I Accidentally Resurrected My Dead Husband - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 15
“I was surprised when I heard the Countess was looking for me. Has something happened?”
You don’t look well, Cliff remarked, and indeed his own complexion was far from good. Udith wondered whether his pallor came from genuine illness, or from the fact that the woman he’d tried to kill was standing before him alive and well.
“Yes, there was a bit of an incident.”
Udith delivered the loaded statement while absently turning her teacup in its saucer. She had invited Cliff to the Rainhardt Estate to sound him out, but he’d insisted on meeting at the Salon instead.
“An assassin broke into the estate.”
“An assassin? But who in blazes would send an assassin after you?”
Cliff’s eyes widened in shock, and he bombarded her with questions about whether she was all right. His tone of concern sounded almost genuine, yet he’d overlooked one crucial detail.
If an assassin had come, how had she survived?
After she assured him she was fine, that was the question he should have asked. Wouldn’t it? If a woman alone had faced down an assassin and lived to tell the tale without even a serious wound, it would be natural to wonder how she’d managed it.
Was Cliff simply abnormal, or did he already know who had dealt with the assassin? That was something she could investigate from this point forward.
“I captured the assassin alive.”
Udith heaved a heavy sigh, as though recounting an ordeal.
A living assassin? Technically, none existed. But whether the assassin was completely dead, or whether one had survived to talk, the person who’d sent them would never know for certain.
“You captured them alive, you say?”
Cliff seemed to be struggling to maintain his composure, though his eyes betrayed him, wavering despite his effort.
“Yes. I even interrogated them.”
Udith lobbed another stone at Cliff’s composure with each word.
“But Cliff.”
“Speak.”
“Aren’t you curious how I managed to capture an assassin and interrogate them?”
At her question, Cliff’s fingertips trembled.
Damn it. She knows everything and called me here for this. He gritted his teeth at her placid tone, as casual as if she were asking what sort of tea he was drinking.
He’d felt uneasy from the moment her letter arrived inviting him to the estate. He could have refused, but something warned him that he shouldn’t. Bad premonitions were never wrong.
The instant Cliff’s brow furrowed, Udith turned her gaze toward a table at some distance. Two burly men sat across from each other, and one of them looked toward Cliff, lowering the cloth that had covered his face. The moment Cliff saw that face, he nearly cried out.
“……Ern.”
Cliff’s hands, resting on his lap, began to shake violently. Even now, seeing him again, his heart seemed to sink into his stomach. How was he alive? He was certain—absolutely certain—he’d confirmed his heart had stopped. Cliff had gone as pale as if he’d seen a ghost. Whatever Ern’s character might be, surely he wouldn’t try to kill him here, in front of all these people.
“Cliff.”
Udith drew Cliff’s gaze back to her.
“Why did you send the assassin?”
Cliff didn’t answer. He seemed to be buying time, hoping to craft a response that might work in his favor.
“Ah, you don’t have to answer that one, actually.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not particularly curious. I imagine you wanted to kill either Ern or me. The title was your goal, presumably. It’s fine.”
When Udith waved her hand as though the matter were truly of no consequence, Cliff’s face went slack for a moment.
“The damage to my household from your assassin was quite substantial, but it’s fine.”
“…….”
“My husband and I have already agreed to let the matter rest. You’ll simply compensate us for everything.”
Watching Udith smile at him, Cliff let out a hollow laugh. He was so flabbergasted that he found himself inadvertently admitting something.
“You’re saying that if I provide damage compensation, the assassination attempt will be forgotten?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”
Though the compensation will need to be quite generous.
“And I should mention—Ern has agreed to these terms as well. As long as you provide damage compensation and answer a few questions, we won’t touch you.”
Udith had sworn she wouldn’t report him to the Security Bureau or threaten his life. Even if she’d turned him over to the authorities, it was questionable whether he’d face any real punishment. Cliff was a lawyer; the moment he realized there was no physical evidence, he’d find a way to slip through the net. It was better to get what she could and walk away.
Ern had readily agreed to the arrangement. Cliff’s betrayal left a bitter taste, but there were any number of people who’d wished him dead. He could seek Ern out for direct vengeance, but the very thought exhausted him. All he needed to know was why his corpse hadn’t decomposed. If he died again next time and his body still didn’t rot, that would be rather inconvenient.
“Ah, and you’ll need to promise not to send any more assassins.”
