I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 1

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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 1
When Claire awoke from her long hibernation, she was greeted by the sweet fragrance of freesias.
“What is this?”
Her lips parted in bewilderment.
Claire had fallen asleep in a cabin nestled deep within a remote forest, yet when she stepped through the doorway, she found herself surrounded by a garden in full bloom.
“Did you sleep well?”
A man holding a bouquet of freesias turned to face her, his smile radiant and carefree.
He possessed fine, neatly combed silver-gray hair and striking blue eyes—an extraordinarily handsome figure.
“Theodore…?”
As I cautiously spoke his name, the man’s eyes gleamed with delight.
“Yes, Claire.”
At his gentle response, I bit the tender flesh inside my mouth.
Before entering hibernation, I had served as a maid in House Voltier, caring for their heir.
A gaunt Young Master with dull blue eyes and unkempt gray hair.
The Theodore Voltier I remembered was a pitiful boy consumed by madness, his life gnawed away by his own affliction.
Not this well-fed, predatory man standing before me with such provocative confidence.
“I missed you.”
Seemingly oblivious to my stunned silence, the man extended the bouquet toward me and approached with natural ease.
He leaned one hand against the doorframe, bending his torso forward as he spoke in a hushed tone.
“Listen, Claire.”
Despite his gentle expression, the rippling muscles visible through his unbuttoned shirt made me tense, and I instinctively averted my gaze.
“When would you like to have the wedding?”
“I beg your pardon?”
What kind of madness is this?
As though struck by a sudden deluge, my face contorted, and I looked up at him.
Behind his still-smiling expression, his eyes held an unexpected gravity.
‘Something is terribly wrong.’
An alarm blared ceaselessly in my mind, signaling danger.
Claire. Nineteen years old. Quarter brown bear beastkin.
Upon waking from hibernation, I now faced the crisis of acquiring a husband.
* * *
[House Voltier seeks servants.
Gender and age irrelevant. Those with robust and healthy constitutions preferred.
No criminal history required.]
The wages offered far exceeded the standard servant’s pay.
The conditions were unusually lax for a prestigious noble house recruiting honorable household staff.
It was a notice that invited suspicion from anyone who read it.
“Hmm.”
Yet there was one who examined the posting with solemn concentration, seemingly oblivious to such irregularities.
“This seems acceptable.”
Tall—taller than most men—with deep pink hair streaked with red that cascaded down past my shoulder blades. My eyes, slightly upturned at the corners and warm hazel in color, held a drowsy, languid quality.
“Yes, this has to be it.”
“Has to be what?!”
A middle-aged woman with her hand pressed to her forehead hurried toward Claire, who nodded as if her decision were already made.
“What’s wrong, Angela?”
“This is exactly why I can’t take my eyes off you for a second!”
Claire tilted her head as she watched Angela’s outburst, that innocent, guileless expression of hers leaving Angela utterly exasperated.
“Just looking at the terms, something feels off! Do you even know what House Voltier is? A bloodstained family with a war-obsessed margrave as its patriarch! Why would they throw money around and hire people like this?!”
“Because they have so much money it’s rotting away?”
Angela let out a hollow laugh at the simple answer.
She gazed up at the sky for a moment, steadying herself against the overwhelming sense of dread, then glanced around before leaning close to whisper in Claire’s ear.
“No. Because it’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
“Shh!”
Angela glanced furtively toward the Lord’s Castle in the distance before continuing.
“The Young Master of House Voltier suffers from violent madness. His episodes strike like seizures, and apparently, people get hurt and quit their jobs all the time.”
“I see.”
So that’s why the terms were like that.
As I nodded in understanding, Angela patted my shoulder reassuringly.
“Working as a mercenary with me is still the best choice. You inherited your mother’s talent—you could become a legendary mercenary!”
“No. Mother said mercenary work wasn’t something to do.”
That much was true.
Angela’s words caught in her throat at my immediate, unwavering response.
I watched her expression before speaking.
