The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 100

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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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In Search of the Duke’s Husband – Episode 100

“…!”
The women’s eyes widened in unison at my shocking words. In the silence that followed, my voice continued, low and measured.
“That’s why I couldn’t simply stand by and do nothing. I know how agonizing it is to suffer such treatment at the hands of family.”
“So I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. I know how painful it is for family to go through something like that.”
I smiled bitterly, observing the faces of the women before me.
All wore expressions of shock, though several of them trembled with an intensity that spoke volumes.
As if they too understood that pain.
‘This cannot end as merely Frigia’s personal affair.’
I needed countless other women who had endured the same suffering to stand with her, to kindle their own fury. Only then would Frigia find the strength to face her husband.
“My former husband always said this after laying his hands on me—that I deserved the beating for failing as a wife, that everything was my fault. …What do you think?”
I spoke calmly, though inwardly I prayed with desperate fervor.
I prayed that someone would appear to fan the flames I had ignited, to transform them into a conflagration vast enough to overturn this world.
A heavy silence, incongruous among these radiant women, settled over the gathering.
Some hesitated, uncertain how to respond. Others gazed at me with pity.
And then another woman….
“I’ve wondered the same. Was my failure to bear a son truly deserving of my husband’s fists?”
She spoke as though purging herself of long-suppressed anguish.
My pink eyes gleamed with purpose.

The influence of marigolds and dahlias was truly remarkable. Noble women could no longer openly criticize Phrygia.
Marigold and Dahlia’s influence was indeed formidable. The noblewomen could no longer openly condemn Frigia.
Within this shifting atmosphere, several women made shocking declarations.
“My husband has struck me as well.”
Though few women dared broach such a sensitive matter, the ripple effect was staggering.
Women beaten by their husbands, women who had witnessed their mothers’ abuse, women with daughters who had suffered violence.
Countless women wept with fury.
For them, Frigia’s plight was no longer someone else’s tragedy.
“If it is true that Count Elysium beat his wife without cause, he must face appropriate punishment. Only then will he recognize his actions as a crime and exercise restraint—as should all husbands.”
Some even became vocal advocates for Frigia, and naturally, those opposed to her began raising their voices louder.
“A wife’s virtue lies in obedience to her husband and maintaining domestic harmony. Rather than that, she has made her husband a criminal and destroyed their home. It is the Countess Elysium who deserves punishment.”
The conflict spread like wildfire, and its effects reached the noblemen as well.
“How dare anyone undermine the authority of the household!”
The Empire’s power rested in the hands of men. They felt tremendous rage that a mere incident of a wife being beaten had grown to such proportions.
Count Elysium himself was beside himself with fury.
“It is absurd that such a complaint was formally accepted in the first place. Have the complaint withdrawn immediately!”
Count Elysium stormed into the Court and demanded harshly.
The judges were all men as well, and they understood Count Elysium’s sentiment. Yet….
“Once a complaint is filed, it is the Court’s regulation to conduct a thorough investigation and render an appropriate judgment.”
The strict rules of the Court could not be dismantled simply because a few nobles voiced their discontent.
Had it not been for the mask of the dignified and courteous Count Elysium, he would have screamed at the top of his lungs and slapped every man in sight.
Suppressing his surging rage, Count Elysium returned to the Edenberg Mansion and hurled whatever came to hand.
Crash!
Amid the shattering sound of objects breaking, Count Elysium’s face twisted into something sinister as he screamed.
“Just wait. I will not let those who have brought me to this state escape unscathed…!”

Artia trembled.
I shivered, my body trembling involuntarily.
‘A sudden chill. Someone must be cursing me.’
It wasn’t particularly surprising.
As Frigia’s case grew larger, I, who was actively helping her, had become the target of endless abuse.
When Frigia learned of this, she was consumed with guilt, but I simply waved my hand dismissively.
“My reputation hit rock bottom the moment I divorced anyway.”
Besides, I had no time to concern myself with such matters now.
I was devoted to fanning the flames even brighter before the trial date.
Today was no exception.
A tea party in the morning, a gathering in the afternoon, a dinner in the evening.
I traveled to three different venues, recounting how pitiful and terrifying it had been to be assaulted by my husband.
Some of the women who had come around to my perspective confessed they too had suffered such pain, while others made their discomfort plain, unwilling to hear more.
A man who had forced his way into the gathering of women glared at me menacingly.
“It seems the lady finds men quite amusing. Not content with casting out your husband and divorcing him, now you seek to tarnish another man’s honor by claiming he struck his wife?”
I responded in a calm voice to the man radiating such hostile intent he looked ready to throw a punch at any moment.
“I respect all people regardless of gender. I simply believe that criminals who cannot control their emotions and lay hands on others require proper restraint to prevent such behavior in the future. Surely a gentleman as refined as yourself does not condone such shameful conduct?”
“What?!!”
The man’s expression twisted viciously. Had the others not stopped him, he would have struck me.
Lying in bed, I murmured to myself.
“It might have been fine if he had hit me….”
Then the situation would have escalated further, and public opinion supporting Frigia would have grown stronger.
But soon I shook my head.
“Frigia is already wracked with guilt. If I showed up with scars on my face, she would cry like a child.”
I didn’t want that. There was no need for it.
The atmosphere was forming far more quickly and favorably than I had anticipated.
And this momentum stemmed not merely from the Flower Ladies’ influence or the long-suppressed aversion to violence among the nobility’s women.
‘The press is favorable to our side.’
Had the media poured out negative content about Frigia, this current atmosphere would not have formed so easily.
Yet the press, rather than sensationalizing the case, reported only confirmed facts. Moreover, several outlets focused on the violence and took Frigia’s side.
‘Is it because Frigia is a princess of a nation? But her homeland doesn’t possess power that would frighten the Empire’s press. If anyone’s favor they’re currying, it would be more logical to fear Count Elysium, who wields far greater power.’
I reached a conclusion.
“Could someone be helping us?”
I murmured, and that was when it happened.
At the rustling sound, I reflexively turned my head to find a black cat perched on the windowsill.
“Nabi!”
I sprang from bed and greeted Nabi warmly.
Though Nabi’s visits came every few days and I should have grown accustomed to them, I was always as delighted as when Nabi first arrived.
‘Nabi dislikes being touched, so I cannot pet or hold his paws….’
Instead, I gazed at the black cat with eyes full of affection.
At that gaze, the black cat’s heart thundered as if it belonged to someone else, and Nabi wore an expression of supreme indifference, leaving me unaware of his true state as my eyes curved into crescents of delight.
“Your eyes are truly beautiful.”
Those golden irises, as if pure gold had been melted down and poured into them, were beautiful and mysterious.
Staring into those eyes, a man came to mind.
Killian von Orpheus, who possessed golden irises of such high purity that they resembled Nabi’s.
Flashes of Killian as I had seen him over the past few months swept through my mind.
I had noticed the scar on my cheek that I myself had forgotten, and he had given me salve for it.
I remembered that the shy girl I had seen long ago loved carrots.
He had approached a divorced woman alone, danced with me, raged as if it were his own affair when I mentioned being struck by my husband, and whenever our eyes met, he would smile faintly, so subtly that he himself seemed unaware of it.
I found myself murmuring without thinking.

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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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