Chapter 35

A glossy black carriage carrying three members of the Holden Textile Union was speeding along.

Outside, darkness had already fallen.

Marcel, Garrison, and Damian, having removed their soiled outer garments, endured the throbbing pain coursing through their bodies.

What Alec had done to them was so humiliatingly absurd that none of them had yet mentioned it.

Marcel stared out the window, his reddened face burning with rage.

He still ground his teeth in frustration.

It was the first time in his life he’d experienced something like this.

They had been tossed around like marionette dolls without even being able to put up a proper fight.

He had finally realized what it meant to face someone with power on a completely different level.

The helplessness was truly shocking and humiliating.

“…It doesn’t make sense. Did he turn into someone else? There’s no way that guy was really Alec.”

At Marcel’s muttering, Garrison and Damian looked up at him.

Marcel was still glaring out into the dark, grinding his teeth so hard they could hear it.

He hadn’t even realized he had voiced what he’d been thinking.

After watching Marcel for a moment, Damian rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together.

“We can’t just let this go. If we let this slide, that bastard will think he can always get away with treating us like this.”

Marcel, startled, turned his eyes toward Damian.

Garrison had been thinking the same thing.

“We can’t let Alec or that woman go unpunished. They beat us like dogs in the rain?”

“…”

A chilling silence filled the carriage at Garrison’s words.

As much as they hated to admit it, the three of them hadn’t been able to lay a single scratch on Alec.

Moreover, Marcel was still troubled by what Louise had said.

“Apparently, you didn’t know. The Marchioness had a lover.”

Julia had a lover?

That made no sense.

Marcel and Julia were one of the most renowned couples in society.

Since marrying Julia, Marcel had been so devoted to her that he had earned the nickname “the fool in love.”

But Julia, having a lover?

It was an utterly unbelievable story, and Marcel wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave him.

While Marcel was deeply disturbed, Damian clenched his fist and spoke firmly.

“I think we should report this to His Majesty the Emperor.”

At this, Garrison frowned, incredulous.

“What are you going to say? That we got beaten to a pulp by Alec?”

“…”

Damian slowly opened his fist and then clenched it tightly again.

Of course, getting beaten to this extent by Alec was so embarrassing that he wanted to keep it hidden.

Marcel spoke skeptically.

“Even if we told them, who would believe us? Alec, of all people. If we said we got punched even once by him, everyone would burst out laughing…”

“…”

No one could refute Marcel’s words.

Beyond the embarrassment, no one would believe that Alec had done this to them.

Marcel’s eyes glinted sharply.

“Damn it, how do we get back at him?”

Leaving things as they were was infuriating and unbearable.

He wanted to retaliate and show them what they were made of.

‘Ah.’

Suddenly, a good idea came to Marcel’s mind, and his eyes sparkled.

It would be better to hire a mercenary group to teach him a lesson, leaving him barely alive.

There was no way they could let someone who dared to touch the elite of the Holden Textile Union go unpunished.

Marcel twisted his lips sharply.

‘You messed with the wrong people, Alec.’

* * *

Night had fallen deeply.

In the quiet room, the sound of the clock ticking echoed loudly.

Lying in bed, I clasped my hands in my nightgown.

Suddenly, my husband had become a warrior-like fighter.

It was miraculous enough that he no longer stuttered, but I never imagined something even more extraordinary would happen.

Tick-tock.

Thump-thump…

The sound of the second hand passing and my low-beating heart intertwined.

Since coming back from the dead, the images of Alec that I had seen flashed through my mind like a kaleidoscope.

‘How much has he changed…?’

His eyes were always clear, without any signs of timidity or hesitation.

His expression never showed any signs of shrinking back.

His speech, no longer stuttering, and his exceptional athletic abilities that easily subdued most men.

And even his demeanor had become significantly colder.

There were countless changes.

Even his habits had changed significantly.

He used to be extremely reluctant to expose anything beyond his face and hands.

He wouldn’t even show his bare torso to me, his wife, and would go out of his way to hide his back.

But the current Alec seemed to sometimes forget to button his shirt.

Even this morning, wasn’t he looking at himself in the mirror wearing only pants?

‘Hmm…’

He was now good at hunting, stood up for me even against his revered mother, and was firm with her sister-in-law.

How ruthless he was with those noblemen during the day!

It felt like his personality had completely changed.

How could someone change so much? I blinked, staring up at the ceiling in bewilderment.

This was almost…

‘It’s like he’s become a different person…’

It seemed easier to find the parts of him that hadn’t changed.

The only thing that remained the same before he drank the poison was his appearance.

His dazzlingly beautiful face and a body sculpted with perfect golden proportions, as if designed to captivate every living being, were unchanged.

I blinked a couple of times again, and my eyes were now wide open.

Any trace of sleep had vanished.

Could someone change this much after being brought back from the brink of death?

I couldn’t readily understand how to make sense of this situation.

But soon, I started to think positively.

‘…It’s okay. Alec is still Alec. Nothing about him has changed for the worse.’

If I think about it, Alec now was showing the perfect image I had always hoped for him.

Though I never explicitly told him to change his personality or get stronger, I had always secretly wished he would change like this.

I wanted him to have confidence wherever he went, not be ignored by others.

He was kind and passive, yet he was criticized as being dumb and easy to manipulate.

I always thought it would be great if he could be more resolute and cold because of those people.

Alec himself often blamed himself for being like that.

‘Yes, it’s for the best. Alec wanted this too…’

The changes were earth-shattering, but considering how resentful he had been, it was understandable.

He had lived a life so full of grief and injustice that he might have wanted to become an entirely different person.

But why did I still feel uneasy and bothered deep down?

Even if he seemed like a different person, was he truly still the same?

Or was he no longer the Alec I used to know?

I pondered deeply about this and eventually fell asleep much later.

* * *

It was the next day in the afternoon.

The weather was clear and sunny.

A perfect day for laying out a picnic mat and eating sandwiches.

I unpacked the basket filled with sandwiches and fruit juice that was prepared this morning.

Alec, Eloise, my mother-in-law, and I sat on the mat on the hill, ready to enjoy our snacks.

“This cook isn’t as good as Albert, but he’s still quite good,” said my mother-in-law, tasting the grilled salmon sandwich she used to enjoy often at the duchy.

Eloise, who was happily eating her usual homemade ham sandwich, replied, “It is good.”

The basket was filled with enough sandwiches of various kinds.

Grilled salmon, roast beef, cucumber, homemade ham, and chicken sandwiches.

I chose the cucumber sandwich with mashed potato salad.

Crunch.

The lightly salted cucumber spread a refreshing taste in my mouth.

A sip of the tangy juice melted away my fatigue.

I glanced at Alec without thinking.

Would the new cook’s sandwiches suit his taste as well?

The sandwich in Alec’s hand revealed beef and lettuce.

The seasoned, grilled beef looked appetizing at a glance.

‘…Hmm?’

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories