I Accidentally Resurrected My Dead Husband - Chapter 79

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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 79
“Hmm.”
A Late Fee Coupon. Not bad at all.
There were times when her debt to Smith, which she had to repay every month, left her short of funds to buy Scented Candle materials. That was why she couldn’t accept large orders beyond a certain size.
‘Now that I’ve connected with the Imperial Court, orders should be coming from that quarter soon.’
Cain had hinted as much. He said the Empress had heard about the Emperor sending only a single Dress as a merit reward and felt sympathetic, mentioning that she ought to use Udith’s Scented Candles for the Imperial Banquet.
Filling the Imperial Banquet Hall would require far more than a handful of candles. An order of at least a hundred or more was certain to come. The problem was she lacked the funds to purchase that much raw material—but with the Late Fee Coupon, it could be solved.
She could use the money meant for repaying debts to buy materials instead. Since there would be no late fees, Udith stood only to gain, not lose. But Udith was a businesswoman, after all. As everyone knew, a proper businesswoman squeezed out every last drop of advantage from a situation like this.
“Hmmmm.”
Udith drew in a contemplative breath, as if to suggest the coupon alone wasn’t quite enough.
“Next time you need to hire someone, I’ll help you once for free.”
Smith cut it off there, saying the Loam brothers would die before he accepted anything more. But Smith’s men would prove useful someday.
Udith extended her hand toward Smith.
“We made a good deal, didn’t we?”
“I believe I came out behind on this one.”
Smith took Udith’s hand. Ern, watching the exchange, clicked his tongue.
‘She’s got good instincts, that one. Calling him “son” while looking at a face like that. My son would never look like… that….’
As he drifted along with the thought, Ern caught himself. My son? In all his years, he’d never once imagined having a son or a daughter. And who was he even imagining having one with? Ern found the whole thing absurd and ridiculous, wetting his lip with his tongue. No one here could hear his thoughts, yet heat rose inexplicably to his face.
“If you learn anything new, share it right away.”
Fortunately, Udith was wholly absorbed in her dealings with Smith. Smith was equally engaged.
“Oh, and Loam.”
Rather than bother with calling them the big Loam and the small Loam separately, Udith simply used “Loam” as a general address for them both.
“I’ll have someone bring you an Ointment to apply. It should ease the itching quite a bit.”
“Thank you kindly, madam.”
“Much obliged.”
Both Loam brothers appeared genuinely moved.
* * *
From there, Udith and Ern headed to Marquis Mosley. If a noble had purchased Nutritious Cream, Oil, and Joint Arthritis Medicine, word must have reached the Security Forces by now.
They found Cain, and he too was suffering from the same headache.
“Henry got hit too? This is getting serious.”
The shadows under his eyes were far darker than they’d been when Loam’s gang escaped.
“Everyone’s demanding I bring them in immediately.”
When Loam’s gang had escaped, only the Emperor had been breathing down his neck. But now a multitude of nobles were hounding him—a young lady preparing for her debut, a knight who’d retired with honors but suffered from arthritis, the Emperor’s Grandmother tormented by knee pain, and countless others.
Countless victims and their families, relatives—all of them in an uproar.
“I heard one young lady tried to throw herself into a lake.”
A girl of sixteen, facing her Debutante, had nearly taken her own life over her horribly ravaged skin.
“It’s a full emergency. Looks like the Imperial Knight Order’s going to have to get involved too.”
The Imperial Knight Order rarely involved themselves in such matters. Their duty was to protect the Emperor and safeguard the realm, not to hunt down a single con artist.
But this time there was no choice. For the realm to function, you needed bureaucrats—and several of them had suffered from the side effects themselves, while the rest had families, friends, and acquaintances who were suffering. There was no way they could perform their duties properly.
“The 1st Knight Order Commander also used that Joint Arthritis Medicine, apparently.”
“Tch, that old fool should’ve retired long ago. Stubborn enough to stay on active duty at his age, and of course his body rebels—then he tries to fix it with a drug. Fat lot of good that does.”
Ern let out a bitter laugh. Ern and the 1st Knight Order Commander were sworn enemies. When Ern returned victorious from war, his first assignment was to the 1st Knight Order. He was dismissed that very day.
The 1st Knight Order Commander had observed Ern’s un-knightly bearing and immediately recognized his character was rotten to the core. It was a disaster born from the Commander’s greater regard for character than for Swordsmanship.
From that day forward, Ern had taken to calling the 1st Knight Order Commander by names like “old man,” “geezer,” “ancient,” and “grandpa.”
“Calling the most respected knight in the empire an old man.”
In fact, had it not been for the recent rebellion, the 1st Knight Order Commander would have retired by now. But as he worked to suppress the uprising, his retirement was delayed.
