The Husband I Thought Was Dead Has Returned - Chapter 99

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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 099
My heart pounded so violently it ached. After Cherez died, a future he had never known began to unfold.
The Southern Region after his death—its crumbling authority, the scattered Knight Order, and Hayden becoming a pawn in political strife.
Roana was not there. In the original ending, Roana did not exist.
[How is it? That was the life you had when you first came to me. Back then, you were also struggling to survive.]
The Demon King. Its voice echoed in my mind.
[You were so foolish you lacked even perseverance. Who could have loved someone like you?]
Its voice compressed and scattered repeatedly in my head. Cherez clenched his teeth.
[You knew nothing, did you? You didn’t know the person beside you had changed. You didn’t realize that everything you knew was merely a shell.]
Roana appeared before my eyes. She smiled at me, then wept, then grew angry. Finally, she vanished in succession.
[This human has a place to return to. Her original world. The place that is the source of that woman’s being.]
A landscape I had never seen before appeared. Hard buildings made of stone lined the streets, and incomprehensible things filled the roads. Roana was there among them, walking with a radiant smile.
[That woman’s world.]
The scene changed again. Around a sleeping Roana, I saw people sitting in hollow despair.
[That woman’s family. Her true family. Those who share her blood and her life. Don’t they miss them? Don’t you want to return?]
My heart raced wildly. Things I would not have understood before became clear. My head throbbed as if it would split. And I remembered what Roana had given me.
I thought of Roana, who wanted me to live. She was the one who prayed for my happiness and waited, believing I would return.
[If you die here, that woman can return too. After all, Saint Urenis brought your soul here to save just one person. If you die, this woman returns to her family’s embrace.]
A vision formed of Roana awakening and bursting into tears in her family’s arms.
Cherez clenched his teeth. There seemed to be no room for me to intervene. Every blood vessel in my body felt as though it was expanding. A brief yet eternal moment ended, and the hallucination faded. The Demon Lord stood before me again.
[Give up and die. End your breath here and return freedom to the human you love. You will meet your fate here….]
“Shut your mouth, you blood-soaked bastard.”
Cherez clenched his teeth and spat out the words. Give up? Let Roana go like this? It was impossible.
Roana had given to me, and what she had taught me. I thought I had grown accustomed to giving up.
I believed I had willingly accepted my fate.
But I was wrong.
This feeling alone—this surging emotion—was the truth.
“I can never give up!”
Cherez raised his sword again.

* * *
How much more time had passed?
Light appeared.
It was not light emanating from the Demon Lord. It was a warm, golden radiance—the same kind of light that the sacred relics had once emitted.
Something materialized in the void.
A palm-sized golden chalice filled with clear liquid hung suspended in the air. Cherez reached toward it as though entranced. He knew what it was.
One of the sacred relics. The Cup of God.
Cherez drank the liquid within. It was the divine draught that cleansed the soul, purified the eyes, and banished hunger.
Another sacred relic appeared beside it—a scripture bound in leather with gold leaf embossed upon its cover. The emblem of Saint Urenis gleamed upon the binding.
As I moistened my parched lips, water seemed to seep into my withered frame. The strength that had been draining away between my ribs felt replenished.
The scripture opened of its own accord. The divine words inscribed upon its pages blazed with light, and that radiance enveloped Cherez’s body. It was the blessing of Saint Urenis. Though I had not known it before, I could not help but understand.
[My will shall dwell within your unbreakable resolve.]
My mind grew lucid, and strength surged through my body. It was a power that transcended mortal limits.
[My fervor shall shine within your burning spirit.]
Golden light seeped into the blade. A radiant luminescence that tore through the purple realm.
[My breath shall permeate the heart that yearns for victory.]
My heartbeat thundered in my ears. My gaze fixed forward. The Demon Lord writhed, retreating from the light.
[You shall never be alone.]
I saw the Demon Lord’s opening. I knew what I had to do. Cherez charged toward the Demon Lord.
Space itself screamed. My bones sang out, my teeth chattered violently. My vision flooded white.
[This is not the end.]
Cherez drove the blade deeper.
[Demon exists everywhere.]
The core began to fracture.
[I shall exist within you as well.]
As the blade pierced through the core, light exploded outward. In the brilliance that consumed the entire purple realm, the Demon Lord’s body shattered and scattered like dust. The space began to collapse, and the very ground beneath my feet was vanishing.
The chain around my waist pulled taut. It was the will and hearts of those who desired my survival, drawing me back.
I was pulled into the light.

* * *
At that moment, in Borgus’s Office.
Borgus, Countess Malate, and Linnen had gathered in one place. Countess Malate spoke with a grave expression.
“It appears someone is quietly purchasing the family registries and seals of the Southern Noble Families from the Black Market.”
Borgus furrowed his brow.
“Who on earth could it be? I cannot fathom their purpose. Could it be Countess Caslit?”
Countess Malate, speaking in a measured tone, leaned back against her chair and gazed at the ceiling.
“It seems they intend to manipulate the Council… Even now, there are dozens of votes whose whereabouts remain unknown. Securing merely half of them would grant sufficient influence within the Council.”
Borgus’s words rendered the room silent. A candle flickered.
“It could very well be Count Sirion.”
Countess Malate spoke. She already knew that relations between Countess Sirion and Countess Caslit had fractured. Both had been operating independently for quite some time now.
“They may be maneuvering to establish the legitimacy of the Regent Lord.”
Borgus stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Then Linnen stirred.
[Could it not be Duchess Roana?]
Countess Malate’s eyes widened ever so slightly. The corners of her mouth lifted.
“Duchess Roana, you say.”
It was a name she had longed to hear. If it were Roana, such a thing was entirely possible. She had always been someone who saw into the future and anticipated the next move. Perhaps this was a signal of survival that Roana was sending.
Borgus cleared his throat and spoke.
“However, it remains uncertain.”
Borgus continued.
“It would be prudent to test even a stone bridge before crossing it. We should verify this, as you suggest.”
Countess Malate spoke. Still, the atmosphere in the room had grown considerably warmer than before.
If this were Roana, it meant she was safe and well. Perhaps Hayden, who had grown so much in the time she had not seen him, was at her side as well.
“I do hope it is the Duchess.”
Countess Malate let out a soft laugh. Change was beginning to manifest itself with certainty. The Southern Region pulsed like a creature shedding its chrysalis and emerging into new life.
A sense of anticipation began to stir within her.
Like a sky beginning to glow with the light of dawn, perhaps those she cherished would return after all.

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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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