The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 73

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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 073
At that very moment.
Countess Yotlrey firmly believed that the Yotlrey Family had begun to sink gradually ever since her husband’s death.
‘If God existed, my life would never have come to this.’
For that reason, not a trace of piety dwelt in Countess Yotlrey’s eyes as she gazed upon the Temple.
Since it was already late into the night, the Temple grounds bathed in crimson moonlight were devoid of any presence—save for the solitary figure standing before the Back Door.
Cassian.
Draped in a tattered coat, his face had hollowed considerably over the past few months. Countess Yotlrey lifted her chin slightly.
The visage of her distant cousin, whom she hadn’t seen in ages, was darkening as though charred.
Of course it was. How could he possibly sleep?
“Let us go inside, Cassian.”
Cassian opened the Back Door without a word. The two entered the Confession Booth nearest to the entrance.
The chamber where the faithful confessed their sins to the Priest was cramped. Two chairs, a single candle, and a latticed partition—that was all. And it was a sealed room where no one from outside could pry. After all, the Confession Booth itself was meant to be a place of secrecy.
“How is Rita?”
Cassian’s fingers, resting upon his lap, trembled.
“…She is deteriorating.”
“What of the medicine costs?”
“Three months’ worth remains unpaid.”
His voice was thin as thread.
Cassian’s salary as High Priest was hardly meager. Yet the medicine for her rare affliction could only be procured from the North. Thus, acquiring the medicine alone consumed three times his annual wages.
Countess Yotlrey had extended funds to Cassian not out of benevolence, but because she understood the necessity of the Temple, despite her disbelief in God.
The Temple had played no small role in allowing Countess Yotlrey to maintain her influence within High Society.
Most people, after all, held Saint Urenis as their faith from birth.
Thanks to Cassian, she had gained access to nearly every event the Temple hosted, and the Noblewomen were enthralled by such exclusivity.
Favors accrued ever-mounting interest. That interest had now brought her to this place.
“I came to speak of Cuspis.”
Cassian’s shoulders stiffened.
Countess Yotlrey crossed her legs. Cassian’s lips quivered. Countess Yotlrey smiled coldly as she spoke.
“You know better than anyone that the High Priest is not in the Prayer Room.”
Silence filled the Confession Booth. Only the sound of the candle’s wick burning consumed the space between them.
Cuspis and Cassian pursued different ends. Cassian believed the Temple must also function as a body of interests.
There was no law stating that clergy must only serve. Thus, he had advocated for opening the Confession Booth and Prayer Hall, collecting donations from the faithful—while Cuspis insisted that donations alone were sufficient. He had refused to open the Temple.
Immediately after, Cuspis vanished.
And then Cuspis disappeared.
“How much longer do you think you can deceive people with such lies? Besides, the crimson moon hangs so vividly. Surely the people will wish to hear the High Priest’s prayers.”
Cassian’s hand covered his face. Between his fingers, skin drained of all color was visible.
“I was the one who disposed of Cuspis’s corpse, Cassian.”
Cassian’s shoulders heaved. He was weeping silently.
“We agreed the High Priest would be reported as having fallen to a demon while on the Battlefield during prayer.”
“My mind has changed.”
Cassian lifted his head. His bloodshot eyes fixed upon Countess Yotlrey.
“It’s not just your neck that flies. Rita ends too. You understand?”
Cassian’s fists clenched. Veins rose across the back of his hands.
“Rita is innocent.”
“I know. But God always leaves a hole through which salvation can emerge.”
Countess Yotlrey leaned forward. Her eyes gleamed with madness.
“Open the temple doors. Then I’ll clean up every problem for you. You simply close your eyes and pretend you see nothing of what happens inside the temple. Dispose of the eyes that do see. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Cassian opened his mouth. His voice emerged crushed and low. In the confession booth, he was planning a sin.
“Is that… all?”
“That’s all. Not difficult, is it?”
Cassian’s mouth closed. He had already crossed the line. He had come to a place from which there was no return. What difference would it make to go a little further?
“…I understand.”
All warmth had drained from Cassian’s voice. It sounded like the voice of a dead man.
“Tomorrow at midnight. Open the temple passages for two hours at midnight and clear out the people.”
“…May I ask what you intend to do?”
Countess Yotlrey’s eyes narrowed as she smiled.
“Sacrilege? I’ll give you a hint, Cassian. The day after tomorrow, make yourself scarce. Flee far, far from the temple. If you wish to preserve your life.”
Countess Yotlrey rose from her seat.
“Don’t worry about Rita.”
No answer came in return, but Countess Yotlrey opened the door without hesitation and departed. In the temple corridor, the faint resonance of sacred relics drifted through the air. As though that sound itself condemned Countess Yotlrey.
Yet even that could not stop her.
She would do anything if it meant climbing higher. Conscience was a luxury only the satiated could afford.
‘I merely wish to secure my own bowl. Surely God understands that much.’
A sinister crimson moon followed in the wake of Countess Yotlrey.

* * *
Linnen arrived late in the afternoon.
Her face was heavy with worry. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and her eyes were bloodshot. It was clear she was struggling to hold back tears.
“Linnen? Is something wrong?”
Linnen withdrew a folded letter from her bosom. A letter, most likely from Count and Countess Bruate.
And I suspected the answer to why Linnen’s face looked so grim lay within these pages.
Surely nothing terrible had happened.
[Duchess. Countess Caslit is sharing critical information only with a select few. We are not among them, so we could gather no further intelligence about the attack. The situation makes even approaching the matter difficult. Still, it appears the date of execution has not changed.]
My eyes moved to the next line.
[We are under suspicion.]
My gaze halted at that sentence before moving slowly onward.
The Bruate couple had become endangered.
Countess Caslit was someone capable of taking a life.
Even though Count and Countess Bruate had known the danger from the start and thrown themselves into it regardless, my heart sank now that matters had come to this.
Linnen was watching me. Her eyes were full of anxiety. For this girl, her world was her parents. Losing them would be like losing everything.
I bit my lip hard and continued reading the letter.
[Beyond the surveillance placed upon us, Countess Caslit has issued me an order. This is likely to be my final letter.]
The sentence below. The moment I saw it, my breath caught sharply. Count and Countess Bruate did not stop there.
[And so she demands I prove my loyalty. Duchess, we knew from the beginning that we were throwing ourselves into danger. We intend to move for your sake. We are concerned for you. Please take care of yourself.]
It seemed Count and Countess Bruate intended to see this through to the end. To act for me. They appeared to have some plan to protect me at any cost.
“Linnen.”
Linnen, who had been holding her breath, flinched.
“Can you tell your parents to do as Countess Caslit commands?”
Linnen’s eyes widened. She must have read the letter’s contents as well.
“But there’s something else I need you to convey alongside it.”
To avoid any confusion, I wrote out what needed to be said and handed it to her.
Linnen nodded. But her expression remained tense.
Linnen picked up a pen and wrote with trembling hands.
[Will Father be all right?]
“…He will be fine.”
[…And you, Duchess?]
“I will be fine. And I will be fine in the future as well.”
At my words, offered with a faint smile, Linnen finally nodded.
“I’ll go now.”
After Linnen hesitated briefly and left the room, I could finally release the tension from my body. I let out a long sigh.
I had done the right thing, hadn’t I?
I blinked slowly, turning over what I had told Linnen in my mind. Perhaps it was for the best.
The problem came next. After I departed.
I needed to meet with Borgus.

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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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