I Became the Wife of the Hero Who Killed Me - Chapter 50
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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 50
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After receiving treatment from the Military Doctor, I was guided to a guest room within the Military Camp.
I collapsed onto the bed as if drawn by a magnet and stared blankly up at the ceiling.
The overwhelming scene I had witnessed earlier kept replaying in my mind.
In the past, I had often seen Edwin practicing swordsmanship. But back then, Edwin had simply swung his sword and sparred ordinarily among the other Knights.
Ramon’s words suddenly began to make sense.
‘Duke is earning the fear of the Northern Nobles. Lombard’s military strength is formidable, but above all, Duke’s Martial Prowess is transcendentally overwhelming.’
Was the Duke of this life special?
Or had Edwin of my previous life hidden his true self from me?
I didn’t know. Since I couldn’t grab Edwin from my past life and interrogate him for the truth, my questions would remain unanswered for the rest of my life.
My head became complicated.
“Ugh, how annoying.”
I had thought about taking a nap, but the shock from what I’d seen earlier had chased away all my sleepiness.
Wanting to get some fresh air, I left the guest room.
At Lombard Castle, attendants always stuck close to me, so walking alone for once felt liberating.
I was humming a tune when I suddenly noticed a shadow hiding behind a pillar in the distance.
The plump, mole-like silhouette was quite familiar.
‘Count Baron.’
I hadn’t seen him for a while, but as soon as Berry disappeared, he started following me again.
It was a moment when my suspicions became even more certain.
How timid of him.
Baron seemed like he wanted to approach me, but since I wanted to enjoy my rare freedom, I pretended not to see him and naturally turned my gaze away.
Having shaken off Baron, I resumed my stroll.
Perhaps because of the earlier commotion, the corridor was still as quiet as a tomb.
Then, I heard the sound of several people arguing from the direction of the Central Courtyard.
“We must follow procedure. I’m sorry, but please wait a bit longer.”
“No, so I’m asking when exactly you’ll proceed with that procedure.”
“According to the procedure specified in the regulations—”
“We’ve already waited half a year just for procedures. At this rate, it’ll take over a year!”
Since watching fights has always been the most entertaining thing regardless of time and place, my interest piqued and I slowly approached the direction of the voices.
One Official and two Knights were facing off tensely.
“Budget amendments aren’t that simple. We need to get approval from related departments all over again, so it’s bound to take time.”
“That’s why we’ve been waiting quietly for half a year. Don’t tell me you’re doing this because the budget is insufficient?”
“No, the budget has been allocated.”
“Then please execute it!”
“But there was a budget amendment in the middle. We need to verify if the changed items are valid and go through the approval process from higher authorities.”
Fed up with the endless loop, the Knight beat his chest and screamed.
Regardless, the Official just shook his head, saying it wasn’t within his authority.
‘Ha, this brings back memories…’
Having once been an Official myself, this scene was all too familiar.
The unnecessarily long approval chain.
For a single document to reach the Lord’s desk, it had to pass through countless hands.
This was a regulation according to territorial law, a mechanism to prevent responsibility from being concentrated on just one person when accidents occurred, and also because Officials with approval authority didn’t want to give up their power.
It was truly like navigating through endless mountain ranges.
“Fine, I understand everything, so just tell me when this procedure will be finished.”
“First we need approval from the Secretary, then the Accountant, then the Auditor, then the Legal Officer, then the Administration…”
“Wait, was the Legal Officer originally in the approval chain?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“It was added starting this year.”
“It was already slow as hell, and now there’s even more added?!”
At this point, the Knight had thrown away all dignity and was wailing while tearing at his hair.
While it was quite entertaining to watch, he seemed like he might actually faint, so I deliberately made some noise.
The Official and one Knight who noticed me bowed their heads.
However, the wailing Knight still hadn’t noticed my presence, and only after his colleague nudged him several times did he belatedly stand up and clear his throat.
“I hope I haven’t interrupted an important conversation.”
“It was nothing important, Madam.”
The Official answered politely.
Of course, the Knights didn’t look like they agreed with the answer that it was nothing important.
But they didn’t seem likely to complain about every little detail either.
Elisia was already an unwelcome presence in Lombard, but among them, the group with the strongest hostility toward the Duchess was undoubtedly the Knights.
They had defended the cracks in the Northern Wall alongside the Former Duke Lombard, waiting for rescue from the Imperial Capital, but no one ever came, resulting in devastating casualties.
Elisia was the daughter of the enemy who had abandoned them.
‘Well, I don’t particularly need to curry favor with the Knights either.’
Still, I felt sympathy.
That sight of him beating his chest and wailing while being crushed by endless approvals looked so much like my past self.
I decided to show the Knight a bit of compassion.
“Tell me what this is about.”
“We cannot discuss this matter with outsiders.”
“Outsiders? You mean me?”
“Well, that is…”
The Official answered instead of the Knights who had closed their mouths.
The content was that the Knights’ budget had been amended midway, causing delays in both approval and budget disbursement.
In fact, the Knights’ budget was always generous. Their treatment was among the best.
This was because they were the most important group in Lombard.
The problem was that Officials were jealous of this and engaged in petty power struggles using procedures as an excuse.
Since it was such a petty fight, it was also difficult for the Knights to report directly to the Duke.
“Do you have the Documents?”
“Yes, here they are.”
The Knights made protesting sounds, but regardless, the Official spread out the Documents and handed them over.
I scanned the approval form from beginning to end.
And habitually reached out my hand.
“…”
Normally, there would have been the sound of a fly rubbing its feet together as an ink-dipped pen was immediately presented, but now my palm was completely empty.
Who would have thought I’d realize Count Baron’s absence in this way.
Clicking my tongue quietly, I demanded the Official produce a pen. But he was terribly unprepared and didn’t have a single writing instrument.
In the end, I had to stand there with aching legs for quite a while until the Official brought a pen and Ink.
“I’m back! But what do you suddenly need a pen for…”
“For this.”
Snatching the quill pen, I filled in all the signature lines with my name.
When I had scanned it earlier, there were no problematic parts that would cause issues if I arbitrarily approved them.
After quickly filling in about ten boxes, I left only the very last box cleanly empty.
It was the section where the Lord’s seal needed to go.
To put it simply, it was a wise strategy of passing the final responsibility to someone else.
“Now submit it to His Grace.”
“…Pardon?”
“Haven’t all the necessary procedures been completed?”
“B-but.”
“Is there anyone else in this castle keep who has authority over me? Or are you dissatisfied with me exercising the mistress’s authority? Perhaps you want to commit insubordination?”
At my menacing glare, the official immediately shook his head and gave an answer that there was no problem at all.
The knights’ eyes widened at this sight.
It was understandable since I had broken through procedures more stubborn than the Northern Wall with just a few words.
“What are you doing? Take it.”
“…”
“As you all know, the mistress’s signature has the highest authority in the castle keep. There should be no procedural problems submitting it to His Grace like this.”
“Th-thank you.”
The knight who had been rolling on the floor in anguish just moments ago received the documents with a bewildered expression.
The fight was over, and using my head to read documents had made me tired again.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
I waved my hand dismissively and turned around without hesitation.
Having wandered around since the dawn breeze, my blood-bed concentration had hit rock bottom, and I wanted to lie down right now.
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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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