The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 64

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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 064
They were far more sinister and ruthless than ordinary people could ever imagine.
“It might be flowing toward the Temple. It’s strange that Countess Caslit goes on volunteer activities with the Temple Priests.”
Cherez muttered with narrowed eyes.
“People often hide their true nature behind a mask. It’s odd that the High Priest is still fasting in prayer. By now, he should have starved to death.”
Anyone overhearing would have called it sacrilege.
“Tell Borgus to keep an eye on that side as well.”
As they continued their grave conversation, a thud echoed across the Lawn. Hayden had fallen. His foot had twisted while he was chasing a butterfly. Sprawled on the ground with a pitiful expression, he flailed his arms at the empty air.
He was asking to be picked up.
Cherez sprang to his feet before I could, rushing toward Hayden.
Hayden looked up at Cherez.
“You’re all right, Hayden. Just get back up.”
Instead of immediately scooping Hayden into his arms, Cherez waited calmly. Hayden’s lips trembled.
“Whimper!”
The face that had been on the verge of tears instantly calmed. Hayden gripped Cherez’s trousers tightly with his small hands. Grunting with effort, he pushed himself back up.
“That’s right, well done. Hayden, when you fall, you just get back up like that. You can do it.”
Cheered by the encouragement, Hayden searched for the butterfly again, but it had already fluttered far away.
“Mew….”
A disappointed whimper. Deflated, Hayden leaned against Cherez’s leg. Cherez gently stroked the child’s head without a word. The touch was remarkably tender.
If Cherez did not return from the war, Hayden would never experience moments like this again. Hayden might forget. But even if he did, I would remember.
And someday, I would tell Hayden. How much he was loved. I wanted to whisper to him that Cherez loved him dearly.
“Roana.”
Cherez called to me as he walked over, cradling Hayden in his arms.
Hayden, nestled in Cherez’s embrace, still gazed toward where the butterfly had vanished. His lips jutted out.
“Chirp….”
For this child right now, a single butterfly was everything. His world was both narrow and vast. Cherez kissed the child’s forehead and handed him to me.
“Hayden, I’ll draw a butterfly for you. This big. Then you’ll be able to catch it.”
Because a drawing doesn’t move.
“Chirp chirp?”
Hayden, not quite understanding, tilted his head and hugged me tightly. I patted the child’s back. Cherez smiled watching us.
“Chirp chirp chirp chirp?”
I stroked Hayden’s head the way Cherez had. Hoping the child would remember this touch for a long time to come.

* * *
After the spring festival passed, a new celebration drew near.
This time, it was Saint Urenith’s Festival, held by the Temple to welcome spring.
The morning of Saint Urenith’s Festival began with a thick fog, unlike any ordinary day. This day, commemorating the eternal rest of Saint Urenith, was also a day when the entire Southern Region burned like a colossal sacred flame.
The streets were blanketed in gold and white banners, and the fragrance distributed by the Temple permeated the air throughout the thoroughfares.
Despite having received sufficient explanation beforehand, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“Duchess, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Try to relax your tension as much as possible, and some stretching would help.”
Yureain spoke with a worried expression.
The arduous duty assigned to the Duke and Duchess of Bereidan was a baptismal ceremony at the Sacred Pond before the Temple, bestowing blessings upon Bereidan as it faced war. Cherez was waiting for me.
“If you’re ready, let’s go.”
The moment I turned my head at Cherez’s voice, I had to catch my breath.
Today, he wore a priest’s ceremonial robe so blindingly white it hurt to look at. The silver thread embroidery flowing along the collar harmonized with his cool eyes, giving him the appearance of a god of war descending in human form.
This was an entirely different feeling.
Shouldn’t that visual be managed at a national level? I felt myself falling for him all over again.
Cherez extended his hand to me, his eyes warm and tender.
“Take my hand, Roana.”
Taking that hand felt almost sinful. In this moment, Cherez was reverence itself.
We crossed the Temple Square, where thousands of devotees had gathered like clouds, and made our way toward the pond. The cheers of the faithful rolled in like waves, yet Cherez’s expression had grown even more rigid than usual. He was not a man of deep faith. At least, that was what I sensed.
Yet Cherez did not shirk his duties.
He refused to avoid even the tasks he disliked.
“Ugh…”
The water of the pond was far colder than I expected. Though March in the Southern Region was warm, the water drawn from deep beneath the Temple was like ice. As the cold seeping around my ankles made me instinctively shrink back, Cherez standing beside me gripped my hand firmly.
He was steadying me so I wouldn’t slip on the wet, slippery ground. The warmth radiating from his palm awakened my senses, numbed by the frigid water.
“…It’s so cold, Cherez.”
“Just endure it until the ceremony ends. Lift your head and look toward the front of the Temple. If you sing a song in your mind, the time will pass quickly.”
Cherez whispered in a gentle voice.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“…I wonder how my Elder Brother manages to do this every year.”
Cherez muttered softly.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Thanks to that, my tension eased. Following Cherez, I submerged myself completely in the pond.
Our clasped hands beneath the water felt even warmer.

* * *
Once the ceremony concluded, Cassian, the High Priest of the Temple, guided us forward. His expression held a gentle smile, yet his eyes gleamed with a depth and sharpness that seemed to contain the wisdom of millennia.
Though Cassian had maintained a long connection with Cherez, Cherez did not trust him.
As I stood wrapped in a thick towel, breathing heavily, Cherez’s arm encircled my shoulders.
“My lady, it is time for you to pay respects to the Bell of Urenith, the blessing of the Southern Region.”
It was a privilege reserved only for the Duke and Duchess. We walked through corridors where torches flickered and danced. The deeper we ventured, the more the clamor from outside faded away, replaced instead by a heavy silence that seemed to deafen the ears.
Finally, a massive iron door swung open, and the space that revealed itself transcended imagination. In the center of an enormous empty chamber, a colossal golden bell hung suspended in mid-air.
‘The Bell of Urenith.’
The treasure of the Southern Region, said to be imbued with the light of the goddess herself. It vibrated of its own accord, emitting a faint and resonant hum. That sound seemed to reverberate not through the eardrums, but through the very soul.
Cassian knelt with reverence, and Cherez stood beside him, closing his eyes as if in silent prayer.
I pretended to offer a prayer while my eyes darted about frantically. So that’s the sacred relic. It must be at least three meters tall. How on earth could it be destroyed? Was such a thing even possible for humans? I combed through the original narrative, operating under the assumption that the Liansherus Society’s objective was the sacred relic.
An explosion?
But the original text contained no such account. The conclusion had been that it suffered natural corrosion.
Being a sacred relic made it special, but its durability was no different from an ordinary bell.
If I could find the trigger that would cause the bell to shatter, and if I could prevent it from happening…
Perhaps Cherez could return to me alive.

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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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