I’m In Trouble Because My Husband Is So Cute - Chapter 73

‘…If the Crown Princess becomes Emperor, it would be better for this empire.’

Well, there was no point in thinking like this. With that in mind, Iellie wiped Zachary’s back. He then closed his eyes gently in her arms.

…After all, it seemed impossible to live without Iellie.

‘Well, Zachary seems to have calmed down a bit now.’

Iellie smiled with a sigh mixed in. Her cute husband’s mind was close to a fragile glass, so she had to take good care of him. Still, she was glad that things seemed to have gone well, Iellie at the time thought so.

However, she was mistaken that things would be easily resolved…

A strong aftershock awaited them.

* * * 

Iellie and Zachary went straight down to the Duchy soon after. The Duke was already waiting for the two of them. Although it was perceived by the public as a strange change of weather, of course, he knew the truth.

“I have heard everything.”

As soon as they arrived, in front of the two people who were called to the Duke’s office, he uttered in a cold voice.

“Zachary.”

“Yes.”

“You couldn’t overcome your emotions in the imperial castle and went on a rampage.”

His cold eyes stared at Zachary.

Hearing that rebuke, Zachary only drooped his head heavily. It was the opposite of Iellie, who was looking at the Duke with an angry face.

The Duke continued.

“That’s pathetic. I expected you to behave properly as the Young Duke.”

“…I have no excuse.”

Iellie, who was squinting at the apologizing Zachary, bit her lip.

‘…This isn’t right… protest against the Duke.’

“It’s not Zachary’s fault, the Emperor…!”

“Iellie.”

The Duke’s cold gaze turned to her as he tilted his head and asked.

“Do you think I am ignoring that fact and rebuking Zachary?”

She swallowed a sigh. Iellie had spent a long time together with the Duke, and his attitude had since been quite relaxed, too. It had been a long time since the Duke had such a cold face.

He then spoke in a low tone.

“It was not unexpected that the Emperor would behave that way.”

The Duke frowned slightly, and a deep trough was formed between his forehead. Then, he sneered a little.

“The Emperor’s intentions are always obvious.”

His voice was very nerve-wracking. Meanwhile, Zachary was silently listening to the Duke’s rebuke.

“He will try to scratch Hessenweitz somehow and push his limbs in. It was all within expectation.”

“…Forgive me.”

“Are you still giving excuses to the Emperor in this way?”

The blue eyes stared at Zachary. As the momentum was so intense, Iellie also shrank slightly. At the same time, the Duke continued.

“Zachary. I never thought you would be so stupid.”

“….”

“The person you cherished the most, and should not have left your side, was your wife.”

A cold voice fell.

Hearing those words, Zachary’s chest grew cold as if he had swallowed a large chunk of ice.

“But, even you can’t protect Iellie properly, leaving the Emperor and her alone.”

Zachary bit his lips hard.

‘Of course, I would do that.’

He wanted to protest if he could because it was Iellie who insisted that he build a relationship with the nobility of the capital. Nevertheless, the Duke’s anger was justifiable.

‘…I should have been more careful.’

After walking out of the Imperial Palace, he looked at Iellie, who was lying on the bed, and returned to the Duchy with her. At the same time, he thought of her the whole time, watching her purposely laugh to ease the mood.

‘It’s my fault.’

Every time he saw her smile, his guilt deepened. The Duke had pinpointed that part.

“Though Duke, Zachary, nor I knew this was going to happen.”

“Iellie.”

“And, I was the one who asked him to meet the nobles of the capital. So—!”

Iellie kept interfering.

The Duke lowered his gaze to face her, then shook his head, “Of course, I do not deny that some of your opinions are included. However…”

“Du, Duke.”

“…Wasn’t Zachary the one who ultimately made the choice?”

Hearing those words, she stopped.

…This wasn’t it. She glanced at Zachary. He couldn’t contain his guilt anymore and was choked in it. Still, the Duke spoke his words with an angry face.

“If you continue this marriage, you are the one who will suffer the most.”

“I am okay!”

“No, I’m not okay.”

The Duke captured Iellie in his eyes. The transparent, inorganic eyes looked like colored glass. Countless emotions had permeated in, though he was already keen on hiding his feelings.

“…And, Zachary won’t be okay either.”

“Wait a minute, that’s…!”

“At least now, Zachary is not capable of having a family of his own.”

Hearing those words, Zachary and Iellie were frozen side by side. The Duke continued with an expressionless face.

“Of course, he didn’t just fail to protect his wife… He even ran on a rampage with his wife in front of him.”

“It was an unavoidable situation!”

“It is about life. Saying that it was an unavoidable situation would not change things.”

Uttering so, he crossed his arms and gazed back at the two of them.

‘What should I do?’

Iellie chewed her lips.

“It means you might die because of Zachary.”

“….”

“….”

A chilly silence passed.

The Duke gave a command to the two with a voice as resolute as a sword.

“So, get a divorce.”

For a moment, it felt like the world had stopped. Iellie raised her voice towards the Duke for the first time.

“No!”

A sharp edge stood over the Duke’s eyes as he heard those words. He also raised his tone and shouted back.

“It’s not something to be stubborn about!”

