Hubert's Change

A man in his 50's is standing outside a mansion. Facing backward, a lady also in his 50's rushed going out of the mansion. Seems to be important, she carried a white handkerchief with her.

"Hubert." The lady spoke, making the man face her.

The man has just a face of an apologetic person. Appears to be saddened by the situation, the man felt piercing pain in his heart.

"Why are you making such a sad expression, Lushana?" Hubert said, jokingly to lighten up the mood.

"Dumbass, you're also making that kind of face."

"Do I? Pft. Then forgive me, I just felt the same. This operation is taking out my confidence."

Hubert is a wealthy aristocrat. Despite his wealthiness, he stands on his pride in being a swordsman. Appears to be, the Lumber family which he manages has a long background of being general at wars. Their wealthiness just came after being successful in trading, but they still hold that confidence in swordsmanship.

However, the situation Hubert is in is something different. An infamous rebellion group is said to be discovered, camping on his land. Now that he can't ignore this kind of threat to his people.

Despite being confident, there is still a reason why that said rebellion is infamous. They are governed by ex-nobles who exceed with talents. And that attitude of Hubert, seems to be embarrassing for him, but what can he do, he is still a human, he also feels losing of self-esteem.

"They are just rebellion. The Light God will still vanquish evil and help justice. Trust in Him." Lushana's words are just full of encouragement. And it was effective that Hubert just nods in agreement with her.

"I know. I can trust Him."

After a talk with Hubert, Lushana returned to the mansion, watching the carriage on its venture away from the mansion.

'I just hope that she'll come back in victor. I can't manage to tell him this, but I think that he's too old to continue commanding in front lines.'

***

Weeks have passed, no news arrived at the mansion. It left Lushana with anxiety, thinking about the well-being of her husband. For the whole week, she only thought of her husband, and it also made the servants worry for her health.

She barely eats and is always looking at the window, waiting for his husband to come back. It seems to be the longest day that the both of them haven't seen each other, and because of it, it carved a huge scar to her heart, thinking that they might fail.

'No! Don't think that way! You're old enough to feel that way.'

She keeps on shifting her mindset. Thinking that it was all a façade, perhaps also an effect of aging. However, despite those, she just keeps her heart strong.

Her waiting resulted, bore fruit, that her husband's company was returning. She excitedly headed to the center of Gustav City, the capital of their county.

Her emotion was just filled with joy. At last, she was going to see her husband again. As soon as she arrived there, the men just assisted her to her husband's place.

However, he heard some gossips, strange rumors about his husband. It pierces an awful feeling to her that she glared at those who talked about it.

"The Lord is really odd. That raid, after an overflowing dungeon suddenly appeared, he immediately changed. I thought that we lost him, but it seems that his mind was the one what's lost."

"It was shocking. The Lord doesn't talk in that way, perhaps that event changed him."

"Did you know, the Lord supposed to be dead, but he miraculously survived that one? He was attacked by variants and he was outnumbered, it isn't normal to survive those injuries."

Hearing those words made Lushana irritated. Furiously, she ordered the men to get lost, seems to be that that kind of phrase enraged her.

Slightly, she adjusted her breathing, making to calm herself, she headed to her husband's place.

She entered a building that appeared to be the receiving area for those who participated. Seemingly that her husband is still working despite the successful operation, she calmly opened the room of his husband.

There, after opening, stands a man, her husband in bruises with perfect in condition clothes. Worriedly, she approached her husband. She immediately grabbed her husband's hands but strangely, he retracted his hands. 

Lushana just didn't pay heed to it, instead, she just tried to converse with her husband regarding the operation.

"Welcome back, my dear! The operation was a success?" She inquired in a joyous tone.

"Yeah. Those motherfuckers were now dead. However, a dungeon suddenly appeared back on our way and it was inhabited by high-intelligence variants. Their abilities are just too strong to be compared to my men." The way Hubert talk was odd for Lushana.

Indeed, Hubert just cursed, but it isn't strange for a person to curse. However, for Lushana, knowing her husband, Hubert doesn't swear easily in front of her. And also the way he talks, his tone seems to be different than the usually calm and joking tone.

Just ignoring it, she shook her head then continue to talk with Hubert.

"Really? Are you okay, from what I heard, you received injuries?"

"Injuries? Indeed, those vile monsters are powerful enough to hurt me, even those fucking rebels didn't manage to hurt me, yet those lowly beings tried to hurt me. Don't talk about it, it hurts my pride."

Another strange act that Lushana didn't pay attention to. She keeps ignoring it, even though a doubt arose slowly, she just didn't entertain it. However, one day, she just snapped into her doubts, completely entertaining them.

"I'm sorry, my dear. I spilled tea on your pants. I'll ask the maids to have a spare." Accidentally, she spilled her tea when she was getting near to him. But Hubert's reaction was just odd, that his children that eat with them suspected their relationship as it seems to be toxic.

"You bitch! That was hot!" Reacting to it, Hubert pushed Lushana, making her stumble on the ground.

Lushana just groaned to the pain. 'This is really not good.'

She keeps on thinking his husband's attitude and personality. Linking it to the previous operation they made, seems like the rumors that the men were talking about were true.

She finally concluded her speculation, then investigated his husband secretly. With the help of her rune, a leadership rune, ability to find talents, she found the perfect person to investigate his husband.

After gathering evidence, the a huge difference in his husband's personality. The acts that she strangely sees, and the surplus wealth they have since he returned, she made a conclusion and deduction.

'My husband is already dead. However, I won't let this impostor take his place.'

Thinking of a proper way, she then realized that she has people around her that she can trust. Instead of trusting her children that also seem to be corrupted by society's nature, she put her hope to her grandchildren, the hope for the current generation, the third-generation members.

'My grandchildren shall protect this family' She thought after signing a document that contains about his husband's legacy that right now, seems to be already trampled by an impostor.