Surviving as the Wife of the Swordsmanship Clan’s Troublemaker - Chapter 97

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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 97

At the mention of my thighs, I immediately pulled at my shirt collar.
“I’ll remove it.”
Removing my shirt seemed far more practical than taking off my pants.
I rolled my shoulder back slightly, revealing skin taut with well-defined muscle.
I swallowed involuntarily, my throat working audibly. For a moment, I found myself grateful to Nikolai for sculpting this physique.
“Did you just swallow?”
Docheop asked immediately, as if he’d heard it clearly.
“Ahem. My throat is parched. I have a habit of drinking a cup of lukewarm water each morning, but someone prevented me from doing so.”
I rattled off excuses while glaring at him, then dashed to the table and poured myself a cup of water, drinking it down.
As the water went down, the heat seemed to dissipate from within me.
Docheop, half-dressed with his shirt hanging open, reclined slowly against the headboard and gazed at me—he looked like a masterpiece of divine artistry. Had a novel cover featured this scene, readership might have increased tenfold.
But I couldn’t afford to linger in admiration.
‘Let’s finish this quickly.’
I approached him briskly and applied the ointment generously. Though no visible wounds appeared, I assumed they existed somewhere and spread it liberally across his skin.
“There, finished!”
“But there are still many places that hurt.”
“I’ve used up all the ointment. I’ll go fetch more from the Doctor.”
My plan was to ask the Doctor to apply medicine to his wounds instead. But that’s when Docheop gently pulled my wrist. My body lost its balance and tumbled forward. When I opened my eyes, I found myself reclining against his chest.
His hair brushed against me, so close that the slightest movement would have made contact.
“Didn’t you just say your arm was broken?”
If that were true, he wouldn’t have pulled me so effortlessly just now.
He laughed softly. In that moment, I understood—Docheop wanted to tease me. His injuries were nothing but lies.
“You’re insufferable….”
Still, no matter how much Nikolai disliked Docheop, he wouldn’t cause trouble before reconciling with Francesca. I silently apologized to Nikolai for my suspicion and shot Docheop a reproachful look.
“Frowning causes wrinkles.”
“And whose fault is it that I’m getting them….”
“Wait.”
He stopped my words and reached out. His gaze descended lower. I could see exactly where it was directed—my lips. Suddenly, all my awareness concentrated there.
A thousand imaginings flooded my mind. We were husband and wife, but we weren’t the sort to kiss. Had there even been a kiss scene in the novel? Because readers despised troublesome heroines more than villains, romance simply didn’t exist within that story—as if the protagonist had an allergy to it.
And now he could kiss a woman?
His fingertips brushed across my lips.
“W-wait.”
I meant to ask what he was doing, but my mouth sealed shut. I’d just realized—I hadn’t brushed my teeth. What good was closing my mouth now after all my bold talk? Yet my lips wouldn’t open. When the rough texture of his fingers touched my lips, my body trembled.
“Water.”
“W-water?”
“You have water on your lips.”
With those words, he wiped the corner of my mouth. It seemed my lips had grown moist from the water I’d drunk earlier.
“You’re doing this just because of that…?”
I asked the question without opening my lips too wide, and he tilted his head quizzically.
“Were you expecting something else?”
“No? I wasn’t thinking anything in particular? I was just asking? There must be a reason you’d go this far while lying about being hurt. No, there has to be one, right?”
As the words tumbled out in a rush, a loud squeak escaped my lips. My face flushed with embarrassment.
“You were definitely thinking something else.”
Docheop’s eyes narrowed. I decided to push forward shamelessly.
“I know you’re trying to gloss over the fact that you lied to me about being hurt.”
“I was in pain. The awakening pain came.”
“Awakening pain?”
Which meant…
“You’ve awakened!?”
“To how many stars?”
The last I knew, he was at 4 stars, so…
“5 stars?”
“7 stars.”
“The same 7 as in the Big Dipper?”
Startled by such an astronomical figure, I nearly stumbled backward, but he caught me. He seemed far from weakened—he was practically overflowing with vitality.
“Yes.”
