Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 17

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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 17

Once I understood the truth, the reality of it struck me all at once—that I was resting in the palm of his hand.
And that realization brought betrayal with it.
Half of everything I’d built so carefully, he had constructed for me instead.
All my effort…….
Those sleepless nights, the nosebleeds, all those hours of striving—suddenly they felt hollow.
A rage rose in me, of an entirely different magnitude than anything I’d felt toward him before.
How could he go to such lengths?
It was too much.
After committing everything to memory, I burned the documents Annie had given me without a trace.
Then, for the first time in a while, I opened a letter that had arrived from the Guild Association.
It was an invitation to the Guild Representatives Meeting.
Essentially it was just a networking event—I received invitations like this twice a year.
I’d always found it tedious and declined before, but now such a fortuitous opportunity had arrived.
Without any other excuse, I could finally have some time away from Kylus.
And there was another reason it had to be the Capital.
No matter how notorious Kylus was, he remained nobility first and foremost.
A Duke, no less—one of the high aristocracy.
The kind of nobleman who frequented the Imperial Palace and attended court banquets.
Even so, it wouldn’t be easy for him to move about the Capital under the false identity of Kylus Edith.
Though knowing him, he’d find a way regardless.
Come to think of it, this morning he’d asked me to go on a date, something he hadn’t done in a while.
For the past week, as his expression grew increasingly hardened, I’d spent considerable effort practicing to brighten my own face again.

* * *

Kylus’s mood had been darkening for the past week.
Well, actually, it had been nearly two weeks now, if he was being precise.
Hazel was busy.
My captive was busy.
Ever since she’d announced her goal of business expansion, she’d been spending more and more time preparing for it, and then—as if on cue—a friend of hers had arrived from the Capital.
As a result, he barely saw her leave work together, and she’d been coming home late most nights.
She’d been far more exhausted than usual, and at night they hardly spoke, much less embraced.
What little time she was awake, she spent clinging to documents.
He’d made a show of biting his fingers, sucking them sulkily, troubling his own cheeks—but none of it had yielded results.
He should have suggested waiting until next year to begin the expansion preparations.
He’d thought that if Hazel was busy, he wouldn’t have to worry about her, which would actually be better—but strangely, he found himself irritated instead.
Just a week ago she’d had eyes only for him. What in the world had changed?
Each time they met, when he saw that face of hers—as though she’d been waiting for him all day—things seemed to improve.
But what was this foul mood, really?
Maybe he should just be rid of it.
Yet he had no desire to do so.
Still, today was the day the Guild Building would be completed, so he’d suggested a date, and she’d smiled and agreed readily enough.
As she should have.
Meanwhile, Cid continued to steal glances, managing his work with practiced caution.
‘Why is he so angry?’
Cid could hazard a guess at why Kylus was in such a foul mood.
But he was curious about the reason itself.
“Your Grace.”
“…….”
“Your Grace.”
“Speak. Don’t keep calling me like a parrot.”
The voice, scraped to the very bottom of its register, sounded like a predator growling.
“If it troubles you so much, sir, why not simply have her removed?”
“What?”
“Isn’t it the captive who’s put you out of sorts?”
“…….”
“To be honest, I’ve been curious about this myself. Once you hand over the Guild Building, will you be done with her? It’s been over a year now. Or are you planning to drag this out further?”
“…….”
Kylus said nothing.
It had been a year already.
No matter how he turned it over in his mind, Cid couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was unfolding differently than the original plan.
Of course, he understood that his master showed no mercy to traitors or those who’d stabbed him in the back—but he’d never seen him drag things out like this.
Normally, the right thing to do was to eliminate them with blood on your own hands.
This whole affair had started because his subordinates couldn’t capture her despite being sent to do so.
Now she was so smitten with the master that she’d die for him—so what more could possibly be needed?
…Surely not.
“Sir……?”
“Not in the mood for it right now.”
“Ah, I see. Understood. I just wondered if perhaps…….”
“What now?”
“Whether you might have developed some feeling for that woman…….”
Kylus’s head turned toward him.
Cid swallowed hard but couldn’t stop himself from pressing on.
“Is it pity, sir?”
“What?”
“The one who embezzled your information and money—wasn’t she? She should have been eliminated long ago, if you ask me. The Guild’s losses keep mounting, and they far exceed whatever funds she stole…….”
Kylus’s brow arched sharply.
Cid spoke quickly on.
“Of course, sir, for you it’s pocket change and you started this out of spite, but since it’s dragged on like this, I wondered if perhaps you were taking pity on her.”
“Pity?”
“Yes. I thought she must be someone extraordinary, but in truth that captive is just a nobody from common stock, isn’t she? She only made it into the Knight Order through the Summoner job, and the information she stole back then was nothing remarkable.”
Kylus nodded as if inviting him to continue.
“Honestly, if you take away just that one fact, she’s terribly insignificant—no different from dust. Besides, since the captive has no family, it was probably easy to use that against her. So I wondered if perhaps you pitied her for that reason. All those expensive gifts you’ve been giving her suggest as much.”
It was pity.
It wasn’t entirely accurate, but it didn’t sound wrong either.
He was carelessly throwing around words of love to Hazel, but it was all false anyway.
Sometimes when he came in before dawn and looked down at Hazel curled up in that small body, sleeping alone, a strange, inexplicable feeling would grip him.
When he folded pity into that sensation, it seemed to fit well enough.
That aside.
“But why do you keep calling her a captive?”
“Sir?”
“Is she your captive?”
“That, ah, no… I didn’t mean it that way, sir.”
Cid stammered out his answer, his face slack with confusion.
Kylus’s frown deepened.
“Insignificant, dust—why should Hazel have to hear such things? Do you even understand your place?”
But didn’t you just nod along, sir?
Cid’s mouth hung open as his face twisted with grievance.
Seeing Kylus’s expression growing darker by the moment, he straightened his posture.
That look was dangerous. He needed to get out of here quickly.
Cid shook his head vigorously.
“No, sir! My mouth has betrayed me! I’ll correct it at once.”
At that, Kylus’s irritation ebbed somewhat.
“I’m simply setting it aside because there’s no pressing need. It’s not your concern. When the time comes, I’ll eliminate her.”
At the heavy tone of his voice, Cid faltered and bowed his head.
He had much he wanted to say, but in moments like this, the wisest course was always to apologize.
“Yes, my apologies, sir. I overstepped. I’ll watch my tongue more carefully going forward.”
With that, he quickly excused himself before any bigger sparks could fly.

