Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 56

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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 56

Noah’s eyes came to rest on my elbow.
“Mm?”
That was where I’d hurt myself yesterday.
With summer here, my clothes had grown thinner and shorter, leaving my arms completely exposed.
Fortunately, I’d applied medicine yesterday, so only a faint redness remained where the skin had been scraped.
Noah’s gaze wouldn’t leave the vicinity of my injury.
“It’s nothing,” he said.
Even as he pressed his lips briefly to my arm and released his hold, his eyes lingered near my wound.
Which meant one thing.
Yesterday’s injury had already been reported to him.
Nizela must have mentioned it.
Had he come because of this instead of the nightmare? No, it couldn’t be genuine concern that brought him.
Now that I thought about it, Nizela had vanished as if by sorcery.
Each piece of information I uncovered made my skin crawl.
Even as my mind spun, I feigned indifference, turning my body to wedge my hand into his side and press myself against his chest.
His laughter scattered against my ear, tickling.
“What have you been doing while I was away? You haven’t been working yourself ragged again, have you?”
“No, my lady. I’ve taken your advice—moderation with work. I’ve been sleeping and eating properly. Have you worried much?”
“A wife worrying about her husband is only natural, isn’t it?”
Noah burst into laughter again, his lips finding my cheek repeatedly with soft kisses.
“Everything Hazel says is right.”
Noah certainly seemed in exceptional spirits today.
No matter how well he controlled his expression, it always showed subtly whether his mood was genuinely good, ordinary, or poor.
But why the sudden brightness? There shouldn’t have been anything particularly pleasing about his situation.
If anything, he should have been irritated at having to come here personally to supervise.
Surely he didn’t intend to stay until I left for Ferarium?
He wouldn’t say something so absurdly nightmarish as to wait and then ask me to go together.
Yet asking when he’d leave right after he’d just arrived and gone to the trouble of preparing food seemed equally odd.
He might actually grow suspicious!
‘What do I do?’
If I let my tension slip, my teeth would chatter.
“What occupies your thoughts so deeply, keeping me at your side like this?”
I bit my finger carefully, ensuring it wouldn’t hurt.
“Oh? Thinking? I was just wondering what we should do together! Can you stay longer? You don’t have to leave right now, do you?”
I buried my face against his neck to hide any telltale expression.
The scent of Noah that I loved so much filled my senses, making my heart race, but I forced myself to stay alert.
Yes—better to deceive him perfectly, even if it meant delaying my escape slightly, than to stumble here awkwardly.
Right, okay. My life was too precious to gamble with.
Noah’s large hand swept soothingly across my back in broad, gentle strokes.
“I should leave in the morning, I think.”
Good. Thank goodness. I almost laughed aloud in relief.
I squeezed his neck a little tighter.
“I’m glad it’s not right away. I should be able to wrap things up soon and head back myself. Just a couple more sessions and I’ll be done.”
“Then we should be able to see each other again in about three days.”
“Three days… yes, I suppose so! But I’m so happy we got to see each other like this today. It feels like a surprise gift from you, Noah.”
Three days, or four if I delayed.
The matches Aegmeon had arranged for me were nearly finished.
Soon it would be time to face him again.

