I Accidentally Resurrected My Dead Husband - Chapter 73

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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 73
While Cain and Ern bickered, Udith toured the Imperial Palace.
She hadn’t known she’d get to see the Imperial Palace after possessing Udith’s body. Originally, Udith wasn’t even a character in the original work.
“Wow.”
On the way to the Sun Palace where the Emperor conducted state affairs, Udith’s eyes darted in every direction. She’d delivered scented candles to plenty of high-ranking noble estates in the Capital and thought she’d seen enough to be impressed, but the Imperial Palace was different.
Even a single blade of grass seemed refined.
“This must be your first time seeing the Imperial Palace, madam.”
“Yes, it is.”
And perhaps it would be the last. They’d come here this time to catch a gang of traitors, but she couldn’t imagine having reason to return again.
“The path branches here?”
“Straight ahead lies the Sun Palace where His Majesty resides. Down the right path you’ll find the Banquet Hall where Imperial Court gatherings are held, and the Greenhouse. The left path leads to the Rose Palace where Her Majesty the Empress dwells, and also the Knights’ quarters.”
“The Rose Palace must have quite a lot of roses.”
“Indeed, befitting its reputation. The subtle violet roses and the Lizabel Rose, refined from wild roses, can only be found in the Rose Palace throughout this entire continent.”
Udith let out an admiring sound. Cain grew animated at her reaction, launching into enthusiastic explanations—what lay in which direction, what swam in the ponds, what legends existed, and so on. As excited as Udith, Cain even promised that after an audience with the Emperor, he’d secure permission to give her a proper tour of the palace.
‘A promise? Why on earth is he making it?’
Ern found the animated Cain deeply irritating. Nor did he care for Udith’s exclamations of wonder beside him. But what truly rankled was the seating arrangement—the fact that Cain stood squarely between Udith and Ern.
When they’d first stepped down from the carriage, Ern had walked in the middle. But at some point, Cain had wedged himself between them. Now he clung to Udith’s side as she marveled at the palace, eagerly explaining this and that—the history and traditions—while Ern was left behind.
Why was Cain acting so enthusiastically about a place that wasn’t even his home? From this angle, it looked as though Cain and Udith had come on a palace outing together, with Ern following along as an unwelcome fifth wheel.
“You can actually obtain the roses?”
“Yes, occasionally Her Majesty the Empress gifts roses. Since you’ve rendered such distinguished service in capturing the Loam gang, I’m certain the Empress will be delighted to provide you with them.”
Udith’s eyes sparkled with interest. Cain doubtless thought she coveted the flowers for their beauty. But that wasn’t it at all. Udith was likely calculating how much coin she could fetch if she crafted scented candles from those precious roses.
Tsk. Look at him, patting his chest to offer them, not realizing her true intentions.
That was the moment Ern’s tongue clicked silently.
“The Lizabel rose would be finest for candle-making. Since it’s a refined variety of wild rose, the petals are sturdy and dry beautifully, I’ve heard.”
“……?”
Ern stiffened and turned to stare at Cain. He knew that? He could read her mind?
“Is it your intention to craft scented candles from the Lizabel roses and gift them to Her Majesty?”
“How on earth did you know that?”
“Ha, I simply thought that as a businesswoman, you’d surely wish to supply candles to the Imperial Court as well.”
That was it? Ern hadn’t thought that far ahead himself.
“I shall make certain to procure the roses for your enterprise.”
“Thank you so much, Marquis.”
They were a perfect match—finishing each other’s thoughts without speaking. When had they grown so close? Ern was usually glued to Udith’s side; they’d never even had a moment alone together. Yet they seemed as familiar as if they’d known each other for years.
Watching Cain and Udith with their easy rapport, Ern’s brow furrowed. A strange displeasure unfurled within him. Sharper than any he’d felt before. The cause was crystal clear.
“Be careful, madam. Here, take my arm.”
When Udith nearly tripped on a stone, Ern seized the back of Cain’s neck as he reached out to steady her and hurled him sideways.
“Whoa!”
“Ern!”
Cain staggered and barely caught his balance. Udith looked at him with wide, startled eyes.
“Are you all right?”
“Ha, quite fine. This sort of thing happens very frequently when traveling with Ern.”
“My goodness…….”
How touching, those two. Would genuine affection bloom between them next?
