The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 45

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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 45

Artia found herself holding a teacup that steamed gently, her expression one of bewilderment.
“I don’t feel the slightest hint of a cold…”
“Have you forgotten? When you were seven, you came in from playing in the snow complaining of itchy ears, and then caught a cold that plagued you for an entire month. Drink it now, dear.”
The woman, whose pallor was unmistakable, spoke with such earnestness that I could not refuse.
After taking a sip of the tea, I cried out inwardly.
‘Sweet!’
For someone who detested sweetness, it was a dreadful taste.
Had it not been for the subtle bitterness of ginger that lingered, I would have found it utterly unbearable.
Yet I drank the cup without letting my suffering show.
Only then did the woman’s expression relax with relief.
“In the past, no matter how much honey I added, you would always grimace and complain about the ginger taste. It seems my daughter has truly grown.”
Of course, I am not Julie, the woman’s daughter.
I smiled and recalled the events of a few days prior.

* * *

On a dark night, I left the Edenberg Duchy Mansion.
Only Bibi and Penelope knew of my departure. Even Catherine believed I was confined to my room, afflicted by illness.
The reason I proceeded with such secrecy was because of Shylock von Rushian.
‘He’s been obstructing me from receiving help from anyone. This time, I won’t allow that to happen.’
That’s why I had asked Penelope for a favor.
To spread the rumor that I, facing the crisis of a forced marriage, was deeply despondent and had locked myself away in my chamber.
If Penelope’s words reached Shylock von Rushian’s ears, he would not suspect my absence.
After completing my preparations, I arrived at a mansion in a remote province far from the Convent.
Wearing a hood, I spoke to the soldier guarding the gate.
“Tell the Count of House of Bluerance that Artia von Edenberg, daughter of Sylvia and his niece, has come to visit.”
Before long, the soldier returned and guided me to the Reception Room.
Even though it was still daytime, the curtains were drawn, leaving the room in darkness. There sat an elderly gentleman with white hair leaning on a cane—Humphrey von Bluerance, Count of House of Bluerance.
I bowed my head toward the man who emanated a sickly melancholy.
“It has been a long time, Uncle.”
….
Humphrey von Bluerance was my mother Sylvia’s older cousin.
Though there was a significant age difference between Humphrey von Bluerance and Sylvia, they had maintained a reasonably good relationship. However, after Sylvia’s marriage, they had scarcely kept in contact.
Naturally, I had little reason to see him either.
The last time Humphrey von Bluerance had seen me was at Sylvia’s funeral.
Waaah!
Watching my young cousin weeping sorrowfully over the loss of her mother, Humphrey von Bluerance’s expression grew desolate.
Without a word, Humphrey von Bluerance embraced me.
That was the end of it. After that day, the two of us had not even exchanged greetings.
We had become no different from strangers.
Humphrey von Bluerance opened his mouth with a face showing no warmth whatsoever.
“What brings you to seek me out so suddenly?”
With my hands clasped together, I answered.
“Please lend me money.”
A flicker of life momentarily crossed Humphrey von Bluerance’s lifeless eyes, but it was brief.
He asked in a monotone voice.
“How much?”
“Two billion Gold.”
…!
House of Bluerance was neither particularly wealthy nor impoverished—an ordinary noble family.
Nevertheless, two billion Gold was a burdensome sum. All the more so when requested by a distant niece whom he had not seen in over a decade.
I understood this, but I had no choice. Humphrey von Bluerance was the only person who could help me in any way.
Humphrey von Bluerance sighed with a weary expression.
“I’ll give you one hundred million Gold from the vault. Go home. You need not repay it, and do not come again.”
His tone was dry, revealing no desire to become involved in my affairs whatsoever.
‘But he didn’t chase me away. Instead, he’s giving me money. He didn’t even use the loan as leverage to manipulate me.’
Artia spoke with a glimmer of hope in her voice.
“The sum I require isn’t 100 million gold—it’s 2 billion gold. I’m not simply asking for a loan. If you lend me this money, Uncle, I will do everything in my power to assist you.”
“I have no interest in power or wealth. How can I help someone who desires nothing?”
Artia began speaking with crystalline clarity.
“I’ve heard that Aunt Helen is unwell.”
“…!”
In that moment, Humphrey’s eyes—which had remained dull and melancholic all this while—shifted with sudden intensity.
Humphrey’s wife, Helen, had been suffering from a prolonged illness.
Humphrey had exhausted every conceivable remedy to cure her.
He had summoned renowned physicians to his home for examination and procured rare medicinal herbs that even royalty seldom obtained.
When word of these efforts spread, healers from across the Empire came forward claiming they could cure Helen, yet none succeeded.
Humphrey’s voice turned sharp and cutting.
“What assistance could you possibly offer! Have you brought some miraculous cure for Helen’s ailment? Or do you intend to break the curse that afflicts her?!”
“…”
“I received you with proper courtesy as Sylvia’s daughter, and you’ve come to deceive me. I cannot spare a single coin—leave this mansion at once!”
He seemed ready to brandish his cane if she remained any longer. Yet Artia stood motionless and spoke.
“No, Uncle. I don’t claim to know how to cure Aunt Helen’s illness. But I can help ease her suffering as her condition deepens.”
Humphrey’s voice erupted with passionate denial at her words.
“How?!”
Artia answered in a measured tone.
“As you know, Uncle, my mother has been in poor health since my birth. Because I was always by her side, I understand well how to care for the infirm.”
Her words were truthful, yet there were countless others skilled in nursing the sick.
Before Humphrey could point this out, Artia removed the hood she had been wearing.
Instead of the silver hair he had seen long ago, hair the color of the deep dawn sky was revealed.
Upon seeing this, Humphrey’s breath caught.
“J-Juliet von Bluerance?!”
But he quickly regained his composure.
The woman before him was not his daughter who had died twenty years ago, but rather the daughter of his deceased cousin.
Humphrey spoke in a trembling voice.
“W-what is the meaning of this appearance? Surely you haven’t modeled yourself after my daughter Juliet von Bluerance?”
“Yes.”
“…!”
A month prior, after receiving a letter of refusal from the Elders, Artia had contemplated her options.
“Securing funds under the name of House of Edenberg is difficult because of my uncles’ interference. But I possess another bloodline tied to me.”
The House of Bluerance—her mother’s side of the family.
After her mother’s death, all contact had ceased, and they had become strangers. Shylock von Rushian would never have anticipated Artia reaching out to them.
“Gather information about House of Bluerance for me. Even the smallest details will suffice.”
At Artia’s command, Bibi rode with lightning speed toward Bluerance Territory.
Days later, a substantial pile of documents concerning House of Bluerance lay before Artia.
Her eyes, which had been reading through the papers without a moment’s rest, suddenly froze.

「 The daughter of House Bluerance, Juliet von Bluerance. Died in an accident at the age of twenty. 」

The portrait of Juliet enclosed with the documents bore a striking resemblance to me.
The silver and deep blue hair created such a stark contrast that recognition at first glance was difficult.
It was merely coincidence born from sharing the same ancestors—a matter of bloodline. Yet to me, it felt like a gift bestowed by fate itself.
A gift that could resolve this impossible situation.

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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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