The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 119

—————
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 119
“C-Countess Caslit?”
Today’s gathering was nothing more than casting bait into the waters.
While Count Sirion and I conversed, countless eyes observed us. And once they stepped outside, they would spread gossip about Count Sirion far and wide.
Their whispers would inevitably reach the Liansherus Society.
If we cracked the door open just enough, those same whispers would reach Countess Caslit as well. The timing for this diversion was absolutely perfect.
Countess Caslit, unable to learn what transpired outside, would be consumed by anxiety, and Count Sirion would grow increasingly restless. This scenario was crafted based on information Linnen had shared about the discord between them.
I never imagined I would resort to such tactics.
“Why do you think otherwise?”
I tilted my head slightly.
“Did such profound trust truly exist between Countess Caslit and Count Sirion? From what I observed, Countess Caslit certainly didn’t believe so.”
I lowered my head gently and smiled softly, my expression laden with the certainty that such a thing was impossible.
Count Sirion’s already ashen lips trembled visibly.
I stepped closer to Count Sirion. Today’s stage had been prepared for him alone.
I intended to extract as much as possible from this moment.
“Countess Caslit harbors considerable resentment toward you, Count Sirion.”
“Don’t speak falsehoods…!”
Count Sirion’s voice grew sharp and strained, his face twisted in confusion. He glanced around nervously, his shoulders hunching inward. The weight of surrounding gazes pressed down upon him relentlessly.
“Then go ask her yourself. But do you have time to hesitate like this? Surely you had some purpose in mind when you came here in the first place.”
Count Sirion clamped his lips shut firmly.
“Who promised you another opportunity?”
“Duchess…”
“Let me offer you a hint—Countess Caslit claims it was you who sent the assassin.”
“Ha!”
In truth, the veracity of this claim mattered little. Whether directed at Countess Caslit or Count Sirion, the accusation served either equally well.
What truly mattered was that Count Sirion would lose faith in Countess Caslit. Nothing more.
Just as Count Sirion opened his mouth, lost and desperate—
I caught sight of Linnen approaching me cautiously. I raised my hand, silencing Count Sirion’s words before they could escape.
Linnen handed me a slip of paper.
[The young master continues to run a fever, Duchess. Lady Yureain is asking for you.]
Hayden?
He had been feverish all day. I had administered fever-reducing medicine and confirmed the fever had broken before I left, yet I bit my lip anxiously.
“Has Robin already been by?”
Linnen nodded and her hands moved swiftly.
[He instructed us to watch carefully through the night. He said to call immediately if the young master’s breathing sounds worsen. He just gave the young master his medicine and went to rest briefly.]
“Is his condition deteriorating further?”
Linnen shook her head at my anxious question.
[He didn’t say it was worsening. But he did mention it could deteriorate. He instructed us to keep the young master elevated while sleeping and to listen carefully to his breathing.]
Perhaps I should have cancelled the reception today. I noticed Count Sirion watching me with an anxious expression. I couldn’t afford to let Count Sirion slip away now.
Yet neither could I remain here wrestling with Count Sirion while Hayden lay ill.
Hayden had been listless ever since returning to the Lord’s Castle. Perhaps unaccustomed to the unfamiliar surroundings, the child who should have been darting about all day seemed somewhat subdued, and had even mentioned wanting to go home.
Then, starting this morning, he developed a fever. According to Robin, it was simply his body adapting to the new environment. But the truth was, I worried—he had never fallen ill like this back in Carencia.
Gania and Jake, along with Anna and Toby, had not yet arrived.
A new lord had been appointed to Carencia. In the meantime, Cherez had been selecting and appointing new nobility based on the registry and seals I had compiled, and it was proceeding as naturally as water flowing—drawing no one’s attention.
To relocate, they needed to register with the new lord, and it was also taking time to find someone to take over Jake’s pig farm.
Still, I was grateful they had promised to come.
Perhaps when they arrived, Hayden might regain some of his spirits.
I exhaled deeply and nodded.
“I should go now.”
“Duchess.”
Count Sirion called out to me.
“I have something to tell you, madam. It would not be too late to hear me out before you go.”
“As it happens, someone is coming to listen in my stead.”
At my words, Count Sirion turned his head. Borgus bowed to me.
“Yureain mentioned that the Duchess might need my assistance. Is that correct?”
“You’ve arrived at just the right moment, Sir Borgus. Count Sirion here wishes to speak frankly.”
At my words, Count Sirion’s lips twisted with displeasure. I issued him a warning.
“Just because I am absent does not mean you cannot speak, does it? Sir Borgus, you will relay to me every single word Count Sirion utters—not a syllable omitted. I shall be the judge of whether Count Sirion’s words hold more value than those of Countess Caslit.”
At my words, Count Sirion tucked his protruding lips back in.
“My—my words are entirely truthful!”
“That is for me to determine. Or am I mistaken, Count Sirion—you who sought to kill us?”
“That was all Countess Caslit’s doing, Duchess. Truly!”
“Sir Borgus will hear your account instead. You should not have hesitated. Linnen, let us hurry.”
As I turned sharply, I heard Count Sirion clinging to Borgus.
“The Duchess seems deeply mistaken, so you must absolutely clear up that misunderstanding for her. We got along quite well at the Red Moon Palace, did we not? Eh?”

* * *
Upon my hurried return, I found Hayden flushed and feverish, his small body wracked with discomfort.
“Mmgh….”
Hayden lay on his side with both fists clenched, stripped of everything save his undergarments.
Yureain was tirelessly sponging the child’s body with a cloth dampened in lukewarm water.
“Let me take over.”
I pressed my hand to Hayden’s feverish forehead, listening to his labored breathing, and accepted the handkerchief from her.
Hayden’s eyes fluttered open at the sound of my presence. The child immediately burrowed into my arms, whimpering softly despite the uncomfortable confines of my dress.
“Roana… it hurts… I hurt so much….”
“Where does it hurt, sweetheart?”
“My head and my legs… and my fingers… here, my nose too… and I don’t want any more medicine….”
I smoothed back the young master’s hair as he spoke in that congested, pitiful voice, then gently blew on each spot he indicated with such tenderness.
“And where else does it hurt?”
“Here and here….”
If everything hurt this much, living would be exhausting. I couldn’t help but laugh softly, and Yureain smiled along with me.
Yureain moved her lips silently.
‘It seems he will recover soon. His spirits are returning.’
Indeed. As I gently caressed the places Hayden pointed to, the child clung to me like a koala.
“When Roana blows on it, it feels better. When Roana holds me, it feels all better.”
I lay back on the bed while holding Hayden close, and he rolled against me, resting his head on my arm. I pressed a kiss to the young master’s forehead.
“I’m here. I’ll stay right here. Our Hayden won’t be sad.”
Hayden nodded and closed his drowsy eyes once more. Raising a child was an endless succession of uncertainties and unexpected moments.
I sighed and continued stroking his hair. This tiny creature had so many places that ached—it was almost amusing.

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