I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 166

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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 166
Edwin tumbled from his horse and snatched the letter from his subordinate’s hands with a violence that betrayed his panic.
The subordinate bowed his head without a word, reading his lord’s expression.
Edwin’s trembling hands unfolded the dispatch.
An earthquake and landslide during the descent, a fall over the cliff alongside her personal servant, the search had failed, and there was a possibility she’d been buried under the rockfall―
‘No.’
In that moment, the ground beneath Edwin’s feet crumbled to dust.
There was something he had to say to Elisia—no, to Elze.
He had to prostrate himself at her feet and beg her forgiveness.
For the indelible trauma buried deep in her mind, for that terrible price she had paid in his place because he had been insufficient and ignorant.
“This can’t be. Not like this…”
“My Lord!”
“Elze, is this the price of my deception? To abandon me in this endless hell and leave?”
“My Lord, come to your senses!!”
He didn’t even realize what name had spilled from his own lips.
Only the frantic thunder of his heartbeat filled the air around him.
His subordinates were shouting something, but his vision had turned black and white, their cries seeming to come from hundreds of kilometers away.
The sinner who should pay the price was not her.
‘Is this the punishment for the original sin I committed?’
[Light begets shadow, and shadow begets deeper darkness still—such is the will of God and the balance of the world.]
The words carved into the Temple altar surfaced in his memory.
In a distant past, Edwin had transgressed the world’s taboo.
He had reached the divine realm that lay far beyond human limitation, and he had set foot in the heart of the Black Continent—a place no mortal should ever tread.
He had desired Elze, longed for her alone, and torn open the world’s gate.
‘The sinner deserving of death is here. The soul that should fall into hell is mine alone.’
Why did she have to lie beneath that cold pile of stone?
Suddenly everything felt hollow.
‘What does the Northern Wall’s collapse matter to me? My world is already buried beneath that cold pile of stone.’
Go to the gate.
Yes, go to the gate and meet Elze again.
Whatever she might say—he’d prostrate himself like a dog at her feet and beg forgiveness for everything. That’s what he had to do.
Lost in panic, Edwin turned away without even realizing what he was muttering.
He had to reach the gate first. To see her again—
“My Lord!!”
At that moment, someone seized Edwin’s shoulder.
It was Gawin la Varken, the second son of Viscount Varken and the younger brother of Gareth.
Though bound by an unusually close fraternal bond, he too had lost family, yet his eyes still burned with unwavering resolve.
“It remains only a possibility, sire. If I know the lady at all, she would never surrender, no matter the circumstance. She may yet be fighting her way back to the castle even now.”
“…”
“So please, my Lord, do not abandon Lombard—the home of those who love the lady and whom the lady loves.”
Only then did Edwin raise his gaze.
All around him, people were reeling from this unprecedented tragedy of the Duchess’s disappearance, some clenching their teeth as if barely holding back tears.
‘Ah.’
Edwin came to a halt.
This world was unlike any he had ever known.
It was a world touched by Elze’s hand. A world she had cherished and protected with all her strength.
And it was a world inhabited by those who truly cared for and loved Elze.
Yet he had nearly abandoned this place—the thing she held as precious as life itself—so easily.
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
And yet confusion persisted.
Edwin’s soul had been broken beyond repair, he had lived in this state far too long, and he no longer knew how to live without her.
“Continue the search. Comb every inch of the area where the Duchess fell. Level Barg Mountain if you must—find her.”
“We’ll deploy the elite forces immediately, sire!”
Even in his fractured state, Edwin forced himself to think, to reason, again and again.
What was the right course?
What could he do for Elze right now?
Just then, the earth lurched with a thunderous sound that seemed to tear his eardrums apart. A wave of potent demonic energy surged from the direction of the Black Continent.
Edwin and the high-ranking knights capable of sensing such energy all turned their attention at once.
‘Morcatus.’
Only then did Edwin remember a being he had forgotten.
That which had become one with Nero—
For some reason, Morcatus’s aura, which should have been on Barg Mountain, was emanating from the Black Continent.
