Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 3

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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 3

I caught myself staring at Noah and felt heat flush across my face. I stammered out a response.
“I—I didn’t realize you’d asked.”
“It’s enough that I know.”
Even his eyes smiled softly.
My chest tightened. Was this another one of his schemes? Was he truly that calculated? Every time, he enticed me like this, keeping his true self perfectly hidden.
Once, I would have felt nothing but thrilling anticipation, but now my heartbeat was irregular—something almost like arrhythmia.
Still, the pastry was delicious.
“Eating something sweet seems to chase away the fatigue,” I murmured, bringing another bite to my lips.
Noah watched me intently, then said quietly, “I should have prepared something for stamina instead.”
“Hm? Why’s that?”
“My wife has been struggling to wake up in the mornings. This morning alone, I had to wake her several times and she still couldn’t get out of bed. She’s exhausted now too.”
I blinked twice and glanced away from him.
“That’s not my fault.”
Noah raised an eyebrow as if to say, ‘Then whose is it?’
“Then whose?”
“Yours, obviously!”
“I haven’t done anything.”
His blithe response left me speechless.
“It’s because you keep me awake until dawn! I even told you yesterday how sleepy I was.”
“And I refrained.”
“Refrained from what? When?”
“When you said you were tired, I made a real effort to hold back.”
Hold back? That was a lie!
This man was truly a creature of day and night—two completely different people.
I shot him another suspicious look, but Noah simply smiled with his eyes, unbothered.
“So, what’s this good news my wife mentioned today?”
“Oh.”
I realized I’d forgotten the reason while eating the pastry.
“I received a report from Nizela today—our revenue has increased tenfold compared to last year. Commission completion rates included!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, at this rate, expansion shouldn’t be difficult. So I’m thinking about hiring one more employee.”
“An employee. Hazel, I can help with that. I’ll find you someone as efficient as Nizela.”
I faltered at his words.
“Someone?”
“Ah, I meant a person.”
Well, it wasn’t exactly an insult, so… haha.
Nizela had been introduced by him too, so one more wouldn’t make much difference.
“Would you really? That would make things much easier for me.”
“Gladly.”
I set aside the now-empty basket and turned my body toward Noah entirely.
“Actually, I was also thinking of increasing benefits for our regular customers. We have clients who always come to our Guild. There’s one mercenary in particular who frequents us most, and our increased revenue is practically thanks to them. Their commissions are resolved so quickly and so well that other clients often end up requesting them too… Noah?”
“Treating them to a meal?”
He was still smiling gently, but suddenly the air in the carriage felt bitingly cold.
“Yes, nothing elaborate—just a simple meal as customer relations. Since they were my first client, it feels special somehow. They look a bit rough around the edges, but they’re actually quite personable, and they handle commissions so efficiently that clients keep requesting them… Noah?”
“Just the two of you?”
Why had the carriage become so cold all of a sudden?
“Probably. It’s not like a staff gathering or anything.”
Noah tapped his fingers against his thigh.
“My dear, I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”
“I… what?”
“My dear is wise, so I’m sure you can think of a more prudent approach.”
I tilted my head in confusion as Noah gently brushed through my hair.
He ran his fingertips through the strands—a rich golden-red that caught the light—caressing them softly.

