I Accidentally Resurrected My Dead Husband - Chapter 62

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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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Chapter 62
“Hmm, what work has Marquis Perni been handling at the Imperial Palace these days?”
“Supply contracts. The merchant company that had been providing to the Imperial Palace before got caught up in treason. Since the Perni Family Merchant Company, backed by the Rofri Merchant Company—which is the Marchioness’s family business—is practically the only one left who can source goods to the Imperial standard, they’ve made use of them.”
“Convenient for him. Easy to hide people in cargo carts and slip them out.”
Marquis Mosley reluctantly acknowledged Ern’s point.
“They said they conducted fairly thorough verification. They had him speak words that would trigger the Seal Curse, but he came through clean. The Empress said she doesn’t think he was affected by it either.”
And so Marquis Perni was removed from the list of suspects.
“The Southern Forest has already been searched, but since you find him suspicious, we’ll conduct another sweep.”
* * *
Ern and Cain set off immediately for Marquis Perni’s summer villa.
Just as Caroline and Udith had suspected, everything was there. Marquis Perni’s mistress was present, along with an illegitimate child taking its first unsteady steps, and Loam’s group as well.
When Marquis Mosley and the Imperial Knights were searching the Southern Forest, Marquis Perni’s mistress, some man, and three children had slipped through the dragnet by masquerading as a family.
Back at the Rainhardt Mansion, before stepping inside, Ern brushed the mud from his robes and shoes as he spoke to Udith.
“The caretaker supposedly hired by Marquis Perni—the Imperial Knights just waved him through. They even checked with Marquis Perni, but of course he confirmed the story.”
“Of course. They’re all on Marquis Perni’s side.”
Udith answered while brushing mud from Gold’s flank.
“There was a basement beneath the villa. Looked like it was built to store wine, but Loam must have been hiding there during the search.”
“Still, how did the Imperial Knights miss it? Loam walked openly in the Capital plaza, frequented taverns. Aren’t they being too careless with their search for a traitor?”
“They’re conducting it in secret rather than a large-scale manhunt.”
Ern brushed his robes roughly, his displeasure evident. Even with wanted posters plastered everywhere, bounties posted, and spot inspections three or four times a day, catching someone determined to flee was fifty-fifty at best.
But the current Emperor had issued a secret decree to Marquis Mosley and pursued them covertly. In the vast, crowded Capital, where everyone believed the traitors dead, finding them was like searching for a needle in the desert. Yet the Emperor would never switch to an open investigation. What mattered most to him was the Empress’s happiness and safety.
Ern couldn’t quite understand it.
“Does it make sense to leave the seeds of rebellion intact for the Empress’s sake?”
“Right. Wouldn’t it be better just to wipe them out completely?”
Udith couldn’t fathom the Emperor’s logic either. Preserving people who might pose a future threat to the empire just so the Empress wouldn’t be hurt? They’d rarely agreed before, and now Ern and Udith were about to launch into a proper critique of the Emperor when—
“It’s love.”
A young voice cut in.
“What?”
“Love. The Emperor loves the Empress. That’s why he doesn’t want her to be hurt at all.”
A girl with faint reddish scars scattered across her face had appeared, watching Udith and Ern.
Her name was Kaya. She was one of the children the Godmother Group had brought along. In the Godmother Group, even the children had to pull their weight, and Kaya’s job was to feed and water Gold.
Hearing Gold return, Kaya had emerged and overheard their conversation, inserting herself into it. Watching the ten-year-old passionately proclaim the virtue of love, Udith and Ern both let out dry chuckles. But Kaya, sharp enough to catch their mockery even at her age, bristled.
“Someone told me that love is the most important thing in the world.”
“No shortage of things a child shouldn’t say. And you—don’t just butt into adults’ conversations like that.”
Udith pursed her lips inwardly and glanced at Ern. ‘Are you really trying to go from being the Empire’s mad dog to a curmudgeon?’
“Ern, why are you being like that with her?”
After a word to Ern, Udith crouched to Kaya’s eye level and spoke gently.
“Listen carefully, Kaya. Whoever told you that love is the most important thing in the world was wrong.”
“Then what is important?”
Curiosity glimmered in the girl’s bright amber eyes.
“Money, that’s what. Money is the most important thing. Think about it, Kaya—does love feed you? No. But money feeds you, buys you clothes, buys you a house.”
“Teaching the child good values,” Ern muttered loudly, loud enough for Udith to hear clearly, and clicked his tongue.
“I’m teaching her how the world actually works.”
“That’s not how the world works, Miss Herington. That’s just destroying her innocence.”
“Economic literacy should be taught from childhood. That’s how you develop a sense of money. She needs to understand that it’s money, not love, that buys swords.”
Udith’s gaze drifted pointedly to the four sword sheaths hanging from Gold’s flank. Ern had left this morning to sharpen a single blade at the smithy and returned with four. He called them spares, but the mansion already had plenty of spare swords. They were his own purchase, to be fair, but Udith couldn’t understand why he kept buying more when they already had so many.
“Ah, so those words were directed at me after all. Reminding me to develop good financial sense.”
“That wasn’t what I—but I see you’re quite touchy about it.”
“Touchy? Actually, I’m so stung I think I’ll sleep alone tonight.”
Even though the Marchioness had burned the wooden doll, the damp vapor inside Udith hadn’t dissipated. Tann’s suspicion that the cursecraft had mutated seemed correct. And so Udith still had to hold Ern’s hand while sleeping for several more nights.
“You’re really being petty. Open your heart a little, Ern. Does holding hands a few times wear it out? Does it?”
“Yeah, it does. And my hand is very expensive, you know. So starting now, you pay a fee every time you want to hold it.”
“Taking credit for holding my hand once—you’re really something.”
Sparks flew between Udith and Ern. Neither was about to back down, and neither noticed that Kaya was watching them both with eyes that said, ‘These poor adults who don’t know anything about love.’
“I have a question.”
After staring at the two adults with pity for a moment, Kaya raised her hand brightly.
“Go ahead then, ask away.”
Udith composed her expression and tone, turning her attention to Kaya.
“If you earn a lot of money, does that make you happy?”

