Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 55

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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 55

For a moment, an urge seized me to brush Hazel aside.
I started to rise and move toward her, then hesitated.
‘I can’t make things difficult for Hazel when the finish line is in sight.’
The red-haired man conversing with Hazel said a few more words, then—as though reluctantly—turned away and left the hotel.
Kailas’s gaze remained fixed on the departing figure.
‘I know that face.’
Where had I seen him before?
‘Ah, a young heir of the Banker Family, if I recall correctly. The designated successor.’
Dylan Banker.
Hazel’s social circle was narrow enough that his identity surfaced quickly.
When Kailas had investigated Hazel before their marriage, this man had appeared in the reports as a colleague.
And she’d called him a colleague and close friend—the one she’d asked to help with this matter.
‘Well, for now…’
Kailas pushed the thought aside and turned toward Hazel.
“Hazel.”
At the sound of his voice, Hazel—who had just pressed the elevator button and was opening the gate to go upstairs—flinched and whirled around.
The moment their eyes met, her face drained of all color, her eyes widening to the size of lanterns.
“…N-Noah?”

* * *

Why was the hotel so utterly deserted? What if a guest arrived?
Lost in such useless worries, I quickened my pace toward the elevator the moment Dylan finished his farewell.
“Hazel.”
At the low murmur that pierced through my ear, I felt for a moment as though an arrow had passed clean through my body.
Whose voice had I just heard?
My head turned faster than my mind could process.
The instant his image formed on my retina, I felt my eyes might pop from their sockets.
A silent scream tore through me and the color drained from my face.
“…N-Noah?”
Noah Edith—or rather, Kailas Hadid?
Unless my eyesight had failed me, there couldn’t possibly be another perfect specimen like that in existence.
But why here? How could he possibly be here?
That lifted corner of his mouth, more satisfied than usual; the subtle hollow of his cheek; that striking, sculptured jawline.
Even those clean, seamless eyes I’d always loved most—and those deep crimson irises, unfathomable and stirring in me both longing and fear.
No matter how I looked at him, it was Noah.
Or rather, that is to say…
What on earth were you doing here?
Why was my husband here?
And without a mask—how was that possible?
He approached until he stood directly before me, his gait unwavering, wearing a charming smile.
“Were you just returning from the Imperial Palace?”
At his voice—low as a musical note—my body trembled without my consent.
“H-how… how are you here?”
My finger, pointing at Noah, quivered.
Noah took my outstretched hand with familiar ease and pressed his lips firmly against the back of it.
Even after countless times, it felt as though I’d been caught on a hook—gasping, helpless.
“I missed my wife and came to see you… Is that not allowed?”
Noah’s eyes drooped with a pitiful expression, and I suddenly snapped back to myself.
“No, of course it’s allowed! It’s just… I thought you were home, and I… I wondered if this was a dream!”
I made as if to pinch my cheek.
At that, Noah let out a soft laugh.
“I was so worried you might be having nightmares again. I couldn’t shake the concern, so I came to find you.”
“Ah…”
I rolled my eyes and quickly scanned our surroundings.
Her heart hammered as if it might burst from her chest.
The lobby was still empty—no staff, no guests.
In the Capital, so many would recognize his face; she’d never imagined he’d appear before her like this, so brazenly unconcerned.
Did that mean he didn’t care if they were discovered?
Somehow, it was she who felt unsettled by it all.
Her pulse quickened at the thought of someone catching sight of her with Kailas. She couldn’t risk that.
Without hesitation, she spread her arms and threw herself into Noah’s embrace.
“Noah, Noah! I’ve missed you so much. More than the sky, more than the earth—I can’t even—! This isn’t a dream, is it? I’m really seeing my husband? Am I? Really truly?”
She felt Noah laugh—louder this time than before—his arms drawing her close.
“Had I known you would be so delighted, I would have come sooner.”
She nearly lost her mind.
Her husband kept saying such ridiculous things, so she held him tighter still.
She tried to edge toward the elevator, but her own strength was no match for his.
With no other choice, she lifted her head with a bright smile, laughing and laughing to mask her urgency.
“Noah, let’s go to my room. I want to be alone with you right now.”
Had her voice sounded too desperate?
Noah laughed.
His hand that had been cradling her back shifted to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing gently across it.
“We’re already alone, aren’t we?”
Right—before anyone else came! She needed to move before that happened.
She drew her lips up in frustration.
“No, no. It’s still out here. Please, let’s go to the room—just the two of us. Now, quickly. I’m serious.”
First, she had to get this man into the room. Hide him away.