Ern’s expression turned colder than ever as he moved to position himself between Cain and Udith. Or rather, he tried to—until a sharp, ringing voice cut through the air.
“What is all this commotion in the presence of His Majesty, tsk, tsk, tsk.”
* * *
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Lord Ern, must you cause a disturbance the moment you arrive?”
The Aide. It was him. The man the original work had dubbed a mad dog—and the only person Udith had encountered before now. She scrutinized him from head to toe with curiosity.
“How many times must I remind you? Violence is forbidden within the palace.”
“You’ve said it enough times to make my ears bleed.”
“Then at least pretend to listen, tsk, tsk, tsk.”
His frame was skeletal, his eyes hollow and rimmed with blood vessels, his gaze predatory, and an monocle perched on his face. It was exactly as described in the original work.
The circumstances had been too dire when she’d seen Ern before to feel curiosity. But now, meeting him in this peaceful setting, something struck her as strange and fascinating. She was half-tempted to poke him just to confirm he was real.
“I beg you, refrain from causing chaos before His Majesty. Mind your conduct, if you please.”
“When haven’t I minded it?”
“Exactly—never! Not once! Not a single solitary time have you shown restraint!”
The Aide was on the verge of exploding.
“Why are you shouting? Wasn’t it someone who told us not to cause a disturbance in the palace?”
Ern frowned at the noise and fiddled with his ear, at which the Aide’s face flushed crimson with fury all the way to his neck.
“I need to set an example. I’m the Emperor’s Aide now, see?”
“To hear such words from Ern—this is the greatest shame of my life. No, the greatest shame upon our entire house!”
“Don’t make it about the house.”
The Aide’s fierce gaze climbed higher still. One might have said he was overreacting, but the moment he’d laid eyes on Ern, he’d clicked his tongue so relentlessly—tsk, tsk, tsk—that Udith found herself wondering if his tongue had survived intact.
Yet Udith understood his heart. In the original work, the Aide had suffered endlessly because of Ern—heartache, bodily strain, every conceivable torment. The male lead was now Emperor, but then he’d been Crown Prince, utterly besotted with the female lead, desperate to spend time alone with her.
But Ern, tasked with watching over the female lead, never strayed more than ten paces from her side. Not that he stood guard like the other knights, alert and focused. No—he simply stood, or leaned at an angle, or sat, or whenever space opened up, he’d lie down. To anyone watching, it looked rather like shirking duties right under one’s superior’s nose.
When Ern appeared to be sleeping and the male and female leads would quietly slip away, Ern would materialize behind them with uncanny precision. Irritated beyond measure, the male lead would order the Aide to shake Ern off. The Aide tried everything—liquor, card games—to distract him.
But Ern would send the Aide on endless errands, then casually snatch up a wine bottle and follow the female lead anyway. That day, the Aide was scolded for failing his mission.
‘Not scolded directly, but forced to listen to the male lead have a complete tantrum.’
Truth be told, that was far more aggravating than outright rebuke. Udith felt a deep kinship with the Aide, caught as he’d been between those two, buffeted this way and that. Anyone who’d ever had a superior would recognize the quiet misery.
Udith looked at the Aide with eyes that said, *I understand you*. But the Aide, meeting her for the first time today, found that gaze somewhat—well, more than somewhat—unsettling.
‘Why is she staring at me like that? They say she married a madman, so is she…’
The Aide got that far in his thoughts and clicked his tongue again. Well, no sane person would marry a madman. As the Aide clucked inwardly, Ern abruptly stopped in his tracks.
“This isn’t the way to the Audience Chamber.”
“You were summoned to the Reception Hall, tsk, tsk, tsk.”
“You tell me I was summoned to the Reception Hall, but why are you clicking your tongue? What’s that supposed to mean? Sounds like an insult.”
Ern needled the Aide all the way to the Reception Hall—not seriously, but with enough bite that Udith thought he might actually make the man cry. Fortunately, they arrived before it came to that.
“Count Ern Rainhardt and Countess Rainhardt, Your Majesty.”
The Aide’s crisp voice rang out before the Reception Hall doors. Touring the Imperial Palace had felt manageable, but now, about to meet the Emperor himself, Udith felt an unexpected flutter of nerves.
“Why are you nervous?”
Ern glanced at Udith’s suddenly rigid frame and let out a hollow laugh.
“Come now, my lady. There’s no need to be anxious. His Majesty is a good man.”

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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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