I Think My Husband Might Be a Murderer - Chapter 2

***

Looking back now, it hadn’t taken an unusually long time from the moment I first met my husband to our marriage.

Dochilia had lost the war.

On that grim news, I had spent a winter night worrying about my father, who had gone to battle, before finally falling asleep.

Knock, knock.

The sound of knocking woke me up. Still drowsy, I greeted the unexpected visitor in a disheveled state.

“Who is it…?”

A crisp white uniform, gold buttons, and a stiff collar reaching up to the neck.

A navy officer’s uniform.

The moment I saw the figure standing before me, I broke into a bright smile.

“Father?”

I hurriedly lifted my head. But before I could embrace any joy, my expression darkened in an instant.

The man standing in front of me was not my father.

A rigid expression beneath a naval officer’s cap, a stiff posture.

A bad feeling crept up on me. My drowsiness vanished instantly, and instinctively, I knew.

This man had come to deliver bad news.

The man slowly removed his hat. His features, previously shadowed, were revealed one by one. His blue eyes gleamed like the sea, reflecting the breaking sunlight.

His tightly sealed lips parted slowly.

“Are you Edith Prim, the only daughter of Isaac Prim?”

“…Yes.”

My eyelids trembled slightly. Without realizing it, I pulled my robe tightly around myself to hide my emotions.

After confirming my identity, the man continued speaking indifferently.

“I have come to deliver an obituary. Isaac Prim, Petty Officer of the Dochilia Navy, passed away on December 18, 1824, at approximately 2:15 PM, after battling illness on the battlefield.”

His dry, detached voice suited the cruel news all too well.

I slowly blinked.

What had I just heard?

Everything except for the man before me faded into darkness, and the once-bustling streets outside fell silent.

“What did you just say…?”

It had to be a mistake. It must have been. Or perhaps I had misheard in my half-asleep state.

I took a deep breath and asked again.

“I think I misheard you. Could you repeat that once more?”

“I regret to inform you of this news.”

Hope did not return.

“That’s… that’s impossible. How could my father…”

My father had always written letters to me.

He had told me he was safe. That though Dochilia was likely to lose, he would be able to visit me soon.

And yet, how could this…

My vision turned white. My legs lost their strength, and I nearly collapsed.

“Careful.”

The man caught my arm with a firm grip and steadied me.

Only when I could stand on my own did he release me.

“…Thank you.”

I wasn’t even aware of what I was saying. It was simply a reflex.

Slowly, I lifted my head and met his gaze. He was studying my face in silence before he spoke again in his detached tone.

“The body has been placed at the naval headquarters. You will need to verify the identity and apply for the death benefit, so you must appear at the Müssen naval headquarters within a week.”

I forced myself to nod. That was the only thing I could do.

My mind went blank. Mechanically, I closed the door.

“This can’t be happening…”

Finally alone, I slowly sank to the floor.

That was my first, unforgettable encounter with my husband, Johannes Schultz.

***

From the moment I received the news of my father’s death, I had been in a daze.

Half of me wanted to go and confirm his body. The other half feared that doing so would mean truly accepting his death.

And so, I holed myself up at home for as long as I could.

But cruelly, the one-week deadline the man had given me arrived all too quickly.

It had been both a long and a short time.

I didn’t even have the energy to check my appearance. I simply gathered myself, hastily dressed, and stepped outside.

The streets were quieter than usual. It should have felt odd, but I was too numb to notice.

“The naval headquarters is…”

I followed the directions the man had given me. As I neared my destination, the sound of a commotion stung my ears.

“How disgraceful. What era do they think this is…”

“Well, they got what they deserved.”

People were murmuring words I couldn’t quite grasp.

A bit further ahead, a dense crowd had gathered near the harbor.

Could they all be here to verify the identities of fallen soldiers…?

It made sense. The war had been lost. Of course, there would be many casualties.

Scanning my surroundings, I spotted a line of naval officers standing at attention. My gaze landed on one man who stood out among them.

He was staring straight ahead with an impassive expression. Just as I was watching him, he turned his head.

The golden naval badge on his cap caught the breaking sunlight and gleamed.

I lowered my gaze slightly, squinting against the glare, and met his piercing blue eyes.

It was him.

The naval officer who had delivered my father’s death notice.

Having found the person I was looking for, there was no need to hesitate. I quickly made my way toward him.

