CH 2

I wanted to give him a villa as a wedding anniversary present. It might seem a lot, but compared to what he gave me, a villa was nothing. Besides, since it was a special day, I wanted to please him with my hard-earned money.

…I didn’t expect to find out about who my husband was in the process, though.

After that, while he was away, I began to search for evidence throughout our mansion.

I couldn’t sneak up to his office, could I…?

It was to the point that I even collapsed several times because I tried to search for more than a hundred rooms in this five-story mansion.

It was painful.

Thankfully, I eventually found one in the innermost double drawer of his desk in the midst of searching for the shreds of evidence—there was a detailed document of all my tracks from Elkard, the capital city, until here, Ferrarium, and some more documents related to me.

These only seemed to be some of the documents he had, seeing how each one was written in great detail.

To be honest, I wouldn’t even found this if it wasn’t for the desk design that was the same as his office desk. It was locked tightly, and my heart almost burst as I took out the key while he was sleeping. Still, I left the documents I found because I didn’t want to get caught…

Honestly, I still couldn’t believe it.

Even this morning, he picked out clothes for me to wear, and dried and combed my hair… but he didn’t do it out of love?

He made diamonds for me himself until his thumb was sore.

I couldn’t believe he was Kairos Hadid.

He wasn’t Noah Edith… but Kairos Hadid. No wonder the Baron said he had a lot of money. Why didn’t I notice that?

I must be blinded by love.

Kairos Hadid was the main villain in the novel 〈 I Will Prevent Destruction and Have a Happy Ending 〉, who gave trials to the main couple.

One of the most attractive things about him was that he was affluent.

He, who had the most money in the empire, was someone harsh, cruel, and had a bad temper. In addition, unlike Hazel Love, who was supposed to die in the beginning from overwork, he had a role to fulfill until the end.

Needless to say, he was such a dangerous character that no one should be involved with him, and among them, I should definitely be the one who couldn’t be involved with him the most.

Because… I swindled him… but, I didn’t just swindle him.

Since I read the novel, I stole some information and used some of the slush funds his men had. Although the wanted flyer was briefly distributed, I was never caught until now because I wore a mask and came to Ferrarium that way.

“It’s weird no matter how much I think about it…”

The first day I met him was like fate.

It was a month after I arrived at Ferrarium and opened a mercenary guild. It was also the first time I saw a yellow butterfly in spring. Not only that, but it was the day an elite client came after I opened the mercenary guild where an elite mercenary besides me also came and completed the mission perfectly.

That morning, I ate my favorite peach scones and beanpot.

However, it started when I broke an egg to make fried eggs, there were two yolks inside it. And as soon as I came out of the guild’s door, a man said hello at perfect timing, even the spring wind passed by him, and his soft hair fluttered.

“I…”

That was only what I managed to say.

The scene still remained vividly in my mind!

I fell in love with Noah at first sight, and so did he. After some time, I almost cried hearing his confession with a red nose. And three months later, when he brought a diamond ring as big as my eyes and proposed to me, I thought my life was flourishing.

“Ugh…”

Frankly, I was still confused.

My husband Noah had brilliant black hair like the night sky, while Kairos Hadid merely had dark hair with no unique characteristic! In addition, my husband Noah had elegant red eyes that looked like rubies, while Kairos Hadid had bloody red eyes…

How were they the same, huh? How could it be the same?

I hadn’t found any evidence yet, but if he really were Kairos Hadid, he’d come to kill me.

Despite all this, I still couldn’t just run away immediately since he knew too much about me. He even knew my real name and private information. Also, I didn’t want to lose the mercenary guild I had worked hard for.

I’d thought about asking for forgiveness, but he won’t forgive someone he reported on a wanted leaflet.

‘I need to find a way…’

I couldn’t be killed like this after avoiding my first obstacle. Though if I left it all behind, I wouldn’t last long. And even if I hid for the rest of my life, I’d get nervous and would probably die of a nervous breakdown.

…Was it my fate to die mercilessly?

“Boss.”

“….”

“Boss?”

I came back to my senses after hearing someone call me. I was definitely alone before, but Niella, my secretary, was staring at me.

“…Ah. Yes?”

“I called you a few times, but you didn’t say anything so I came in. I need to give you the monthly report.”

“Oh, go ahead.”

“Here are the commission, completion report, and sales slip I’ve compiled this month. As you can see from the statistics, the completion rate of mission grade A and S had increased by ten times compared to last year. At this rate, I think it will reach twice the number in the first half of the year.”

“Ten times?”

I asked in surprise, and Nigella gave me a proud smile.

