TMHMFMIS-02

CHAPTER 2

I simply wanted to build him a villa as a first-anniversary gift.

Compared to everything he had given me, a single villa was nothing, but it was still a special day, and I wanted to make him happy with the money I had worked hard to earn.

I never imagined that I would discover my husband’s true identity in the process.

After that, while he was away, I began searching through the entire mansion for evidence.

It wasn’t as though I could secretly follow him to his workplace and keep an eye on him.

So I searched through all the more than one hundred rooms in the five-story mansion, collapsing from exhaustion several times along the way.

After searching and searching for evidence, I finally found one inside the innermost double drawer of the desk in his study.

It was a detailed profile documenting everything I had done from the capital, Elkard, to my arrival here in Ferrarium, along with several documents related to me.

Judging by how incredibly detailed it was, this seemed to be only part of it.

If it hadn’t been the same kind of desk as the one in my own study, I probably never would have found it.

It had been firmly locked, and I nearly had a heart attack trying to take the key while he was asleep.

Even after going through all that trouble to find the documents, I ended up leaving them exactly where they were because I was afraid he might notice that they were missing……

Honestly, I still couldn’t believe it.

Even this morning, he had picked out the clothes I would wear, dried my hair himself, and brushed it for me.

Wasn’t that love……?

I made a diamond shape with both hands, rested my forehead against my thumbs, and groaned.

He was Kailus Hadid.

Not Noah Edisi, but Kailus Hadid.

No wonder the Baron had so much money.

How had I not realized it?

I had been completely blinded by love.

Kailus Hadid.

He was the mastermind and villain of <I’ll Prevent the Destruction and Get My Happy Ending>, and could also be called another protagonist who put the main characters through trials.

Even that villain had one particularly attractive quality, and that was the fact that he was unbelievably rich.

He was the richest man in the empire, and was said to possess an extremely fierce, vicious, and cruel temperament.

On top of that, unlike me, Hazel Love, who was originally supposed to leave the story early after dying from overwork, he was a character whose presence remained overwhelming all the way to the very end.

He was such a dangerous man that no one should ever get involved with him, but I, of all people, absolutely, positively should not get involved with him.

Because……

I had a history of taking advantage of him.

It wasn’t as though I had openly swindled him.

Since I had read the original novel, I had simply siphoned off some information about the future, and used a little of the dirty money that his subordinates had embezzled.

A wanted poster had been put up for me briefly, but because I had been wearing a mask, I had never been caught, and I came down to Ferrarium just as I was.

“No matter how I think about it, it’s strange.”

The day I first met him really had been a fateful day.

It was exactly one month after I had come down to Ferrarium and opened the mercenary guild, and it was also the day I saw a yellow butterfly welcoming spring.

It was also the day the first S-rank client came looking for a job after I opened the mercenary guild, and at the same time, the day the first S-rank mercenary other than me showed up and we successfully concluded a contract.

That morning, I had eaten my favorite scone topped with peach compote, and when I cracked an egg because I was even planning to fry it, two yolks had popped out.

It was that kind of fateful day.

The moment I closed the guild and stepped outside, he greeted me at precisely the perfect moment, saying that he had come to commission a job, and just then, the spring breeze swept past, gently ruffling his soft hair.

“…That’s what happened.”

It really happened that way.

It was still so vivid!

That was how I fell in love with Noah at first sight, and he had felt the same way.

Not long afterward, I nearly cried when he confessed his feelings while holding a bouquet of red roses.

And three months later, when he proposed with a diamond ring as large as my eye, I thought I had finally succeeded in this life.

“Sniff……”

Honestly, I was still confused.

My husband Noah had brilliant black hair like the night sky,

while Kailus Hadid was supposed to have dull, nondescript black hair!

My husband Noah had elegant red eyes like the finest ruby,

while Kailus Hadid had blood-red eyes, so how could they possibly be the same person……?

Huh?

How could they possibly be the same?

I hadn’t found any other evidence yet, but if he really was Kailus Hadid, he would have come to kill me.

But I couldn’t run away right away.

He currently knew far too much about me.

He even knew my real name and all my personal information.

I didn’t want to lose the mercenary guild I had worked so hard to build, nurture, and grow, either.

I had even considered begging for forgiveness, but there was no way someone who had issued a wanted poster for me because he wanted me dead would forgive me.

I had to find a way.

I couldn’t avoid dying from overwork only to get brutally murdered instead.

But if I abandoned everything and ran away, I would starve to death before long.

If he kept hiding his identity from me for the rest of my life, I would become so anxious that I’d die of a nervous breakdown.

…Was my fate simply to die?

“Guild Master.”

“…….”

“Guild Master?”

I belatedly came to my senses at the voice calling me and raised my head.

I had definitely been alone, but somehow, my secretary, Nijella, was standing there looking at me.

“…Oh. Yeah?”

“I called you several times, but you didn’t answer, so I came in. May I give you my report?”

Ah, right.

I had told her to bring me the report today.

“Yeah.”

“These are this month’s compiled mission and completion reports, along with the sales receipts.”

“As you can see from the statistics, the number of A- and S-rank missions secured and successfully completed has increased by a whopping tenfold compared to this time last year.”

“If things continue like this, I think we may reach twice this figure by the first half of next year.”

“What do you think, Guild Master?”

“Ten times?”

When I asked in surprise, Nijella flashed a proud smile.

“Yes!”

“It’s all thanks to your incredible foresight, Guild Master.”

