I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 40

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 40

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“Brother Vincent still hasn’t returned?”

I widened my eyes at Ramon’s report.

Vincent had disappeared after the thanksgiving banquet at the monastery. No one in Lombard had seen him since.

But no matter how I thought about it, he wasn’t the type to vanish without permission, so I had been secretly worried and ordered Ramon to investigate.

“Are you certain? Did you check with the parish too?”

“Of course. When I said it was Madam’s order, I was able to meet Sister Godelina, who is the Archbishop’s assistant priest. But…”

The Sister was also quite perplexed by Vincent’s sudden disappearance, as he had just been assigned from the Holy Capital.

They were also making inquiries about Vincent’s whereabouts in their own way, but there had been no progress.

Suddenly, I felt a sense of unease.

“Where on earth did he go? He wasn’t eaten by wild beasts, was he? No, surely not.”

Vincent’s expertise in religious law had been crucial to successfully completing the temple construction.

I wanted to give the Brother appropriate compensation for preparing such an excellent countermeasure ahead of the Inquisitor’s visit.

It would be even better if he became one of my people while I was at it.

Though he was overly timid by nature, he was still very capable, so having him on my side would be beneficial in the long run.

“Should we send search parties into the mountains?”

“It’s unlikely, but… just in case, that would be good. However, we need His Grace’s permission to mobilize the troops.”

Even the capable administrative manager’s voice lacked its usual confidence.

The timing of Brother Vincent’s disappearance was problematic.

According to the monastery people’s testimony, the Brother left the dining hall shortly after the Duke and I went up to the bedroom.

Despite being told it was dangerous at night and to wait until morning, he had smiled and said he would be fine.

And quite leisurely at that.

‘Brother is from the Holy Capital, so he might not have known how dangerous the night roads are.’

Lombard bordered a massive mountain range, with ridges extending throughout the northern region crossing between villages.

Wild beasts frequently came down to residential areas because of this.

It would be a danger difficult for someone from the peaceful Holy Capital near the Mediterranean to comprehend.

“Do I absolutely need His Grace’s permission? It’s just moving part of the guard.”

“Because the Lombard army has the special mission of defending the Northern Wall, unlike other territories, only the lord can directly command them. This is absolutely impossible even for Madam.”

“I know, I know. I was just asking.”

I knew Lombard’s military law better than anyone.

It was precisely at this point that my past self had no choice but to accept Edwin’s betrayal. Because those who came to arrest me were none other than the Lombard army.

Even the Emperor couldn’t move them.

They were a group that only followed the lord’s orders.

“I’ll get His Grace’s permission myself.”

Several days had already passed since Brother’s disappearance.

I hurried to the VIP guest room, hoping that timid priest was still safe and sound.

We were in the middle of entertaining guests.

Normally I shouldn’t have left during the banquet, but Ramon’s expression was too serious to ignore.

I knocked lightly at the VIP guest room door.

“I didn’t keep you waiting too long, did I?”

“How could that be, my lady. Even the brief wait was an enjoyable time.”

As I entered, the Duke sitting at the head seat smiled brightly in response.

It wasn’t just polite talk – he seemed genuinely pleased with his time with the guest. His smile looked suspiciously refreshed.

But since I had no particular interest in the Duke, I immediately turned my gaze to the opposite side.

And I was startled.

“Count Alnor? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

“…Ah, haha! No, I’m not.”

Count Alnor, today’s banquet guest of honor, answered hastily.

But for someone claiming nothing was wrong, the Count’s complexion looked somehow pale.

When he first arrived in Lombard… no, even just moments ago, he had been arrogantly confident to the point of rudeness.

Now he was breaking out in cold sweat and couldn’t even make proper eye contact with me.

Anyone could see he clearly wasn’t alright.

“My personal physician is quite skilled – how about meeting with him once?”

“Oh, no! I couldn’t trouble the Duchess with such a trivial matter…”

“What do you think, Your Grace?”

I pretended not to hear his refusal and turned to the Duke.

The Duke, who had been coldly serious with worry for the Count, suddenly tilted his head.

