I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 52

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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 52

I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth, a piece of neatly carved meat speared on it.

Though I was incredibly hungry, the intense stares directed my way were even more overwhelming, making it impossible to bring myself to eat.

I covered my mouth and whispered discreetly.

“Your Grace, did I do something wrong?”

The Duke, who had received the stares, shook his head as if asking what I was talking about.

“No, I simply failed to educate my subordinates properly. I don’t recall teaching them to be idiots who stare holes through a noblewoman during her meal. It seems special training to reform their mindset down to their bones is necessary.”

“…Oh my, I’m hungry! Let’s eat, let’s eat!!”

The moment the Duke emphasized ‘special training,’ the previously quiet room became boisterous again as if cold water had been splashed on it.

The Knights all buried their heads in their bowls in unison and began cutting earnestly.

Someone was diligently slicing an empty plate, while another’s bowl had meat so completely pulverized that its original form was unrecognizable.

Though it seemed somewhat crazy, I was already tired and decided not to mind it.

“Oh my, this is delicious.”

“I’m glad it suits your taste.”

The fatty meat melted smoothly in my mouth.

Eating frantically from hunger, my throat became dry, so I reached for my glass.

Though I knew I had a weak tolerance for alcohol, there was nothing else to drink, so I slowly moistened my throat with small sips of red wine, just enough not to get drunk.

As I paused my meal with a full stomach, the Duke spoke to me.

“This morning… I showed you a terrible sight. I nearly injured you by failing to control my strength, and I have no excuse.”

At this unexpected apology, I could only blink blankly.

An apology from ‘that’ Duke was so sudden that I couldn’t think of an appropriate response.

The Duke’s pupils darkened, perhaps interpreting my reaction in some way.

“Do you fear me?”

“I couldn’t be unaffected after seeing that scene.”

“…”

“Well, even so, I have no intention of cowering pathetically. Your Grace is not a god, after all. No matter how overwhelming your Martial Prowess, you’re ultimately just an ordinary human who cannot overcome time.”

Simply put, it meant that in a hundred years, both you and I would return to dust all the same.

Perhaps my sense of fear had been damaged by my previous life’s experiences.

‘But this is the conclusion I’ve reached.’

A brief silence passed.

The Duke, who seemed to be pondering something, let out a low laugh.

“An ordinary human… That’s the first time I’ve ever heard such words.”

“If I was rude, I apologize.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Then he raised his Wine Glass toward me and slowly took a sip.

His expression was unreadable, yet somehow seemed pleased.

‘I don’t understand.’

Why would he be happy about being called an ordinary human when I was disparaging the continent’s strongest warrior?

Truly an incomprehensible person.

Giving up on further thought, I picked up some Honey-Preserved Fruit and put it in my mouth.

The sweetness was so rich it was almost dizzying.

* * *

Late at night after the banquet ended.

Knights who couldn’t fall asleep easily gathered in small groups in the Clearing.

Training instead of sleeping when they couldn’t rest wasn’t much different from usual, but today, for some reason, all their expressions were subtly strange.

“What exactly did I see?”

One Knight who had been halfheartedly swinging his Sword finally voiced his true thoughts.

Using this as a signal, the other Knights who had abandoned their training also began to reveal their inner thoughts one by one.

“Is His Grace the type to carefully debone Meat for someone?”

“I’ve seen him carefully debone demon flesh.”

“Ah, I’ve seen that often too.”

His Grace on the battlefield was truly intimidating, overwhelming, and worthy of respect.

But what about His Grace in daily life?

To be honest, he was a distant existence. He didn’t feel like the same kind of human as themselves.

No matter how much Imperial Studies a ruler had learned, it should be impossible to perfectly control one’s emotions, yet His Grace had shown no emotions since childhood.

Sometimes he seemed to have no human emotions at all.

He appeared to feel no joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure, just watching time flow by like water.

Only gods could be indifferent to the passage of time.

