The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 60

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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 060
When we reached the end of the path, I saw people setting lanterns afloat on the River. Cherez bought a lantern and handed one to me.
“You said you wanted to set a lantern afloat.”
“That’s right.”
They say you imbue these with wishes here. It seems such romance transcends all worlds.
I wrote my wish on the paper with the provided brush pen, and there was so much I desired that the paper nearly ran out. As I fastened the densely filled paper inside the lantern, Cherez had already finished preparing his and waited for me. His lantern bore only a brief inscription.
“May I ask what you wrote?”
A safe return? Or victory? Or perhaps something about Hayden?
“Roana, I wrote that I hope every day of yours becomes a Festival.”
Cherez spoke matter-of-factly, as though unaware of the weight his words carried. A spring breeze swept past us. The chirping of grass insects and the murmur of people seemed to fade into silence.
A flutter. Fireflies glowing with ember-light soared brilliantly into the air—or perhaps it was merely a vision I beheld. Every day of mine becoming a Festival?
How could that possibly be Cherez’s wish?
“Why… why would that be your wish?”
“My wish seems to already be the one you made.”
Cherez gestured toward my lantern with his chin.
“But among all those wishes, there doesn’t seem to be one for you.”
I bit my lip firmly. I had prayed for Cherez’s safe return—prayed all the more desperately because I knew it would never come to pass. And I had prayed for Hayden’s happiness, knowing that fate would drag him into the depths of misery.
I had written wishes for Yureain’s happiness, Linnen’s recovery, and the Southern Region’s victory. I had poured in everything I dared hope for. I wanted no malice in this lantern brimming with beautiful intentions, so I had written no curses against anyone. I had thought it was all for myself.
But it wasn’t.
“It’s still alright.”
I spoke with a voice thick with emotion.
Because there was someone who had wished for me alone.
“Thank you, Cherez.”
Cherez laughed brightly. The spring breeze tousled his hair. He was truly a captivating man—so much so that it pained me to let him go.
After the Festival ended, late into the night as we left the Plaza, Cherez stopped.
“Wait.”
He turned down a side street into the Night Market Alley. Stalls lined the way, selling miscellaneous goods, ornaments, and talismans. It was the hour when most vendors were closing up, but at one stall still lingering open, Cherez paused. Bracelets with small beads strung on leather cords hung displayed. They were the sort one could purchase for mere coins.
Cherez picked one up—one adorned with a blue bead, the finest-looking among them.
He examined the bracelet. Three beads on a leather cord. It was a humble thing. Did it please me?
As I tilted my head uncertainly, Cherez paid for it.
“Cherez?”
He turned to me and lifted my wrist—the very one still wrapped in bandages. I had bound it only to protect the strained ligaments, and the pain had long since faded.
Cherez fastened the bracelet over the bandage. I watched in a daze as his large hands clumsily tied the delicate knot. He tied it twice, undid it, and tried again. On the third attempt, satisfied with the result, he gazed at it with quiet pride.
“There. They call it a lover’s charm bracelet for safe passage—something sold only at the spring Festival. I wish for your safe passage.”
“But it’s you who’s going to war.”
At my thick-voiced question, Cherez chuckled softly. He brushed his hair back and spoke.
“You’ll be waging your own war here. I hope that even in the moments I’m absent, the things I leave behind can protect you.”
Ah, truly.
Why are you doing this to me?
My eyes grew red. Then, with fierce determination, I walked back to the stall that hadn’t yet fully closed and purchased one identical to mine. The Merchant smiled as though he had expected nothing less.
“Bracelets for lovers—each pair must have its match.”
With that, I fastened a bracelet around Cherez’s wrist as well.
“Then I’ll wish for Cherez’s safe return too. I hope you come back safely—truly safely.”
I wanted to do something, anything. Cherez let out a soft laugh and nodded.
“I’ll do my best. I won’t disappoint you.”
I wish that were true.
My strength was far too fragile to alter the course of destiny. Before such a vast current, I remained nothing more than a small human.
Lanterns rose gently behind Cherez’s back.
Hundreds of lanterns along the Riverbank ascended into the sky simultaneously—the very ones we had set adrift on the water moments before. They had finally reached the River Estuary.
I recalled hearing that people waiting at the Estuary would gather the lanterns and send them skyward. It was a magnificent sight.
It was as though stars had descended from the heavens to earth. The lanterns’ glow reflected off the water, illuminating both sky and surface at once. The boundary dissolved. There was no telling where the sky ended and the water began.
Without thinking, I lowered my gaze and looked at Cherez again.
Cherez gazed upward at the sky. The lanterns’ light was captured in his eyes—warm radiance dwelling within those cool, blue depths.
Our eyes met.
My eyes began to glisten with tears.
Perhaps it was because I knew this moment was finite. Would there ever be another night like this, watching lanterns rise into the sky with Cherez? Likely not.
This man will die.

* * *
The Carriage departed.
Even from the Carriage traveling along the Riverbank away from the Festival, the lanterns remained visible.
Cherez rested his chin on his hand, his gaze fixed upon me. An air of freedom emanated from him.
This was how he must have been before he became the Duke.
Cherez spoke.
“Why do you keep looking at me that way?”
“What way?”
“With wet eyes. As though you’re about to cry.”
I fell silent.
This man may be clumsy at expressing emotion, but he is sharp at reading it. He is someone who has read the intentions of enemies on the Battlefield. He must have known long ago what I was hiding. He simply chose not to ask.
I could not speak the truth.
“…I just wish you were in good health. I hope you remain healthy for a very long time.”
“Do I appear so frail to you?”
Cherez studied me for a long moment. I could hear the sound of water lapping against the banks. The lanterns rose higher into the sky, becoming small as stars.
They would burn like that until they consumed themselves entirely, disappearing after burning away completely.
Carrying our wishes with them.
The distance between us had grown closer than when we had set out to enjoy the Festival.
Yet it did not feel uncomfortable.
The Festival’s light was receding beyond the window.
Cherez’s hand rested beside me.
A large, strong hand accustomed to wielding a sword. That hand had lit my lantern earlier. And it had fastened the bracelet around my wrist.
I wanted to hold his hand.
My fingers twitched involuntarily. And at the same time, I felt a resistance rise within me.
I didn’t want to hold it. Once I did, I feared I would never want to let go. Did Cherez know about this turmoil in my heart?
As I tried to pull my hand away, Cherez covered the back of my hand with his own.
My eyes widened as I stared at him.
“I hope you’ll be happy. I want that now too.”
At those words, my chest tightened.
My heart sank.
I would remember this moment. There would come a time later when I needed this memory. It would sustain me.
In the end, I held him—in my memories.

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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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