My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 14

Of course, even considering all that, it was still a far-fetched hypothesis. Ethan knew this himself. But until the truth was clearly revealed, he had to keep all possibilities open.

The decision to release Liam Bernard was also partly to set a trap. If Camille was indeed playing a double game, this would be the chance to expose it. That’s why he had someone tail Bernard and then had Jacques secretly monitor the tail.

However, there was no sign of a trap anywhere. Jacques had an uncanny ability to sense when something was off. No matter how meticulously Girard might have set a trap, if there was anything, Jacques would have sensed the incongruity.

“It’s difficult. Whether it’s black or white.”

“……”

Ethan furrowed his brow in silence. Whether Camille was innocent or not, there was no evidence either way, so he had no choice but to confront it directly. He couldn’t trust anyone easily. He had to see with his own eyes and judge with his own mind. Over the past decade, he had learned this lesson all too well.

To protect Dumont, he couldn’t afford any complacency, even if the person in question was his wife of five years.

Ethan stood up from his seat.

***

After “The History of the Erendel War,” I continued to borrow and read books from Ethan’s library. Thanks to this, I was able to gain a rough understanding of the level of civilization and the societal norms in this world. While I was working tirelessly to clear Ethan’s suspicions, I also needed to think about my life after leaving the ducal house once everything was settled. This was a meaningful use of my time for that purpose.

One day, while I was reading a book borrowed from Ethan, I heard a knock at the door.

“Marie, could you see who it is?”

“Yes, Madam.”

Marie opened the door and gasped involuntarily.

“What is it?” I asked, peeking out. Beyond the open door stood Ethan.

“May I come in?”

Up until now, he had always sent someone to deliver messages, and whenever we met, it was in his study. It wasn’t surprising that Marie was taken aback.

“Please, come in. Marie, could you prepare some tea?”

“No need for tea. But I do need you to leave us alone.”

Marie glanced at me, seeking confirmation despite Ethan being the master of the house. It was quite endearing, reflecting how well she had been trained over time.

“Leave us for a while, Marie.”

“Yes, Madam.” She bowed and left the room.

“An assassin has appeared, I presume?”

Ethan’s gaze fixed on me.

“I figured it was about time. Also, you wouldn’t visit my room personally for anything less serious. Am I right?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Have a seat. Even if you don’t want tea, it’s not a conversation to be had standing.”

I guided Ethan to the sofa. He followed and sat across from me.

“So, what’s the news?”

“As you predicted, someone attempted to kill Liam Bernard.”

“And the baron? Did he confess?”

“Yes. He confirmed that Girard was behind his approach to you.”

“Good. So, your suspicions about me should be cleared now, right?”

“……”

Ethan stared at me with an inscrutable expression.

“Why the silence? Is there something else?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know? You haven’t explained how you knew Girard was behind Bernard.”

“I told you, I have my reasons for not disclosing that.”

“What kind of reasons?”

“If it were something I could tell you, I wouldn’t have needed to hide it in the first place.”

Ethan tapped the armrest of the sofa, his face expressionless. “Are you serious?”

“About what?”

“Do you honestly think I’d drop my suspicions with such a flimsy explanation from someone as intelligent as you?”

Hearing that from Ethan made me feel a strange sense of satisfaction. It was proof that his perception of Camille had completely changed over the past month.

‘Still, he’s more confrontational than I expected.’

I knew this issue would eventually become a stumbling block. Over the past month, I had racked my brain trying to come up with a plausible answer, but nothing convincing came to mind. I could have fabricated a story about seeing Liam conversing with Girard’s subordinate, but knowing Ethan’s nature, he would definitely double-check by interrogating Liam. If that lie were exposed, things would become even more complicated.

‘I can’t exactly confess that I’m a transmigrator from another world…’

I sighed quietly. It wasn’t that I was entirely without a plan. Sometimes, if you can’t give a satisfactory answer, not answering at all can be a solution. It’s just a matter of how you do it.

“I can’t tell you because I have no other choice. I thought you might understand just from that,” I said.

“Are you saying this is a matter of life and death?” Ethan asked, his eyes narrowing.

I didn’t respond, maintaining a calm gaze on him.

“You may not need me to remind you, but you are the Duchess of Dumont, under my protection. I’ll protect what’s mine. No one, not even Girard, will harm a single hair on your head.”

I knew he wasn’t lying. In the original story, Ethan never used his vassals as disposable pawns, even in dire situations, and he protected everyone to the end.

‘Of course, he was also ruthless towards traitors.’

Knowing this, I deliberately let my expression remain skeptical, lowering my gaze.

“We’ll see.”

“Are you saying you don’t trust me?”

“That you’ll protect me? I do,” I emphasized ‘me,’ making it sound like someone else’s life was at stake. This implied that my reluctance to be specific was to protect another person. This was the strategy I had come up with—implying there were reasons too significant to disclose, creating an aura of mystery.

In the end, it was a strategy of reading the opponent’s cues and adapting as needed.

‘After all, this is my specialty. It’s what got me this far…’

Ethan narrowed his eyes at me. “What are you hiding from me, Camille?”

“Wives tend to keep a lot of secrets from their husbands.”

“…Are you seriously joking in this situation?”

“I’m just saying it’s not unusual for me to have secrets. You have plenty of your own.”

“That’s different. This concerns the security of Dumont. I just didn’t feel the need to share unrelated matters with you.”

“It’s not unrelated. I’m the Duchess of Dumont and the lady of this house. You’re the one who decided unilaterally that it wasn’t necessary to tell me.” I put on an indignant expression.

“Stop trying to change the subject, Camille.”

“I’m not. It’s all connected. If you had trusted me and treated me properly as the Duchess of Dumont, this situation wouldn’t have arisen.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“If I had told you beforehand that a suspicious man was approaching me and it seemed like there was a sinister plot behind it, would you have believed me?”

“……”

Ethan fell silent at my words.

“Of course not. You’d have thought I was making up nonsense to get your attention and wouldn’t have taken me seriously. You probably wouldn’t have even given me the chance to talk, saying you were too busy.”

“Camille.”

“If I was sure you’d trust me, I wouldn’t have had to act secretly. I wouldn’t have needed to hide the source of my information from you.”

“……”

Ethan’s eyes clouded over, just as I had anticipated.

“Despite everything, I live in the same house as you, under the same roof. You seem to forget that sometimes.”

When I had said something similar before, Ethan had shown a hint of guilt. It was surprising. From what I read in the original story, Ethan seemed completely indifferent to Camille and usually treated me with cold detachment.

‘At least he feels guilty about neglecting his wife.’

Despite his outward demeanor, Ethan had a surprisingly tender heart. This was evident in his close relationship with his daughter, Elodie.