“That explains why there were only old scars and no fresh wounds.”
His body glistened from the salve I’d applied, making his muscles stand out even more prominently.
“What a waste of that salve.”
“That wasn’t salve.”
“If it wasn’t salve… oh.”
Looking more closely, I recognized the formulation. This was the nourishing cream that Junel had secretly taken from Francesca’s room. It seemed Junel had rummaged through Francesca’s vanity overnight. I’d told her not to do that.
“It’s thanks to you, Hallara.”
He smiled. I was glad I’d asked Nikolai for a sparring match with Docheop in return. The results were far more effective than I’d anticipated.
“Nikolai must have been quite surprised as well.”
He probably fell over in an even more ridiculous manner than I did. As I waited for his response, Docheop delivered even bigger news.
“I won the sparring match too.”
“My goodness.”
At this rate, wouldn’t he reach 9 stars in one leap?
My joy was short-lived.
“So I got permission.”
Docheop let the words slip out casually. A meaningful smile played at the corners of his mouth.
​
***
​
“So busy, so busy!”
Thump, thump.
May bustled back and forth across the room, her footsteps echoing loudly. The Annex maids hurried about her in constant motion. After issuing various instructions to them, May approached me.
“Madam. Your hair is all done. How’s the dress? It’s not uncomfortable to move in, is it?”
My previously disheveled hair now gleamed with luster. A pleasant fragrance wafted from my body.
“Yes. It’s perfect.”
The empire waist dress May had brought with such satisfaction was not only comfortable but surprisingly light. May always insisted that dresses should be heavy to look elegant and beautiful, but today she had made an exception with this lighter one.
“Wonderful. I’ve packed everything—your spare clothes, shoes, handkerchiefs, and oh, that beloved blanket you adore.”
As she spoke those last words, she winked at me.
“You’re acting strange today. Just be yourself.”
“What do you mean? I’m being perfectly normal. Hehe.”
She fidgeted and swayed—hardly normal behavior.
May was acting this way because of what had happened earlier.
“Forget what you saw. Docheop and I weren’t doing anything. Whatever you’re imagining is nothing.”
Ever since she’d discovered Docheop with his shirt half-unbuttoned, his arm wrapped around my wrist, she’d been acting oddly.
“You don’t need to make excuses, Madam. It was my fault for barging in so thoughtlessly. Since you and the young master are husband and wife, it’s only natural. I was being so insensitive, wasn’t I?”
Beneath her apologetic, drooping brows, her eyes sparkled with joy. I couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh at the sight. These past few days, May had seemed unusually anxious and listless, but now she looked genuinely happy.
“Enough. Don’t go spreading that story around.”
“Why not? Don’t be embarrassed.”
May pouted in an uncharacteristic way.
“You’re being strange.”
“You’re the one being strange, getting all bashful when you’re about to leave on your honeymoon.”
That was true.
Docheop had received permission for a honeymoon, and I was now preparing for it.
Nikolai and Docheop had engaged in an intense sparring match at the Training Grounds in the early dawn, so fierce that the ground had nearly shattered. Docheop had won, and as his prize, he’d been granted permission for a honeymoon.
May had questioned why permission was even necessary, but the fact that I, a commoner, could ride in a carriage and travel about as if I were nobility was a miracle in itself.
[Hallara, where exactly are you going?! What are all these bags?]
Junel, arriving late, let out a cry upon seeing the room filled with luggage.
“On a honeymoon.”
I answered quietly, making sure May wouldn’t hear.
[What?! A honeymoon? I thought something was off about the two of you lately…! But Hallara, now is not the time for the two of you to be whispering sweet nothings to each other. We have so much work to do!?]
Junel asked with a bewildered expression. He was right—we never knew when enemies might attack. But building higher walls around the Family’s Castle wouldn’t prevent calamity.
Now was the opportunity to leave, whether for a honeymoon or anything else.
A golden chance to recruit Docheop’s allies.

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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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