Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 110

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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 110

A Magic Circle responds to Mana.
I poured Dark Magic into part of the Magic Circle.
If it were a true Magic Circle and not mere scratching, it would respond to my power.
As I fed Mana into it like water from a kettle, a faint crimson band began to emerge along the Circle’s lines.
The Magic Circle, greedily absorbing the Mana, glowed a deep blood-red.
Once I’d poured in all my Mana, I rose slowly to my feet.
The Magic Circle, which had been shimmering faintly, lost its light.
“…It’s not a Magic Circle in active operation.”
But it was certainly a Magic Circle that had functioned at some point in the past.
The question was: what kind of Magic Circle was it?
Kailas couldn’t use Dark Magic, so who on earth had drawn this here?
I pulled the Carpet all the way to the center and folded it back completely.
The moment what lay beneath was revealed, my trembling hand flew to my mouth. I didn’t even notice the dust caking my palm.
“Why… why….”
There’s a Worshipper’s Mark at the center of the Magic Circle?
How is that possible?
Why would the Mark that Fey Martin had hidden at the nape of his neck appear here?
At that moment, a small sound came from outside.
I startled and quickly covered the Carpet again.
Soon after, Hisan entered.
“The Duke has returned, madam.”
“Oh, I—I should go.”
I confirmed the Carpet was properly covered and hurried out.
After locking the door with the key and handing it to Hisan, we left the Storehouse together.
All the blood had drained from my body.
Why was that Mark there? Why?
Even as I freshened up hastily and settled in the Bedroom to wait, I remained paralyzed by shock.
I was still steadying my breath when Kailas entered a short while later.
Upon seeing me still awake, Kailas smiled softly.
“Why aren’t you asleep?”
“….”
I stared at Kailas without a word.
I wanted to shout: Why is the Worshipper’s Mark inside this mansion? Do you know about it?
But did he know? Could he possibly know?
“Hazel?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just waiting for you to come so I could sleep. There were no serious problems, were there?”
“All resolved. Can’t sleep?”
If it wasn’t Kailas, then either his servants or someone of considerable standing had drawn that Magic Circle beneath the Storehouse—which meant the Previous Duke and his wife were possibilities.
But could the Previous Duke and the Duchess have wielded such power?
Kailas never spoke about his parents, so it was impossible to guess.
At first glance, it was an Advanced Magic Circle or higher, drawn with overlapping layers.
If it had been a famous Dark Mage, I certainly would have known.
Why in the world was the Worshipper’s Mark there….
Could it be connected to the tension between Kailas and the Previous Duke?
Thoughts tangled and twisted over and over in my mind.
Before I knew it, Kailas had come to bed and was lying halfway on his side, watching me.
His expression asked why I wasn’t lying down.
“No, I was about to sleep. I… Kailas.”
“Hm?”
What should I do? I was too terrified to ask.
I thought our relationship was improving….
It felt as though I might shatter the puzzle that was finally fitting together with my own hands.
I should have never gone down there. Why did I have to descend?
“It’s nothing. I’m going to sleep now.”
“Come here. I’ll even sing you a lullaby.”
“…Am I a child?”
“You’re my wife.”
In the end, I never did ask her before sleep overtook me.

