Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 50

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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 50

Chapter 7. Special Orders! Do Not Be Startled Even by Your Husband’s Surprise Attack

After a brief conversation with Dylan in his office, I’d made a beeline straight back to the Hotel.
Any longer and I risked an invitation to dinner from the Crown Prince and his wife, so I’d scrambled into the carriage with my tail between my legs.
When I left the Crown Prince’s Palace for the last time, Lily had made it clear she hoped I’d stay through the evening.
If His Imperial Majesty hadn’t summoned them when he did, I’d have had no choice but to tag along, swallowing my reluctance.
Watch the two of them melt into each other with my eyes wide open the whole time?
Absolutely not.
I passed through the Hotel’s lounge and headed for the top floor.
The moment I arrived, the elevator doors slid open to reveal an empty corridor.
Because my stay had stretched far beyond plan, I’d practically made the Hotel my home.
Normally by now I’d have finished my business in the Capital, run some tests on how Kairous manipulates people, and headed back to Ferarium to finalize my escape plan.
But the longer I stayed in the Capital, the more thoroughly that plan required revision.
At least things with Annie are progressing smoothly. The tests, though—those are off the table.
Should I just disappear from here while I’m at it?
Or go back to Ferarium one last time, see his face once more, and say goodbye properly?
“What’s the point of looking?”
All I’d see is a handsome face anyway.
Shuffling forward on tired legs, I hadn’t even reached my room when I ran into Nizela.
She was lingering just outside my door.
“Nizela? What are you doing out here?”
“I went to the Guild as you ordered, and on my way back I heard there was a loud commotion near the Imperial Palace. Director, your eyes—”
Nizela’s eyes widened in alarm as she caught sight of my irises, now stained violet from the exertion.
I’d just confirmed the transformation before heading out, and there was no way to hide it from her without keeping my eyes shut the whole time.
Her expression looked ready to launch into a lecture—almost exactly like Noah’s.
“Ah… word’s gotten out already? Right, a Demon suddenly invaded the Imperial Palace today, so I went to help deal with it.”
“What? You weren’t somewhere safe? How much power did you use to let your eyes change like this? I knew you shouldn’t have gone alone today!”
Nizela fussed just as I’d expected.
“You’d have just nagged at me if you’d come anyway. It’s fine—I handled it well and made it back in one piece. We can go over the details after I’ve cleaned up. I’m sure you did everything right while I was gone.”
“You’re not… you’re not injured, are you?”
“Uh, no. Why?”
My vague answer made Nizela’s eyes narrow with suspicion.
Truth was, on the ride back I’d noticed my lower back was a bit tender where I’d been leaning against the carriage seat. My elbows were sore too.
Whatever orders she’d received since arriving in the Capital, Nizela’s protective instincts had gone into overdrive.
I’d barely managed to placate her before being led away for a bath, and the moment my clothes came off, my undergarment brushed the wound and I hissed.
“Ah—”
“M-Madam! You have a wound here—! I’ll fetch the physician at once!”
The maid fussed even louder than Nizela, making a scene.
I grabbed both her sleeves frantically before she could bolt to fetch Nizela.
“Shh, shh! No, no! Why call a physician over this? Can you just hold up a mirror so I can see it?”
When the maid held up the long mirror, I could see a red abrasion about a handspan long between my waist and hip.
It looked like I’d scraped my lower back against the dirt when I hit the ground. My elbows bore minor scrapes as well.
“That’s why it was stinging.”
If I’d gotten hurt like this back in Ferarium, Noah would’ve lectured me for two days straight.
Thank goodness for small mercies.
“This much should heal with just ointment. Can you grab me some after my bath?”
“You won’t call the physician?”
I brought my index finger to my lips and lowered my voice.
“Nizela will have another fit. Just let me wash first. Do you think scars will form?”
“If you apply ointment, the wound shouldn’t scar. However—”
“Then that’s settled. Mix in a little cold water, would you?”
“Yes, of course, Madam.”
At least the scrape hadn’t gone deep, so the water stung only slightly when I entered the bath—nothing I couldn’t bear.
After bathing and emerging, I’d weathered another round with Nizela’s concerns, and now I sat before the Communication Device, my ears still ringing with her warnings.
They argued whether to call a doctor, whether ointment alone would do the trick—back and forth endlessly.
In the end, I won.
“I should contact him early today and get some rest.”
The thought that there wasn’t much time left for this sort of thing actually put my mind at ease.
“Hm?”
But why wasn’t he picking up? Was he busy?

