Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 111

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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 111

Tene begged me to forgive her for not being able to speak, pleading with me to trust Kailas.
I didn’t need Illusion Magic to sense it—the truth in her words was plain.
For hours she spoke, wept, and pleaded with me.
My heart ached that she apologized for things that were not her fault, begging me not to leave Kailas.
And Kailas—I couldn’t stop worrying about him.
For my sake, he’d allied with the Imperial Court, captured his own worshippers. How much it must have cost him.
His childhood must have resurfaced. His parents.
Why had he hidden it all so completely?
The chronic headaches that had plagued him for so long—surely they stemmed from this. The thought broke my heart.
What had the late Duke and Duchess done to him that he carries such pain?
Is he haunted by nightmares as I am?
Who could claim that the Kailas of now has no feeling?
Tene’s words—that he didn’t know what love meant and she had to teach him each emotion anew—cut me deeply.
That his everything had shattered so completely he couldn’t even flinch if a servant beside him had his throat cut—it hurt too much to bear.
I began to regret every moment.
I’d even mocked him for being skilled at handling people, praising his acting ability…….

“I… I love you.”
“You’ve whispered that you love me all this time. It was all a lie.”
“A lie… it wasn’t a lie. Perhaps at the start it was. But now——”
“I don’t believe you.”

What did you feel when you said those words to me?

“I confessed my love to you, not mere curiosity.”
“Hazel, please don’t keep choosing words that wound me.”