* * *

“Madam, is the tea to your liking?”
“Oh, Tene.”
I’d been breathing in the fragrant wisps of black tea rising from my cup, my mind wandering elsewhere.
I was taking tea in the Greenhouse since Tene had said she would bring it herself, and she was attending to the Previous Duke and his wife alongside the steward.
It was a rare moment of respite.
I knew that Tene was currently looking after both the steward and the Previous Duke’s couple.
If I asked her, would I get answers?
But what if I asked carelessly and Kailas grew angry enough to dismiss Tene?
Or what if, against all expectations, they were all in league together?
Would I need to use force against Tene herself and run?
I didn’t used to hesitate like this, or think in such complicated ways. As time passed, I felt increasingly frustrated with myself for growing more cautious and uncertain.
“Madam.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you perhaps have something troubling you?”
Tene asked softly, concern creasing her features.
“Tene.”
“Yes, madam.”
“There’s nothing about this place that you don’t know, is there?”
“Indeed. There is nowhere in the Duke’s Castle—save the very pinnacle—that my hand has not touched, madam.”
So she knew everything.
“May I ask you about the Previous Duke and the Duchess? What sort of people were they?”
At that, Tene faltered.
“You speak of the Previous Duke and Duchess?”
“Yes. If it’s difficult, you don’t have to answer. I just… wanted to know.”
I had made my decision: I would push forward through Tene.
If this action brought Kailas anger or caused him pain, I would take responsibility for it.
Conversely, if there was something the people here—including Kailas—were hiding from me, I would prepare myself accordingly.
Even if it meant resorting to force.
At my question, Tene wrestled with herself. Then, as if she had reached a decision, she lowered her head in a slight bow.
“The Previous Duke and Duchess were taciturn and stern, yet they were respected by the people of the territory. Before the Duke strengthened and developed the domain, they laid the foundations that made it all possible.”
“I see. What was their relationship with Kailas like?”
By now I was calling Kailas by name without ceremony, even in front of Tene. At first I’d observed propriety with formal titles, but it had grown too cumbersome and I’d abandoned it.
“The Previous Duke and Duchess had no different a relationship with the Duke than any other noble parents and child would.”
Tene lowered her head once more.
I took a delicate sip of black tea, then set the cup down.
“Tene.”
“Yes, madam.”
“Did the Previous Duke practice Dark Magic?”
“Pardon?”
Tene’s eyes widened like lanterns.
I turned my body to face her directly.
“Tene, I saw something strange in the Underground Storehouse yesterday.”
“M—madam?”
“I found a Magic Circle beneath a Carpet, and I’ve confirmed other things as well.”
…
Tene’s face went ashen.
“The day you gave me the key, I saw a scorched Magic Circle in that storehouse.”
“M-madam.”
“Do you know what I thought when I saw it?”
Suddenly, Tene dropped to her knees.
“M-madam.”
“Tell me, Tene. Help me trust you and Kailas. Please—tell me everything.”
So I could trust everyone in this place.
So I would stop suspecting Kailas.
Just as Tene had knelt in desperate pleading, so too did I find myself desperate.

* * *

That night.
I could not bring myself to leave the Study for hours.

“My lady, I stake everything upon my words: His Excellency could never commit such depravity. I would offer my very life. Please—I beg you—believe in him.”

Tene bowed until her forehead touched the ground, appealing to me with her entire body.
But she would only insist upon her master’s innocence; she would not reveal what lay beneath.
With no time to wait, I pressed her earnestly instead—begging her to speak to me.
To tell me, for the sake of her master.
Since I intended to use Illusion Magic only as a final measure, I spent long trying to persuade Tene.
At last, she relented and laid bare the truth about the Previous Duke and his wife.

“…Both the Previous Duke and his wife possessed the ability to wield Dark Magic.”
“Both of them?”

She explained that the Duke was a powerful Dark Magic user capable of deploying Advanced Magic Circles, while his wife—like me—was a rare Illusionist.
And they were devoted Worshippers. I had not misread the Mark.

“The Previous Duke and his wife wished for their son to follow their path, but he never did—not once.”

As I recalled what Tene had said afterward, I covered my face with both hands, drowning in anguish.
The moment I released any guard, sobs would break loose like a flood.
Kailas had been a tool in the Previous Duke’s plan.
A being through whom two formidable Dark Magic powers could unite and forge something far greater.
A successor to inherit their legacy.
But Kailas was born not with Dark Magic as intended—instead, he entered the world with a profound Resistance that rendered all Dark Magic powerless against him.
The Previous Duke Hardid and his wife, who had stood as leaders of the Worshippers, were people so meticulous they managed to conceal their very existence until death.
Yet their painstakingly crafted plan had crumbled to nothing.
Bearing another child to fulfill the design was nearly impossible.
Those who wielded Dark Magic naturally struggled with conception; Kailas’s birth alone had been nothing short of a miracle.
To wait for something so uncertain would be an unconscionable waste of time.
So they changed their plan.
Though Tene claimed not to know what the Previous Duke and his wife had devised in its place, that scheme continued until Kailas reached his teens.
From earliest childhood, every feeling and thought within him was systematically stripped away by them—he existed solely as a necessary instrument, breathing and moving only when commanded.

“…When he was younger still, he could neither laugh nor feel pain. Even after the Previous Duke and his wife passed away…….”

After that.
That is, more than a decade ago, Kailas severed all ties with them and burned everything, burying it deep beneath the earth.
It was the singed Magic Circle I had discovered in the fires.
He had destroyed it all, yet not all traces had vanished.

“My lady, I implore you—believe in him. You are the only one to whom he has opened his heart. You are the one who made him human. Please, I beseech you: let him continue to live and breathe as he does now. Trust in him. I beg this of you with all my soul.”

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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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