Translator: Nox

I Became A Married Man in Another World

Chapter 95

095 Seeping Poison

What? What on earth is this man talking about?

Annette blinked. Her mind went a little blank.

Kyle’s voice sounded unfamiliar. When the two were lovers, she had never heard him speak in such a tone.

It sounded as if an employee who disliked her at the Guild was speaking about business. Both his voice and his aura were like that.

It felt as if there had never been any affection, love, or physical intimacy between them at all.

“What…”

Could it be? Her life had been completely destroyed because of her relationship with this man, yet Kyle didn’t feel a shred of guilt?

Is that why he can talk to her so nonchalantly and even use a word like ‘proposal’?

If he had truly thought they were in love, those wouldn’t be the first words out of his mouth after seeing her face for the first time in so long.

He should have said he was sorry, or that he loved her, or asked for her forgiveness first.

How could he be so shameless after ruining a woman’s life? She couldn’t believe it. This man either had no conscience whatsoever, or…

“Are you insane?”

The words slipped out before she could stop them. Only after hearing the sound did she realize she had spoken.

Kyle’s eyes flicked toward her in the darkness. Her body flinched instinctively.

Even when she was a noble, she had always been in a weak position. Now, she was an even more insignificant commoner.

Memories of the past she had tried so hard to forget flooded her mind.

When her husband grabbed her by the hair and threw her out, when she went to her parents’ house only to be slapped by her mother and father, when she was dragged away from the estate by servants…

Kyle narrowed his eyes. Catching a faint light from somewhere, his pupils glinted slightly.

Did this man always have eyes like that?

Suddenly, she felt afraid.

Cringing, Annette turned away.

She didn’t want to be with him. Enough already. She would forget the past. The resentment and the sorrow were all in the past now.

‘I’ve finally settled down.’

She had finally managed to make a living. Though she was often late on rent, she had a room to lie down in and could buy food to put in her mouth.

Because she had taken over the position of the previous reader, her start at the Guild had been incredibly difficult.

The territorial behavior was bad enough, but the harassment from adventurers and staff was even more agonizing.

Groping her chest or hips was common, and some even tried to force up her skirt.

Thanks to the Master and Chatterbox, such incidents gradually decreased, but they never vanished completely.

Work-wise, it was just as hard.

Since it was her first time ever having a job, she made many foolish mistakes looking back. It was a series of blunders until she got the hang of things.

Being cursed at was a daily occurrence, and sometimes she was told that if she couldn’t do her job properly, she should compensate with her body instead.

When she left work, male Guild employees or low-life adventurers would follow her home.

She had to cry countless times until she made close colleagues and the perception that she would never sell her body finally took root.

‘I shouldn’t get involved with him any further.’

No matter why he came, she wouldn’t care. She must not do anything to destroy her current life. Annette hurried her pace.

However, a single sentence thrown from behind made her stop in her tracks.

“You haven’t seen your son in a long time, have you? What if I could make a meeting happen? Are you interested?”

“….”

She had thought about it countless times. She had felt that if she could just steal a glance at her son’s face, she could die happy. It didn’t matter if the child didn’t recognize her. She didn’t need to face him or say a single word. If she could just see his face once…

“I heard you’re working as a tutor for a Magician named Juhwan. Teaching him and his wife their letters.”

“….”

As she slowly turned around, Kyle smiled, curling his well-shaped lips.

“They say he treasures his wife very much, don’t they? Annette, you’re still young. You’re too young to waste away and die alone.”

“…Are you telling me.”

Annette’s voice cracked. She forced the words out.

“To seduce that man? To sell my body like a woman in a brothel?”

Rage surged within her.

They had once been lovers—no, even if it wasn’t love, a human being shouldn’t say such things. To tell a woman he once held to seduce another man…

He’s a beast. This man isn’t human; he’s a beast. The tiny bit of memory she had left shattered and fell to the floor. Filthy. Truly filthy.

As she stood trembling with clenched fists, Kyle spoke.

“I never said anything of the sort. If you were the kind of woman who would enjoy such a thing, I wouldn’t have brought it up.”

Kyle continued quietly.

“Fall in love, Annette. Fall in love with that man, not someone like me.”

“What?”

“The man is decent enough even without a special motive. From what I’ve looked into, he is. He’s not a noble, but his abilities and personality… isn’t he quite attractive to women? Even if I didn’t force you, isn’t he someone you could just fall in love with?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

It was sophistry. No matter how he phrased it, he was telling her to seduce the man. Annette glared at Kyle with all her might.

“I’m not asking anything of you, Annette. You just have to receive that man’s love and live happily. Then you’ll be able to see your son.”

“….”

“It’s not like I’m offering you money. In fact, I shouldn’t. That would mean you’re approaching the man with an ulterior motive. That’s not what I want. What I want is simply for you to fall in love with him and live happily for a long time.”

She couldn’t believe it. Who would believe such words? The lips of the man who once whispered sweet nothings were now pouring out these words.

“He’s the type who values family. If you become the person most precious to him, he will surely work for your happiness. If you want to meet your son, it would be entirely possible for him to work under the Border Count to make that happen. You understand what I mean, don’t you?”

Kyle smirked.

“There’s no need to overthink it. You really don’t have to do anything. Just think about becoming happy. Wanting to see your son or falling in love with someone isn’t a bad thing at all. You’re not a married woman; you’re free. It’s perfectly fine to fall in love with someone.”

She was confused. If it wasn’t about selling her body for money, then was what this man saying correct? Some women look at a man’s money, others at his fame or family. Wouldn’t meeting a man to see her son be the same?

Annette thought this, then shook her head in startle.

“Even if what you say is true, that man has a wife. Besides, he has eyes for no one but her.”

That was exactly what Annette envied most.

