My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 75

A feeling of excitement kept lifting the corners of my mouth, but I worked hard to manage my expression so that Ethan, sitting beside me in the carriage, wouldn’t notice.

“Come to think of it, the church you’ve been volunteering at is nearby, isn’t it?” Ethan asked suddenly.

I felt a slight pang of guilt, but I answered with a casual expression. “Oh? Now that you mention it, I guess it is. I hadn’t realized.”

“Is it enjoyable work? …No, I mean, asking if volunteer work is fun seems odd.”

“No, it’s fine. Anything’s better when it’s enjoyable. And actually, I do find it quite fun. As I mentioned before, the children are just so adorable.”

“I see.”

After a brief pause, Ethan spoke again, “…So, you like girls?”

He asked while casually staring out the window.

“Pardon? Oh, yes. I do. Of course, the boys are just as cute and lovely, but there’s something about the girls that’s… I don’t know, a bit fluffier and softer? They feel like they fit more snugly in your arms.”

I really wanted to talk about Elodie since the topic came up, but it would seem too contrived if we met her right after. Besides, Ethan was an unnecessarily suspicious man, so I had to be careful.

“Does that mean… you like girls, but you wouldn’t mind a boy either?”

“Hmm? Well, yes, of course. I just find myself drawn a little more to the girls.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

“Pardon? A relief? What do you mean?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“Well, it’s not guaranteed that things will turn out the way you want…,” Ethan spoke with a slightly awkward expression.

‘What does that mean? Oh, right. Children can’t choose their gender when they’re born, so it wouldn’t be fair to discriminate based on that.’

“Of course. I wouldn’t love a girl more just because she’s a girl, or love a boy any less. That would be awful.”

“…I see.”

Ethan seemed somewhat relieved at my words.

I frowned slightly.

‘Was he worried I might treat the children at the orphanage differently? What a strange thing to worry about.’

At that moment, the carriage came to a stop. Ethan stepped out first, then extended his hand to me. I took his hand and got out of the carriage.

“Wow, is this the place?”

It was exactly the kind of old bookstore I had imagined. The slightly worn sign and the stacks of old books both inside and outside the glass windows made it perfect. It wouldn’t look out of place as a movie set.

“It’s not a particularly big shop, but the owner has good connections, so rare books come in now and then. That’s why I visit regularly,” Ethan explained. “Shall we go in?”

“Ah, just a moment. I need to use the restroom first. Could you go ahead inside?”

Ethan nodded at my words and pushed open the bookstore door, which creaked melodiously.

I glanced at my pocket watch. It was 2:15. I’d asked Elodie to come by 2, so she should already be here.

‘If she got bored waiting, she would definitely be reading as usual. Then Ethan will spot her, and everything will unfold just like the original story!’

I felt too excited to stay still. I wanted to go in right away and check on them, but since I’d told Ethan I was using the restroom, I couldn’t do that.

Struggling against temptation, I wandered outside for about ten minutes.

‘It should be fine now, right?’

I carefully pushed the door open, making sure it didn’t make a sound as I entered the bookstore.

As soon as I stepped inside, the scent of old paper hit me. The shelves were neatly lined with books, spaced out like partitions.

‘Now, where are Ethan and Elodie…’

I lifted the hem of my skirt and walked quietly, searching for them.

After passing two bookshelves, I finally saw Elodie.

Perhaps because she was conscious of being on an errand, she wasn’t sitting in her usual curled-up position but was standing as she read. Of course, even this was indescribably adorable.

‘Look at how her eyes move with each word. Oh, she’s so cute… Wait, but where’s Ethan?’

In the original story, by now, Ethan should’ve approached Elodie, and they should’ve been having an in-depth discussion about the book.

‘Could it be that he hasn’t noticed her yet? It’s such a small bookstore; that doesn’t seem possible…’

As I anxiously looked around, I saw Ethan finally appear in the aisle where Elodie was standing. He was holding a few books, presumably the ones he’d picked to buy.

‘He’s here! Is this the moment?’

Perhaps I had arrived at just the right time. Quickly, I hid behind a bookshelf and peeked out, my heart pounding.

I watched as Ethan walked right past Elodie without even glancing at her.

‘Huh?’

I widened my eyes in disbelief.

‘Wait, what is this? This isn’t supposed to happen.’

Oblivious to my anxious thoughts, Ethan scanned the bookshelves indifferently.

‘No, what are you doing? How can you notice books at a time like this? The cutest, most adorable angel Elodie is right behind you! Your future daughter! The Elodie you’ll love so much!’

I mentally shouted, stomping my foot in frustration.

‘Not there! Behind you!’

Perhaps my desperate telepathy had reached him because Ethan suddenly turned around.

I held my breath, convinced this time he would notice Elodie.

But once again, Ethan passed by her without acknowledging her presence.

‘What on earth…?’

Elodie, for her part, was so engrossed in her reading that she seemed entirely unaware of anyone walking back and forth beside her.

I couldn’t understand it.

Granted, many things had changed from the original story, but there shouldn’t have been anything affecting this meeting.

In the original, Ethan had noticed Elodie because he thought, ‘Is that little girl reading such a thick book?’

‘It’s the same now. The only difference is that she’s standing instead of sitting… Wait.’

Suddenly, I realized something I hadn’t noticed before.

The book Elodie was reading wasn’t particularly thick. In fact, by regular standards, it was rather thin.

‘Wait, is that page…’

From my vantage point, I could just make out the page Elodie was reading.

Upon closer inspection, I realized it was filled with illustrations.

‘Is that… a picture book?’

Now it all made sense.

It was perfectly normal for a child to read a picture book. That’s why it hadn’t caught Ethan’s attention.

‘Why, Elodie, why are you suddenly reading a picture book? You graduated from those ages ago!’

Father Dreyfus had even mentioned that Elodie borrowed books meant for adults.

‘Well, not that she can’t read picture books at all, but… Why now, of all times?’

It felt like some cruel twist of fate.

As I sighed in frustration, I suddenly heard Ethan’s voice.

“…What are you doing there?”

Startled, I turned around to see Ethan watching me from the other side of the bookshelf.

“Oh… You’re back?”

“What do you mean, ‘I’m back’? You’re the one who came here. I’ve been waiting.”

“R-right. Haha.”

I let out an awkward laugh.

“……”

Ethan narrowed his eyes at me for a moment, then shrugged as if deciding it didn’t matter.

He approached me and handed me one of the books he was holding. “Here.”

“…What’s this?”

I took the book from him. The slightly faded leather cover had a lengthy title etched across it:

In the Era When Women Could Not Become Wizards, the Story of Alienor Grospelet of the Modest Family in the Chauntria Empire, Overcoming All Trials, Forsaking the Love of Her Life, and Becoming the World’s Greatest Archmage

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.

“Oh, this…”

“Yes. It’s the prequel to the novel you enjoyed last time.”

It was the book I had found by chance in the ducal library a while ago. A story of a female wizard and a half-human, half-horse male protagonist—essentially, a romance novel from this world’s version of a fantasy genre.

“How did a book like this end up in the library?”

“It was probably my mother’s. According to my father, she enjoyed romance novels. You might find more like it if you look.”

What Ethan said had been true. I had searched the expansive library and discovered more romance novels, feeling a sense of joy and nostalgia for my past life. I even felt grateful to the late duchess for her collection.

A quick glance revealed that this book seemed to be the prequel to the one I had read before.

“Wow, this looks like fun. Thank you. I’ll enjoy reading it.”

I flipped through the pages briefly before looking up, only to see Ethan watching me with a faint smile.

His gaze was warm—a look I had never seen before.