My Husband Hid His Regression, So I Hid Mine Too Chapter 60

Normally, any noble would have accepted Odely as a bride just by seeing the name ‘Cardel,’ regardless of how weak her body was.

But Castia wasn’t someone who followed such ordinary standards.

She was the type to value the bride’s ‘strong blood’ over her ‘family name.’

‘Well, that makes sense for the ruler of the North.’

Harsh snowstorms, monster attacks that could erupt at any time, and battles that continued through every season.

This was a land where neither a prestigious family nor pure blood could help someone survive if they were physically weak.

‘She wants descendants who will inherit strong traits.’

If she had been someone who cared about bloodlines, she wouldn’t have adopted Ludville in the first place.

Even if she had been childless or unable to have an heir, she would have somehow found a relative who carried the blood of the Exception family.

Yet she had deliberately chosen to accept someone else’s blood because……

She valued strength and ability more than bloodline.

“Even when you said you were looking for a blue-eyed woman, I thought you were just playing around with romance. But marriage? Less than a month after meeting a woman for the first time at a masquerade ball four months ago, you……”

Castia recited the story that Odely and Ludville had carefully made up, then simply stopped talking.

Apparently, she had decided that saying anything more would only raise her blood pressure.

She pressed a hand to her throbbing head, swallowing down her anger.

That was the story they had created.

A madman who had fallen in love……

Odely hesitated for a moment.

Would the former Grand Duchess understand them a little better if she told her that this marriage was actually a contract?

But she quickly shook her head.

No. If she did that, Castia would probably insist that they break off the marriage immediately.

‘It would be better to insist that we’re so deeply in love that we can never let each other go.’

That would give her a much stronger reason not to throw Odely out so easily.

That was when it happened.

Ludville, who had been quietly listening, casually poured more oil onto the fire.

“Now that even the imperial delegation has arrived, do you really think anything will change just because you object?”

Ludville stared indifferently over Odely’s shoulder, as if this entire conversation were a nuisance.

There was no respect or courtesy in his eyes.

While the word filial impiety floated around in Odely’s mind, Castia was no less formidable.

Without even blinking, she drove the final nail in with words as cold as frost.

“The imperial family? This concerns the fate of the North. Do you think hurting our pride is a problem? The only thing that can’t be undone is death. It’s not too late. Send her back to the Cardel family.”

“Death?”

Ludville raised an eyebrow.

“You think I would let my wife die?”

“You’d be more than capable of killing her. The harsh cold and barren land of the North will kill her, and so will you.”

“Hah.”

Ludville let out a dry laugh.

Before the situation could heat up any further, Odely quickly stepped in.

“As I said before, I’m not as weak as I look.”

Castia’s gaze turned toward her.

Her cold, sunken eyes looked down at Odely as though they could see right through her.

“Even though you have the eyes of someone prepared to die?”

“……!”

“You have the face of someone who could close her eyes without regret even if she stopped breathing tomorrow. Do you think this is the first time I’ve seen someone like that, Lady Cardel?”

Odely almost faltered for a moment, but she carefully hid it and maintained her composure.

Then she continued in the same calm tone.

“You won’t have to worry about an heir.”

Of course, that child wouldn’t be Odely’s.

She would find a woman strong enough to satisfy the former Grand Duchess and strong enough to stay beside Ludville for the rest of his life.

She had intended to do that from the very beginning.

She wanted Ludville to let go of his obsession with blue-eyed women and accept a new relationship.

‘Ludville himself said he wouldn’t look for a blue-eyed woman anymore…….’

Hadn’t she been determined all along to help Ludville live his own life?

Finding his future partner was simply an extension of that determination.

She would leave the final choice entirely up to Ludville.

But she could at least subtly guide him toward developing feelings for another woman.

“…….”

A sharp pain rose from somewhere near her chest.

But Odely was accustomed to pushing that feeling down and hiding it.

“You say we won’t have to worry about an heir? Does that mean you can have children?”

Of course, Odely had no intention of having children.

She would die in five years. How could she possibly have a child?

That would be cruel to both Ludville and the child who would be born.

Not once had a child ever been born throughout her thousands of regressions, and there never would be one.

‘Ludville and I aren’t even that kind of couple in the first place.’

Just like in her previous life, in this life they were not a real married couple, but merely partners in a contractual marriage.

But if she answered that she couldn’t have children……

‘The marriage wouldn’t happen.’

Castia was already prepared to throw her out.

Who knew what she might be willing to do, by any means necessary, after hearing those words?

She might even join hands with the Cardel family to tear the two of them apart.

If the question was really about her ability to have children……

Odely lowered her gaze for a moment, then raised her head and answered without showing any particular reaction.

“Having children won’t be a problem.”

“…….”

“Not right away, of course, but you won’t have to worry about there being no heir.”

“…….”

“And I can’t guarantee it, but…… there’s a good chance the child will be born healthy, too.”

Odely paused for a moment before barely managing to continue while pretending to remain calm.

“……The father’s blood is quite strong, after all.”

At that moment, she could feel a sharp gaze from beside her.

She glanced over and saw Ludville staring at her with a strangely shaken expression.

He looked as though he’d just heard something he had never imagined.

“……Lu. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Odely went a step further and called out to him as if she knew nothing.

After all, there was also the ‘story’ he had created.

To make her acting more convincing, she immersed herself in the situation for a moment and almost convinced herself it was real.

‘I’m a foolish woman who’s gone mad with love and run away from her family.’

A woman who had defied her family’s objections and suddenly married the man she had fallen in love with at first sight……

Odely didn’t avoid his touch.

Instead, she lightly leaned back against the warmth she felt behind her.

In other words, she nestled comfortably into his large embrace like a lover.

Surprisingly, the movement didn’t feel awkward.

Perhaps because this wasn’t the first time she’d been held in his arms.

Throughout thousands of regressions, they had already done everything a married couple could do……

And just this morning, she had woken up in his arms.

Though neither of them had intended for that to happen.

“…….”

She could feel a very persistent gaze from above her head.

A subtle tension entered the arm wrapped around her.

His breathing faltered for a moment, and she could feel hesitation brushing against his fingertips.

Had he really not expected Odely to lean into him like this?

She had expected him to be surprised at first, but then react casually as he always did……

Yet, unexpectedly, he seemed hesitant now.

And that awkward silence lasted longer than she had expected.

“…….”

“…….”

‘……Did I go too far?’