The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 71

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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 71

Shrex remembered those words. At the time, he had meant them sincerely.
He had believed that fulfilling only the bare minimum obligations while each taking lovers and pursuing romance freely was how a couple bound by marriage of convenience could live contentedly.
Yet when Clara mentioned meeting another man—and worse, some slick con artist bearing the name Edward—heat surged through his entire body.
Unable to find any peace, he had spent the entire night awake.
Watching her husband bite his lip as though struck by an unexpected blow, Clara sighed.
“Darling, just as you have been doing all this time, feel free to enjoy yourself with all manner of women. I shall do the same.”
“What?!”
Shrex felt as though lightning had split his skull. Regardless of his shock, Clara snatched the letter envelope from Count Shrex’s hand.
“And from now on, do not lay your hands upon my belongings without permission.”
She added that he had no such right over his own wife, then turned sharply on her heel.
The scent of rich perfume drifted from her flowing hair as it swayed.
Count Shrex, like a bee entranced by sweet honey, momentarily lost his reason. When he regained his senses, Clara had already vanished.
Staring at his wife’s closed door, Count Shrex muttered under his breath.
“If I find him, I won’t let him off easy, Edward von Horae, you bastard.”

* * *

Clara giggled as she spoke.
“Ever since that day, my husband hasn’t gone out once and just follows me around everywhere. And whenever he spots a decent-looking man nearby, he gives this menacing glare and asks if they’re that Edward fellow who’s been pestering another man’s wife.”
Artia, seated across from her, burst into laughter.
“Count Shrex must be absolutely furious.”
“Yes, he’s completely beside himself.”
Artia raised an eyebrow.
“But no matter how hard he searches, he’ll never find the Edward who sent those letters….”
In truth, Edward had never existed at all. It was I who had sent those letters to Clara under the name Edward.
Everything had unfolded according to my plan.
“Go out every day. Whether it’s shopping or meeting people doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you dress beautifully and leave with an excited expression on your face.”
“I’ll send you letters signed with a man’s name. Sweet, honeyed love letters that anyone would recognize as romantic correspondence.”
Clara’s round eyes sparkled.
“I can’t tell you how shocked I was when I first received those letters. Even knowing they were fabricated, my face burned with heat. How did you write something so extraordinary?”
“Actually, I borrowed dialogue from a novel I’d read.”
The result was a fatally romantic letter that would drive anyone but its intended recipient to murderous rage.
“Count Shrex must have imagined all sorts of things upon reading it.”
The moment he pictured the most sickeningly handsome man his imagination could conjure kissing Clara’s hand, no husband in the world could remain unmoved.
“Most men treat what they possess carelessly, but the moment they think someone else might take it away, they go absolutely mad.”
Clara clasped her hands together, her expression radiating genuine emotion.
“How do you understand men so well?”
“Well, I’ve read thousands of romance novels. You could call me a closet expert.”
“A closet expert….”
Clara repeated the unfamiliar term, her eyes growing even brighter.
“That’s amazing!”
At Clara’s heartfelt praise for such a flimsy remark, I smiled shyly.
But the joy was short-lived, and my expression grew troubled.
Though Count Shrex had been provoked by the name Edward, his feelings were less about love and more about a man’s childish possessiveness.
Eventually, as time passed and his jealousy dulled, he would return to seeking out other women.
“Are you truly comfortable with this?”
At my cautious question, Clara smiled brightly.
“This is the first time my husband has shown me such passionate attention. But do you know what I felt when I actually received it?”
“…?”
“Ah, so this is all the marital affection I’ve been longing for.”
My heart didn’t race wildly, nor did hot tears fall. It was simply… hollow.
“I didn’t truly love my husband either. I was just trying to.”
Clara continued in a bright voice.
“If my husband continues to show me interest, I’ll try again. But if he withdraws his attention, I’ve decided to stop making futile efforts.”
Looking into Clara’s eyes, which held not a trace of regret, I laughed.
“That’s a wonderful choice.”
Yes, it wasn’t resignation—it was a choice.
to become happier.

* * *

The nobility were shocked when Shrex, the notorious philanderer, stopped his dalliances with women and began trailing after his wife like a devoted puppy.
The astonished women questioned Clara.
“What method did you use?”
Clara answered honestly.
“Actually, I consulted with the Duchess of Edenberg. She listened to my troubles as though they were her own, with such care, and offered me wise counsel.”
Clara’s voice brimmed with boundless trust in Artia.
Not long after, women began requesting private audiences with Artia.
They all, like Clara, poured out their grievances regarding their husbands.
“My husband constantly belittles me. He criticizes my pronunciation, says I never learned proper etiquette, calls me more provincial than a maid. It’s truly unbearable.”
“My husband never comes home. Even when he does, he locks himself in his own chamber. Can this truly be called a marriage, even if it was arranged?”
Some revealed rather shocking confessions.
“My husband has taken a lover. But the lover is a man! A man who towers over 190 centimeters tall with muscles like stone—a man among men, truly. I can’t tell anyone, and I’m going mad.”
Even couples who appeared flawless on the surface harbored countless problems.
Artia did not express shock at such revelations. She offered no hasty advice.
She simply said, “That must be so difficult,” and listened quietly to the women’s stories.
When a woman before her grew emotional and tears welled in her eyes, Artia quietly offered her a handkerchief.
In Artia’s gaze, there was no trace of petty superiority at learning another’s secrets, nor any hollow sympathy.
Only genuine concern.
The woman gazed at Artia through tear-filled eyes, then suddenly burst into sobs like a child, crying out, “Waaah!”
After some time, when her tears subsided, the woman spoke with swollen red eyes.
“But Duchess of Edenberg, when I mentioned wanting to scratch my wretched husband’s insides raw, Clara subtly told me the method. Could I perhaps receive ‘that letter’ as well?”
Artia paused to consider, then nodded.
If a single letter could help, it was hardly a difficult task.

* * *

In the Imperial Palace’s Training Grounds, Killian von Orpheus wielded his sword with his upper body bare.
His face was flawlessly beautiful, like a meticulously groomed noblewoman, yet the body beneath it was as ferocious as a beast that dwelt on the battlefield.
‘No matter how many times I see it, it terrifies me every single time.’
Nocton von Alihas swallowed hard and reported the intelligence that had arrived throughout the night—from trivial gossip of high society to weighty political matters.
One might call him a walking newspaper.
Nocton, who had been listing information with precise articulation, spoke.
“Ah, there is one amusing piece of news. Recently, a man named Edward has been sending elaborate letters that have set the hearts of noblewomen astir. Thanks to this, the men are raging about exterminating every Edward in the Empire.”
Unlike Nocton’s face, brimming with intrigue, Killian von Orpheus’s eyes turned infinitely cold.
“Don’t report useless matters.”
“Yes, my apologies.”
Killian von Orpheus spoke to Nocton, who acknowledged his mistake faster than light and was about to recite other information.
“Is there any news regarding Artia?”

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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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