The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 19

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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 19

“Are you alright, my lady?”
Artia asked in alarm.
“Yes, but how did you…?”
Elma and everyone else in the Edenberg Mansion had said that Bibi had fled outside the estate.
Artia had thought the same.
But it wasn’t true. Bibi had never left my side.
“I was hiding in a secret space near your chamber, my lady.”
“What?!”
True to its long history, the Edenberg Mansion had secret spaces scattered throughout.
The maids who worked in the estate naturally became aware of several of them.
But most of those places were unsuitable for anyone to stay in. They weren’t properly maintained—dust lay thick, and there were no lamps or lighting installed whatsoever.
Above all, the estate was constantly bustling with dozens of people moving about. For anyone to remain hidden in such a place, even in a secret space, was nearly miraculous.
“To have hidden in such a place for over a month… are you truly unharmed?”
Artia examined Bibi’s body with a worried expression.
Fortunately, there was nothing different from before.
Her complexion still looked healthy, and her body remained firm.
Bibi, her ears slightly flushed, spoke.
“There is no need for concern, my lady. I fared well.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. It is an ability I concealed because it would be useless for a maid serving a noblewoman, but my family’s trade is actually hunting. My father taught me various techniques—how to conceal myself, and…”
Bibi continued, her gaze fixed on Lloyd lying motionless on the floor.
“How to render a living being incapable of combat.”
Artia also turned to look at Lloyd, following Bibi’s gaze.
Lloyd, struck on the back of his head by the heel of Bibi’s shoe, lay as still as a dead frog.
Artia whispered in a low voice.
“Surely he’s not dead?”
Bibi placed her hand on Lloyd’s neck and answered.
“He is merely unconscious. Shall I kill him?”
Bibi’s eyes were far too earnest.
The moment Artia nodded, she would undoubtedly twist Lloyd’s neck.
Artia laughed, lowering her brows.
“Tempting as that is, we cannot.”
Life is precious, after all, and he was once a husband I loved, no matter how much I despise him now.
Of course, such reasoning was not the true reason.
I was confident that I wouldn’t shed a single tear even if Lloyd departed from this world right now.
Still, I couldn’t kill him.
“Lloyd is still the Duke of Edenberg.”
Harming a nobleman was a grave crime.
And if it was murder, execution was immediate, regardless of circumstances.
“Even if I hid Lloyd’s corpse, investigators would relentlessly pursue his whereabouts and hunt down whoever harmed him. I won’t have my precious maid become a criminal.”
“….”
“Your place is by my side, Bibi.”
The tips of Bibi’s ears flushed deeper than before. They looked as though they were burning.
With a resolute expression, Bibi nodded and pointed at Lloyd as she asked.
“Then what should we do about him?”
I stared at the unconscious Lloyd for a moment before speaking.
“Let’s do this.”

* * *

Bibi’s kick was remarkably precise.
Lloyd didn’t die. He didn’t lose his memory or suffer any mental affliction.
Unfortunately.

The next day, Lloyd opened his eyes perfectly fine and frowned when he saw me.
“What’s wrong with your face?”
I touched my bruised cheek and replied.
“Are you really going to pretend you don’t know now? You did this to me.”
Lloyd jumped up.
“When did I!”
“Last night. You barged into my room and tried to force yourself on me….”
At the word “force,” Lloyd’s shoulders flinched.
I felt revulsion watching him react like a normal human being after committing something even beasts wouldn’t do, and I continued.
“When I stubbornly resisted and told you to stop, you hit me. I was so terrified that I pushed you away, and you hit your head on the edge of the nightstand and lost consciousness.”
“That’s nonsense. I collapsed because someone hit me on the back of the head….”
Lloyd spoke as though he’d realized something.
“Are you really telling such a lie to cover for whoever hit me?”
I wore an expression of utter contempt.
“You’re the one trying to weasel out of the situation, so stop it. I’ve already petitioned the Imperial Court to protect me from a husband who refuses divorce and seeks to harm me, and I’ve already received formal approval.”
Lloyd cried out in panic.
“I was unconscious for a whole day—how did you make any petition or get approval!”
“When I presented the evidence of what happened last night to the investigator from the Imperial Court, I didn’t need your testimony. There were multiple servants who witnessed you entering my room without permission and committing those atrocities.”
“Who dares speak such nonsense!”
“You still don’t understand the situation, Lloyd. This isn’t the time for you to be angry about such things. You should be worried about the punishment you’ll face for what you did to me.”
Artia fixed Lloyd with a fierce, piercing glare.
Lloyd’s shoulders flinched at the intensity, but he forced his lips upward into a smile.
“You’re the one who hasn’t come to your senses yet, aren’t you? This is the Edenberke Estate, and I am its master. If I so choose, I can dispose of you whenever I——”
“KYAAAAH!”
Artia cut off Lloyd’s words with a piercing scream.
Her face remained utterly expressionless, devoid of any genuine emotion.
Before Lloyd could even react in shock, the door burst open and knights clad in golden armor streamed in, positioning themselves before Artia.
Among them, a burly knight spoke.
“The Duchess of Edenberg has requested protection from the Imperial Court, and the Imperial Court has approved this request. Therefore, from this moment forward, the Duchess of Edenberg shall receive the protection of the Golden Knights.”
The knight’s tone was courteous. But his eyes….
‘This vicious bastard—not only did he confine his wife, but he even raised his hand against her.’
That was what they were silently cursing.
All the knights fixed Lloyd with the same murderous gaze.
They looked ready to draw their blades and run him through at the slightest suspicious movement.
Whimper.
Finally, Lloyd tucked his tail between his legs and lowered his gaze.
‘When I glared at him, he looked at me as though I were pathetic. But the moment a man who appeared stronger than him glared back, he immediately cowered.’
Artia clenched her fists tightly.
I was suddenly infuriated by my own weakness—all the more so when I recalled last night, when I couldn’t escape from Lloyd.
‘Once the divorce is finalized, I’ll train my body until I’m as strong as Bibi.’
And if anyone ever tries to do what he did yesterday, I’ll crush what lies between his legs into dust.
With that grim resolve, I left the room alongside the knights, only to find Elma standing outside the door.

* * *

The moment Artia appeared, Elma’s tears came pouring down.
“I deeply regret having to leave the estate yesterday on urgent business. Had I been here, I would have gladly given my life to save you, my lady. Please punish this worthless maid for failing to protect her mistress.”
Her display was so heart-wrenching that
several of the knights standing behind Artia were moved to tears, marveling at such loyalty.
Artia, however, felt nothing of the sort.
‘Elma rarely ventures out, yet she conveniently happened to be away yesterday.’
I did not believe this was mere coincidence.
‘This possibility seems far more likely.’
Elma had witnessed Lloyd dismissing the servants and understood exactly what he intended to do to Artia.
So she fabricated a convenient excuse and left the estate.
She had no desire to entangle herself in such troublesome affairs, nor did she wish to sour her relationship with either Lloyd or Artia.
‘Perhaps she even harbored the secret hope that I would deal Lloyd a fatal blow, one severe enough to strip him of his power.’
It was a sinister calculation, yet it had ultimately worked in my favor.
‘Because of her absence, I was able to keep Bibi’s assault on Lloyd hidden.’
I recalled the events of last night.

The method I had chosen to conceal what Bibi had done to Lloyd was simple enough….
“I need to inflict worse wounds upon myself than Lloyd bears. People’s attention always gravitates toward the one who is more grievously injured.”

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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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