Chapter 4
Husband is the Protagonist of Another World 4
3. My Husband Came Back, But…
“Alex!”
My husband opened his eyes.
He had drunk an entire bottle of rat poison, infamous for its extreme toxicity, but he regained consciousness surprisingly quickly for someone who had done that.
“You’re awake! Are you okay?!”
I didn’t realize that I was bursting into tears, or that I had grabbed his collar.
Slap!
“Are you crazy?”
My mother-in-law suddenly slapped the back of my hand.
“Get that hand off him and step aside!”
I almost fell off the chair as my mother-in-law pushed me away with a strength I didn’t know her frail body possessed.
Even my sister-in-law, Eloy, was so bewildered by my husband’s extreme attempt that she was blinking in disbelief.
“Alex! Are you finally with it? The doctor here says you digested the poison like water. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but it’s a real relief. You almost died! How could you do that to your mother…!”
“……”
My husband blankly stared at the ceiling, blinking.
His words from last night came to mind.
‘I’ll be re, reborn… and a, again, re, reborn…’
I wondered what he meant by that, but he was trying to die?
In the end, I felt betrayed, not to mention relieved that he hadn’t died.
No, I could also understand his feelings of not wanting to continue living.
With a complex mix of emotions that I couldn’t explain in one word, I stared at him worriedly.
He still wasn’t looking at me or the other family members, and he seemed unresponsive to any sound.
‘Is his mind fully back…?’
Maybe he has aftereffects from drinking the rat poison…
“I’ve been practicing medicine for decades, but I’ve never seen a constitution like yours, Duke. It’s a miracle…! Are you conscious, Duke? Ah, no, Alexis Myers!”
“……”
He remained silent despite the doctor’s questions.
I swallowed hard and cautiously called out to him again.
“Honey…?”
Then, as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have, he muttered with a slightly startled expression.
“…Honey?”
It was as if he was repeating my words exactly.
His jet-black eyes slowly moved towards me. His wide eyes didn’t even blink.
Finally, when his eyes met mine, his eyes widened twice as much.
“……!”
I also held my breath.
Facing him like this, he felt somehow unfamiliar.
Aside from drinking rat poison, the look in his eyes was so pure.
It was as if he was staring at a complete stranger.
Could he have lost his memory?
Forcing myself to shake off this strange feeling, I quickly shouted.
“Honey! You’re conscious, right? Do you remember drinking rat poison?”
“……”
My husband’s gaze was still fixed on me, wide open.
After what felt like an eternity, his gaze slowly shifted to the others.
His mother-in-law, the doctor, and his sister, Eloy.
Everyone held their breath and tensed up.
His atmosphere was very unusual, and I hoped he would say something soon.
For example, ‘I’m fine, so don’t worry.’ Just that one sentence.
“Honey…”
“Duke…”
“Alex…”
When we called out to him, unable to wait any longer.
“Ugh.”
He frowned deeply, as if in pain, and touched his forehead with his hand.
“Honey!”
Startled, I and his mother-in-law stood up at the same time.
\ \ \
“Please don’t worry too much, Duchess. The Duke… Ah, no, Alexis Myers will recover and get up soon.”
The doctor quickly corrected my husband’s title, as if he was conscious of the people passing by near the inn.
‘Right, he’s not the duke anymore…’
And I’m not the duchess either.
But right now, I was more relieved that he was safe than about those titles.
If he had really closed his eyes forever, what would I… what would have happened to me?
Just thinking about him disappearing from the world made my head spin.
Even though he was a husband who couldn’t properly fulfill his role except for his appearance, he was still a good person…
I had come to trust him after knowing him for three years…
“Thank you, Dave. Thanks to you, I can worry less.”
“Yes, Duchess. Then I’ll be on my way…”
“Yes. Please return safely.”
The doctor took off his hat, bowed once, and left the inn.
I stared at his retreating figure for a moment before entering the inn. I reached out to knock on the door of the room where my husband was.
