The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 111

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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 111
Anna wept without catching her breath properly. I feared her breathing might cut off entirely.
“Anna, it’s alright. Breathe. Slowly.”
Anna inhaled and exhaled.
“Hic.”
Her sobs were thick with emotion. I stroked her back for a long time until her feelings could settle. Gradually, Anna’s crying began to subside. From how much she had wept, the child’s back was damp with perspiration. I brushed her hair back.
“Anna, why are you crying? Does something hurt? Were you very frightened?”
“…Hic.”
“Are you injured somewhere?”
Anna shook her head, then lifted it. Her eyes were swollen, her nose flushed red. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. What on earth had done this to the child?
That was when it happened.
A faint light wavered in the room. It was seeping from inside the drawer. At first, I thought it was light filtering in from outside, but it wasn’t.
“Wait a moment, Anna.”
I sat Anna on the bed and opened the drawer. Inside, a compass was emitting a brilliant light.
The Divine Compass.
The sacred relic excavated from Mount Carencia was shining as if proving its existence. The compass was pointing directly at Anna.
I picked up the compass and looked at Anna. She approached me, breathing slowly.
Anna’s eyes had changed.
They were not the eyes of a four-year-old. There was depth to them. Within those deepened pupils lay something ancient.
“…Anna?”
“My real name isn’t Anna.”
Anna spoke in a fractured voice. The change she displayed sent shivers down my spine. I swallowed hard. What was happening to her?
The docile, adorable child who had been so well-behaved approached and gazed at the compass, offering a bittersweet smile.
“It’s Artemina. That’s my name.”
The compass grew hot in my hand.
Artemina. The compass seemed to respond to that name.
I knew that name. Artemina—the saint who saved the Southern Region and defeated the Demon Lord, the light that led to a happy ending. That Artemina was Anna?
I swallowed.
This was truly shocking. I never expected this! The female protagonist was right beside me all along!
Anna lifted her head and gazed at me. Her clear eyes shimmered with an otherworldly light.
Anna lowered her head to look at the compass. Golden light cast shadows across her face.
The original story I knew ended in a happy ending. With the aid of Artemina’s holy power, the Demon Lord was defeated and the war ended. There was nothing like this in the narrative.
Anna’s voice began to tremble.
“Defeating the Demon Lord wasn’t the end.”
Artemina gripped the compass in her hand. Strength tensed in her small fingers, her knuckles turning white. Her lips trembled, and soon tears fell again.
Artemina—no, Anna’s breathing grew ragged.
“When the Demon Lord died, something remained. It passed entirely into Hayden. Hayden didn’t know about the darkness within him. While everyone thought they were happy, he was slowly, so very slowly, being consumed.”
I was overwhelmed just accepting what Anna was saying. After the happy ending, people still had their lives to live. Hayden had to continue his battle with himself.
“Hayden realized he was becoming strange. And he wanted to overcome it. I wanted to help Hayden too. As a saint, I attempted purification. But the Demon Lord was not something my purification could overcome. It had taken root far too deeply in Hayden’s soul.”
“…So what happened then?”
Anna let out a hollow laugh. Within the child’s laughter lay nothing but despair. Her lips trembled as she spoke.
“The world has been destroyed.”
What…?
“After Hayden was completely consumed by the Demon Lord, he reopened the Gate of the Other Side. He opened it with his own hands. And the Southern Region collapsed, then the Central Region, then the North. Everything was torn to shreds by the teeth of demons.”
Golden light poured from the compass, spreading across Anna’s hands.
So Hejest wasn’t the problem. If I made a wrong move here, this entire world would be destroyed. I pressed my hand to my head.
Anna carried far too much within her small body. She caught her breath and continued speaking.
The light leaking from the compass wavered and grew increasingly dim.
“Hayden shouldn’t be here right now. I realized something had changed, and I wanted to confirm it. So I climbed the mountain, and I saw the Duke. You are Duke Cherez Bereidan, aren’t you? It’s you, isn’t it?”
Anna looked up at me, her face streaked with tears. Her eyes held desperate longing.
“Please answer me, Duchess. It’s him, isn’t it? I know you probably don’t believe what I’m saying right now. You must think I’m lying.”
“No, Anna.”
How could that be?
My very existence is unrealistic. I laughed awkwardly.
“I believe everything you’ve said.”
“…Really?”
I nodded.
“Truly.”
Anna’s shoulders sagged as she exhaled.
“…Thank you. Thank you for believing me. The Duke should have died. He shouldn’t have come back… And why is Hayden even here… And the Duchess too…”
Anna’s lips trembled. She looked up at me again with tears threatening to spill over. It seemed she herself couldn’t bear the flood of memories.
“You shouldn’t be here… You mustn’t betray Hayden, Duchess.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“You mustn’t abandon Hayden. It’s strange for me to say such things, isn’t it?”
Anna sniffled.
In the original story, I did betray Hayden. I scratched my chin. But this time, I had no intention of doing so. Because I believe the choices I’ve made are right.
“Hayden is relying on you now, Duchess. But if you leave in this situation… Hayden will only fall further. He will never be able to overcome the Demon Lord.”
Anna clung to me and burst into tears. The child wept ceaselessly.
“I know I’m strange. Still, please believe me, Duchess…!”
Anna laid bare her confusion. I swallowed. I stroked the child’s back and organized my thoughts.
1. Anna is the heroine.
2. Defeating the Demon Lord is not the end.
3. The world might very well be destroyed.
The difficulty level has suddenly skyrocketed. So raising Hayden well and bringing him back wasn’t the end? No, this is insane. How am I supposed to handle this situation?
In that moment, all light from the compass vanished. Anna lost consciousness and collapsed. As if she had fulfilled her role. The child’s breathing gradually became peaceful.
I held the collapsed child in my arms.
No, Anna. What was all that about? Explain it to me in detail. Come to your senses. I really don’t understand the situation at all.

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And when the child awoke, she remembered nothing.
“Me?”
Anna blinked her puffy eyes. In the child’s hand still lay the compass, its light extinguished. As though it had fulfilled its purpose, it no longer gleamed.
The compass’s direction seemed to point toward me.
As if guiding Anna to me had been its sole function.
Anna smiled brightly. The innocent face of a young child had replaced all the depths of age that had appeared moments before.
“I’m hungry, ma’am.”

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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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