The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 5

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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 005
Even after such an incident, the Nanny was not dismissed. It had already been three days.
Moreover, she seemed to face no punishment whatsoever, as her attitude remained unchanged. Where was Hayden at night, and what was he doing?
I had once ventured out at night, unable to bear the baby’s cries, only to be driven away by the Nanny. What had she said?
“Young Master’s upbringing is my responsibility! Don’t you realize you’re overstepping? Should I mention this to the Duke?”
Overstepping—what nonsense. I was the Duchess. But when she threatened to tell Cherez, I had no choice but to retreat.
The fact that she hadn’t been dismissed yet suggested she had earned the trust of the Bereidan Household, and if I made a wrong move, I could end up being the only one to suffer.
Where else could I possibly go? Absolutely not.
I could tell just by watching how Tanya, one of the maids, treated me.
They say even dogs aren’t touched while eating. The memory of having my bowl snatched away by Tanya remained vivid. I could never return to the House Hejest.
In any case, there seemed to be nothing I could do here. Even if I wanted to, it felt like I shouldn’t.
I felt sorry for Hayden, but what could I do? I had no power, Ttolmang.
It was when I entered the Dining Hall for lunch that day.
Cherez was absent from the Dining Hall; only the Nanny and Hayden, seated in a high chair, were present.
The Nanny glanced at me when she noticed my arrival.
“Good day, Duchess. As you can see, I’m currently caring for Young Master Hayden. Please forgive my rudeness.”
My tongue practically wagged at the sight of the lavishly prepared meal. Maybe I should become a nanny too. If that’s the treatment one receives, it might be worth doing.
I took my seat, thinking that if I were to leave the Bereidan Household, living as a nanny wouldn’t be so bad.
The maids quickly prepared my place setting and meal.
But then I saw what she was feeding Hayden.
“…Are you seriously feeding that to Hayden right now?”
There had to be limits to my patience! The words burst from my lips before I could stop them.
The Nanny glared at me with a venomous gaze. It was truly a thin, watery soup with nothing in it. Out of curiosity, I tasted it—it was flour soup with only sugar added.
I was so appalled that I looked at Hayden, and he broke into a radiant smile, revealing his four little teeth.
“Mama! Mya! Kyaa! Mama mama!”
Seeing that pure, innocent joy made my temper flare up uncontrollably.
“I’m telling you again, you’re overstepping! This is how he’s supposed to eat! You don’t know anything about it! He’s just going to spill it everywhere and smear it all over his face anyway, so this is the appropriate amount!”
“What are you talking about! All children that age eat like this and grow up fine! At an age when he needs proper nutrition! Do you really think flour soup makes sense? And why is it so sweet!”
I shouted back, refusing to back down.
I was too human a person to turn a blind eye to what looked like child abuse.
Was this woman actually insane?
How could she feed a child something like that?
But when I caught sight of the lavish meal the Nanny was consuming, my head felt like it might explode.
“You put something like that in a child’s mouth while eating that yourself?!”
“W-what did you just say? If you think there’s a problem with my methods of care, file a formal complaint!”
What was I going to do about this woman? I gritted my teeth and glared at the smug Nanny.
The Nanny lifted her chin and looked down at me, then turned her head away sharply. Seeing her still-luxurious clothing made my head spin with dizziness.
Author, is this really right?
I had never intended to interfere with the original story, nor did I want to meddle in Bereidan’s affairs. I was already overwhelmed just trying to manage my own life—what was I meddling for?
“Mama! Ma! Ma! Kyaaa! Oma! Mama mama!”
Still, Ttolmang deserved better care than this. Even if he wasn’t the male lead of this world. He was just a baby!
Thinking of Ttolmang kindled a fierce courage within me. Beneath it all, I suspected, lay a seething anger at this absurd situation.
“If you keep overstepping like this, I’m done. I’ll tell the Duke! The Duchess can care for the young master herself!”
I clenched my teeth.
This damned household. These damned people.
No matter how I looked at it, that woman was clearly one of the thorns in Hayden’s path.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
Lord, I’m sending one soul to you today.
Just as I was about to speak, fueled by this surging courage and rage—
“…Do you mean that?”
Cherez appeared.
Watching the Nanny’s face brighten, I forced down the courage that had been rising within me.
If you’re cast out, you have nowhere to go, you fool.
Restrain yourself.
I’m sorry, Hayden. I’ll look after you in secret from now on.
“Your Grace…! Please hear my grievance…!”
“I asked if you meant what you just said.”
“Pardon?”
“How grateful I am that you’re leaving of your own accord.”
The situation was unfolding differently than I’d anticipated. I clamped my mouth shut like a clam and observed carefully.
Cherez continued, his gaze cold as ice upon the Nanny.
“I hope never to see you in Bereidan again. As for this matter, I intend to lodge a formal complaint with the family that recommended you to the Bereidan Duchy, so you should look forward to that.”
So he’d been listening to our entire conversation.
“I need to understand why a woman with virtually no qualifications was hired as a nanny in my household.”
“Y-Your Grace…!”
“Leave behind everything you’ve gained and received here. Otherwise, your next destination will be prison.”
As Cherez’s words fell, the Nanny collapsed to the floor.
Watching her pitiful state, I secretly exhaled with relief.
Phew. I’m not being cast out.
Hayden, whose eyes met mine, broke into a radiant smile. Those four tiny teeth gleaming white were impossibly adorable.
“Mwah! Mwah!”
It seemed to Hayden that I was nothing but food.

* * *
Diane burst into tears, clutching her bag as the Head Maid—Yureain, who had always treated her with kindness—regarded her with a cold, dismissive gaze.
“If you cast me out, who will care for the young master, Yureain? Please, don’t do this! This is all because that witch of a Duchess has blinded the Duke to the truth!”
Diane clung desperately to Yureain’s legs. She had no chance to reach for Cherez.
“Just hear me out once, ma’am! This is so unfair!”
“Is it truly unfair?”
“Yes! If the Southern Nobility learned that their leader was swayed by the words of that Hejest woman and cast me aside like this, what would they think?”
Diane thrashed about as she shouted—a thinly veiled threat. She intended to spread word throughout the South that their leader had fallen under the spell of a Hejest witch and was oppressing the Southern Nobility.
But Yureain silenced her with a single statement.
“They won’t lend their ears to the words of a woman with a history of fraud, will they?”
Yureain spoke coldly. She hailed from the Nellis Family, a vassal house of Bereidan.
Having begun her service in the Bereidan Duchy from her formative years and risen to the position of Head Maid, Yureain was deeply involved in the comprehensive management of the household.
This meant she possessed Cherez’s complete trust.
The moment Cherez’s investigation into Diane’s background was complete, I summoned both Yureain and the steward, sharing all that had transpired.
I also had those who had previously investigated Diane looked into themselves. They were clearly complicit in this affair.
‘It seems we were serving a princess, not a nanny.’
Along with scathing commentary, the documents I revealed laid bare every expenditure Diane had made. The budgets she claimed were for Hayden’s necessities had been entirely squandered on her own indulgences—dresses, shoes, jewels, skincare treatments.
‘Even the most extravagant noblewomen don’t purchase luxuries to such an extent. Gossip had spread among the ladies of the court—they whispered that the nanny must be either the daughter of some extraordinarily wealthy magnate or perhaps the Duke’s mistress.’
It was a scandal beyond comprehension. The shame of having remained ignorant of it all this time burned my face.
And who else had been bought off to cloud my vision and that of my retainers? It was utterly infuriating.
Once I grasped the root, countless threads unraveled like tangled vines.

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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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