The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 117

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Husband Who Should Have Died Returns – Episode 117
The Black Market, burrowing deeper into darkness, had established itself in an abandoned mine.
We had moved further inland from the coastal town that was close to Carencia. And that place was closer to the Bereidan Estate.
My influence played a role in choosing the location. At least it needed to be accessible for coming and going.
It was a six-hour round trip by horse.
As late afternoon arrived, the guild masters leading the mercenary guilds gathered. I took the seat of honor, with Dorpin, Mila, and Ryukan standing behind me.
Those assembled murmured and cast sidelong glances in my direction.
I swallowed hard, tension gripping my throat.
These were people Ryukan had drawn together with money. That also meant they were people I could never trust with the belief that money could solve everything. Only money moves them. The flow of money must never cease, and it must never be less than what their enemies offer.
“Are you the one scattering money through the back alleys? What should we call you?”
The oldest-looking man asked.
“Does that matter? What matters is the money I give you.”
The man chuckled. They were people moved by money, and I was someone who could provide it. That was enough.
“I want fair compensation for the money I’ve given. Bring me information worth that price. I want to know about the Imperial Court and House Hejest.”
The murmuring stopped.
The Imperial Court and House Hejest. The heart of the Empire and the northern powerhouse that manipulated the Imperial Court. These were not names anyone could touch carelessly.
“What kind of information are you referring to?”
“Who meets whom, where money flows from and to. I want everything.”
It would be my task to sift through that information and deduce what I needed. I had resolved to find happiness in this place, and I intended to resolve everything that stood in my way. Among those obstacles, the Imperial Court and House Hejest were the greatest.
Of course, what Anna had told me also weighed on my mind.
“I’ll compensate you according to the value of the information. There is no limit to the rewards I can offer.”
The eyes of those who had caught the scent of money changed.
“However, if there is anyone who takes my money and betrays me…”
I smiled sweetly.
“My money will make you targets. It means an astronomical bounty will be placed on your heads.”
I felt Ryukan, standing behind me, flinch slightly. A thief’s feet itch at their own crime, as they say.
Dorpin’s presence, standing beside Ryukan, also played its part. Dorpin stood without saying a word, yet his very existence radiated an oppressive aura.
I placed pouches of money on the table. It was an advance payment that would satisfy the guild masters.
The guild masters each picked one up and gauged its weight. No one knew what information they would bring back or what picture those pieces would form. I intended to complete that picture.
The guild masters left, and Ryukan also excused himself. Only Dorpin, Mila, and I remained in the room. I had a separate request to make of them.
“Lord Mila, Lord Dorpin.”
“Yes, Duchess.”
“I created this opportunity because I have a separate request for you both.”
“Command us as you wish.”
The time spent in Carencia had made us strong. Between me, Dorpin, and Mila, there had formed something viscous and inexplicable that transcended words.
And I considered them the most trustworthy people aside from Robin and Yureain.
“…I want to know what happened on the Battlefield. I need to know exactly what happened to Cherez.”
“That is somewhat… strange.”
Mila scratched her head.
“They all keep their mouths firmly shut and refuse to speak about the Duke’s disappearance.”
Dorpin added his thoughts as well.
“The only thing being repeated is the story of facing the Demon Lord, but the atmosphere feels distinctly odd.”
“We need to learn more about this Demon Lord.”
There were not many records about the Demon Lord. Even in the original story, there was only the account of him tearing through the rift between worlds and fighting Hayden.
But this time was different. Cherez had gone missing, and apparently he had been facing the Demon Lord all this while.
With the world’s destruction looming so near, I couldn’t simply sit idle.
Thinking back, Hayden had faced the Demon Lord and was consumed by him.
This time, Cherez had faced the Demon Lord. So was Cherez truly unharmed?
When I heard the story from Anna, I hadn’t thought this far. Or perhaps I hadn’t wanted to.
But considering the changes and actions Cherez had displayed thus far,
“I need to understand what influence the Demon Lord has exerted on Cherez. Lord Dorpin, Lady Mila—bring me everything, no matter how trivial the clue. What did they see? What did they witness?”
When I summoned Lord Wills and questioned him, he was unwilling to say anything.
‘We achieved victory, Duchess. I believe that is sufficient. His Grace endured an extremely difficult time.’
He had evaded the matter with those words.
I needed to uncover that secret. It was precisely why I was asking Dorpin and Mila in this place where no ears could hear.
“And contact Chloe. I’m curious what the knights of Evelik might have reported.”
“Should His Grace remain unaware of this?”
“All the better if he doesn’t know. Since Cherez has created secrets from me, let’s create one of our own.”
Mila nodded in agreement.
I intended to unearth what Cherez was hiding.
An inexplicable unease refuses to fade. Even though Cherez’s demeanor toward me remains unchanged.

* * *
Two hours before the banquet began.
Yureain came to inform me.
“Three junior knights caught diverting supplies have been executed, Duchess.”
They had been entrusted with transporting provisions during the war, only to sell portions to the black market. It was a crime deserving of death.
Yet with each passing day, more people were dying.
What deepened my unease was Borgus. Before I could even respond to Yureain, he sought me out. His face had grown gaunt of late.
“I have something I wish to tell you, my lady. The night before we moved to the estate, Patrick came to see me. He is an elder of the Liansherus Society.”
“…What reason did Patrick have for seeking you out?”
Borgus continued with a shallow sigh.
“According to Patrick, Duchess Petunia’s money began flowing into the Southern Region exactly one year before the Previous Duke fell in battle.”
There were no coincidences in this world—every fragment was entangled like a spider’s web.
Borgus bit his lips firmly.
“I verified the truth of it, and it does appear that the North was somehow involved.”
“Does Cherez know of this?”
My heart thundered in my chest.
The conflict with House Hejest was one of the original story’s major plot threads. Because of it, I knew the truth better than anyone.
Hayden had also struggled to uncover that secret. But in the end, he found no evidence and focused instead on bringing down Hejest.
“…What do you think of his current state, my lady?”
Borgus hesitated before speaking.
“War will break out again, and blood will spill. But the Southern Region lacks the strength to bear war right now. That is why I have come to you.”
Borgus’s shoulders sagged under the weight of his burden, his face crushed beneath it. He too carried anxiety written across his features.
Unable to speak it aloud.

* * *
The hour of the banquet was drawing near.
Cherez found me. He smiled at me, then pressed his lips to the back of my hand. The intensity of it left me dizzy. His fingers then intertwined with mine.
“Ready?”
He asked, bending at the waist to look up at me. His languid voice carried the ease of one accustomed to dominion.
Our eyes met. His crimson eyes, stained with demonic essence, gleamed like rubies with an unsettling depth. They seemed sinister as blood itself.
In that moment, Cherez’s eyes widened.
My heart plummeted.
What I had been avoiding was contained within them.
“Roana?”
The words Borgus could not speak, the truth people whispered and tried to hide, the concern Yureain had expressed, the very thing I myself wished to deny—it was all there.
“No, it’s nothing.”
His hand and voice remained achingly warm, yet I had to acknowledge that something lay within them that should not be there.
“Truly, it’s nothing.”
I gripped his hand tightly, as though clutching at his remnants.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————