Working at the Guild, she saw many people.

Occasionally, there were men like Juhwan who were tender toward their wives or lovers.

But even those people changed once their rank went up and they started making money. The woman who stayed by their side during hard times began to look shabby to them.

They always left for someone a little prettier, younger, and more lovely.

Seeing that, Annette was always disappointed. All men are the same. She thought they were unfaithful animals.

But Juhwan’s attitude never changed. He still looked only at his wife and was tender toward her.

She thought he would change after some time, but she was still truly envious.

Once money is involved, it’s very rare for love to be maintained for even that long.

Kyle smirked.

“True. He really does treasure his wife. But Annette, those two are too unbalanced. He’s an intellectual man. He’s different from those ignorant adventurers. On the other hand, his wife is just an ordinary lower-class woman. Far from being cultured, she can’t even read or write. Those two don’t suit each other at all.”

She didn’t know what Kyle was trying to say. Kyle watched her face quietly before continuing.

“No matter how pretty a woman is, if you’re stuck together for months, you’re bound to get bored. Let alone if she isn’t exceptionally beautiful and you can’t even hold a proper conversation? He’ll grow bored in less than a month.”

Kyle took a step closer. He leaned down and whispered to her in a low voice.

“The man is someone who intentionally learns the speech of nobles. He has intellectual desires. And that is something he can never get from his wife. That’s the gap you need to slip into, Annette.”

Kyle shrugged and turned around.

“Think it over. I won’t come looking for you again, so decide for yourself.”

“Wait, wait. Then what about my son?”

Just as he was about to walk away, Kyle glanced back at her.

“If you connect well with that man, you will see your son. You don’t need to cling to me or wait for me to contact you. It will just happen. In fact, considering the time when you do connect with him, we should never meet or have a conversation like this again. Don’t do anything that would make him suspicious.”

“How can I trust your word! What if you say something else later?”

“This is something that has already been agreed upon by the Border Count and your ex-husband. If you can’t believe it, there’s nothing I can do.”

After saying that, Kyle walked into the dark alleyway.

“….”

Annette stared blankly at Kyle’s retreating back as it was swallowed by the darkness.

A noble’s marriage required the King’s permission.

A peasant needed the Lord’s permission.

But for adventurers belonging to a Guild, no such procedures were necessary.

The Guild allowed one to register family members like a wife or children as beneficiaries of their assets upon death, but that was the only thing proving they were a couple. There was nothing else official.

If they lived together, they were a couple; if they parted ways, they were strangers.

That applied to Juhwan and Lij as well. If the two were to part, they would simply be strangers.

The only things binding Juhwan to Lij were love and their bond as a family. Once that was severed, nothing remained between them.

Squeezing into that gap would not be a crime.

‘Me, with that man, Juhwan…’

She felt sorry for Lij, but it wasn’t as if it were only Annette. There were already several women eyeing the spot next to Juhwan.

Next year, or in a few years, another woman might take Lij’s place.

Even if she acted now, it would just be moving that future moment up a little, and the woman standing next to Juhwan would simply be Annette.

‘…My god. I’m crazy. I’ve really gone mad.’

Annette shook her head. To covet another woman’s man—wasn’t that the very thing she hated most when looking at her ex-husband’s mistresses?

‘Really, what am I thinking?’

Annette huddled her shoulders and started walking.

From somewhere, a man’s shouting could be heard. It sounded like a fight had broken out.

The smell of stale urine wafted from all over the alley.

Her face contorted instinctively.

Though she had lived here for several years, she still couldn’t get used to this stench.

She was sick of it. Truly sick of it.

‘I want to get out of here.’

She wanted to live safely under someone’s protection. She wanted to be loved.

She wanted to fall asleep feeling secure in strong arms.

“….”

Did Lij fall asleep in her husband’s arms every night? Did she live such a peaceful life, where her husband would block a drunk man from coming near her and comfort her if she was insulted?

‘Juhwan.’

As she recalled the warm gaze the man had when looking at his wife, her heart tightened. She wished she had someone like that. At this moment, she was deathly envious of Lij.

“I shouldn’t be like this.”

Her heart felt like it was dancing in a typhoon. It was tossed and swept here and there, unable to find its center.

When she arrived at her dilapidated house, the landlord scanned her body with a lewd gaze. His wife, standing beside him, glared at Annette with a ferocious expression.

Avoiding their gazes, she hurried up to the second floor. As she entered the room, which barely fit a single bed, exhaustion washed over her.

Collapsing onto the bed, Annette was once again picturing Juhwan’s face. How wonderful would it be if his tender gaze were directed at her?

The words Kyle left behind slowly seeped into her heart. It was like a slow-spreading poison.

---

They finally arrived at the village.

The high walls of Bern, the adventurer village, began to appear in the distance.

As the carriage drew closer, several people came out of the gate and were pointing in their direction.

It seemed someone who spotted the Unicorn had already informed those inside.

Even before they entered the village, people flocked to see the Unicorn.

The reaction was much different from when rumors spread about them carrying a Horned Rabbit. It was a chaotic spectacle, like people watching a house on fire.

“My god, what is that? Is it real?”

“Isn’t it just a horse with a horn attached?”

“I think so too. You know, like those trick horses in traveling circuses. It must be something like that.”

“No, no, look at it. You think they could make a horn look that real and attach it? To a moving horse?”

“I think that’s a real Unicorn. Look at its size. It’s twice as big as a normal horse. Even the knights’ horses aren’t that big.”

At the sound of the people murmuring, the tip of Dorothy’s nose, who was sitting in the middle of the driver’s seat, rose higher and higher. It wasn’t just a psychological feeling.

Dorothy’s face was actually tilting upward little by little. Mostly the nose part.