Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 7

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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 7

“You really don’t have to do work like that anymore, Representative. That’s why we get paid, isn’t it? The Guild is growing beautifully just from you being in your seat!”
“It’s nice to pitch in once in a while. When I first founded the Guild, I did everything myself.”
“Which is exactly why you deserve to take it easy now! You need to stay as representative for a long time to come.”
Nizela kneaded my arm as we walked, her fingers working at the muscle with devoted intensity.
I’d be leaving this place soon.
I settled for a quiet laugh instead of an answer.

* * *

That evening.
As usual, Noah had come to pick me up, and we left work together.
“You worked hard today, Hazel.”
“You too, Noah.”
Once the carriage began moving, I leaned against Noah as I always did, letting myself rest.
“Hazel, but do you know what I heard today?”
“…Yes?”
“Apparently some guild representative defeated a monster that appeared in the village.”
…….
So word had reached his ears after all.
I lifted my head from where I’d been leaning and gradually shifted my body away from Noah’s, trying to put some distance between us.
“And who do you think that was, dear?”
Damn. Here it comes again.
“Well, I suppose… maybe a new guild opened up? Oh look, there’s a speck of dust here—!”
I scrubbed frantically at the seat, hunting for dust that wasn’t there, but my evasion collapsed in spectacular failure when Noah’s hands cupped my cheeks and forced me to meet his gaze.
“Hazel.”
“…Um, well.”
“Hazel, love.”
Oh no. When “dear” escalates to my full name with a term of endearment, I’m looking at at least an hour of lecturing if I can’t smooth this over.
“Listen, Noah—you need to hear me out on this one. I was actually planning to hand it off to someone else.”
“But?”
“But when I got there, the monster was much closer than expected, you see? It was coming fast, and I thought if things continued that way, something really terrible might happen.”
…….
“But when I actually saw it, it was so weak! Just one hit and it went down—I’m telling you, there was absolutely nothing for you to worry about. Nothing! Look, not a scratch on me. It was all over in less than five minutes!”
I opened my eyes as wide and bright as I could, appealing with everything I had. Noah exhaled slowly.
“You promised me—you promised first—that you wouldn’t take on dangerous work.”
“Mmm…”
As if I could forget.
Back when I didn’t know Noah and Kailus were the same person, I’d been startled half to death seeing him return with blood staining the cuff of his sleeve.
I’d worried myself sick, wondering if he’d been attacked by a monster or caught up in some brawl.
Never knowing just how terrifying a man he truly was.
Regardless, by Noah’s logic I was the one who’d broken the promise. I’d have to do proper penance.
“From now on, if anything looks dangerous, I absolutely, absolutely won’t go near it. So can’t you just let me off the hook this once, hmm? Hmm? My beloved husband, my darling, sweetheart, dear Noah, I’m so sorryyyy.”
Noah’s frown didn’t ease at first, but then he reached over and pinched both my cheeks, tugging them outward.
“I can’t carry you around with me every day just because I’m worried.”
“I won’t do it again, I promise.”
“If something like this happens again—”
“Never! Absolutely never!”
“You’ve sworn to it, Hazel.”
“Yes, truly.”
Even after the promise, he kept pinching my cheeks as if to press the vow deeper, but at least I managed to forestall what could have been over an hour of scolding.
After that, Noah went back out again and didn’t return until late into the night.
When work was busy, he’d often leave in the evening like that and come back in the middle of the night or at dawn.
Normally I wouldn’t have thought much of it, but now that I knew his true nature, I found myself wondering whether he was doing something dangerous.
Not that I was worried for him—more that I was curious what sort of terrible thing he might be up to!
Sigh.
In the end, I stayed in the study until dawn, poring over documents before returning to my room to sleep.
Noah remained absent even then.
A small mercy, really.
I buried my exhausted body in the bed and closed my eyes.

