The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 124

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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 124
A letter from the Southern Region arrived at the Duchess of Hejest’s residence at dawn.
Insomnia was an old companion, and Petunia remained awake at that hour as well.
Petunia drank the bitter medicine and unfolded the letter, hoping the terrible headache would finally disappear.
“Kaslit?”
Petunia’s expression drained of color. The letter from the Countess Caslit was no ordinary correspondence—it was a farewell.
Cherez Bereidan had returned, Count Sirion had betrayed them, and the Liansherus Society was crumbling.
[This appears to be my final letter, Duchess. I offer my gratitude for all you have done. I apologize for failing to complete the tasks entrusted to me. I wish you good health.
Furthermore, I pray that you achieve all that you desire.]
Petunia’s eyes froze on those lines. She read the sentence repeatedly, slowly. What was lurking in the Southern Region? Her carefully planted agents were being eliminated one by one.
Petunia clenched her teeth.
Only then did she notice the sentence written below.
[I have confirmed that Morigan is alive.]
Petunia’s fingers tensed. Her jaw tightened, and the muscles of her cheekbones twitched visibly.
Morigan. That name touched something deep within her. Whether it was anger, obsession, or longing, she could not say. Perhaps it was all of them. Morigan was hers.
Petunia drew a sharp breath.
After a long while, Petunia set the letter down on the table.
She had to seize the Southern Region. To reclaim Morigan, she had to set foot in the South.
Dawn was breaking over Hejest. Frost settled on the window frame in the bitter northern air.
Petunia stared at it without emotion. Morigan had loved even this biting northern cold.
‘If you grow too cold, come find me, Petunia. I will hold you until your hands and feet warm. I am more resistant to the cold than you, so I can embrace you sufficiently.’
That was the man he had been. Petunia had lost that broad embrace. She clenched her teeth, draped a shawl over her shoulders, and made her way to the Library. She retrieved fresh parchment, dipped her pen in ink, and wrote rapidly.
It was a letter to be sent to the Imperial Palace.
A letter stating that evidence of treason had been discovered in the Southern Region. It contained details that Cherez Bereidan had colluded with the Evelik Kingdom during the war, and that this could be interpreted as the South conspiring with foreign powers to surrender imperial territory.
Petunia smiled coldly.
[I do not know what schemes are being plotted behind the closed doors of the South. Therefore, I shall descend personally to investigate and protect Your Majesty’s Empire. Please prepare the Knight Order and send them south.]
She had woven truth and falsehood together with cunning precision.
As she set down her pen and waited for the ink to dry, she placed medicine into a box. The very poison that had addicted the Emperor. The poison that had made him her puppet.
Now the Emperor could not distinguish between hallucination and reality, between friend and foe, so he would accept her words as truth.
She sealed the letter and pressed the seal of House of Hejest upon it.

* * *
Linnen bowed her head to me and extended a piece of paper.
[The execution of Countess Caslit has been carried out.]
So it had come to pass. In truth, it was inevitable. Countess Caslit had committed crimes worthy of such a fate.
Her death would serve as a warning to the others.
“Did Cherez carry out the execution himself again?”
Linnen nodded.
I exhaled softly. Cherez was steadily building his dark reputation. I turned my gaze forward.
Hayden and the children were digging the soil with small shovels. It was a modest garden we had created in one corner of the Lord’s Castle Courtyard.
When Hayden dug a hole, Anna would place the seeds, and Toby would cover them with earth. Their small hands moved with industrious purpose.
Countess Caslit’s world had ended, yet time continued its relentless march. What had she been thinking in her final moments?
With this, I had severed the head of the Liansherus Society. Without its central pillar, it would lose its form and scatter.
With the connection to the North severed, it would take time for new channels to be established.
Countess Caslit’s death would bring many changes. And through her death, I had protected these children.
“Roana! Look! Hayden did it!”
Hayden waved his soil-covered hands with a bright laugh.
I waved my hands back toward the child.
“Well done, Hayden! You’re getting so good at this! You’re as impressive as your brother!”
It was not difficult to smile hearing such news. Hayden’s laughter had the power to make me smile as well. I watched him laugh and play with the other children for a long moment before speaking to Linnen.
“Linnen.”
Linnen looked up.
“Could you keep an eye on Anna going forward?”
Linnen tilted her head in confusion.
Anna was taking seeds one by one from a pouch and placing them into the holes Hayden had dug. Her expression showed puzzlement—wondering what she should be looking for in such a harmless child.
“Just… if there’s anything different from usual. If her speech changes, or her behavior seems odd. Anything at all.”
There was a possibility that Anna might recover her memories again.
Linnen nodded.
[I will do so.]
I swallowed a sigh. That was when it happened.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
A voice came from behind me. Before I could turn, Cherez was already at my side.
“Oh, you startled me…!”
Before I could finish speaking.
Cherez lowered his head and pressed his lips against mine. His deeply pressed lips brushed across my mouth. His long fingers traced the nape of my neck, and my falling hair caught at his fingertips. My breath seemed to stop.
Cherez caressed the nape of my neck.
“Breathe.”
His voice was tinged with laughter. In his crimson eyes, I could see my own reflection.
“…What… what are you doing?”
My voice cracked and my face grew hot. Cherez let out a low laugh.
“People are… watching.”
Cherez gripped my jaw and kissed me again. It was an intense kiss that made me forget every word I knew. I felt as though my very soul was being swept away. I trembled, clutching his shoulders.
“Cherez…!”
Only after he released me did I gasp for breath. Cherez placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.
I glanced around quickly. The adults were pretending not to notice us, and Jake was skillfully diverting the children’s attention elsewhere.
“Kids, look here! A worm! An earthworm! It’s wriggling! Hey, look over here. Hayden, don’t you want to see the earthworm?”
“I wanna see! The worm’s big!”
“Right?”
I quickly turned my head back to Cherez.
“What are you doing in front of the children?”
Cherez chuckled softly and touched my cheek.
“You looked so serious.”
“Cherez.”
“I wanted you to smile.”
“Then you should have just said—”
“Actually, I wanted to kiss you.”
Cherez caressed the corner of my mouth. His deep eyes were filled with desire.
In that moment, something dark crimson surged up within him before subsiding. Cherez placed a gentle kiss on my lips.
“…Cherez.”
“I wanted to do this. Is that wrong?”
Cherez kissed the corner of my eye and whispered softly.
“I thought of you the entire time, Roana. Coming back to kiss you, to talk with you, to lie beside you.”
Behind him, the sun was setting in shades of crimson. A deep, metallic scent seemed to emanate from Cherez.
“That’s what I thought about—returning to you.”
Only then did I understand. Today too, Cherez had overcome so much just to return to me.
My heart ached helplessly. It was the only thing I could do. I pulled him close and whispered.
“You’ve worked so hard, Cherez.”

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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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