Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 91

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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 91

“We’re going fast enough as it is.”
“…Fast enough?”
I frowned and pointed to the window, asking Kailas if he was actually looking outside.
Was he really seeing what I was seeing?
I wanted to say it would be faster to walk.
“The coachman’s being cautious because he’s worried you might be in danger. The servants are awfully protective of you.”
“…I feel like I’m dying of frustration. I think I’m becoming more dangerous right now.”
There’s plenty to be cautious about — I was about to burst from sheer agitation.
I even got the illusion that the scenery had frozen in place.
“We’ll pick up speed soon.”
Unlike me, he remained utterly serene.
The man I knew wasn’t hot-tempered by nature, but he didn’t enjoy leisureliness either.
Always neat and decisive, crisp and efficient.
Yet here he was now, savoring every moment like time had stopped — it was absurd.
Well, fine. We’d get there eventually.
The coachman didn’t seem to be driving slowly because of any ailment, so I decided to enjoy the scenery for a while.
But the carriage that promised to speed up continued crawling along long after.
When he tried to move closer, I quickly shoved a cushion between us.
It was a thick cushion, fat enough to create space for a small child, but it couldn’t block the piercing intensity of his gaze.
Though the carriage was spacious enough for six people, his presence made it feel cramped.
Kailas’s existence was simply overwhelming.
I felt wronged that I hadn’t noticed it sooner.
“…Stop staring. You’ll bore a hole right through my face.”
Finally, unable to bear his unwavering gaze any longer, I spoke first.
Kailas smiled as if he’d been waiting for this.
“If you let me hold your hand, I’ll stop.”
“…Just keep staring then.”
I could just turn my face away.
I heard a deflating sigh from beside me.
He tapped as if asking why I wouldn’t pay him attention, so I deliberately turned my shoulder toward the window.
His laugh grew deeper.
The carriage eventually arrived at the next Gate as leisurely as a scenic tour, passing into the next region.
But why were there so many Gate Inspections today?
“My apologies, another inspection…….”
As the carriage stopped, Sid wore that troubled expression again.
We’d passed one, and now another inspection awaited us.
There weren’t many fixed Gates to begin with.
I supposed we were lucky that they weren’t checking longer distances — an hour’s ride was always followed by inspection.
In between, Kailas would crack jokes or, when hunger struck, pull out the Desserts we’d brought and eat while traveling, so it wasn’t boring, but it felt exactly like a date, which made me uneasy.
It felt like a newlywed’s outing.
Before long, we arrived at the last Gate before crossing into Elkiad.
Once we left Elkiad, the Capital, the gaps between Gates would widen considerably — an hour or two wouldn’t be nearly enough.
Some Gates required a full day of travel to reach.
I was even more worried now, having realized firsthand while traveling to Meyblang just how vast the Empire’s distances were.
Soon we had crossed the boundary into Northern Sergal and were an hour into the ride toward the next Gate.
Oddly enough, having just crossed the boundary, the wind already felt different.
Instead of the distance, we only needed to use the Gate twice more to reach the Hadid Dukedom. But the carriage, now halted before the Gate, showed no sign of moving.
Looking through the window, I saw Sid had entered the Gate Control Station and wasn’t coming back out for quite a while.
Even when we’d discussed inspection matters before, it hadn’t taken nearly this long.
“Something’s wrong again, it seems.”
Only after much more time had passed did Sid finally emerge.
“Wait here.”
Kailas opened the door and stepped outside.
I watched the door close, then turned my head toward the window.
I could see Sid notice Kailas’s arrival and hurry toward him.
I watched them both intently.
As Sid said something, Kailas’s expression hardened slightly. Sid looked lost, uncertain how to respond.
She wasn’t going to object to this, surely.
Though I’d never once stopped her before, I found myself concerned about Sid—who’d spent weeks bedridden on my account—and cracked the door open.
Kailas’s expression darkened further in that instant.
He swept his hair back with a gesture of frustration and finally stepped outside.
Fortunately, the portable steps hadn’t been put away, so I descended easily enough.
I brushed off my clothes and drew closer to them both.
