Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 32

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 32

“Just wrap it up and send it off.”
Kaileus rose slowly to his feet.
He moved like a drowsy predator stretching after sleep.
Carrion, consciousness already slipping away, somehow heard those words and thrashed.
His instincts screamed danger. Terror crushed his chest, making each breath a struggle, but he forced out every last scrap of will.
“P-please! I-I made a mistake, ughh, I made a mistake!”
Kaileus paid no mind to the pleading. He brushed the man aside like an inconvenient object, then turned and walked away.
Not a trace of pity crossed his features as he looked at the crumpled form.
“How tiresome.”
“I’ll handle it at once.”
Sid bowed deeply, acknowledging the order.
One wrong word now, and he’d catch the fallout.
Years of serving Kaileus had taught him that much.
‘If only the prisoner would come back soon.’
The same wish circled through Sid’s mind.
He’d have to insist they wait and see once the prisoner returned—surely that would work.
He’d thought things would be easier with him gone.
But it felt like hell itself was creeping closer.
No, he had to find a way to keep him here.
Sid cycled through possibilities in his head, staying perfectly silent until Kaileus had completely vanished.
The moment Kaileus was out of sight, Sid kicked the unconscious Carrion aside with his boot.
“Why did you have to touch the prisoner—ahem! I mean, why did you have to lay a hand on him?”
Then he gestured casually to summon another subordinate.
“Send word to Ralph Molly. Tell him there’s good news.”
After that, he hummed softly to himself—wondering just how long he ought to keep it up.

* * *

Following Dylan into the Training Ground, I found everyone except those off-duty immersed in their drills, dressed in training gear.
Just as I’d left them. These relentless practice fanatics.
“Hey, I’m bringing—”
“They’re in the middle of training. Let’s wait. You hate being interrupted, too.”
I cut off Dylan before he could announce my presence.
Seeing them again felt awkward, and I didn’t want to break their concentration.
Since arriving in this body, I’d been on several suppression operations with the knights here.
With my participation, the work went faster and took less than half the usual time. So I kept going even while processing my resignation.
I hadn’t managed proper conversations with everyone—some had been caught up in my squabble with Zed over leaving.
Since I’d already known Hazel before this, even when I greeted them warmly, I’d only earned awkward smiles and passing acknowledgments. More than a few were still essentially strangers to me.
As I watched my old comrades drenched in sweat, absorbed in their training, someone turned their head.
“Huh?”
The knight beside them froze mid-motion, eyes snapping toward me.
“…Hazel?”
In an instant, every knight caught up in their drills turned to stare.
They all went rigid as stone before their faces bloomed open like waves washing ashore.
“Hazel? Is that really Hazel? The Hazel Luve?”
“How long has it been?”
“No way, it’s actually Hazel?”
“Are you coming back? Joining the Knight Order again?”
Calling out eagerly, they all sheathed their swords and grabbed their towels, rushing toward me in a surge.
The area erupted into chaos with their overwhelming welcome.
For someone who’d fled the Knight Order like a hunted thing, I never expected this kind of greeting.
“It’s been a while. I’m not back to stay—just visiting for a bit.”
I smiled awkwardly as they greeted me, and a few of them let out heavy sighs.
“Oh, so you’re not rejoining after all…”
“We thought Hazel was coming back. My heart almost flew right out of my chest.”
“Hey, you came to have fun, didn’t you? I heard you went down to the provinces. Where was it?”
Lux wiped the sweat from his brow as he asked the question, surrounded by sighing knights.
On days when we skipped the office and only trained, most of them would show up in just a towel thrown over their shoulders.
But Lux, no matter the time or place, dressed impeccably whether in uniform or training clothes—as though entering a grand hall.
Something about meeting the expectations of the noble ladies who came to see the knights in their finest form.
With his blonde hair swept back neatly and slightly drooping eyes, he was a skilled warrior with both bow and sword.
Of his talents, his natural accuracy and swift movements made the bow his primary weapon, so he usually operated from the rear.
Since I, too, often worked from the rear, Lux knew this well.
In fact, I’d received his help during my first subjugation operation not long after I’d adapted to this body.