“Excuse me, where is the naval headquarters…”

I didn’t even get to finish my sentence.

“Ah…!”

I lost my balance as I was swept by the surging crowd. Just before I was pulled away, the man grabbed me, preventing my fall. I ended up leaning against him, but with so many people still pushing me, I couldn’t move and managed to speak.

“T-thank you.”

“The naval headquarters is in the opposite direction. But given the situation right now, it would be better to wait before moving.”

“What…?”

As I looked up at him blankly, the man turned his gaze toward the front of the harbor. I followed his line of sight and my eyes widened.

‘A public execution…?’

Underneath the rusted guillotine that had not been used in a long time stood a middle-aged man.

His clothing was simple yet made of expensive fabric, his hair neatly arranged, and his exposed skin bore no visible wounds.

Public executions, deemed relics of a bygone era, had been abolished a long time ago.

Then why…?

I was too shocked to even feel embarrassed about being held by a stranger. My mind went blank, and I blinked vacantly.

Then, the low voice above my head added to my confusion.

“That is the Duke of Schultz.”

“What? Why is the Duke…”

I didn’t even need to hear the man’s explanation. The chattering spectators provided all the information instead.

“A public execution just for embezzlement? Isn’t that too much?”

“Too much? He stole an amount equivalent to an entire year of the national budget! And no one knows where the money went.”

I instinctively swallowed hard.

A year’s worth of the national budget—that was an astronomical sum. And to disappear without a trace…

The Duke of Schultz was known not only in Müssen but also in the capital, Baden, as a well-respected man.

For such a man to have committed such crimes… After losing the war, the royal family must have chosen a public execution out of sheer resentment.

But…

“The Duke would never do such a thing…”

“That is the official announcement from the royal family. Everyone believes it.”

I murmured to myself, but the man responded dryly. Meanwhile, the spectators continued their loud discussions.

“The Young Duke is the only one I feel sorry for. He won many victories in the war, so at least they won’t touch him. He must be returning from the battlefield by now. Do you think he has heard the news about his father?”

“Should we really be worrying about that? They said the war reparations will be enormous. If they can’t find the embezzled money, we’ll be the ones paying for it through taxes!”

The heated debate carried on. Some defended the Duke of Schultz, while others tore him apart with sharp words.

One thing was clear.

Most of the crowd gathered at the harbor harbored ill will toward the Duke.

I looked at the sea of people with dazed eyes.

Beyond the guillotine stretched the vast blue ocean. The clear sky was almost offensively beautiful.

It was a poetic and sentimental place to end one’s life.

Perhaps it was meant to make him regret his sins even more, as he would never again see such scenery.

Had the Duke truly committed embezzlement? If so, what was going through his mind as he stood at the threshold of death?

Was he filled with regret? Was he mourning the discovery of his crime? Or did he feel wronged?

However, contrary to my expectations, there was no emotion in his eyes.

He did not look indignant, nor did he appear sorrowful. His face held only quiet resignation.

My fingertips grew cold, my complexion pale.

If he were truly guilty, he wouldn’t have that expression. He wouldn’t have those eyes.

Instinctively, I realized it.

‘That person is innocent…’

But no one would believe him. Or perhaps he was merely a masterful actor, carrying his deception to the very end.

But so what?

Even if the Duke of Schultz was innocent, there was nothing I could do to help. The case was entangled with too many political interests.

There was only one thing I could do for him.

‘Leave.’

I wasn’t heartless enough to watch the death of a possibly innocent man as a mere spectacle.

“I should go. You said the naval headquarters is in the opposite direction, correct…?”

Just as I was about to turn away in hesitation, the man tightened his grip on my arm.

“The crowd is too thick. It’s dangerous to leave now.”

“But—”

At that moment, a loud trumpet silenced me. The spectators also fell quiet one by one.

Soldiers began climbing onto the execution platform in an orderly manner. The crisp sound of their boots echoed throughout the harbor.

“It looks like the execution is about to begin.”

Even as someone whispered those words, the man still held onto me firmly.

He spoke calmly, “You shouldn’t watch.”

When I looked up at him, a large hand covered my eyes.

And then—

A sickening crunch resounded through the harbor, followed by a chorus of gasps and sighs.

The man did not take his eyes off the execution platform until the very end.

A sudden, untimely public execution.