How To Escape From A Devilish Husband (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
Dining room.
“Why do you intend to go out?”
The man, who had finished his own meal in an instant, was persistently watching Delphine’s utensils move.
There was no need to even say she wouldn’t leave until she’d finished the soup right before her.
His intent was already perfectly conveyed through his gaze alone—staring intently at her with his chin resting on the table.
Fortunately, soup wasn’t a difficult dish to swallow.
‘How should I answer…?’
After a brief hesitation, Delphine slowly moved her spoon toward her mouth and replied.
“…I need to get some things.”
Even she thought it was a feeble excuse.
Everything was provided within the mansion, and errands like purchasing necessities were usually assigned to servants.
“I wanted to choose a dress myself. I simply prefer selecting things personally.”
So Delphine hurriedly added a follow-up.
Expecting him to dismiss it as a transparent lie, she was surprised to see him frown slightly with an unexpectedly serious expression.
“It’s still too soon for you to leave the mansion. There are still… matters I must settle.”
The moment he uttered the word “settle,” a cold, ruthless glint flickered in his eyes.
But he immediately returned to his elegant, gentle demeanor and gave her a faint, charming smile.
“I’ll wrap things up as quickly as possible.”
Delphine awkwardly mirrored his smile as she swallowed another spoonful of soup.
What exactly did he have to do?
Well, it made sense—handling the aftermath of a rebellion and securing a pardon for the daughter of a traitor surely required numerous formalities.
Perhaps because yesterday’s events had made her keenly aware of her current situation anew.
Delphine was once again struck by just how much she owed him for being alive and well today.
He finally stood up after patiently waiting until she finished her soup.
Judging by how he glanced at his pocket watch from inside his jacket, it seemed his departure time was approaching.
“Going out isn’t feasible, but how about taking a walk in the garden instead? It’ll surely lift your spirits.”
Even in that moment, he didn’t forget to add those words to her.
Delphine looked at him briefly, then wordlessly nodded.
[This is the timeline separator]“Wow. The garden’s changed so much already…”
“The gardener must’ve completely redone it. Goodness, it’s beautiful.”
The maids accompanying Delphine on her garden stroll kept exclaiming in admiration.
Delphine, feeling dazed, pulled the shawl draped over her arm higher.
Just yesterday, when she’d looked out the window, the garden had been utterly barren.
It was late autumn, and the cold wind had already begun to blow.
Yet now, the entire garden before her bloomed with vibrant flowers.
They must have been cultivated indoors in a greenhouse and then transplanted here.
“These are all such precious flowers. It must’ve cost a fortune, miss?”
Betty cried out excitedly.
Anna, who had been sighing in wonder beside her, quietly asked as well.
“Mistress… I mean, Madam. Did Master give orders to the guards too?”
Yesterday, she hadn’t even been allowed past the mansion gates, but today the guards knelt on one knee before her.
“Please forgive our rudeness from yesterday, Mistress.”
Even their way of addressing her had changed.
‘Mistress… they say.’
“…Yeah, okay.”
Despite the cold weather, Delphine stubbornly insisted on sitting outside in the garden for a while.
Having been confined indoors for so long, the fresh breeze felt invigorating, clearing even her chest.
Staying inside the mansion kept bringing back vivid memories of that bloodbath.
Although everything had been restored so perfectly that those memories now seemed dreamlike and increasingly hazy.
Oddly, however, her recollection of Ioan, the slave boy who’d disappeared three years ago, grew sharper by the day—truly inexplicable.
“You’ll catch a cold! Can we just go back soon?”
Anna, who always treated her like a child, scolded her again.
Delphine understood—Anna had been with her since birth, after all.
“Yeah, I know…”
Murmuring listlessly, Delphine plucked a purple iris beside her.
‘These aren’t flowers that bloom in this season…’
Planted outdoors in this season, they’d surely wither within days.
Yet the entire garden had been transformed like this—in just one day.
Setting aside how such a feat was even possible, that man remained utterly inscrutable.
Just then, as if reading Delphine’s thoughts, Anna—who had been braiding her luscious red hair—suddenly spoke.
“You’re so beautiful, it’s no wonder Master went to such lengths.”
“…Anna?”
Do you really believe that?
As if hearing Delphine’s unspoken question, Anna spoke again.
“I’ve known you since you were a baby. I always said you’d marry someone noble and live your life cherished and loved.”
Delphine let out a soft, wry laugh at her nursemaid’s innocent remark.
