For My Birthday, I Was Gifted Five Husbands - Chapter 183

It had been three days since she escaped the capital by teleportation.

Eugenie rubbed her eyes as she sat up in a bed that still felt unfamiliar. The sunlight pouring through the window of her new room was painfully bright.

“Ugh, my eyes…”

She had been in such a hurry to secure a place to stay that she hadn’t paid attention to things like the room’s layout. No helping it.

Still, when she looked out at the gently rolling hills and the plains dotted with trees heavy with red fruit, she gave a small nod.

‘My mana efficiency is seriously terrible….’

It was a good thing she hadn’t recklessly attempted to teleport all the way to the Troys territory. Choosing this midpoint first had been the right call. It already felt like half the energy inside her body had been drained.

If she had pushed herself just a little further…

‘That gives me chills.’

Scratching the back of her head, she headed downstairs to the dining room of her new lodging.

Compared to her newlywed home in the capital, it was quite modest—but given that she was currently under a wanted notice, this was more than enough. Normally, the smell of bread browning with melted butter would have made her mouth water.

“Up already, Eugenie Norton? Come, eat.”

“……”

“I even spread the butter for you.”

If only the tree pervert weren’t the one waiting in the dining room, she might actually have had an appetite.

The silver-haired man, wearing rimless glasses and his hair neatly tied back, was calmly buttering slices of bread. The moment Eugenie entered, a vine darted out to pour her morning tea.

The so-called “Alokes,” as he had introduced himself, had clung to her like a burr during her teleportation and followed her here.

He hadn’t laid a single finger on her, but every time she looked at him, that faintly suggestive smile of his grated on her nerves.

“How far exactly are you planning to follow me?”

“Does it cause trouble if I accompany you? Until Sylvea summons me, I am free to go wherever I please.”

“Ha…”

Eugenie stubbornly chewed on a slice of bread without butter.

‘Right. It’d be a problem if he ran off to Sylvea right now.’

He was still someone she needed answers from. And despite her escape all the way here, no pursuers had appeared. So for now… she could trust him.

For now.

Meanwhile, Alokes sipped his tea gracefully and addressed the visibly irritable woman.

“By the way, Eugenie Norton. Where exactly have we arrived?”

“Corbenic. The northeastern region.”

“Oh?”

The place she had chosen as a midpoint between the capital and the Troys territory was a small but quietly well-known town. It had long been rich in resources, and was even known for producing wines that had once drawn praise from her own academic advisor.

Not only that, come autumn, the mountains and valleys turned brilliant colors, making it famous for its beautiful scenery.

So instead of large luxury hotels, the area was dotted with small, refined lodgings full of understated charm.

“Alfred, Percival. I’ve arrived in Corbenic. I’ll stay at a suitable inn—”

“Mm. Buy it immediately.”

“Madam, spend whatever it takes. Let Troys use the bank vault if necessary.”

She had meant to stay quietly under a false identity for a few days. Instead, her husbands had simply purchased the entire property for her.

She didn’t even have the luxury of scolding their extravagant spending. Eugenie had literally bought the modest inn outright and dismissed the staff with generous severance pay.

Surprisingly, the entire process hadn’t taken long.

Tourists had sharply declined in Corbenic lately, so no one complained about receiving a large sum of money on short notice. In that regard, she was fortunate.

‘And I’ve already heard why the income here has dropped.’

When she went out to hurriedly purchase clothes, she had nearly broken into a cold sweat several times trying to hide her shock.

Even today was no different. She had visited the city hall to gather information about the area, only to find chaos there as well.

‘I knew there was an unexplained skin disease spreading in the region, but….’

Those with the mildest symptoms looked merely sunburned, their skin swollen and red. Others had oozing lesions, or patches of skin turning dark and discolored.

Yet people couldn’t simply stop earning a living, so many forced themselves to continue working despite the pain. As time wore on, though, it seemed they were reaching their limits. Crowds had gathered at city hall, demanding that something be done.

Because of that, it appeared that the wanted notice issued for the Empire’s first legally recognized bigamous woman was the least of anyone’s concerns.