Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 51

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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 51

“What? Me?”
Syde spun around at once, straightening his posture.
“Something at the Imperial Palace.”
“Well, I heard there was a small accident at the Imperial Palace, so I rushed over, but I only just realized I shouldn’t report it and was heading back. I’ll be more cautious going forward!”
His words carried an air of contrition, though they were undercut by a subtle shamelessness.
“What kind of accident?”
Syde straightened up as if he’d been waiting for exactly this, and began his report right there.
“Ah, well, last night a monster broke through the West Gate, and this afternoon another one smashed through the Imperial Palace walls. Hazel was at the Palace, and while she was dealing with it alongside the Palace knights, she was injured a bit……”
“Injured?”
“Yes, apparently she fell while slaying the monster. So Nizela and I were occupied with calling for a physician……”
“Hazel is hurt?”
His voice dropped so low and sinister that Syde swallowed hard mid-sentence.
“It’s not a serious injury—she scraped her back on the……”
“Where.”
“Sir?”
“Where is she hurt and how.”
“Ah, her lower back and elbow are injured! She’s been treated with medicine already.”
“When.”
“The report came in just now, and the accident happened roughly three or four hours ago. She returned to the Hotel about an hour and a bit ago.”
……
Kailas’s barrage of questions ceased abruptly.
He didn’t gesture for Syde to leave, just stared vacantly at nothing, unfocused. Syde froze in sympathy, turning to ice.
After a long moment, Kailas seemed to regain his senses.
“Go.”
The single curt word made Syde’s eyes widen.
“Sir? Just like that? I mean, shouldn’t I continue reporting—about her condition, I mean?”
“Never mind. Go.”
Kailas turned back into his office and slammed the door shut.
……
What? He’d questioned him like his tail was on fire, and now he says not to report?
It seemed to Syde that he really should be giving a full account. The whole thing left him uneasy.
But if he says not to, then not to it is.
He was just a powerless employee, after all—a subordinate.
“What can you do.”
Syde shook his head and made his way to the Underground Dining Hall to rest for a bit.
The dining hall and kitchen were bustling with staff and servants hurrying about preparing the evening meal.
“They work so hard for this, and he barely touches anything anyway. You lot sure have it rough.”
Syde glanced toward the kitchen, grabbed a carrot that was already trimmed and laid out on a nearby table, and bit into it with a crunch.
At the same moment, a sharp smack landed across his back.
“Ow, ow, ow……”
Emilta, a manager at the same rank as Syde who oversaw the entire dining hall and kitchen, stood with one hand on her hip, pointing a finger at his nose, her full lips pressed tight in a glare.
Emilta Rei.
Her brown hair was tied back neatly—not a strand out of place—even more so than the kitchen staff’s, and her naturally sharp, upturned eyes were now narrowed dangerously. She was known throughout this section as an absolute stickler for cleanliness.
And she was one of the few subordinates who knew the relationship between Hazel and Kailas very well.
Aside from the Edith Baronial House’s direct members, the lower-ranking staff and servants hardly ever encountered Hazel at all.
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch things while I’m prepping ingredients? Now I have to wash them again! You must be free today, I see?”
“Just one, just one carrot. I didn’t touch anything else! I’m planning to keep myself busy until dinner.”
“Then go in and help peel onions or something.”
“I was planning to, but that hit wiped the thought clean away.”
The remaining half of the carrot disappeared into Syde’s mouth in one gulp.
“For heaven’s sake… can’t you just listen. Is the commander in a mood again today?”
“What can you say. Times are thin ice these days, trust me. Shouldn’t we prepare something bright and sweet to tempt his appetite? He doesn’t seem to be going home tonight either.”
“Bright and sweet? That’s just your taste. The commander can’t stand sweets—you know that. Besides, the head chef already planned the whole menu.”
“Still, when he cooks himself, he always seems to prefer sweeter seasoning.”
“That’s only because he cooks when she’s the one eating it.”
Apart from cooking at home, whenever Kailas had to cook while working, he often rented this kitchen outright.
Though everywhere else was kept clean enough, this place maintained an even higher standard thanks to Emilta.
Besides, there was a Gate Portal set up down here in the Underground Dining Hall too, so she could return home whenever she wished—and she used it often.
“Every time I see you in an apron, I feel like I’m watching a horror film.”
“I think you look fine.”
“You can’t even talk to me when the moment comes.”
“That’s just instinct—I naturally avoid things that frighten me. Why don’t you leave already?”
“I told you, I have time.”