* * *

“Where are we going? I thought we were heading home?”
“We’ll be there shortly.”
It was the first time we’d left work together in a week.
But because Kylus suggested we stop somewhere other than home, I was wound tight with tension.
So suddenly?
There hadn’t been the slightest hint of it until this morning.
I’d never let it show in front of Kylus until now, but cold sweat was trickling down my back.
Could he have found out I’d started moving the funds today? After how carefully I’d done everything?
I’d taken more than a hundred deep breaths just to suppress the tremendous sense of betrayal I’d felt toward him today.
I looped my arm through his and asked, blinking my eyes hard to moisten them a little.
“Kylus, where are we really going?”
“Are you curious?”
“Yes, I’m curious.”
Kylus looked down at me intently, then turned his head forward again.
He really wasn’t going to tell me.
Just as disappointment was settling over me, the corners of his mouth suddenly lifted. He then tapped his cheek lightly with his finger.
“Huh, what?”
“If my wife goes first, I’ll consider telling you.”
“Oh.”
I seized the chance and tilted my head up to kiss his cheek.
The corners of Kylus’s mouth stretched even wider.
“Will you tell me now?”
Surely he wouldn’t show me hell after making me kiss him first?
“For business expansion to succeed, the main branch must grow first, mustn’t it?”
“That’s… what do you—”
I was about to ask what he meant when the carriage stopped in front of a building.
“I’d like you to step down and see it for yourself.”
Before I could even gather my wits, Kylus descended first and offered me his hand.
What in the world…?
I took his hand in a daze and climbed down.
A massive five-story building loomed before my eyes.
Wasn’t this place empty before?
When did this building go up?
It looked as solid and imposing as the Guild Building I’d first entered in the Capital.
The approach to the building entrance was paved entirely in stone.
It was much closer to the town’s entrance and to the center than the original Guild Office location.
As I stared in shock, Kylus opened the carriage door and pulled out a document envelope, handing it to me.
“A second gift celebrating our first wedding anniversary.”
“…What did you say?”
“I should have given it to you along with the necklace, but apparently the road suddenly collapsed and the restoration was delayed. Though it’s late, I really wanted to give this gift to Hazel.”
I turned my head slowly, looking up at the enormous building.
This is for me?
If he’s going to destroy it anyway, why does he keep giving me such extravagant gifts?
This man might believe that such grand gestures would most effectively win my affection.
If that’s the case, it makes some sense.
I turned toward him with the face of someone completely besotted.
Every time I performed this false affection, the guilt seemed to diminish, and my heart toward him seemed to grow more numb.
“This location is also safer than the current building, and we’ve set up a separate mercenary rest station nearby, so any problems can be handled more easily.”
I opened the documents he’d handed me. The deed really did have Hazel Love written on it.
So he wasn’t preparing soil to bury me in—he was preparing this?
He hadn’t been planning to kill me right away after all?
Still, I didn’t feel sorry.
I was just relieved to realize he had no intention of killing me today.
Whew, I’m really glad.
“Kylus…”
Relief washed over me and tears welled up unbidden.
As I gazed up at him, Kylus smiled softly and cradled both my cheeks in his hands.
“If I’d given it to you with the necklace on that day, it would have felt more fateful. Because it means we had the same thought.”
That’s true.
If I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have spent all this time worrying.
“The gift I gave you was just a small villa.”
“What does size matter? It’s proof that my wife loves me.”
What bold words to speak like that…….
I smiled wryly.

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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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