I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 62

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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 62
“Ah, perfect.”
Stepping out of the pavilion, Claire walked a short distance before circling around to its rear. The early summer weather blazed with the promise of sweltering heat, yet as she entered the shade cast by the pavilion, she felt as though she could breathe again.
‘If only the sun weren’t so relentless, this would be ideal weather.’
I gazed toward the Hunting Grounds. The barrier seemed to be functioning properly—everything around me lay in perfect silence.
Just as I was drawing in a deep, crisp breath of fresh air and preparing to return inside, something stopped me.
“That scent…”
A peculiar odor drifted past—one I had definitely encountered before. A thick, murky smell that belonged to the dark Wetlands.
“A monster?”
That was strange. At the summer Hunting Festival, ordinary beasts were used rather than monsters—to pray for a bountiful harvest and prevent accidents.
‘But this scent…’
Moreover, it wasn’t merely the presence of a monster. As someone with the keen sense of smell of a demi-human, I rarely forgot a scent once I’d encountered it. This was unmistakably familiar—a subtle blend of smoke and blood, not a first meeting.
‘It’s like that creature that was caged at the Market.’
It was an assumption bordering on certainty.
‘Are people connected to the Market here?’
Theodore suddenly came to mind. He didn’t seem like the type to lose to a single monster, but the Hunting Grounds imposed restrictions on the use of supernatural abilities in the name of fairness.
‘Should I just take a quick look at the situation?’
The moment anxiety took hold, such an impulse arose. I considered alerting the Imperial Knights, but if my only evidence was a scent, I would surely be laughed at.
‘Is the barrier still intact?’
Avoiding the gaze of the Imperial Knights, I approached the barrier’s perimeter. Following the lingering scent of the monster, I spotted a crack in the barrier roughly the height of an adult man.
The scent ended there.
‘Someone deliberately released the monster.’
The moment I realized this, I didn’t hesitate—I passed through the crack and slipped inside the barrier.
* * *
“Hah… Ugh.”
Elliott clutched at his heaving chest as he ran.
‘Where did Lisa go?’
It had been a long time since he’d separated from his escort, and the emergency flare had misfired.
Kiiiiiiiii—
A bone-chilling cry echoed through the forest. All the participants had vanished without a trace, and in the eerie silence of the woods, Elliott found himself cornered with nowhere left to run.
Kiii—
“Damn it.”
What emerged was a grotesque monster—a hybrid of spider and deer. Between the joints of its spider legs, ominous black smoke curled upward.
With trembling hands, I drew my sword, though I couldn’t fathom how long I could hold out.
‘Is this where I die?’
Having cornered its prey, the monster advanced slowly, savoring the hunt, strangling Elliott’s breath. Its massive deer-like head bristled with dozens of jagged, menacing teeth.
‘Mother…’
Resigned to death, Elliott swallowed hard.
Kiiiiiiik!
As the creature’s legs collided with Elliott’s blade in its frenzied charge, his sword shattered into fragments in an instant.
Staring at the sword that had shattered into fragments in an instant, I abandoned all hope and squeezed my eyes shut.
It was over.
Crack.
Then a gruesome sound of something being crushed echoed out, and hot liquid sprayed across my entire body.
“What?”
Startled by the unexpected turn of events, Elliott opened his eyes in a daze. He was certain his body would be pulverized, yet his limbs remained intact and responsive.
‘Then who…?’
As Elliott lifted his head while wiping the monster’s blood from his face, he saw a figure withdrawing their fist from the creature’s punctured carapace.
“Who are you?”
Elliott asked in a trembling voice, but Claire couldn’t answer immediately.
‘This is bad.’
Her mind was overwhelmed. There were two problems.
First, upon spotting silver hair, I had rushed into the situation without thinking—but this person wasn’t Theodore.
Second, my dress was drenched in blood. My plan to slip away quietly and return unnoticed had completely fallen apart.
‘I jumped in without a moment’s thought because it looked like someone was going to die.’
I could vividly imagine Theodore grabbing his head in exasperation.
“Listen—”
“Wait, could you give me just a moment to think?”
Claire spoke politely as she descended from the monster’s back, and Elliott reflexively nodded.
