Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband

“It’s Princess Lily Dayworth*. There may be an engagement ceremony soon.”
[ T/N: The Prince and His Highness that was mentioned before is possibly Jed, the OG ML and also Hazel’s boss when she worked in the imperial knights before. In the previous chapters, it was only mentioned that Jed is the OG ML and Hazel’s boss, so I was confused about him suddenly being engaged to Lily, the OG FL. Well, I guess it will be explained soon, but I’ll just mention this just in case you guys were as confused as me. ]

“Ah, really…”

Since I’ve brought all the dangerous people to my side, it was only natural for the leads to find peace. No, but why did it have to be me? I never wanted to voluntarily protect the leads.

I just wanted to live as a commoner peacefully!

“Sigh…”

Unknowingly, a deep sigh escaped my lips.

“What’s wrong? You seem troubled about the Princess. You two were close, right?”

“Well… we were on good terms.”

“If she knew you were here, she probably would have rushed here right away. She has been asking about you every time I see her. Did you not contact any other people either?”

“Yes. I only contacted you this time.”

Exhaling a deep sigh, almost as if frustrated, Dylan leaned back and crossed his arms.

“You are quite troublesome. We were all worried sick when you suddenly disappeared like that.”

“When I have the time, I’ll come to visit with some delicious treats. Until then, don’t tell anyone about this, okay? Absolutely, never!”

Upon my request, he shrugged his shoulders.

“Alright, I got it. When your worries are resolved, then come. Everyone’s looking forward to it. Actually, I have something that’s been bothering me lately… Ah! Hazel!”

All of a sudden, Dylan hit the table with a fist, causing me to startle and snap out of my melancholy. He was crazy.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

“Ah, you startled me. Why are you like this?”

“I need your help, Hazel!”

His voice sounded desperate.

“What’s with this sudden request? We were talking about His Highness, and now suddenly, you need me? Don’t try to make me do something strange.”

However, Dylan’s eyes sparkled brightly.

“Why didn’t I think of that? I have a savior right here!”

As if that wasn’t enough, he seemed to be completely ignoring my words and went on with his own thoughts. Why was the savior here? It was me who needed a savior more than anyone else.

I expressed my anxiety, clenching my index finger as well.

“Don’t ask me to do anything. Don’t. Don’t say anything, Dylan Banker. If you say something suspicious, I won’t accept your request for cooperation. I’ll turn off all communication devices. I’ll even tear up any guild messages.”

At my words, Dylan suddenly clasped their hands together and pushed them towards me as if in prayer.

“Just help me with one thing. Hazel, Hazel Love.”

“I said no, didn’t I? I’m busy, right? Don’t say anything.”

He held onto the table as if holding onto his own life.

“Even though I tried to avoid accepting your help as much as possible… Really, really, you need to hear this, and then you’ll probably understand. It will really come to that, so please, just listen to me. I’ve been suffering terribly because of this lately. It’s slowly killing me every day.”

“No, the entire Knights’ Order is going crazy! Only you can solve it! Huh? Can’t you at least listen to me briefly? Huh? Great Hazel Love, the magnificent illusionist, the world’s coolest former knight, comrade, friend, teacher, leader, huh? Please…”

“Talking like this only makes me more anxious! No, it’s not happening. If you go to such lengths, I feel like I’m being cornered. Absolutely not. I’ll leave right away today.”

“Ah, Hazel. Please. Please, please…”

“….”

Why was this happening all of a sudden?

Dylan had never pleaded like this before. If I had asked for help when I first woke up and was trying to adjust to this place, I might have assisted him out of kindness, but the current situation was plainly difficult for anyone to handle.

Despite my lack of response, he even knelt before me.

The mercenaries relaxing in the lounge began to cast glances in our direction. Even the staff members, who brought the tea, were taken aback as their hands trembled, unable to set down the cups.

I clenched Dylan’s clothes as if I wanted to rip them apart.

“Ah, why are you doing this all of a sudden? Get up quickly!”

“Please. Just listen to me. I feel like I’m really going to die…”

More and more eyes were gathering on us, so I tried to lift Dylan by grabbing his collar. However, he was so heavy and didn’t budge. Was he made of stone?

