IBOMLEW Ch 6 Part 1 — Doing What Your Husband Doesn’t Do

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

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Fervin’s face gradually turned redder as I stared at him after his unexpected remarks.

He glared at me fiercely while biting his lip in vain.

The green eyes that didn’t shy away from my gaze trembled violently.

It was strange. 

Why did he look so angry when he said that?

“To be honest, I want to monopolize this appearance of yours.”

I felt flustered when his languid voice popped into my mind again. 

I clearly know that you hate me, so why is that sort of thing coming out from your mouth right now?

Why did you give me flowers when I was making my way back and kiss the back of my hand or even hold it in the first place?

Why is this man behaving as if I were his beloved wife instead?

Why are you doing all the romantic things you do with the female protagonist in the original novel with me when you don’t even feel the slightest bit of emotion towards me?

Although I wanted to ask him those questions right now, the people surrounding us that had their eyes trained on us like naval forces trampled through my line of sight.

“Oh my, Duke Carlisle must have fallen in love with his wife. No wonder though, how moved he must have been when he had such a beautiful song dedicated only to him.”

“Just look at that chivalry, kissing the back of her hand and offering her flowers! If it were merely a normal woman, he would just look at her as if she were just some pebble on the road, but was that all just a stepping stone to show how special he is to his wife?”

“To think that he could smile like that… Just one smile is a masterpiece, truly a masterpiece. I’ve always envied her, but now is truly the moment I really envy Duchess Carlisle.”

“To think that’s the Duke who’s behaving like that in front of other people… I can’t even imagine that cold countenance I saw earlier in the Imperial Palace.”

“As expected, the Duke must’ve also been moved by the Duchess’s excellent performance. Her efforts were not in vain.”

Everyone was looking at us and anticipating the tenderness and affection that would come from a couple so sweet they were dripping honey.

I couldn’t break this sort of atmosphere at a time when the other noblewives and imperial family were staring so obviously at us.

So I decided to first postpone what I wanted to say until a later time.

I smiled and gently pushed his hand aside.

“If the opportunity arises, I’ll definitely let you listen to this song again.”

“…”

Fervin stared at his own hand that had just been pushed aside, then stared mutely at me for a moment.

Was it all just an illusion? He seemed to be disappointed as he gritted his teeth.

I thought he would leave at that moment, but he stayed beside me and spoke politely to the other guests.

“Everyone, please give my wife a big round of applause for her dazzling performance today.”

A thunderous applause erupted, as if they were just waiting for the cue.

I was both proud and overwhelmed with joy at their sincere responses, but the most important thing of all was Fervin’s reaction.

Nevertheless, seeing my performance being praised by other people didn’t feel too bad either.

Despite there having been a weird reply earlier of wanting to monopolize my appearance of course.

*** 

pls do not share this anywhere or the transmigration gods will transport u into boku no pico !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.wordpress.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

After the performance, it was finally the time for many guests to freely enjoy socialising.

I spotted Marchioness Celestine, who was with the Empress, waving her hand and beckoning me to come her way.

As I was about to head over there, someone grabbed my hand. 

Fervin, who was guarding me by my side, glanced down at me as if he were asking me where I was going.

Come to think of it, he hasn’t left my side even once since earlier.

I shook my hand hard, as if to shake myself free from his grasp, but he held interlocked his fingers with mine and gripped my hand tightly.

Long, pretty fingers stretched out to me entangled me like a chain.

Just as I was about to open my mouth and ask why he was doing this, he replied quickly.

“I feel uneasy leaving you alone.”

“My body seems to be in a better condition now, and there are a lot of other people here too.”

He seemed to be stunned speechless by my reply for a moment, then rolled his eyes quickly.

I could see the fingers interlaced with mine tightening then loosening in vain.

There were a bunch of angry tendons protruding from the back of his pale hand.

Before much time passed, an excessively stiff voice sounded.

“Didn’t you say that you would fulfil your duties as my Duchess? Then, shouldn’t we show our natural appearance as a couple in front of other people?”

Although it somehow seemed like that reason was one that was forcibly squeezed out, I still had no choice but to nod my head at the lamenting expressions of the women calling me over on the other side.

And just as he said, it wasn’t a particularly bad thing for us to look like a loving couple in front of other people.

“That’s true.”

At my answer, he held my hand tightly with an arrogant look on his face.

In the end, I walked around the hall holding hands with him throughout the entire banquet. 

Although there was awkwardness at first since it was our first time holding hands, nevertheless, he never once let go of my hand until the very end.

His hands were rough with calluses from holding a sword his whole life, but the feel of his fingers wrapped around mine was extremely gentle.

In between, I let go of his hand and conversed naturally with the other noblewives, but even then, he never once left my side.

Surprisingly, having Fervin by my side wasn’t a bad feeling at all.