“Hm—”
She reached the top floor and turned the key in the lock, her mind a blur of motion.
Her only thought was to hide Kailas from view, to get him inside and secure.
She pulled him into the room as the door swung shut behind them, her back hitting the wall.
Noah’s hands braced her back so it didn’t hurt.
But before she could think another thought, their lips met—soft, warm.
Like fire catching flame, Noah pulled every sense from her in a single breath, leaving her dizzy and unmoored.
This damned kiss, like the forbidden fruit itself.
Amid the sweet, hazy tide of breath, she barely held onto consciousness.
“Noah, Noah. Wait, wait just a moment.”
She pushed against his solid, broad shoulders, and he broke away slightly.
“Why.”
His voice had dropped low and rough, and she shivered at the sudden shift.
The temperature around them spiked in an instant.
“N-no. Just… just a moment. Later.”
“You said you were in a hurry.”
Noah leaned in again, angling his face toward hers.
As their lips met once more, she forced herself to push him back again.
No. No, I can’t. I won’t give in.
With a sheepish smile, she placed a hand on her stomach.
“Noah, I’m… I’m so hungry.”
She had no choice but to invoke the magic word that would stop him.

* * *

She chewed and chewed, savoring each bite.
The heat that had burned so fiercely had dissipated, and now she sat in the middle of her hotel room surrounded by an array of delicacies.
The moment she’d mentioned hunger, Noah had stepped back as if by miracle, promising to return shortly before summoning Sid, one of his attendants, to bring an elaborate spread to the room in what felt like no time at all.
Noah handed her a fork and knife as her mind spun with countless thoughts, chaotic and restless.
The instant she put the first bite in her mouth, trembling slightly from tension, she felt as though every worry and concern in the world had simply melted away.
……
This is delicious.
It was worlds apart from the cheap food I’d been nibbling on before.
What on earth did they put in it? Each time the taste was like this—honestly, if they’d never learned to cook, I wouldn’t be suffering like this!
I couldn’t stop my hands from moving faster and faster.
My palate, once content with five-copper bread, had been dragged up to heavenly heights, and I resented it bitterly—yet every complaint melted away.
This dish, then that one.
I ate with tears welling in my chest from sheer satisfaction, when Noah, chin propped on his hand, stared at me intently.
“What—why?”
The moment I blinked, his fingers brushed lightly across my lips.
“Because you’re beautiful.”
Cough, cough.
Had my immunity vanished in the meantime? I cleared my throat awkwardly and gulped down more water.
Once my hunger was sated enough, I could reclaim the half of my reason that had scattered away.
Noah was in the Capital.
This was no small matter at all.
If Dylan had caught sight of him back then, he might very well have recognized him.
After all, Dylan attended banquets far more regularly than I did.
I had only my Knight Title, whereas Dylan was the heir who would carry forward the Banker Family.
A household that rose to the rank of Marquis couldn’t possibly be ignorant of Kailas Hardid.
Especially not if they were Central Nobility, spending considerable time in the Capital.
At that thought, a wave of vertigo washed over me again.
“Why have you stopped eating?”
As I set down the fork and wiped my mouth with a napkin, Noah spoke as though disappointed.
“I’ve eaten quite a lot. But truly—how did this happen? Were you waiting at the hotel the whole time I was away? You weren’t waiting long, were you?”
“I didn’t wait long. While I was waiting, I saw Hazel arrive.”
Noah opened both arms in a gesture for me to come here.
I rose as if enchanted, yet cold sweat seemed to trickle down my back.
The thought consumed me: I had to send him away quickly.
At least before I went to the Imperial Palace tomorrow.
“Ah, I see. That’s a relief. But you weren’t busy coming here? You couldn’t have slept properly last night.”
Habit is a fearsome thing—as I settled onto his solid thighs, my hand reached of its own accord to the corners of his eyes, the places that surely hadn’t rested properly because of me last night.
When I stroked them gently, Noah accepted it without hesitation, then turned his head and pressed his lips against the fleshy part of my palm that had risen up. The touch sent a spark through that spot.
“Seeing my wife is enough for me.”
I suspected it was empty flattery again, but his face was genuinely filled with contentment.
He seemed relieved that I had remained behaved, quietly attending to matters in the Capital without straying into mischief.
Yet Noah still didn’t seem to know that I’d discovered his presence.
Let me think about this carefully…….
I’d been staying at the hotel for seven days.
Seven days since Kailas had moved to come monitor me himself.
Given how loose his surveillance had been, a green light suddenly flickered on in my mind.
In that instant, my arm was pulled and lifted upward.
Huh? Why was my arm suddenly—…….

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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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