Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Philia tore the seal on the envelope, took out the letter from inside, unfolded it, and slowly read it aloud from the top.

“Dear Duke Einer. The reason I wrote a letter to Your Grace is because you do not know how the Madam— Ah!”

However, not even ten seconds since she started reading the letter, the letter she was holding in her hand was snatched away. By a man who was just lying there.

“…Duke?”

Her face widened in amazement at seeing him move on his own for the first time since he returned to the mansion. She called for Bleon, but as he concentrated on reading the letter, she received no response from him.

When Philia said that she would read the letter, he just wanted to be alone again after the time had passed and he had no thoughts. However, unexpectedly, when the mention of ‘madam’ came out of Philia’s mouth, his body was suddenly filled with energy, as if the lethargy he had been feeling until now was never there. His body moved in an instant, and he snatched the letter from Philia’s hand. He read it immediately.

[ Dear Duke Einer,

The reason I am writing a letter to Your Grace is because you do not know how the Madam had fared and what the true story is. The Madam made me swear never to tell you, but whenever I see how Your Grace has become a broken man, so contrary to the Madam’s wishes, I cannot help but be wrought with the urge to reveal the truth on the day I die, just like this. ]

The letter truly detailed everything he didn’t know. Everything about Astell’s illness and everything about the actions she took to distance herself from him. They were all written down.

And at the end, there was a request written there.

[ Then, Your Grace, please do not waste your precious time any longer. Please heed the Madam’s words. Those who have passed on will not return, and likewise, the living must continue to live in this world. The Madam wanted only one thing from Your Grace. And like the Madam’s wishes, I am writing this letter with the hope that Your Grace will have a better life in the future. I hope that my sincerity may reach you. ]

After reading the letter, Bleon stared quietly into the air for a moment. And, completely different from what Logan intended, the thought that came to his mind was this.

As expected, you didn’t abandon me, Wife.

Forgetting the request at the end of the letter, the only thought at the forefront of Bleon’s mind was the fact that Astell loved him even until the end.

She left because she loved him. She did all that for him. No one else but him.

He didn’t fully understand why it had to end the way it did, but that didn’t matter because the only thing that mattered was the fact that she did not change her mind about him, and the fact that she did this because she loved him.

Then he shouldn’t be doing nothing like this. He had to find a way to repay her immense love.

“Duke?”

With the call, Bleon lowered his gaze and looked at Philia. And then he quickly passed her and walked out of the room, treating her like air.

“Duke!”

Philia followed after Bleon with an uneasy heart because he started acting strangely after reading the letter. But even as Philia called him, Bleon ignored her and headed to the study. Then, he locked the door to prevent anyone from disturbing him.

Ignoring all those who worried about him outside the door, he spending several days and nights in the study alone—until he found something. After that, he immediately left the ducal residence.

And after that day, Philia never saw Bleon again in her life, and Bleon never returned to a place where Astell did not exist.

In the study back then, Bleon found a record about a spell to turn back time, and so he went looking for a mage. With a will to find the mage—no matter how long it took—he wandered around the continent and eventually found one after a long time. At that time, he was already thirty-seven. He had been searching for someone who might not exist for over ten years.

After meeting the mage, Bleon asked her to turn back time in exchange for his soul, and the mage, who was coveting a human soul to obtain powerful magical power, gladly granted his request.

However, since he only had as much time as the rest of his current lifespan, 17 years was the maximum. In addition, the mage warned him that he would not be able to remember anything that had happened so far. His memories would be erased in order to avoid a time paradox between the past and the future as much as possible.

Bleon didn’t care at all about the mage’s warnings. As long as he could see Astell again, he didn’t care if he could spend only a year or even just a single day more with her.

He agreed, and after a long preparation, the spell was executed. Bleon soon went back 17 years in time.

And in front of him, at age 20, the love of his life—the woman he desperately wanted to see—was in front of him.

Before turning back time, the mage was given a glance into the two’s lives through Bleon’s soul, and so after being moved by those memories, the mage made a very small ‘mistake’, making it so that the two of them later found their memories of the past, together.

While reminiscing about the past, Bleon smiled faintly.

Yes. My only wish was to see you again, Wife. And my dream came true.

So, after waiting a little longer, if you still don’t open your eyes, let’s just stay together like this…

Bleon embraced Astell a little tighter, promising that he would not be greedy any more after enduring as much as he could endure with no regrets.

