The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 100
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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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The Husband Who Should Have Died Returns Episode 100
A week later.
When the Knight Order arrived before the Red Moon Palace, people were already gathered outside. News of the Knight Order’s return had spread.
Those who returned numbered less than half of those who had departed.
People had assembled in the plaza before the palace. Every face bore tension.
Countess Malate stood before the plaza. Count Sirion stood at her side.
The Knight Order entered the plaza. Wills led the vanguard.
Cherez was not among them.
“What, what is this? His Grace is not here!”
“The rumors of his death were true after all.”
“Then what becomes of the Southern Region?”
“How should I know?”
The plaza stirred with unease. Hundreds of eyes swept across the Knight Order. Among the desperate gazes were wives searching for returning husbands, and mothers who had realized their sons would not return. Cries of anguish erupted from all corners.
Count Sirion’s lips curved upward ever so slightly. Cherez was dead. At last, this tiresome conflict might finally end. Now, as regent lord, he could exercise absolute authority.
Meanwhile, the faces of Countess Malate and Borgus had turned cold and rigid. If Cherez truly had not returned…
Then Wills dismounted and stood in the center of the plaza. His weary face removed his helmet. Wills spoke in a hoarse voice.
“The war is over. The Demons have withdrawn, and the Gate of the Other Side has been sealed.”
Wills’s voice resonated across the plaza.
Count Sirion could not restrain himself and stepped forward.
“Where is His Grace the Duke?”
Wills turned to face Count Sirion. Wills smiled coldly. It was not the gaze of one welcoming those who had crossed the threshold and returned. Seeing an unfamiliar face, it appeared that cockroach-like creatures had crawled into the Southern Region searching for scraps.
“His Grace has stepped away temporarily as he has something to find.”
Wills spoke smoothly. He knew the method to silence their mouths at once. At those words, the plaza fell silent.
Count Sirion’s lips stiffened.
“…What did you say? That statement now means…”
“He has merely stepped away. He has not fallen in battle.”
Wills spoke matter-of-factly. Each word was distinct and clear.
“He said he had something to find. He will return before long.”
In that moment, Countess Malate released a breath of relief. She wiped her face. Where hope and despair had intertwined, they intertwined once more.
* * *
At that very moment.
Hayden sat alone in a crouch.
Beside a puddle at the forest edge, he dug at the soil with small hands, his movements clumsy and uncertain. His tiny hunched form looked almost like a rice cake, curled so tightly.
Before Hayden lay a dead frog. Beads of sweat dotted the bridge of his small nose. His lips were pursed in concentration, and his small fingers worked with surprising determination.
Then a shadow fell across him from behind.
The shadow drew closer and settled down a short distance from Hayden. A large frame arranged itself in a comfortable position.
“What are you doing?”
A low voice. Hayden didn’t stop digging and mumbled in response.
“Burying the froggy.”
His pronunciation was still unclear, but the meaning was unmistakable. The man asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“A frog?”
“A froggy.”
Hayden pointed at the dead frog. With its front legs stretched out, it had been Hayden’s healthy friend until yesterday.
“When they die, they become stars.”
“Stars?”
“The froggy becomes a star. Dolphin said so. Roana said, and Papa and Mama said that’s why Hayden should look up at the stars.”
The man let out a soft laugh. It was a beautiful sentiment—that the dead become stars and watch over us forever.
Perhaps that was true. When he thought he might die, God had helped him. Perhaps the dead had sent God to protect Cherez.
Cherez rested his chin on his hand and asked.
“Does it make you sad that the frog became a star?”
“Sad. Can’t see the froggy anymore.”
The child seemed to understand the meaning of death to some degree.
“Should I help?”
Hayden rolled his eyes and looked back, then twisted his lips into a smile.
“Can’t sit on the ground. If I do, it gets dirty and I have to wash it. If not, bad germs make it hurt, and then Roana’s heart hurts.”
“Is it okay if I stand like this?”
Cherez lifted his hips and rose to his feet. Hayden nodded.
“Oh no!”
Hayden smacked his forehead.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mooru said not to talk to the stranger. Can’t follow him. Can’t take candy from him!”
Cherez covered his mouth and stifled his laughter.
“What about caramel?”
“No! Won’t eat! Hayden is the older brother!”
The logic escaped him, but Hayden was quite serious about it.
“Hmm, then what about candy?”
“Hayden won’t eat. That’s why older brother can’t have candy!”
He seemed to think his reasoning was quite sound.
“Then I’ll just help you dig the hole a little.”
Hayden hesitated, then stepped back to the side. Cherez chuckled and widened the hole with his sword hilt. Hayden pushed the frog into the enlarged opening.
“Have sweet dreams. Lullaby.”
Hayden patted the frog, then covered it with soil.
“I need to sing the lullaby. Underground.”
“Would you like help?”
“Hayden will do it.”
Cherez absorbed every moment into his eyes. After so long, the young face before him bore an unmistakable resemblance to Elder Brother. The sunlight pooling in the child’s eyes was blindingly beautiful.
Cherez swallowed his emotions between his teeth. Hayden sang a lullaby in soft, childish tones.
It was a familiar melody.
Cherez had heard it before. It was the lullaby Roana used to sing. Once Hayden finished all his rituals, he turned his head and stared at Cherez.
“Who are you, mister?”
“…I am.”
Cherez chose his words carefully for a long moment.
“Someone who wanted to see Hayden for a very long time.”
Hayden tilted his head. He did not notice the moisture trembling in Cherez’s voice.
* * *
“Hayden!”
There was no answer.
I was working in the field when I suddenly looked up and Hayden was nowhere to be seen. Just ten minutes ago, he had been right beside me playing with the soil. Where could he have gone?
“Hayden!”
My voice grew louder.
“Young Master isn’t visible?”
“He was just here.”
“I’ll search for him.”
Mila set down her hoe. I turned toward the town. My imagination spirals wildly whenever the child disappears from sight for even a moment. I quickened my pace, imagining the worst.
“Hayden!”
Sunlight slanted through the leaves at an angle. A blue sky peeked between the branches. It was a brilliantly blue sky, but I had no leisure to admire it now.
“Hayden!”
A small voice called from the distance.
“Roana!”
My heart stopped. My legs nearly gave way, but strength surged back into them at once. I ran toward the source of the voice.
“Hayden!”
In a small clearing where sunlight fell at an angle, nestled between two trees, there was Hayden.
And beside him sat a man.
The man slowly rose to his feet. I could only see his profile. Hair grown somewhat unkempt, worn clothes, and an air that was somehow sharp and dangerous… My heart stopped.
For a moment, I could not breathe.
“Cherez…?”
The man turned slowly toward me.
My vision began to blur. I forced my eyes wide, afraid that if I blinked, the man would vanish. This must be another illusion. It surely was. It had to be a phantom caught in the sunlight.
“…Cherez.”
But he did not dissolve into illusion.
“…Am I too late?”
Cherez murmured softly. He smiled awkwardly.
“I’m sorry for being late.”
I covered my mouth at those words. This was—this was a miracle so impossible, so rare that it might come only once in a lifetime. My heart was pounding wildly.
My husband, who should have died… had returned.
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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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