‘The monster isn’t the problem right now.’
Claire gazed down at her blood-soaked skirt with sorrowful eyes. Even gentle rubbing only smeared the blood further; there was no hope of it coming clean.
‘It’s ruined.’
She accepted the reality swiftly. No amount of sadness would restore an already filthy dress.
“Are you injured anywhere?”
“I’m fine. Thank you for saving me.”
Silver hair duller than Theodore’s, eyes of deep gray. An impression somehow pale and soft—Claire immediately recognized the face she’d seen at the Opening Ceremony.
‘Elliott, the Second Prince.’
A headache threatened to bloom. My resolve to remain inconspicuous evaporated, replaced by a private audience with Imperial Family—I could already see Theodore’s phantom grip on the back of my neck.
‘Proper etiquette, the protocol for addressing the Imperial Family, surely…’
Just as Claire was about to observe the proper courtesies.
“Behind you!”
Elliott’s expression suddenly hardened as if he’d noticed something, and he hastily reached out his hand.
‘Oh no.’
Screeeeeech.
The monster I’d thought dead stirred once more. Despite the gaping wound in its carapace and blood dripping from its maw, it swiftly brandished its blade-like legs.
‘I’ll have to sacrifice my left arm.’
The moment I turned and assessed the situation, clicking my tongue as I braced for the attack.
“Are you alright?”
A sword came flying like lightning, striking the monster’s head to the ground.
“That monster’s heart is in its head. Next time, aim for the head instead of the carapace.”
At the leisurely voice, Claire’s eyes turned toward the direction the arrow had flown. A man was walking out from the darkness.
“Aaron, older brother….”
Elliot, whose legs had given out and who was leaning against a tree, called his name like a sigh.
‘Aaron?’
A tall, striking man with brilliant golden hair and Oliver-colored eyes. He was Crown Prince Aaron of the Empire.
‘This is bad.’
One member of the Imperial Family was already a headache, and now another had appeared. Worse yet, one of them was the Crown Prince.
“Infinite glory. I behold the future of the Empire.”
She knelt on one knee and bowed her head, following the etiquette she had barely managed to recall.
“You may rise.”
Part of her wanted to simply collapse forward and fall asleep, pretending to know nothing. Claire barely managed to control her increasingly stiffening expression as she stood.
“Hmm, I thought I saw a bear charging off, so I followed it. Nearly caused trouble, didn’t it, Elliot?”
‘A bear?’
She glanced at the dead monster. The form resembled a rotting deer’s head and a massive spider.
‘No matter how far away one was… could that possibly look like a bear?’
“Thank you, older brother.”
“Think nothing of it. It’s an older brother’s duty to protect his younger brother, is it not?”
The atmosphere felt slightly off. Aaron was smiling warmly, but Elliot, who was receiving his kindness, looked anxious, as if he had swallowed a needle.
‘Moreover, no one has come despite things reaching this state.’
Even though the Field was designated as a vast area, it was strange that no one had come despite the monster shrieking so loudly.
‘As if only this place were a world unto itself.’
If that monster had been deliberately sent, what could the purpose be?
‘Perhaps.’
The answer came quickly. Claire stared briefly at Elliot, whose face was turning pale.
“Yes.”
Aaron’s gaze turned toward Claire. The man with sharp eyes and a strong impression bore no resemblance to the seemingly gentle Second Prince.
“Who are you, the one who saved Elliot?”
From his composed demeanor emanated the bearing of a strong man. There was something faintly reminiscent of Gregory about him.
‘This man is the Crown Prince.’
Though born of a mother of low status, he was a man who maintained his position as Crown Prince by suppressing the Second Prince, who possessed the abilities of the Imperial Family, through sheer force.
“I am Theodore, the heir of House Voltier.”
“Claire.”
As she was about to introduce herself in response to Aaron’s words, he abruptly cut her off and called her name first.
“Claire, the fiancée of Theodore Voltier, heir of House Voltier. Am I right? I couldn’t possibly be unaware of someone who has been the talk of the Convent these days.”
‘Then why did you ask?’
Aaron approached Claire with a wry smile.

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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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