The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 89

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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 089
Deep into summer, Borgus’s hunt had succeeded.
It was the dead of night when Countess Yotlrey came seeking Borgus.
In the western corridor of the Red Moon Palace, before Borgus’s study, a hooded woman paced back and forth. When Borgus opened the door, a familiar face emerged from beneath the hood.
Borgus spoke with a cold smile.
“Do come in.”
Countess Yotlrey removed her hood and stepped into the study. A vivid bruise darkened her left cheek.
“What happened to your face?”
….
Countess Yotlrey did not answer. She staggered forward and sank into a chair. At the sight of her, Borgus’s eyes narrowed.
Countess Yotlrey trembled violently, her gaze darting about, before she suddenly began to speak.
“I know where Count and Countess Bruate are. I know everything.”
Her voice was hoarse. Countess Yotlrey stammered as she confessed things no one had asked.
Borgus leaned back in his chair.
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw them. With my own eyes.”
Countess Yotlrey clenched her fists. Her thin hands trembled visibly.
“I snuck in. I saw Countess Bruarte, but she couldn’t get up. It seemed they had tortured her—trying to extract information about the Duchess’s whereabouts….”
Borgus’s jaw tightened, his face hardening. He was not alone in believing that Roana and Hayden lived.
The Liansherus Society also pursued them because no bodies had been found. It seemed the reason Count and Countess Bruate were imprisoned and kept alive was to extract their knowledge of the Duchess’s location.
Borgus clenched his teeth.
“The Count said something to me, but his voice was barely audible either.”
Countess Yotlrey bowed her head, clasping her trembling hands together.
“I know I’ve done many terrible things. I thought my conscience had been swallowed long ago….”
Countess Yotlrey’s voice grew smaller. Borgus slowly studied her, noting how she compulsively scratched at the back of her hand.
Borgus listened in silence.
“And yesterday….”
Countess Yotlrey touched her bruised cheek.
“Countess Caslit demanded that I transfer ownership of the Beltria Textile Shop to her name. And she said she knew I was aware of Duchess Roana’s location, and ordered me to tell her at once.”
Borgus’s eyes narrowed. As for the Beltria Textile Shop, the Caslit Family had acted as its true masters, but the deed remained in Yotlrey’s name. She was attempting to seize even this last right that Countess Yotlrey possessed.
Countess Yotlrey had completely fallen. And she must have realized it—that the violence could turn toward her, and the precariousness of her position.
“If I transfer the deed, nothing remains for me. And how could I possibly know the Duchess’s location! But….”
Countess Yotlrey touched the bruise on her cheek again.
“Countess Caslit didn’t strike me directly. A maid standing beside her did. I, I am a Countess, and I was struck by a mere maid. Countess Caslit said that someone like me would disappear and no one would notice… that no one would notice.”
Countess Yotlrey had swallowed her conscience to survive. All that remained for her was humiliation and that bruise.
Borgus suppressed a bitter laugh.
Borgus himself bore some responsibility for Countess Yotlrey’s current state.
In fact, it was Borgus who had let slip the rumor that Countess Yotlrey might know Roana and Hayden’s location. He had intended to exploit her bat-like habit of moving from place to place. And she had fallen into the trap beautifully.
Borgus asked in a low voice.
“So what do you want from me?”
“Please, you see my situation now. I’m begging you to help me. I’ll tell you everything I know. I even know the location of Count and Countess Bruate… I’ll tell you absolutely everything!”
Borgus stroked his chin. Could he truly trust Countess Yotlrey? The way she trembled, her tail barely contained, inspired little confidence. Yet it was true that she possessed knowledge of Count and Countess Bruate’s whereabouts.
“So you know where Count and Countess Bruate are located.”
“Y-yes, I can help! I know the way, and I… I can even open the door!”
“They are not at Countess Caslit’s Residence?”
“No, no! They’re somewhere else! In the U-Underground Chamber of the Waiting Hall!”
Borgus smiled coldly. That explained it. When he’d sent people to search Countess Caslit’s Residence, they’d found nothing.
“Cassian didn’t even know who was being held there.”
Countess Yotlrey’s words tumbled out faster.
“That’s why he contacted me in distress, and I went to verify it myself. No one can access the Underground Chamber of the Waiting Hall, but I can! Cassian and I share a secret!”
“A secret? A secret with the High Priest, you say….”
Borgus smiled, his eyes narrowing to slits.
High Priest Cuspis had perished in the explosion. The Saint Urennis Archdiocese had hastily appointed Cassian as High Priest of the Southern Temple, and the appearance of this young High Priest had set the archdiocese astir.
Yet with the Red Moon rising, they could not leave the Southern Temple vacant. Moreover, the Southern Temple itself lay in ruins. It was a measure to soothe the people of the South. One could say that Cassian now held all religious authority in the Southern Region in his hands.
“I confess, I’m curious about this secret myself.”
Countess Yotlrey’s eyes wavered.
“That is… well….”
“Surely I wouldn’t ask such a thing so bluntly. Countess Yotlrey, once Countess Caslit is removed from power, I shall recommend you for the position of Head Maid.”
At those words, Countess Yotlrey’s eyes gleamed.
She had abandoned her hopes of climbing higher through House Hejest. Then should she not seize the finest thing available to her in this very moment?
Everything that Countess Caslit enjoyed as Head Maid. It would be a lie to say she did not covet it. Countess Yotlrey swallowed hard.
“Might we discuss this after we have safely recovered Count and Countess Bruate, madam?”
“Agreed. Yes, I agree!”
Countess Yotlrey nodded. Borgus smiled, his eyes narrowing.

* * *
That night.
Cassian stood before the ruined temple, unseen by anyone.
The temple, reduced to rubble, was stained crimson. Between the debris, a diagonal gap had been torn open—someone had already carved a path through. He twisted his body sideways and squeezed inside.
His breath caught.
The Bell of Saint Urenis was there. The colossal divine bell, its form warped and deformed, was wrapped in a transparent membrane. Light emanating from the bell flooded the entire chamber, and within that radiance, the bell moved as though alive. It was regenerating itself. As if time were flowing backward. The bell stirred with agonizing slowness, yet it stirred nonetheless.
The lantern slipped from his trembling grip and clattered against the stone floor, the metallic sound echoing through the darkness.
“…O God.”
Goosebumps erupted across Cassian’s skin. Something was draining from his body. The sacred relic was drawing power from everything around it.
Wonder alone could not capture what he felt. Cassian finally understood what he had done. His knees buckled, and he sank slowly to the ground.
It would have been better had there been someone to beg forgiveness from. It would have been easier had he faced punishment. But God did not punish Cassian.
Cassian pressed his forehead to the floor.
“Saint Urenis.”
His voice cracked as he confessed his sin.
“Forgive this sinner.”

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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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