“But…!”

“You still don’t understand what I’m saying!?”

At that, Iellie suddenly stopped. The present Duke seemed to be half out of his mind. He was not the usual calm and elegant Duke. He lowered his gaze and shot back at her.

“I already lost Adele because of Zachary!”

“….”

Iellie clenched her fists tightly at those words. It felt like someone had sheathed their mouths tightly shut.

The Duke persisted.

“But, you look like Adele, and I think of you like a daughter… Do you want me to lose you again?!”

“It may not be the case this time. So…!”

“I thought so, too!”

The Duke raised his voice once more.

‘I thought so, too’? Hearing that, Iellie gazed at him.

“I believed it was going to work out somehow, I believed that one day, Adele would open her heart too!”

“Duke, that means…”

“I…too—I, too!”

The Duke paused for a moment.

As the boiling emotions were burning in his head, he struggled to regain his composure. Touching his forehead, his dim face looked terribly tired.

“…There was a time when I believed that three of us could live happily ever after.”

“That, that…”

“When Adele chose her own death… When I found out that it was because of Zachary that she chose death…”

The Duke breathed heavily. His body was already weakened. Because of that, such intense excitement was close to poison.

“…Do you know how I felt?”

“….”

“I’ve already experienced it once, so why take the risk again?”

The Duke’s question sharply pierced his lungs.

‘Duke… Don’t tell me that he must have been looking at me and the former Duchess overlapping each other.’

He struggled to clear his rough breath and asked a question to Iellie in a calm voice.

“Zachary has already run rampant twice in front of you. Do you not understand the meaning of this?”

Iellie couldn’t answer. It was because she thought she now understood what ‘Zachary’s rampage’ meant to him.

“In the past, the day you went to the Asha Festival without my permission.”

“Duke.”

“You were young at the time, so I held it in… I believe it will be better in the future.”

The Duke spoke his words with a weary face. He had a great disappointment in Zachary because his rampage was close to trampling on the Duke’s expectations for a ‘happy family.’

“He can’t even control his strength properly, but he was keeping a low profile. So, I was being very generous.”

He shed a short sneer.

The Duke slowly lifted his tired face and stared straight at Iellie.

“However, not now. You are close to not fully aware of the danger you are in.”

In the past, he wouldn’t have persuaded her like this. When there was a rampage at the Asha Festival, if he had thought about her safety, he should have divorced them from the beginning. However, why didn’t the Duke do it?

‘…Because that child was not important back then.’

He thought it wouldn’t matter if she died. In order to succeed Hessenweitz, Zachary also needed a wife anyway. The child, who was forced to continue the marriage because of her debts, was a perfect fit for his son.

‘But, not now…’

Like a thin spring rain, he slowly fell in love with that child. A girl who looked just like Adele that smiled at him… He suddenly began to think of her like a daughter.

He wanted Zachary and Iellie to be happy.

‘Nevertheless…’

If Iellie died because of Zachary… If he wouldn’t be able to see that smile forever… Now, what would be the use? Adelaide had already left. He didn’t want it to happen again.

The Duke mumbled with a weary face.

“You knew that you might die because of Zachary… Isn’t it just something you want to turn away from?”

“It’s not like that. I…”

“I said it at dinner the day you first came. I will watch your marriage.”

Iellie closed her mouth.

The Duke looked at the two people who had just come of age with a subdued gaze as he opened his mouth again, “Those with the magic of winter lose their minds when they go on a rampage. They will attack a friend or foe without being able to distinguish it.”

“But, Zachary was never like that in front of me.”

“You were just lucky this time. However, there may be no next time.”

There may be no next time.

Those words pierced her chest.

Zachary stared blankly at the Duke. What he said was absolutely right. Even if it wasn’t his intention, he could have hurt Iellie.

‘…Can Iellie be safe by my side?’

When he asked himself that question, the answer that came to him eventually was ‘no.’ He clenched his teeth tightly.

‘I can’t live without Len. However…’

…It might be his selfishness to keep Iellie by his side. That fact struck him deeply. Zachary squeezed his eyes shut.

Perhaps, he was locking her in his cage when she could live a happier life without him.

‘I…’

It didn’t matter if the relationship between the Duchy and the Imperial Family drove to the worst. It was because nothing bothered him more than if she disappeared. As long as he could keep Iellie by his side, he could turn the whole world into an enemy. However…

‘If Len suffers because she remains by my side…’

Letting her go might make her happier. The old question filled his mind.

‘Someday, I might see her in despair… like my mother.’

His mother’s last appearance suddenly came to mind. Zachary’s mother, who was crushed by madness, dread, and agonizing fatigue… A mother who seemed more happy to take her own life. She was losing her mind.

‘Because of me, too.’

What if Iellie became like that…?

He was choked. It felt like someone was squeezing his neck with all their might.

“Still, Duke. I am very sorry to have to tell you this…”

At that moment, Iellie carefully opened her mouth. Her unwavering, light green gaze stared straight at the Duke.

“Though I am not Lady Adelaide.”

“….”

“I understand that the Duke loves Lady Adelaide so much, so you’re worried about us.”

The Duke was silently listening to Iellie. She took in her breath and then spoke up.