“Of course.”
“Even without someone you love?”
Udith fell silent, her eyes darting about. She loved money. With money, she thought, she could be happy.
But what if there was no one to love? She’d never considered that before. She turned to Ern with a pleading look.
“Why are you staring at me? I don’t know either.”
Ern had never pondered it either. He’d never yearned to earn great wealth, never dreamed of a future beside someone he loved, never painted any such picture in his mind.
As both Udith and Ern found themselves at a loss for words, Gold licked Kaya’s cheek. The girl giggled, stroking the horse’s muzzle, her full attention now captured by the creature. The two adults, unable to offer a single answer, quietly retreated.
* * *
Kaya was far smaller than other children her age. And from having spent so long in that damp place, she suffered from a skin ailment. Beichi, a pharmacist, had done everything he could to heal it, but the condition only worsened.
Yet ever since arriving at Rainhardt Mansion, Kaya’s affliction had improved markedly. That damp, filthy space had been the culprit. Combined with regular meals—modest though they were—her immunity had strengthened considerably.
‘Environment matters.’
Though there were other children, Udith found her thoughts drifting especially toward Kaya. Blessed with Spirit Power, Kaya was naturally trained to become a Spirit Medium. But Udith had once witnessed the girl swallowing silent sighs at the prospect of that training.
“You don’t want to become a Spirit Medium?”
“No, but I’ll become a fine one. That way I can help Godmother’s eyes and be useful to my family.”
Watching the girl scramble to contribute however she could struck Udith like seeing her own childhood reflected back.
“Kaya reminds me of myself when I was young.”
Fleeing Kaya’s troublesome question, Udith had retreated to Ern’s room and lay on the bed murmuring to herself while he changed into more comfortable clothes.
“That’s harsh talk about a child.”
“Harsh? It’s a compliment. She’s sharp.”
“From what I saw, she’s got plenty of romantic notions for a young thing.”
Kaya had said love was the most precious thing in the world. At that age, love had been a luxury Udith could never afford.
“Perhaps Kaya thinks that way because so many people care for her earnestly.”
Now that she thought about it, though Tan had deceived others, he’d been a good older brother to his siblings. Beichi, poor as he was, sought out books to teach the children to read. Impoverished as they were, they cherished and looked out for one another—a family. Young Udith had known none of that.
“I wasn’t a child full of romantic notions, but I was one full of ambition.”

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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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