I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 66

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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 66
“That’s enough.”
Rozina shook her head and avoided Claire’s gaze.
‘How can I possibly understand her? How was she raised?’
She showed no fear in revealing her flaws, and paid no mind to others’ judgment. It was both fascinating and enviable.
“Why did you follow me out?”
“I simply wanted some fresh air myself.”
As Claire spoke, she focused her attention on the presence she felt behind her back.
“A noblewoman’s shame consorting with a maid of unknown origin. How perfectly matched you are.”
“Look at that build. She could probably hunt wolves.”
Their whispered mockery was utterly childish. Having actually hunted wolves before, Claire scratched her cheek. The remarks didn’t bother her, but Rozina’s expression darkened considerably.
‘Why do they take such pleasure in insulting others?’
She recalled the former servants who had once belittled Theodore and herself. These shameless creatures fascinated and exhausted her in equal measure.
“What a pathetic life, clinging to others just to survive. I would have simply died.”
When neither Claire nor Rozina responded, their words grew increasingly crude until they crossed a line. Beneath her collar, the veins in Claire’s neck became prominent with rage.
She turned around quietly to face them. The moment their eyes met, she unleashed a powerful killing intent.
“Eek!”
It lasted mere seconds. Yet for those raised like delicate flowers in a greenhouse, it was an unbearable aura.
Among those trembling violently, the one who appeared strongest barely managed to point before his nerve broke entirely, and he fled in panic.
In the distance, a Knight of the Imperial Knights sensed the killing intent and drew his sword halfway, scanning the surroundings. The moment had been too brief for him to locate its source.
‘Thank goodness.’
With hope that the Imperial Knights remained unaware, Claire carefully suppressed her aura.
But Rozina, standing right beside her and witnessing everything, stood frozen with her mouth agape.
‘How recklessly bold!’
For Rozina, who had always lived under constraint and suppression, Claire’s audacity was an incomprehensible anomaly.
“What was that just now?”
“My apologies. They crossed the line rather severely, and I simply…”
Seeing Claire apologize so readily for startling her, Rozina felt her chest tighten.
‘She’s utterly selfish. Is it because House Voltier backs her?’
Claire didn’t appear to be someone of noble upbringing, yet she possessed an undeniable freedom.
Beneath her composed demeanor lay an untamed exuberance—like a wild horse galloping freely across an open plain.
‘I hate this.’
That was why Rozina despised Claire.
Her resilience against hurt. The people around her who cherished and loved her. Her ability to act without fear of consequences.
All things Rozina herself lacked.
‘Why does she keep lingering beside me?’
She didn’t want to see Claire. Seeing her made all the time spent in resignation and compromise feel meaningless. She envied her. The envy was so consuming it made her hate herself for feeling it.
‘This should be enough to be happy. Why must she keep showing me a different life?’
Whether Claire possessed a healing ability or not no longer mattered. She simply didn’t want to see her. She didn’t want to acknowledge that she was suffocating.
“Don’t pity me.”
“What?”
“You followed me out of pity. Stop being such a nuisance.”
Before Claire’s seemingly boundless acceptance, Rozina’s mask shattered. The facade of high society crumbled away, and the lonely, unloved child beneath twisted her face into a savage snarl.
“Were you curious? How unhappy I might be?”
How curious you must have been about the replacement who took your father’s place.
No.
In truth, it didn’t take long to see that Claire wasn’t the sort to harbor such curiosity. So this was merely venting.
“You must be so grateful for House Voltier. At least you don’t have to worry about your livelihood being cut off tomorrow.”
Base emotions spilled from her lips in sharp bursts. The floodgates of resentment and sorrow had opened, and they wouldn’t stop flowing—even though the reality tormenting her had nothing to do with Claire.
“Don’t pretend to be disgustingly friendly.”
Her twisted lips trembled. Unable to hide the lingering fury, Rozina turned away from Claire. She had the distinct feeling she’d ruined everything.
‘She’ll never acknowledge me again.’
Rather than cathartic, it felt suffocating. Now it was truly over.
* * *
“Hmm.”
In the space Rozina had left behind, I gazed at her empty spot with a puzzled expression.
“Hm.”
