I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 5

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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 5
Whether she was monitoring Isabella or Claire herself remained unclear.
‘Perhaps it was both.’
Claire recalled the proper rules of service that Angela had taught her.
The duties she had received upon contracting with House Voltier were simply ‘to attend to Theodore Voltier without causing him discomfort.’
‘If it becomes detrimental to the Young Master, I’ll deal with it then.’
Claire ignored the presence and quietly pulled the trolley forward.
It had been two months since Claire began working at the House Voltier Estate.
A subtle shift had occurred in Theodore’s daily life—one spent entirely confined to his room. Claire had begun taking him out to the Garden.
‘It was nothing short of reckless.’
‘What, taking the Young Master to the Garden? What foolishness. That Young Master is easiest to manage when he’s locked away in his room.’
When Claire first requested a wheelchair to take Theodore outside, the Head Butler and every other servant had expressed their disapproval.
Yet Claire found their objections difficult to comprehend.
‘If anyone spent all day confined to a room with blackout curtains drawn, even a perfectly sound person would go mad.’
Watching Theodore live like a beast within those four walls, Claire felt the necessity of environmental improvement.
‘The Young Master’s condition has improved recently. I believe there would be no significant issues in the Garden.’
‘Hmm.’
The Head Butler reluctantly approved Claire’s proposal.
Claire’s expression hardened as she bowed her head and returned to Theodore’s side.
‘Acting as though she were the master herself.’
Count Voltier, the patriarch and grandfather of the siblings, had not returned from the Border in quite some time. Among those remaining in the Mansion, Theodore and Isabella held the highest positions—not the Head Butler.
‘A fox playing master over a weakened beast.’
It was absurd how the master of the estate required a servant’s permission to move about.
Claire arrived at Theodore’s door and knocked lightly.
“Young Master, it’s Claire. I’m coming in.”
This was their signal—a prelude to the struggle that would follow.
The moment Claire entered, Theodore, seized by his madness, lunged toward her.
‘There’s definitely a pattern to it.’
When Claire subdued him and waited a moment, clarity would return to his murky blue eyes, and he would become docile.
‘Is this truly ordinary madness?’
Persistent and repetitive delirium. Though she possessed no proper knowledge of mental illness, Claire wondered if improving his environment might ease Theodore’s affliction.
“Young Master, what if we ventured to the Garden today? I’ve prepared a wheelchair outside, so there should be no difficulty in moving about.”
Theodore’s eyes widened as he was wrapped in blankets and transferred to the bed.
Claire witnessed a fleeting glimmer of hope in his gaze—but it faded just as quickly, his murky eyes closing as he surrendered to despair.
“How ridiculous. Go out looking like this monstrosity?”
His voice, now that the madness had subsided, was parched and cracked like that of someone who hadn’t touched water in days.
“You’re not hideous.”
Claire spoke with conviction.
“And why should you need to maintain formality when stepping into your own courtyard? It’s merely a simple change of scenery.”
She paused before continuing.
“And as for the madness, I will do everything in my power to prevent it. Won’t you trust me just once?”
Theodore’s eyes opened again.
His face remained forward as his gaze shifted to look at Claire. His pale brown eyes regarded her with an unwavering calm.
Though his expression appeared much as it always did, there was something about it that seemed confident, and Theodore’s tension eased.
“Very well.”
The quiet reply tumbled out. Theodore seemed somewhat surprised by his own words and closed his eyes again.
“Yes.”
Claire began her preparations for the outing with a satisfied expression.
* * *
The spring sunlight was warm and gentle.
Flowers that had bloomed after surviving winter swayed softly in the spring breeze, scattering their fragrance.
“How beautiful.”
As I pushed Theodore’s wheelchair, I slowly took in my surroundings. My experience with flower viewing had been limited to spending time among the wild flower clusters on the mountain, so this proper Garden was entirely new to me.
Theodore said nothing whether I was lost in admiration or not, but I paid it no mind and continued speaking.
“Those yellow flowers have such a lovely fragrance.”
Delicate yellow blooms atop slender green stems. I found the field of yellow flowers, clustered like little stars, utterly charming.
It was then that Theodore’s tightly sealed lips finally opened.
“Freesia.”
“Pardon?”
“That flower’s name. It’s called freesia.”
