I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 21

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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 21
“Red paper?”
Claire hastily stopped Theodore as his hand instinctively reached toward the fluttering scraps of paper.
“Wait.”
She pulled him away from the bed, her pupils dilating as she did.
‘A talisman? That’s dangerous.’
The damp, musty scent of aged wood mingled with the metallic stench of blood and earth—the red paper exhaled the reek of a tomb. The characters written in black were a language I’d never seen before, yet even at a glance, they radiated an ominous dread.
“We need to leave this room immediately.”
Claire was certain this talisman was the source of Theodore’s affliction. Theodore swallowed hard and nodded, his own suspicions confirmed.
“Yes.”
An ancient talisman bearing the weight of years—one that appeared to be at least two or three years old. There was only one person in the Mansion who could have hidden such a thing in Theodore’s Bedroom.
“Let’s go to Isabella first.”
As the two of them tore their eyes from the talisman and hurried from the room—
“Where are you two going at this hour?”
“Uncle…?”
Gregory stood before the door as if he’d been waiting, a Knight at his side. The man with his slate-blue hair neatly bound and draped over one shoulder smiled languidly.
“It’s nighttime now.”
A predator’s satisfied ease—and Claire’s expression hardened with killing intent.
“Isn’t it time to sleep? Sleep is truly vital for one’s health.”
Despite positioning an armed Knight behind him, his words dripped with tenderness. Theodore clenched his lower lip, then asked in a low voice.
“What is all this?”
“What is?”
Gregory bent his knees slightly to meet Theodore’s gaze, his tone soft as if coaxing a child.
“What troubles you? Why am I standing guard at your door?”
He tilted his head at an angle and paused, his eyes crinkling with delight.
“Or perhaps you’re wondering when those things ended up in your bed?”
Gregory’s expression lit up like someone presenting a surprise gift and awaiting the reaction. Theodore felt his stomach churn so violently his vision nearly blanched white.
‘Is that really Uncle?’
The dignified, benevolent uncle he’d always known had vanished without a trace, leaving only a sinister madman moving his lips before him. As Theodore struggled to respond, his lips trembling, Claire exhaled sharply.
“You’re clearly not in your right mind.”
The scent of a tomb clung to him like a talisman—a smell I should have detected sooner. That unpleasant, lingering dampness beneath stone, the reek of moisture trapped underground. And Gregory’s expression brimmed with nothing but madness, making his intentions impossible to discern.
“How sad that you see it that way. But I assure you, I am perfectly sane.”
Claire ignored his excuses, her eyes scanning the surroundings.
‘Fortunately, Gregory has no sword at his waist. But to reach the Young Lady’s Room, I’ll have to cut through the Knights.’
Twelve Knights visible in the Corridor. Their martial prowess remained unclear, but the prospect of fighting through them while protecting a sickly burden weighed heavily on my mind.
“Today is a day I’ve long anticipated. Of course, I would have preferred Theodore to notice on his own, but the fact that you came to find him yourself—isn’t that fate?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Claire no longer bothered to conceal her hostility, her brow furrowed deeply. Theodore, pale as death, gripped Claire’s arm as he spoke.
“Did you do all this to kill him? Do you covet the Count’s position?”
His voice dropped with weight, yet trembled visibly. Nevertheless, stepping before Claire to block Gregory’s path, he continued in a voice wracked with anguish.
“You should have just asked me directly to hand it over. I would have given House Voltier to you without hesitation, Uncle!”
At those words, Gregory’s smile vanished from his face in an instant, though he had been grinning until now.
“What are you saying?”
Where playfulness had been, murderous intent flooded in. His eyes darkened with obsessive, crystalline fixation. Gregory stepped closer and seized Theodore by both forearms.
“Young Master!”
“I’m fine.”
Theodore turned to look at Claire and nodded, then lifted his gaze back to his uncle’s eyes. Gregory, now stripped of his composure, wore an expression heavy with disappointment, his brows drawn down.
“That’s not it! Do you think House Voltier is something you can simply hand over so lightly?”
As his fingernails pressed hard into Theodore’s forearm, blood slowly seeped through the fabric of his nightclothes.
‘This madman.’
Claire gritted her teeth but didn’t rush forward. Theodore continued signaling with his hand for her to stay back.
“If you didn’t want House Voltier, then why did you do this?”
“Because it was for House Voltier.”
Claire whispered rapidly without taking her eyes off Gregory.
“Young Master, I don’t think he’s reasoning with us.”
His eyes were clearly unhinged—not someone worth reasoning with. Just as I was thinking this would be a waste of time, Gregory’s mouth opened again.
“Theodore, what do you think is the symbol of House Voltier? What do people call Count Voltier?”
“The Guardian of the Border. The Undefeated Knight.”
At Theodore’s answer, joy suddenly flooded Gregory’s face.
“Yes! The Undefeated Knight! A being who transcends humanity with supernatural power, protecting the Empire from the dangers of the Border! But here’s the thing.”
The man wore a dreamy, hazy expression as he released Theodore’s arm and gently brushed his hair back.
‘He really is just insane.’
At his sudden change in demeanor, Claire regarded him with utter disgust. But Gregory paid no mind and simply continued with what he had to say.
“But since no one with supernatural power has emerged beneath Ludwig, that title of the Undefeated Knight is now on the verge of extinction.”
His hand tenderly caressed a lock of Theodore’s hair.
“Leopold. I never had expectations for that fool anyway. But you are different. This ash-gray hair, identical to the first Voltier. You must still carry the spark of House Voltier within you.”
“What does that have to do with that ominous object?”
“That?”
Gregory gazed at the bed scattered with red talismans, like a dead beast with its side torn open. He let out a low laugh as if he’d heard an amusing story.
“That paper isn’t something to fear. It’s merely a device to help awaken you.”
“A device to help manifest supernatural power?”
I’d never heard of such a thing. If this were true, the Empire would have been turned upside down long ago.
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s possible. Because I am the subject of the experiment.”
“An experiment?”
“When a person dies, where do you think their supernatural power goes? Does it disappear? Does it vanish from the world as if it never existed? But then what of inherited power? What is the difference between those who possess strength and those who do not?”
Gregory had always wondered: when a person dies and their body rots away and disappears, does their power also dissolve into the world and vanish? If so, how could one prevent its loss?
“The truth is, supernatural power dwells in the human soul. So if you can seize the spirit of the dead, you can also capture that power.”
What seeped into the paper was the souls of the departed.
Beings that should have returned to earth according to natural law were held back, their rest disturbed. Thus, by gathering the angry power of these restless spirits into a bundle and stimulating Theodore with it, he sought to awaken the latent power of House Voltier that lay dormant within him.
“A bed is hardly conducive to sweet dreams. The abilities of the dead perpetually hunger for the bodies of the living. Should they continue to intrude, you will inevitably become like them.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed. The scent of the tomb. A damp, lingering echo like the death rattle of dying things. Now she could finally discern the true nature of the fragrance emanating from the man.
‘He has accepted the dead as part of himself.’
Nausea rose in Claire’s throat, which she barely managed to suppress.
“To repel their intrusion, your soul will have no choice but to awaken its ability.”
Theodore, feeling a nausea similar to Claire’s, asked with difficulty in response to the tender whisper.
“And if I cannot?”
“What?”
“If I am overwhelmed and consumed by the dead? If what awakens is not the ability of House Voltier, but that of the dead?”
Gregory blinked briefly at the question laden with unmistakable fury. As though the answer were obvious, he rolled his eyes for a moment before speaking.
“Then you would be dead to me. Like Leopold.”

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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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