* * *

Dawn.
Kailus entered the Estate with a face mixed of fatigue and irritation, yanking off his tie roughly.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the servants fell silent as the grave.
It was a far cry from how they fawned over Hazel when she appeared, all bright laughter and attentive care.
They offered only cursory greetings before vanishing, careful not to catch his eye and invite his wrath.
“Sir.”
A man materialized from the shadows behind him, dropping to one knee with a respectful bow.
“What is it.”
“Everything you ordered is prepared. Are we departing tomorrow as planned?”
“Yes—provided Hazel suspects nothing. Until then, there’s no room for even a single mistake.”
“Of course, sir. Haven’t you been preparing for this for quite some time?”
“Still, I can’t afford to lower my guard until the very end.”
Kailus’s subordinate spoke as though relieved. “You’ve endured much these past months, sir.”
“You’ve been through quite an ordeal yourself, sir.”
Kailus’s crimson eyes swept across the man slowly. The subordinate swallowed hard, tension coiling through him.
“Go.”
“Yes.”
The man who had emerged from shadow dissolved back into darkness.
Thud-thud-thud.
Kailus strode down the corridor without hesitation, heading toward the bedroom where Hazel slept.
When he opened the door and stepped inside, he found her resting peacefully on the bed, a soft bedside lamp casting its gentle glow.
She had waited for him.
Kailus set his gloves on the table and approached her.
Hazel lay sleeping soundly, her breath deep and steady, her innocent face serene—and Kailus gazed down at her with an expression devoid of feeling.
……
That fragile neck, looking as though it might snap at any moment. Her small hand gripping the blanket in sleep.
The soft pulse visible as he watched. Every inch of her seemed painfully delicate.
Not a single part of her was anything but vulnerable.
Looking at Hazel—sleeping without the slightest suspicion, her face peaceful and untroubled—Kailus extended his hand as though to seize that slender throat.

* * *

Gasp!
Oh God, my neck!
I jolted awake with a start, my heart hammering.
I’d been dreaming that Noah was strangling me.
Those massive hands closing around my throat—I was certain he was about to snap my neck in two.
Of all the cursed dreams to have, why one like that?
I was completely awake now.
My precious neck!
The adrenaline crash left me trembling as though plummeting through an endless void—until I felt an arm cinched firmly around my waist.
I didn’t need to look to know it was Noah’s.
He must have come in during the night.
……
I tried to slip out of his embrace, but his arm only tightened.
“Hazel.”
Naturally.
His voice was lower and raspier than usual, still thick with sleep.
“Oh, you’re awake?”
I tried to sit up, but Noah pulled me closer instead, turning me so I was cradled against his chest.
“…Why aren’t you sleeping? Another nightmare?”
Noah held me tighter in his arms.
I rested my forehead against his chest and nodded.
“Did you come in late?”
When I lifted my head to ask, I could see Noah’s face, more awake now than before.
“I’m sorry. I’ll come back earlier from now on.”
Even half-asleep, Noah’s lips found my forehead in an automatic gesture.
“All right.”
“Go back to sleep. It’s still dawn. You haven’t forgotten we planned to go out together this morning, have you?”
Oh, merciful heavens.
A thought far more terrifying than the nightmare I’d just had crashed over me.
When I was singing for the weekend to hurry up and arrive, it wouldn’t come—so why was it barreling toward me now?
His hand patting my back with such tender care, as though I were a child to be soothed, nearly made me forget to panic.
Fear squeezed the words out of my throat.
“A-about that, Noah…”
“Yes, my lady?”
“C-could we maybe go next time instead?”
“Next time?”
“Y-yes. The truth is, I’m so exhausted from work today…I think I’d feel better if I rested one more day.”
…
Normally, whenever I asked for anything, Noah would agree before a second had passed—but now he fell silent, considering.
For a moment, something like a headache flickered across his expression.
That was it. Tomorrow had to be the day of judgment.
The perfect day to bury.
It was perfect, absolutely perfect.
On the weekend before our first wedding anniversary, whether I ended up buried in the ground or dangling from somewhere, once Kailus saw the look on my face when I learned the truth—he’d be absolutely thrilled.
He wouldn’t have to pretend to love me anymore, and he could have his revenge. What more could he want?
Really, what a convenient day to dispose of me. Tee-hee…
It was so obviously his plan, but he thought I’d fall right into it!
“C-cough. Oh, dear…”
I forced out a cough.
Noah responded immediately.
“If you’re this exhausted, we shouldn’t. Let’s rest today and go tomorrow instead?”
T-tomorrow?
I blinked, then my eyes went wide with despair.
No! Why does the weekend have to be two days long?!
I wanted to tear my hair out.
I should have asked for two days off!
Noah said I could sleep in, then pulled me close again, but my mind only grew more tangled.
If he saw me thinking too hard, suspicion would be obvious.
I made a decision then: I’d run around all day today to exhaust myself, or at the very least I’d twist my ankle to give myself an excuse.
“Y-yes. Okay. I’ll rest today and we’ll go tomorrow, tomorrow!”
“All right. Now sleep.”
Oh, no…
I squeezed my eyes shut, tears pooling behind my lids.

