The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 91

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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 91

‘Why did I even go into debt to host this gathering?!’
It was to become the protagonist that everyone admired and looked up to.
Yet no one paid him any attention. It was painfully obvious that even if he danced with Frigia again, the current would not shift.
That realization ignited his fury.
‘Damn that imperial prince. The bastard wouldn’t show his face at the Banquet Hall even when other nobles begged him to attend—so why the hell is he suddenly here at my gathering, making a spectacle of himself?!’
Count Elysium spewed vulgar curses beneath his breath and gulped down the wine from the glass on the table.
Fear flickered in Frigia’s eyes as she stood beside him.

* * *

The moment the dance ended, Artia fled from the Banquet Hall as though escaping. She needed to distance herself from the torrent of attention pouring down upon her.
But there was one problem: Killian von Orpheus, the very source of all this chaos, was trailing behind her.
Upon reaching the sparsely populated Garden, Artia spun around and cried out.
“Why are you following me?”
Her voice came out sharper than usual. She had assumed Killian von Orpheus would overlook this much.
As expected, he showed no anger. Only…
“I’m afraid to be alone out there.”
“…?”
“There are too many women.”
“…??”
Artia stared at him with the bewildered expression of someone confronted by a cat eating a carrot, then released a sigh.
‘Right, he’s only comfortable around me. That doesn’t mean his misogyny has been cured.’
Artia pressed her forehead and asked.
“Why did you even come here in the first place? As an imperial prince, this isn’t an important gathering you’re obligated to attend.”
“To strengthen bonds within High Society?”
“Why are you raising your tone at the end so suspiciously?”
“Because it’s not the truth.”
“You’re remarkably honest about your lies.”
Artia quickly abandoned any attempt to discern his true reason for being here and responded to his request instead.
“This gathering is different from the Crobason Banquet I attended before. Without wearing a mask, I can’t say things like ‘touch His Highness and you’re dead’ to the noblewomen.”
If I did, rumors would spread that both Killian von Orpheus and I had lost our minds.
I couldn’t allow the reputation I’d painstakingly built over months to crumble in such a manner.
Seeing Artia’s furrowed brow, Killian von Orpheus spoke in an uncharacteristic way.
“Have I caused you trouble?”
Artia hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Artia was the Empire’s only divorced woman.
Without a husband, she could meet many men under the pretext of remarriage, but simultaneously, she was a perfect target for vicious scandal.
A wanton woman who had abandoned her husband and indulged in dissolute affairs with men.
Once such rumors began to circulate, it was finished.
Then Artia could never become an Ethereal.
“I can’t even imagine what people will say after seeing me dance with His Highness.”
Of course, Killian von Orpheus was no ordinary man, so they might subtly dismiss it as the mad prince’s eccentric behavior. But conversely, there could be a strange rumor that the prince—notorious for his pathological misogyny—had developed feelings for a special woman.
If it were the latter, the situation would become dire.
‘I wasn’t in my right mind back there. I was captivated by His Highness’s face. I should have feigned fainting rather than dancing with him….’
With a soft tap, Killian von Orpheus’s finger touched the deepened furrow between Artia’s brows.
His finger, smooth and refined as befitted a noble prince, yet rough to the touch like a swordsman who had traversed battlefields, gently swept across her furrowed brow—as if to smooth away the deepened wrinkles of her worry.
“W-w-what are you doing….”
Killian von Orpheus spoke to Artia, who stammered in shock.
“Don’t worry about that. I won’t let any of those rumors you’re concerned about spread.”
Artia was about to ask how, when—
A rustling sound came from the other direction.
Without thinking, Artia pulled Killian von Orpheus behind the trees, concealing them both.
She had no desire to hear whispers that she not only danced with the prince in front of everyone but also had a secret rendezvous with him.
Artia’s eyes widened. In the moonlight, the figures that emerged were Count Elysium and Frigia.
‘Why would a couple who loves to bask in the brightest spotlight and receive applause come to such a dark corner of the Garden?’
The moment that thought crossed her mind…. Count Elysium glared at Frigia.
“What do you have to say for yourself?”
His voice was savage—utterly at odds with the rumors of how desperately he loved his wife.
Frigia answered with a face pale with terror.
“Y-you seem to be drinking far too much. If you make a mistake in front of the guests, eek!”
Count Elysium seized Frigia’s golden hair and yanked her toward him.
“Have you ever seen me make a mistake in front of people?”
Frigia couldn’t bring herself to answer and shook her head. Count Elysium tightened his grip on her hair and spoke in a low voice.
“Then shut your mouth and stay quiet. Even if I get drunk, people will just leave it at that.”
I need to nod and agree. I absolutely cannot let him see tears.
But despite her efforts, transparent tears pooled beneath Frigia’s emerald eyes. At the sight of them, a curse spilled from Count Elysium’s lips.
“I’ve been barely holding back my irritation because of that damned prince, and you just had to push me over the edge, you worthless bitch.”
“…!”
“If you had done your job properly, we wouldn’t have needed to hold this gathering in the first place. I was trying to endure until the banquet ended, but it’s become impossible. You need to be punished.”
Count Elysium removed the chain ornament draped across his chest and gripped it in both hands.
The chain, which moments before had been a gentleman’s accessory, now emanated the desolate atmosphere of a whip used to train beasts.
Terrified, Frigia trembled like an aspen leaf and barely managed to speak.
“P-please don’t, darling. There are so many guests.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure the marks are in places no one will notice.”
Bearing pain while smiling may be exhausting, but that’s hardly my concern.
It was the moment Count Elysium raised the chain. Artia, hidden behind a tree, cried out.
“Stop this filthy business, Count Elysium!”
Count Elysium flinched in shock and looked around.
“Who is it!”
Artia answered without revealing herself.
“This hardly seems the time to wonder about me. You should be worried about being caught showing such a different face when alone with your wife—the very woman you claimed to despise so thoroughly.”
The voice from the darkness was calm, yet carried unmistakable condemnation.
Count Elysium’s eyes gleamed with sinister intent.
‘What should I do? Should I find her immediately and cut out her tongue?’
If she were merely a maid, it would be simple enough. But judging by her manner of speech, she was certainly one of the nobility in attendance at tonight’s gathering.
Nobility was troublesome to handle.
‘But I can still issue a warning.’
Count Elysium spoke with a savage gleam in his eyes.
“For all your bold talk, you remain hidden like a cowardly cat—which tells me you’ve witnessed something you shouldn’t have.”
“….”
“I don’t know who you are, but it’s a wise decision. Had you revealed yourself, you would have become my enemy.”
Count Elysium was among the highest ranks of the nobility. Few existed who could afford to make him their enemy without consequence.
Perhaps only a mad sovereign.
Count Elysium’s arrogant voice continued.
“I’ll forgive your interference between my wife and myself today. In exchange, hold your tongue and speak of this to no one. If you wish to preserve your peaceful life. Should word of my wife and me spread, I will find you no matter what it takes.”
Artia, who had listened quietly, replied.
“And you should stop laying your filthy hands on your wife. If you wish to maintain your hypocritical facade of normalcy.”
That wretched woman!
Count Elysium’s eyes widened. Rather than search for the source of the voice, he unleashed a cutting threat.
“I’ll add this for good measure—even if you change your mind and spread rumors, it matters little. My wife’s and my reputation is unshakeable. People will brand anyone spouting such absurd claims without evidence as a liar. I’m confident I can make that happen.”
With those words, Count Elysium’s expression softened into a gentle smile.
He extended his hand toward Frigia, who trembled in shock.
“Frigia, are you alright?”

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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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