The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 50

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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 050
“Duchess, perhaps some warm tea….”
Dorote spoke carefully, but Petunia didn’t even lift her head. Since leaving the Southern Region, she hadn’t taken even a single sip of water.
Though Dorote fretted with concern, Petunia sat motionless as if stripped of all emotion, utterly indifferent.
The Hejest Duke’s Mansion came into view. The massive stone structure, built atop a sheer cliff, loomed like an enormous tomb.
Petunia descended from the carriage in silence. Only the sharp echo of her footsteps rang through the desolate marble corridor.
“His Grace is in the library, madam.”
The Butler greeted Petunia.
Petunia headed directly to the library. The space where the Duke remained was filled with an eerie stillness.
Cassian Hejest was a man who existed as if permanently taxidermied in his place. He pathologically despised any disruption to his daily routine, even by a second. Reading documents at appointed hours, hunting at set times, and spending his evenings seated before the fireplace with strong wine—that was the entirety of the life he knew.
Despite being in his late fifties, Cassian Hejest maintained an imposing frame. His once-refined features had been dulled and hardened by the ravages of time.
His obsession with Bereidan stemmed from a single source. His father had loved a woman who became the mistress of the Southern Region for her entire life. At the end of that twisted infatuation, Cassian’s mother had taken her own life. For Cassian, Bereidan was the symbol of his revenge against his own misfortune.
“You’ve returned.”
Without lifting his gaze from the documents, the Duke spoke his first words. There was not a trace of warmth befitting a reunion after months apart. The relationship between these two, forged from cold contracts, was precisely as frigid as this.
Petunia spoke in a chilling voice.
“Roana betrayed us. She’s completely sided with Bereidan. We tried to catch a runaway dog, but Morigan was captured instead.”
“….”
Only then did the Duke set down his pen and lift his head. A cold fury settled in his previously vacant eyes.
“You couldn’t even properly control a single daughter, and now you’ve made a complete mess of things. What exactly do you do, Petunia?”
The criticism struck like an arrow. Through twenty-eight years of marriage, she had learned painfully that arguing with this man was more futile than shouting at a wall. Excuses would not work.
“Don’t worry. Bereidan will surely fall into our hands.”
“How? You still haven’t managed to kill that one man. And now that young thing has appeared as well. With Roana’s betrayal, how do you propose to kill him?”
“Did you think my only card was that girl? Your greed to turn the Southern Region into a sea of fire and seize it—I will make it happen. I have my reasons now.”
Petunia’s lips twisted into a strange smile. A seed that neither Roana nor Cherez knew of had already finished its preparations to germinate beneath the damp soil of the Southern Region.

* * *
Back in her chamber, Petunia dismissed all the maids except Dorote. Her weary body seemed to sink even deeper. The candlelight in the room flickered, casting her shadow long and distorted.
Buried in the sofa, Petunia stared down at the box on her lap. Then she rose and pushed it deep into a drawer.
Click.
The sound of a heavy lock engaging echoed. It was nearly a ritual of forcibly confining emotions threatening to burst forth.
“Duchess….”
“You go as well, Dorote. Starting tomorrow, bring light soup in the morning.”
Dorote’s expression softened, and after bowing her head, she left the chamber.
Petunia withdrew her hand from the drawer and straightened her posture, drawing in a deep breath and exhaling slowly.
‘I won’t break, Morigan.’
Petunia clenched her teeth.
‘You won’t give up either. You will surely return to me.’
Petunia’s sharp nails dug into her palm.
An unbroken, vivid blue resolve gleamed coldly beneath the night sky of the North.

* * *
Early in the morning, before the mist outside the window had even lifted, Yureain knocked on the bedroom door. The letter in her hand became a signal flare that shattered the morning’s tranquility.
“Madam, the Count and Countess Bruate—Linnen’s parents—have departed the North and set out for the Southern Region.”
Yureain’s voice was low but crystalline.
Yureain had changed since that conversation in the forest. She had become more cautious, sharper somehow.
She overlooked not even the smallest detail of information.
The formal relocation petition had already been filed, and Cherez had approved it with unusual speed. The phrase “relocating nobility” rose in my mind like acrid smoke.
The Harmony Society was swelling its ranks within the Southern High Society.
It exploited the void in those who could not take root in unfamiliar soil, consolidating power through their desperation.
The moment Linnen’s parents set foot on Southern soil, Countess Caslit would certainly make her move.
“Is there a possibility that Linnen’s parents could fall prey to Countess Caslit’s recruitment?”
I had to account for even the smallest possibility of betrayal. They held the rank of count as Northern nobility. If House of Hejest offered them what they desired, what guarantee was there that they would not betray their daughter?
At my question, Yureain fell into deep contemplation. She was the one who watched over Linnen most closely. What mattered was Linnen’s will.
“I don’t believe that will happen. Linnen’s resolve is firmer than one might think. The child harbors a hatred for House of Hejest—the one who stole her voice—that runs bone-deep.”
I nodded at Yureain’s conviction. A parent’s thirst for vengeance against the house that devastated their child and those behind it becomes a blade sharper than anything in this world. If so, I would be the one to wield that blade.
“Then what if we were to recruit the Bruate Couple first? When Countess Caslit approaches them, rather than refuse, we have them accept willingly. We need an insider within the Harmony Society to be our eyes and ears. Right now, they hide behind the shield of benevolent influence and charitable works. Even Cherez struggles to extract the truth concealed behind that shield. But if the Bruate Couple were to move for us?”
“Deceiving Countess Caslit will not be easy. Still, I believe it is worth attempting. Though we should also hear what the Bruate Couple has to say.”
The truth of the Harmony Society is like wreckage sunken deep in a swamp. From the surface, only still lotus flowers are visible; no one knows what corpses rot at the bottom.
If the Bruate Couple were to help, we could excavate through that mud.
“I shall proceed as you suggest, Madam. Through Linnen, obtaining her parents’ cooperation should not be difficult.”
A new piece was about to be placed on the vast chessboard of the Southern High Society.
Sigh, I hadn’t originally intended to involve myself this deeply. I scratched my cheek with my finger.
But now that I had resolved to intervene in Hayden’s fate, I would do my utmost to make him happy.
“Then let’s meet with Linnen first. Arrange a gathering for us, Yureain. Prepare plenty of the refreshments Linnen enjoys.”
“Yes, Madam.”

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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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