I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 73

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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 73

Ramon’s speculation was somewhat correct.

Edwin had recently acknowledged his inescapable feelings for Elisia and decided to stop forcing himself to build walls or avoid her.

He could no longer just stand by and watch her get hurt so badly.

‘No, this is probably just an excuse too.’

The truth was, he wanted to monopolize her.

He wanted to make her wear fine clothes and eat precious food in his embrace, living happily without any more hardships.

But at the same time, he didn’t want to become someone who would block Elisia’s dreams.

With her battered body, literally without a single uninjured part, she would shut herself in the government office from morning to night, handling official duties and examining current issues.

So instead of voicing his desires, Edwin wanted to follow her everywhere and protect her, but even this wasn’t going well.

‘They can’t come out because they’re afraid of me.’

The citizens of Bellamare that Elisia cherished so much.

Though he tried to hide himself, there was no way he wouldn’t notice the presence of others lurking around the administrative residence.

Edwin gave them opportunities by holding Elisia and strolling through the garden, or deliberately slowing down the carriage to move slowly.

Though the administrative residence and government office were close, they still had to pass through the city district, so if the citizens wanted, they could easily block the way and voice their concerns.

But perhaps because Edwin was always with her.

The citizens were too afraid of him to dare step forward.

‘I hope they don’t miss this last chance.’

Since it would be worrying to leave the patient alone for too long.

As he was about to go back up to the office to deal with the officials who had troubled Elisia, the recent incident suddenly came to mind.

‘Elisia has no awareness that she stimulates men.’

How adorable she looked reaching out her hands as if asking to be held, and when she looked up at him purely, not knowing that her urging gaze could be read with different meanings—

It really made his vision spin.

It was dangerous.

But he couldn’t bear to reveal his wicked desires to Elisia, who had begun to trust him purely, so he could only collapse weakly and take deep breaths.

Because he had no intention whatsoever of taking her under the pretext of a great noble’s duty.

He had resolved countless times that it would be enough if they could stay by each other’s side with mutual respect, like friends, and sometimes like political partners.

‘Anyone who saw this would mock me for being unbecoming of a duke’s dignity.’

But it didn’t matter.

Right now, just seeing Elisia alive and smiling was happiness beyond compare.

* * *

Though the carriage was always slow, today it moved particularly slowly.

Since the road surface was uneven, moving slowly was better to reduce the impact on my injured ankle, but still, there should be limits.

I stared blankly out the window at the scenery moving like a crawling turtle.

Gareth, who was riding alongside the carriage, noticed my gaze and spoke to me.

“Do you need anything?”

“Not really… Are you alright? Your jaw, I mean?”

“I’m fine.”

“For such a clear answer, it’s still quite swollen.”

I had roughly heard the situation from Gilbert, my personal physician.

While I was asleep for several days, the greatly angered Edwin had punished Gareth for failing to properly protect the duchess.

Though it was quite a light punishment for someone as strict about military discipline as him—

Anyway, Gareth had dismissed it as a trivial wound, ignored Gilbert’s nagging, and went to a barbershop to have his broken molar pulled out with pliers.

He really had quite a remarkable personality in many ways.

“Thank you for giving me another chance.”

“I couldn’t just ignore the fact that you lost a tooth because of me.”

“You could ignore it. You’re in a position to do so, Madam.”

“Don’t paint me as a cold-blooded person without blood or tears.”

Edwin had tried to dismiss Gareth and assign another knight as my guard.

But I refused.

The cave incident was largely my responsibility. If Gareth had ignored my orders and killed the citizens, he wouldn’t have been punished by Edwin.

But I was concerned about their circumstances, so I hid my identity and stayed in the cave, which became a butterfly effect leading to this result.

If Gareth was guilty of anything, it was only following my stubbornness.

‘And actually, there’s one more reason…’

It was related to my past death.

On the day I was dragged before Elisia, those who came to my house to arrest me were elite knights who worked as Edwin’s close retainers at the time.

Since I had been close to Edwin since childhood, I knew the faces of his retainers well.

But when they beat and dragged me out, they really didn’t seem human.

‘Since he brought the entire army, I thought I would definitely encounter them this time.’

When I first heard that Edwin’s elite forces had come down to Bellamare, I didn’t have the confidence to face them normally.

Because they were the ones who cruelly… killed Nero, that poor, small child who tried to protect me.

But throughout my stay in Bellamare, I never saw their faces even once.

“By the way, Sir, I have something I’m curious about.”

“Please ask.”

“Is there an age limit to join the Duke’s personal guard?”

“Do you wish to enlist? Even if you are Madam, that’s a bit…”

I pretended not to notice Gareth’s clear look telling me to give up and got to the point.

“For a personal guard, most of them seem young. If they’re retainers who have served the Duke’s family for generations, wouldn’t there usually be more variety in age groups?”

“Ah.”

Gareth showed a rare troubled expression.

“I don’t know the exact details either, but… after our lord received the ducal title, there was a rebellion within the personal guard during his first campaign. Half the personnel were slaughtered in the suppression process.”

“A rebellion? What do you mean?”

I couldn’t hide my shock at hearing this for the first time.

This had never happened in my previous life.

The Edwin of the past had earned the loyalty and respect of many knights despite his young age.

No matter how seasoned a veteran warrior, it would have been difficult to even think of rebellion in that atmosphere.

“Tell me more details about what happened.”

“I apologize. It’s classified information, and I was just a mere squire at the time, so I don’t know the situation in detail. However—”

If retainers had rebelled against a young lord who had just inherited the family, the surrounding lords wouldn’t have stayed quiet.

The Northern Region would have turned into a bloody battlefield.

Therefore, the rebellion incident was kept strictly secret, and it was only known to the outside that he had received the ducal title and greatly reorganized his personal guard.

‘What on earth happened.’

Since the situation was completely different from what I knew, I was dumbfounded.

No, had Edwin changed?

‘I don’t know.’

My head was complicated.

Though there had been parts that differed from the past in this life, the cause and effect were clear.

The mine accident was like that too. Since I, unlike the duchess of the past, didn’t go winter hunting, the mountain wasn’t closed and the accident timing was also moved up.

Because the miners didn’t stop working.

But Edwin was different. His changes were hard to see as an extension of the cause and effect I had changed.

‘This world might not be a simple repetition of the past.’

What if it’s a completely different world that only looks similar?

Then how should I view Edwin?

Him, who had desperately rushed through rough mountain paths day and night to save me.

“…”

I don’t know what to do.

It was at that moment when some indefinable emotion was gently tickling her chest.

The carriage, which had been moving so slowly like a crawling turtle that she had forgotten it was even moving, came to a stop with a creaking sound.

The coachman shouted for them to get lost, and the knights who realized there was trouble rushed forward one after another.

“Duchess! Please listen to what we have to say!”

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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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