* * *

Glimmer, glimmer.
“…….”
The light of the Communication Device flickered and then faded, as if snuffed out.
Glimmer, glimmer.
The disconnected Communication Device’s light flashed once, twice, a few times more in silent desperation.
Kairous swallowed dryly and leaned back against his chair.
His tilted throat rose sharply once, then subsided.
The Communication Device, which had been shining so earnestly to draw his attention, finally went dark and fell still.
His eyes, which had seemed intent on remaining closed and ignorant to the end, opened slightly.
A gaze brimming with heat turned toward the extinguished device.
Damn it.
If he had to sum up his state of mind in a single word, that was it.
Thirst. Only a fool wouldn’t recognize this dry, gnawing dread.
His mind had been most unsettled these past days.
He hadn’t set foot in his house in days because of it—and Hazel’s absence hadn’t helped matters.
He picked up a letter he hadn’t even bothered to look at, trying to push the thought away.
It had arrived from the Imperial Palace days ago, and he’d already discerned its contents, but it had simply not appealed to him, so he’d left it alone.
The Imperial Family and the Hadid Ducal House had never been close since ancient times.
From the outset, the Hadid Ducal House had supported the Neutral Faction, not the Imperial Family.
And ever since Kairous had risen to head of house, their business expansion had grown only more formidable, which the Imperial Family constantly opposed—so the distance between them only widened.
The Hadid Ducal House, gripping the Northern Region and swiftly amassing power, seized everything it desired.
The noble world, once divided into Imperial Faction, Aristocratic Faction, and Neutral Faction, now seemed to be fragmenting into the Imperial Family, the Nobility, and the Hadid Ducal House.
The Imperial Family’s endless tug-of-war to control the Hadid Ducal House and subordinate it like other noble houses showed no sign of ending.
Yet the Imperial Family could not openly attack the Hadid Ducal House.
There was no justification for it.
Or more precisely, there was no grounds to support a justification.
The house grew stronger but never drew steel against the Imperial Family.
It had done nothing but return in kind whenever the Imperial Family first tried to suppress its power.
They committed illegal acts in pursuit of profit, yet on the surface they operated within the bounds of law, leaving no trace of their tail.
There were quite a few business ventures the Imperial Family didn’t even realize belonged to Kairous.
Ever since learning that the Sacred Purification Stone had fallen into the hands of the Crown Prince’s lover, though, it had been somewhat grating.
But that too had come to nothing when Sid intervened.
Yet recently, the Imperial Family had shifted direction and begun sending letters with the implication that they were seeking support from the Hadid Ducal House.
Letters stating that if the house would assume responsibility for the overall Demon Subjugation of Sergal—something the Imperial Family had previously obstructed in various ways and then placed under surveillance—they would turn a blind eye to certain illegal circumstances.
‘How amusing. Since they can’t suppress us, now they want reconciliation.’
It appeared the hierarchy of imperial succession and power would shift within five to ten years, and they wanted to secure at least some thread of harmony in preparation for that.
Honestly, to Kairous, this letter was trivial.
It had become even more so after Hazel decided she had to stay at the Imperial Palace for a few more days on Imperial business.
Sid occasionally offered advice that it might be wise to gradually close the distance with the Imperial Family, but Kairous saw no reason to care.
‘What for.’
What for, indeed.
By birth, he’d never learned to bow his head or grovel before anyone.
Kairous swept the letter aside like discarding trash.
Then he glanced at it again.
If he helped them, maybe the kinds of things that bothered Hazel wouldn’t happen anymore.
Her constitution was weak to begin with, and he was worried she might fall ill—the urge to bring her back right now was overwhelming.
“Confound it.”
A look of displeasure flickered across Kairous’s eyes.
Once again, his thoughts had drifted toward Hazel.
Kairous rose from his seat to clear his mind.
He thrust one hand casually into his trouser pocket and stepped out, only to find Sid lingering near the office entrance.
Sid’s eyes met his as he exited, and the young man bowed stiffly at the waist.
“What are you doing here?”
“That is… nothing, sir.”
Even as he spoke, his gaze darted nervously side to side.
As Kairous’s expression twisted, Sid moistened his parched lips and spoke in haste.
“It’s just that… from the Imperial Palace… Hazel… no, forgive me. Truly, my lord, I apologize.”
Sid bowed deeply again and spun to leave, but a hand seized him by the collar and held fast.
“Hazel. What about her?”

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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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