do?
My mind went blank.
Nothing came to me. No idea how to escape.
What do I do?
Panic seized me, and my breathing came in jagged gasps.
“Charle. Come here.”
Roo, standing on the tilted wall’s shelf, reached out his hand to me.
I instinctively grasped his hand and pulled myself up. Once on the shelf, I could finally breathe a little easier.
“Hmm. I’ve been thinking about this continuously,
Roo continued.
“But I’m afraid there’s no solution.”
I know that, you fool…….
I buried my face in my hands, breathing hard.
How did it come to this?
Who locked us in?
No, wait.
That’s not what matters.
What matters is that because of me, Roo is trapped in this nightmare.
“Roo.”
“Yes, miss?”
Roo brushed his wet hair back and looked at me.
His lashes, darkened and heavy with seawater, moved slowly.
The thought that this might be the last time I’d see that face sent a chill through me. Cold sweat continued to pour down my skin.
“I…….”
I squeezed my eyes shut as I spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
Tears threatened to spill over.
But the thought that I had no right to cry after making such a mess kept me forcing them back.
“I’m truly sorry. If only I hadn’t come here, none of this would have happened. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Beillor said nothing.
So I slowly lifted my gaze. There he was, watching me in silence.
A droplet of water fell slowly beneath his chin, catching the faint light and glimmering transparent.
And between his lashes, a subtle tremor flickered for just an instant.
But it was only a moment.
“Charle.”
He called my name gently.
“Are you truly sorry? You look slightly less sorry than you should.”
Then it would be fake.
I felt anger rise at Beillor’s lighthearted attitude even in a situation like this. God, my head.
“If you’re truly sorry to me…….”
Beillor continued speaking with the same soft smile he always wore.
“Choose the Wedding Dress yourself.”
……What?
“Would Belle Etoile Atelier be better, or Sapphire Atelier? I think anything would suit you, but everyone has their preferences, after all.”
I found myself at a loss for words, my mouth opening and closing silently.
There was no help for it.
We’re talking about dying right now, and yet he says something like this?
“How can you say something like that……right now?”
“I’d like you to choose my Tuxedo as well. Of course it won’t match my taste, but there’s meaning in the fact that you chose it for me.”
“That’s exactly why I’m asking how you can say that now!”
I clenched my fists and shouted.
Water continued to rise, already climbing the shelves and reaching my calves.
“I.”
I clasped my hands together.
“I’m fine with dying.”
This wasn’t a lie.
Since being chosen by Beillor and surviving, I had come to understand something.
That I was someone who could die at any moment.
I hadn’t wanted to die, so I’d struggled and fought to survive by any means, but deep in my heart remained the belief that it wouldn’t matter if I left this world right now.
So I feared death less than most people.
But.
“You dying scares me.”
I couldn’t bear Beillor dying.
“I can’t stand you dying because of me.”
That he would die because of my mistake, and for no other reason—that was absolutely unbearable.
Don’t die.
Please don’t die.
I dropped my head and pleaded in a whisper.
“Charle.”
Just then, Beillor called my name.
“Lift your head.”
I pressed down the urge to cry and looked at him again.
Eyes that always held a playful glint now harbored something like a dark shadow.
Beneath the slight curve of his lips, unspoken emotions seemed to settle quietly in the depths.
“I……you.”
His low, quiet voice echoed through the Wheelhouse as water rose around us.
But in that moment—Bang!
The deafening screech of twisting metal tore through the air. The ship lurched violently to one side.
Another explosion. It had to be.
“Charle!”
I tumbled from the shelf, spitting out seawater that had filled my mouth as I surfaced.
Thunk—my head struck the ceiling. The water was rising rapidly.
“Come here.”
Luc swam toward me and pulled me into a tight embrace.
“There won’t be any space to breathe soon. You understand?”
“I understand.”
“Take a deep breath. And then toward the window…….”
But I didn’t hear the rest of his words. In an instant, the rising water engulfed me.
Pfft— I gasped involuntarily. Water flooded into my nasal passages. Damn it.
My vision began to blur at the edges. This can’t be happening, this can’t be—— Then someone seized my arm and pulled me upward.
“Charle!”
Soft hands cradled my face.
Even in the cold water, I could feel the warmth.
And,
the gentle warmth of lips meeting mine.
It was Luc.

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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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