The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 24

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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 024
Even now, Cherez could not speak. He simply stared at Roana.
“Cherez.”
Not until she called his name.
Roana approached with a radiant smile and whispered softly to him.
“Everything is unfolding according to plan. We’re succeeding.”
The moment she opened her lips, a delicate floral fragrance wafted through the air.
Cherez found himself holding his breath without realizing it.
“We can be happy, Cherez!”
Happiness. She was thinking of his happiness too. Something I had never even considered.
I had been consumed with the thought of passing everything in the family to Hayden.
Yet Roana spoke of my life—the one I had abandoned after my Elder Brother’s death—as though it were the most natural thing in the world. It felt strange.

* * *
At last, all the principal players had gathered.
Chloe swept in, her dress billowing as magnificently as a peacock’s plumage.
“What is this? Where did all my decorations go? It looks so plain…”
“Chloe. You decorated this banquet hall, didn’t you? In place of the Duchess! It truly looks beautiful. It’s the most exquisite banquet we’ve held in the Southern Region lately.”
“…You think so too? I thought so myself. All that effort paid off, didn’t it?”
Chloe broke into a bright smile. Watching her friends approach with wagging tails, she thought that sometimes good is simply good.
In truth, Chloe had laid a solid foundation, which was why she could receive such praise.
‘If I had done it my way, it would have been even better. Whose taste is this anyway? So provincial.’
Chloe pouted her lips and mingled among her friends.
“I hardly see your face these days since you became the Duchess’s lady’s maid. Is the work so demanding?”
“The Duchess isn’t accustomed to the Southern Region, after all. She can’t do anything without me! Besides, Cherez seems to want me by his side too.”
“My. You two have been unusually close since childhood. I thought you’d become the Duchess.”
Her friends bolstered Chloe’s spirits. She burst into laughter.
“Of course, that could have happened. As you all know, there’s no one in the Southern Region more qualified than me. But what can I do? The Emperor himself issued the command. If that hadn’t happened, I might well have become the Duchess.”
“But you’re content working as a lady’s maid?”
Among her friends, envy and jealousy mingled. They had watched her boast of her closeness to Cherez with a shrug of her shoulders, and now she had become a lady’s maid while rising to prominence as the idol of her peers. Yet beneath it all lay barely concealed mockery of Chloe’s vanity.
“Of course. I’m rather magnanimous, aren’t I? Besides, just because Cherez married doesn’t mean anything changed between us. I’m still his special friend.”
The problem was that Chloe understood none of these sentiments from her friends. She was cushioned as though surrounded by soft, thick pillows, deflecting all their envious remarks. She accepted only what pleased her.
“Ah, I see.”
Her friends burst into giggles. Having lost interest, they turned their attention to other topics. Chloe too craned her neck like a duck, searching for fresh gossip as she surveyed her surroundings.
‘Fortunately, she seems to be getting along well with the Noblewomen, just as I advised. Tsk, the Southern Region can’t function without me, I tell you? What can you expect from someone who calls herself a Duchess if she doesn’t even know anything?’
This was precisely why Cherez had taken Chloe on as his lady’s maid.
‘I worry about the Southern Region. I really do.’
Chloe released a delicate sigh. No one would ever know the depth of her contemplation. She sipped her light champagne and observed her surroundings.
She felt the attention that had dimmed somewhat since she began working as a lady’s maid returning to her in full force. Especially the gaze of the men.
‘Of course, there have always been plenty of men who pester me.’
Now that she had risen to the position of the Duchess’s lady-in-waiting, they were showering her with even more attention. Such pathetic creatures, all of them. Yet not a single one dared approach her directly. They lingered about her, wasting time requesting dances from Chloe’s friends. Not one man possessed the courage to step forward.
Chloe clicked her tongue.
Even if Chloe’s background, appearance, and character were so exceptional as to be intimidating, there was no need to avoid her to such an extent.
Men, truly.
‘There’s nothing for it.’
It seemed Chloe would have no choice but to select the most eye-catching man herself. Then it happened.
“My goodness, what is that?”
“Heavens! I’ve never seen such an enormous bouquet of blue roses in my life!”
Chloe turned her gaze toward where the crowd was looking. A massive bouquet was literally walking toward her.
Chloe swallowed hard. It was a beautiful and magnificent bouquet crafted from blue roses—the symbol of the Southern Region. Who could be the owner of such a bouquet?
‘Me?’
Chloe held her breath as the bouquet came to a stop before her.
‘My word!’
Slowly, a figure emerged from behind the flowers. It was Oyster’s second son—someone whose eyes had occasionally met hers at the Banquet Hall, but who had never found the courage to approach her until now. He was one of those timid men.
But now he stood out more than anyone else. Perhaps it was the bouquet, or perhaps his face simply looked far more handsome than usual.
“Chloe. I wanted to make today a day worthy of you. Would you accept this bouquet?”
“A day worthy of me…?”
“Is today not the day you are hosting your first banquet? I wished to commemorate that occasion.”
Aisen repeated the words the Duchess had recited to him.
They were words brimming with Chloe’s romantic fantasies and dreams. Chloe’s cheeks flushed as she blinked. Aisen had remembered that she dismissed all the indifferent men. He understood that today was, in essence, Chloe’s debut.
Of course, everyone’s attention was on the Duchess, but in truth, today’s protagonist was Chloe as well. Chloe’s eyes glistened with tears as she covered her mouth.
“To think there was someone who recognized my sacrifice and contribution… Thanks to you, my wounded heart feels much lighter.”
Aisen gestured toward the Orchestra. It was a confident gesture, as though he possessed some authority in the Banquet Hall itself. This too was part of the orchestration promised to Roana. The Orchestra began to play new music. It was Chloe’s favorite piece.
“This music is…!”
“It is the music you favor, is it not?”
“You knew?”
“I have never taken my eyes off you. I have endeavored to know everything about you.”
“Oh my…!”
In Chloe’s eyes, Aisen now appeared like a prince on a white horse. With trembling hands, she accepted the bouquet.
It was a bouquet perfectly suited to her.
She was the true protagonist of this banquet.

* * *
She truly was the epitome of attention-seeking. I found it remarkable that she could enjoy such theatrical displays.
Cherez asked me with a serious expression.
“I cannot fathom how anyone could do such a thing in their right mind. Do you truly believe Chloe will fall for such a crude act?”
His tone was dismissive. He was clearly exhausted by her theatricality.
“Do not worry, Cherez. Chloe will certainly fall for it. She will be busy and loud with wedding preparations. The days of her stirring up trouble throughout the Bereidan Household and pestering us will finally come to an end.”

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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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