Surviving as the Wife of the Swordsmanship Clan’s Troublemaker - Chapter 104

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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 104

Silence descended upon the Courtroom.
‘Please. You don’t even need that small sacred relic anyway.’
But to Casio as he was now, it meant everything.
At least until he would become Docheop’s companion in the future, finding greater meaning and meeting people more precious to him.
“Hmm.”
The Cardinal, after a moment of deliberation, cleared his throat. I could sense it—he intended to dispose of Casio according to divine law.
I signaled to Junel. I was caught in a dilemma over whether to flee with Casio as things stood.
Then the Courtroom door opened.
“If you wish to have it returned, I’ll give it to you.”
It was Docheop.
My eyes widened. I had told him to bring the veil and flowers. How did he end up here?
Docheop casually ignored my gaze and walked forward to face the Cardinal. Then he withdrew something from his garment and set it down.
It was a shattered pendant.
I could tell at a glance—this was Casio’s mother’s keepsake, the sacred relic he had hidden away.
‘Gasp. Why is it broken?’
I wasn’t the only one shocked. Casio’s bloodshot eyes, which had been lifeless until now, widened like those of a beast facing its mortal enemy.
“…Where did you get that!”
“If you’re going to hide something, you should hide it properly. Were you planning to play hide-and-seek in the Cemetery?”
Docheop scoffed. I held my breath at his words.
‘How does Docheop know where the keepsake was hidden?’
And the Cemetery? Was it there? It’s different from what I know. Could I have been mistaken?
“Wait! The condition of the sacred relic!”
The Hall erupted into chaos. The Priests stirred anxiously. The Cardinal rose from his seat and picked up the pendant. It was already completely shattered.
“I sense no sacred power.”
The Cardinal doubted whether it was genuine, but Casio himself was weeping so profusely his face was drenched. Two Priests blocked him, ready to restrain him should he lunge forward. From his reaction, it was clear this was no forgery. The Cardinal seemed to have noticed this as well.
“Then…”
All eyes turned toward Docheop. He had been identified as the culprit who destroyed the sacred relic. Docheop let out a hollow laugh.
“Did you really think it would remain intact hidden in a Cemetery where beasts roam?”
“…There are indeed beast bite marks on it.”
“Take it if you wish.”
Docheop readily handed over the pendant. An object stripped of its sacred power was no longer something the Grand Cathedral could claim ownership of. The Cardinal seemed lost in thought for a moment.
“Casio. Your theft of the sacred relic left by the Saint is a crime worthy of punishment, but since the relic has been returned, I shall not hold this transgression against you. However, for the crime of hiding the sacred relic, I am sentencing you to one year at Karakal Monastery.”
The judgment was rendered.
For now, it was a relief. He had at least avoided the worst outcome of being imprisoned.
A monastery would make it easy to smuggle him out later.
But it was at the moment the Cardinal delivered his judgment.
“Please expel me instead!”
I stared blankly at Casio. With his keepsake already shattered, he was asking for expulsion of his own accord. It was an unexpected answer.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m asking you to banish me forever.”
“Casio!”
The Cardinal’s voice rang out sharply.
“I have no intention of going to Karakal Monastery. I am not God’s child. Now I understand. From the moment I was born until now, I have been my mother’s child. I never had any intention of serving God. How can I claim to serve Him with an unholy heart, eating food consecrated to Him in the Temple? If I stay here, I’ll spend my life cleaning my mother’s grave until I die.”
He lifted his tear-stained face.
“How can I serve God with such an impure heart, consuming offerings meant for Him in the Temple? All I’ll do here is tend to my mother’s grave until my dying breath.”
“…If you leave the Temple, you are neither a Priest nor anything else. You will fall to the status of a vagrant, lower than a commoner with citizenship.”
The Cardinal’s voice cracked.
For the first time, the harshness vanished from his face as he looked down at Casio from his elevated position. It was not the face of a stern High Priest. It was the face of an old man who had watched over this child for a long time.
But Casio offered a faint smile.
“It will be better than being a gravedigger.”