“Tch, I’ve never felt such a terrifying presence before.”
“What kind of monsters have awakened?”
The problem was that the master of the Dark Magic shaking the earth was not Morcatus alone.
Judging by the waves reaching them, he seemed to be locked in a life-or-death struggle with another Great Demon of comparable power.
‘Did Morcatus betray Elze?’
No—Nero would never allow such a thing to pass.
Moreover, he had begun to dimly perceive that Morcatus, influenced by Elze’s unconditional affection, was starting to develop a strong attachment to her.
‘I don’t know why, but if Elze is on the Black Continent……’
Edwin gathered his crumbling mind.
He couldn’t afford to miss even the slimmest possibility. If only he could reclaim her, Edwin was prepared to do anything.
“All forces, march toward the Northern Wall!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Edwin’s ice-cold command, the Knights mounted their horses in unison.
After confirming the formation, Edwin immediately spurred his horse forward.
‘Elze, cursed fate may drag us wherever it will, but……’
Even if it’s to the depths of Hell itself, I will search for you.
As long as I can save you.
* * *
I jolted awake, as though startled from a heavy sleep.
An unpleasant vibration traveled down my back where it pressed against the wall.
“What is this?”
Barely conscious, my head swam with questions, but my survival instinct pulled me to my feet.
If this were an earthquake, this narrow crevice would become my grave.
I seized Nero, who was staring rigid into the void with his hackles raised, and rushed outside.
As I emerged into open space, the vibration underfoot ceased, but Nero remained unsettled, thrashing convulsively.
“Haaaagh!”
“Nero? Easy, easy—I thought it was an earthquake, but it was just a false alarm. You’re safe now.”
……
A chill suddenly raced up my spine.
The moment I turned my head in alarm, my eyes met those of a monster the size of a house.
A reptilian pupil fixed me with a direct stare.
Suddenly, a story Edwin had told me came back to mind—there was a special type of Demon that burrowed through the earth and created rifts in the crust.
……!
So this was what it looked like.
I immediately seized Nero and ran with every ounce of strength I possessed.
But no matter how far I fled, the hellish chase seemed endless.
Was this a cliff, or was this the Demon?
When I thought I’d found safety and ducked into a crevice, the rock became the creature’s body; when I paused, thinking I’d finally shaken it, enormous eyes flickered into view behind me.
A scream tore from my throat.
“What, what exactly is that thing……!”
The Demon moved through rock as easily as a whale cutting through the sea, gliding freely between cliffs.
The laws of physics I knew simply did not apply.
How on earth had Edwin fought creatures like this?
‘I can’t even tell anymore if this is a dream or reality.’
The burning pain in my lungs suggested it was no dream, yet everything surrounding me possessed a surreal quality beyond comprehension.
Somewhere along the way, my shoes had come off without my noticing.
I fled, clutching Nero as he thrashed against my grip, but my cursed stamina finally reached its limit.
“Ugh……!”
I stumbled over a stone and tumbled to the ground.
I tried desperately to get back up, but I was utterly spent—I couldn’t muster strength even for a finger. I lay there helpless.
Then, I let go of Nero, whom I’d been clutching so carefully.
“Go, run. Now.”
……
“I suppose this is where your mother ends. I’ll be the bait—don’t look back, just go…… My little one, I love you so very much.”
We’d only just found each other again, and already I hadn’t realized we’d part so soon—I wish I’d done less work and stayed by your side longer.
I wish I’d held you more, loved you more.
In the thought that this was the end, I spoke in scattered fragments and pushed at Nero’s back—and in that instant, hundreds of eyes opened across the cliffs surrounding me.
I had finally been cornered.
I squeezed my eyes shut, clinging to the desperate hope that Nero might escape safely while I drew the demon’s attention.
The creature, its eyes narrowed to cruel slits, lunged toward me.
[How dare you!]
A roar that shattered eardrums split the air as an enormous shadow fell across my head.
Nero… no—was that truly Nero?
What I had believed to be Nero swelled into a creature the size of a house, then hurled itself at the demon.

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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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