Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 65

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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 65

“We’ll stay here for the night.”
After switching carriages eight times and with only one Scroll left, the night sky had turned pitch black.
The destination was within sight.
“Should I order something from the restaurant downstairs while you speak with the innkeeper? I’ll check in on the situation with our people and be back.”
“Understood.”
Annie went to meet the innkeeper while I headed straight to the restaurant next door.
My body ached, so I ordered hot soup and waited.
Soon the food arrived. I was spooning it down steadily, working the soreness out of my muscles, when Annie walked in.
Her expression didn’t look bad.
“And…?”
“We still haven’t got a clear picture on Ginger’s end, and it looks like the Tracking on the carriages we sent north and south didn’t stick.”
Annie had sent two more carriages — one to Northern Sergal and one to Southern Helium.
Each carrying a woman whose appearance resembled mine.
An extra Safety Measure to throw off pursuit.
Those carriages would be deliberately leaving traces as they went.
“Order something for yourself too.”
“Well, I’ll just have a glass of brandy and call it done. My throat’s been killing me.”
Annie raised her hand to order the brandy.
After we finished eating, I took a room upstairs right away.
“Get some good sleep until four. We leave at five, so let’s meet in front of the door at half past four.”
Annie winked with one eye.
“Got it. You’ve worked hard today. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, see you tomorrow. Levian.”
Annie waved her hand and disappeared into the room across the hall.
I went inside, locked the door, and collapsed onto the bed after tossing my bag down.
“Phew.”
All that frantic movement had left my entire body feeling as if it might shatter.
Just in case someone recognized me, I’d been wearing layers of Hallucination over my face the whole way, which only doubled the exhaustion.
But the farther I got from the Capital, the farther I got from Ferarium, the lighter my heart became.
The raw nerves that had kept my handkerchief damp with anxiety had settled considerably.
Tomorrow morning I’d reach Pyront Debosh, and then I’d lie low for a while.
After I saw how things played out and reunited with Ginger and Eggmen, it would all be over.
“By now everything’s probably turned upside down.”
Since Nizela had lost her memory, they couldn’t openly punish me.
That’s what I believed, at least — though how much Kailas’s true nature revealed itself would make all the difference.
“No, forget it. Just forget it.”
Those people have nothing to do with me anymore.
After all, they’d been deceiving me this whole time, carrying on perfectly well at my expense.
Any remaining guilt evaporated when I thought about how much of a fool they’d made me look.
Now we each walk our own path.
All I could hope for was that Kailas would give up on me easily and submit the divorce papers on his own.
I pulled myself together and stood up again.
“I need a bath.”
Humming to myself, I made my way to the bathhouse.

* * *

Ferarium and the Edisi Baron Household had been thrown into chaos.
Even as dawn broke, not a soul slept; everyone moved frantically, holding their breath.
Hazel Love had vanished.
Nizela, the maidservants, and even the coachmen had all lost their memories, victims of Hazel’s Illusion Magic.

“This is beyond our ability to resolve. We sincerely apologize.”

She hadn’t merely covered the memories — she’d erased them. Even bringing in a mage was useless.
He had underestimated Hazel’s capabilities.
She was always smiling brightly, always saying everything was fine, always positive—and that was precisely why he’d let his guard down.
When did she start knowing?
How much has she discovered?
He should have noticed when her eyes changed.
After he gave her the villa?
Or before that?
In accepting his own feelings, he’d overlooked something crucial.
Kailas had torn open every drawer in Hazel’s office and bedroom.
There had to be some small trace somewhere.
Only utterly mundane objects lay scattered about.
“Ha.”
As though struck hard from behind, Kailas let out a hollow laugh and brushed back his hair.
“I’ve begun tracking. We’re conducting interviews with people who’ve seen a woman matching her appearance. We’ll find her as quickly as possible. The Guild is searching as well.”
Sid entered through the open door, bowed at the waist, and delivered his report.
They had dispatched people to pursue anyone even tangentially connected to Hazel—a single strand of her hair was enough.
There was no chance she’d fled alone in that delicate frame.
Someone must have helped her.
A chill passed through Kailas like a sharp blow.
“…That woman, then.”
“Pardon?”
“The one called Annie. Find her too and bring her before me.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Check every gate. If she didn’t use a carriage, she couldn’t have gone far. Search thoroughly.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Sid vanished in haste.
Kailas stood like a master-less dog for a long while, then a hollow laugh escaped his lips.
“Hah.”
She’d made her heart align with his and then run?
Sang to him every day with those beautiful lips, telling him she loved him?
Then again, she’d always been a woman with a past.
Not content with the money, she’d now stolen his heart too and fled.
Absurd.
So if she’s run, I’ll simply have to find her.
The little fool is hiding somewhere, and I’ll play along with my dear wife’s game.
“Hide and seek, then. Fine. I like it.”
This little game—once I find her, it’s over. I’ve already found her once; why shouldn’t I find her again?
For whatever reason, it was unthinkable that she leave him. He would catch her, bring her back, and keep her by his side so she could never flee again.
Once he had decided, Hazel’s place was nowhere else but beside him.
There was no other option.