***

I slipped out of the Temple.
Sunlight poured down onto Casio’s face as he walked ahead. I paused, watching his retreating figure. Even after crossing the threshold, Casio did not walk on immediately—he lingered, gazing toward the Cemetery for a long while.
How much time passed? Casio turned his back on the Temple and moved forward.
That seemed to be enough.
But my own steps felt impossibly heavy.
I jabbed Docheop repeatedly. How he’d found the pendant could wait—the immediate problem was what to do about the broken heirloom.
‘Why.’
He mouthed the question. I gave him a look that said I didn’t know why he was asking.
“Um.”
Just then, Casio turned around.
Like someone caught in guilt, I flinched.
“Yes? Should I ask God’s forgiveness first?”
“Why would you ask forgiveness?”
“Because what my husband has done is the same as what I have done?”
Having read the original work, I knew the pendant had never been broken once. Which meant Docheop had broken it.
“Husband and wife?”
Casio looked between us both.
“Yes. She’s my wife. She came from the Western Empire, we married recently, and we’re here on our honeymoon.”
Hey. Don’t explain it in such detail. It makes it sound like I’m responsible for breaking the pendant!
“I see.”
“About the pendant…”
I thought it would be better to bow my head and apologize first.
“Here it is.”
Docheop held out the pendant wrapped in cloth to Casio. It was completely intact.
“What!?”
“So it was there after all.”
Casio accepted the pendant and continued speaking with composure. Was I the only one left in the dark about this situation?
As if reading my thoughts, Casio continued.
“I wouldn’t have hidden my mother’s keepsake in the cemetery. Not in a place where beasts roam freely.”
Docheop stared at Casio for a long moment, then let out a soft laugh.
I looked between the two of them.
‘So everything that happened in the courtroom was all….’
Casio turned to me.
“Because you kept your promise.”
And he spoke in a warm voice.
“I had no reason to trust a stranger offering to help me. But you brought the real solution. And you even brought a sacred relic—I still don’t know how you knew about it.”
He clutched the pendant in both hands. His body trembled.
“So I kept my promise too, and did my part.”
So that’s why he asked to be banished, knowing everything.
A brief silence fell. I watched him.
His face was gaunt and parched from days without food or sleep, but his eyes held the same light as Docheop’s. And from the way they coordinated during the trial, they were clearly allies.
“So.”
He took a deep breath and slowly looked between me and Docheop.
“Who exactly are you two? Finding hidden sacred relics so easily.”
His gaze turned to me. Then to Docheop.
“And you found where my mother’s keepsake was hidden, even preparing a fake one in advance.”
Casio’s eyes narrowed.
“It’s too much of a coincidence. Like you came to meet me, knowing this would all unfold.”
Well….
What was I supposed to say?
If I’d been alone, I could have made something up. But to explain Docheop’s actions, I’d have to ask him myself.
Then Docheop spoke first.
“We have time. We’ll tell you as we go.”
Casio looked at Docheop for a moment.
“Where are we going?”
“Our honeymoon destination.”
Casio looked between us briefly, then answered shortly. “…I’ll hear the explanation there.”

***

The villa that was meant to be our honeymoon destination proved far more exquisite than I had anticipated.
I had expected something modest given its proximity to the Grand Cathedral, but true to its reputation as a Southern Empire honeymoon destination, it perched upon a hillside with an unobstructed view of the sea. The sight of the night ocean spilling beyond the terrace was particularly breathtaking.
Casio chose rest over conversation.
I leaned against the terrace railing and gazed out at the sea. The heat of the day had dissipated, and a cool breeze swept across the air.
At last, we were alone together.
“Hallara.”
Docheop pulled a chair closer and sat, folding his hands upon the table.
“We still have things we need to discuss between us, don’t we?”

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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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