The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 139

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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 139

Artia studied Luka’s expression before asking her question.
“Is there a particular reason you work as a servant for Madam Tungguel?”
Luka hesitated before responding.
“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I’m asking whether she pays you higher wages than elsewhere, or if you owe her some debt of gratitude, or perhaps she’s coercing you—something like that.”
Luka blinked her violet eyes before answering.
“I don’t receive any wages.”
Artia was taken aback.
She had always understood that Madame Tungguel was generous with money, if nothing else.
“Why don’t you receive wages?”
Seeing Artia’s displeased expression, Luka grew flustered, worried she had done something wrong.
“My mistress spent a considerable sum to purchase my contract from my previous employer.”
Artia’s brow furrowed.
It was true that penalty fees were sometimes paid to acquire workers whose contracts hadn’t expired.
But this situation was entirely different.
“What connection is there between them exchanging money and your mistress not paying you wages?”
At Artia’s question, Luka felt her breath catch inexplicably.
She didn’t fully understand it herself.
After a long pause, Luka answered with difficulty.
“It’s always been that way.”
“What…?”
“Ever since I first began working, the people who took me always paid for me. They said that since they paid so much, I should be grateful and work diligently.”
“…”
Artia found these words utterly incomprehensible.
And therein lay the fundamental difference between Artia and Luka.
The world of the high nobility, revered since birth, and that of Kudran, where one was scorned and despised from the very bottom—they were worlds apart.
Luka cautiously opened her mouth, gauging Artia’s reaction.
“My mistress doesn’t pay wages, but she gives me far more than I deserve. She lets me live in a room where sunlight streams through, has provided me with dozens of fine clothes, and personally ensures I’m fed well.”
Yet Artia could not bring herself to say, “How wonderful—you’re truly being treated exceptionally well.”
Because she understood Madame Tungguel’s intentions all too clearly.
‘She’s simply doting on her like one would a beloved pet.’
At the look in Artia’s eyes, Luka’s spirits sank.
Her large frame seemed to shrink as she clasped her hands together and fidgeted.
She regretted speaking, yet had no idea what else she should say.
After a long silence, Artia finally spoke.
“Luka, quit this job and come live at my house.”
“Pardon?”
“I know it must feel burdensome to hear such a thing from someone you’ve only met twice. But I cannot bear to send you back to Madame Tungguel. Treating people as slaves is simply unconscionable.”
“….”
“I’m not asking you to stay forever. If you’re unhappy, you’re free to leave whenever you wish. You can even return here if you choose. What would you like to do?”
Until now, several noblewomen had invited Luka to their homes.
But none of them had ever asked for his opinion like this.
“I….”
My heart thundered at this unfamiliar question. My mouth went dry.
After a long stretch of time, I finally managed to answer with difficulty.
“I’m not sure.”
Even I thought it was a foolish response.
I bit my lip.
Would she be angry?
Being as gracious as she was, would she simply sigh and look disappointed?
But Artia’s reaction was entirely different from what I expected.
“I understand. Take your time thinking about it, and tell me when you’ve decided. But do your thinking at my side.”
“…?!”
Without pressing further, Artia simply placed me in her carriage and brought me home with her.

* * *

Luka blinked his eyes.
Just hours ago, he had been sprawled flat on the ground, watching Madame Tungguel’s every expression, yet now he found himself in the Ducal House’s mansion.
The room the Maid had shown him was modest in size and immaculately organized.
The Maid returned with a meal.
On the plate sat a warm soup, a round loaf of bread, and roasted meat.
Luka had lost his appetite due to the sudden turn of events.
‘But if I leave the meal they’ve prepared, I’ll be punished.’
Luka’s eyes widened as he reluctantly took a bite of bread.
‘It’s delicious!’
Madame Tungguel had strictly controlled his diet, insisting he not gain weight.
He was permitted only nutritious food with flavor deliberately excluded.
And always the same menu every day.
It had been a long time since he’d tasted food seasoned so perfectly.
In truth, Luka, whose appetite matched his substantial frame, emptied the plate in moments.
Right on cue, the Maid returned with not only water for washing but clean clothes to change into.
The garments were not new, but they were impeccably laundered and neat.
He was grateful they weren’t the excessively ornate clothes he’d worn at Madame Tungguel’s Estate.
Before long, Luka sat at the edge of the bed, his skin now soft and fresh.
As he gazed at the darkening sky, his handsome face grew troubled once more.

Luka’s grandmother, Noma, washed soiled laundry in the basement of the Imperial Shop.
She had always brought her young grandson with her, as he had no one else to care for him.
Luka had been pretty even as a child, but no one working there had noticed.
No one paid attention to a filthy little Kudran child.
But when Luka reached fourteen and entered his second growth spurt, everything changed.
With each passing day, he grew taller and his features became more defined.
The maids working alongside Noma noticed first.
“How is this little brat so handsome?”
They laughed and touched him, some even slapping his buttocks and telling him to grow up quickly and marry them.
Luka could only smile without showing his displeasure.
It was the only response an young Kudran could afford to give.
Then one day, Luka encountered the wife of the Shop Owner.
It was no coincidence.
She had come looking for him after hearing the maids gossip about how handsome he was.
“Lift your face.”
At the woman’s command, Luka slowly raised his head.
The Woman at Gathering’s eyes widened, and her lips curved into a smile.
Like a child who had found the perfect toy.
From that day forward, Luka became a servant attending to the woman.
“For a Kudran, you’ve certainly grown into quite the specimen.”
The woman mocked him even as she wished to keep Luka by her side.
But when her husband returned from his travels and saw Luka and his wife together, he raged like a male beast robbed of his mate.
He brutally beat the still-growing Luka’s body before casting him out.
“Please, please, someone save my grandson!”
Noma gasped for breath as she searched desperately for a Doctor.
While everyone refused to treat a Kudran, one Doctor agreed to care for Luka.
At twice the standard consultation fee.
Noma could not bring herself to protest and brought him to her home.
He was the only one who could save her grandson, who lay suffering from a raging fever.
With the Doctor’s care, Luka recovered, yet Noma’s expression remained dark.
He had been dismissed from the shop where he worked with Luka, and even scraping together every coin fell woefully short of the medical expenses.
Luka grasped his grandmother’s weathered hand.
“Don’t worry, Grandmother. I’ll earn the money.”
Luka left the house.
He wandered everywhere, searching for work.
“Who would hire a Kudran? Get out of here—you’re bad luck!”
Insults were commonplace, and sometimes he was even drenched with water.
Yet Luka did not surrender, and at last he found someone willing to employ him.
A rat-faced man spoke to him.
“You said you could do anything, right?”
“Yes, please give me the work!”
Luka answered with unusual fervor, desperate for the opportunity he had barely secured.
The work assigned to him was to attend to the mistress of that household.
Though his employers changed several times afterward, the nature of his duties remained unchanged.
Women of wealth and power openly desired Luka, assigning him degrading and sordid tasks while laughing with cruel delight.

Returning from the past to the present, Luka murmured in a somber voice.
“Artia is different from other noblewomen. She is virtuous and merciful.”
Yet admiration and trust were entirely separate matters.
Luka believed that since Artia had brought him into her home and treated him with such lavish kindness, she must want something from him.
And he had no intention of refusing whatever she might ask.
That was how he had been raised.
Luka stared at the closed door with hollow eyes.
But contrary to his apprehension, Artia did not appear.

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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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