The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 97

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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 97

A sharp hostility gleamed in Count Elysium’s eyes.
“I will not exchange another word with the witch who defiles my chaste wife. Return my wife and daughter to me at once.”
The eyes that had always shone so kindly before others now glinted with a chill that made one’s skin crawl, yet Artia did not yield an inch.
“That’s impossible. Frigia has no wish to see you.”
Veins bulged across Count Elysium’s forehead.
“I will report you for kidnapping my wife and daughter!”
“I won’t stop you, but you won’t achieve any meaningful result. Frigia has already filed a report of assault with the Court and formally received recognition of her intent to remain at the Edenberke Estate for protection from her husband.”
In that instant, Count Elysium’s reason shattered.
Die, you wretch.
His hand rose along with a curse utterly devoid of dignity.
But before it could reach Artia’s face, his wrist was seized by Bibi. She gripped Count Elysium’s wrist with an expressionless face.
“Aaaahhh!”
Count Elysium shrieked.
He must have felt a pain as though his bones were shattering, though in truth his bones remained unharmed. She had applied her strength with exquisite precision—pain without injury.
‘Inflicting violence without others knowing isn’t something only you can do.’
Artia glared at Count Elysium with cold eyes and spoke.
“Leave now. Unless you wish to be reported for forcing your way into another house and causing a disturbance while attempting to drag your wife away by force.”
Count Elysium flinched at the word “report,” yet he still resisted leaving, though it proved futile.
He was ultimately escorted out of the estate by Bibi with perfect courtesy.
After the scoundrel vanished, Artia opened the door.
In the guest room on the second floor, Frigia held her young daughter close, trembling.
Artia approached Frigia and whispered softly.
“Count Elysium has left.”
“Ah…”
Only then did Frigia release a breath of relief, though her expression soon darkened.
“I’m sorry for burdening you with such a difficult task.”
Confronting Count Elysium’s outburst was originally her responsibility. Yet she simply could not do it.
…She was far too frightened.
One might have expected reproach—what was there to fear after filing a report?—but Artia showed no such inclination and spoke instead.
“It is the host’s duty to turn away an impertinent guest. Think nothing of it.”
With those words, Artia looked at Elizabeth, who sat upon Frigia’s lap.
The child, who bore a striking resemblance to her mother, cradled a princess doll in her arms and patted it gently.
Though staying in a stranger’s home might have been difficult, Elizabeth made no mention of wanting to return home.
It was partly because her beloved mother was at her side, but there was another reason as well.
“Don’t you play with the prince doll today either?”
“…Yes.”
Originally, Elizabeth used to play with both dolls together, saying that the prince and princess were in love and must always be together.
However, after receiving a prince and princess doll set from Artia, Elizabeth shrieked “Scary!” and shoved the prince doll into a box, slamming the lid shut.
She had also stopped speaking of her father—the man she had loved so dearly—altogether.
As though it were something she must never say.
Frigia’s face twisted with anguish.
“Lize seems to have been quite frightened.”
“Understandably so.”
Artia understood Elizabeth’s heart with piercing clarity.
After all, I had endured the same suffering in my own childhood.
‘My father never struck my sickly mother as she lay in bed, but he always gazed upon her with contempt, reproaching her for failing in her duties.’
Each time, what concerned my biological mother most was not her own pain, but her young daughter.
She would cover my ears with trembling hands, though it proved futile.
Benedict’s harsh voice pierced through her skeletal fingers—so gaunt the bones seemed ready to break through the skin—and poured into my ears.
“If you can’t do what you’re supposed to do and just take up space, why don’t you hurry up and die.”
Those were not words but fists. Or perhaps blades. They were that cruel and agonizing.
To the extent that I loved my mother, I feared and despised my father.
Yet there was one difference between Elizabeth and me.
Unlike my mother, who could only endure through tears, Frigia—Elizabeth’s mother—had resolved never to show her child such a hellish sight again.
Artia spoke to Frigia, whose spirits had been dampened by worry for her daughter.
“Let us show Lize clearly: that even family members must be corrected if they commit wrongs, and that her mother is not a pitiful, weak creature who merely suffers at her father’s hands.”
How could someone with eyes so clear, as though they had never witnessed conflict, speak with such unwavering conviction?
Frigia stared at Artia with wide eyes, then clenched her fists and nodded firmly.

* * *

In the Imperial Palace’s office, Killian von Orpheus looked up from the stack of documents he’d been reading.
“Artia filed a report with the Court?”
Nocton von Alihas answered.
“To be precise, the complainant is Count Elysium’s wife, and Artia assisted her in doing so.”
Killian recalled what had transpired at the Masked Gathering he’d attended not long ago. Concern had been evident in Artia’s eyes.
‘She pretended she wouldn’t get involved, but in the end she helped anyway.’
She really was too kind for her own good.
“I’ve had a similar experience myself.”
Along with the memory of Artia’s voice that day came the image of her from a few months ago, when she’d sought him out asking for help with a divorce.
Her pale cheeks, which I hadn’t seen in three years, were swollen and red. The marks of Lloyd’s fists.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the wounds she’d clearly brought to gain even a shred of my sympathy.
Back then, I’d felt displeasure and irritation, but nothing overwhelming. It had lingered briefly before fading away.
But now, a molten, viscous emotion surged forth.
An uncharacteristic regret consumed me.
I should have killed that bastard Lloyd then and there.
…I should have asked Artia if she was alright.
Greater than hatred was the weight of remorse.
‘Why am I like this?’
Nocton von Alihas, sensing the ominous atmosphere Killian von Orpheus was emanating, was already contemplating whether to leave the room.
Killian von Orpheus asked with a chilling gaze.
“So what’s the Court’s response?”
Nocton von Alihas answered carefully, gauging Killian von Orpheus’s mood.
“Since it’s been officially filed, they’ll conduct an investigation according to procedure and render a judgment. However, there’s no precedent for a wife filing assault charges against her husband, and since it’s such a minor matter, it appears they intend to handle it as quietly as possible.”
In other words, they planned to go through the motions and call it done.
‘That won’t do.’
Not after Artia had stepped forward.
Killian von Orpheus spoke with a cold expression.
“Have a senior judge take the case.”
Nocton von Alihas’s eyes widened as he answered.
“The Judiciary is an independent body that doesn’t take orders from the Imperial Palace. If word gets out that Your Majesty is involved, it will cause quite a stir.”
“I’m not asking you to manipulate the trial or fabricate results to suit my whims. I simply want a competent judge to conduct a proper investigation and render a fair judgment. What’s the problem with that?”
If there is one, so be it. I’ve made my decision.
Killian von Orpheus spoke with arrogant certainty.

Killian von Orpheus’s power was indeed formidable.
The Judiciary transferred the complaint filed by Countess Elysium’s wife without hesitation to the senior magistrate.
There was one thing, however, that Killian von Orpheus had not anticipated.
“Calvin has taken over the trial?”
At Killian von Orpheus’s sharp tone, Nocton von Alihas flinched and replied.
“Yes.”
“Why him?”

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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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