Translator: Nox

My Husband Was Clearly a Paladin

Chapter 12

The 181st Dungeon, which Irene had applied for, had manifested in a location not far from the Fortress.

It was close enough that there was no real need to go by horseback. In fact, it was visible to the naked eye even from Irene’s room.

‘And yet, he insisted that we must ride.’

Come to think of it, Michael had always insisted on riding a horse whenever they went to a dungeon together in her previous life as well.

‘He used to just walk when he went alone, though.’

It was likely his own way of being considerate, ensuring she didn’t have to walk a long distance. However, there was one thing different from the past.

‘We never used to ride together.’

There had been only one occasion, when they headed to a distant dungeon, that they had shared a horse. Throughout the entire journey, she could feel him flinching and shifting behind her, clearly uncomfortable.

In the end, Irene had made the excuse of feeling motion sick, dismounting to walk the rest of the way. She preferred her feet aching over the suffocating sensation of his blatant distaste for her presence.

‘He used to loathe touching me so much, so what is all this?’

It seemed that in this life, he had observed other pairs and learned how a knight was supposed to treat a purifier.

‘That’s a relief.’

If so, the person who became his next partner would have a much easier time. Whoever they were, she hoped they wouldn’t suffer as much as she had. There was no need for two people to be miserable, after all.

As the dungeon drew nearer, Irene stole a glance behind her.

As expected, Michael was leaning back as far as possible, as if he would die if he accidentally brushed against her. Watching him lead the horse with a stiff, frozen expression—clearly uncomfortable with their unusual seating arrangement—Irene turned her head back forward.

‘Even though it makes him this uncomfortable.’

Perhaps she had harbored a small hope because a few things had changed this time around. Seeing him still striving so hard to avoid contact, Irene felt a pang of needless disappointment.

Before long, the dungeon was right before them.

As they approached, they were met by guards and an inspector from the Kingdom Alliance.

“Welcome, Sir Michael.”

In this territory where the Fortress held jurisdiction—the land where most dungeons appeared—the Kingdom Alliance held absolute authority. They managed and monitored every dungeon, and even the auctioning of rewards had to follow the rules they established.

Possessing such power, the Alliance administrators were naturally quite arrogant and overbearing. However, even they bowed their heads politely to Michael.

‘Well, he is the only knight capable of clearing even high-ranking dungeons alone without any trouble.’

No matter how much they managed the area, the ultimate goal was the subjugation of the dungeons.

‘If a manifested dungeon is left alone, the monsters inside will crawl out. If damage occurs, that responsibility falls on the Kingdom Alliance.’

Because of this, the Alliance couldn’t afford to be disrespectful to a knight like Michael, who could single-handedly neutralize powerful dungeons. If Michael were to give up on subjugations, and an unrankable, top-tier dungeon appeared in the meantime…

‘The casualties would be catastrophic.’

Of course, such a thing had never happened.

‘They say it’s theoretically possible, but it has never manifested in history…’

She didn’t know what happened after her death, but for at least the next six months, no such thing would appear.

‘And even if it did, Michael or the other knights would handle it.’

Michael wasn’t the only strong knight in the world. For instance, Sir Britson, who was paired with Princess Cecilia, could easily clear mid-ranking dungeons on his own. There were other knights whose names she remembered as well. If they moved alongside Michael, there wouldn’t be any major issues.

Michael returned the Alliance employee’s greeting and dismounted. Once he was down, Irene prepared to follow.

She stood up on the horse alone and was about to turn and step on the stirrup when her body suddenly drifted into the air.

“Huh…?”

Feeling nothing beneath her feet, Irene instinctively squeezed her eyes shut. She braced herself for an impact, but when she opened her eyes again, her body had been set down gently on the ground.

“…?”

What just happened?

While she stood dazed, unable to process the situation, Michael removed his hands from her waist.

“…!”

Because of the protective gear she wore under her clothes, Irene realized the fact a beat late and nearly let out a scream of surprise.

‘Michael grabbed me?’

