Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 38

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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 38

I nearly fell backward in shock at his words, my brief moment of peace shattering in an instant.
Coming to the Capital to see me? Now? He must be joking!
My heart felt ready to burst from the surprise.
“W-wait? No, no, that won’t do! Noah’s already so busy—you can’t just come here. I-I’ll finish my work quickly and come back to you!”
The Communication Device fell silent again. I swallowed hard, waiting.
-It seems my wife doesn’t wish to see me very much.
His voice returned, tinged with a note of hurt. I was half-risen from my seat, caught off-balance.
“That’s not true at all. You know how much I love you, Noah—how much.”
-How much?
He asked with deliberate mischief.
If he were here as usual, I imagined him propped against his chin, his gaze languid and distant.
I could almost see his deep crimson eyes half-lidded, the faintest smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
It was one of my favorite expressions of his.
“That’s easy—as much as my own life, of course. No, more than my own life! You already know that’s what I always say.”
A soft laugh filtered through the Communication Device.
-I wanted to hear you say it again.
His unhurried tone calmed me somewhat.
The remark about visiting the Capital was probably just a joke. To drive the nail home completely, I hurried to add more.
“I’d love nothing more than for my husband to come see me, but then I’d lose track of time with you and end up staying in the Capital even longer, wouldn’t I? That’s all it is. I don’t want to avoid you at all. You know my heart completely, don’t you, Noah?”
I swallowed again and again while the Communication Device flashed with light instead of his voice.
-Yes, Heizel. Everything you say is right.
I wiped my forehead clean.
“My husband is so precious to me. I’ll finish up here and return soon. And don’t you dare stay awake in your office if sleep won’t come—you need to rest properly, understand?”
-Understood. If any difficulties arise, please tell me. I’ll find a way to help if you wish it. Just don’t wait too long.
“Yes, I heard you. Sleep well tonight, Noah. Have pleasant dreams.”
Even after that, it took me a long while to soothe him before I could finally set down the Communication Device.
“Wow… wow… seriously.”
I stared at the Communication Device for ages, waiting for my racing heart to calm.
So startled was I that even after the light had faded, I’d been too nervous to speak freely, afraid my voice might somehow still reach him through the device.
Marriage had been a fraud from the start, but Noah had never spoken an idle word in all this time.
If he said he would come, he came. That he would appear in the middle of the Capital itself—I hadn’t seen that coming.
Surely this sprawling Capital wasn’t some stage for his theatrical games, was it?
“This is insane. Get yourself together, Heizel. He’s not even the Emperor.”
Only after slapping both my cheeks lightly with my palms could I regain my composure.
“Phew.”
I made an excuse about turning in early and sent Nizela and the servants out of the room.
“Now then.”
I still had real work to do tonight.

* * *

The hurried clatter of hoofbeats and the rumble of carriage wheels carrying a master home late in the evening passed by me on the street.
……
The alley was darker than the usual night, and the ground was wet.
It must have rained while I was preparing to leave after sending Nizela away.
Water drained away between the stones, leaving no slickness underfoot.
I walked briskly, breathing in the fresher, cleaner air.
I was heading toward the Slave Gladiatorial Arena.
The day’s work of ordinary people was finished, but the night’s work at the Arena was just beginning.
“Ah, there it comes.”
I waited briefly on the main street, then flagged down an empty public carriage.
“This is what I like about the Capital.”
Public carriages running even at this late hour.
Soon the carriage came to a stop in front of me.
“Take me to the Colosseum.”
The carriage driver startled, quickly removing his hat.
“You’re heading to the Colosseum now? Without an escort, my lady?”
I looked up at him in surprise.
It was rare for nobility to take a public carriage, and I’d deliberately dressed plainly.
Our eyes met, and the driver laughed—a knowing sound, as if he could read my every thought.
“Drive a carriage for thirty years and you learn to spot these things.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Not difficult at all! Though I must say, this isn’t a place for a lady to be traveling alone at night…”
As he spoke, the driver climbed down and unfolded the carriage steps.
“Please, get in! Forgive my presumption. Don’t take offense—I’ll see you safely to the Colosseum, no trouble at all.”
“I’m not offended. Just get me to the Colosseum, then.”
“You can count on me!”
The carriage door closed, the driver’s footsteps sounded briskly outside, and we lurched into motion.
I settled back against the seat.
I’d told Nizela and the servants I wanted to rest undisturbed—they wouldn’t come near.
I knew I could solve this easily with Spatial Illusion Magic, but soon I’d need to use Fabrication Magic on those I’d thought were my people, including Nizela.
When that time came, I might have to harm them. So now, I couldn’t bear to use it.
Instead, the moment I left, I’d cast Illusion Magic over my entire body to prevent anyone following me from recognizing me.
It altered my outward appearance so thoroughly that no one would know me if they looked.
During the day, I’d let any watchers follow without suspicion, but not now.
No one could recognize me tonight.
The carriage picked up speed, and I leaned back, closing my eyes briefly.
Not long after it began moving, I heard rain pattering against the window.
I frowned without opening my eyes.
When I looked, streams of rain were indeed striking the pane between the half-drawn curtains.
“Damn it—I didn’t even bring an umbrella.”
The air had been so fresh I’d thought it was just a brief shower, but it had only paused a moment.
The rain continued all the way to the Slave Gladiatorial Arena at the Colosseum.
Of all times not to have brought a cloak.
With no choice but to pay the driver and run, I dashed toward the back of the Colosseum.

* * *

I glanced up at the towering five-story structure.
The Slave Gladiatorial Arena at the Colosseum was built beneath a massive building.
It sprawled as large as an outdoor training ground—I’d heard they employed over thirty staff just to maintain it.
Being a specialized space for managing gladiators, more than half its personnel were elite operatives.
Nobility often came here to wager on fighters or simply enjoy the spectacle itself.
Whenever they spotted an impressive slave gladiator, they’d pay handsomely to buy him as a personal guard.
Some deals worked out well, but escape from slavery was impossible, so some gladiators refused to be sold.
They knew that falling into the hands of a cruel master could mean even more hellish suffering.
Of course, the top ten most popular fighters were indispensable to the Colosseum’s operation—they couldn’t be sold.
But gladiators ranked below the top ten were freely traded if the buyer met the arena’s price.
‘In that sense, Kailrus isn’t the only one at fault.’
After all, more nobility frequented this place than avoided it.
Though titled a slave arena, skilled swordsmen in need of coin sometimes found their way here too.
What was Ginger’s lover’s name again—Eggmen, was it?
Unfortunately, Eggmen was a true slave-born gladiator.
My reason for coming here was simple enough.
Because I’d sent Ginger away from the Capital to Ferarium, there was no one to help Eggmen, so I came myself.
Besides, Ginger had implored me as she pledged her life—to save Eggmen without fail.
I smiled remembering how Ginger had immediately begun lowering herself after agreeing to work with me, practically jumping with joy to tell me to speak comfortably even when I used formal speech.
After that, I could treat Ginger more at ease.
Just as I had to escape flawlessly in a single attempt, Eggmen had to slip out of here without a single mistake.
That was the only way for all of us—me, Ginger, and Eggmen—to survive.
I couldn’t rescue him tonight. But I had to lay groundwork now to keep him safe from danger, to prevent the day when he might be transferred elsewhere and become unreachable.
Just approaching the rear entrance of the Colosseum, I could already hear a commotion from inside.

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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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