I Accidentally Resurrected My Dead Husband - Chapter 41
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 41
A defective object naturally wouldn’t be cursed properly.
“Tell them that if they come looking for me again, I’ll send them someone who can complete the curse properly.”
When complaints came in, Ceres would inform the Red Liquor Medium. The Red Liquor Medium would fulfill whatever curse the nobleman desired. Then he’d use that to blackmail the nobleman or bring him into the fold.
That was one of the methods the Red Liquor Medium used to expand his reach.
“So he was trying to entangle the Young Lady of Baron Brix the same way.”
“Yes, she comes from wealth, doesn’t she? It seems funds have been running short lately—he ordered me to focus on families with money. It makes sense, given that they’re fleeing from the Imperial Court’s pursuit.”
Ceres shrugged. He was indicating that he didn’t know the deeper details himself.
“In any case, they learned about the Mummy being unwrapped purely through my personal connections in the underworld. We weren’t close enough for me to be briefed on such operations.”
Since Ceres operated in the underworld, he had quite a few contacts in illegal facilities.
“I suspect the reason they released the Mummy into the world now is to create chaos in the Capital’s defenses. That way they can escape more easily.”
But before this, they had unwrapped the Mummy for a different purpose.
“I’ve handled the Mummy before as well.”
“But here’s what I don’t understand, Ceres. If everyone who comes into contact with the Mummy and inhales its dust dies, why are you and your Followers still alive?”
“There’s a safe way to handle it. I learned that from the Red Liquor Medium back then.”
This time, no recovery order had come down to him. Yet he had moved to obtain the Mummy anyway.
“Because it’s incredibly valuable.”
Now that he knew how to manage it safely, the Mummy was simply a highly profitable item to Ceres. So while the Followers were sluggish and couldn’t move easily, he’d tried to steal it and sell it off without their knowledge.
“The book you sold didn’t include such methods.”
“Of course it didn’t. This is among the most guarded secrets. The Ancient God attached to the Mummy isn’t something that can be destroyed. We can only make it retreat temporarily.”
So the method for handling the Mummy’s actual body was a secret within secrets, Ceres said. He laid bare everything he knew without reservation. From the way he was behaving, this man was no Follower. The Followers Ern knew would die before willingly spilling their information like this.
But Ern couldn’t believe everything Ceres was saying was true. Would the Followers have left this man alone if he knew such high-level intelligence? Cliff had nearly spat blood—about to insist that he’d only sold Ern’s corpse—before managing to stop himself.
“You’re spilling information about the Followers without a problem. You weren’t hit with a Seal Curse, were you?”
“You certainly know a great deal about them.”
At the question of why a Seal Curse—meant to prevent information leaks—wasn’t in place, Ceres looked visibly surprised.
“That’s right. They did place a Seal Curse on me.”
Cliff, ignorant of sorcery, had fallen under the Seal Curse without even knowing it. But Ceres had known and accepted it, grimly swallowing the bitter pill. Refusing would have meant they’d kill him.
“However, I broke the curse. Well, you needn’t demand proof. If a Seal Curse had been in place, I wouldn’t have been able to attempt stealing the Mummy in the first place.”
Precisely because he knew so much, a powerful Seal Curse had been laid upon him. Not only did it prevent information leaks—it also triggered if he so much as laid a hand on the Followers’ property.
“About a month ago, someone claiming to be an Elder of the Followers came to me. He said he would undo my Seal Curse if I would help him escape the Capital.”
“And you helped him?”
“Of course. Who wants to remain shackled?”
Ceres first secured the Elder a job at a small trading company the Followers barely paid attention to. Naturally, under an assumed name.
Since anyone could see he was Chardin by descent, he inevitably had to take on difficult labor in a company composed mostly of Imperial citizens. But this was the best way to slip out of the Capital undetected.
“If your Seal Curse was broken, why did you try to hand the Young Lady of Baron Brix over to the Followers?”
“I didn’t want them to find out my curse was broken. If they discovered that, would they leave me alone? So I had to avoid doing anything that would draw suspicion.”
If the Young Lady of Baron Brix had heard that answer, she could’ve bashed in Ceres’s skull and called it self-defense.
“One last question.”
“What is it?”
