I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 46

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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 46
‘At this rate, the rain will crack my skull open.’
As the atmosphere grew heavier by the second, Angela made a desperate effort not to displease her.
“No, it’s not that! I just noticed dust on the window frame and thought I’d clean it. I would never leave Eris unattended.”
At those words, Eris’s expression softened instantly, as if a page had been turned.
“That’s right? You’re such a kind child.”
Her face brightened with genuine delight as she gestured with her slender fingers.
“Don’t worry about cleaning. Come here quickly. The outside is dangerous, remember?”
“Yes.”
Angela obediently lay on the bed, resting her head on Eris’s lap. The thighs visible beneath her pristine silk dress felt as hard as stone.
‘I’m going insane, truly.’
As I felt her fingers brushing through my hair, I barely managed to hold back the burning sensation in my eyes. Ever since I lost consciousness on the plains and awoke, I’d been confined to this room. There was a window, but beyond it lay only a cliff—I couldn’t open it or leave through the door.
‘I’m not some princess in a fairy tale. At least a princess has a knight coming to rescue her. But me?’
There was no way a rescue team would come for someone as expendable as a Silver Badge Mercenary. My future was clear—I’d soon be declared dead.
‘Damn my luck. Of all people, I had to fall into the hands of an ability user.’
Eris, who appeared so delicate, was a formidable force capable of tearing people apart in an instant with her mysterious power. I had no desire to die painfully, so I had no choice but to continue this absurd charade.
‘Claire.’
For a moment, Claire’s face flashed through my mind.
‘She should be waking up from her winter sleep soon. She’ll wait for me.’
But I might never return. Just as Veronica never did.
‘This is why I didn’t want to form a family.’
“My beloved Erika, I will protect you. I promise I will protect you.”
As I listened to her chanting those words like an incantation, I slowly closed my eyes.
* * *
Following Hannah, I arrived at a small but tidy building on the Village Outskirts. The first floor appeared to be a warehouse for storing tea leaves, while the second floor seemed to be a living space.
Not long after Hannah went upstairs, a haggard-looking woman came tumbling down the staircase.
“Anthony!”
“Mom!”
Anthony, who had been sitting atop a box of tea leaves, burst into tears upon seeing his mother and ran toward her, his tension finally breaking.
‘They look so alike.’
I watched quietly as the mother and child, so similar in appearance, embraced and shared the joy of their reunion. Shortly after, the true mother wiped her tears and approached me.
“Thank you so much. I’m Lizzy, Anthony’s mother. I heard you saved my child.”
Before I could respond, Anthony suddenly blurted out.
“Mom! Claire is a beastkin too!”
“A beastkin?”
As Lizzy’s expression showed confusion, Hannah flicked Anthony’s forehead in reproach.
“It’s rude to reveal someone else’s identity without permission!”
“Ow…”
Anthony’s face crumpled from the sudden flick as he buried himself in his mother’s skirts. I awkwardly scratched my cheek and turned to Ebon.
“Can only I release my transformation?”
“It’s possible, but…”
“It’s fine. Trust is essential if we want to gather information anyway.”
She glanced at Theodore and Kenneth as if seeking their approval.
‘She seems more eager now that she knows they’re beastkin.’
Theodore had noticed that Claire’s eyes had grown brighter the moment they entered this village. It made sense—aside from her mother Veronica, she’d never encountered another beastkin before, so her excitement was understandable.
Since neither of them seemed inclined to object, Ebon temporarily lifted the ability he’d cast on Claire.
The crescent moon mark on her fingernails faded to white.
“Oh my!”
“See! She really is our sister!”
Her waist-length deep pink hair cascaded down. Claire, delighted to see her true form again after so long, savored the refreshing sensation.
“I was in disguise due to certain circumstances. As for my true appearance and the fact that I’m beastkin…”
“Of course we’ll keep it secret!”
Before Claire could even finish, the quick-witted Hannah cried out. Claire gave a short nod of gratitude.
“Then could we hear about the legend of Laten Plain? I’d like to know more about it.”