“Is there really a need to call the personal physician? Any physician from the inner castle walls should suffice. Or even a veterinarian would be fine.”

“Your Grace has no talent for jokes whatsoever.”

“It’s not a joke – he really does look fine. If you can’t believe it, why don’t we ask the Count’s opinion directly?”

The Duke who made this suggestion stared intently at the Count.

“Ah, haha! I’m naturally fine. I’ve never eaten such luxurious food in Alnor before, so my stomach was just a bit surprised, haha!”

“You see. Isn’t that right?”

The smile on the Duke’s lips deepened.

As if responding, the Count also nodded repeatedly.

‘Why are they suddenly acting like this?’

Actually, when I first met Count Alnor, there were many things that rubbed me the wrong way.

I could understand his resentment toward me since he’d been comfortably profiting from supply contracts thanks to his cousin, only to suddenly have that cut off.

But I was still the Duchess, yet he wouldn’t even turn his head toward me and only kept bowing before the Duke.

I could even feel his retainers intentionally ignoring me, so my plan to give the Count a little trouble was about to change significantly.

But now, for some reason, he had undergone a complete change of heart and was being incredibly polite.

‘Even his retainer…’

Was looking at me with sparkling eyes as if I were some kind of savior.

Both lord and vassal seemed to be in rather poor mental states.

“Then let’s continue with the meal.”

At my gesture, the banquet resumed.

This was a gathering meant to soften the atmosphere before serious negotiations began.

Usually such negotiations lasted anywhere from a few days to several months, but the Duke seemed to want to wrap things up as quickly as possible.

He had summoned the Count as soon as he received the lawsuit report.

I didn’t know what the Duke’s envoy had said, but the Count had rushed here in just two days, covering a distance that should have taken at least four.

This meant the time to respond to the lawsuit had been drastically reduced.

Thanks to this, the bureaucrats who had been suffering from consecutive all-nighters were glaring at me, but I didn’t bat an eye.

‘I just need to take my bonus and get out.’

Anyway, I ignored those lunatics and focused solely on eating.

I planned to ask the Duke about searching for Brother during the brief break after the banquet, so I ate faster than usual to keep up.

‘Is it just my imagination? It seems like we’ve been having home-style cooking more often lately… anyway, it’s delicious.’

I nodded while dipping buttered rye bread into chickpea soup.

Completely unaware of what the Duke was up to above my head while I wasn’t looking.

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After the banquet ended and before serious negotiations began, there was a brief rest period.

The Count, who had been guided to the reception room, collapsed onto the sofa as soon as all the Duke’s servants disappeared.

His legs had given out, and he couldn’t care less about dignity or anything else.

“Huff, huff, what on earth was that?”

While the Count’s reaction was particularly strong, his retainers’ reactions weren’t much different.

The Duke that the Alnor party first encountered was, as rumored, a calm man with a somehow detached impression.

His politeness toward his wife was unexpected, but since great nobles always wear masks, the Count and his party acted according to their original plan.

To win favor with the Duke who disliked his duchess, they deliberately ignored the duchess and only praised the Duke.

Throughout the dinner, the Duke’s expression remained quite gentle, so they believed without doubt that things would go well.

Then an opportunity came at just the right time.

The duchess briefly left her seat during dinner, apparently having some matter to attend to.

The Count casually broached the subject.

‘Your Grace, this must be quite troublesome for you.’

‘Hmm?’

‘Leaving her seat in the middle of dinner. Really now, did she not learn proper etiquette at the Imperial Palace? What kind of discourtesy is this in front of guests?’

‘Guests? Who.’

All Imperial Nobility decided marriages according to their family’s status and interests.

If a couple was lucky enough to get along well, that was fortunate, but most did not, and lightly gossiping about one’s spouse when they left the room was considered small talk to lighten the mood in Northern Social Circles.

But the Duke’s demeanor was far from ordinary.

The Duke, who had been acting like a courteous person all along, suddenly had his eyes turn ice-cold.

It was a gaze as if looking down at an insignificant fly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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