My Husband is so carefree and constantly Cheats on me, so I Kept making him Suffer as Payback, but somehow, he’s started to seem Kind of Cute. - Chapter 11

“Lady Yuffie, Lord Erald is missing.”

The head butler casually informed me of this as he entered my morning chamber, showing no particular sense of urgency.

“Missing? You mean no one knows where he went?”

I was genuinely astonished. That pig actually had the capability to slip away unnoticed?

“Yes. By morning, he was gone, and… well…”

“You don’t need to hesitate. I assume he was in bed with a mistress?”

Honestly, that fool. How is he this shameless?

And to think he once aspired to become the High Priest—what an insult to the gods.

Forgive me, dear gods. I am a faithful servant, so please do not punish me for his blasphemy.

“Indeed, my lady. However, the woman claims he vanished into thin air.”

“…Hah.”

Vanished into thin air? Could there have been some kind of magical interference?

What would anyone gain from kidnapping him?

I’d even be willing to pay a generous bonus to whoever took him off my hands…

“So, I take it he’s nowhere to be found within the estate?”

“That is correct, my lady. We have searched everywhere—even inside the first-floor lavatory, the second-floor lavatory, the old well in the backyard, and the storage shed in the garden.”

…Why are all these places that sound like breeding grounds for rats and cockroaches?

“Did you check the food storage?”

“…Pardon?”

I mean, what if he wandered in for a midnight snack and got himself locked inside?

“My apologies, my lady. I had not considered that. I shall check at once.”

…I may need to reevaluate the head butler’s competence. Downward.

“He was not in the food storage.”

“I see… Then where on earth has he gone?”

“If we are to trust the guards, he should not have left the estate. That is, unless he somehow scaled the walls…”

Not happening.

That pig couldn’t jump over a fence, let alone a wall.

At this point, I had to seriously consider the possibility of a magical abduction.

Which meant… we would have to wait for the kidnapper’s demands.

Should I… just pay them off and suggest they dispose of him quietly?

I must avoid direct involvement, though. No unnecessary bl00d on my hands.

Yet, a day passed. Then another. And another.

Still, no ransom note. No demands. No news.

“Please, Lord Graffeld.”

“Very well.”

Having no other choice, I sought the help of Graffeld, the Royal Court Mage.

Of course, it was actually the Duke who requested it—since Graffeld is Lord Erald’s uncle, after all.

…And I barely managed to restrain myself from kicking him when he tried to grope me as he passed by on his way out of the drawing room.

Naturally, I dodged.

What is wrong with this entire family?

I promptly sent a formal complaint to the Duke.

“This is…”

“Have you found something?”

While I personally did not believe there was anything to find, I still made an effort to feign appropriate concern as Graffeld examined Lord Erald’s bedroom.

“A dimensional distortion has opened here. This is not magic—this is a disappearance by divine intervention!”

“What…?”

I take back my doubts, dear husband.

I had completely assumed you had bribed a maid and run off in secret.

…At least now I wouldn’t have to discreetly punish any servants. What a relief.

According to Graffeld, Lord Erald had been transported to another world.

Which meant…

I no longer had to worry about him tarnishing my family’s reputation.

Well, he would certainly be slandering me wherever he ended up—

But if he was in an entirely different world, then what did it matter to me?

Could this… be a divine blessing for all my hard work?

Is this real? Am I allowed to be this happy?

From this day forward, I would never again have to live in constant fear of his foolishness.

Never again would I have to worry about being accidentally infected with some vile disease because of his misadventures.

Never again would I have to—

…

Ah.

I almost feel bad.

Why?

Not even a little bit…

Not even a tiny bit… am I happy.

Rather, I feel somewhat… melancholic.

Lord Erald, you idiot.

I hope you die in that other world.

This must be…

A mistake.

Absolutely, without a doubt, a mistake.

There is no way I feel lonely just because he’s gone.

It must be a fleeting delusion.

Honestly.

This is ridiculous.

What is wrong with me?

Honestly.

Honestly.

Honestly, honestly, honestly!

Has that pig turned me into a cow or something?!

“Lady Yuffie, perhaps you should take some rest…”

The head butler, noticing my distress, kindly offers to handle my work for me.

How thoughtful.

…I still won’t be raising his evaluation, though.

“Thank you. I’ll excuse myself, then.”

With that, I leave the office, have a meal, and take a bath.

Do I… like my husband?

I don’t think so.

Perhaps it’s simply childhood sentimentality?

After all, he and I have spent much of our lives together.

That was only natural, considering we were engaged from a young age.

The Crusroden family began trading with the Arzenberg family just a little before our birth. Once the partnership proved successful, our engagement was arranged as a formal commitment to maintaining that alliance.

Because of that, we were expected to get along.

We were educated together.

We played together.

We grew up together.

Lord Erald frequently skipped his studies and ran off.

He was always entangled in romantic affairs and, for some inexplicable reason, used to discuss his opinions on this woman or that woman with me.

When I entered the academy and learned how normal couples talked to one another, I was shocked.

I also remember the reactions of my classmates when I shared our reality.

They were just as stunned.

And yet, despite all of that, we never had a decisive fight that led to a separation.

We simply carried on.

And now, we’ve come this far.

For it all to end in such an absurd way… feels a little cruel.

Hmm.

Perhaps I’ve stayed in the bath for too long?

I should head to bed soon.

He might come waltzing back unexpectedly, after all.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I stood up from the bath—

And suddenly, the ceiling glowed.

Wait.

A dimensional distortion?

I’m naked.

I absolutely do not want to be dragged away in this state—

Or so I thought, but I wasn’t being pulled in.

Rather—

Something… fell down.

And naturally—

It was my dear husband.

Who promptly crashed into my bath.

…What, exactly, is he doing?