The rumor she’d heard in the city they’d visited earlier—that people vanish when a whirlwind blows across the plain. Since Angela was likely caught up in that same rumor, understanding the truth was the priority.
“Ah, that rumor.”
Lizzy and Hannah exchanged glances and sighed. Lizzy asked cautiously.
“Did someone precious to you get caught up in it?”
Sensing that they knew something, Claire’s group shifted their posture.
“Yes.”
“Then…”
Hannah asked Lizzy to take Anthony upstairs. Once the mother and child had left, she continued carefully.
“There’s a folk tale that’s been passed down in Laten Plain for a very long time.”
When a blue full moon rises, fairies living in the mountain range descend to the plain and enchant humans to take them away.
“Whenever fierce whirlwinds sweep down from the mountain range to the plain, people and livestock disappear, and that’s how the folk tale was born.”
Claire nodded slowly. She already knew this much.
“It was originally just a folk tale, you see. During times when the wind grows fierce and it’s dangerous, parents make up stories like that to keep children away. But then…”
People actually started disappearing.
“Starting half a year ago, first the village residents vanished, then travelers, and eventually even merchant caravans with escorts disappeared. Only then did everyone realize—something really does exist in that plain. Whether it’s a fairy or a monster.”
Theodore interjected as if finding something odd.
“If people are disappearing so regularly, wouldn’t an extermination or investigation team come?”
Kenneth answered the question.
“It’s right below Girten Mountain Range, so it’s not even a place with active trade routes. Why would the nobility waste money on a place like this?”
Laten Plain did have livestock farming as its specialty, but due to the severe whirlwinds, the area suitable for raising livestock properly wasn’t large. Occasionally, merchant caravans in a hurry would reluctantly cross through it, but that was all.
“Its only use was as a shortcut accounting for the whirlwinds, but now that it’s become a wasteland where you have to risk your life, they’d rather just close it off and abandon it.”
Hannah smiled bitterly in agreement.
“Exactly. Well, it’s actually been good for us. Since people lost interest in this land, it became perfect for us to hide here.”
“What’s the reason people are disappearing?”
“This is information we’ve gathered from the village people or glimpsed while flying, so it’s not entirely accurate…”
According to Hannah, who had been watching over the plain for a long time and accumulating information, it was like this.
First, whenever the full moon rises and one crosses the Plains, they inevitably encounter a mysterious whirlwind. Those caught in it vanish without a trace.
Second, the fate of those taken by the whirlwind remains unknown in most cases. However, a small number have returned alive.
Third, all who returned alive were women, and they have no memory of disappearing or of their time in the Plains.
“I was curious where the abducted people went, so I flew high to investigate. But there was a barrier.”
“A barrier?”
“Yes, in the sky.”
She pushed her glasses up and leaned in closer, speaking like someone sharing a secret.
“There’s a steep gorge in the section leading toward the Girten Mountain Range. In some areas there, the sky darkens as if you’ve entered clouds the moment you approach, and it becomes impossible to pass through comfortably—as if a wind barrier has formed.”
A spatial separation ability of some kind, perhaps.
Even checking the Guild’s records confirmed that Angela, kidnapped by the whirlwind, was still alive. Moreover, according to information I’d learned from the Owl Family, this legend seemed relatively favorable to women.
If she were imprisoned somewhere, it would have to be somewhere along the cliffs Hannah mentioned.
“Hmm, would it be easier to meet Angela directly by allowing myself to be taken by the whirlwind?”
“Isn’t that a gamble when we don’t clearly understand the whirlwind’s abilities?”
No matter how much we discussed it, no clear solution emerged besides entering the whirlwind directly.
“It’s certainly a dangerous method. But here’s what I’m thinking.”
Watching us deliberate, Hannah retrieved an old map from atop a pile of herbs. The Girten Mountain Range was drawn to the north, the Laten Plain below, and a single finger pointed upward decisively on the map.
“Since that problematic sky is in this area, I think it would be better to detour around the Mountain Range and investigate instead.”

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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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