It was the first time she’d smiled since that incident.
Both Anna and she knew that promise was pure nonsense.
In the Empire, there was a common saying: “Red-haired women are headstrong.”
And secretly, Delphine suspected the old superstition might actually be true.
Ever since childhood, she’d been unusually proud and hot-tempered.
Her father had gone to great lengths trying to suppress that fiery temperament of hers.
He must have worried she’d cause trouble in the Imperial Court someday.
‘Yes. That must’ve been why.’
Why her once-affectionate father suddenly turned cold toward her.
Why she felt so unbearably lonely in this mansion, with no mother beside her.
…So much so that she’d leaned on a mere slave boy for comfort.
“…I thought you’d be strong enough for that.”
Love, love indeed.
She recalled the man’s intense gaze as he’d persistently watched over her.
The man who was now her husband.
Was that truly the look of someone gazing at the one they loved?
Again this morning, he’d left the mansion in his perfectly tailored uniform adorned with medals.
He managed the Third District, didn’t he?
…What exactly was his role?
[This is the timeline separator]Pride strode down the long corridor—its red carpet stretching far ahead—with unrestrained confidence.
The audience chamber, symbolizing the Emperor’s authority, was deliberately vast—from the doors all the way to the throne.
Ordinarily, one would approach with head bowed low and steps timidly quick.
Yet the Emperor, lounging on his throne, merely welcomed him warmly as Pride approached in long strides, his head held high and lean, muscular legs carrying him swiftly forward.
“Oh, you’ve come. My loyal right hand.”
Pride gave a perfunctory nod.
At that, the aged Emperor twisted his lips into a sly smirk.
“Well then. Is married life as pleasant as expected?”
His tone carried a hint of mockery.
So, he’d stubbornly forced himself to take the traitor’s daughter—was he satisfied now?
“Yes.”
Pride replied curtly.
His arrogance instantly darkened the old Emperor’s expression.
With a mere wave of his hand, heads rolled beyond the palace gates and noble houses crumbled—yet no noble dared defy this man.
But there was good reason he could afford such insolence.
“…The Third District. This time, the western region.”
The Emperor issued the order sullenly.
The Third District—that forsaken land—had recently seen its parasitic inhabitants stirring with signs of rebellion.
They demanded the right to live like human beings.
The reason their pathetic uprisings weren’t easily crushed was simple.
The Imperial capital was structured in concentric rings: the First District housed the Imperial Palace at its center.
Wrapped around it was the Second District, the commercial quarter.
And surrounding that was the Third District, the industrial zone.
Thus, the Third District occupied nearly the entirety of the capital’s expanse.
If a noble from the First District caused trouble, one could simply eradicate their entire house.
But only this man could effectively suppress the scattered, sporadic coups erupting across that vast territory.
A man strangely powerful—and disgustingly cruel.
“You rejected all the women I offered you.”
Unable to restrain himself, the old Emperor added another remark to his expressionless subordinate.
“No matter how famed Lady Pembroke’s beauty might be, she’s been tainted by treason…”
“The Third District. The west.”
He dared interrupt the Emperor mid-sentence.
Fury sparked in the old man’s eyes, but Pride calmly continued.
“I’ll go exterminate the pests, Your Majesty.”
“Hmph. Additional Imperial Army troops…”
“Unnecessary.”
Only then did the Emperor’s anxious expression ease—relieved that Pride wouldn’t sacrifice his own knights.
The Emperor knew what the people of the Third District called this man.
A demon even gods couldn’t redeem.
A bloodthirsty killer who carried slaughter wherever he went.
“Fine. Then get out of my sight for now.”
Pride bowed his head slightly and strode out of the audience chamber just as boldly as he’d entered.
One of his knights quickly followed behind.
As Pride headed toward the stables where his warhorse rested, a sudden thought struck him.
She’d been so sensitive to the scent of blood.
Remembering the trembling woman standing before her chamber door, a maddening thirst surged within him.
Loosening his suffocating necktie, he murmured in a roughened voice.
“…Clothes.”
“My lord?”
“Prepare an extra set of clothes in my office.”
Though the order made no sense, there was no questioning it.
Pride added softly to his subordinate, who immediately saluted.
“Don’t follow me. I’m going alone.”
He needed to purge this rising instinct.
…So he could stand before her once more, wearing the face of an innocent husband.
Resolved, Pride slowly left the palace.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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