The next day.
Sid received the delayed report from the Slave Gladiator Arena and suffered a splitting headache.
“A slave has escaped. It appears to have happened last evening in the confusion.”
“A slave escaped?”
“It’s—his name was Eggmen. We’re not sure how it happened. The supervisor was found collapsed in his room. I apologize. No matter what, I’ll find him by evening.”
“Find him before this gets any bigger. We need to settle it before I report to the Governor tonight.”
“Y-yes, I’ll do my best!”
“Hah…….”
After Hazel Love had disappeared, now a slave had vanished too.
What was more absurd was that Ginger, who’d been working in the Guild, had also vanished without a trace.
Sid had only discovered later that Ginger Perrian had disappeared while he was searching for Hazel.
His head felt ready to split.
Why were all these things happening at once?
If it wasn’t a series of impossible coincidences, then all three of them had been in on it.
Even after thoroughly questioning everyone in the Slave Gladiator Arena and the Guild, they’d said there was no hint of such a plot until yesterday afternoon—so it was impossible to determine who had helped whom.
Annie, whom the master had ordered found yesterday, was also under pursuit, but only sketches of someone with a different face kept arriving—not the one he’d seen.
Which meant either the information had been wrong, or Annie wasn’t her real name to begin with.
If it was the latter, then Hazel Love had put on a performance right before their eyes, making preparations as if to flaunt her intentions.
Which meant this wasn’t a reckless, impulsive flight—it was a calculated move, and that dirty premonition whispered that finding her would be all the harder for it.
He felt his soul drain clean away.
The audacity of it all!
There was likely no other woman in Kailas’s entire life who had struck him on the back of the head—twice, and openly.
He should never have trusted her.
By this point, he wondered if even making his lord fall into romantic foolishness had been part of her scheme.
One thought led to another, each compounding the last in an endless, downward spiral.
“God… where did it all go wrong?”
He needed to report this to his lord, yet his feet would not obey.
‘Maybe I should just bite my tongue and be done with it.’
Wouldn’t that be easier?
He had no courage to stand before his lord like this.
Being beaten senseless seemed far preferable. He lacked the nerve to endure that overwhelming presence.
Sid seized his own head in both hands, pulling at his hair.
“Ah…….”
Dammit.
Sid rose from where he sat to make his report.

* * *

“Mm, hmm, hmm.”
Four in the morning.
Awake before dawn, yet my body felt refreshed.
I hummed songs to myself as I bathed.
Light, tingling, free!
The heavy ache of yesterday had melted away in sleep, leaving me feather-light.
I had a good feeling about today.
I was certain we could reach Debosh without anyone catching on.
These pleasant intuitions of mine had proven surprisingly accurate.
After bathing, I changed into fresh clothes and hurried outside with the last of my things.
It was time to move on again.

“Annie, did you sleep well?”
“Yawn. Oh, well enough, I suppose.”
Annie appeared with her fingers pressed to her temples.
Her hair was half-disheveled—she hadn’t even had time to wash—and she was blearily rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
She swept her hair back with a few quick motions and splashed her face with cold water.
“What do you want for breakfast? I don’t usually bother with much myself.”
“Just a glass of water for me, thank you.”
“Mm, then I’ll have coffee. Hope the innkeeper’s awake.”
Annie stumbled down the stairs in a half-dazed state.
After requesting and drinking a strong cup of coffee, she immediately boarded the carriage.
“At the end, we tear the Movement Scroll. If nothing goes wrong, I’d say we’ll reach the outskirts of Debosh by midday.”
“Will we get to see the sea today?”
“Of course.”
One of the reasons I wanted to go to Debosh was the sea itself.
“Then let’s depart at once.”
I urged Annie forward.
Whether Ferarium turned upside down or not was no concern of mine anymore.

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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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