Duke Sibelom, who was trying to pursue me, didn’t dare to approach me, and the noble ladies who saw Fervin following me around and taking care of me, dismissed the talk of our quarrel as nothing but false rumors.

He served me all whilst leaving our fingers interlocked, and now brought a round chocolate from somewhere which was stacked on top of some rustling wrapper.

He picked up the round chocolate between his thumb and forefinger and held it out to me.

“Say ah.”

Contrary to his sweet actions, his forehead was tense and his face full of anger.

Of course, it was only a seemingly romantic act. 

However, it only served to make me frustrated. 

Why are you doing things you normally wouldn’t do today, as if we were a married couple who got along perfectly well with each other?

Despite my flustered expression, Fervin held out the chocolate without any hesitation. 

I just couldn’t play along. The noblewives next to us were all giggling and staring at us.

“Duke, you must be flustered right now, just hurry and eat it, Duchess.”

In the end, I still opened my mouth and ate the chocolate.

Although I closed my mouth, still full of suspicion, Fervin raised his slender fingers to cover my face. 

“Huh?”

“It got on your lips.”

He wiped my lips with both of his thumbs.

I couldn’t tell whether the chocolate powder had gotten on my lips or on his white fingers.

He casually licked the chocolate powder off his finger and looked at me again.

The moment his eyes met mine which were filled with suspicion, they flitted away again.

There was nothing for him to gain from doing this.

Why would someone who didn’t even like me, the person who said that they’d just stay by my side, act like this in front of other people?

Why are you cooperating with me? 

*** 

After chatting with the women, their husbands all started to lead them away, one by one, gradually leaving the place empty. 

At some point, it was just the two of us left. 

Being left alone with Fervin in a crowded place had already made me jittery.

So, I whispered to him who was next to me.

“You can leave too now. You’ve already been by my side for too long anyway.”

“I will escort you until the end.”

I became even more confused when I saw that he answered without even a second of hesitation.

Even the eyes which had been watching constantly from the side had disappeared already, so why would you still want to stay by my side?

After contemplating for a long time as to why he was so adamant at being by my side, I finally came to my own conclusion.

I was already receiving a favourable impression from others, just by being next to him.

So whatever his true intentions were, I would first of all, still feel grateful towards him.

I looked into his eyes and started to choose my words carefully.

“Fervin, thank you so much for today. For staying by my side and helping me gain a favourable reputation.”

Upon hearing my voice, he turned his body towards me.

He blinked once, as if he were surprised, then replied in a dry voice.

“It was just a whim of the moment.”

“Apparently, if said whim continues, it’ll become a daily routine. Am I allowed to anticipate a little bit of that from you?”

“Don’t expect anything from me, Irwen. I can’t promise anything different to you. Especially in the current situation.”

“Why? You’ve taken such good care of me today.”

I shifted closer towards him at his overtly stiff reaction.

I felt his body stiffen up the moment my body touched his thigh.

I could feel an uncontrollable heat emanating from his body. 

This wasn’t the sweetness that he exuded when he had fed me chocolate in front of others, nor the affection from his tender gesture when he held my hand.

Fervin clenched his jaw and growled in an enduring voice.

“It was just a whim that came out of nowhere, Irwen.”

I threw both my hands up in the air at his stubborn attitude.

But it was truly strange.

Despite his whole body seeming to be armed, full of sharp teeth exposed like a wolf, why did his eyes shake so violently like that when he looked at me?

“But it wasn’t as if there wasn’t any sincerity in those actions either.”

“Pardon?”

I whipped my head around quickly at the words that had just fallen rapidly from his lips.

I couldn’t understand what he had just said since he had spoken in such a hurry, so I just stared at him intently.

Fervin’s face turned extremely red.

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LMAO THE WAY I WASN’T EVEN BEING DEADASS ABT THE TAKING A MONTH BREAK BC OF THE CRINGE BUT IT HAPPENED ANYWAYS HGSLKDFJDS

tbh i never even realised how much yawl loved fervin until i saw him appear on my tiktok fyp hGNSDFLKJDFS BYE LMAOSDKFJSD

but yuh i was dead bc of uni and just life in gen plus sydney is out of lockdown rn so i was just swept away by part time work && social activities hGLDSFKJD hopefully ill be able to update all my novels consistently but i literally work 5 days a week gn passing away rn

also i’m trying out the paid version of wordpress bc i wanted disqus but it’s sort of not giving what i thought it’d be giving, plus it fucked up the website name so uGH might go back but will it delete all my comments if i do hGNSDFLKFJD CRYING RN FUCK CAPITALISM /SRS

n e ways, our girlie irwen be dense as FUCK like omG whY WouLd hE sTaY bY mY siDE iF hE doESn”T liEk mE MF HE LIKES YOU SHUT UP THIS AINT A NOVEL IT’S YOUR LIFE NOW DEAK WITH IT HGLSKDFJ