I’m In Trouble Because My Husband Is So Cute - Chapter 25

“You’ve become so brazen these days. You need to think more about your mother.”

Zachary’s expression hardened in an instant. He bit his lip and shot at the Duke.

“That’s my mother and my problem.”

“Hmm…”

“Besides, even if father intervened, mother wouldn’t be happy.”

At his words, the Duke’s expression darkened slightly. He nodded his head gently and murmured. “Perhaps it is.”

“….”

“But, I am Adele’s husband.”

The Duke’s blue eyes stared intently at Zachary. His gaze was as cold as ice.

“Isn’t it natural for those who lost their wives to hate those who caused that?”

At that, Zachary dropped his head heavily, as if he couldn’t defend himself from those words. The Duke then shrugged his shoulders.

“And, you have good reason to be polite to me.”

“Father.”

“Because I’m the only one who can give you what you need most.”

Zachary stared at the duke with all his might.

It was clear what the Duke was saying.

Iellie. If he wants her to remain as his wife, he would also want to fully protect her himself. Zachary’s winter magic alone is not enough. The status of the ‘Heir Apparent of Hessenweitz’ that the Duke can give is essential.

“Isn’t that right?”

The two were silent for a moment. As the Duke did not avert his gaze, the first to turn their head was Zachary.

“Let’s go, Len.”

“Wait. Wait a minute. Zachary?”

“…Let’s go. Please.”

“Please,” Zachary’s voice trembled faintly.

A voice that trembled gently like a wounded young animal. Iellie immediately froze on the spot. She must have made some big mistake. Could it be that there was ‘something’ that Zachary didn’t really want to show…?

“Uh, yeah. All right, let’s go.”

Iellie nodded her head. Zachary grabbed her wrist and left the portrait room.

The door closed with a bang.

The Duke’s face, seen through the closing door, was expressionless.

*** 

After following Zachary helplessly, she opened her lips and asked. He gripped her wrist so tightly that a throbbing pain came from the wrist he was holding.

Enduring the pain, she spoke cautiously.

“Za, Zachary?”

“….”

“Zachary.”

After calling him several times, Iellie swallowed a sigh. He didn’t seem to be able to listen.

“My wrist hurts…”

At that moment, Zachary suddenly stopped on the spot. The blue eyes look like they’ve been hit by cold water. He turned to Iellie and let go of her wrist, astonished. Moments later, he whispers softly.

“So, sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Iellie shook her head. But, her wrists were already swollen and red.

Pain filled Zachary’s eyes as he gazed at her. He carefully grabs her wrist and places his lips on the spot where it has heated up red. It was a reverent and guilty gesture as though worshiping the only goddess.

“Len.”

“Hmm.”

“…Sorry.”

A low voice. Would such a voice come out because she created a serious fear?

Iellie lost her words.

“Is that the place I shouldn’t go…?”

“No. There’s nowhere in this Duke’s Castle you can’t go. But…”

Zachary slowly raised his head. The dark blue eyes were dazzling. He asked a question as if he was squeezing them out. “…Why the hell did you go there?”

“Sorry, I was just curious about your mother…”

“You don’t have to wonder about that.”

Zachary spoke persistently.

It was completely different from usual. Iellie looked at him with a puzzled face.

Then, he raised his hand and touched his forehead. The pale blue eyes disappeared under the long eyelashes, and the pale face was also hidden under the shadow of a hand.

A low voice uttered out.

“What the hell am I doing, I…”

“Are you okay?”

“Len.”

Zachary desperately called her. Hanging like a young child who was pushed off a cliff.

“You know… I like you so much.”

‘…What?’

Iellie blinked her eyes. She doesn’t know what this is all of a sudden. Nonetheless, he continued babbling.

“You are so precious. You are my salvation and a miracle.”

Normally, she would have slapped him on the back saying he was being too cheeky, but now she couldn’t. He looked so desperate in front of her eyes. His face was filled with fear as though his feet would collapse at any moment.

“…I just want to show you my good side.”

“Zachary.”

“So, so…”

He bit his lip tightly and squeezed them. The eyes that used to be as clear like the spring sky are now frozen as blue as an old glacier.

‘Calm down…’ She caressed his tight forearm. He hung his head heavily.

“…There are so many things I don’t want to tell you.”

Zachary’s voice calmed down. As if it were a confession sacrament, he continued stuttering. “I’m scared to think that you might hate me, even though I know I shouldn’t be like this.”

“Zachary?”

Unable to understand his actions, Iellie, without realizing it, narrowed her eyebrows and asked.

“Why would I hate you?”

She said it several times. She doesn’t hate him, but he’s always afraid of being abandoned.

“You don’t know about me yet. About my mother…”

Iellie stiffened for the first time at the sound of the thin voice.

That was true.

Former Duchess, ‘Beautiful Adelaide.’

On that subject, Iellie was always excluded. Both the Duke and Zachary never told her about it.

He whispered to her after staring at her blankly. “I’m sorry. I should have told you everything honestly beforehand.”

