The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 29

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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 029
The sound of a carriage passing through the main gate reached my ears.
I stood beside Cherez at the mansion’s main gate. Borgus stood one step behind us, and attendants lined both sides in neat formation.
It was the courtesy expected when the master of the Southern Region received a distinguished guest.
The carriage came to a halt.
The black carriage bearing the Hejest Family crest resembled the one I had ridden in before. An attendant opened the door and lowered the steps. A moment later, a woman descended from the carriage.
Deep brown hair streaked with silver-gray was pinned high, and she wore fur draped over a deep violet dress. Her features were sharp and distinct, her skin remarkably smooth for her age.
Yet that beauty held no warmth. It was like cold jewels.
The Duchess of Hejest remained unchanged. The same cold expression as that day when she had forced me into the carriage.
Our eyes met.
In that instant, a chill ran down my spine. I knew this sensation. The remnants of terror this woman had created still lingered in this body. This was Roana’s instinct, embedded in my memories and soul.
I steadied my breath and conducted myself as the mistress of the Southern Region should.
“You must be weary from such a long journey, Mother.”
The word “mother” left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Whether parallel worlds truly existed or not, whether in this life or a previous one, I seemed to have no real connection to family.
The Duchess looked me up and down. That insolent gaze made the blood in my entire body run cold.
In terms of time, it lasted perhaps two seconds. Yet those two seconds felt interminable.
“You look quite comfortable, Roana.”
Her voice was soft. It sounded like a warm greeting a mother would give her daughter. But I understood perfectly the true meaning concealed within those words.
‘You’ve grown plump, Roana. Do you truly intend to manage your marriage looking like that? What man would desire you! Shouldn’t you at least make an effort to fulfill your purpose!’
Her voice echoed sharply in my ears as if she were speaking now.
“Fortunately, I am managing well, Mother.”
I spoke with measured composure.
Cherez positioned himself slightly in front of me. Since that day, an inexplicable bond had formed between us. His broad back, blocking my view, became a source of comfort.
“Thank you for your arduous journey. The guest room has already been prepared.”
“I am grateful, Your Grace. It brings me joy to see my son-in-law. Though it was an unconventional marriage, seeing you both living so well together pleases me greatly.”
The Duchess smiled. It was like watching a paper doll smile.
“I am pleased as well.”
The Duchess replied thus, turning a blade-like gaze toward me.
She hardly looked pleased at all. I couldn’t fathom why she would say such things.
Three attendants descended from the carriage. Two maids and one secretary. The secretary was a man in his fifties with small eyes and thin lips.
Morigan—the Duchess of Hejest’s right hand. A person who existed in Roana’s memories.
Tanya was not among them.
“Tanya has returned to her hometown.”
I flinched. Was she a ghost? How did she know I was thinking of Tanya?
“She failed to fulfill her duties properly, so it was inevitable. You should remember this too, Roana. What becomes of those who fail to perform their role.”
The Duchess’s eyes swept over me like a serpent’s. In that gaze, I discerned the truth: Tanya had not returned to her hometown unharmed.
And now the Duchess was directing her words at me.
“Show me around. I wish to see the garden, Roana. Duke of Bereidan, would it be acceptable if I took my daughter for a stroll through the garden?”
Cherez’s brow furrowed.
His eyes, turning back to me, were filled with concern, but he nodded. Well, it hardly mattered. And besides, I wasn’t truly Roana anyway.
He had some passive income, apparently.
“As much as you’d like. However, there are many eyes in the Southern Region, Duchess of Hejest.”
He meant there would be many watching.
“One misstep and rumors will spread.”
Everything the Duchess did would reach Cherez’s ears.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The others followed Yureain’s guidance toward the Annex Building.
I remained with the Duchess and her two maids. Walking alongside her, I stepped into the garden, which was still cold.
“The garden is well-maintained. Is the Southern Region this verdant even in winter?”
“Yes, it’s milder than the Central or Northern Regions.”
“I see. It suits you well. You were always a child who couldn’t bear the cold.”
She spoke with a smile, but my skin crawled. My inability to withstand cold stemmed from the House of Hejest refusing to provide proper clothing during winter.
Unlike the fur draped across my mother’s shoulders, I had to endure the season in thin autumn garments.
“You were a child without patience.”
It wasn’t a lack of patience—I’d been driven to the brink of death.
“So, what of the child born right after your marriage?”
That’s what she wanted to discuss. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Don’t touch Hayden.
“Yes. He’s a good child.”
“He mustn’t grow up like you.”
The Duchess’s lips curled downward. Within that expression lay the same malice as always. Everything the Duchess of Hejest did carried malice.
“That child.”
Something flickered in the Duchess’s eyes.
“I wish to see him. He’s my grandson, after all.”
A grandson with no blood relation whatsoever.
To this woman, Hayden wasn’t a grandson but merely one of several cards with utility. And what calculations she was making in her mind, no one could know.
“I’ll have him greet you tomorrow. I think it would be best if you rested first today, Mother. You must still be weary from your journey.”
“That’s true. Looking at you makes me even more tired. What have you been doing to become so bloated and pig-like?”
The Duchess let out a sigh.
“And yet you still walk about claiming to be the daughter of Hejest.”
The Duchess fixed me with a savage stare.
“Despite my teachings.”
Her hand gripped my arm.
“Corporal punishment wasn’t enough, it seems. You don’t understand words. I taught you to conduct yourself with refinement, yet you keep forgetting.”
Every hair on my body stood on end. The things I’d endured from the Duchess were stains upon my very soul.
“From today, you’ll fast. Did I send Tanya away so you could end up like this?”
In the past, I might have trembled and nodded. But not anymore.
“Forgive me, Mother. The Southern Region has different standards of beauty. Overly thin women aren’t considered beautiful here.”
“What?”
“To become the beauty you described, I needed to gain more weight. I followed your instructions precisely. I managed myself carefully.”
The Duchess’s piercing gaze seemed ready to bore straight through me.
“It’s a matter of cultural differences.”
It was true that people from the Southern Region tended to be fuller-figured than those from the North. Perhaps it was the milder climate.
In summer, the scorching sun ripened the fruit beautifully, and that might have been the reason.
“…Do you truly believe this place is the entirety of your world?”
She was telling me to think about the future.
“The present is what matters. I think we can prepare for later matters when the time comes.”
The Duchess’s eyes flashed with anger. Yet she could offer me no further retort.
“Perhaps this place simply doesn’t suit Mother. Wouldn’t you like to rest now?”
It was my way of ending this exhausting conversation. Mother ground her teeth audibly.
“…Very well. That would be best.”
For the first time, Mother conceded. For Roana, this was profoundly significant.
It was a signal that I had overcome my fear of her.

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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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