My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 73

‘I’m ruined.’

Elodie hung her head, looking utterly dejected.

‘I practiced so much, yet I couldn’t manage a single word.’

Recalling what had just happened, she wanted to crawl into a hole.

“Welcome, Duchess. It’s a pleasure to have you.” It was just a simple line. There were no difficult words. She had practiced in front of the mirror at least a hundred times over the past few days.

But when she finally stood before the Duchess, her mind had gone completely blank. Not only could she not manage the line, but she couldn’t get a single word out.

The plan had been to say those words, then hand over the bouquet, and quietly add, “Thank you for what you did back then.” Just for the Duchess to hear.

‘But no! I messed it up! I was so pathetic!’

Elodie sighed deeply, clutching and releasing the hem of her dress over and over.

‘The Duchess must have thought, “What’s wrong with this kid?”‘

She had been too nervous to get a good look, but the Duchess’s expression certainly hadn’t been a smile. If anything, she looked slightly displeased.

Elodie was so disheartened that she couldn’t even remember how time had passed afterward.

‘Sigh.’

If this was how it was going to go, she shouldn’t have volunteered to be the one to present the bouquet. At least then, she wouldn’t have embarrassed herself.

Just then, she heard a loud, exaggerated cough above her head. Startled, Elodie looked up.

“What have you been doing so far? You’ve made no progress at all.”

Mother Superior’s stern voice admonished her.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Elodie quickly grabbed the needle again. She had been learning embroidery, but of everyone there, only her embroidery frame was still blank.

Elodie hurriedly tried to thread the needle with her clumsy hands, only to prick her finger.

“Ow…!”

A drop of blood welled up from her fingertip, landing squarely in the center of the embroidery frame. As she watched the white fabric stain red, her vision darkened.

Just then, someone came running over, footsteps echoing loudly.

“Are you alright?!”

Elodie flinched at the loud voice, her shoulders trembling.

“I’m sorry. I-I just—”

The person grabbed Elodie’s hand, lifting it. “Oh dear, such a tiny, adorable finger, and now it’s got such a big hole… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you do dangerous embroidery in the first place…!”

The person sighed, wrapping a handkerchief around Elodie’s injured finger. The handkerchief was incredibly smooth and soft, almost unbelievably so.

Only then did Elodie look up at the person before her.

It was the Duchess. She held Elodie’s hand between both of hers, looking as if she might cry at any moment.

“……”

Elodie blinked, her mouth slightly open in bewilderment.

Suddenly, the Duchess looked up, meeting Elodie’s gaze.

‘Wow, her eyes are so blue…’

They were like the sky on a perfectly clear day—large, beautiful eyes framed by long, thick lashes, just like a princess from a storybook.

But it wasn’t just her eyes. Her nose, her lips—everything about her was the most beautiful Elodie had ever seen. She looked like a doll, though it almost felt insulting to compare her to one.

Just then, the Duchess quickly looked away.

‘Huh?’

Mother Superior approached them.

“Elodie, are you hurt?”

She looked at Elodie’s finger, a concerned expression crossing her face.

“Oh dear, that must be an expensive handkerchief…”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

The Duchess spoke, then let go of Elodie’s hand and stood up.

“The needle was quite large, so the wound might be deep. Please treat it right away to avoid infection.”

“Y-yes, understood.”

Mother Superior raised her eyebrows slightly, looking at Elodie.

“Elodie. You should thank the Duchess.”

“Ah… Th-thank you, Duchess.”

The Duchess looked at Elodie in silence for a moment before twitching the corner of her mouth slightly.

‘…Huh? Was that a smile?’

If anything, it had looked more like a smirk.

‘Is she thinking I’m stupid for getting hurt over something like this?’

Thinking that, Elodie’s spirits sank again.

‘But still…’

The Duchess had been the first to come running when Elodie got hurt, and she was the one who stopped the bleeding. Earlier, she had seemed genuinely concerned.

Elodie quietly held the handkerchief wrapped around her finger.

***

Camille wore a serious expression, lost in thought.

“Thank you for your hard work today, Camille.”

Audrey tried to speak to her, but it seemed Camille hadn’t heard, as she didn’t respond.

“Camille? Are you alright?”

Only when Audrey asked again did Camille finally speak.

“Embroidery is out of the question.”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s too dangerous. Embroidery needles are not tools for young children with tiny hands to handle. They’re practically weapons.”

“Uh… Oh. Is that so?”

“Absolutely. Didn’t you see what happened earlier? The hole in Elodie’s finger? Goodness, the amount of blood that came out! What if it doesn’t heal properly? What if it leaves a scar? If that happens, it will all be my fault!” Camille let out a deep sigh as she spoke.

“No, it’s not your fault. I was the one teaching embroidery in the first place…”

“I should’ve watched more carefully. Then I could’ve prevented her from getting pricked. I knew Elodie wasn’t good with embroidery, so I should’ve anticipated it.”

“Did you? That’s odd. Did we talk about that before…?

“Anyway, let’s stop teaching embroidery. If Elodie injures herself again, I won’t be able to forgive myself,” Camille spoke as if in pain, her expression so serious that it almost seemed grim.

“……”

Audrey was left speechless, looking at Camille in confusion.

***

Using confession as an excuse, I left Audrey at the orphanage again and went to the church.

I had an appointment to meet Arthur.

‘Sigh.’

I couldn’t shake the mood brought on by Elodie’s injury.

Audrey had insisted, “Stopping a lesson that was already in place seems a bit much,” so we eventually agreed that only Elodie would be exempt from embroidery lessons.

‘Not all girls need to learn embroidery in the first place.’

There were plenty of other things Elodie could excel at without risking harm to herself. There was no need for her to learn something that could cause her to get hurt.

Despite the unexpected incident, today had been a success in its own way.

I had achieved my goal of seeing Elodie face-to-face, exchanged a few words with her, and even received a bouquet directly from her.

‘It’s sad that it had to be flowers, though. They can’t be kept forever…’

I sighed softly.

‘I’ll put them in a vase as soon as I get home, and once they wilt, I’ll dry them and frame them.’

It was then that I heard the click of a door opening. I looked up.

Arthur walked in silently and sat down, leaving one seat between us.

“Have you thought about it?”

“Yes.”

“Your answer?”

“The payment you’ve offered isn’t enough for me to take on this job.”

“If the down payment isn’t enough, I’ll offer more.”

“It’s not about the amount. Money isn’t an issue, and taking requests from others isn’t my livelihood.” Arthur stroked his mustache as he spoke.

“Are you not tempted by the Chimera’s Heart?”

“There’s no guarantee that the information you’ve provided is true or that I’ll be able to obtain it.”

“So?” I asked calmly.

“So what?”

“Tell me the condition you want to add, Baron. If you intended to reject me outright, you wouldn’t have prolonged this conversation.”

At my words, Arthur chuckled softly. “I need a guarantee. A guarantee that you won’t break your promise.”

“The name Dumont isn’t enough of a guarantee?”

“Once the second request is completed, you won’t be a Dumont any longer, will you?”

“Fair point. So what do you suggest?”

“Give me one of your weaknesses.”

This time, it was my turn to laugh. “Are you serious?”

“What’s so strange about that?”

“For someone like you, Baron, you must already know. I’ve already given you one of my weaknesses.”

“Have you?” Arthur asked in a level tone.

“The second request you mentioned. If you reveal that plan to my husband, that will be the end for me.”

“True enough.”

“Don’t tell me you hadn’t thought of that?”

“I wanted to confirm it. I wanted to be sure of who exactly you were trying to avoid.”

“Are you satisfied now?”

Arthur nodded. “Yes. I accept.”