Marriage with a Suspiciously Demure Husband — Chapter 8

AFTER THAT, YOU HAVE NO IDEA

HOW MUCH EFFORT I PUT INTO DECEIVING THIS WOMAN.

HERE IS HAZEL LOVE'S IDEAL TYPE REPORT.

LET'S SEE. FIRST, HER APPEARANCE PREFERENCES...

HANDSOME, TALL, WITH SHOULDERS AS BROAD AS THE PACIFIC...

WHAT IS THE "PACIFIC"?

I AM NOT SURE. PERHAPS IT REFERS TO SOMETHING EXTREMELY BROAD?

WELL, EITHER WAY, I WON'T NEED TO MAKE ANY CHANGES ON MY APPEARANCE.

I JUST NEED TO DRESS A LITTLE BRIGHTER.

HAZEL.

HOW DO I LOOK TODAY?

YOU ARE SO HANDSOME, NOAH!

SHE WOULD LIKE SOMEONE WHO IS GOOD AT COOKING,

AND SOMEONE WHO MAKES TIME FOR A DATE ONCE A WEEK?

Ha, how demanding.

WOULD THAT NOT BE DIFFICULT?

GIVEN YOUR PERSONALITY...

WHAT?

WHY WOULD IT BE?

WHAT IS SO DIFFICULT ABOUT PRETENDING TO BE SWEET?

YES, WELL... IF YOU ONLY NEED TO PRETEND, I SUPPOSE IT SHOULD BE FINE.

BUT HAVE YOU EVER COOKED BEFORE?

YOU HAVE NEVER TOUCHED...

IS THERE ANYTHING I CANNOT DO?

I JUST NEED TO TRY IT ONCE OR TWICE.

THIS IS SO DELICIOUS, NOAH!

Yum...

Yum...

AND ALSO...

HE MUST BE SWEET, KIND, GENTLE, AND WELL-MANNERED DURING THE DAY. AT NIGHT, HE SHOULD BE JUST AS SWEET, BUT WILD AS A BEAST...

WHAT? SHE WANTS A CERTAIN DEGREE OF OBSESSION TOO?

WHY WOULD SHE LIKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS? SHOULD THAT NOT BE SOMETHING TO AVOID?

PERHAPS HER IDEAL TYPE HAS A SPLIT PERSONALITY.

...IN ANY CASE, I DID MY BEST TO MATCH HAZEL LOVE'S MANY PREFERENCES.

WHAT CHOICE DID I HAVE? EVERY SUBORDINATE I SENT FELL VICTIM TO HER ILLUSION ART AND FAILED,

SO I COULD NOT LEAVE IT TO ANYONE ELSE.

I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO STEP IN MYSELF.

THIS FEARLESS, SLY WOMAN...

HOW DID SHE LEARN AND STEAL MY INFORMATION?

AND JUST HOW MUCH OF MY SECRET DOES SHE KNOW?

I HAVE TO FIND OUT, NO MATTER WHAT.

...TO THINK IT HAS ALREADY BEEN A YEAR SINCE HAZEL FELL INTO MY GRASP.

I STILL HAVE NOT FOUND OUT WHERE THE INFORMATION ON "KAILUS" LEAKED FROM,

BUT THE PERSON WHO STOLE THAT INFORMATION IS ALREADY SO HOPELESSLY IN LOVE WITH ME THAT SHE CANNOT ESCAPE,

SO THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY.

...STILL, DRAGGING THIS OUT FOR A WHOLE YEAR IS RATHER PROBLEMATIC.

EVEN IF I DID START HAVING A LITTLE FUN, I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD TAKE THIS LONG.

MAYBE BECAUSE HER FACE IS SO FAIR, SOMETIMES I GET THE ILLUSION THAT A WHITE RABBIT WITH A RED HAIRPIN IS HOPPING AROUND IN FRONT OF ME, AND I FIND IT CUTE...

NO, RIGHT.

WELL, SHE IS A LITTLE CUTE, BUT THAT IS ALL.

UNLIKE THAT WOMAN, I AM NOT THE TYPE TO FALL MADLY IN LOVE AND DROWN IN IT.

IT IS ABOUT TIME I DEALT WITH HER AND WRAPPED UP THIS ISSUE.

AH, RIGHT. THE PUMPKIN PIE.

I NEED TO MAKE IT FOR HAZEL.

SHE LIKES EATING, BUT BECAUSE SHE HAS SUCH A SMALL APPETITE,

SHE IS ALWAYS DISAPPOINTED THAT SHE CANNOT EAT MUCH.

YET PUMPKIN PIE IS THE ONE THING SHE CAN EAT A FULL TWO SLICES OF.

IF I MAKE IT NOW AND LEAVE IT TO COOL OVERNIGHT,

IT SHOULD BE PERFECT FOR HAZEL TO EAT TOMORROW MORNING.

I WILL BAKE IT CRISPY TO SUIT HER TASTE,

AND I NEED TO PREPARE PLENTY OF CREAM TO TOP IT WITH...

OF COURSE, ALL OF THIS IS MERELY PART OF THE PLAN.

FOR A PROPER ESCAPE PLAN,

I ABSOLUTELY NEED AN ALLY.

HELLO, DYLAN BANKER. IT HAS BEEN A WHILE. YOU HAVE BEEN DOING WELL, RIGHT?

...HAA. WHAT SHOULD I WRITE NEXT?

I NEED TO DO THIS QUICKLY WHILE KAILUS IS AWAY.

IT FEELS SO AWKWARD TO SUDDENLY WRITE HIM A LETTER AFTER NOT CONTACTING HIM ALL THIS TIME.