My head felt like it was about to split open. I shouldn’t have pretended to know him all. It was clear that my luck had vanished into thin air along with the marriage. Otherwise, how could things go wrong like this every time? I held one hand to my head and pressed on the temple.

“Ah, get up quickly!”

“Haaazel…”

“Ha, seriously… Just talk. Just say it. Leave the tea here, please. I apologize.”

Saying so, I turned to apologize to the staff standing awkwardly nearby.

“No, it’s okay. Have a comfortable conversation.”

The staff replied, sweating profusely before disappearing.

“Get up, quickly.”

At the same time, Dylan quickly stood up.

“Goodbye, Sir Dylan Banker. It was nice meeting you. Have some tea…”

Just as I was preparing to depart and head towards the entrance, he once again caught hold of my arm, appearing as though he was about to kneel down once more. What a liar! It seemed that Dylan Banker’s knees were worth less than a five-copper piece of bread roll.

…It was so pitiful.

“Ah, please. It’s not that I’m asking you to come back. There’s someone I wish you could see once.”

“Let go. I won’t go. I said I’ll visit when I have the time.”

“This is separate! Just listen to the story…!”

“Fine, I listened and answered, didn’t I?”

“Hazel…”

Dylan looked at me desperately and spoke in a choked voice. At this rate, he should consider becoming an actor, not an imperial knight.

“….”

“We’re finally getting an illusionist…”

Those words gave me pause.

After claiming that finding an illusionist was incredibly difficult, they managed to get lucky and find one. Having an illusionist would undoubtedly make battles less challenging. Still, illusionists were scarce in the capital, and they usually preferred working alone, making them hard to come by.

While some might have reservations about using black magic, from a knight order’s perspective, having more illusionists was advantageous. My departure from the Knights’ Order left the position vacant, and now it had been filled.

Shouldn’t Dylan be happy about that? There was no need for him to shed any more tears.

“It’s not like I’ll be congratulating you.”

“Of course not!”

“Then, what’s the problem?”

Unable to resist, I returned to my seat and slumped down. When we fell silent, the intense gazes that had gathered on us naturally dispersed.

Dylan murmured with a tired expression.

“An illusionist, huh…”

“Uh… that person can’t use illusions.”

Huh…?

“What are you saying? Are you telling me something like the imperial chef can’t cook?”

When I chided him for saying something ridiculous, he looked unfairly aggrieved.

“I’m serious. That person can’t use illusions. Or rather, they* can use it, but… ugh…”
[ T/N: That person’s gender was not mentioned. I’ll use ‘they’ for now. ]

“What are you talking about? So why is that person an illusionist? Did they lie to join the Order? In that case, you can just dismiss them.”

“No, it’s not like that. They definitely have the ability… it’s just—it’s hard to explain. You need to see it yourself. It’s so frustrating that I might go crazy. You have to see it for yourself… I’ve been struggling every time you went away on a mission, so I’m really relieved now.”

“Yes.”

Dylan seemed ready to tear their hair out.

What could be troubling him so deeply? He was usually skilled at resolving conflicts among comrades. With a personality that loved peace, he would often brush off minor issues with laughter unless they were genuinely serious. That was why I found it difficult to comprehend his current behavior.

“No, that’s not it, so can’t you just see that person once? Can’t you give them brief guidance? I’ll never forget this favor for the rest of my life. Yeah? Just see them once. It won’t take long.”

“….”

He seemed on the brink of kneeling down again, showering the person with compliments like ‘master’ or ‘genius.’ I couldn’t fathom what kind of individual had the power to make him plead in this manner.

The whole situation gave me a headache.

Well… I supposed I could handle it temporarily, but I was already overwhelmed with work, and taking on additional tasks wouldn’t be easy.

Nonetheless, Dylan had been a great help in sending Annie.

In the past, while Annie expressed satisfaction with our initial deal, she never provided me with a way to contact her directly so the only channel to reach her was through Dylan. Although she warmly greeted me and showed trust during our encounters, once the task was completed, I had no certainty that she would cut off communication again, just like before.

Considering the future, if I ever wished to contact her, I might still require Dylan’s assistance. So, even though others might have turned down such a role and moved on already…

“Will it really not take long?”

Upon hearing that, Dylan’s face lit up.

“Then, it’s settled! It’ll be done by the end of that day! If it’s you, it won’t take more than a few hours, right?”