“It’s going to take at least a day or two, it seems. Of all times for an actual inspection… It’s been dead since this morning.”
“The nearest functioning one is…”
“Well, it’s already past two in the afternoon, so I don’t think we can reach it today.”
“And to the village?”
“The station manager said the nearest village is reachable before nine at night. He suggested we might stay there for the evening, and—oh, my lady.”
Sid, flustered, snapped to attention with his arms rigid at his sides and bowed sharply.
“Hazel.”
“Another inspection?”
Kailas flinched slightly, then exhaled a low sigh.
“It should be operational by tomorrow morning, apparently.”
“Inspections are frequent in this area. I thought there weren’t many gates around here.”
We were near the regional boundary, so there was little more than forest and flatland, with distant mountains visible on the horizon.
Kailas, who’d been frowning, seemed to have struck upon a solution and stepped closer to me.
“Wait in the carriage a moment. I’ll contact the Mansion and have them bring a Movement Scroll.”
I nodded, then frowned in turn.
“Hold on. You’d send someone? All the way out here?”
“That’s the most practical option.”
“How long does it take to reach the village? I only caught part of what you said earlier about nine o’clock—didn’t you mention something, Sid?”
Sid bowed his head once more in acknowledgment.
“Yes, my lady. To the next Gate portal, we’d need to drive straight through the night, but the nearest village should be reachable by nine, certainly before ten.”
“What time is it now?”
“Just past half past two, ma’am.”
So that meant seven hours of driving at most before we reached the village.
During the subjugation campaign, I’d endured more than ten hours in far worse carriages, so this was nothing.
Though I hadn’t experienced it myself, the memory of it—and all that suffering—came flooding back alongside my previous life’s recollection.
I’d suffered similarly on the journey to Meyblang as well.
Besides, I’d rested almost the entire way here, so my body felt light. The carriage had crawled along anyway.
Even if we sent for someone from the Mansion, we’d have to wait well over two hours.
That attendant certainly wouldn’t use a Movement Scroll, so they’d have to make the entire journey back—every minute of it.
Comfortable as that would be for me, it would exhaust everyone else.
“Then it’s better we head to the village. It’s only seven hours, after all. Let’s get moving.”
Kailas’s expression grew even worse than before.
“You’re going to sit in a carriage for seven hours? That’s absurd. Sid, contact them through the Communication Tool and—”
“I’m fine, really. That’s how we’ve traveled the whole way.”
I cut him off before he could finish giving orders to Sid.
“That’s—”
“That’s what? Just let’s go.”
Sid stood frozen between us, his eyes darting back and forth helplessly.
“No. Sid, get moving. Go right now and—”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake! Just come on!”
In the end, I grabbed Kailas’s hand and pulled.
“Ha—!”
He’d begun to protest, but his eyes widened noticeably as he blinked in visible surprise.
I paid him no mind and pulled him closer toward me.
“Just come.”
He really wouldn’t listen, would he.
I gripped his hand firmly and dragged him toward the carriage as though hauling along a stubborn child. Fortunately, he complied without further resistance.
I climbed into the carriage first, then stretched out my hand to urge him in quickly.
“If we delay any longer, I really will get angry, so move.”
……
Kailas then climbed in with surprising docility.
“I’ll drive the carriage as carefully as possible, ma’am.”
“Thank you, Sid.”
“Of course!”
Sid caught up belatedly, retrieved the portable steps that had been set down when they’d halted earlier, and shut the carriage door.
Kailas stared ahead as though his soul had fled his body.
I glanced toward the window, and only once the carriage had begun moving did I let out a breath and turn to face him.
“Now, you’re going to sit quietly all the way to the village. Understood? Riding in a carriage for a while isn’t the end of the world. We’ll take the Gate tomorrow. What’s the fuss about…….”
I emphasized my point with another warning tone, even raising a finger for effect, when he laughed with his mouth covered, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“…….”
“What is it? Why are you laughing?”
My words are funny to you right now?

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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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