‘You’re not looking so good today. Even you have days like that. Fall back.’
‘Ah, I’m fine. Just getting used to things…….’
‘Getting used to things?’
‘No, I mean—thanks for worrying about me.’
‘You thanked me, so I suppose I have no choice but to step up. Just pretend you’re covering the rear today.’

So it was a little pleasant to see his face again.
“Ferarium.”
“Ah, that’s right! Ferarium. You came back to the Capital?”
“I had some business, and I happened to run into Dylan. I should’ve made my escape right then!”
I felt a sudden rush of irritation, clenched my fist, and vented my frustration.
The other knights burst into laughter.
“That’s what you should’ve done—just bolted. Why’d you listen to his request? If it were me, I’d have run the moment I saw him. Now that you’re here, have some fun while you’re at it. Welcome back!”
“What, why’s my reputation like this?”
Dylan asked with a wry expression. The laughter erupted again.
My tension melted away completely in the process.
“So, a new Illusionist Mage joined us, I hear?”
At those words, the noisy atmosphere around us turned as cold and quiet as ice.
What was this about?
“Ah… yes, she joined us.”
Lux murmured as if groaning, his voice mixed with half a sigh.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
The other knight felt the same way. I tilted my head in confusion.
“Aren’t you pleased? Subjugation operations should be much easier now.”
“Of course! We thought so at first too.”
Josh, standing next to Lux, looked as though his head might burst, reaching up to tug at his hair.
Josh was the swordsman with the second-best skill after Dylan.
He maintained a neat ponytail style with his deep blue-black long hair, and with his sharp, narrow eyes and distinct features, he was popular with the noble ladies much like Lux.
Though he did have a slight tendency to run his mouth once he got going.
“Your reaction’s similar to his, isn’t it?”
I subtly turned my head and spoke to Dylan, who then tapped my shoulder and whispered softly.
“You’re perceptive. The reason is soon to… ahem.”
Dylan stopped mid-sentence and turned his head the other way.
“Where’s Fay Martin?”
That was when it happened.
“Kyaaah!”
A shrill scream, almost tearing through the air, came from somewhere.
“Here we go again.”
Rather than startled, everyone shook their heads with expressions of resignation and muttered incomprehensibly.
I was the only one who seemed surprised.
“There she is. I’ll go get her. You all stay here and keep talking.”
Dylan smiled bitterly.
While Dylan went to fetch the Illusionist Mage he called Fay, the knights crowded around me even more.
Nearly twenty knights, wanting to witness the meeting of two Illusionist Mages, stopped their training and held their ground.
I hadn’t expected so many knights to gather.
Their anticipation gradually became palpable, and the more it did, the worse my premonition grew.
I had the feeling something was about to go very wrong.
Should I just say I was busy and leave?
“Anyway, how’s Ferarium treating you?”
Josh, the one who’d been pulling at his hair earlier, asked with a grin as though nothing had happened.
“Absolutely! Very much so. It’s peaceful here, unlike where I come from.”
Of course, there’s a darkness behind the scenes that you couldn’t possibly imagine.
“Ah, when I retire, maybe I’ll move to Ferarium too?”
“Oh, then give me a heads-up. I’ll need to leave Ferarium in a hurry before that happens.”
“After all this time, and you’re going to say that?”
Josh’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Dylan would’ve said the same thing. Please, just let me keep my peace.”
“I’m with Hazel on this one. That Elcard fellow’s always whining about being bored—I’m sure he’d pester you every other day to play with him. Remember how much of a nuisance he was when you were here?”
Lux folded his arms beside me with a shrug.
“Damn. My reputation’s really taken a beating. You’re putting me in the same league as Dylan?”
If Dylan hadn’t stepped away, Josh certainly would’ve glared at him. Yet Josh laughed good-naturedly all the same.
From what I remembered, he was the type who held no grudges and kept things light. Even when he fought someone fiercely, it never lasted more than an hour.
He played pranks now and then, but they were the kind you could brush off with a smile.
After a few more minutes of conversation, the awkwardness had largely dissolved.
In the distance, I caught sight of Dylan appearing again.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————