The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 120

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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 120

Artia always carried the scent of cherry blossoms. So delicate and faint it was almost imperceptible.
Yet Killian von Orpheus responded to that fragrance more keenly than to any other.
Sometimes it intoxicated him so thoroughly that his mind grew hazy and distant.
Killian von Orpheus answered as Artia waited, her eyes alight with curiosity.
“The scent of Artia von Edenberg herself.”
What does that even mean?
Artia’s cheeks puffed out once more.
Naturally, Killian von Orpheus’s second finger prodded at her swollen cheek.
Pop.

* * *

Killian von Orpheus agreed to help Artia with her studies as payment for poking her cheek without permission a second time.
“What sort of man is Derek von Edenberg?”
Artia gathered her memories and answered Killian von Orpheus’s question.
“He is my late father’s younger brother and my second uncle. He’s a coward who always travels with at least four guards, and he’s completely under his wife’s thumb. Despite his timid nature, he has a terrible need to show off, so whenever he has money, he buys luxuries…”
As Artia chattered away, the corners of Killian von Orpheus’s mouth rose slightly.
As though he were watching the most entertaining performance in the world.
Unexpectedly, he proved to be an excellent teacher.
Simply being in his presence sharpened my focus, and information seemed to embed itself effortlessly in my mind.
Thanks to him, after a fortnight, I could recite every detail from the documents without hesitation.
Evangeline wore a satisfied expression.
“Well done. Now use the knowledge in your mind to grow closer to these individuals.”
Evangeline gestured toward three elders of House of Edenberg and several members of its collateral branches.
One mountain conquered only reveals a greater one beyond.
Artia’s expression grew dizzy, but like a diligent student, she voiced no complaints.

A few days later, I visited the home of my second uncle, Derek von Edenberg.
His wife, Moncher, greeted me with her plump figure and warm demeanor.
“Welcome, dear niece~.”
“Thank you for allowing me to visit, Aunt.”
“Oh my, what’s there to thank me for? We’re family~.”
Moncher laughed brightly, openly displaying her newfound affection for me.
‘She was never like this before….’
Moncher had shown me no particular interest in the past. She hadn’t deliberately tormented me, but she hadn’t bothered to look after me either.
That she had changed so drastically must be because….
‘I’ve become an Ethereal.’
To Moncher’s eyes—those of a typical noblewoman with her appetite for luxury and ostentation—I, now an Ethereal, must have appeared quite appetizing indeed.
I felt no resentment toward Moncher’s sudden transformation.
‘If anything, I’m grateful. When desires are so transparent, it makes my work all the easier.’
Seated at the lavishly arranged tea table, I glanced at the empty chair beside Moncher and spoke.
“It seems Uncle Derek is still quite upset with me.”
After Crankk was imprisoned as my kidnapping accomplice, Derek had come to see me.
“No matter what crime he committed, he’s still family, isn’t he? Go to the judge and beg him not to punish my brother!”
To him, who had cried out as though spitting blood, I had asked:
“Uncle, could you do the same if you were in my position?”
“Of course I could. Even if my brother had tried to take my life, I could forgive him. We share the same blood.”
“Yet when our father passed away, you didn’t shed a single tear.”
“That’s because I had barely a thread’s worth of affection for my eldest brother….”
“I’m the same. I have no affection whatsoever for Uncle Crankk. Just as you all have none for me.”
“That’s….”
“You needn’t make excuses. If you had even a shred of care for me, you would have asked first if I was alright. But seeing you speak only of yourself, I realized our relationship truly is more distant than strangers.”
I added in a calm voice.
“To become a true family, we must all make an effort together. Don’t you agree, Uncle?”
Derek’s eyes widened as though struck from behind, and he spoke with a pained voice.
“You’re just as cold-hearted as your father, Benedict. Truly disappointing, Artia.”
Moncher, her plump face scrunched up, let out a derisive snort.
“You went all the way to see your niece just to say something so unfunny? The man who won’t even visit his brother in prison for fear of catching an illness.”
That’s exactly what I wanted to say.
I answered silently to myself while speaking words I didn’t mean.
“Perhaps you’re worried you’d feel even worse seeing Uncle Crankk in person.”
“Our niece truly has a heart as vast as the ocean.”
At Moncher’s praise, I laughed shyly.
“I’m grateful that at least you welcome me, Aunt.”
“Of course! Our family’s reputation hit rock bottom because of Crankk, and thanks to you becoming an Ethereal, we’ve barely managed to recover it. Without you, I would have been too ashamed to show my face in High Society.”
It was exactly as I had read in the documents Evangeline had given me.
Moncher was loud-voiced, greedy, shallow-minded—a simple sort whose thoughts were transparent as glass.
Making someone like this my ally was incredibly simple.
I handed Moncher a white envelope. She gasped dramatically, “Oh my!”
“Could it be…!”
“Yes, it’s an invitation to a gathering I’m hosting at the Edenberke Estate in a few days.”
Since becoming Ethereal, my popularity had skyrocketed. Yet I rarely held gatherings.
In other words, demand was high and supply was scarce.
Consequently, the gatherings held at the Edenberke Estate had become something special to the noblewomen. Attending even once gave them a story they could boast about ten times over.
With a deeply moved expression, Moncher clutched the envelope as I spoke.
“It’s an event where partners are expected to attend. Would you be able to come with your uncle?”
“Of course, we absolutely must go!”
Moncher’s small eyes gleamed with fervent determination. She looked ready to drag her husband there by force if necessary.
I smiled faintly.
‘Uncle Derek is completely under Aunt’s thumb.’
If that were the case, there was no need to make an effort to get closer to someone who made his displeasure so obvious whenever he saw his niece.
Winning over his wife Moncher’s heart was all I needed.

* * *

Now that I’d grown close to my second uncle (?), it was time for my third uncle.
Unlike my second uncle, who had remained cold even when I visited him, my third uncle came to find me of his own accord.
Ian, the youngest of five siblings, still bearing the appearance of youth, shouted eagerly.
“What exactly are you scheming by pestering Aunt Evangeline!”
His voice was so loud it made my ears ache.
I covered my ears with both hands and replied.
“Pestering? I simply came to pay my respects out of admiration for my aunt. She’s a wonderful woman who embodies virtue, intellect, and grace perfectly.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Ian nodded, then suddenly came to his senses and growled.
“Don’t bother my sister anymore. She’s not someone with enough free time to pay attention to a child like you.”
Ian remained insufferable. His contempt for me was painfully obvious.
Rather than point it out, I recalled what I knew about Ian.
‘Obsessed with his sister.’
Ian had lost his mother at birth. In place of their deceased mother, Evangeline had cared for him tenderly.
Raised in his older sister’s hands, his affection for her far exceeded what could be considered normal.
‘It’s not simply that he hates me. He’s jealous.’
A childish, petty fear that his sister’s attention might be stolen away.
That was Ian von Edenberg’s weakness.
“My aunt has told me many things.”
At my words, Ian’s face twisted.
The way I kept calling her “aunt” and acting familiar with Evangeline infuriated him to the point of madness.
To such a person, I whispered as though sharing an enormous secret.
“Aunt relies on Uncle Ian more than anyone else.”
In an instant, Ian’s gaze transformed from that of a temperamental hyena to a docile dog.

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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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