I flinched at the word “darling” and straightened my posture.
I mustn’t let myself be fooled by that sweet word.
There was a dangerous trap here—that tender “darling” was Noah’s magic word that only surfaced when he disapproved of something, burned with jealousy, grew angry, or needed to suppress some impulse.
In other words, when Noah called me “darling,” it was the equivalent of using my full name: Hazel Rove.
And he’d just used it.
“W-well, that’s… I mean, that client is the Highest Rank and only takes commissions from our Guild, so…”
“Think about it again, Hazel.”
I sealed my lips shut.
Noah waited for my answer, his hand sliding from my hair down to my chin, where he traced it gently.
Before, when I realized Noah could be jealous, I’d found it endearing and simply laughed it off. But now that I knew the truth, laughter was no longer the appropriate response.
The old Hazel would have pushed through with her own opinion regardless.
Noah would eventually give in and follow my lead.
Maybe that was coercion all along.
Looking back now, that jealousy might not have been jealousy at all—it might have been murderous intent.
If he took offense and decided to alter his plans, he could kill me on the spot.
Survival first.
I raised both hands and clapped them sharply together.
“You know, that does seem problematic. Since we’re not holding an interview, meeting a client one-on-one could invite gossip. I’ll have a staff member handle it instead and bump up their settlement share a bit. Y-yes, that would be best!”
Without thinking, I glanced sideways at Noah.
Satisfied with my answer, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine—then pulled back with his eyes wide, drawing a dizzying smile.
“See? You can do it.”
“I-it’s all thanks to you, Noah…?”
“Is there anything else I can help with?”
“Hmm, I’ll let you know if I need something later. For now, I don’t think so.”
As soon as I answered, Noah kissed me again.
“I see. But…”
“Yes?”
“What is the mercenary’s name?”
His name? Why would he ask that?
He rubbed my cheek softly again. I scrunched one eye against the tickle and asked, “Why do you want to know?”
“Why his name?”
“Simply because my wife was grateful to this client, so I became curious. After all, he’s someone to thank for making my dear wife smile.”
That reasoning seemed harmless enough, but…
“Oh, what was the name again? It was K-something… I should check the records properly. It was quite a difficult name.”
To be safe, I gave a vague answer and glanced sideways at Noah again.
“That’s sufficient.”
Noah changed the subject, saying he didn’t need me to remember the rest.
We’d arrived by carriage at an ordinary spot in the heart of the city.
More precisely, a market alley in the heart of the city—lined with shops and stalls.
We came into town like this once a week or every other week for modest dates.
I took Noah’s hand and descended from the carriage, immediately drawing attention from those around us.
As always, the glances faded within seconds.
“There’s quite a crowd today. We should be careful.”
“That’s true. Now that I think about it, Ferrarium’s population keeps growing. Maybe we should do some advertising.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“How about setting up a small temporary office around here? We’d only need to check public commissions and announcements, so we could staff it with part-timers instead of full employees.”
“That sounds good too.”
“Are you sure it’s really a good idea?”
I gave Noah a sideways look as I asked.
“Everything you do is right, Hazel. Just leave the hard work to me.”
“Understood. I’ll think about it a bit more.”
I nodded and looked around while holding Noah’s hand.
Normally, I would have headed straight for food upon entering the market, but today, having filled my stomach with cream puffs, nothing seemed particularly appealing.
Instead, my eyes were drawn to a large bulletin board standing prominently at the entrance.
Notices were plastered densely across the entire board.
As I drifted toward it like enchanted, Noah naturally followed.
The words “Warning!” stood out in red letters, appearing frequently.
Looking closer, the notices stated that Magical Beasts were increasing in number in the Northern and Western regions, their territories expanding, and requested that travelers heading in those directions exercise particular caution.
“Northern and Western regions…”
Elkium was in the southeast of the capital Elkard, meaning we were far south, so the warnings didn’t technically apply to us—yet I couldn’t simply dismiss it.
I’d settled in Ferrarium because it was as developed as the capital, affordable, and had access to the sea—but more importantly, it was the complete opposite of Northern Sergal.
Northern Sergal was, quite literally, the most dangerous region in the original work.
In “Preventing Catastrophe and Achieving a Happy Ending,” it was where the final shadow mastermind and boss broke a seal and recovered their power.
Their strength is still sealed for now, but one day they’ll pose a grave threat to the protagonists.
The steady increase in Magical Beasts is already a sign of their influence.
Once High-Rank Magical Beasts appear, and creatures called Followers—dangerous Magical Beasts with violet Mana Stones embedded in their heads—begin to emerge, it’s essentially a countdown to the seal breaking.
That’s also why I’d submitted my resignation so hastily.
If you asked whether I did it just to save myself, I couldn’t deny it—but……
In any case, the protagonists in the original work certainly defeat the final boss and achieve a happy ending as the title promises.
After Hazel Rove dies from overwork.
Which means my absence wouldn’t cause any real problems.
What did trouble me, though, was the part about their territory expanding.
Oh, and I recall that Kailus Hadid disappears around the time the final shadow mastermind emerges.
But until then, he continues to torment the two protagonists……
Wait.
If Noah is Kailus Hadid, then who’s the shadow mastermind supposed to appear before the protagonists?
There’s really no way to verify Noah’s true identity……
I turned my head and looked up at Noah.
“Hazel?”
“Oh, I was just—just looking because you seemed interesting.”
There is.
Like a true shadow mastermind and villain, Kailus Hadid possessed extraordinary resistance to poison, Illusion Technique, and Black Magic.
Which meant my Illusion Magic wouldn’t work on him.
I had the kind of ability that could even trap an ordinary Sword Master in illusion—yet I couldn’t so much as hypnotize him.
Though I’d never actually tried.
…But why not test it directly?

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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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