The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 53

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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 53

“Helen!”
Humphrey cried out and rushed toward Helen.
“Mother!”
Artia ran after him.
Helen gazed at Artia until the moment consciousness slipped away, murmuring softly.
“No… Juliet…”

* * *

John, who had examined Helen, spoke.
“Her pulse, breathing, and body temperature are all normal. She simply lost consciousness from the shock.”
At his words, Humphrey and Artia exhaled in relief.
Killian von Orpheus, standing beside them, wore an expressionless face while thinking only that her condition was as poor as he’d heard.
Humphrey’s head snapped toward Killian von Orpheus, his gaze sharp.
“What were you doing in that room at this hour?”
His demeanor suggested he would strike Killian von Orpheus on the head with his cane regardless of the answer, yet Killian von Orpheus didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow.
Before he could speak, Artia interjected.
“I asked him to come. I wanted to discuss tomorrow’s wedding, so I requested he visit my room.”
Humphrey’s expression remained grim as he questioned her.
“Is that truly the case? You’re not simply covering for this man?”
“I only met him today. There would be no reason for me to do such a thing.”
“…”
“If Mother opens her eyes and sees him, she may be startled again. It would be best if he left for now.”
At Artia’s words, Killian von Orpheus was promptly expelled from the room.
Having safely removed the bomb that would surely have only worsened the atmosphere, Artia turned her attention to Humphrey.
“Aunt was quite shocked to see me in the company of a man. I apologize.”
Even if they were to be married, the sight of a daughter alone with a man in her room at such an hour would have been a shocking scene.
Especially since they had been in physical contact—though it was merely their hands intertwined.
Humphrey shook his head.
“It is not your fault. Helen’s collapse must have been triggered by memories of the past.”
“Memories of the past?”
After a long pause, Humphrey finally spoke with difficulty.
“Twenty years ago, the night before her wedding, Juliet fell from the window of that room and died.”
“…!”
Artia, hearing for the first time how Juliet had died, covered her mouth.
Humphrey continued speaking, his face etched with anguish.
“We can only assume it was an accident. I don’t know the exact circumstances myself. Helen was the only one with Juliet when she fell.”
“….”
“I asked her what happened, but each time, Helen would have a seizure and lose consciousness. Then one day, she asked me something.”
“Darling, what on earth happened to our Julie?”
That’s when I understood. Helen had completely forgotten the moment her daughter died.
I thought it was perhaps for the best.
My wife was already suffering so greatly—such a painful memory would have been unbearable for her.
“But today, when I saw you in that room, the memories from that night came flooding back.”
Artia found herself unable to speak in response to such a shocking revelation.
The heavy silence was broken by Helen’s thin, fragile voice.
“Julie….”
“…!”
Both Artia and Humphrey turned to look at Helen simultaneously.
“Helen, are you with us?”
Instead of answering her husband, Helen spoke different words.
“Our Julie is alive, isn’t she? She’s alive, isn’t she?”
Artia grasped Helen’s skeletal hand.
“Yes, Mother. Julie is here.”
“Julie!”
Helen pulled Artia into her arms and wept.
Time passed—how much, I couldn’t say. When Helen’s tears finally ceased, she spoke to Humphrey.
“Darling, I’d like to be alone with Julie.”
“…Of course.”
Humphrey quietly excused himself from the room.
In the dimly lit chamber, only Helen and Artia remained.
From the moment Helen opened her eyes, she had not released Artia’s hand—and that skeletal hand trembled ceaselessly.
After a moment, Helen spoke.
“The moment I saw you by the window, the memory returned. How could I have forgotten such a thing….”
Helen’s voice continued, as though wringing blood from her heart.
“Julie, it was I who killed you.”
“…!”

* * *

Twenty years ago, at the Bluerance Estate.
Helen sat among the noble ladies beneath the bright sunlight.
The women who had received her wedding invitation spoke with flushed faces.
“You’re finally marrying off your daughter, raised as delicately as a flower. Congratulations, madam.”
“And the groom is Count Mizura, no less. To send your daughter to such an exceptional match—a prestigious title, striking looks, and imperial blood flowing through his veins—I’m truly envious.”
Helen answered with a smile.
Like many mothers, Helen’s daughter’s marriage was the great aspiration of her lifetime.
The union, achieved through a delicate blend of effort and fortune, was both her pride and her joy.
Helen brushed back Juliet’s hair as she spoke.
“Everyone is so interested in your wedding. They all envy you. You will be the happiest bride in the world.”
….
Perhaps her joy was too great.
Helen failed to notice that Juliet’s expression had grown darker with each passing day since the marriage was arranged.
Then one day, Juliet spoke.
“Mother, I need to tell you something.”
Helen always listened carefully to her daughter’s words and granted her whatever she desired.
When Juliet said she disliked her etiquette lessons, Helen boldly excused her from them. When she wanted a dress from a renowned designer, Helen sought out the designer herself to have one tailored.
Helen gazed at Juliet with her customary gentle eyes.
“Tell me.”
Juliet hesitated, uncharacteristically uncertain, before finally gathering her resolve and opening her mouth.
“I don’t want to get married.”
…!
In that instant, Helen’s smile vanished.
“Why?”
….
“Are you frightened of marriage? That’s entirely understandable. But if you talk with me until the wedding day, your anxiety will fade.”
….
“Or perhaps you dislike leaving home? If that’s all it is, don’t worry. I’ll speak to Count Mizura and arrange for you to visit often.”
Juliet spoke to Helen, whose face had grown anxious.
“I like women.”
…?!
Helen was struck by a shock incomparably greater than moments before.
“W-what did you just say?”
“I said I like women.”
Juliet continued with difficulty, facing Helen’s silence.
“Since childhood, I’ve felt nothing when looking at men. The person who makes my heart race has always been a woman.”
Helen stared blankly at Juliet before speaking.
“You must be mistaken….”
Juliet cried out with a distorted face.
“I’m not mistaken!”
No one scrutinized her own emotions more rigorously than Juliet herself.
It was natural for a woman to love a man. A woman loving a woman was wrong. Therefore, this feeling had to be false.
Yet no matter how much she denied her heart, her gaze kept drifting toward the woman. Her chest would quicken. She felt the heat of passionate desire coursing through her.
Tears began to seep from Juliet’s eyes.
“I know, Mother. I know my heart will never receive anyone’s blessing—that it will be condemned and cursed. That’s why I’ve tried to hide it my whole life.”
“….”
“But now that the wedding is set, I can’t bear it anymore. To spend my entire life beside someone who fills me with nothing but revulsion, let alone love… I can’t do it. I don’t want to.”
Juliet grasped Helen’s hand tightly.
“You always told me this, Mother. To never hide anything, to speak freely, that you would listen to everything.”
“….”
“Mother, please help me.”
Juliet’s face, streaming with tears, was heartbreaking.
More so than when she was a child, clutching her mother’s hand through the agony of fever, begging desperately for the pain to stop.
Yet Helen could not take her daughter’s hand and offer the warmth of comfort as she had then.
She simply could not.
“Come to your senses, Juliet.”
“…!”
“You are a perfect woman in body and spirit. A woman’s true happiness lies in loving a man, marrying him, and bearing his children.”
The face of Helen looking down at Juliet was no longer that of a tender mother who would listen to her daughter’s every word.

* * *

From that day forward, Helen never left Juliet’s side, repeating the same words endlessly.
“Juliet, once you’re married and living that life, you’ll understand—the true happiness a woman can know.”

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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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