“…Zachary.”

“I really don’t know what to do with you. I…”

Looking at Zachary, who was confused, Iellie bit her lips. Everything was ultimately her fault. It’s embarrassing that she kept saying to him, ‘You’re not a monster.’

She wished he wasn’t hurt.

‘Whatever the intention was, it’s as good as cutting him in the back.’

What she did was that kind of mistake. With that thought in mind, she was a little disillusioned with herself. He doesn’t have to tell her about his pain, though she couldn’t resist her curiosity and hurt Zachary.

“No, this is my fault.”

Iellie shook her head. The deep blue eyes, in confusion, stared at her.

“Len?”

“You don’t have to talk about things you don’t want to, there’s always a past that you don’t want to talk about.”

Saying so, she furrowed her eyebrows. Iellie exhaled a long sigh. She hated herself and couldn’t stand it.

“…To the topic I talked about while pretending to be smug.”

“Len.”

“I’m sorry, Zachary.”

She gave strength and hugged him. Not knowing that she would come to hug him first, Zachary stood firm on the spot.

Iellie buried her head in his arms and whispered in a small voice.

“I didn’t mean to forcefully pry in. I was just curious.”

“Len…”

“Someday, when you want to talk, when that time comes…”

Her little hands pat the withered back, trying to relax him with those friendly gestures. “Tell me then, okay?”

“….”

“It’s hard because I don’t want to see you alone.”

Iellie gives strength and says so. Zachary looked down at her with an indescribable gaze.

‘Len doesn’t lie. However…’

He took a breath.

She always smiles warmly at him, but will she smile the same after she hears about his mother? He was not confident. Zachary dropped his head heavily.

“I, I’ve always been afraid that one day you’ll despise me.”

“Why would I think like that? It’s never going to happen.”

‘There’s no way I can despise you.’

She bit her lip and looked into his eyes. It was a serious look.

“…I know. Still—”

The trembling fingertips caressed Iellie’s cheek. He doesn’t have the courage to look into her eyes, so he avoids her gaze. “The reason why my father called me a ‘monster’ …You should know as well.”

“…Hey, what do you mean by that?”

Can he really talk about this? Will the pale green eyes like the light of spring despise him , or will she be drenched in fear? Zachary can’t stand it because he was afraid.

Nevertheless, a relationship without trust is like a sandcastle built on the beach. The truth has been concealed for too long. Iellie has a right to know.

In the end, he opened his mouth to let out his breath.

“My mother died because of me.”

“….”

“If it weren’t for me, mother would have been alive by now.”

The moment when Iellie was silent felt like an eternity.

Zachary felt his whole body tremble.

Why did his mother choose death… The reason for that choice was obviously Zachary. Better to kill herself, that must be what she thought. The child born to her was so terrifying.

‘It would have been better if she had just died giving birth to me.’

She smiled bitterly before closing his eyes and recalled an old nightmare. The image of his mother cursing everyone in despair constantly pictured in his mind.

‘Mother.’

His mother’s eyes, full of madness, flashed before his eyes. The green eyes, stained with vivid hatred, could always be met only in nightmares. She stared straight at Zachary and smiled as her words spit out like a curse.

[ ‘You killed me.’ ]

His mother’s cold fingers caress her cheek. She was a mother who never once loved her own son.

[ ‘If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be like this.’ ]

His mother’s words wrapped around him like shackles. But he couldn’t even blame his mother.

‘Because I was the one who ruined everything.’

It was the first time he had spoken of his mother’s death in front of Iellie. In addition, what drove his mother to death. He was scared… He’d rather run away.

Zachary continued with the feeling of being sentenced to death.

“The picture that my mother drew is what I looked like when I ran away.”

“…Zachary.”

“Because I’m a monster who can’t control my power properly… even in front of important people.”

Zachary smiled bitterly. He’s been like that before. The year he first met Iellie, when they secretly went to the Asha Festival.

Unable to overcome his feelings, he went on a rampage in front of her. It was the same thing in front of his mother.

“Even then, I couldn’t control my emotions…”

Zachary bit his lips and spoke. The thin eyelids trembled, and he mumbled softly.

“So, I ended up showing mother a monstrous figure.”

“Zachary, that’s…”

“My mother was shocked to see that. She probably couldn’t admit it.”

The voice gradually lowered. With his head bowed down, he was almost whispering. “She risked her life to give birth to me, but the fact that a child born like that is a monster…”

The blue eyes trembled anxiously. Zachary, who continued to stutter, stopped talking.

“…You wouldn’t be able to stand it either.”

“That, but—”

“Besides, you’ve seen my terrible side. It was me who ultimately put mother to her death.”

After being silent for a while, Zachary continued his words again.

The mother, who had chosen her death, did not look back to her son until the very end. How could he make someone despair at the same time he was born, and even take their life?

He was an unforgivable sinner.

An empty gaze looked down at her.

“So, that’s why my father hates me… Actually, I can understand.”

A low voice rang out. He held his breath and waited for Iellie’s reply, who was staring quietly at him.

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