Just moments ago, hadn’t he been sitting as far away as possible as if touching her was forbidden? And yet, he had just grabbed her by the waist and set her down without warning.

When Irene looked at Michael in shock at the unexpected action, he lowered his head as if apologizing.

“Those unaccustomed to horses often injure themselves while dismounting. I apologize for the rudeness; I acted out of haste.”

“Ah, yes…”

Certainly. Looking at it now, the height from the stirrup to the ground was quite significant.

He gave the explanation as if it truly were no big deal, then turned to greet the guards and the staff.

“There are no particular anomalies reported so far. The size and form are stable, and the monsters near the entrance confirmed by the guards are water-attribute, as expected. Will you proceed with the primary subjugation of Number 181 as requested?”

At those words, Michael nodded and replied.

“Michael, proceeding with the subjugation of Dungeon 181.”

Hearing his response, Irene suddenly recalled a scene from her past life.

「Sword of God, Michael. Proceeding with the dungeon subjugation.」

「Irene Rodiam. Proceeding with the dungeon subjugation.」

The memory of herself mimicking his response.

This was the protocol one went through before entering a dungeon. A low-ranking dungeon like this was usually eliminated after just the primary subjugation. However, in the case of mid-ranking or high-ranking dungeons, they were rarely cleared in a single go.

‘Usually, it takes up to three attempts, and depending on the dungeon, sometimes a tenth subjugation is required.’

While one person might proceed through all ten attempts slowly, if the previous challenger died or was injured, a new person could take over. If an agreement was made, a joint subjugation from the start was also possible.

‘That’s why when the high-ranking dungeon appeared in the past, Princess Cecilia’s faction entered all at once.’

The pair with the higher-ranking purifier held priority for dungeon subjugations. Naturally, Princess Cecilia, the strongest among the 1st-rank purifiers, could always clear whichever dungeon she wanted first, and she was the one who chose who would enter with her.

Because of this, everyone had groveled before her to get the chance to enter dungeons that yielded good rewards. Even now, she would be the first to pick her dungeons and claim the rewards found within.

“Irene?”

“Yes? Oh, I’m sorry. Irene Rodiam. Proceeding with the subjugation of Dungeon 181.”

Startled by the voice calling her name, Irene answered hurriedly.

At her flustered state, the Kingdom Alliance employee let out a short, suppressed sigh. It was a familiar look—the kind that wondered how on earth Michael ended up paired with such a bottom-tier purifier.

‘It’s not like I asked to be paired with him either.’

Irene momentarily wondered what it would have been like if she had been a high-ranking purifier like Princess Cecilia.

“…How tedious.”

Far from being envious, the thought of having to constantly clear dungeons made her skin crawl. Realizing that she truly felt nothing but disillusionment toward the life of a purifier, Irene stepped behind Michael.

“Then, may you return safely.”

Leaving the greetings of the guards and staff behind, Michael walked toward the dungeon entrance.

Gulp.

Following behind him, Irene swallowed hard from nervousness.

Just then, Michael looked back and spoke.

“If you are worried about entering the dungeon, you may wait at the entrance with the others.”

“What? No. I’m fine.”

Did he think she was too nervous? He suggested it once more.

“It is a low-ranking dungeon. It is perfectly fine if you do not push yourself to follow.”

“No, I will follow.”

Irene rejected his suggestion again. She had to go in together to personally open the chest in the Room of Reward.

‘I want to confirm the Ring of Invisibility as soon as possible.’

As soon as she had it in her hands, she would run straight back out. Then, she would ask the staff at the entrance for appraisal and auction registration.

It would take about half a day to get it confirmed as an artifact, and it wouldn’t even take a week for it to be sold and the money to arrive. After that, she would send the money to the Count, break the pair, and leave this Fortress alone.

Irene clenched her fists in excitement at the perfect future she had envisioned over and over.

Perhaps misinterpreting her gesture, Michael gave a small smile and asked, “Is it because you wish to see the reward for yourself?”

“Well, that is part of it…”

“Do not worry,” he said, his smile harmless and kind. “I would never do something like embezzling your reward.”