“…….”
“If you don’t accept our proposal, you won’t be sleeping soundly from tonight onward. After all, the man you tried to kill will come for you.”
Cliff pondered for a moment before nodding his head. Seeing how thoroughly he’d been exposed, he apparently decided that negotiating was the better course.
“Very well. I’ll give you my word. In return, you must also keep yours. I’ll answer whatever questions you have, to the best of my knowledge.”
His throat apparently dry, Cliff drained his teacup repeatedly.
“Then let me ask—how did Ern come back to life?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
This time, his sincerity was unmistakable.
“I poisoned his drink myself, and I watched his breathing stop. A physician confirmed his death. And then he……”
Cliff began to spill everything in a rush before stopping short. After clearing his throat several times, he spoke again.
“And then his corpse, cough……”
Cliff suddenly clapped his hand over his mouth, but bright red blood seeped through his fingers. As Udith rose in alarm,
“Why am I so dizzy, ugh……”
Cliff spewed blood and collapsed.
* * *
Hours later, at the Capital Security Bureau.
After Cliff coughed blood and collapsed, Udith had been taken into custody alone.
“This glass vial—what is it? It belonged to Miss Harrington, didn’t it? What is this, poison?”
Her charge was attempted murder of Cliff Akkerman, and she’d been apprehended at the scene. During the arrest, the potion bottle concealed in Udith’s sleeve had been confiscated as well.
Udith frantically denied it was poison. Before meeting Cliff, she’d pestered Henry into procuring Truth Serum. She’d planned to lie about capturing the assassin alive and coerce him by showing him Ern in the flesh—but how could she know whether Cliff would tell the truth or not?
So the moment Cliff’s eyes met Ern’s, she’d slipped the Truth Serum into his teacup. The only saving grace was that Truth Serum, while exceedingly rare, wasn’t an illegal substance.
“But why did Cliff Akkerman cough blood and collapse?”
The Security Bureau knight regarded her with disbelief as he pressed for answers.
“That’s exactly what I’d like to know.”
Udith felt as though she might scream. He drank Truth Serum and suddenly vomits blood? Of all rotten luck, he’d collapsed right there in the Salon crowded with people, and she’d been hauled straight to the Security Bureau.
Through it all, Ern and Henry were nowhere to be found. How convenient for them to slip away like that.
“I’ll drink the potion myself. If I drink it and prove it’s not poison, that settles it, doesn’t it?”
“Are you trying to take your own life now that the situation looks bad for you?”
“No, sir.”
Udith gripped the bars and mustered the most pitiful expression she could manage, but it did no good.
“There’s a verification procedure for toxicity that will be conducted, so please wait quietly.”
The knight checked the cell lock and turned to leave. Udith couldn’t bring herself to sit directly on the grimy floor, so she squatted instead.
“Could it be a side effect?”
She’d tried it before without any problems.
“Or maybe he has some chronic condition?”
Udith, who’d been gnawing at her nails, let out a heavy sigh. She’d been trying to extract some—well, a rather substantial amount—of damage compensation, and this is what she got. Forget the compensation; she hadn’t even resolved Ern’s questions.
“But they really aren’t coming?”
Loyalty meant nothing to them. Udith could overlook Ern’s absence, but how could Henry—who belonged to the Security Bureau itself—show his face nowhere? Betrayal roiled in her chest.
“Once I get out of here, I won’t let either of them off easy.”
The intensity faded from Udith’s eyes as she stared into empty space. When would she get out? She didn’t know when the poison test would be completed, and even if it came back negative, she wasn’t sure she’d be released right away.
“He’s not dead, is he?”
If he died, the investigation and trial would drag on, and then what about her business? The advance orders she’d taken? Was this what people meant by ruin?
“This is maddening.”
Unable to see any way out, she was tearing at her hair when she felt a sudden stir from deeper within the Security Bureau. Udith hurriedly got to her feet and gripped the bars to see what was happening. Before long, the knight who’d locked her in approached.
“What’s going on, sir?”
“You may go, Miss Harrington.”
“My charges have been dropped?”
As Udith squeezed through the open bars, her mind went blank. The poison charge was dismissed this quickly?
“Mosley has provided guarantorship for your identity.”
“I’m sorry?”
Udith nearly blurted out “Who?” without thinking.
Mosley? Who on earth was he? And why would he vouch for her identity?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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