* * *

Despite my conviction that I wouldn’t sleep a wink, I woke after having slept deeply and well.
Noah was already gone from the bed.
I blinked drowsily, and by the time my eyes had closed again, I must have drifted off once more—because now the room was filled with a delicious aroma.
Seeing Noah approach, I squeezed my eyes shut again.
“Hazel, you need to wake up. Are you feeling very tired?”
“Nngh… s-so tired…”
I twisted my body like squid laid fresh on the flames, pretending to wake.
“You shouldn’t sleep on an empty stomach for so long. Why don’t you eat a little something, and then rest? I’ll stay by your side all day today.”
Noah’s hand swept gently across my back and waist.
Accustomed to Noah’s touch, drowsiness was creeping over me again.
And yet, even as it did, a fresh ache bloomed in my chest.
If he was only going to erase me anyway, why bother ensuring I ate three proper meals a day?
Did he cling to some superstition I didn’t know about?
The absurd worry even crossed my mind that I’d grown too plump for the earth to swallow.
I lay face-down, clutching the pillow, and cracked one eye open.
“What is that smell? Something savory.”
I’d smelled it before—I was certain—but it wasn’t the fragrance of anything I usually ate.
Where had I encountered it?
So familiar, yet so achingly distant……
Glancing sideways, I glimpsed something snow-white nestled in a shallow bowl.
What was that?
Unable to resist the pull of curiosity, I pushed myself upright—and Noah’s face brightened at once.
I took his hand and settled into the chair beside him.
“Ah, this.”
“When I tasted it, it wasn’t bad.”
I blinked hard, my eyes darting between Noah and the dish.
Seeing my incredulous expression, Noah pressed a shallow spoon directly into my palm.
Steam rose from it in delicate wisps, carrying that savory aroma—unmistakably……!
I lifted a spoonful to my lips, and warmth bloomed across my tongue, rich with the flavor of pine nuts.
This was definitely……!
The taste of that X porridge I used to buy so often!
Pine nut porridge.
And the reason porridge appeared here at all?
About ninety percent of what I ate in this place came directly from Noah’s hands.
So the table usually held only things I enjoyed.
But when I was ill or not feeling well, I’d refuse to touch food, and that very stubbornness had caused no small number of clashes between us.
After several rounds of bickering, we’d reached this compromise: porridge.
Even before, I’d mostly choked down whatever porridge was offered, so though I couldn’t cook myself, I’d once given him recipes for versions similar to what I remembered.
After that, whenever I mentioned not feeling well, Noah would prepare different kinds of porridge like clockwork.
At first, it hadn’t tasted quite right.
But now it matched the flavor I’d carried in memory perfectly.
He must have kept practicing.
Pine nut porridge was laborious and exhausting to make.
He could have created any number of similar dishes here whenever he pleased.
But breathing life back into a taste born from some great corporation’s very soul—a taste he’d never even sampled—was another matter entirely.
How on earth had he managed it?
Without ever tasting it himself!
At this point, wasn’t the hero something other than Jed Terry Elkium—more like Noah Edith Anything?
Oh right, Noah was Kailus.
The last time he’d made egg porridge, he practiced so intently to match the exact flavor I wanted.
And this wasn’t love?
…It made no sense.
No, wait. And then this man planned to bury me alive today.
If I’d mentioned pain, this meal would have been my last supper.
I couldn’t let myself fall for it.
This cruel, twisted man.
The spoon, which had been moving as if to scrape the bowl bare in moments, suddenly lost momentum.
As had happened so often lately, adoration shifted to despair in a heartbeat.
The gap between them was narrowing, little by little.
My shoulders slouched downward.
“What is it? Doesn’t it taste right? Shall I make something else?”
Whether he truly didn’t notice or was pretending, Noah studied my face with anxious concern.
“No, really. It’s delicious.”
“You look sad.”
And yet he read my moods with such skill.
“It’s just that it suits my taste so perfectly. That’s the real tragedy—how good it is.”
I gazed up at him with my eyebrows stretched into a thin, drooping line, my face crumpling.
“Fool. Idiot……”
“Hmm?”
“Sea cucumber, anemone—you’re the absolute worst.”
She wanted to hurl something sharper, but fear held her tongue, so this would have to do.
“Why are you in such a foul mood?”
Watching Noah break into laughter, Hazel vented her frustration in meek, halfhearted jabs.

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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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