Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 80

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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 80

Chapter 12. Greed, Affection, Possession, Love, Longing—Some Mixture of These

A few days later, the date of my departure to the Capital was set.
The maids packed everything, so there was nothing for me to do.
I needed only to prepare myself mentally.
Like before, I would travel to the Capital, but this time I would stay at the Hadid Duke’s Residence instead of a hotel.
The night before leaving, I stopped by the Guild for the first time in a while.
My office should have been emptied, but except for the things Ginger Perrian had moved, everything was still in its place.
The building I was supposed to relocate to, the staff—all of it remained unchanged.
I wanted so badly to lay hands on it again.
But I let the impulse pass.
If I touched it now, I’d find it impossible to leave cleanly a year from now.
And then I boarded the carriage for the Capital.

* * *

In, out. In, out.
I steadied my racing heart with deep breaths before my audience with the Emperor—over and over.
I felt like I’d become the hidden villain of some elaborate plot.
Seeing the Crown Prince and Lily Dayworth, along with everyone else, was one thing, but now I had to attend a banquet in the evening as well.
I would have an audience with the Emperor in the morning and attend an Imperial Palace banquet in the evening.
Why did I have to end up at the grandest banquet of all?
I didn’t feel this suffocated even when I ran away. Not even my panic interview in my past life left me breathless like this.
The moment I arrived, I’d hear every accusation under the sun about being a traitor.
Maybe I should have worn a Black Dress.
My mind was racing with nonsense.
According to the original plan, I was supposed to meet with the Crown Prince and Lily Dayworth, and then Dylan Banker, but unfortunately the timing didn’t work out.
Jade and Lily Dayworth had left the Capital by the Emperor’s command, and Dylan said he had outside duties all week.
Because of this, I hadn’t even managed to tell him I’d be attending the banquet.
Once one thing went wrong, everything seemed to unravel.
“Relax. You can do as you please.”
“That just makes me more nervous.”
Kailas, oblivious to my anxiety, had seemed unusually cheerful ever since arriving in the Capital.
It felt like proper payback for the blow he’d dealt me before—with interest piling on top.
“His Majesty bids you enter.”
At the aide’s words, I squeezed my eyes shut.
The moment of judgment had come.
Like a condemned prisoner, I stepped forward to greet the Emperor and Empress.

What is this…
I felt utterly bewildered.
Why was the atmosphere so warm?
The audience chamber brimmed with laughter, though it shouldn’t have.
And it was the Emperor laughing.
“Count Love, or rather I should call you the Duchess of Hadid now. My mistake.”
“No, Your Majesty. Not at all.”
“You brought me joy before with your great service, but to see you care so deeply for Elkyum—I confess, even I feel ashamed of myself.”
“That you could win the heart of Duke Hadid—so it was true, what the Duke said about treasuring his wife dearly.”
Even the Empress was smiling.
I had met the Emperor before, but this was my first encounter with the Empress.
“Why would I lie about my own wife?”
Kailas had actually answered back?
What in the world was happening?
“Ah… no, well, it’s…”
“I’ve thought it before, but the Duchess is far too modest. This winter was filled with such worry, but now we can rest easy.”
What on earth was all this about?
From behind, I jabbed his ribs with my finger and demanded answers with my eyes.
But the Emperor and Empress kept speaking in turn, so I couldn’t get an explanation.
Only after a long while could I begin to piece together why we were being welcomed so warmly.
So it was this:
I had persuaded Duke Hadid, who’d long been at odds with the Imperial Family.
The Duke found it impossible to refuse his beloved wife’s words, and so he had opened his heart like this.
Thus, this winter, Duke Hadid would oversee Northern Sergal, and the Imperial Palace was relieved of a great burden.
Their interests aligned, the Emperor laughed heartily and asked for my favor in times ahead.
I spent a full hour swept up in the hurricane of conversation, hearing nothing but praise.
I was treated like a hero, not a criminal.
“We look forward to seeing the affection between you both at tonight’s banquet.”
“Thank you for coming. Duke Hadid, Duchess. Though it’s late, I shall personally select a wedding gift for you both and send it over.”
“Y-yes, thank you, Your Majesty.”
My legs had given way, and I nearly collapsed against Kailas as we left.
On the surface, the dress was elaborate and full enough to hide it.
But the moment we stepped into the corridor, I came to my senses.
“What was all that about?”
“I told you, you had nothing to worry about.”
“When did I persuade you?”
“Your very existence is persuasion. What words do I need?”
…….
I was left speechless, my mouth gaping open.
After a long moment, I collected myself, hurried my steps toward the exit, and shot him a sharp whisper.
“Why go this far?”
“If I’m to have you by my side, I figured I’d have to change too.”
…….
“Yes, I want to look good. And it’s true I’m trying to reform, since you despise it.”
He asked me to see it that way, and I stared at his face intently before closing my lips.
I truly couldn’t understand.

