My Ex-Husband Came Back Crazy - Chapter 37

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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 37
Chapter 4. Omens (4)
Shriek—!
A scream pierced through the peace as the hunting drew to a close.
It was more than enough to draw the attention of those who had been passing time and chatting idly among themselves.
“The Young Duchess of House Windmere?”
“What has happened?”
Those who had cast their glances with curiosity confirmed her identity and quickly crowded around her.
A semicircle of space opened around Diana, avoiding her wet dress hem, and people rushed to fill the void.
“Oh my, please use my handkerchief.”
“What a shame on such a lovely day.”
Diana drew a breath belatedly where the wine had spread.
She had lifted her head thinking the words were directed at her, but found her confusion deepening as she realized every eye fixed only on Celia.
‘What? By anyone’s measure, I’m the victim here, aren’t I?’
When neither the reproach she’d expected nor immediate sympathy came, her eyes trembled.
“Who has offended the Duchess’s sensibilities?”
Celia dried her wet hands with the handkerchief someone had offered, then deliberately turned her head away.
Just as she’d intended, everyone’s gaze now fell upon Diana, the one who had upset the “Young Duchess of House Windmere.”
Eyes that had already rendered judgment descended upon her with brutal coldness. Whispers lowered, and stares grew openly frigid.
As if a silent trial had convened, the air surrounding her hardened into the seat of the accused.
‘Not even bothering to hear what happened……?’
To defend Celia’s crude haste and condemn her instead.
Had Celia glimpsed even a fraction of Diana’s shock, she would have whispered kindly to her that she’d been reading far too many vulgar novels and comedies.
In the beautiful and noble society of high circles, only power holds the answer.
“Duchess! Did my words upset you so much? But, but I was only concerned about you!”
Diana’s mind went white as snow.
Caught in panic, she swiftly completed her calculation at the cliff’s edge and shifted her stance. Diana gripped the grass tightly as she opened her mouth—a desperate struggle of one who understood that to retreat now, shamefully cast out, would render the barely grasped opportunity meaningless.
“I was merely asking about my husband…….”
Lips that feigned innocence but burned with interest caught against fan edges and glass rims.
“No, no. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken about the Young Duke’s affection in such a way as I did, ah—!”
It was a statement that ought never be forgiven, yet it was enough to overturn the mood in an instant.
With fresh bait cast, people’s eyes moved from Diana entirely.
The blade wrapped in the guise of concern had been thrown; the surrounding air rippled with interest. Several gazes weighed back and forth across Celia’s face, hands, and expression.
“……Still so young, yet so presumptuous.”
“Speaking of the Young Duke’s true affection like that. How could she.”
The words cloaked in concern were fleeting.
Soon they turned their heads and began to whisper beneath fluttering fans.
“But we all know the two of them didn’t marry by choice, don’t we?”
“No one truly knows the Young Duke’s heart.”
“Now that you mention it, I’ve heard the Young Duke had a lover before the marriage…….”
Diana steadied her breath as she rose her head within the current.
‘Perfect.’
Her lips curved upward—barely perceptibly.
‘Now whatever Celia says will only sound like an excuse.’
A duchess sensitive from lack of her husband’s affection. These people, who perpetually hungered for prey, would never let such an opportunity slip away.
“…….”
Celia, who had been listening to all the whispers, looked down at Diana.
She had expected Diana to show panic, yet her face remained unchanged—as if this entire commotion held no bearing on her whatsoever.
‘What sort of expression is that……?’
It was then.
A horn sounded, signaling the return of one of the hunters.
“The Young Duke of House Windmere has returned with one Red Deer, two foxes, and…… one Gray Bear!”
Diana’s eyes, which had been trembling as she huddled on the ground, snapped open.
‘Lucious Windmere!’
She thought to herself that he appeared at precisely the right moment.
Lucious Windmere was a man who clashed frequently with Celia. Most notably, regardless of status, he leaned toward prioritizing right and wrong above emotion.
‘Though something seems different between them, if I can shift the blame for this incident to Celia, it might crack their relationship anew.’
