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 6

“Yuffie, I’ve made up my mind! I’ve had enough of family affairs—I shall become a priest!”

“…Excuse me?”

This man.

After unintentionally exposing what he thought was his own family’s tax fraud—only to actually uncover his political rival’s corruption—he somehow managed to earn the gratitude of the neutral Finance Minister, despite throwing himself into a factional dispute by accident.

And now?

Having been dumped by his latest romantic interest, my husband was sulking and spouting yet another ridiculous idea.

To begin with, I will never understand how he managed to report his own family for misconduct.

But in the end, I had managed to convince the nobility that it was a strategic move—an elegant way to expose fraud without making enemies.

Normally, reopening an already approved tax record and presenting it to the Finance Minister would be an insult, implying distrust.

However, if one instead claimed to be using it as a reference to uncover other irregularities, it became difficult to argue against.

Even if the document in question happened to be one’s own family’s tax records.

When word of this miraculous feat reached the Duke, he smirked in satisfaction like it was his accomplishment.

For a brief moment, I was tempted to hurl my wine glass at him—but I restrained myself.

Still, it had been a surprisingly beneficial outcome.

So, in turn, I allowed myself to smirk at my butler—only to have a mountain of paperwork dumped onto my desk as a counterattack.

This is your job, isn’t it?!

Nevertheless, results were results.

Since my husband had, somehow, done something useful, I decided that instead of rewarding him with money—which he would inevitably squander on brothels—I would grant his next request.

And that request…

Was this nonsense.

Apparently, his beloved Rafelia had lost her position due to the scandal and was now residing in the temple.

A baron’s daughter, it seemed.

Well, I am a Countess.

I dislike going back on my word.

So, as requested, I sent him off to join the temple.

After all, a priest is supposed to be celibate.

Surely, his… appetites would eventually betray him, and he would be exiled soon enough.

At least, that’s what I thought.

“I’m back.”

“…What?”

It had been less than a month.

At first, I assumed that, as expected, he had been unable to endure a strict, pious lifestyle and had been promptly thrown out.

However—

The man standing before me was unrecognizable.

Gone were the years of accumulated fat.

His beard was trimmed, his hair neatly styled, and his physique… well-defined.

This…

This could not be my husband.

For a moment, I genuinely suspected that the Duke had arranged an imposter as some sort of elaborate joke.

But no.

It was undeniably him.

Had some alternate personality awakened inside him?

Or had he been transported to another world and returned as a hero?

Wait—

No.

That last thought was just because I had been reading too many novels lately.

Even so—

This was shocking.

It seemed he had actually put in effort for the first time in his life.

…For this, I supposed I could allow myself to spend the night in his arms.

However, the next morning, he uttered something unforgivable.

“Yuffie, listen. I’ve decided to aim for the position of High Priest. Would you be willing to make a donation?”

“…Excuse me?”

First of all, why had his tone changed?

He was now referring to himself as ‘I’ instead of ‘I (casual form)’, and even his speech patterns had become more refined.

Now that I think about it…

He had been unusually gentle last night, too.

When I pressed for an explanation, he confessed.

Apparently, his beloved Rafelia had been forcibly sold into temple servitude.

And the only way to free her was to become High Priest.

So, he had no choice but to work hard.

Give me back my romantic evening, you bastard.

More than that—

This man had remained a cotton candy fool no matter how much I nagged at him…

But for her, he could suddenly find the motivation to transform himself?!

The betrayal I felt was immeasurable.

Still, Crusroden’s economy was flourishing, and charitable donations were essential for maintaining a good reputation.

If I didn’t contribute, rumors would spread about the Countess hoarding wealth.

So, begrudgingly, I donated one million gil.

For reference—

The average commoner’s yearly income is 10,000 gil.

This was a significant sum.

But as a noble, I had no choice.

If I were seen as stingy even while making a donation, the Count’s dignity would be damaged.

Of course, if I ignored the fact that my husband was doing all this for another woman, this donation was perfectly reasonable.

That fact, however, was difficult to ignore.

It was infuriating.

But this was the end of it.

If he became High Priest, he would likely never return.

And so, I accepted that last night would simply remain a final memory.

I considered seeking comfort from someone…

But my butler simply turned away and walked off.

…Hmph.

With the estate stable and a divorce imminent, it was time for me to start considering a new partner within the social scene.

I was hardly the most charming woman, but as a Countess, I would surely find someone.

Or so I thought.

“I’m home…”

“…What?”

He came back.

Looking exactly like a cotton candy fool again.

When I asked him why—

“It’s terrible, Yuffie!”

…The terrible one is you.

And my name is Yuffie.

Not ‘Rafelia’, you cheating bastard.

I immediately slapped him across the face.

“Guh! Why?!”

“My name is Yuffie!”

“A-Ah, r-right! My apologies. But please, listen!”

Even as my face screamed that I was furious, this idiot continued speaking.

“For the first time in my life, I worked hard! I trained, I secured donations, and I even gathered recommendations for the position of High Priest!”

I see.

So, at least he had put in effort.

“Then… Rafelia was so moved that she praised me… and, well… one thing led to another, and we ended up… you know.”

…

…Of course.

Of course he couldn’t control himself.

“I Was Threatened by the Priests, My Recommendations Were Stolen, and I Was Locked in the Underground Chamber…”

This situation is becoming increasingly shady.

More importantly—

Did you actually sleep with her in front of an audience?!

“They provided me with food, but I wasn’t allowed to see Rafelia…”

I don’t care.

“And then, when they finally let me out, the High Priest election was already over. The priests who threatened me used my stolen recommendations to nominate Rafelia—so now, she is the new High Priest.”

…What?

“Then, after everything, she threw me out. Can you believe it? After all we shared, she had the nerve to say, ‘I’ve grown disillusioned with your appearance.’”

Everything about this is horrible.

My stomach hurts.

Just how much further will these idiots go to entertain me?

I swear, my abs are going to give out from laughter.

For now, I confirmed the signatures of the original recommenders and exposed the forgery, successfully stripping Rafelia of her position.

I then nominated Rowan Alveroa as her replacement.

Rowan happened to be a cousin of Marquis Alveroa, with whom I had recently grown even closer after exposing financial fraud.

So, should I be grateful to this fool for once again allowing me to owe a favor to House Alveroa?

Or should I be mourning the fact that he came back?

Maybe I should just send him off to become an adventurer…

And toss him into a mining dungeon.