What other efforts did you make to convey your sincerity to me?
What were you thinking when you tried to explain to me a feeling even you didn’t understand?
When I realized that the ruthless Dark Schemer I’d known was in fact an existence created against his will, my heart ached.
In that ache, I finally looked back at the feelings I’d kept hidden.
Saying I didn’t love Kailas—that was a lie.
I still loved him. I was only tormenting him by clinging to my pride.
I must have spent hours like that in the Study.
The moment I heard from Hisan that Kailas had returned, I wiped my tears and rushed into the Hallway.
I hurried outside so fast my breathing grew ragged, and there he was—just arriving.
……
Kailas noticed me, his eyes widening in surprise before he broke into a brilliant smile.
“… You’re such a fool.”
A complete fool.
No—the fool wasn’t him. It was me.
Every day you tell me with your whole body that you love me. How could I not have seen it?
You look at me with eyes like a child’s, soft and melting, as if nothing in the world is more precious than me.
Before your sincerity, my stubbornness became laughable.
“Kailas.”
“Why are you out here?”
I had decided to stand beside Kailas now and face this danger together with him.
“… I had something to tell you.”
“What happened today?”
Concern born from worry about me clouds Kailas’s face.
It shifts like this, moment by moment.
“Nothing, really……”
“You’ve been crying?”
“No! I was just in the Study and yawned.”
As I hesitated and continued to block his path, Kailas couldn’t quite step fully inside.
The confusion of these hours suddenly cleared, and I wanted to tell him my decision at once.
“What is it……”
Kailas came out with an anxious expression and met my eyes.
“You asked me before, remember? Whether I could stay with you even after a year.”
At that, Kailas’s face went rigid.
“Hazel.”
“Back then, I was so focused on calming you down that I didn’t give you a proper answer…….”
“Hazel.”
Kailas kept cutting me off.
Everyone around us had fallen silent, and he looked terribly uneasy.
“Yes?”
“Hazel, if you’re trying to answer what I asked that day, there’s no rush.”
“Yes?”
“I wasn’t in my right mind when I thought you’d set your sights on someone else that day. I couldn’t control the jealousy. I didn’t mean to confuse you.”
“Kailas, that’s not it…….”
“Pressure. Yes, I actually wanted you to feel pressured.”
“Kailas.”
This man, honestly.
“That way you’d think of me once more. Because I believed you’d stay with me even after a year. But it seems that was just my greed. I wanted to take it back, but the words wouldn’t come out.”
“…….”
Kailas spoke frantically, like someone trying to scoop up water they’d spilled.
He kept blocking me as if he’d never hear my answer otherwise.
“So don’t answer right now. I know what you’re thinking anyway. Rather than that, couldn’t you just pretend that what I said that day never happened…….”
“Kailas!”
I cupped both his cheeks in my hands.
Kailas’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Then he closed them entirely.
“Hazel, please, next time…….”
I rose onto my toes and pressed my lips to his.
Kailas’s eyes flew open in surprise.
“I won’t leave.”
“…What?”
“I won’t leave you.”
“…….”
“If you love me so much it feels like you’re dying, then I’ll believe in it once.”
Kailas’s expression froze — neither quite a smile nor a grimace, but something strange and suspended.
“…….”
His eyes had turned a little redder than usual, glistening with a faint sheen.
“That’s what I wanted to tell you.”
As I smiled, Kailas exhaled deeply, like someone who’d been holding their breath for a long time.
“…Is this a dream?”
“Does it feel like a dream to you?”
“No, I don’t know. I’m not even sure what I just heard.”
He heard it perfectly well but was pretending otherwise. I decided to let it slide.
“That I won’t leave you even after a year. That I still seem to love you. That’s what I came out here to say. It’s sudden, but it felt right to say it now.”
At that moment, Kailas seized my waist and pulled me firmly into his embrace.
Our scents mingled, rich and complete.
I let myself sink into the overwhelming joy for a long while.
Like someone unwilling to let this moment slip away.
As if there were only the two of us in the world.
All the pushing away I’d done before seemed foolish now, but knowing how precious he was to me, there was nothing I could do about it.
If I brought up what happened with Tene today, he might be hurt again. I decided to protect him from that.
“Are you still confused?”
“No. Tell me you love me… say anything else too.”
“…I love you.”
How long had it been since I’d said those words to him with genuine feeling?
It must have been only months ago, yet it felt like something from the distant past.
Kailas held me deeper and spoke against my hair.
“I’ll make sure you don’t regret the choice you’ve just made.”
“…You’re already doing that.”
“I’ll do even better. Whatever you want or ask for, I’ll do it.”
Kailas continued talking, unable to hide his joy like an excited child.
“I’ll try not to be so stubborn about my pride anymore.”
“It’s fine. Whatever you do, I love it all.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Just let me handle it. Day and night, I’ll do my best.”
I was savoring the joy of it when I hesitated, pushing against his chest with my hands.
“Wait, something feels off. Am I imagining things?”
“Yeah, you’re imagining it.”
I burst out laughing at his answer.
I grabbed Kailas’s cheek, rose up on my toes, and kissed him briefly again before turning and fleeing. I’d grown a little self-conscious about it now.
But I was caught before I’d taken more than a few steps.
“Why?”
I spoke with deliberate coyness.
“You can’t just leave me like that.”
“…What do you mean.”
“You’ve left my heart ready to burst.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
I struggled to get out of his arms, but the tighter I fought, the more he held me.
I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to tell him everything I’d heard today…
But one thing was resolved, and my heart felt lighter for it.

* * *

“Someone fetch the eggs!”
“Kevin just went out to the chicken coop!”
The dining room was a flurry of activity.
Everyone rushed about in preparation for the evening meal.
“We’re short on cream! Go to Raus and get some!”
“I’ll go right away!”
“Thank you, Angela!”
Angela, her brown hair neatly tied back, took up the cream bottle and headed for the back door.
“Well, it’s really a relief that the master and mistress seem to be in such good spirits.”
The two of them had their good days and bad days, so you had to read the mood carefully each time.
On top of that, the mistress’s evening meal was usually prepared by the master himself, but today he’d suddenly entrusted everything to them, as if a weight had lifted.
The delighted chef had prepared three times the usual amount of food, and the prepared ingredients were already running out.
“Still, this is good, isn’t it.”
Angela couldn’t help but feel a pleasant premonition that peace might finally be coming.
“You.”
A soft voice came from behind.
“Mm?”
Angela turned to find her face caught in small hands.
Her body went limp and collapsed.
……
The woman in the deep-pulled hood let out a scoff and kicked Angela’s fallen form with her foot.
“That’s quite useful.”
Then she looked up toward the Duchy Castle.
“Double and triple layers of defense. Won’t be easy to get in.”
The woman’s mouth curved upward in pleasure. Just then, a strong wind blew and her hood slipped halfway back.
Well, success is what matters.
Lemon-colored hair scattered in the air.

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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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