I Think My Husband is a Murderer

The bustling sound struck my ears.

 

The city, visited after a long time, was as lively as before. Ahin, also on a rare outing, looked around with a noticeably nostalgic expression.

 

Since I preferred being alone at the post office, I cautiously asked Ahin, “Ahin, could you wait outside for a moment? I don’t think someone who usually travels with a maid would personally come to the post office for business. It might attract attention.”

 

“Sure, of course! Take your time and come back, madam.”

 

Ahin seemed pleased to be able to explore the surroundings.

 

As I entered, pushing the heavy door, people inside the post office hurriedly moved past me.

 

I navigated through them to the counter with effort.

 

“Hello. I came to find out the sender of a mail I received. The letter doesn’t have information about where it was sent from. Can you help me with that?”

 

As I handed the mail from my bag, the postal worker examined the letter and spoke with a familiar face.

 

“This mail is from Bollren. Could you tell me where it was sent to?”

 

“It’s the fifth standalone house on Stouben 2nd Street.”

 

The postal worker blinked slowly, then with a somewhat puzzled expression and a voice filled with suspicion, she said, “This mail doesn’t have a confirmed sender. Perhaps the sender didn’t put it in personally.”

 

“Personally?”

 

Did she go through the trouble of coming all the way to Bollren to oppose the marriage to Johannes?

 

I quickly took out the mail from Evanstein Castle.

 

“Is this mail also like that?”

 

“Wait a moment. This mail…”

 

The postal worker narrowed her eyes. After examining the letter from various angles, she asked, “When did you receive this?”

 

“Yesterday.”

 

She immediately started searching through the documents in a drawer.

 

After a while, she seemed to have found something, and her initially frowning expression turned more composed. She said to me, “It seems to be a mail sent from the Carrier Hotel in Bollren.”

 

“Carrier Hotel?”

 

It was a hotel I had never heard of. I asked the worker, “So, does it mean the senders of the two mails are different?”

 

“Well, it’s hard for us to say for sure. We have no records of the first mail you showed us, so we can only speculate that the sender visited your residence separately.”

 

“I see… Thank you.”

 

Leaving the post office with more questions than answers, I returned to Evanstein Castle.

 

Does my father really live? Or is this just someone’s prank?

 

* * *

 

As Johannes Schultz investigated, there was not a single person Edith Prim could consider a friend.

 

But why did she find a reason to write a letter to a friend?

 

She even spoke as if trying to completely block herself, despite knowing that going out alone seemed suspicious.

 

What could possibly be the matter?

 

While Johannes, feeling uneasy and lost in thought, the butler Frete Gunner knocked on the study door.

 

“The madam has returned from the post office.”

 

He reported, observing Johannes’ mood more downcast than usual.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

“As you mentioned, it seems she didn’t separately send a letter to anyone, but she did show the received mail to the clerk… Upon contacting the clerk, it seems the madam asked about the sender of the letter.”

 

Sending a letter to a friend was indeed an excuse.

 

Johannes, tapping the armrest of his chair with an increasingly uncomfortable feeling, asked irritably, “Sender? So who sent it?”

 

“The sender’s location is the Carrier Hotel in Bollren. We don’t know the contents of the letter, but doesn’t it seem suspicious? Suddenly, from Bollren.”

 

Forehead in his hand, Frete Gunner sighed.

 

“Has there been any mail received recently addressed to Edith?”

 

“Yes. According to the servants, it’s said to be a letter sent by Lady Penciller… but it doesn’t seem like the lady would send a separate letter.”

 

A letter with an unknown sender to Edith, and from none other than Bollren.

 

Not caring at all about the Duke of Schultz standing behind Edith, Johannes looked annoyed and asked, “It might be a good idea to ask her separately just in case.”

 

When Johannes didn’t respond, Frete Gunner said, “Considering that you’re comfortable enough to ask her that…?”

 

Johannes furrowed his brow. Frete Gunner sometimes had a way of annoying people like that.

 

“Leave.”

 

As he gave the order, Frete Gunner, knowing his fault, left the study.

 

Staring at the closed door, Johannes picked up a newspaper. Lighting a cigarette, he recalled last night’s events.

 

“You’ve been through a lot.”

 

“I think there’ll be more to suffer in the future, feeding the lady.”

 

When he responded to Edith’s sudden comfort with a joking tone, she inadvertently burst into laughter.

 

Soft hair flowing over her shoulder tickled Johannes’ hand whenever Edith laughed, and her laughter gently touched his nose.

 

Even objectively, the woman seen up close was beautiful. There was no better way to describe her smiling face.

 

Johannes felt a certain impulse in that moment.

 

In the dim and quiet room, it was not very common for an unloving couple to be so close together, especially in a specific place like a bed.

 

It was a perfect situation for a kiss between impulse and strange emotions.

 

‘Am I swept away by the atmosphere?’

 

Johannes, too, was about to approach Edith for a kiss. If Edith hadn’t turned her head slightly, probably…

 

‘Um… so, I think this behavior is not right. Being swept away by the atmosphere like this doesn’t suit a duke.’

 

Suddenly, Edith complained of fatigue and turned her body to lie down.

 

Usually, a perfect man with a flawless appearance like Johannes rarely faced rejection. That was also true for him.

 

He had lived a remarkable life since birth, and he didn’t particularly have an interest in women. Most of the interests were in that direction.

 

Therefore, Johannes knew very little about relationships with women.

 

‘What the heck is considered “not me”?’

 

Even not understanding that, it was at that moment.

 

“It’s me.”

 

Knock. Johannes took a slight breath as the familiar voice accompanied the knocking sound.

 

* * *

 

Johannes was reading the newspaper with an incredibly perfect face. Sitting with legs crossed a bit longer than others, smoking a cigarette.

 

His habit of wrinkling his forehead added an extra charm to his appearance.

 

Admiring his handsome looks once again, he stopped when our eyes met.

 

He folded the newspaper and slightly lowered his upper body towards me.

 

“I want to visit the herbal market in Bollren. Is that okay?”

 

“Bollren… Are you serious?”

 

With a slightly tired look, Johannes narrowed his forehead. As I nodded, his sharp face changed to a more sensitive expression.

 

“I’m planning to start studying pharmacy again soon, so it wouldn’t be bad to visit the herbal market.”

 

The end of the newspaper in Johannes’s hand crumpled.

 

I hope he didn’t realize it was an excuse. But since I was planning to resume studying pharmacy soon, it wasn’t a complete lie.

 

“When are you planning to go?”

 

“I’m thinking of going tomorrow. Is that okay? I’ll have an escort with me for sure.”

 

I responded nervously.

 

“…Okay. Since I’m also planning to go out, you can come in together when you return.”

 

Contrary to my worries, permission came almost immediately.

 

I don’t know what he means by coming in together.

 

Fortunately. Tomorrow, I might be able to find out more clearly about my father’s whereabouts.

 

I smiled brightly and thanked Johannes.

 

“Thank you. I’ll quickly take care of things and come back.”

 

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Translator Note:

 

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