“Ah, I see. What a lovely name.”
It was a very brief exchange.
Yet I was inwardly astonished that we had managed to have such an ordinary conversation.
‘Die, disappear, how foolish, how irritating—so he could speak normal words after all.’
A fleeting image passed before my eyes of a raccoon that had bared its teeth every day finally accepting food for the first time.
Pleased with myself, I slowly pushed the wheelchair through the path of freesia flowers. The blooms were fragrant and the air was warm.
It was perhaps inevitable that Theodore, seated in his wheelchair, began to nod off.
‘Oh. He’s sleeping.’
I gazed quietly down at Theodore’s sleeping face.
In the Bedroom, we rarely had the chance to observe his face in detail, as he would lunge at me the moment our eyes met, but seeing him like this, he was undeniably a beautiful man.
‘Perhaps it’s because he’s been gaining a little weight lately, but he seems to have grown even more handsome.’
With the tension released from his perpetually furrowed brow, his defenseless face appeared quite pure.
‘Still, I’m glad he can sleep so peacefully.’
Though I had often seen Theodore sleeping in the dark Bedroom, this was the first time I had witnessed him in such a state of relaxation, sleeping soundly without tension.
‘I should bring him to the Garden more often.’
Sunlight truly is the best medicine.
I spent a considerable time pushing the wheelchair around the Garden until Theodore awoke.
From the moment Theodore stepped outside his Room, the servants vanished as though he were plague itself, which instead allowed us to leisurely savor our peaceful solitude.
‘The Pond is quite splendid as well.’
My gaze fell upon the Pond situated at one corner of the Garden. Around the shallow Pond, where the water seemed to reach about shin-deep, charming little statues were arranged as decoration.
As I leisurely admired the statues, I soon noticed someone hiding in the Garden.
Turning my head slowly from the statue toward the landscaping shrubs, I whispered.
“Have you come to see the Young Master? Miss Isabella.”
“Hiccup!”
A hiccupping sound emerged from behind the neatly trimmed hedges. Soon, Isabella covered her mouth with her own hands and peeked her head around the side of the shrub.
“······How did you know?”
‘I just did.’
I scratched my cheek. Children’s breathing is louder than one might think. No matter how hard they tried to hide, they couldn’t escape my keen senses.
‘And that red hair is far too conspicuous.’
In the end, I chose to deflect the conversation appropriately.
“Shall I wake the Young Master for you?”
At those words, Isabella startled and waved her hands frantically.
“No, wait.”
Her voice was hushed, as if worried that Theodore might wake.
Her large, round blue eyes trembled slightly. I found it curious how Isabella, so unlike her usual self, was acting as meek as a lamb.
“It should be fine, shouldn’t it? It’s nearly time for him to go inside anyway.”
“No, I said no.”
Isabella’s face flushed crimson, her expression turning tearful as she glanced between Theodore and me before suddenly turning away. It seemed she intended to leave as she was.
‘She’s just leaving like that?’
I watched the child’s retreating figure with bewilderment.
‘Just like in the Corridor. Just like here. She hovers nearby but never actually engages in direct conversation.’
Is she afraid of his condition?
Questions arose, but I didn’t bother to stop the departing Isabella.
‘Well, she must have her reasons.’
As I suppressed my curiosity and gazed blankly at the child’s retreating form, Isabella suddenly stopped and turned halfway toward me.
‘Shh!’
She brought her index finger to her lips and nose in a hushing gesture.
‘A secret?’
Isabella’s expression turned impish as she dashed away, leaving the Garden. At her clumsy, hurried gait, I let out a small, quiet laugh.
“Mm.”
Immediately after Isabella disappeared, Theodore’s eyes slowly opened.
“Did you sleep well?”
His drowsy eyes soon regained focus as he looked up at me.
I had ventured into the Garden with half-hearted doubts, but during those six months of his condition, I had never slept so soundly.
Theodore nodded obediently. Seeing this, my lips curved upward.
‘A raccoon fresh from sleep is languid and oddly warm.’
Had Theodore heard that, he would have jumped up indignantly, but the unsuspecting Theodore simply gazed at my smile quietly.
“······Let’s head back now.”
We left the Garden before the day had completely darkened.
Whether from the sunset or not, Theodore’s ears were entirely flushed red.

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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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