“What are the side effects of the Joint Arthritis Medicine?”
“They say that after applying it for just two days, someone who couldn’t straighten their knees could run about freely. But the moment they stop using it, the pain returns—far worse than before, apparently.”
With the 1st Knight Order Commander afflicted as well, the Imperial Palace was in chaos.
“So did you find out anything useful?”
“Physical descriptions, mostly. Say, are you after them too, Ern?”
“The theory is you can only make a cure if you know what’s in the cosmetics. Right now someone at my estate is ready to end it all, frankly.”
Henry was obsessed with appearance above all else. Even when camping in the snows of the northern battlefield, he’d oil his hair and melt snow to wash his face—that was Henry.
But with his face in that condition, if he couldn’t receive treatment and restore it to its former state, he’d become a hollow shell of a man.
“In any case, just wait a moment. I’ve gathered testimonies and had a composite sketch drawn for the Wanted Poster. Copies should arrive shortly. Oh, and—”
Cain snapped his fingers as if remembering something suddenly.
“About two months back, I came across a similar report. From a place called Bardi Earldom, a week’s journey south of here—just a small fiefdom.”
So he hadn’t paid it much attention. Moreover, at that time Cain had been absorbed in capturing Loam, so he hadn’t taken the report of spreading skin disease seriously.
“May I offer an excuse?”
“No.”
Knowing Ern would naturally give such an answer, Cain ignored him and pressed on with his excuse.
“Some cases were already closed, so they just got shelved. Those bastards made their score and bolted before the report even came in.”
“So was there any useful information in the report?”
“The details about them matched what I’ve already found out, but there was other information—symptoms that appear when people who suffered side effects from the cosmetics don’t receive proper treatment.”
If there was one silver lining to count, it was that there was no threat to life.
“There was exactly one person whose skin returned to normal, and apparently that person had only used the cosmetics once.”
Which meant someone like Henry, who’d been applying the Nutritious Cream for an extended period, wouldn’t see his skin fully recover.
“So he’s supposed to live with the weeping sores indefinitely?”
“No, it seems that gradually improves. But the skin… it cracks like tree bark and becomes hard and brittle, they said.”
Ern exhaled a short breath. The Loam brothers might live with it, but Henry was absolutely not a man who could accept such skin.
“And the side effects from the Joint Arthritis Medicine?”
“Looks like there was no Joint Arthritis Medicine back then. The report only mentioned the Nutritious Cream.”
Ern and Udith returned to the mansion with a single Wanted Poster bearing the suspects’ physical descriptions.
“How is Lord Henry doing?”
“He no longer speaks.”
At Batch’s answer—having nursed Henry all day—Udith gazed at Henry’s door with sorrowful eyes.
“Have you found any information about the cosmetics’ ingredients?”
“Not yet. But with so many people helping, we should uncover it soon.”
It simply had to be.
* * *
Smith’s message arrived two days later. The suspects had stayed at a roadside inn in the Slum District until four days prior, then headed north.
Smith sent an urgent dispatch to an acquaintance in the North to track their movements. Word soon came back that one of them had left several swords at a Blacksmith Shop. Concerned they’d spook if he moved openly, Smith gave Udith and Ern the address and told them to investigate themselves.
He also told them to call on his contacts if they needed additional hands.
“I’ll go alone.”
“Let’s go together, Ern. They’re bound to be watching their surroundings carefully.”
They were in the middle of pulling off a massive fraud and fleeing, after all.
“If the two of us go together, we’ll just look like a couple taking a trip north—they won’t suspect us even if we get close.”
Udith’s reasoning had merit. After a moment’s consideration, Ern agreed to bring her along.
Since they were only meant to gather intelligence quietly and return, nothing truly dangerous should arise. They set out for the northern Blacksmith Shop immediately. They brought neither Marquis Mosley nor the Security Forces.
Their top priority wasn’t eliminating the suspects—it was uncovering the truth about the cosmetics’ ingredients as quickly as possible.
* * *
Ern and Udith kept watch at an Underworld Blacksmith Shop, pretending to browse for weapons while they waited. In the meantime, a man matching the suspects’ description came to retrieve the sword he’d left behind.
“Kitchen knives?”
Not broadswords, not Short Swords, not sabres—Kitchen Knives. The kind you’d use for cooking. More foolish than he’d thought? Ern was just wondering if he’d brought Udith on a fool’s errand when she moved first.
“Ern, let’s follow him.”
Ern and Udith trailed him discreetly.
The man bought some simple provisions and liquor, then moved on. He led them to none other than the Graveyard.
“…That bastard isn’t here for Grave Visiting, is he?”

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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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