My Husband is Suspicious - Episode 17

‘Why does she keep forcing things that are unnecessary?’

Eleanor always felt that her mother’s words and actions didn’t align with her own. She thought it would be better if they just lived their lives independently. Not living life so intensely.

Even as she packed the Kikid Cream jar, Eleanor felt quite reluctant.

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The fast-moving carriage suddenly stopped.

“Lady Eleanor, we’ll have to walk from here.”

“Why?”

“The market seems too crowded for the carriage to pass.”

Eleanor glanced out the carriage window. It was definitely more crowded than before. Even just looking at it, she could feel the vibrancy.

“Or I could go and…”

“No, since we’re here anyway, I should go myself. I’m eager to see the dress.”

Eleanor said with a somewhat excited heart. This dress was custom-made, with Eleanor choosing the color and fabric she wanted. The fabric Eleanor had chosen was particularly difficult to obtain, with very little of it available on the market.

After carefully selecting everything, she had the dress made, and today was the day she wanted to feel the reward for waiting so long.

“Lady Eleanor, please come down carefully.”

The maid extended her hand. Eleanor took the maid’s hand and stepped down from the carriage. She felt the furtive glances from those around her. Eleanor ignored the stares and slowly looked around. She had only ever visited the market on days it wasn’t held, so seeing it so lively felt new.

“Lady Eleanor, this way.”

The maid protected Eleanor amidst the crowd and hurried them along. Eleanor followed the maid. Then, she saw a rather large group of people gathered ahead. The maid spoke with a troubled expression.

“The people are blocking the way, so it might be difficult to pass through here. Would it be alright if we took a shortcut?”

Eleanor nodded indifferently. The maid immediately guided them down a different path.

Today, the market was unusually crowded, and while avoiding the throng, they passed near a dark alley.

“We told you nicely to come to us.”

An ominous sound was heard. The thudding sounds of blows were an added accompaniment. Eleanor stopped walking. The maid immediately turned back.

“Lady Eleanor, what is it? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No.”

“Then…”

Eleanor looked deep into the alley. Hidden by several people, she couldn’t see clearly, but someone was definitely being beaten. And by multiple people at that.

Eleanor fiddled with the Kikid Cream in her pocket. Should she just pass by? Even if she did, it would be of no consequence to Eleanor. The person inside had nothing to do with Eleanor, and never would in the future.

But Eleanor hesitated. Was she brainwashed by her mother’s incessant words, or was it simply that the sounds of the beating were too loud? She couldn’t tell.

Eleanor looked around, just in case. She wondered if there was anyone to stop what was happening inside. But not a single person paid any mind to the dark alley. Instead, the alley and the street where Eleanor stood felt like entirely different worlds.

“Lady Eleanor?”

The maid called out to Eleanor again. At the sound, Eleanor clutched the Kikid Cream jar and said,

“Didn’t the knights come with us when we arrived?”

“They should be following us nearby.”

“Then let’s save that person.”

Eleanor pointed into the dark alley. The maid looked into the alley and her expression turned surprised.

“But are you sure it’s alright? Even with the knights, getting involved with someone like that wouldn’t be good for you.”

“I don’t know. But I’ve already seen it, and my mother’s words are there too.”

Eleanor touched the Kikid Cream jar once more. Her hands were already sweaty, feeling damp as she touched it.

“Lady Eleanor, what is the matter?”

Just then, the knights who had been following Eleanor, sensing something amiss, spoke with worried voices. Eleanor was relieved they had arrived at the right moment and pointed into the dark alley.

“Do something about that. It looks like someone is being beaten.”

The knights glanced inside and nodded. The knights hired by Eleanor’s family were quite capable. In less than a few minutes, the assailants all fled.

Eleanor turned her head as they passed. Even at a glance, they looked menacing. For some reason, she didn’t want to make eye contact.

When the people who had been tormenting him had all left the alley, Eleanor looked into it.

The knights were surrounding one person. The person seemed to have been beaten badly, looking weak even from a distance. Eleanor slowly approached the person who was panting for breath.

This was her first time walking into a dark alley. Perhaps because of that, she felt quite nervous. Her heart was pounding, and she even felt a slight regret, wondering if she had done something unnecessary.

She felt eyes watching her from afar. The piercing blue eyes were particularly striking. For some reason, those eyes made her even more nervous.

As she got closer, his face gradually became visible. He appeared to be quite injured. There were bloodied wounds on his face, and his body was covered in dirt, making him look like a beggar.

