Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 117

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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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Episode 117

Crackle. Crackle.
Acrid smoke curled up endlessly from every corner.
“Is it… over?”
I couldn’t even tell how many hours had passed.
All I could judge by was the sky that had seemed to hang at noon now tilting toward evening, brimming with the glow of sunset.
No more Monsters appeared.
We’d burned every Monster corpse as soon as it fell, but their spilled blood and saliva had seeped into the earth, poisoning the surrounding ground in an instant.
The exhausted Knights drove their swords into the ground and leaned on them for support.
It was something they would never do in ordinary circumstances.
The two Elemental Magic users in the Knight Order—precious few as they were—already lay sprawled behind us, breathing hard.
Eggmen and the Knight Hue, along with Edin, whom Kailas had stationed to guard my left, right, and rear, still held their positions around me, though they too bore the marks of exhaustion.
“I think we’re done…”
We could afford to catch our breath.
The moment the tension loosened with relief, my strength drained away entirely.
I stumbled, and in that instant, strong arms caught me and pulled me into a firm embrace.
“Hazel.”
The acrid scent of smoke mingled with the cold winter air, the metallic tang of blood and iron, and beneath it all, that familiar warmth of his presence—it all breathed deep into my lungs.
“Ah, Kailas.”
“Are you all right? Let’s get you inside right now.”
I’d seen him finish off the last Monster over there just moments ago—when had he come to my side?
Overwhelmed by the settling sense of relief, I nestled deeper against Kailas’s chest and nodded.
“It’s truly over, isn’t it?”
“Complete annihilation. Every last one, even the smallest. Your eyes… they’ve turned red again.”
Kailas touched the corners of my eyes gently, his gaze full of concern.
I forced myself to smile all the wider.
“This is nothing to worry about. The important thing is that there don’t appear to be many casualties.”
Because I’d been with him, Kailas wore an ordinary uniform instead of the full armor of the other Knights.
Though he’d fought without that protection, thankfully not a single wound marked him.
The moment Faye Martin had spoken, the sheer horde of Monsters surrounding the Duke’s Castle had been so overwhelming my mind reeled.
Yet Kailas had placed complete faith in my Ability, and under his and the Knights’ protection, I’d been able to wield it without hesitation.
I wanted nothing more than to return to my room and collapse, but there was still work to be done.
First, I sent the remaining energetic Knights out as a reconnaissance unit, then took the Purification Stones that Syde had brought at my instruction and shattered them, scattering them across the Contaminated Land.
It was to purify what we could until the priests from the Temple arrived to reinforce us.
Using Purification Stones this way was wasteful—we rarely resorted to it—but I’d judged that the three priests currently stationed at the Duke’s Castle wouldn’t be sufficient to handle the purification alone.
The fires that had consumed the Monster corpses were gradually dying down.
I looked up at Kailas with steady eyes.
“There’s still the most important thing left to do, Kailas.”
Faye Martin.
She remained.
Perhaps she held the key to understanding the true secret behind all of this.
Kailas and I descended back underground at once.
I caught sight of Faye Martin, her body so drained that she could barely hold herself upright.