Syde sauntered over and successfully pilfered another carrot.
This time, he nimbly dodged Emilta’s sharp hand as it flew toward him in retaliation.
“Damn it! Aren’t you going to leave?”
“No, well, since you mentioned it—there’s really something strange…….”
“What is?”
Syde had abandoned any pretense of leaving, leaning his elbow against the table-bar attached to the wall, his back tilted at an angle.
“Should I call her Hazel or ma’am? I can’t decide. That’s what I find hardest.”
“While she’s here, ma’am is correct. But if you slip up?”
“Anyway. I was going to report as usual today, right?”
Emilta, having failed to drive him out, folded her arms and nodded at him.
“But he told me not to report anything about ma’am going forward, so I didn’t. Then another report arrived from the Capital.”
“What’s the problem if he said not to report?”
“His mouth says not to report, but his face says something else entirely.”
“What kind of face?”
“His lips forbid reporting, but his eyes demand a detailed account of her every move.”
Emilta rested her index finger on her chin, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
“Hmm, I think I see what you mean, roughly…….”
“The moment ma’am appears, something’s off. No matter how I look at it, that’s not how he treats a prisoner. Who serves food to a captive? And the money he’s spent on her…….”
“It’s not your money, so why are you complaining?”
“It’s not about the money. Something just feels wrong. No, it’s really strange…….”
Syde crunched on the carrot, muttering to himself, then his brow suddenly furrowed as if he’d realized something.
“Hey, Emilta.”
“What. If you’re not adding onions, then get out now, you carrot thief. You’ve doubled my work.”
Syde leaned down and whispered quietly to Emilta.
“Doesn’t it seem like the master has taken a liking to her?”
…….
“I mean—doesn’t it seem like he’s fond of her? Like, a man who’s fallen in love with his prisoner, something like that. No, not that he loves her, but it seems like something along those lines. Though it’s absurd to think the master could care for anyone.”
Emilta clicked her tongue.
“He’s fond of her.”
“What?”
“You didn’t know? That’s why he’s leaving her be. I was wondering why you were being so roundabout about it. So you’re only figuring it out now.”
“What? You already knew?”
Syde yelped in surprise, his voice small as if terrified someone might overhear.
Emilta almost imagined his eyes made a “ping!” sound as they bulged from his head.
“The general’s feelings for ma’am are so obvious, even a salad lying on a plate would notice. I’m sure the wine glass knows too.”
Syde stood slack-jawed, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
Emilta regarded him with pity.
“Only you and the master seem not to know. Your intuition is something else, really.”
“That’s impossible!”
Syde cried out as if he’d just jolted awake from death itself.
“The master is in love?”
“So what if he is? Doesn’t the way he looks after ma’am seem like more than mere deception then? He even deliberates over the country of origin for every grain of pepper he adds when preparing her meals.”
As Syde continued to sputter and stammer, Emilta simply shoved him toward the exit.
Even as he was pushed with force, Syde stubbornly held his ground.
“Stop stammering and get out. I’m swamped, and you’re just standing here spouting nonsense.”
“You, you—when did you figure this out?”
“About six months ago? Maybe longer. Somewhere around then.”
“What made you think that?”
“He was smiling softly while making a pie, saying ma’am would enjoy it.”
“Are you sure he wasn’t poisoning it and plotting an assassination?”
“You’re insane. Now get out, already.”
“But seriously?”
“How would I know. It just looked that way to me.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“What can I do about it?”
“No, I mean—what’s the plan going forward?”
“Things will probably continue as they are.”
“After all, she’s a prisoner.”
“She’s also your lady. The first button was fastened a bit crooked, I’ll grant you, but the other party thinks it’s been fastened properly—so what’s the problem?”
……
“Honestly, I’d like you both to stay together. You love her, she loves you. We’re comfortable, and besides—it’s good to see.”
“…So the prisoner has switched places. The master has become the captive instead.”
……
“…So should I keep reporting? Just normally?”
“How would I know? Don’t ask me unless you’re splitting your wages with me. Didn’t you say he ordered you not to?”
“…When I reported that little injury to my elbow earlier, he seemed genuinely worried. If I don’t report things, won’t I end up dead?”
“Then that’s where your fate ends. You said you’d give your life in service.”
“Are we friends?”
“No, we’re not.”
“Syde! The Commander is looking for you. We’ve been searching for quite some time!”
A single attendant opened the door from outside and found Syde.
“The Commander’s looking for you. Get going!”
“No, stop trying to kick me out all the time—help me figure this out first.”

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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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