Dear Contract Husband, I Didn't Know You Were Like This? - Chapter 100
“W-What is this, Your Highness?”
The ledger she had never seen before accurately detailed the cause of her husband’s death.
Doshen’s hands trembled as she snatched the ledger from Tristan and read it again.
“It says that Count Baker was responsible?”
Ethan Doshen’s death, caused by a cliff accident, had always been considered no one’s fault—a tragic, unfortunate accident.
At least, that was how the knights who investigated Ethan’s death had concluded the matter. With no other evidence emerging, Doshen had accepted this explanation.
Afterward, she had even changed her surname, keeping only her husband’s memory alive.
“What is this?”
So, there should never have been a document stating that her husband’s death was murder.
“I found it in a hidden space in Emperor Reserfield’s library.”
“Your Highness went there?”
Doshen was shocked.
Had he forgotten that he was cursed?
“I went to look for books on curses, but I found something even bigger.”
Tristan pointed to the section of the ledger that detailed his own parents’ deaths, snapping Doshen out of her singular focus on her husband’s matter.
“Doshen, you can call me foolish. You can even say I’m selfish.”
Tristan’s blue eyes, staring back at her, were burning with a quiet rage.
The time spent in the north, enduring for the sake of the family and respecting his parents’ decisions, was over.
Now, it was time to move forward—on his own terms.
“…You won’t lift the curse?”
Doshen asked in a fearful voice.
“No, I will lift the curse. But who says a person can only have one goal in life?”
Tristan smiled faintly.
Yes, he wasn’t going to give anything up.
“I will also avenge my parents, who died unjustly.”
Using the facts he had uncovered from the ledger, he would lay the foundation for a new path in life.
“And I will do it at Maya’s side.”
In every vision he had of the future, Maya was there.
Always.
***
The Tower Lord left the handling of the monster’s corpse and sorting of useful materials to Kendrick.
Although he was prickly with everyone else, he was as docile as a lamb in front of the Tower Lord.
Of course, this was all to gain power, and the old wolf, who clung to the emperor, had no time to notice such things.
Along with this, Kendrick was given another task.
‘I want you to figure out who might have defeated this monster.’
The one who had dealt with the monster was said to be an intruder, disappearing immediately afterward.
The emperor claimed he wished to reward the person who had dared to defeat the monster that had invaded the imperial palace.
Before issuing an official proclamation, Kendrick was instructed to note down any distinctive features or peculiarities that might help identify the person.
The massive wolf monster, which had filled the training ground, lay dead, its rotting stench filling the air. Kendrick was in awe of the monster’s sheer size.
Identifying who had slain the creature by examining the wounds on its body was easy enough.
‘It was Maya.’
The clean and elegant traces of Maya Pendragon’s swordsmanship were evident.
Of course, those who had never seen Pendragon swordsmanship wouldn’t recognize this, but to Kendrick—who had watched Maya’s swordsmanship his whole life and had seen it firsthand in the recent battle in the north—it was unmistakable.
‘She wanted to hide her skills, so I should help her with that.’
He would generalize it, claiming it seemed like a man. That way, Maya would be cleared of suspicion.
Kendrick was relieved to have come in person.
At the same time, he felt anxious.
While Maya continued to prove her strength, it felt like Kendrick wasn’t getting the same opportunities.
‘I could do it too.’
He hated that Maya always ended up being the one to fight.
He wanted to stand beside her as an equal—or, better yet, be the one Maya could lean on.
“I’ll make sure I defeat the next monster.”
Saying it out loud helped ease the suffocating sense of anxiety that had been weighing on his chest.
After exhaling, Kendrick reached out to touch the wolf’s fur.
But before he could, the wolf’s corpse began to disintegrate into black dust, scattering into the wind.