But it was then.

Astell’s body in his arms moved slightly.

No way…

Forgetting to breathe as he stared at Astell’s face, he was instantly filled with tension. And he hurriedly prayed again, erasing each and every thought he was having just now.

If they were given more time to live together, he would gladly live a better today than yesterday and a happier tomorrow than today. With her.

The person who had just refused to be greedy got greedy again as soon as he saw a spark of hope.

And indeed, his wish came true. Astell miraculously opened her eyes. All that he could see with his eyes right now was the sight of her waking up, blinking her eyes open

As soon as Astell opened her eyes, she whispered softly as Bleon’s gently smiling face, too, was all that she could see.

“Bleon. I’m back.”

Perhaps it was because she woke up from a long slumber, but her voice was lower than usual, and it resounded in his ears. When Astell’s black pupils met his eyes. Emotions flooded him entirely, and soon, tears flowed from Bleon’s eyes unknowingly. As a result, her face in his vision became obscured by tears.

“Don’t cry…”

He wanted to answer, but his voice was blocked by crying and he couldn’t speak properly. But as he was always obedient to her, Bleon nodded and tried to hold back the tears. However, the tears did not stop, as if the tear glands were broken due to waiting too much.

“You missed me, right…?”

Astell reached out and wiped the tears from Bleon’s face. Bleon nodded his head more vigorously as she grabbed the hand that touched him. How much he had waited for her, how much he had missed her, that could not be described in words or anything in this world.

“I really missed you. Really…”

“I missed you a lot, too.”

When she said that she missed him as well, the sobs he had managed to hold back turned into cries that almost sounded like wailing. As if he was going to cry as much as the time he had been grieving, there was no sign of the tears stopping.

Astell looked at Bleon in such a way that she suddenly wondered, so she asked him.

“How long has it been? One hour? Two hours? If not… a day?”

It was really quick for her. She didn’t open her eyes right away after closing them, but the dream didn’t last long. That’s why she thought that only that much time passed. Maybe a day has passed?

However, considering how Bleon was acting right now, it didn’t seem like only an hour or two had passed. So, out of curiosity, she asked Bleon.

“…A week.”

“What?”

And the answer was completely unexpected. Astell was so startled that a week had passed that she almost shot out of bed. Her shock was so great that her body bounced back, but Bleon was holding her, so she luckily escaped an accident.

“A week?”

A week. So, that means that Bleon waited a week for her.

Astell felt shock and astonishment, and the pain and sorrow that he had been waiting for a long time, made tears welled up in her eyes, too.

“I’m sorry. Hiic, I didn’t expect it to be that long. Sorry, I’m sorry.”

And she apologized to him over and over again with so much regret.

“No. You’re back to me, so it’s fine.”

“But… I should have come sooner, but I got lost for a while.”

Astell, in a weeping voice, slowly explained to Bleon what she had seen in her dreams.

“Lost?”

“Yes. I didn’t know what to do so I just kept walking without any direction. But then all of a sudden, I saw light in the distance, so I ran towards it. That light brought me back here.”

And that light is you.

Astell did not anymore say these additional words. He was looking at her with a tearful and tender gaze. He already knew what she meant without her having to tell him.

For the same was true for Bleon too, just as he was the light to Bleon, Astell was the light to him.

They were each other’s only light and salvation.

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

That afternoon, as the warm sunlight permeated the air, they finally faced each other after a long time.

Taking Care of My Husband in a Tragic Novel, End.

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effe’s notes:

*grabbing tissues and wiping tears* we have finally reached the end of ‘Taking Care of My Husband in a Tragic Novel’~ the end was so touching, i caaan’t

thank you for loving and believing in Astell & Bleon’s story till the end, i know there are bad reviews of this book but whyy when the story is so good.

see you again in another book!

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yonnee’s notes:

y’all i can’t believe it’s over i’m going to miss these two! i loved reading astell’s perspective because she has such a strong will despite everything that happened, and bleon continued to be such a sweetheart all throughout the entire journey, and learning about what he went through in the previous timeline was just heart-wrenching

thank you for being on this journey with us until the end! now that we know both astell and bleon’s sides of the story, we’d love to hear your thoughts! comments over here on the site are very much appreciated, and even more so any rating or review you may leave on the novel’s ~!

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