“Yes! It’s all thanks to your capability. Still, what’s unfortunate is that we haven’t received a grade X mission yet, but those missions are only given when we have a team of three or more people. That’s why I think it’s better to expand it after looking for the right timing… We need to prioritize increasing the number of exclusive mercenaries.”

“Well, that’d be great. A single mission like that would be overwhelming to handle.”

Nigella was introduced to me by Noah as I expanded my business. He introduced her to me as a very capable person. And what he said was true, Nigella helped me grow my business even more.

No, wait… Then, Nigella…?

Fear immediately overcame me again as I realized that. Nonetheless, she had never acted suspiciously.

“Ah, boss. Are you two going on a date this afternoon as scheduled?”

Asking that, Nigella fixed her monoculars and asked me.

“…Date? What date?”

Nigella was confused and quickly checked the schedule she had taken out of the pocket of her jacket.

“Well, today is Tuesday. I’m sure you ordered me to clear out this afternoon’s schedule because you were going on a date.”

Oh, that was right.

Noah even said he would pick me up, but I forgot.

…I completely forgot.

The thought of us going somewhere instantly scared me. Anyway, I shouldn’t let Nigella notice that I was suspicious of them.

“Oh, right. Yes, my husband is supposed to pick me up.”

“You must be happy.”

“Of course. Noah is the person I love the most in this world. Nigella, you should get off work early today.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You’re not busy today, are you? Let’s see, there’s no mission due today so the other employees should also leave early.”

“Thank you, boss!”

At my words, Nigella gave her a blissful smile and went out. I immediately fell on my desk the moment the door closed.

“…What should I do about this date?”

The reason why I was hesitating on running away… was because I loved him so much from the bottom of my heart, regardless of everything. How many people could leave a man whom they believed to be their lifelong companion?

While someone might be able to cut off their relationship immediately, I couldn’t.

I swept my hair out of frustration.

If I took my time preparing, wouldn’t I be able to clear my mind? Maybe the feeling of betrayal and fear would precede the love.

‘Today’s date might be their last happy date… no, let’s have a happy date today!’

“…Ahh, I’m truly screwed.”

With that, I fell back to my desk.

* * *

As soon as the clock hit 11:50, Noah’s carriage stopped in front of the guild. He had never kept her waiting, and today was also like that.

That was why Hazel came out ten minutes earlier on purpose.

As the carriage stopped, the door opened, and Noah’s long legs soon touched the ground. She would think of him as her husband now… not Kairos Hadid, but her lovely husband. Hazel took a deep breath as she thought so to herself before putting on a bright smile.

“Noah!”

Noah quickly approached her after seeing her welcoming him.

“Why are you outside, Hazel?”

“I want to see my husband a little sooner.”

At those words, he smiled wider with a slightly surprised expression. Gazing at her with a smile, he caressed her cheeks.

“How did you come up with such a lovely idea?”

Asking that, he spread out his arms as Hazel returned his smile and reached out. She did it as naturally as breathing.

“Hurry up. My employees got off work earlier today, and I have some good news to tell you.”

“Good news?”

“I’ll tell you on the way.”

And so, she was escorted to the carriage by Noah.

The carriage was filled with bright flowers that made her eyes open wide, and a basket was placed on their seat. Even though he was busier than her, he had never been late for an appointment. Even so, how could he have the time to prepare something like this?

“When did you prepare all of this? You’re always busy.”

“Do you like it?”

“Have I ever told you that my husband’s the coolest in this world?”

Noah smiled softly as Hazel sat in the seat and opened the basket.

At once, a sweet smell wafted out from the Choux that had a cloud-like cream. It was so far the best dessert among the desserts he had made for her, who had a sweet tooth. Imagine that big man baking bread and making cakes with an apron… absolutely perfect—!

Hazel happily picked up the Choux and paused.

…Was he acting? This one was an act, too?

Still, this was Noah’s daily routine.

It was also the reason why she was always waiting to get off work.

She was depressed in an instant though Hazel didn’t show it. As she bit the Choux Noah gave her, the fresh and sweet cream melted as soon as it touched her tongue.

‘…Ah, delicious.’

She felt like she was about to cry. While she felt like she had arrived in heaven, she was unexpectedly thrown into hell the next moment before flying back to heaven again because of the sweet flavors in her mouth.

Since yesterday, her mood has fluctuated a lot because she was confused… She might really go crazy at this rate.

As the carriage moved, his eyes were still only fixed on her.

“Noah, do you want this too?”

Saying so, she handed him a Choux.

Noah, who sat down with his feet crossed toward her, reached out to Hazel. However, it was not the Choux his hand was moving to, but her lips. She thought he was about to brush her lips with his fingertips, but his tongue licked the cream on her fingertips instead.

“This is all I need, Hazel.”