OF ALL PEOPLE, THE ONE I TRUST MOST IS A FORMER COWORKER...

DYLAN BANKER.

HONESTLY, I DID NOT SPEND ALL THAT MUCH TIME WITH HIM.

He was the "original" Hazel Love's colleague,

not my friend.

BESIDES, I QUIT THE KNIGHT ORDER NOT LONG AFTER I POSSESSED THIS BODY.

BUT DYLAN BANKER WAS NOT THE DIFFICULT TYPE TO GET CLOSE TO.

I suppose you could call him a tremendous extrovert?

HE EASILY BECAME EVERYONE'S BIG BROTHER,

AND HAD THE KIND OF PERSONALITY THAT ALWAYS VOLUNTEERED TO PLAY THE HELPFUL FRIEND.

THANKS TO THAT, EVEN THOUGH WE ONLY SPENT A SHORT TIME TOGETHER BEFORE I LEFT THE KNIGHT ORDER,

I FEEL LIKE WE GOT ALONG QUITE WELL.

AND WHEN I WAS STRUGGLING BECAUSE MY RESIGNATION LETTER WAS NOT BEING PROCESSED,

HE STEPPED IN AND HELPED ME AS IF IT WERE HIS OWN PROBLEM.

OF COURSE, THERE WERE TIMES HE CLUNG TO ME, ASKING FOR HELP WITH HIS OWN WORK TOO.

FOR SOME REASON... I KIND OF MISS HIM.

I AM IN A SITUATION WHERE I SECRETLY NEED HELP.

COULD YOU SEND SOMEONE "RELIABLE" TO ME?

I WILL SEND THE "REQUEST FEE" AS WELL, SO I WILL LEAVE IT TO YOU.

P.S. WHILE WE ARE AT IT, LET ME KNOW HOW YOU ARE DOING TOO.

FROM, HAZEL LOVE.

THERE, THE LETTER IS FINISHED...

IF I USE A PLACE LIKE THE POST OFFICE, KAILUS WILL FIND OUT AT ONCE,

SO SHALL I USE A SLIGHTLY OLD METHOD?

Tweet!

THIS IS A PERSONAL MESSENGER BIRD CREATED WITH MANA.

UNLIKE A COMMUNICATION ORB, IT CANNOT BE CHECKED RIGHT AWAY,

BUT THERE IS NO RISK OF IT BEING DISCOVERED ON THE WAY,

NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT EXCEPT ME, AND IT LEAVES NO TRACE.

NOW, HURRY ALONG.

HM?

A PERSONAL MESSENGER BIRD?

WELL, WELL. LOOK WHO IT IS!

OUR HAZEL FINALLY SENT ME A LETTER!

HEY, HAZEL LOVE! LONG TIME NO SEE, YOU AWFUL JERK.

ONLY CONTACTING ME WHEN YOU NEED SOMETHING IS PRETTY CRUEL, YOU KNOW?

WELL, BECAUSE OF OUR FRIENDSHIP, I WILL HELP SOMEHOW!

HE REALLY HAS NOT CHANGED AT ALL.

I WOULD LIKE TO GO MYSELF, BUT YOUR BIG BROTHER HERE IS VERY BUSY,

SO I WILL SEND A “FIXER” SOON.

THESE DAYS, MONSTERS ARE CAUSING TROUBLE EVEN ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CAPITAL. THANKS TO THAT, I HAVE BEEN WORKING OVERTIME NONSTOP.

THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CAPITAL...?

WHAT IS THIS? ISN'T THE "ORIGINAL STORY" PROGRESSING FASTER THAN IT SHOULD?

COME TO THINK OF IT, BECAUSE OF THE MONSTER THAT APPEARED IN OUR TOWN RECENTLY,

I HAD MY SUBORDINATES INVESTIGATE VARIOUS THINGS.

THEY SAID THE MONSTERS LATELY SEEMED

DESPERATE TO FIND "SOMETHING."

AH, I HAVE A FEELING SOMETHING TROUBLESOME IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN...

NO, STOP WORRYING ABOUT IT.

THE PROTAGONISTS WILL HANDLE IT SOMEHOW ANYWAY, AND I HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS OF MY OWN!

I NEED TO FOCUS ON SURVIVING KAILUS.

I WILL COME SEE YOU BEFORE FALL. STAY HEALTHY UNTIL THEN.

TO MY SHAMELESS FRIEND, FROM DYLAN BANKER.

WHEN I MEET DYLAN SOMEDAY, I REALLY NEED TO THANK HIM...

GUILDMASTER, IT IS VERONICA.

O-OH, RIGHT.

COME IN.

A NEW EMPLOYEE CAME IN FOR AN INTERVIEW TODAY.

ANOTHER EMPLOYEE...?

MOST OF THE GUILD MEMBERS, INCLUDING VERONICA, WERE CHOSEN BY NOAH.

BEFORE, I LIKED THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE

MUCH QUICKER AND BETTER AT THEIR WORK THAN THE PEOPLE I HAD CHOSEN MYSELF...

BUT NOW IT FEELS LIKE THEY ARE WATCHING ME, SO I AM UNEASY. AND NOW, ANOTHER NEW EMPLOYEE?

FOR NOW, I CANNOT RAISE KAILUS'S SUSPICIONS,

SO I SHOULD PRETEND NOT TO KNOW AND HIRE THEM.

GIVE ME THE DOCUMENTS FIRST.

I WILL CONDUCT THE INTERVIEW NOW...

THAT PERSON IS...?!