The reason the Knights regarded Edwin as an absolute being they dared not defy lay not only in his tremendous military force but also in this underlying factor.

“His Grace smiled, didn’t he? Definitely at the Duchess…”

“Wait, let’s judge carefully. We might have all been seeing things.”

“Or it might have just been a sneer.”

“We need to remember the fact that we’ve never even seen His Grace sneer.”

Whenever someone proposed a theory, immediate rebuttals followed.

The more the discussion continued, the deeper the Knights’ confusion grew.

“Since we’re talking about it, I’ll confess a secret too. Actually, His Grace got angry recently.”

“Hey, even His Grace gets angry sometimes. How can you compare that to this—”

“It was when I spoke a bit harshly about the Duchess…”

The Knight confessing the secret was a relative of a renowned Physician from the inner castle walls.

‘Madam found fault with the most trivial issues, treated the Physicians like traitors, and extorted large sums under the pretext of fines. She was causing such a ruckus that it was absolute chaos!’

‘Didn’t she say she would stay quietly in her Inner Chamber? It didn’t seem like a lie…’

‘Surely you didn’t believe that?!’

This was around the time when Elisia had just married into Lombard.

Though it had mellowed somewhat now, back then hatred for the Duchess reached the heavens, especially during the period when calls to confine her to the Confinement Tower were most vehement.

The Knights regarded the Imperial Capital as their mortal Enemy, after all.

“I never thought those words would be problematic, but His Grace scolded me with displeasure in his voice, telling me not to speak carelessly about the Duchess.”

“No wonder you were the only one quiet when everyone else was clamoring for confinement!”

“Well… it’s not just for that reason. I heard various stories from my relative, so that’s part of it too.”

The things Elisia had done were gradually spreading Inside the Walls as well.

Of course, most inner castle wall residents had no contact with the outside, but some who did interact with the outer castle walls were beginning to doubt the existing rumors about the Duchess.

Most importantly, the Knights had seen it today.

The Duchess dining comfortably without fear despite witnessing their lord’s transcendent military force, and His Grace attentively caring for such a Duchess.

“This makes it seem like His Grace has af, af, affection… for the Duchess.”

The thought alone was so sacrilegious that he couldn’t even finish the sentence properly.

Anyway, while the Knights were collectively confused, someone came running excitedly from the Military Camp.

“It’s done, it finally passed!!”

“Sir Stefan?”

It was Stefan, the staff secretary who had been tormented by endless approvals at the Castle Keep and had permanently lost his smiling face.

Actually, Stefan, who was naturally tough, found Administration completely unsuited to his nature, but having the longest education among them, he was forced to take on paperwork.

Though he hated doing it, his sense of responsibility was thorough, so once he took on a task, he had to see it through to the end.

In other words, he fought with the damn Castle Keep Officials almost daily.

“You said it passed—surely you don’t mean the budget proposal?”

“What made those slow Officials approve it so quickly? I thought it would take a couple of years.”

“Come on, Sir Stefan must be dreaming. Why would those damn Castle Keep Officials do anyone any favors…”

The knights who had been giggling, thinking it was a joke, all shut their mouths at once.

Stefan showed them through action instead of words. He unfolded and held out the page stamped with the Duke’s official seal.

Some of the knights who could read snatched the documents away.

“It’s, it’s real?”

“That’s definitely His Grace’s official seal.”

But how could this be?

Just this morning they had heard Stefan rolling around the training ground wailing from his fit of rage.

How the matter had been resolved in just half a day was beyond comprehension.

“This is…”

The knights who had been quickly flipping through the pages hesitated.

Every blank space except the last one was filled with the same signature.

[Elisia Marsen Baldin La Lombard]

The identity of the benefactor who had solved at once the budget proposal problem that had been dragging on for over half a year, and would have continued dragging on for another half year.

It was none other than Duchess Elisia, whom they had so despised.

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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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