* * *

Kailas stirred awake.
Bright light was already streaming through the window—the sun had risen.
He hadn’t meant to, but the satisfaction of having her in his arms again had pulled him deeper into kissing and caressing Hazel until the pale dawn finally allowed him to let her sleep.
Even in that brief span of rest, she’d fallen deeply asleep, and his body felt refreshed.
He gazed down at Hazel’s sleeping face, nestled perfectly against his chest, oblivious to the world.
When he traced her flawless white cheek with his fingertip, it slid soft as peach fuzz or velvet beneath his touch.
He lost all sense of time in that mindless caress.
After stroking her cheek several more times, he brushed the tip of her small, rounded nose—and her brow twitched.
“Mm…”
A faint smile escaped the corner of Kailas’s mouth.
Last night, he’d finally examined the wound on Hazel’s waist.
He clicked his tongue against his teeth at the raw, reddened marks.
Should he hold the Imperial Palace accountable and eliminate the source, or merely erase what caused it?
He was about to render judgment with cold eyes when Hazel pulled his face down and kissed him—just like that.
After that, all thought scattered away.
“…”
The room darkened as if storm clouds had rolled in.
Kailas spent a long while playing small tricks on Hazel’s sleeping face.
As the clouds passed, the shadow retreated, and much brighter light flooded in, illuminating her features anew.
In that instant.
Kailas’s breath caught.
Soft sunlight spilling down, dust motes drifting like they floated on the rays themselves, a silence as if time had stopped, her breathing gentle and shallow.
And at the end of all that—a sweetness he could taste.
When she opened her brilliant golden eyes through trembling lids, the world dissolved into distance, and his mind filled with one thing alone.
Hazel. As though nothing else mattered but her.
As though he must seize this moment absolutely.
As though she had become his only standard of measure.
Thump.
His heartbeat surged hard, seized tight as if gripped by her.
He exhaled—bewitched, he raised his hand to her cheek, and only then could he breathe again.
Then Hazel smiled with affection in the corners of her eyes as if pleased, and nestled deeper into his embrace.
“Noah, did you sleep well?”
The arm wrapped around his waist, the small murmur vibrating against his chest asking if he’d slept well—and her sweet scent growing richer still.
Kailas laughed softly at this impossible contentment.
He extended his arms and held Hazel close, watching how perfectly she fit against him like a puzzle piece.
The moment he embraced her, Kailas understood once more.
It was he who needed her. He who craved her affection.
Yes—you must remain mine like this forever.
Just as you always have, nestled only in my arms, smiling only within my embrace.
Only he must know everything about Hazel Love.
“Did you sleep well, Hazel?”
Hazel, fully rested, was warmer than usual.
She was toasty as if sunbaked, somehow lighter, and her sweet fragrance wafted even stronger.
“…Mm. I could sleep a little more…”
When he slipped his hand into her armpit to lift her, the soft, boneless feeling of her settling against him was pleasant.
“Then shall we sleep longer?”
She nodded.
Her eyes wouldn’t open properly—only her brows kept twitching.
A woman who slept far more than most; watching her tangled hair disheveled in all directions was endlessly amusing.
It was something Kailas quite enjoyed, though it was something he could indulge in only once a day.
But he hadn’t been able to enjoy it for several days now, so his mood was bound to be low.
Perhaps it was because he’d realized she’d entered a corner of his heart.
Even so, this impulse to devour every inch of her—how could he manage it?
He wanted to bind her fast and make her look at only him.
It was strange that even when depraved impulses stirred, if Hazel disliked something, he found he disliked doing it too.
Since he’d decided to keep her beside him always, Kailas resolved to be better to her.
Not to kill her, but to continue a marriage as happy as this.
Kailas held Hazel contentedly in his arms.

* * *

Fortunately, the Hotel was empty at dawn as well.
“Husband……!”
Before I’d even fully left the lobby, I buried myself in Noah’s arms again.
“Four days?”
Noah asked, smiling, his fingers brushing against my ear.
“Yes, four days. Then we’ll see each other at home for real.”
The moment I stepped back from his embrace, he bent down to meet my eyes, and his lips found their way across my entire face.
“P-people are coming.”
“I don’t mind.”
He must be out of his mind. Where does all that confidence come from?
I laughed at the absurdity even as I wore a smile, seeing my husband off.
“I’ll wrap things up quickly and come home, Noah. Four days—we’ll see each other then.”
“Any longer and I think I’ll miss you terribly.”
“I know. I’d love it if you were waiting at home for me in four days.”
“Of course I will.”
I pulled away and reached up to gently stroke the corner of his eye.
Go on. Hurry now.
The moment Noah climbed into the carriage, Sid, his attendant, bowed to me at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
Was it just my imagination, or did his bow seem more respectful than before?
In any case, I sent them off while returning Sid’s greeting.
The instant Noah’s carriage disappeared, I spun around and practically sprinted toward the elevator.
“He won’t come back again.”
Even though I’d confirmed he was completely gone, my unease wouldn’t settle.
When I stepped out on the top floor, the enormous clock in the corridor showed eight in the morning.
Four days.
It seemed I’d have to move like a madwoman.

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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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