Moreover, blood was splattered on the dirt ground, and his clothes bore gruesome stains, making Eleanor unsure where to look, so she only looked at his eyes.

“……”

Their eyes met for a moment. His pupils, unlike others, held a particularly deep hue. But his gaze was filled with defiance. It was as if he was asking why she was helping him.

She had indeed meddled unnecessarily. But now, it would be awkward to just leave. In the end, Eleanor took the Kikid Cream jar out of her pocket. He seemed to have many injuries, so the Kikid Cream would likely be quite useful.

However, his rough appearance was uncomfortable to look at. Eleanor let out a faint sigh and turned her head. Then, awkwardly, she held out the Kikid Cream jar.

“This will help you heal.”

Eleanor hadn’t helped many people before, and this was her first time doing something like this, so she felt very awkward. Her tone was somewhat stiff, but she felt she had said what she needed to say. However, the person did not reach out to take it.

‘As expected.’

At least her mother was wrong. People don’t readily accept help. Even when beaten all over and gasping for breath. Eleanor reluctantly added her own thoughts, this time in a slightly softer tone.

“Take it. We have a lot of this at our mansion. So much that we’re giving it away. I’m not pitying you.”

Eleanor waited for a moment. But after several seconds, her hand remained heavy. He still didn’t take it.

She felt embarrassed. She hadn’t experienced being rejected by others, so she felt uneasy. It was awkward to just hold the cream, and she couldn’t take it back either.

What’s more, the knights were watching. It would be ridiculous to just take the Kikid Cream back as if nothing had happened. After all, she had helped him because of this Kikid Cream and her mother’s words.

Having no choice, Eleanor bent down and placed the Kikid Cream on the ground. It was a spot not splashed with blood.

“If you don’t need it, throw it away or give it to someone else.”

Then Eleanor stepped back. There was no point in saying more; he wouldn’t respond anyway. Eleanor turned and left the alley.

Had she helped for nothing?

Had she meddled too much?

Such thoughts constantly plagued her, making Eleanor feel certain that she and her mother were fundamentally incompatible. People like that boy might be common in a place like this market.

Who knew if he was being beaten for committing some misdeed? If she had just ignored him and walked away, she wouldn’t have felt this lingering unease. Most importantly, his defiant gaze kept lingering in her mind.

She had a strange feeling, as if she had touched something important to him.

Fortunately, that feeling didn’t last long. Soon, Eleanor arrived at the dress shop, and seeing the dress immediately lifted her spirits.

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Dreid looked at the strange medicine jar placed beside him. It was entirely green and a medicine he had never seen before.

Why give me this crap?

Why not just leave me be?

He spat out blood-tinged saliva. He had tried to die. He had no lingering attachment to a life that was already abandoned.

His mother had succumbed to his father’s temptation and ruined her entire life, and he was no different. Born from their pointless greed, he was experiencing all sorts of hardships.

Even now, after trying to live his own way, he had been crushed by the harsh realities of the market. The Elento gang, who controlled this market, looked unfavorably upon Dreid. This was because Dreid had refused to cooperate with them.

The Elento gang, for the most part, did nothing but extort money under the guise of protection fees. They were like parasites living off others.

Dreid was sick of such things. In the first place, Dreid himself was born that way. His mother became pregnant with him after falling for his father’s temptation. And despite his father’s words to abort the child, she insisted on giving birth.

However, his father rejected Dreid. His mother only lamented Dreid’s existence before taking her own life.

After that, Dreid was abandoned by everything. His father, from the highest position, had tempted his mother without any sense of responsibility, and his mother had believed her father without thinking. Dreid was left alone amidst their disgusting desires.

His father had never even shown interest in Dreid. Still, he had worked various jobs in places like this to survive.

He mainly worked in the mines, but lately, even that had become difficult due to the Elento gang. And when they came looking for him again, Dreid had firmly refused their demands.

He wouldn’t work for parasites.

The Elento gang were not the type to let things go. They waited for the time Dreid returned from the mine and was entering his home, dragging him into a back alley. As he was being beaten, Dreid thought.

I wish it would just end like this.

Strangely, that thought didn’t come true. He lived. Even dying was difficult.

“Damn it.”

Dreid spat out a curse and tried to lift his waist to get up. But he had been hit hard on the side, and a sharp pain shot through him.

He gritted his teeth and instinctively reached out to the ground. Then, something caught his hand. It was hard, cold, and uncomfortable.

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