Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 90

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 90

“My lord, I apologize for the trouble I’ve caused you these past weeks.”
After several weeks, Sid had returned to his post.
The headaches still lingered, and there was a lingering fog in his mind, but given how critical this period was, he could delay no longer.
If he was being honest, he thought he’d died during those weeks.
He’d tasted hell itself.
He’d thought The Lady was delicate as rose petals—of course he’d known she possessed tremendous power, but she’d never displayed it before the servants, so he never truly understood until now.
His fragmented memories showed him sprinting up the stairs at his lord’s call, and everything after that felt like experiencing hellfire.
It was like being trapped in a pit of flames, like rolling through endless thorny vines, like his entire body being torn into pieces.
And fear—fear unlike anything he’d ever known.
It felt as though he himself had become a beast, being attacked.
He couldn’t say how many nightmares he’d endured on that bed.
And he wasn’t alone in this.
Everyone in the Mansion that day, except for The Lady and his lord, had suffered the same fate—there weren’t enough beds to go around.
Spending weeks in bed trying to erase that pain, he’d thought he was going mad.
Some of the servants still hadn’t awakened.
They were receiving treatment morning, noon, and evening, but it seemed those with weaker constitutions took longer to wake.
Even without remembering everything clearly, he knew he never wanted to experience that again.
Fortunately, with the Holy Water and Purification Stones The Lady had provided, he was recovering quickly.
Most importantly, The Lady had decided to stay rather than leave.
That fact alone brought Sid considerable relief.
Now she was less a captive than a benefactor.
“Tomorrow we head to the Northern Territory, so make sure there are no delays.”
“Yes, I’ll ensure everything is comfortable for you until the very end.”
“We’ll be using the Gate anyway, so check what’s needed and have things sent as they’re ready.”
“Understood.”
Sid bowed and turned to leave, then stopped.
A brilliant idea had just occurred to him.
“My lord!”
“What is it?”
“Will you be traveling by Gate?”
“What other way is there?”
At his lord’s oblivious response, Sid felt a pang of sympathy.
He’d never been in love himself, but his lord had remarkably little sense for such matters.
“It’s a perfect opportunity!”
“For what?”
Ah, he really didn’t understand.
Even as gifted as his lord was, in this regard Sid felt slightly ahead of him.
“Well, while traveling by Gate is fine, if you took a carriage instead, the two of you would be together the whole way, wouldn’t you?”
“…….”
“Perhaps at least in the safe zones, you could travel by carriage?”
Sid knew things between the two of them were still cold.
From what the servants who attended both of them said, sometimes they were practically strangers to each other.
Apparently his lord was usually the one following along.
At those words, something flickered across Kailas’s eyes.
“A carriage?”
“Yes! You could take your time, enjoy the scenery, have a conversation—wouldn’t that be pleasant? What do you think?”
Sid watched his lord’s expression carefully as he spoke.
He seemed not displeased; the hand that rose to touch his chin didn’t convey displeasure.
“It’s not a bad idea.”
“I’ll look into what scenery lies along the way right away and report back this evening!”
“Yes, look into it.”
“Yes, my lord! Aren’t I useful?”
Sid burned with anticipation, eager for even a scrap of praise.
“You’ve always been useful. Now go find out what you need to know.”
“Yes, my lord! I’ll also inspect the carriage cushions and seats and replace them if needed.”
Sid bounded out of the office with excitement, as though springs propelled his feet.

* * *

The next day.
I’d finished all my preparations and come out to board the carriage when I spotted Sid.
He was beaming at me, bowing deeply, and I simply couldn’t refuse him.
“I’m so glad you’ve recovered well.”
“It’s all thanks to you, my lady.”
I was the one who’d caused his condition in the first place, so what was there to be thankful for?
Yet Sid’s expression wasn’t sarcastic or accusatory—he looked like someone genuinely expressing gratitude.
The moment the carriage door swung open, my eyes went wide.
“…What on earth is all this?”
I took Kailas’s offered hand and started to climb in, then stopped short, staring at the interior.
The cushions were all white and pink, so plump and stuffed they wouldn’t budge under days of sitting.
And the flowers hanging around everywhere—what was this supposed to be?
From the outside, it was a black carriage, imposing and large, but inside it looked like a princess’s chamber.
“The servants must have gotten their hands on it. They seemed quite reluctant to see you go.”
I didn’t even remember being particularly close to the servants, so what would they miss?
“…I could throw a festival in here.”
At this rate, wouldn’t music start playing any moment?
Grimacing, I picked my way carefully around the rose petals scattered across the floor and climbed inside.
I’d been sitting in the carriage for about ten minutes when Kailas finally climbed in after me.
At once, I wedged a cushion stuffed with feathers and down right beside me.
More precisely, between Kailas and myself.
His eyebrow twitched as he moved to press against me.
“Why the cushion?”
“The seat next to me is so soft and comfortable. Want one? There are plenty here.”
“…Sid, you cursed….”
“What was that?”
“No—never mind. Let’s depart.”
With a dark undertone in his voice, the carriage wheels soon began to roll.
Coming and going from the Capital wasn’t difficult, but heading north made my heart strangely uneasy.
Like embarking on a journey to somewhere impossibly far away.
I’d once scoffed at the notion of ever turning my head in that direction, yet here I was, climbing into a carriage and heading there myself.
As the carriage left the Garden, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the passing scenery.
The carriage raced swiftly toward the Outskirts, where the Gate awaited.
Since the longer distances made the nausea and dizziness worse, we’d decided to make the journey in stages.
By carriage alone from the Capital to the Hadid Duchy, you’d need at least a month of steady travel; shortening it with magic naturally made the disorientation severe.
The Gate made rapid travel possible, thankfully.
Using it cost an astronomical sum in maintenance fees, but it was reasonable compared to the time saved.
The moment we emerged from the first Gate, the carriage veered sharply to one side.
I thought we were stopping to rest, but we weren’t.
We’d left the main road entirely, and the carriage began moving again.
The Gate was receding further and further into the distance.
We hadn’t yet reached anywhere near the Northern Territory.
Just as I was about to ask Kailas, the carriage slowed and came to a halt on the side of the road.
Sid, who’d been riding with the coachman, climbed down and knocked on the door.
“My apologies, my lord and lady. There will be a Gate inspection, so it appears we’ll need to travel by carriage to the next Gate.”
All of a sudden?
“What? Why today of all days…?”
“I am terribly sorry. I failed to ascertain the inspection date beforehand. This is entirely my oversight!”
“I’m not blaming you, Sid. An inspection can’t be helped.”
“I will instruct the coachman to drive slowly so you experience no further inconvenience.”
He kept apologizing for not having checked, saying he was sorry, begging for forgiveness despite the hardship—there was nothing to say in response.
Sid wasn’t at fault, and his body probably hadn’t fully recovered yet; I couldn’t reproach him.
If the Gate was under inspection, there wasn’t much a mere retainer could do about it.
“Don’t worry about it. Really.”
“Thank you for your understanding, my lady!”
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that Sid was treating me with far more deference than before.
I’d been rather displeased with him, hadn’t I.
Why was he acting like that?
If it were just a consequence of being wholly deceived by Illusion Magic, I could understand it, but he’d been that way even before—which only deepened my bewilderment.
In any case, the Carriage left the Gate for inspection and began to move at a leisurely pace.
The scenery outside, where the autumn leaves had begun to fall, looked like a painting, yet I felt as though something was grinding wrong.
I pulled away the Cushion meant for the defensive barrier and jabbed Kailas in the ribs.
“Are you uncomfortable? Should we stop and rest for a moment?”
“No. It’s just… will we arrive by today?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————