* * *

“I left her alive. The Ring you used proved convenient for keeping her restrained. She’d clearly prepared for self-termination at any moment and was thrashing about like a madwoman. Useless effort, though.”
“That’s… fortunate.”
I found myself facing Rendil, one of the Magic Tower’s administrators.
Kailas had told me he’d received considerable assistance from him on that day when I’d run out of control.
When we’d arrived at the Underground Prison and confirmed that Faye Martin had lost consciousness, we’d changed our plan and brought her here immediately.
After orchestrating something of this scale, I couldn’t simply let her take her own life.
The Magic Tower had sealed Faye Martin away once, and now all that remained was to extract information and receive a full accounting.
“This woman underwent the Forbidden Ritual.”
“The Forbidden Ritual?”
Rendil smiled darkly at Kailas’s question.
Even as she spoke, she shuddered as if something unclean clung to her skin.
“They abandoned their own body and wore another person’s vessel like a shell. I’ve never seen it myself, but according to some of the followers, it’s a ritual that only the chosen can wield with power.”
……
“To an ordinary eye, it’s grotesque—worse than parasitism.”
A vessel.
The body was indeed Angella’s.
…Ah.
Gripped by despair, I clenched my fists, but warmth settled against my shoulder.
I leaned into Kailas’s embrace for just a moment, closed my eyes, and offered a prayer for Angella’s peace.
I hoped her journey beyond was not a painful one.
“It doesn’t seem long since the vessel was obtained.”
If his account was accurate, the bright-faced Angella I’d often seen at the restaurant was very likely the real one I’d known all along.
The body swap might have happened around the time I began encountering her unusually often.
Without a special eye to perceive gods or spirits, the true existence within couldn’t be verified by sight alone, he had said.
Rendil sat motionless as if vexed, rolling the ring on his finger over and over.
“You said the person’s name was Faye Martin, Duchess?”
“Yes, I’ve crossed paths with her before. She tried to trap me once and even brought up that story directly.”
“Then it must be her. At least we can be certain of her identity.”
“But I heard the Imperial Palace already executed Faye Martin and her entire family…….”
Rendil shrugged.
“A person who can wear a corpse like a shell—what is beyond them? I cannot say how the method works, but in any case, Your Grace, you would have no problem holding the Imperial Court accountable. I, however, remain neutral.”
“First, we extract whatever information we can.”
“Of course. It shouldn’t take long. Ah, and will you be attending the Founding Festival?”
I had been leaning toward not attending, occupied with Northern Region matters, but I changed my mind.
This incident had given me absolute certainty they would never let the Founding Festival slip through their fingers.
I looked up at Kailas.
Our eyes met—his gaze had been fixed on me throughout the entire conversation.
Kailas turned his head as if he’d read my thoughts.
“That’s the plan.”
“Then I have more to tell you. We’ve been receiving continued requests for assistance and are preparing something accordingly.”
“I see.”

* * *

It was the day after I’d learned from Rendil that the mages of the Magic Tower were preparing to cast a massive protective barrier across the entire Capital in preparation for the Founding Festival attack, and after we had discussed the related matters and returned.
Dylan, who had been so busy he hadn’t contacted me at all in the meantime, suddenly sent word that he wanted to meet with me.

“There’s nothing difficult about it. I don’t mind if you come, but aren’t you busy?”
“What’s busyness compared to meeting a friend?”
“Fine, then. I’d be glad to see you. When will you arrive?”

I had things to ask about the Faye Martin situation before making an official report to the Imperial Court, and there was plenty more to discuss about whether we’d found the headquarters properly.
Dylan still thought Faye Martin was dead by execution.
Now that Faye Martin had escaped the Imperial Prison so brazenly and orchestrated all this, I couldn’t trust the Imperial Palace entirely anymore.
Though it wasn’t Dylan’s fault, he was still the Vice-Commander of the Knight Order and held considerable authority, so I wanted to hear his opinion first.
Moreover, since I’d learned that Faye Martin had known something about the previous Duke and Duchess, I chose to go through Dylan rather than report directly to the Imperial Court.
Kailas had said it didn’t matter as long as I was safe, but just as he wanted to protect me, I wanted to protect him—and that’s the method I chose.
Since we’ve joined hands with the Imperial Court and maintained a good relationship, cooperating flawlessly with each other… there was still a chance they might later seize that fact as leverage and turn their arrows toward Kailas.
I wanted to hear from Dylan about the Imperial Court situation beforehand and set our course accordingly.

“Right now?”
“What?”

The moment I said it was fine for him to come, Dylan flew from the Capital to the Northern Region so fast he seemed to soar, appearing right before my eyes.
Laden with countless gifts.
“…He really came.”
Though I’d gone out to meet him myself, I stared at Dylan standing before me as if I couldn’t believe he was actually there.
The Gate had been closed so frequently that it must have been difficult for him to come at all.
Dylan caught sight of me and broke into a grin.
“It’s been a while, my friend.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve gotten tired of work and run off here?”
I took the gift Dylan offered me and asked.
“That’s not it. I haven’t been able to give you proper reports on how things have been. So I wanted to come in person—to fill you in on what’s happened and see how you’re doing.”
“…Impressive. I’ve had some things I wanted to ask you about anyway.”
I handed the gift to Hisan and led Dylan to the Reception Room.
Dylan looked exhausted and dropped heavily onto the sofa with a groan.
I shook my head slightly and took a seat across from him.
I was curious what news had brought him here in such a hurry.

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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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