My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 146

Arthur had two secretaries. One handled his daytime affairs and social life, while the other took care of underworld matters.

Cécile was, of course, the latter. She also acted as the point of contact for guests presenting cards at the pub.

At first glance, all of Roban’s cards looked identical, but each one had a subtly different marking. That must’ve been how Cécile recognized me immediately, despite never having met me.

‘Even though I switched clothes with the watch shop employee, she didn’t mention a thing. She really is a pro.’

“I’d like to meet with Baron Roban. Would that be possible?”

At my request, Cécile checked her notepad and asked, “Do you have a preferred time?”

“The sooner the better. Right now, if possible.”

Cécile gave a slightly troubled expression. “I’m sorry, but that might be difficult at the moment.”

It was more or less what I expected. Arthur Roban was a busy man. His residence wasn’t even nearby, so I hadn’t really expected to meet him on the spot.

“I’ll contact him right away. I can’t confirm anything yet, but he may be available for an hour or two around five this afternoon. Would that time work for you?”

It wasn’t even 2 p.m. yet, so I’d have to wait at least three hours. Considering I needed to return to the watch shop and then head to my family’s home, it was an unrealistic plan.

“That’s fine. Please go ahead. However, I may not be able to meet him myself. Could you arrange for this person to meet him on my behalf?”

Cécile’s gaze shifted to Toma. “And this is…?”

“Monsieur Toma Reggiani. He’ll be accompanying the request I’m making of the Baron. You can trust him. I vouch for him.”

“Ah, I see. Then shall I consider him the Duchess of Dumont’s representative?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

Toma furrowed his brow slightly—understandably so. None of this had been discussed with him beforehand.

In fact, even inviting him to meet at the pub today had been sudden, with no real explanation beyond ‘I’ll explain when we meet.’

I took out the letter I had prepared in advance and handed it over.

“Please deliver this to Baron Roban. It details the request.”

“Understood. I’ll make sure he receives it.” Cécile accepted the letter politely.

“If possible, I’d like Monsieur Reggiani to remain here until the Baron arrives. Would that be all right?”

“Yes. I’ll guide him to a waiting room.”

“Thank you.”

Cécile led us to another room—a lounge-like space with a table, sofa, and some light refreshments.

Once Cécile had left, Toma finally spoke. “So, when were you planning to explain?”

“I was about to. You’ve heard the name Arthur Roban before, right?”

“I’ve spent quite a while in the underworld myself. Of course I know the Black Gentleman,” Toma replied in his usual blunt tone.

“Then I can skip the basic details. Baron Roban will guide you to where Eric is. It’s a bit far for me to go myself.”

The village where Eric lived was two days away by carriage from the capital.

Even though I had managed to slip away with some clever planning, traveling that far was nearly impossible.

“Is a guide really necessary? Wouldn’t it be enough just to give me the address?”

“If I did that, I’d have no way of knowing if you actually went to meet Eric or not.”

Toma’s expression stiffened slightly. He looked at me for a moment before asking, “What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. I thought maybe you’d go just to see from a distance that Eric is safe, then vanish without meeting him.”

“…What makes you think that?”

I shrugged slightly. “Just a hunch.”

“……”

Toma kept a neutral face, but couldn’t fully hide his unease. He had undoubtedly been torn over that very thought these past few days.

In the original story, Toma chose to turn himself in, saying, “I’ve done too many terrible things over the years. I don’t deserve to face my son.”

I didn’t think his thoughts had changed all that much this time either.

‘Back when he helped me escape, Toma was too shocked by the news that his son was alive to think clearly.’

If Toma ended up making the same choice as in the original story, the plan to reunite father and son and draw Gabriel out would fall apart. I couldn’t let that happen.

‘Even setting that aside… it would be too sad for both Toma and Eric.’

I watched Toma’s reaction for a moment before speaking again. “If you’re hesitating because you feel unworthy of seeing your son again, or because you think he’d be happier without you—you’re wrong. Completely wrong.”

“……”

“Eric needs his father. He lost his mother. You’re the only family he has left in this world.”

Toma finally spoke in a low, cracked voice, “…It’s already been three years. He was so young then… he might not even remember my face.”

“That’s not true. I told you before—Eric remembers the lullaby you used to sing.”

Toma bit his lip slightly. “It must be a faint memory. Maybe it’s better left forgotten. If he learns what I’ve done these past three years… he might think he’d be better off without a father like me.”

“That’s not true!”

I raised my voice without meaning to. Toma flinched and looked at me.

“It’s true you’ve done wrong. But you were following the Duke of Girard’s orders.”

“…That doesn’t erase the crimes I committed,” he said in a dark tone.

“Of course not. But let’s be honest here. Was your previous work so different?”

“……”

Toma’s eyes widened slightly. He clearly hadn’t expected that.

Before joining the Girard intelligence unit, Toma had worked for an underworld fixer group. Both jobs were essentially half-criminal in nature.

“If you felt so guilty, you should’ve quit and found honest work long ago. By your logic, that would’ve been the right thing to do.”

Toma clenched his teeth. “…Someone like you couldn’t possibly understand. I’ve lived in the gutters since I was even younger than Eric. I had to steal to survive. I had to make myself untouchable to stay alive. There was no other option.”

I nodded. “I know. That’s exactly why I said it.”

“…What?”

“You didn’t have another choice. Everything you did over the past three years wasn’t because you wanted to. The Duke of Girard used you like a puppet—manipulating your grief and hatred after losing your family.”

“……”

“Go see Eric, Toma. Let him know he’s not alone. Let him know how much his father loves him. You can pay for your crimes after that.”

Toma’s eyes trembled. He looked pained.

“But…”

“Even if you can’t forgive yourself, that’s your judgment alone. Eric deserves a chance too. Whether he thinks his father is a bad man, or would’ve been better off without one—that’s for him to decide.”

“……”

I looked at Toma and added softly, “…And I promise you, even after learning everything, he won’t think that way.”

That wasn’t a lie or baseless hope. It was what Eric had actually said when he reunited with Toma in the side story.

“……”

Toma closed his eyes and bowed his head.

I left the building, leaving him behind.

I had done all I could—but there was no guarantee I had fully changed his mind.

‘I’ll have to leave the rest to Arthur.’

Since I couldn’t go in person, Arthur’s role was crucial this time.

The letter I sent him included detailed explanations and meticulous instructions. Given his reputation and the competence he had shown in the original story, I was sure he could handle it.

I quickened my pace toward the watch shop.