The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 168

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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 168

Since the age of Orpheus, the magical power of sorcerers has gradually waned.
By the present day, what passes for magic is nothing more than trivial parlor tricks.
‘But if it’s Charlotte, she might know a way to heal my brother’s body.’
Young Killian von Orpheus began searching for Charlotte using all the power I possessed.
At first, I even questioned whether she was truly alive.
But as time passed, I grew increasingly certain.
Though exceedingly rare, traces that appeared to be her were discovered throughout the Empire.
Yet that was all.
The Rat Network reported back.
“Whenever we find even a single clue and pursue it, she has already vanished without a trace. It’s as if we’re playing a game of hide-and-seek with a temperamental child.”
This happened countless times.
Had the Rat Network not been absolutely obedient to their master’s commands, I would have given up long ago.
Then, recently, something remarkable occurred.
The Rat Network, having visited the house where Charlotte was presumed to be staying, discovered a single note.

⌜ Chasing after me for over a decade—you must really want to see me.
Your persistence is admirable, so I’ll meet with you once. ⌟

I had no time to concern myself with the arrogant tone.
I was simply overjoyed at the fact that I would finally meet her.
But then….
“That was all there was.”
The note contained no location or time.
Artia, who had been listening with interest, asked a question.
“Since she’s a sorceress who knows the answer to everything, wouldn’t she know that the one seeking her is Your Majesty and come to the Imperial Palace?”
“I also think that’s the most likely possibility, so I’ve already made preparations in case a sorceress visits the Imperial Palace.”
In Killian von Orpheus’s eyes as he spoke, there lay an impatience that belied his words.
Noticing this, Artia clasped his hand.
“A sorceress who hasn’t revealed herself for centuries wouldn’t have left such a note unless she intended to show herself soon. Let’s wait calmly.”
And a few days later, something remarkable happened.

* * *

Bibi spoke to Artia, who sat in the Edenberg Company Office.
“You have a visitor, my lady. An unscheduled guest—the guards were about to turn them away, but they asked me to deliver this note.”

