My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 139

I couldn’t believe it even with my own eyes.

It wasn’t just Camille who had disappeared—Toma was gone as well. The implication was obvious.

‘…No way, was Toma the traitor?’

I had suspected everyone I possibly could, but Toma was the one person I had ruled out. Even though the Intelligence Division had been completely excluded from this operation, I had still summoned Toma to torture Camille. That was how much I trusted him.

It was physically impossible for Toma to have been in contact with the enemy. Ever since losing his family three years ago, he had shut himself in the basement of his quarters for twenty-four hours a day. He only came out when there were prisoners to torture. So not only would it have been impossible for him to leak information, he wouldn’t even have had access to any.

But there was no time to dwell on that. Camille had to be found immediately.

Marlon quickly returned to the basement entrance and asked the guards stationed there, “Where did Toma go?”

“Pardon?”

“The one-eyed torture technician! Did he leave the basement just before I came down?”

When Marlon raised his voice, the guard looked flustered. “Ah, yes. He said he was going to the restroom for a moment.”

“When was that?”

“Not long ago. Just before you came down, sir.”

Marlon ground his teeth. “And the woman?”

“Woman? What woman do you mean?”

“The blonde woman we moved to the basement earlier. Didn’t Toma take her with him?”

“No, that can’t be. That’s impossible.” The guard shook his hands in denial.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Absolutely. If he had, there’s no way we would’ve just let them go.”

The guard spoke with conviction. Marlon looked to the guards and ordered, “Go back down to the basement and search every corner. If you find the woman, report immediately.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Velod!”

At Marlon’s call, Velod rushed over. He was the captain of Marlon’s personal guard and commanded a squad of about thirty men. The forces guarding the mansion and keeping watch over Camille had been drawn from this unit.

“Toma has defected. Check immediately if anyone has left the mansion within the last five minutes, and bring them back. He can’t have gone far. Mobilize the entire force to find him. As long as he’s alive, I don’t care if you cut off his arms or break his legs. Understood?”

“Yes, Your Grace. Understood.”

Velod bowed and led his men out of the mansion in a hurry.

With a grim face, Marlon turned back toward the basement. Being betrayed by Toma stung, but as long as Camille hadn’t escaped, there was still a chance to recover the situation.

This basement had no other exit aside from the entrance Marlon had just passed through. If it was true that only Toma had left, then Camille must still be hiding somewhere down there.

The house where Camille had been confined was about a fifteen-minute carriage ride from the Girard Ducal Residence. It was an unoccupied building, usually vacant, prepared specifically for situations like this to avoid the enemy’s detection. Marlon had several such places ready throughout the capital.

As Marlon descended into the basement with his cane, he saw one of the guards running out of a room, breathless.

“Your Grace!”

“You found her?”

“Yes. But she seems to be unconscious.”

Marlon followed the guard into the room. Inside the open closet door, someone was curled up. Judging by the white hem of the skirt, it appeared to be the indoor dress Camille had been wearing.

“……”

Marlon stood there with narrowed eyes, leaning on his cane. Something felt off. Hiding in such an obvious place? It didn’t make sense. And if she was unconscious…

‘Could it be that she didn’t hide herself?’

Until now, he had assumed Toma had betrayed him and collaborated with Camille. But what if that wasn’t the case?

What if, during the torture, Toma had accidentally killed her? Then everything would make sense—knocking out the guards and fleeing to cover up the mistake.

“Drag her out. Check if she’s alive.”

“Yes, sir.”

The guards grabbed Camille from the closet and dragged her out.

The moment her face was revealed under the lantern light, Marlon instinctively widened his eyes.

The woman in the closet wasn’t Camille. She had short brown hair and a plain face full of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

A face he recognized. She was the maid who had opened the door when Marlon first arrived at the house.

One of the guards checked under her nose and said, “She’s still alive. It looks like she just lost consciousness… Your Grace?”

Marlon left the room and ran. He bolted up the basement stairs and grabbed the guard at the entrance by the collar.

“Y-Your Grace?”

“Before I came down, did anyone besides Toma go in or out of the basement?”

“Pardon? Ah… A maid came by. The torture technician said he had an errand and asked for one to be sent down.”

“Came and went? And you just let her pass without checking anything?”

“C-checking? But… she was a maid, sir. What do you mean by checking…?”

The guard stammered in confusion. Marlon clenched his jaw so tightly his teeth audibly ground together.

“You blind fools…!”

***

I took off the headscarf and drew in a shallow breath. The chill of the outside air had never felt so welcome.

My hair, which had once reached my waist, had been chopped off nearly to a short cut. It felt a bit strange, but my body felt noticeably lighter.

I had Toma call for one of the maids, knocked her unconscious, and changed into her clothes.

I could hide my face with the headscarf to some degree, but the real problem was my hair. The length and color were completely different from the maid’s. There was almost no chance this conspicuous blonde hair wouldn’t be noticed.

In the end, the only option left to me was to cut it short enough that it wouldn’t stick out from under the headscarf.

I picked up the sword the fallen guard had been carrying and held it out to Toma.

“Cut it.”

“Cut it…? You mean your hair?”

“Yes. About the same length as yours.”

That’s what I said before turning my back to him. But Toma hesitated, unable to bring himself to cut my hair.

“What are you doing? Hurry up. You know better than anyone we’re running out of time.”

“……”

Finally, Toma grabbed my hair and slashed it off with the sword.

From that moment on, Toma kept glancing at me with a curious look in his eyes. Even now, after our successful escape, he was the same.

‘In this world, it must be unimaginable for a noblewoman to cut off her hair without hesitation.’

But for someone like me, with memories from a previous life intact, it was nothing.

“Is it difficult for you to run?” Toma asked.

I must’ve been limping slightly as I ran.

“My body hasn’t fully recovered yet. But I’m fine. This isn’t the time to be whining.”

“Once we reach a main road, let’s look for a carriage. Though given the hour, I’m not sure if there’ll be any.”

We ran down a dark alley without even a lantern. Fortunately, the place I’d been held was still within the capital. At this pace, getting back to the Dumont estate wouldn’t be too difficult.

After a while, we reached a busy street. But despite the late hour, the atmosphere was strangely chaotic. We saw constables running in lines toward some unknown location, and eventually, even soldiers bearing spears appeared.

Something about it gave me a strange feeling. As I rewrapped my headscarf, I said, “Wait here for a moment.”

“Pardon? What are you—”

I left Toma and approached the soldiers.

“Excuse me. Is something going on?”

One of the soldiers glanced at me and replied, “It’s dangerous. You shouldn’t be wandering around. Go home.”

“Why? What’s happening?”

“Not something a young lady needs to worry about. Don’t get hurt poking around. Just go home.”

That’s when it happened. The loud sound of galloping hooves rang out in the distance. Soon after, multiple knights with lanterns attached to their horses raced down the main road.

Even in the dark, a familiar silhouette stood out. I instinctively widened my eyes.

‘…Ethan?’