Diana turned her gaze toward Lucious with anticipation.
The whispers that had been scattered until moments before stopped in unison as if by agreement, and all eyes tilted in the same direction.
Celia also lifted her head.
Her expression showed no change, yet for the first time, ripples disturbed the quiet waters of her inner world.
‘The situation isn’t good.’
What would he say if he saw this scene right now?
Now that she thought about it, there had been something similar before.
An incident involving the young lady of House Larendel. Once, to draw Lucious’s attention, she had deliberately provoked Celia and knocked a cup of tea over her.
Then he had unhesitatingly taken the Marquess Larendel’s daughter’s side and condemned her.
Fundamentally, his judgment had not been wrong.
Even if there had been rudeness and provocation, pouring hot tea on someone’s person could not be justified—that was what he’d said. He held firm convictions, and they revealed an essence within him that Celia could never fully reconcile.
“There you are.”
Would this time be any different?
Celia held the empty glass precariously at her fingertips as she watched him approach.
The sharp citrus scent that usually enveloped him was faint, buried beneath the traces of the hunt, and instead the smell of beast’s blood and hide drew near.
‘Will you, as before, condemn me without even hearing my words?’
There were things that did not change even when memory was lost.
Lucious was a man who could not overlook such things, and that very quality had caused him and Celia to collide countless times.
“But…… what exactly has happened here?”
He dismounted the horse and immediately walked toward them.
Warmth flickered across his face, but the moment his eyes surveyed the surroundings, they grew dim. Soon that gaze found Celia.
“Celia, why did you do this?”
Truly, you…….
Are you now……?
“Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet. Why would you deliberately step forward and involve yourself in such troublesome business?”
Will I be able to accept even this version of you?
At his unexpected words, Celia’s eyes visibly softened. Her firmly sealed lips parted slightly, and breath she had been holding down escaped in a short gasp.
The surroundings fell silent, waiting for his judgment.
Lucious removed his gloves, stained with blood and dust, and did not spare Diana a single glance as she sat huddled on the ground. From the moment he appeared until now, there had been only Celia before him.
Since opening his eyes, he has remained constant. And this time was no exception.
Celia now received this confirmation with crystalline clarity.
“Am I dreaming?”
“Heavens, those two…….”
“That young lady is truly done for now.”
“She made such a fuss about the Young Duke’s affection, right in front of Celia.”
The murmurs of the crowd receded like a retreating tide, leaving only the sound of his breathing.
Her vision quietly narrowed, and the world realigned itself around him.
A single presence standing close shifted the air itself, and that warmth seeped deep into her lungs. With each breath she drew, he filled her completely, and everything else ceased to hold meaning.
“You must be very tired, weren’t you?”
Fragments fitting together like puzzle pieces.
As those shards completed into a single scene, Celia understood.
“Let’s go back.”
This very moment…….
Had allowed her to accept him completely.
***
That evening, freshly bathed, Lucious withdrew the tie of his robe slowly, letting it hang from his shoulders.
Water droplets fell from the ends of his wet hair, sliding down past his collarbone in rivulets that traced the defined lines of his chest and abdomen.
“Mm.”
As a small candle flickered in the darkness, a soft whimper escaped from the raised bed.
He approached quietly to where Celia slept.
‘It’s fortunate she seems to be sleeping well…….’
The sharpness of the day had vanished from her sleeping face like a lie. Beneath her long eyelashes, breath flowed in steady rhythm, and her cheek pressed against the pillow was flushed a pale pink.
‘……Sleep isn’t happening tonight.’
He laughed bitterly at himself as he settled into the chair beside the bed.
As he poured liquor into a transparent glass, he paused with the glass barely raised to his lips.
The day’s scene overlapped with the silver shimmer bleeding through the glass.
At the same time, as his mind drifted further back, the ticking clock replayed in his ears the voice of Evandor Brickwell, whom he’d encountered at the Hunting Grounds.
– Why do you insist on making our sister a criminal while playing the righteous and noble gentleman all by yourself?

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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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