⌜ Didn’t your lover tell you?
That you’d be meeting me soon. ⌟

“…!”
Artia bolted upright from her chair.
“Bring them to my office at once.”
My heart hammered against my ribs—I hadn’t anticipated this at all.
‘Why would they seek me out instead of the Emperor?’
And they’d referred to Killian von Orpheus as my lover.
Only a handful of people knew about our relationship.
The reality of being ‘the sorceress who knows the answers to everything in this world’ suddenly felt very real.
I swallowed hard, imagining what Charlotte might look like.
‘After living for 500 years, would she be an elderly woman with silver hair?’
Or perhaps a witch from a fairy tale, with a sinister appearance?
When the door opened moments later, the woman who appeared was nothing like I’d imagined.
Short hair curled inward at the ends, large round spectacles, a petite frame.
A girl-like woman smiled brightly and waved her hand.
“Hello, Artia!”
Despite my shock at the casual greeting—as if we were old friends—I responded smoothly.
“Welcome, Charlotte.”
Charlotte laughed melodiously.
“How cute. Your face is fine, but your personality is nothing like Killian’s—his is absolutely terrible.”
The way she spoke suggested she knew Killian von Orpheus well, and my eyes widened.
“Do you have a close relationship with His Majesty?”
“Not at all. But he’s famous for having such a terrible personality that he’s called the Mad Emperor. He even followed me around like a puppy begging for treats.”
Charlotte sipped her tea and continued.
“I thought he’d get tired of it in a few years and stop, but he’s been chasing after me for over a decade.”
“So you’ve decided to meet with His Majesty because of that?”
“Half of that, and the other half is because I want something.”
Charlotte lifted her gaze and met my eyes.
Behind her round spectacles, her eyes seemed both innocent like a young girl’s and as deep as those of someone who’d lived through all of time.
Charlotte spoke to me, struck by what I could only describe as an enigmatic gaze.
“That’s why I came here. What I want, you can provide more effectively than Killian.”
I gripped the fabric of my skirt.
I had no idea what it could be, but I was prepared to give it unconditionally.
If only Charlotte would tell me how to heal Arsen.
“Here’s the thing….”
The door burst open with a sharp bang.
Despite Bibi standing guard at the entrance, the intruder who strode into the chamber was Killian von Orpheus.
He walked with tremendous speed, positioning himself before Artia, and emanated a menacing aura.
“Why have you come here, Sorceress?”
Charlotte’s lips curved upward with amusement.
“I was just talking about that, actually. Besides, you’re hilarious. Anyone watching would think I was about to devour your lover.”
“Aren’t you?”
“What do you take me for? I regard peace as the highest virtue.”
Their exchange bore no resemblance to a conversation between people meeting for the first time.
Artia grasped Killian’s hand.
“Please, calm yourself. This is the person you’ve been waiting for all this time.”
Only then did reason return to Killian in measured increments, and he settled into the seat beside Artia.
Charlotte, witnessing this, clutched her belly in laughter.
“Pfft, behaving like an obedient hound at a woman’s word—you may look identical to Orpheus, but your actions are completely different.”
Struck by the familiarity in her tone regarding the founding Emperor, Artia could not help but ask.
“Have you truly been alive since the time of Emperor Orpheus?”
Charlotte grimaced.
“What are you saying? Do I look that old to you?”
Artia hastily waved her hand apologetically.
“No, not at all. You appear quite young and beautiful.”
Only then did Charlotte’s expression soften as she spoke.
“I can see what misunderstanding you harbor, but you’re mistaken. No human in this world possesses eternal life. Had such a thing been possible, Orpheus, hailed as history’s greatest sorcerer, would not have perished so pathetically.”
Charlotte continued.
“Five hundred years ago, it was my ancestor who stood beside Orpheus. I am Charlotte, the seventeenth descendant of that bloodline.”
Among the women who inherited Charlotte’s blood across generations, one in each line inherited both the name “Charlotte” and the sorcerer’s power.
This itself was not extraordinary.
Magical aptitude often ran in families.
Yet Charlotte possessed one peculiar distinction.
“Ordinarily, even among the same bloodline, the form of magic differs. But every Charlotte throughout the generations can wield the same magic.”
A magic passed down to every “Charlotte” from the distant past until now. It was….
“The ability to read the traces of all things in this world.”
One of Killian’s eyebrows arched.
“Read them?”
“Yes, I do not know all things in this world. I merely read them. Even the memories etched upon a person’s soul.”
Five hundred years ago, the existence called Orpheus was strikingly intense.
The Charlotte of that era remembered everything about him with crystalline clarity, and her daughter read of him through her mother’s eyes.
The next daughter did the same, and the one after that….
And now, to the present Charlotte.
Charlotte fixed her gaze upon Killian’s golden eyes and spoke.
“You truly resemble Orpheus greatly. Yet the power you possess is entirely different.”
It was a phrase he’d heard so often it had grown tiresome.
He did not possess the magical power of the First Emperor.
Charlotte shook her head upon seeing Killian’s eyes turn cold.
“No, that’s not it. You possess magical power just as formidable as Orpheus.”
Killian’s eyes widened.
“Your magic is simply far too sensitive and temperamental. That’s why it was never easy for you to manifest it as you wished.”
Yet if one understood how to wield it, it held infinite potential to take any form imaginable.
“If you truly desire it, you can achieve anything you wish for.”
“….”
As a child, Killian had been told he was worthless because he couldn’t use magic at all.
But to hear such words now felt impossible to believe.
After a moment, Killian spoke.
“Then why couldn’t I heal my brother?”
His low voice carried emotions that had festered for years.
It was resentment toward his own helplessness.
Charlotte paid no mind to the heavy atmosphere and shrugged.
“I wouldn’t know?”
“…!”
“But don’t doubt my words. They are all truth.”
Then she dropped a shocking statement.
“That’s why I brought your dead lover back to life.”

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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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