I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 12

“Didn’t she say she would stay quietly in her chambers? It didn’t seem like a lie…”

“You actually believed that, sir?!”

A heated debate broke out among the knights with Elisia as the topic.

One uninvited guest who had fallen into the quiet and peaceful north was now drawing everyone’s attention.

“I heard that my lady also helped when the mine collapsed.”

“That must be a false rumor. Has there ever been a proper rumor among those spread from the outer castle walls? You should only listen to them for entertainment, for entertainment.”

“Well, that’s true.”

The size of the Lombard Duchy was comparable to that of a nation.

Moreover, even within the same Lombard territory, proper communication didn’t occur between the inner castle walls and outer castle walls, or between cities separated by mountain ranges.

This was because their living areas were different and few people traveled between them.

Edwin, who had been listening to his subordinates’ conversation, clicked his tongue quietly.

“Discipline has become lax.”

“M-my lord!”

“Regardless of how I think of the duchess, it shouldn’t be acceptable for subordinates to speak of her so carelessly.”

There was no one in Northern Lombard who didn’t know that Edwin disliked Elisia.

She had been coming to the northern Imperial Villa for summer retreats since childhood, and each time she would find fault with something and turn her carriage toward Lombard Castle instead of the villa.

Of course, the fault-finding was merely an excuse – Elisia’s goal was clear.

How fierce Edwin’s demeanor would become each time.

To avoid falling out of favor with their lord whose irritation had reached its peak, the knights would polish their already clean armor again and repeatedly sweep the training ground that didn’t have a speck of dust.

But now he was giving a warning to ‘not speak of her carelessly.’

Considering past events, this was an incident that could turn all of Lombard upside down.

“Are you dissatisfied?”

“N-no, sir!”

The knights, who had widened their eyes, nose, and mouth in shock, immediately assumed proper posture.

While this situation wasn’t without confusion, when their lord asked if they were dissatisfied, they couldn’t dare answer yes.

Edwin, who let out a small sigh, continued speaking.

“Is the duchess still at the monastery?”

“I’ll check immediately.”

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

“Pardon?”

The knight’s question was soon resolved. The urgent sound of hoofbeats could be heard from afar.

A messenger who jumped down from his horse as if tumbling bowed his head before the duke.

“Please help us! My lady is causing a disturbance at the Mine Management Office!”

“Oh my.”

Someone whistled low.

A voice could also be heard saying, “How long has it been since she got married and she’s starting again?”

“My lord, what will you do?”

“Shall we go take a look?”

“Pardon?”

“They said help is needed, didn’t they?”

Could it be that his thoughts about the duchess had changed even a little?

Even though anyone who heard this would be shocked, the reason such a thought crossed their minds was because Edwin, while clicking his tongue low, somehow wore an expression that seemed interested.

It was a face quite different from the lord they originally knew.

* * *

I stormed into the Mine Management Office.

It was to resolve a matter that had been constantly bothering me.

‘It’s divine punishment for the immoral mistress!’

In the past, people had gossiped like this about the reason for the mine’s collapse. It was because the mine had collapsed not long after she married into the family.

Behind these rumors was Patrick, the mine manager.

The entire Castle Keep was in an uproar, but I hadn’t paid much attention to it before.

The mine wasn’t under my jurisdiction, and I already had other work piled up like mountains.

‘But thinking about it now, it’s very strange.’

Patrick had fled when a proper investigation began.

But true to Lombard being a paradise for corrupt individuals, news of Patrick’s escape was soon buried.

You might misunderstand if I put it this way, but my storming into the Mine Management Office wasn’t simply for the sake of justice.

‘Because it would be troublesome for me if the same rumors as before spread.’

I hadn’t heard any nonsensical rumors about divine punishment reach my ears yet, but you never know.

“Charge!”

“Yes, my lady!!”

Since it was after work hours, only a few frail and sickly office workers on duty remained at the management office.

Thomson easily handled the situation by himself.

In fact, far from resisting, the bureaucrats exhausted from overtime work had no strength to resist in the first place.

‘Sigh, why am I suddenly feeling sad…’

I fanned my flushed eyes for no reason.

The bureaucrats readily revealed Patrick’s location with their characteristic listless eyes, and Thomson immediately ran to the official residence near the management office and dragged him out.

Patrick, the mine manager who was dragged out in his pajamas, began to sob when he saw me.

“My lady, my lady! Please spare me!”

“What did you do to already beg for your life? We haven’t even started yet.”

“I don’t know what this is about, but I’ve been suffering from all kinds of slander for a long time. Please don’t be deceived by lies and see the truth!”

“You’re noisy. Someone gag him.”

“My lady!! Mmph, mmph…!”

Patrick made circular gestures with his thumb and index finger with both hands, but I deliberately ignored him.

I sat in the seat of honor and gestured with my hand.

“The documents?”

“Here they are, my lady.”

While Thomson was subduing Patrick, the baron seemed to have worked some kind of magic from behind.

The duty officers, who had become much more compliant, presented the operation records.

As I quickly flipped through the mining output, shipment volume, work logs, and equipment management records, I suddenly stopped.

My neck became stiff.

