The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 24

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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 24

Lloyd was no longer a duke. More than that, he had abandoned the woman he loved for his own safety.
There was no reason for Lirika to covet him now.
Yet Lirika’s eyes widened as though she had received an unexpected gift.
“Really? I can truly take him with me?”
“Yes.”
In that instant, those innocent, wide eyes gleamed with something sinister.
The emotion within them was not love.
It was rage in its purest form.
‘Lloyd believes Lirika is an innocent woman who knows nothing, but that’s his delusion.’
Born and raised in the Back Alley, Lirika possessed a ferocity befitting her origins.
When she loved Lloyd, she had to hide that side of herself completely, but now there was no need.
This is the chance I’m giving you, Lirika.
“If you wish to apologize for your wrongs, never appear before me again. And take Lloyd with you.”
“….”
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Lirika stared blankly at Artia before prostrating herself.
“Yes, I shall do my utmost to ensure your feelings are never hurt again, madam.”

* * *

A week had passed since Lloyd’s divorce and expulsion, and he now stood before the iron gates of the Edenberg Mansion in a disheveled state, unshaven and unkempt.
He had expected his appearance to look pitiful, but those who passed him on the street only furrowed their brows in contempt.
“He got divorced because of his own mistakes, yet he has the audacity to linger here.”
“If he possessed even a modicum of sense, he would never have committed such despicable acts in the first place.”
Thanks to the nobility’s eagerness to expose Lloyd’s various misdeeds, public opinion of him had reached its nadir.
The entire Empire regarded him as an enemy without exception.
A woman whispered to her companion beside her.
“They say he murdered the Former Duke of Edenberg as well.”
Following Benedict’s sudden death, both the Ducal House and the Imperial Court had launched investigations, yet no evidence of deliberate manipulation was uncovered.
Nevertheless, with Lloyd’s reputation already in ruins, the accusation found ready acceptance among the masses.
“Murderer!”
Someone shouted and hurled a small stone at Lloyd.
The stone struck his forehead with a sharp crack, and Lloyd let out a piercing cry.
“Aaaahhh!”
The stone-thrower was taken aback by the intensity of Lloyd’s anguish.
He was accustomed to dealing blows, but entirely defenseless against receiving them.
He truly despised pain.
Regaining his senses, Lloyd snapped his head up.
‘I won’t let whoever did this get away with it!’
Lloyd’s eyes widened.
Lirika stood before him.
Though noticeably thinner than when they had last met, she still possessed that enchanting face and the voluptuous bosom that captivated men.
Lloyd, who had unconsciously gazed at her chest, collected himself and spoke.
“You… how did you come to be here?”
“The maids the Duke had sent to watch over me have all departed. Since the Duke has divorced, there is no longer any reason for them to obey his commands.”
“…!”
“So I’ve come back. I missed the Duke so very much.”
Lirika embraced Lloyd tightly.
“Duke, come away with me and Lirika.”
What Lloyd needed now was Artia.
He had to win back her heart and reclaim his position as Duke of Edenberg by any means necessary.
But for one who had been born and raised a nobleman his entire life, spending days and nights outdoors had already pushed him to his limits.
He longed to go somewhere comfortable, wash himself, eat warm food, lie in bed, and find solace.
In the tender bosom of his sweet little bird.
‘Artia isn’t going anywhere. Let me recover my strength and return to her.’
Lloyd followed Lirika as though enchanted.
They headed toward the old house where Lirika had lived before becoming Lloyd’s mistress.
The moment Lloyd laid eyes on the dilapidated dwelling nestled in the dingy back alley, his expression darkened.
‘It’s still filthy. Should I suggest we go to a hotel instead?’
In that instant, something hard came crashing down upon Lloyd’s head with a sharp crack.
The pain that assailed Lloyd when Lirika struck him was incomparable to being pelted with stones—so overwhelming that he couldn’t even scream before collapsing.