But I hesitated, unable to knock.
How should I treat him?
I resented him for trying to escape this bleak situation alone.
At the same time, I was grateful that he hadn’t died and had woken up safely.
I sighed in confusion and finally knocked on the door. There was no answer from inside the room, but I soon grabbed the doorknob and pulled.
“Honey?”
“……”
At my call, he, who had been sitting on the bed, found me.
He was holding a large bowl and drinking water, and the shirt with all the buttons undone was the first thing that caught my eye.
‘?’
My husband was very reluctant to reveal even a little of his body.
He would compulsively cover his body even when he was alone or sick…
Thinking that, I inadvertently scanned his body.
Always an overwhelming physique.
Dark shadows fell beneath his broad chest, and below that, the chiseled muscles were revealed like a painting.
Muscles so luscious and fantastic that it was hard to believe he was a patient who had come back from the dead were covered with snow-white skin.
And when I raised my gaze back to his face.
“……”
He was still staring at me, frozen in surprise.
I felt unfamiliar again.
I had never seen my husband with that expression before.
His distinct features and sharp eyes seemed sharper, as if he were a different person.
There was a hint of bewilderment in his eyes, and even a slight wariness towards me.
Forcing myself to shake off the unfamiliar feeling, I took a few steps towards him.
“Are you really okay, Alex?”
“……”
My husband carefully lowered the hand holding the bowl, but said nothing.
I carefully examined his complexion.
Even though he had almost died and come back to life, his face was still extremely beautiful.
He seemed fine, as the doctor said, but he looked a little paler than usual.
‘Right. How hard must it have been to make the decision to die…’
Instead of blaming him, I decided to comfort him.
But why did I feel so choked up, contrary to my resolve?
“I almost really resented you.”
“……”
“I tried to endure even losing the magnificent mansion and the status of duchess.”
“……”
“My husband tried to die, do you know how I feel right now?”
Looking at his face, I asked as if I was complaining, feeling wronged. My eyes also became moist.
“You said you would become the perfect husband and love me, but you never said that once in the three years we’ve been married. And yet, why did you say that when you were going to die?”
“……”
My husband’s eyes flickered in all directions.
Was I being too harsh?
He’s a timid person anyway…
“Anyway, still.”
Suddenly feeling sorry, I lowered my head slightly and approached him.
I sat next to him and wrapped my arms around his arm. I could feel his thick arm muscles twitching.
After all, I was usually the one who approached him first between him and me.
My husband was very shy every time, but it was a little strange that he was looking down at me as if frozen now.
Was he surprised that I was sad about him dying…?
“Thank you for coming back to life. Don’t ever think about that again. I’ll really get angry if you do it again.”
After speaking, I closed my eyes and raised my chin.
I was thinking of comforting his wounded heart by kissing him on the cheek…
“……Pfft!”
“……”
But countless cold droplets poured over my face.
Wondering what this was all of a sudden, I slowly lifted my eyelids.
“Cough, cough!”
Followed by a maddening cough.
“……”
It seemed that there was still water left in my husband’s mouth that he hadn’t swallowed.
\ \ \
Meanwhile, inside the room Luise had left.
Alex wiped his face with a bewildered gesture.
The woman who was said to be his wife told him to rest a little more and left the room.
His heart, which he couldn’t calm down, was pounding loudly.
Was it because he was almost kissed by a woman for the first time in his life?
That was also true, but even more absurdly…
‘What the hell is this place?’
He looked around the unfamiliar inn.
Suddenly, a bizarre thing happened to him.
This was not the place where he lived.
Interior and clothing that looked like they were from a BBC historical drama, an unfamiliar name of Alex, and unfamiliar family members.
Could he have been transported to another dimension? Why all of a sudden?
He had experienced all kinds of hardships in his 27 years of life, but this was a first.
Alex hurriedly looked for a mirror. Fortunately, an old mirror was attached to the wall.