What was this feeling swelling in my chest?
Melancholic yet longing. Familiar yet hazy—this emotion was….
Nostalgia.
“She’s similar.”
I recalled Theodore during his bout of madness. Eyes wounded and raw, despite the sharp, harsh words that spilled from his lips.
The loneliness hidden beneath his cries for me to disappear.
‘It’s just like when I first saw the baby raccoon.’
No, that wasn’t quite right. Rozina, with her beautiful features, was something else entirely from a sickly raccoon.
‘Perhaps she’s more feline.’
The image of a small kitten with claws bared and fur bristling flashed through my mind. For the first time since the Voltier siblings, I felt this familiar warmth, and my expression softened.
‘So that’s why she kept catching my attention?’
As I pondered why Rozina had weighed so heavily on my mind, I savored this nostalgia until Melissa came to collect me.
“Claire, did something pleasant happen?”
Late that evening, after the second hunt had ended and we’d returned to the Mansion, Theodore—having heard from Melissa about my encounter with Rozina—asked carefully, gauging my reaction.
I swallowed the last bite of my salmon sandwich, which I’d been eating heartily as a late-night snack, and spoke.
“There’s someone who’s caught my attention.”
“…What?”
* * *
The final day of the four-day Hunting Festival had at last come to an end.
“While we tally the rankings, all participants please wait momentarily!”
The participants returned triumphantly from the hunt, regaling their exploits throughout the Clearing. I spent time with Melissa beside Theodore, who was catching his breath, and Hooper.
“It doesn’t look like we’ll be taking first place.”
Theodore gave a wry smile as he watched the carts laden with game being brought in. Though he’d caught a respectable amount himself, the cart bearing Crown Prince Aaron’s banner filled the entire Clearing.
“If you enjoyed it, then winning or losing doesn’t matter, does it?”
Claire shrugged her shoulders. In truth, this was the outcome she had anticipated. On the first day, Aaron’s hand as he pierced the monster’s heart had been anything but ordinary.
‘He showed no hesitation in severing life, and his movements were practiced and familiar.’
The game loaded onto the cart bore minimal damage. A technique that targeted only vital points with minimal motion.
For a moment, she wondered what would have happened to Elliott had she not been present at the hunting grounds that first day.
“Behold! The results are in!”
The Vice Commander of Imperial Knights, standing upon the platform, cried out.
“The champion of this Hunting Festival is…”
Behind the Emperor, who had taken his place to honor the award presenter, Bianca’s lips curled upward with a sharp smile.
“Crown Prince Aaron, Your Highness!”
A thunderous roar erupted from the crowd. Bianca relaxed her posture with casual certainty.
‘Of course. All reverence should rightfully be directed toward our Crown Prince.’
The Emperor stepped forward, clapping loudly.
“My son has ascended to this glorious position. Such valor! Surely the Empire’s future holds no dark clouds now.”
As he finished speaking and gestured, an attendant waiting behind stepped forward with a silver platter.
‘A prize?’
Claire’s eyes sparkled with interest before dimming as she identified the object in the Emperor’s hand.
‘A banner?’
An ornate banner adorned with golden thread and jewels. Her anticipation of some extraordinary weapon deflated entirely.
“It’s the Banner of Valor. Every year at the Hunting Festival, it’s given to the champion—the one who displayed the greatest courage. It’s an honor.”
Claire nodded absently to Theodore’s explanation. He chuckled softly, as if he had expected as much, and continued.
“The main event is when the champion presents that banner.”
“Presents it?”
“Yes. Usually to someone they love. It’s often used for confessions or proposals.”
Given the nature of the Hunting Festival, it was a tradition born from the fact that spirited young nobles often emerged as champions.
“Since the Crown Prince has no betrothed yet, he’ll surely present it to the Empress, won’t he?”
At Melissa’s words, Hooper nodded immediately.
“That seems likely.”
But contrary to everyone’s expectations, Aaron, holding the banner, turned his back to the platform where the Empress stood and descended through the crowd of nobles.
“Oh my!”
Someone gasped sharply. As the Crown Prince walked, the crowd parted, creating a path. At the end of that path stood…
“I present this banner to you.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
Claire.

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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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