When Lloyd’s eyes fluttered open again, he found himself lying in bed, exactly as he had wished.
Though being naked and bound at the wrists and ankles was decidedly not part of that wish.
“W-what on earth is this…?”
As Lloyd stammered in shock, Lirika’s face came into view above him.
She smiled radiantly.
“You’re awake, Duke. I was so worried I’d hit you too hard with the frying pan and you wouldn’t open your eyes. I’m relieved you seem fine.”
Only then did Lloyd realize that Lirika had struck him across the head with a frying pan.
Fury blazed in his eyes.
“What have you—”
But he couldn’t finish.
Lirika had raked her fingernails across his cheek.
Her meticulously sharpened nails became a formidable weapon, leaving vivid crimson scratches in their wake.
“Ahhh!”
Lloyd screamed as though slashed by a blade.
Lirika drew her nails across his face once more.
She clawed over the same wound she had just inflicted, deepening it until blood welled up. The agony doubled.
“Arrrgh!”
As Lloyd emitted a bestial cry, tears glistened in Lirika’s large eyes as she gazed down at him.
“Does it hurt, Duke?”
“Of course it hurts!”
Lloyd shrieked, and Lirika responded softly.
“Lirika hurt much more.”
“…!”
“I begged you just to stay by my side, but when you abandoned me, it hurt so terribly. It still hurts.”
Her violet eyes, brimming with transparent tears, were unsettling.
Only then did Lloyd comprehend the truth.
The woman before him was no longer an innocent, beloved fledgling—she had become something far more sinister.
‘I must escape from this mad woman, no matter what.’
Otherwise, there was no telling what she might do to him.
Lloyd forced himself to compose his emotions and spoke as tenderly as he could manage.
“Ah, my little bird has suffered so much. But you’ve misunderstood—I never abandoned you. Once things settled, I was going to call you back, ahhh!”
Lirika’s nails raked across Lloyd’s lips this time.
Blood beaded on his tender mouth.
Lirika spoke.
“I hate you, Duke.”
As Lloyd lay silent, his wounded lips throbbing with pain, Lirika continued.
“So you must stay here until Lirika’s anger is appeased.”
And that time would stretch on endlessly.
As much as Lirika had loved Lloyd.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
A man’s agonized screams echoed through the dilapidated old house.
Yet because it stood in such a remote location, few ears could reach those cries.
Occasionally passersby would venture near, but none paid it any mind.
To the degraded denizens of the back alleys, the screams of strangers held less interest than a cup of wine.

* * *

Elma chattered away with an animated expression.
“Lord Lloyd, who made such a racket every single day, has finally departed. And with Lirika, no less.”
Multiple people had witnessed Lloyd and Lirika leaving together.
The rumors spread like wildfire.
The nobles who harbored ill feelings toward Lloyd seized upon the opportunity to heap scorn upon him.
“He threw such a tantrum about not wanting a divorce, yet the moment it was finalized, he clung to that commoner woman like a lovesick fool.”
“He is a disgrace to the nobility. We should bar him from society entirely.”
Elma, holding the teapot, spoke while gauging my reaction.
“Are you certain you’re well? If you give the word now, I shall drag that Lirika wench here by her hair.”
It was Elma’s way of trying to discern what lay in my heart.
But I took the teapot from Elma’s hands and said:
“That’s enough.”
I poured the tea myself into my cup, my thoughts turning inward.
I had been receiving covert reports on various matters from Bibi, who remained hidden from sight.
Though people believed Lloyd and Lirika were together, they were not sharing intimate moments—they were enduring something far more sinister.
“When I spied on the house, Lloyd was bound to the bed, his entire body covered in wounds. He wept with a wet cloth stuffed in his mouth. Beside him, Lirika hummed cheerfully while cooking, saying things like, ‘You must eat well so we can have lots of fun together, yes?'”
Lirika’s condition was far worse than I had anticipated.

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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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