His wife shook her head and added.
“I ran into the detective on my way here. He explained everything to me.”
Hardy didn’t know whether to be relieved that he didn’t have to explain everything, or to be depressed that his wife already knew it all. Hardy rubbed his face vigorously and spoke in a tone of resignation.
“You heard it, so you must know. I’m a pathetic human, Evelyn. I’m a coward who always runs away, busy just plugging my ears and looking away. I’m sorry a guy like me is your husband.”
His wife was the most beautiful woman in this village.
When they were young, every young man in the village used to loiter in front of her house just to get a chance to speak to her.
Hardy himself had been just one of those countless foolish and unremarkable young men.
Hardy couldn’t understand then, and he couldn’t understand now, why Evelyn had chosen him of all people.
It was the greatest luck of his life, but now Evelyn would surely be regretting that decision.
No. In fact, perhaps she had been regretting it for several years already. Was he not the pathetic husband who couldn’t even buy his wife a single muslin dress without falling for a scammer’s tricks?
“You’re sorry because you’re a coward?”
Evelyn said that and then gave a soft smile.
“That’s alright. Because I knew from the beginning.”
“…You knew?”
“Of course. Do you think I wouldn’t know what kind of person the husband I’ve lived with for half my life is? You’re the one who knows nothing. You don’t even know why I hid that money inside the doghouse where Alex used to live, do you?”
He faltered at the non-sequitur.
“Wasn’t it just because that was the only place to hide it?”
“How could that be? There were plenty of more plausible places.”
His wife shook her head and said this.
“It was because I knew that since you’re a coward, you wouldn’t even dare to look inside there.”
“What?”
“You struggled so much after Alex died. To the point where you couldn’t even clear away the doghouse for over a year.”
His wife was right.
That one small doghouse—he could have just cleared it away. Thomas Hardy couldn’t manage that one thing and left the doghouse neglected.
For well over a year.
It would have been different if he had at least repaired and maintained it. Thomas Hardy couldn’t do this or that, leaving the doghouse to rot. A rotting doghouse in the middle of the flower bed his wife had painstakingly tended.
It was a wretched sight, exactly like himself.
Evelyn said.
“I thought that even if you found out the money was gone and searched the whole house, you wouldn’t check that place until the very end. Because it was the place you wanted to look away from the most.”
“Right, so….”
Hardy let out a heavy sigh once more.
“…You knew from the very beginning. How pathetic of a human I am.”
He lamented.
“Who else would struggle for so long just because a single dog died? I must be the biggest coward among the men in this village. Your choosing me long ago was a completely wrong choice.”
In the next moment. Hardy felt a warmth fill his arms. Evelyn had embraced him.
“No. I decided to be with you exactly because you are that kind of person.”
“What?”
“Fearing loss is because that thing is just that precious to you.”
It was just as Thomas Hardy said.
Who else among the men in this village would grieve for so long over the death of just one dog?
Who would be unable to clear that spot for over a year and feel pain every time they saw it?
Who would love just one dog so deeply?
Her husband was that kind of person.
“The reason you couldn’t do anything against that scammer was because you were afraid harm would come to me and the children.”
He fell for the scammer because he wanted to provide things for his family that he couldn’t before.
He was helpless against the scammer because his family was taken hostage and he was threatened.
He couldn’t say anything and suffered alone because he didn’t want to worry his family.
The root of all Thomas Hardy’s fears was his family, and his love.
That was why Evelyn had never once regretted marrying him.
“Though I did doubt if you had a change of heart when you wouldn’t explain anything to me.”
Evelyn chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand.
“But even in that moment, I didn’t consider your fear to be a flaw.”
Even if she criticized him for being gullible and naive, even if she lamented that he seemed to have turned away from her because he was blinded by money, she had never once been angry at him for being fearful.
“I love your fear.”
“Evelyn…!”
Just as Thomas was about to tear up from the emotion, Evelyn made a grand declaration.
“So stop trying to act cool. You’re a cute person, not a cool one.”
“E-Evelyn?”
Thomas Hardy was a man capable of self-objectification. Calling a balding, shabby middle-aged man ‘cute.’ Did that even make sense?
But Evelyn didn’t seem to have a single shred of doubt in her words.
“I know you want to be the pillar of the family. But when a cute coward like you tries to keep everything a secret and handle it all alone, it’s only natural that you can’t get anything done. In fact, no one can endure everything alone. So, from now on, please share the burden with me.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Thomas decided to be moved by his wife’s consideration for him rather than her peculiar taste.
“Evelyn…. Thank you, truly.”
Of course, that didn’t mean he would meekly follow his wife’s words. If he were that kind of person, things wouldn’t have gotten this complicated in the first place.
“But how on earth can I share the burden with you? You’re someone who would have never had to do a day of hard labor if you hadn’t married me, and the fact that we’re penniless is entirely my fault. So, starting tomorrow, I’ll work harder and—”
“Huh? We’re not penniless.”
“What?”
Evelyn pulled a pouch from her bodice. It was thinner than before, but it was a familiar pouch.
“This is….”
“The detective gave it to me before he left. He called it an information fee.”
“An information fee?”
“He said that thanks to my testimony, he was able to capture a criminal notorious even in the capital, so it was only right to pay a reward. I think this much money will relieve us of any immediate worries about making a living.”
“That’s….”
Hardy was at a loss, feeling guilty for having called such a person a delusional dreamer in the past.
“For the detective to share this money with us. Even though I told him it was all his….”
“Us? What have you been talking about this whole time?”
Evelyn laughed playfully as she shook the money pouch.
“That detective you respect so much said that since I was the one who provided the information, I must be the one to keep this money. He told me to keep a close eye on both the money and my gullible husband.”
“…….”
“So from now on, if you want to spend money, tell me and get an allowance. Don’t go starting things without a word like this time. Got it?”
“…….”
“Why have you been so quiet?”
Hardy couldn’t easily open his mouth.
It was because a lump was forming in his throat.
Was it just his imagination that the detective passing the money to his wife instead of him felt like an act of consideration?
The thought that it wasn’t simply because he couldn’t be trusted, but a gesture of kindness so that he could set down the responsibility he felt he had to shoulder alone….
“…I truly met a benefactor.”
After a long silence, Hardy spoke.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget him.”
“It’s true. I also…, Oh my!”
Evelyn suddenly widened her eyes in surprise.
“Now that I think about it, what was his name? My goodness, I didn’t even know our benefactor’s name until now.”
Had he never told his wife the detective’s name?
Hardy was momentarily flustered but soon nodded.
“I only heard it once when I first went to commission him. He said he was using a pseudonym rather than his real name for personal reasons. So I only called him ‘Sir’ as well.”
“Whether it’s a pseudonym or a nickname, we should at least know our benefactor’s name. So, what is it?”
“His name is….”
The man slowly spoke as he searched his memory.
“Hayes. He said it was Hayes.”
It was the name of a certain bungling detective that the couple would never forget.