I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 40

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

Chapter 40
A brief silence fell between the three of us. Claire was the first to break it.
“How did you find me?”
I had moved in secret, yet both Kenneth and Theodore had located me with such ease. It was beyond frustrating—it was downright unfair.
“Did you have someone follow me?”
“No!”
Theodore denied it vehemently.
“There was talk of a suspicious outsider appearing in the territory, so I was simply checking the streets on the off chance it might be relevant.”
It was only half an excuse. Throughout the Estate, House Voltier had stationed numerous eyes to guard against any potential intruders.
‘Claire disappeared, and then I heard there was some madman wandering the streets, so I rushed over to check… only to find the madman was Claire.’
Finding that the madman was actually Claire, while somewhat anticlimactic, brought relief and eased his tension. Kenneth, seeming to grasp Theodore’s method of pursuit, offered a languid smile.
“My, you must have been quite startled.”
“You.”
A peculiar current flowed between the two men. As a heavy, probing atmosphere settled between them, I spoke.
“Young Master, this is Kenneth. His profession is…”
‘Why am I introducing him all of a sudden?’
Both men turned to look at me with blank expressions. I had begun introducing Kenneth to Theodore but suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
‘Should I really mention that he’s an Information Broker?’
The Guild’s very entrance method was classified—it was truly a place only those in the know could access. As I hesitated, worried that speaking carelessly might put Kenneth in an awkward position, I continued appropriately.
“He has no profession.”
“Claire?”
Kenneth, who had just become unemployed after being a branch manager of the Empire’s Greatest Grand Guild, Arcadia, let out a hollow laugh. Yet regardless of his reaction, I continued with the introduction.
“Kenneth, this is…”
“Theodore Voltier. Claire’s fiancé.”
A subtle victor’s smile played across Theodore’s face. Kenneth, hastily concealing his rapidly souring mood, forced a smile.
“Surely we’ve met before—it’s rather odd to introduce ourselves again.”
“We’ve met?”
My eyes widened at those words. Theodore smiled awkwardly and replied.
“There were various matters I needed to confirm.”
The branch of the Empire’s Greatest Grand Guild, located closest to House Voltier Estate. Two months ago, through Emilia’s introduction, he had met Kenneth. The man showed not a trace of surprise, as if deliberately displaying his engagement to Claire—an unpleasant individual indeed.
‘I lied for nothing.’
As I harbored brief regret, Theodore, who had been studying Kenneth with a cool gaze, turned toward me and spoke.
“If you’re finished here, let’s head back.”
“Very well.”
As we turned to leave, Kenneth waved his hand slowly with a bright smile.
“Then Claire, I’ll see you on the day we promised.”
“Promise?”
At those words, Theodore’s eyes darkened.
* * *
‘What promise?’
Throughout the journey back, Theodore remained lost in thought. When she needed something, she had sought out the Information Broker Network rather than House Voltier. Even after their engagement, Claire had never relied on or attempted to use House Voltier.
‘Is she perhaps searching for a place to leave?’
The thought sent a chill through his chest. Over the past year, even when she was by his side, she had planned her hibernation and actually left House Voltier for that purpose. There was nothing strange about her making her own plans once again.
“Claire.”
“Young Master.”
Claire’s voice overlapped with Theodore’s strained attempt to speak.
“Ah, go ahead. You speak first.”
Claire, not refusing his consideration, gave a short nod and spoke plainly.
“I need to leave for a while. I’m currently thinking it will be about a week.”
Before Theodore could even respond, her words continued to flow.
“Someone like family has been missing for several months with no trace. I want to go search for them directly, but it’s far from Voltier Territory. If my status as your fiancée would bring disgrace to House Voltier, I will relinquish my position as your betrothed and go.”
It was a clean summary of the situation, untainted by even the slightest deception. Theodore asked with a confused expression.
“Then what was that promise you mentioned earlier?”
“You said you knew Kenneth was part of the Information Guild, didn’t you? He knows the whereabouts of the person I’m searching for, so I’ve agreed to travel with him for a time. He’s someone I owe a debt to through my mother.”
A long breath that resembled a sigh escaped Theodore’s lips. He was relieved that Claire had no intention of leaving House Voltier permanently, yet it pained him that even in this urgent situation with someone like family missing, she had not asked House Voltier for help.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Pardon?”
“If you needed help, I would have done anything.”
Yet Claire merely tilted her head in confusion, as if unable to understand his pained expression.
“But this is my personal matter.”
In Kenneth’s case too, if he hadn’t made his accompaniment a condition of the information, Claire would have had no intention of bringing him along.
‘Why is he upset?’
It was true that I had grown anxious about Angela. I had hurriedly sought out the Information Broker Network and quickly decided to depart.
‘But I haven’t done anything that would harm House Voltier.’
Nearly half my life. And that too during my most formative years of rapid growth—I had spent it entirely alone. Even now, living a bustling daily life through my contract with House Voltier, it was difficult for the deeply ingrained patterns of thought accumulated over such a long time to change in an instant.
“I will ensure no harm comes to House Voltier.”
Making decisions and acting alone was familiar to me. It had always been this way.
“So there’s no need to worry.”
In the forest where only the sound of wind was clear, it was none other than myself who had always stood beside young Claire. I had to overcome hardships alone, and I had to endure sorrow by myself.
Even if I forcibly carved out the Forest Cottage and grafted it onto House Voltier’s magnificent Garden, it would be nothing more than a crude sketch forcibly attached to a beautiful masterpiece.
Even in the same space, there was a clear line between us.
“Claire.”
Theodore called her name softly and paused for a moment. Shadows cast by clouds fell across his face as he maintained his silence. But when he spoke again.
“I wasn’t worried about House Voltier. I was worried about you.”
The sun emerged once more, and sunlight poured down purely upon them both.
“I was afraid your heart would suffer because someone precious to you is missing, that you might hesitate because of us when you want to leave immediately, and that you might be in danger as you set out on this journey.”
A gentle breeze stirred his silver hair lightly. The light danced along his strands like shimmering ripples on water.
“Claire, I followed you here purely out of concern for you.”
His warm brown eyes blinked slowly.
“Why?”
A genuine question tumbled out before I could stop it. At that, he laughed playfully and answered.
“You did the same thing when you saved me from madness.”
Claire, who had come to the Mansion as a maid. She had nearly died protecting Theodore, yet harbored not a shred of resentment—that was the Claire of those days.
“But that was only because I was your Young Master’s maid.”
Claire spoke as if making an excuse. Yet Theodore waited with a smile, showing not the slightest hint of disappointment, and continued as though he had anticipated this very moment.
“Right. Which is why this is a fiancée’s concern.”
He had long known that Claire drew boundaries with others. Bound by the name of fiancée, she was a person perpetually braced for separation—like paper marked with a dotted line, forever ready to tear away.
‘But I have no intention of letting her go so easily.’
If Claire could not find a sense of belonging and kept yearning to leave, then he would weave countless other memories and ordinary moments suited to her into her life.
The moment that tattered canvas transformed into a beautifully complete collage, their relationship would reach its turning point.
“So let me come with you. So I won’t have any regrets.”
Seeing his eyes brimming with conviction and warmth, Claire found herself nodding like one entranced.

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