“Don’t worry so much. I won’t lose to some sheltered Young Master.”
‘That’s exactly the problem!’
I am the daughter of Veronica, Angela’s dear friend and a legendary gold-rank mercenary—a half-blood dire bear beastkin.
I inherited not just my mother’s appearance, but her abilities and temperament as well.
The superhuman physical prowess unique to dire bear beastkin, and the commanding presence that could subdue beasts with a mere glance.
Though I was only a quarter-blood, I had inherited the beastkin strength particularly intensely.
‘And on top of that, that characteristic innocent nature of hers that’s completely unpredictable.’
Angela exhaled deeply and pressed her hand to her throbbing forehead.
“I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about that Young Master. Do you have any idea how serious a charge of noble assault is?!”
“Ah.”
I turned away from Angela’s anxious gaze.
“I’ll control my strength.”
My mumbled excuse carried not a shred of confidence.
“Besides, I don’t plan to stay long. I’m going to earn enough to get through the winter and then quit.”
“You’re going into hibernation again?”
“Yes.”
As Claire answered as if it were obvious, Angela’s expression hardened.
“You…”
Angela, who struggled to continue speaking, let out a long sigh before she spoke.
“Fine, you’re eighteen now, so you must have your reasons. Just promise me you’ll run away immediately if things get dangerous.”
“That’s my specialty.”
“I’m sure it is.”
As Claire lifted the corners of her mouth with confidence, Angela’s expression lightened as well.
“Sigh. I’m getting old, getting old. Let’s just go eat.”
She shook her head and walked toward the dining hall first.
Claire followed Angela for a moment before stopping and turning her gaze toward the walls of the Lord’s Castle.
‘Just over eight meters. If worse comes to worst, I could jump down from there.’
Thinking of a thought that would astonish Angela if she heard it, Claire turned and continued walking.
* * *
“Once you go in, just wake the Young Master first. You must open the curtains only after waking him. He dislikes bright light.”
Claire walked through the corridor of House Voltier’s Mansion alongside a maid.
‘Can it really be this easy?’
Barely listening to the explanation of her duties, I recalled the events from two days ago.
Submitting the application, an interview scheduled immediately after, and the acceptance announcement made that same day.
The head maid hadn’t even touched the documents, rendering the false personal information that Angela had created at the Information Guild and that I had memorized pointless.
“Hey, you’re listening, right?”
Perhaps caught in my distraction, the maid named Alice now regarded me with narrowed eyes and suspicion.
“Yes, I’m listening.”
Claire nodded and looked down at her. Alice turned her head sharply without responding and stopped before an antique-looking door.
“This is the room. As you heard during the interview, your job is to wake the Young Master and attend to him.”
“Are there any other special circumstances I should know about?”
“There aren’t.”
Claire observed Alice quietly. As they approached the Young Master’s Room, Alice appeared increasingly anxious.
Eyes that avoided Claire’s gaze. Hands that trembled visibly despite her efforts to suppress it.
Even someone as indifferent to others as Claire could easily discern that Alice was hiding something.
‘They’re throwing me in without even mentioning his madness.’
It was no different from being cast without warning into the cage of a beast.
A strange atmosphere permeated the entire Mansion, as though they hoped I would come to harm.
‘Well, I’ll find out once I go in.’
Claire approached the door, leaving Alice behind.
“There’s no need to knock. He won’t wake up anyway unless someone wakes him. That’s why someone like you is needed.”
Claire nodded and immediately opened the door. Alice flinched and stepped back, but Claire paid no mind and slowly stepped into the dark room.
“Young Master, it’s time to wake up.”
Before Claire could finish speaking, a candlestick hurtled toward her head in an instant.
‘Interesting.’
Tilting her head to evade the candlestick lightly, she turned to look in the direction it had come from.
On the bed lay a figure, visibly seething with irritation, shoulders hunched in a sullen mass.
“Get out.”
A voice like the growl of a wounded beast reverberated through the room.
Disagreeable.
That was Claire’s first impression of Theodore.

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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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