* * *

Evening brought no change.
The relief I’d felt earlier vanished the moment I stepped into the carriage, replaced by a helpless fluttering anxiety in my chest.
My mouth had gone dry, and I ran through simulations in my mind just as the Emperor and Empress had suggested—playing the part of an affectionate couple.
At last, we arrived at the Imperial Palace again.
With all the mental preparation, we were thirty minutes late from my original estimate.
Kailas said we could go slower, but my nervous heart wouldn’t allow it.
I took his escort from the carriage, climbed the steps, and walked down the corridor toward the Banquet Hall.
“Kailas, is it possible that later…?”
“Yes.”
I turned my head and froze.
“Wait.”
I grabbed him urgently as he tried to move past without a care.
“Hmm? Speak.”
Kailas’s Cravat was barely fastened—just dangling loosely on him.
No, it was perfectly fine when we got out of the carriage earlier.
What had he done climbing the steps and walking down the corridor?
I’d been so nervous the entire walk that I hadn’t paid attention to anything beside me.
I came to a stop in the middle of the corridor. We were already late, and this only made it worse.
“Why in the world is your Cravat like that?”
“I loosened it because it felt stifling, but now I can’t remember how to tie it.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m serious.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
He genuinely seemed to have forgotten, ready to walk in just as he was.
Who walks around an Imperial Palace banquet with their cravat left completely undone?
Why did it bother me so much—like grains of sand wedged between my fingernails?
I took a deep breath and extended my hand.
“Give it here.”
“It’s fine.”
“I said, give it here.”
At that, Kailas pressed the cravat into my hand, then leaned toward me, bowing slightly at the waist.
His face descended until our eyes met.
I turned away sharply, focusing entirely on tying the cravat.
Everyone else had already entered the Banquet Hall, and the corridor was blessedly quiet.
“You seem unsure—like you’ve never tied one before.”
“I can’t remember if I have or haven’t, so I wouldn’t know.”
“If I’d known, I should have asked my wife to help with my preparations this morning.”
Say what you will.
Did this part go on the inside?
I paused, tilting my head, and the moment I did, he leaned back—undoing all my work, the cravat stretching loose again.
My face twisted in frustration, and then—soft—his lips brushed against the back of my hand.
I furrowed my brow sharply.
“What are you doing?”
“Your hands looked beautiful.”
“Now I have to do it all over again since you made me mess up.”
“Fair point.”
Heat bubbled up inside me.
“…No. Forget it. I’ll do it myself.”
Just as I was about to pull my hands away, he caught them, cradling them so I couldn’t release the cravat.
“I’ll stay still this time. Please tie it again.”
“…….”
“I mean it. Please.”
“…If you pull any more strange tricks, I swear—”
“…….”
I tied the cravat faster than before, deliberately pulling it tight.
I tugged hard, strangling his neck for show, then released it with a snap.
“There. Done.”
What had gotten into Kailas? His smile stretched from corner to corner, cheekbones rising.
He straightened, smiling with the satisfaction of a predator that had fed well.
“Shall we go?”
The way he casually wrapped his arm around my waist—it wasn’t even funny.
We had to walk in looking like a happily married couple from the Hadid Duke’s Residence.
Before we took a step, I deliberately drove my heel down on his foot.
His behavior was infuriating.
“Oops. My mistake.”
He didn’t wince—instead, he laughed softly.
“I’ll take it as a sign of your affection.”
“You’ve lost your mind, truly.”
“Do it again.”
“No. You’re annoying me.”
He deliberately egged me on further, and I snorted at him in response.
So thoroughly had he robbed me of my senses that by the time we stood before the Banquet Hall doors, I had gone completely blank.
“The Duke and Duchess of Hadid enter!”
All eyes fixed on me in the same instant.
“…….”
Even the musicians had stopped playing—it wasn’t just my imagination.
As if by some unspoken agreement, everyone had fallen silent. All attention on me alone.
Why was the Duchess of Hadid drawing such interest?

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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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