After I Sent the Divorce Letter, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 98

RP: Haebaragi_syk

⎯⎯⎯⎯

Chapter 49.2

Leilia tensed. Had he perhaps found some kind of clue?

“He wanted to become a mercenary for the Hyllan Merchants Association.”

His statement was completely unexpected.

“Pardon?”

“He said he wanted to work there. He was so determined to improve his skills that he even went monster hunting during school breaks. I suspect his first love might be someone from the Hyllan Merchants Association. I recall him casually mentioning that he wanted to build experience and eventually work there after graduation.”

Leilia froze, startled by Dreikan’s surprising words.

‘…Cassel wanted to work for the Hyllan Association.’

She thought of the preparations he had made for it.

‘Could it be?’

His first love…?

No one connected to the Hyllan Merchants Association came to mind other than herself and Natale.

‘It couldn’t be.’

He had once mentioned wanting to work for a merchant guild, but was it really the Hyllan Association? Perhaps it was an effort to repay a debt of gratitude.

“Of course, he might have said that because his sponsor was the leader of the Hyllan Association.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly as if recalling the moment.

“I can’t forget the look on Prince Cassel’s face when he said he wanted to work for the Hyllan Association.”

“What was it like?”

“It was wistful, and his smile… it seemed as if he were longing for something.”

Her thoughts grew even more tangled after hearing his words.

̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊

After Dreikan left in the morning, Leilia brushed her hair behind her ear while reviewing the list of technicians sent by Lucis. When she raised her head, the chandelier and the intricate wall decorations came into view.

Even though she was trying to work in the duchess’s office, her mind refused to focus.

‘…What could Cassel have been thinking when he smiled?’

The person who could answer her question walked through the door.

“Is the list properly organized?”

She nodded.

“Are there any other locations with magic stones?”

“It doesn’t seem like it yet. I haven’t sensed any energy anywhere else.”

Leilia nodded again but suddenly shot him a sideways glance. His shimmering silver hair, fiery crimson eyes, and perfectly handsome face were enough to leave anyone speechless.

“Cassel.”

At last, she decided to ask.

“Was your first love with someone in the Hyllan Merchants Association?”

Cassel froze mid-step.

“Why do you think so?”

“Lord Dreikan mentioned you were preparing to work for the Hyllan Association.”

“He has a good memory.”

Cassel muttered before fixing his gaze on Leilia.

“Does my first love really matter?”

“A little. It’s also tied to the Sword Master situation.”

…And because she couldn’t shake her deep anxiety.

She worried that if Cassel’s first love reappeared, he might leave her. Perhaps it was her unease that made her so eager to know who his first love was.

At her words, Cassel stepped closer, his eyes locking onto hers.

Her reflection was captured in those fiery eyes.

“Who do you think it was?”

Then, leaning in, he whispered into her ear.

“If I told you who it was, would you send me to her?”

Leilia’s breath hitched at his words.

…Him leaving for the woman he loved. The thought alone froze her in place. And if it happened, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop him.

“Are you going to let me go as easily as you did when we got divorced?”

She couldn’t readily respond to his serious question.

Seeing her hesitation, Cassel sighed and turned away.

“That’s why I can’t tell you.”

With those words, he let out another sigh and walked out of the room.

He needed time to sort out his thoughts, too.

̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊

The garden where he used to walk with his wife.

Standing there, Cassel took a deep breath.

〈 Was your first love with someone in the Hyllan Merchants Association? 〉

Leilia had gotten painfully close to the truth.

Those days, when his life’s goal was to think of the woman from the Hyllan Merchants Association and find ways to get even a little closer to her, felt like a distant memory now.

He could no longer return to those days.

Now, Leilia was his wife, someone he could never bear to let go of.

‘These feelings.’

He couldn’t let her see them… the dark, twisted emotions that festered inside him or the deal he had made with the Emperor to make her his.

What would she say if she ever found out about all of this? If she learned about his past—how he had forced her, struggling within her family, into the position of a prince’s wife destined for the battlefield—would she still look at him with the same gentle eyes she does now?

“Leilia.”

He wasn’t ready to shatter this peace just yet.

He would delay it for as long as possible. And even if she discovered the truth, he would ensure that she could never escape from him.

He would make it so.

Please consider sending some love either through the translator’s Ko-fi or by leaving a rating/review for this series on novel updates~!

For update pings, novel discussions and/or to send mistake reports, join our discord server~