My Husband is Suspicious - Episode 24

“Mackiv, you should look more carefully.”

Mackiv chuckled as Eleanor cautioned him in a low voice.

“Weren’t you looking more openly than me earlier, Lady Eleanor?”

“That’s…” Eleanor tried to speak but closed her mouth. She couldn’t think of a proper rebuttal.

Just then, a server approached and handed them their ordered drinks.

Mackiv thanked them with a smile. The server paused for a moment, then smiled shyly before quickly disappearing.

Through the space where the server had been, Dreid was visible. Eleanor didn’t take her eyes off Dreid.

“Lady Eleanor, won’t you really have a bite?”

“I’m fine.”

“It’s really delicious.”

Mackiv seemed disappointed that Eleanor wasn’t getting to taste it. Eleanor glanced at the chocolate milk, then at the lavender on top, and shook her head.

“Chocolate milk with lavender, isn’t that a bit much?”

“This is how it’s delicious.”

Mackiv said it as if it were obvious. Then he smiled.

“Next time, you must try it this way. The lavender scent mixes with the sweetness of the chocolate milk and makes it even more delicious.”

Mackiv said so while drinking his chocolate milk. Eleanor looked at him for a moment, then shook her head. No matter how she thought about it, Mackiv was an unusual person. He seemed to enjoy rather strange foods.

“What’s the point of drinking chamomile tea for you?”

Mackiv, who had finished his drink, asked. Eleanor replied simply.

“I drink it for the scent.”

“Me too.”

“That’s different.”

“How so? I drink it for the lavender scent, too.”

Eleanor was lost for words as Mackiv said this with a laugh. She then turned her gaze back towards Dreid, but Mackiv was subtly blocking her view.

“Mackiv, move aside for a moment.”

Eleanor said, and Mackiv glanced behind him. He seemed to have seen something he shouldn’t have, and froze for a moment. Eleanor felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

Mackiv turned his head and said in a somewhat flustered voice,

“Lady Eleanor, I think we should leave now?”

As Eleanor tried to look towards where Dreid was sitting, Mackiv blocked her again. Frustrated, Eleanor looked around and said to Mackiv,

“Why? Did that person leave?”

Mackiv’s expression contorted, looking as if he found it difficult to speak.

“What is it?”

“Well…”

It was then. The sound of glass shattering rang out. Along with it came the sound of something spilling.

“Mackiv, move.”

Eleanor said in a low voice, and Mackiv moved aside as if he had no choice. Only then did the situation become clear.

Next to Dreid, a server was picking up broken glass, seemingly having made a mistake. And in front of Dreid, someone was sitting.

A woman with flowing blonde hair and a beauty that could instantly captivate sat there. Dreid put down his newspaper upon seeing her and smiled.

As if he had known her all along.

For a moment, Eleanor felt her blood run cold. Her mind went blank, unable to process what action to take or what to say. No, the scene seemed to unfold in slow motion, making it even clearer.

Now, Dreid and the woman were laughing and conversing. They were even exchanging gifts.

Eleanor had never seen Dreid converse with another woman before. Even at balls, he always stayed by her side, making sure she wasn’t bored.

But the Dreid she saw here was completely different from that image.

‘…Was it about a woman?’

All the trust she had built up until then seemed to shatter in an instant. The fragments felt like they were piercing her heart, and Eleanor scowled.

“Lady Eleanor, are you alright?”

Mackiv asked cautiously, seemingly worried about Eleanor’s state. But Eleanor couldn’t answer. No words came out. She hadn’t thought it would be about a woman. She had believed otherwise.

‘How could this happen?’

Because her belief had been so absolute, the betrayal she felt now was immeasurable.

‘Then why did he look at the pin clip I gave him so intently?’

After all, for it to end like this. Why did he wear such a happy expression?

Eleanor felt something welling up inside her.

“I don’t think I can stay. We should go back.”

Mackiv said as he stood up. But Eleanor remained seated. It felt like a blow to her pride to leave after witnessing such a thing.

‘Should I go over there and cause a scene right now?’

Eleanor gripped the tracker tightly. Then, as if making a decision, she slowly rose from her seat. She took a step towards him, then stopped.

If she went to Dreid, all eyes would surely be on her. A scene of jealousy unfolding in such a peaceful place would…

Moreover, Mackiv was there. She would have to expose her private life, a life she didn’t want others to see, and in its rawest form.

Eleanor let out a faint sigh and turned away.