“Your husband also helped us tremendously.”

“The only unfortunate thing is that we still can’t accept X-rank missions, but since those missions can only be issued to teams of three or more, I think it would be better to wait for the right time before expanding.”

“After all, increasing the number of dedicated mercenaries should probably come first.”

“…Hmm, I think that would be best.”

“Handling even single-client requests is already overwhelming for us.”

Nijella was someone Noah had introduced to me when I was expanding the business.

He had introduced her as someone extremely capable, and he had been telling the truth.

She had helped me tremendously in growing the business even further.

Wait.

Then could Nijella also……?

Fear began creeping up inside me again.

Nijella had never once done anything suspicious.

“Oh, Guild Master.”

“Then are the two of you still planning to go on your date this afternoon as scheduled?”

Nijella adjusted her monocle and asked me.

“…Date?”

“What date?”

Nijella looked puzzled and quickly checked the schedule she had pulled from the inner pocket of her jacket.

“Hmm, today is Tuesday.”

“I’m certain you instructed me to clear your afternoon schedule because you were going on a date with your husband.”

Ah, right.

Noah had even said he would come pick me up.

I had completely forgotten.

I had been so frightened by his mention of going somewhere over the weekend that my mind had gone completely blank.

In any case, I couldn’t let Nijella realize that I was suspicious of her, too.

“Oh, right.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“My husband was supposed to come pick me up.”

“You must be happy.”

“Of course I am.”

“Noah is the person I love most in the world…….”

“Nijella, you should leave work early today, too.”

“Me too?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t have anything urgent today, do you?”

“Let me see.”

“There aren’t any missions due today, either, so the other employees can leave early as well.”

“We should have days when everyone gets to go home early once in a while.”

“Thank you, Guild Master!”

Nijella left after giving me a greeting with the happiest expression imaginable.

I immediately collapsed forward onto my desk.

“…What am I going to do about the date?”

But more than anything, the reason I was hesitating was this.

Putting everything else aside, I truly loved him so very much.

How many people could leave a man they had firmly believed would be their lifelong partner in an instant?

Some people might be able to cut ties without hesitation and walk away, but I wasn’t one of them.

I swept my hair back in frustration.

Maybe if I got ready slowly, my thoughts would gradually sort themselves out, too.

Perhaps my sense of betrayal and fear would eventually outweigh my love.

There was a good chance that today’s date would be our last happy date.

No.

For today, I would just have a happy date!

…….

“…I’m screwed, seriously.”

I collapsed onto my desk again.

The moment it turned 11:50, Noah’s carriage stopped in front of the guild.

Noah had never once made me wait for him, and today was no different.

Even though I had deliberately come out ten minutes early.

The moment the carriage stopped, the door flew open.

His long legs touched the ground.

He was my husband now.

Not Kailus Hadid, but my beloved husband.

I took a deep breath, stretched my mouth wide with an “ah-ee-oh-oo,” and put on a bright smile.

“Noah!”

At my cheerful call, Noah quickly approached me.

“Hazel, why are you already outside?”

“To see my husband even a little sooner.”

Noah looked slightly surprised, and his smile deepened.

Looking at me with his red eyes narrowed into a smile, he gently stroked my cheek.

“How could you possibly have such a lovely thought?”

He opened his arm, inviting me to link arms with him.

I smiled sweetly and reached out to take his arm.

It was as natural as breathing.

“Let’s go.”

“I even let the employees leave early today.”

“I have some really good news.”

“Good news?”

“I’ll tell you on the way.”

With Noah escorting me, I climbed into the carriage.

Inside the carriage were enough bright flowers to make my eyes widen, and there was a basket sitting on the seat.

How did he always manage to prepare all this when he was even busier than me, and had never once been late for an appointment?

“When did you prepare all this again?”

“You’re always so busy.”

“Do you like it?”

“Have I ever told you that my husband is the most handsome man in the world?”

Noah let out a quiet laugh.

I sat down and opened the basket.

Inside was choux pastry filled with cream that smelled sweet and fluffy like a cloud.

It was by far my favorite dessert among the baking collection Noah personally made for me because I loved sweet desserts.

Just imagine that huge, tall, broad-shouldered, handsome man putting on an apron and baking bread and cakes.

It was absolutely perfect……!

I happily reached for a choux pastry, then froze.

…Was it all an act?

Could even this be part of it?

But this was something Noah did for me every day, almost like a routine.

It was also one of the reasons I always waited for him to come home from work.

I suddenly felt depressed, but I didn’t let it show.

I bit into the choux pastry Noah had made for me.

The moment the fresh, sweet cream touched my tongue, it melted.

“…….”

…Damn, it was delicious.

It was enough to bring me to tears.

I felt as though I had soared all the way to heaven on his tenderness, only to be slammed back into hell by suspicion, and then lifted back into heaven by that sweetness melting in my mouth again.

My emotions had been swinging wildly since yesterday, and the confusion just wouldn’t stop.

Ah, at this rate, I really might go insane.

Even as the carriage began moving, his gaze remained fixed solely on me.

“Do you want one too, Noah?”

I held out a choux pastry to him.

Noah, who had been sitting with one leg crossed at an angle toward me, resting his arm and propping his chin on his hand while smiling, reached out.

But his hand wasn’t reaching for the choux pastry.

It was reaching for the corner of my mouth.

His fingertips seemed to brush my lips before he extended his red tongue and licked the cream from his fingertip.

“This is enough for me, Hazel.”