My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 154

I sat in the waiting room with my face hidden beneath a veil.

I had scheduled a confession thirty minutes later. Confessions were all by appointment, so for the next hour or so, no one would be entering this room.

No one except one person—Gabriel.

Eventually, the appointed time of four o’clock arrived. But the waiting room door remained firmly closed. Even after waiting another twenty minutes, nothing changed.

‘…Is he not coming today?’

Given that the trial was next Monday, meeting Gabriel today would’ve been ideal.

‘Well, things don’t always go the way you hope.’

In any case, I had already prepared for the possibility that Gabriel wouldn’t show today.

Now it was time for my appointment with Father Dreyfus. I rose to receive confession.

When I returned to the waiting room after confession, I froze for a moment at the sight of a man sitting in the waiting room chair.

The man stood and removed his hat.

“It’s me, madam.”

It was Arthur.

“Baron Roban. Since when have you been here?”

“Actually, I arrived before you did. I thought it necessary to confirm whether Blanchard would really show up or not. There were also some matters regarding the request that I wanted to discuss with you.”

I nodded and sat beside Arthur.

“It seems he won’t be appearing today.”

“So it appears. Do you think my letter reached him?”

“Yes. I entrusted it, along with the ring, to the carpenter caring for Eric. And I also confirmed that ‘someone’ picked up the letter two days ago.”

I furrowed my brow slightly at Arthur’s words. “Two days ago… That’s a bit tricky.”

“Yes. It might not have been enough time for him to make a decision. From Blanchard’s perspective, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that this was a trap from the Girard side.”

“For now, we’ll have to look to next week. What did you want to tell me, Baron?”

“A few things, but let me report first. Toma met his son safely and is currently in southern Aubert. I have a man stationed there, so you can reach them whenever you wish.”

“Thank you. You did well.”

Arthur shrugged and continued, “Honestly, I thought you would reach out to me first. I assumed you’d be eager to know how the request turned out.”

“As you know, Baron, I’m not in a position to move around freely. Even visiting the pub with Toma was quite a stretch for me.”

That was true. To make that happen, I had to arrange a visit to my family, stop by the watch shop, bribe the manager, and change clothes with a clerk—an exhausting and complicated process.

“I figured if I met Blanchard today, I’d naturally learn the outcome. And I also more or less expected you to come. And…”

“And?”

“I believed that if it was you, Baron, you’d handle everything flawlessly.”

At my words, Arthur smiled faintly. “I’m honored to hear you say that.”

“Don’t get too flattered. Considering the reputation of the Black Gentleman, that much was expected.”

“Well, I suppose I walked into that one.”

“Besides the report, what else did you want to say?”

“It’s about the ‘reward’ you mentioned in your letter.”

When I first met Arthur to make the request, I promised to tell him the location of the gem known as the ‘Chimera’s Heart’ as compensation.

Originally, Arthur was fated to acquire that gem in the story. Just five years later than now.

“You want proof that the Chimera’s Heart is really there?”

“Do you have such proof?”

I shook my head. “I don’t have any physical evidence I can show you now. But I can tell you how the gem ended up in the Marquis of Lacoste’s possession.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“The initial theft of the Chimera’s Heart was an inside job. The culprit was the eldest son of Count Medi Dario, the original owner.”

“…You’re saying Philip Dario was behind it?”

“Yes. The reason the convoy was wiped out, and why it was even possible, was because there were traitors inside. After stabbing their comrades to death, they staged the scene to make it look like an external attack. They had even prepared substitute corpses in advance to pass off as their own. That’s why no one could figure out who had attacked the convoy.”

Arthur’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Indeed. That fits. So why is that gem now in the hands of the Marquis of Lacoste?”

“Philip insisted from the start that the Chimera’s Heart should be sold. The Dario family was facing serious financial trouble at the time. But Medi refused to listen. He said a gem this rare and extraordinary had to have a reason for emerging from their family’s mine, and insisted on keeping it. He believed it would bring luck to the family.”

“So Philip stole the Chimera’s Heart and sold it to the Marquis of Lacoste?”

“No. Philip sold it to the royal family of Berg. Since the gem was stolen and too famous within the country, he had to go far.”

“What? Then why… Ah.”

Arthur let out a soft exclamation as realization dawned.

I smiled. “That’s right. The Crown Princess Charlotte, who recently gave birth to a prince, was originally a princess of Berg. When she came to Alveni for her marriage, the Chimera’s Heart was part of her dowry. The Emperor recognized the gem immediately—he’d seen it back when it first emerged from the mine. Fearing that others might also identify it and start rumors, he decided to sell it.”

“To the Marquis of Lacoste.”

“Yes. The Marquis was one of the wealthiest men in the Empire, but at the time, he was under investigation for tax evasion through manipulated estate records.”

“So His Majesty covered up the investigation in exchange for forcing the Marquis to buy the gem at a high price. And with a guilty conscience, the Marquis wouldn’t dare speak about the gem’s true origin.”

“Exactly.”

Arthur clicked his tongue. “Well, that’s quite a tale—far more fascinating than I expected.”

“Does it fan your competitive spirit, Baron?”

“I won’t deny it.”

We shared a smile.

Because he paid a fair price to the Emperor, the Chimera’s Heart was entirely in the Marquis of Lacoste’s legal possession. If it had belonged to the imperial family, not even Arthur would consider stealing it—and I wouldn’t have been able to sell him the information.

Moreover, the Marquis had skeletons in his closet. For a gentleman thief like Arthur, he was the perfect target.

“But how did you come by such incredible information, madam?”

“I can’t say. It’s a complicated matter.” I pressed a finger to my lips.

Arthur chuckled aloud. “It seems the title of Black Gentleman suits you more than me. Though, of course, in your case, we should say Black Lady.”

“I’ll pass. It doesn’t sound very appealing. And I’m not fond of black clothing,” I replied with a playful smile. “Then is that the end of our business?”

“No, just one last thing. What about the other request you mentioned before?”

“Ah…”

It was something we had briefly discussed the last time I met Arthur.

“The arrangements for your other request are nearly complete. A new identity, transportation, travel route, and even a settlement location—all prepared. If the time comes when you need to leave immediately, let me know. I can have everything ready for you to depart that very night.”

I shook my head. “Please scrap that request. I no longer need to run.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Arthur looked at me silently for a moment. Perhaps he saw the certainty in my eyes, because he smiled quietly.

“Understood. We’ll leave it at that, then.”

***

That night, Ethan didn’t return home until very late. I went to greet him at the entrance.

While the servants bowed in unison, he walked straight to me and embraced me.

“Did you have a good day? Everything all right?”

“What could’ve happened? We even spoke this morning. You act like we’ve been apart for days…”

Embarrassed, I replied with an awkward smile.

It still felt strange when Ethan acted this affectionate in private—let alone in front of the staff.

“It felt like weeks to me. Besides, you said you were volunteering today.”

“Yes. It went well. The priest, the nuns, and the children all seemed healthy.”

“That’s good.”

“I need to talk to you about something. Do you have a moment?”

“What is it? Something about work?”

Naturally, ‘work’ referred to the Girard matter. I nodded.

We headed to Ethan’s study. Once the door was closed, he turned to me.

“What is it?”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you to lift Mael and Jacques’ probation.”

Ethan paused.

“Camille. That’s…”

“I’m not just asking for leniency. I need them for something related to next week’s trial.”

At that, Ethan’s expression grew serious.

“What is it?”