‘I can’t do that.’

That would only be entertainment for others. It would simply be a petty drama that would be talked about for ages. Eleanor was surprised herself at how the medicine Mackiv gave her earlier helped her think rationally.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes, let’s go quickly.”

Although her pride was hurt, there was no other way.

However, her heart remained unsettled. She had been so keen on uncovering other people’s dramas, only to be utterly shocked when it became her own. Her legs felt weak, and her head spun as if it were foggy.

The moment Eleanor swayed, Mackiv caught her arm.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Eleanor replied and got into the waiting carriage.

[Misunderstanding]

Dreid was smiling, but his words were filled with sarcasm.

“To make me wait this long, and this is all you have?”

In front of him was a small box containing an ordinary brooch. It had no patterns, just a simple round shape.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. You called me so suddenly. I didn’t have enough time to prepare.”

Sertin said with a relaxed smile. Like Dreid, she didn’t easily get flustered. Furthermore, Sertin was one of the few people who knew Dreid well.

They had known each other since childhood, and like Dreid, she disliked her father. By chance, she met Dreid here, learned about his objectives, and Sertin actively helped him.

She mainly taught him defensive magic and gathered information about the Crown Prince to give to Dreid.

Dreid took the brooch out of the box. He examined it indifferently and said,

“The Crown Prince is now targeting Eleanor.”

At that, Sertin, who had been smiling relaxedly, was startled and asked,

“What?”

“I should have known when he entrusted such a treasure to Eleanor’s commission office.”

As he said this, Dreid scowled, as if his head hurt.

“You don’t mean…”

There were several reasons why Dreid suddenly felt unwell, the most frequent being when he took his allergy medication.

Dreid had side effects from his allergy medication. So, he wouldn’t take it unless absolutely necessary.

Sertin looked at Dreid’s hands, just in case. No red spots were visible.

“…Did you take medicine?”

At Sertin’s words, Dreid suddenly burst into laughter.

“Eleanor went all the way to the library to look it up.”

“For what?”

“In case I had some serious illness.”

Sertin shook her head, looking as if she didn’t understand. In Sertin’s eyes, the love Dreid harbored was somewhat pathological. When Eleanor paid him so much attention, he became excessively pleased.

“Why don’t you just tell her?”

“Just because. I like her worrying about me. And I don’t want Eleanor to avoid eating things she likes because of me.”

“You’re a madman.”

Dreid paid no mind to Sertin calling him a madman. He was still turning the brooch over and over.

“By the way, is it true that the Crown Prince is investing in your bank?”

Dreid placed the brooch on the table.

“He had no choice.”

Dreid chuckled.

“It’s affecting Eleanor too, you say? If Eleanor continues with that work…”

“That’s why I took action earlier.”

“It didn’t go well?”

Dreid laughed again.

“I thought she would stop if I interfered like that, but she didn’t. She seemed to be trying to figure me out instead.”

“But you seem happy?”

“Because now it feels like Eleanor is paying attention to me. It wasn’t like this before.”

As he smiled, Sertin looked at him in horror.

“You don’t mean you want Eleanor to do the same as you?”

“Yes. I want her to only look at me and only think of me. Just like I do.”

Even with Eleanor by his side, Dreid’s greed grew. Even though they were married, he worried if her feelings might change, if she might become different from before.

Of course, even though Eleanor smiled at him and desired him, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

So, he became even more obsessed with Eleanor. He found out everything she liked, disliked, and even what she ate, and adapted to it all.

And to prevent Eleanor from thinking otherwise about him, he carefully packaged his inner anxieties. With a facade of composure.

He wanted to hide everything. ‘That matter,’ and his past.

“Don’t be greedy. What if Eleanor really finds out about ‘that matter’?”

“That’s why I came here. To meet that bastard myself. Before that, I wish Eleanor would take a break from her work.”

Even after getting married, Dreid was displeased when Eleanor opened a new commission office. Most of all, men occasionally visited, ostensibly for treasure commissions.

However, after a few days, Eleanor’s commission office had no clients, not even a fly. Seeing Eleanor struggling, Dreid looked for women nearby who might need work. And he arranged for Eleanor to be assigned a job.

Fortunately, Eleanor took on even that kind of work and managed her commission office reasonably well.

But when even that job became difficult for Eleanor, Dreid wished she would find something else entirely. Even though he knew what she truly wanted to find was that necklace.

Dreid clenched the brooch as if it would break.

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