“If the Followers are creating incorruptible corpses—not Mummies—what would they need them for?”
Ceres tilted his head in puzzlement.
“Incorruptible corpses? I’m not sure. From what I understand, they hardly have time to be leisurely crafting such things right now.”
Ceres spoke in a low voice, deliberately avoiding the glint of Ern’s blade.
“They’re being hunted by the Imperial Court, and they’ve had traitors emerge from within their own ranks. They must be in complete chaos.”
Yet they had used Cliff to steal Ern’s corpse. Why would they do that? It remained a mystery.
Ern sheathed his short sword. He’d extracted everything he could from Ceres.
“One last thing. That cart and all the trinkets hanging from her arm—are those the tools to control the Mummy?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Ern nodded and hauled Udith up by the wrist. Udith rose without warning, and Ceres rose with her.
He assumed Ern and Udith had gotten the information they came for and were leaving, so he got to his feet to see them out.
“Tell everything you just told me—including the method to control the Mummy—to the person you’ll be meeting shortly.”
“Eh? The person I’m meeting shortly—who even is… Ugh.”
Before Ceres could finish speaking, Ern struck the back of his neck with lightning speed, knocking him unconscious. Ern hoisted the limp Ceres over his shoulder and hurled him onto the cart standing outside the tent.
“Aren’t you going to ask where the Red Liquor Medium is hiding?”
Udith stared at the unconscious Ceres with wide eyes.
“Marquis Mosley will ask that. He’s the one who’ll be catching him.”
“Ern won’t be catching him?”
“If I’m going to catch anyone, I need to take down the Medium and all his defector associates in one sweep. To apprehend multiple people, it’s better to have Marquis Mosley handle it. No matter how capable I am, I can’t catch them all if they scatter in different directions.”
The Red Liquor Medium was moving with Loam and other defectors. It would be more efficient to deploy soldiers, encircle them, and capture everyone at once. Since Ern was handing over Ceres as a high-value intelligence asset, finding the Red Liquor Medium’s location would be the Marquis’s responsibility.
* * *
A few days later.
Heheheh. Udith leaned against the safe she’d bought not long ago, laughing. Money was piling up so fast she’d had no choice but to purchase one just to store it all.
“Our lady wishes to fill the reception hall with Miss Herington’s scented candles. She’ll need at least ten boxes—when can you have them ready?”
“She wants the goods within this week, does she? How about this: I’ll charge double the price.”
After handing Ceres over to Marquis Mosley, Udith threw herself into selling scented candles in earnest.
And the results were… nothing short of explosive. The candles flew off the shelves. People began waiting in the streets Udith frequented just for a chance to buy from her. As her candle inventory dwindled, her safe grew fatter by the day.
And then.
“This… this isn’t right.”
“I find myself unable to disagree with Ern’s assessment this time, madam.”
Ern and Henry had collapsed from exhaustion. Ern made such a face at the mere sight of wax and fragrance oils that he looked ready to keel over.
“Keep this up and you’ll work yourself to death.”
Udith, slumped against the safe, was ashen with fatigue. Money was wonderful to have, but she was too tired to laugh properly—only managing hollow chuckles, looking like a ghost clinging to the safe.
Truth be told, even Udith hadn’t expected the business to boom this spectacularly. Nobles, wealthy commoners, and even ordinary folk scraping together spare coin to buy a single candle—they all came. Walking deliveries were impossible now; Ern had to provide a horse every time. Even so, deliveries alone consumed half the day.
And that was only part of it. Returning to the estate, she’d barely touch dinner before having to make more candles. Then she’d work through the night until dawn, steal a few hours of sleep, and be back out delivering. At first, the booming business had thrilled her. But after more than twenty days of this relentless grind, even Ern—who had physical stamina—and Henry, who came to help after his guard duties, were utterly spent.
“I’m afraid the lady might collapse if this continues.”
If anyone was suffering most, it was Udith. Henry and Ern at least had baseline fitness to draw on; Udith was running on sheer spite, her love of money, and raw willpower. She’d nearly burned her hands falling asleep at the candle-making table more than once. In short, her body was already at its limit.
“Cut the sales volume.”
“Then the money coming in will drop too.”
“If you don’t, Miss Herington’s lifespan will drop instead.”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————