“I have a condition where my blood pressure rises whenever I see garbage-like documents.”

“Pardon? What do you suddenly mean…”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? The mining output and shipment volume totals don’t match! And what’s this supposed to be?!”

Although mineral prices should change each time according to market rates, the same numbers were repeating at regular intervals in these documents.

‘Could this really be a simple coincidence?’

I scanned the numbers with my eyes.

It would be convenient to calculate by writing on paper, but then there was a risk of being discovered that I wasn’t actually an airhead, so I began to reverse-track the flow of numbers through mental calculation.

“Mmph, mmph!!”

As I stared intently at the documents, Patrick, feeling anxious, violently struggled and resisted.

Regardless, I quickly finished my calculations and confirmed the results.

As expected, there were clear traces of artificial manipulation in the numbers.

However, since embezzlement by managers exists everywhere, what surprised me was a different part.

“What is this…”

The equipment management records were strange.

According to the records, considerable costs were taken every year under the pretext of accident prevention and safety, but in reality, no safety equipment was actually purchased.

This had been going on consistently from five years ago when Patrick was appointed as manager until this year.

‘I was already wondering about it. Why the mine collapsed two weeks earlier than in the past.’

Now I understood.

It made sense if the mine’s condition had already reached its limit long ago.

In the past, Elisia had blocked territory residents’ access for two weeks for winter hunting, temporarily halting mining, but this time she hadn’t done so, causing the collapse without delay.

It wasn’t divine punishment for an immoral mistress, but clearly a man-made disaster caused by the mine manager.

“Damn it all!”

Enraged, I hurled the garbage documents at Patrick.

Even though many eyes were watching, I couldn’t contain my surging irritation.

“You truly don’t have even a speck of conscience! This accident happened because of you, yet you dare claim injustice?! This is a sin that couldn’t be repaid even if I destroyed three generations of your family!”

I was truly someone who could destroy three generations.

Both my noble status and dirty personality met all the requirements.

Knowing this, Patrick used superhuman strength to shake off Thomson and clung to the hem of my skirt.

“It’s all a misunderstanding! I, I’ll explain everything! I was also deceived by the merchants. Since it was a trading company introduced by the former manager, I trusted them without much suspicion, but they deceived me and forged the contract!”

“How dare you lay hands on me?!”

I kicked away the wretch clinging to me pathetically.

Nevertheless, Patrick crawled toward me on all fours in a servile manner and continued speaking.

“When I realized the situation had gone wrong, it was already too late, and I tried to somehow handle it with my own power, but it was absolutely impossible.”

“So you tampered with the records?”

“I was afraid! If it were just me alone, I would have gladly accepted any punishment. But thinking of my sick mother who looks only to me with longing, I just couldn’t, I couldn’t…!”

The man who had buried his head on the floor began to sob miserably.

People moved by his tears began murmuring about who the former manager was, or whether the former manager and merchants had been in cahoots from the beginning.

Even Thomson couldn’t arrest him and rolled his eyes in confusion.

‘Partially admitting the facts while blaming others for the most important part. Do they all receive some kind of group training?’

Of course, I rested my chin on my hand with indifference at this excuse that lacked any originality.

I heard murmurs about being a woman without blood or tears, but I let it go in one ear and out the other.

What was truly pitiful wasn’t Patrick, but my eyesight that had to read such garbage documents.

Riding the atmosphere, Patrick continued speaking desperately.

“I’ll gladly accept any punishment. But shouldn’t the truth be revealed? If you give me just a little time, I’ll prove the collusive relationship between the former manager and the trading company!”

“Can you really do that?”

“Of course!!”

The man who had been kneeling and pleading desperately jumped up and shouted.

As Patrick stood up and his ugly face came closer, my already foul mood became even fouler, so I decided to gradually stop this meaningless word play.

“How will you catch a trading company that doesn’t exist in this world?”

“What do you mean…?”

“It’s obviously a fake business partner with no substance. There must be separate real ledgers, yet you’re pretending not to know—did I look that easy to you?”

During my bureaucratic career, I had seen documents full of holes like this countless times.

It’s just that the higher-ups who had taken bribes gave me warning looks to stay quiet, so I couldn’t move and had to swallow my seething anger internally.

“If you’re human, you shouldn’t touch a former manager who retired long ago. Ah, if someone else had interrogated you, would you have said it was divine punishment for an immoral mistress?”

“No, no! Why would I tell such lies?!”

The duty officers flinched for a moment.

I thought it wasn’t the case yet, but sadly it seemed to be the correct answer.

“How dare you deceive me? Thomson, arrest this bastard! Those who were just swayed too!”

“Uh, I’m sorry madam, but I was almost fooled too…”

“Damn it all?!”

Honesty was a virtue, but tactless honesty deserved punishment.

I kicked the desk wildly—though it wasn’t the desk but me who was pushed back due to lack of strength—and gestured with my hand.

The baron ran over tactfully and bowed his head.

“You know without me saying, right?”

“Of course! I’ll report to the lord at the speed of light.”

“Whose name will be on the report?”

“Naturally our omnipotent madam’s.”

“No. Yours.”

“…Pardon?”

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