Marriage with a Suspiciously Demure Husband - Chapter 111.1
Chapter 111.1
“I’m sorry I couldn’t speak. Please, believe Kairos.”
Mrs. Tene pleaded. Even without her magic, I knew. I knew Mrs. Tene’s words were true.
She had spent hours talking, crying, and begging. It pained me that she implored me not to leave Kairos, even though she had done nothing wrong. And I was deeply worried about Kairos.
How agonizing it must have been for him to join forces with the Imperial family and capture the cultists, all for me. It must have brought back memories of his childhood and his parents. Why hadn’t he shown any sign of it?
The thought that his chronic headaches might stem from this pain made my heart ache.
What if the late Duke and Duchess had done something to Kairos that caused this suffering? What if he, like me, was plagued by nightmares? Who could say Kairos was incapable of feeling?
Mrs. Tene’s words echoed in my mind—how she’d had to teach him about positive emotions, one by one. How he’d been so broken that he wouldn’t even flinch if a servant beside him were beheaded. Every moment I’d spent with him began to fill me with regret. I’d even mocked him, saying he was a master manipulator, a brilliant actor…
“I… I love you.”
“You’ve whispered those words to me before. They were all lies.”
“Lies… They weren’t lies. Maybe they were at first. But now…”
“I don’t believe you.”
What must you have felt when you said those words to me?
“I confessed my love for you. I wasn’t just expressing a fleeting interest.”
“Hazel, stop saying things that hurt.”
What other efforts did you make to convey your sincerity? What were you thinking when you tried to explain those feelings you didn’t even understand yourself?
Realizing that the infamous villain I thought I knew was a product of circumstances, not choice, filled me with a deep ache. That ache forced me to confront the feelings I’d been ignoring. It was a lie that I didn’t love Kairos. I still loved him.
My pride was just making me hurt him.
I must have been in the study for hours. As soon as Hizan told me Kairos had returned, I wiped away my tears and ran into the hallway. I rushed outside, my breath catching in my throat, and saw Kairos just entering.
He noticed me, his eyes widening in surprise, then breaking into a bright smile.
“…Idiot.”
You really are an idiot. No, wait, I’m the idiot. How could I not have known when you told me you loved me with every fiber of your being, every single day? You looked at me with eyes like a child showing off a handful of freshly fallen snow, as if nothing in the world was as precious. Faced with his sincerity, my stubbornness felt ridiculous.
“Kairos.”
“Why are you out here?”
I had decided to stay by Kairos’s side and face this danger with him.
“…I have something to tell you.”
“Did something happen today?”
Worry clouded Kairos’s face instantly. His expressions shifted so quickly, so constantly.
“No, nothing happened…”
“Have you been crying?”
“No! I was in the study and… I just yawned.”
I hesitated, blocking his way, and Kairos couldn’t fully enter. The turmoil of the past days resolved itself, and I wanted to tell him my decision immediately.
“What is it…?”
Kairos looked at me, his face etched with anxiety.
“You asked me once, if I could still be here in a year.”
Kairos’s face hardened.
“Hazel.”
“I didn’t answer you properly then because I was trying to calm you down…”
“Hazel.”
Kairos kept interrupting me. He dismissed everyone around us, looking incredibly uneasy.
“Yes?”
“Hazel, if you’re about to answer that question, there’s no rush.”
“Yes?”
“I think I wasn’t in my right mind that day. I thought you had eyes for someone else. I couldn’t control my jealousy. I didn’t mean to confuse you.”
“Kairos, that’s not…”
“Pressure. Yes, honestly, I wanted you to feel pressured.”
“Kairos.”
Seriously, this man…
“So you’d think about me one more time. Because I thought you’d stay even after a year. But I think it was just wishful thinking. I wanted to bring it up again, but I couldn’t.”
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