Surviving as the Wife of the Swordsmanship Clan’s Troublemaker - Chapter 106

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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 106

Casio, who had fallen asleep with his head resting on Docheop’s lap, jolted awake upon discovering him and let out a shriek.
“Kyaaaah!”
“My ears are ringing.”
Docheop grasped Casio’s shoulders with an impassive expression and lifted him effortlessly. In an instant, Casio found himself suspended in mid-air before being set down gracefully into a cushioned chair.
He seemed momentarily flustered, but soon composed himself and straightened the priestly robes he was wearing.
“We were supposed to have a conversation this morning, weren’t we?”
“Yes. It’s morning now, so let’s talk.”
I smiled brightly.
After spending the entire night in discussion with Docheop, we had decided to move forward to the next phase. For now, we were allies. With both of us knowing that the Bloodmere Family would soon collapse, there was no time to waste here.
Now that I had rescued Casio, I needed to leave with him quickly.
Of course, I could persuade him as we went.
“Priest Casio, would you stay with us for a while?”
“It seems I’m already staying with you. Though it appears to be against my will.”
He murmured quietly, seeming conscious of Docheop, who stood beside us with his arms crossed, listening to our exchange.
“Now, now. Don’t be suspicious. We mean you no harm. You saw yesterday how we rescued you.”
“That’s precisely what I wanted to ask about first. How did you know the location of my mother’s keepsake and the sacred relic?”
Casio fixed me with a narrow, piercing gaze.
“I came from the future. And Casio—”
Docheop revealed the secret. We had judged this approach faster than attempting an implausible explanation.
“What are you talking about… and please, stop speaking so casually.”
“You were like a blood brother to me, a comrade.”
“Surely you don’t expect me to believe that. You claim this is a honeymoon, then kidnap someone, bind them, and speak such words—is there anyone foolish enough to believe that?”
A predictably skeptical response.
With a sudden motion—
Docheop opened the carriage door.
“It’s not a kidnapping. You’re free to leave whenever you wish.”
The carriage was hurtling down the street like an eight-ton truck without brakes.
“Is this… some kind of married couple con artist scheme?”
Casio recoiled in alarm.
“I’m telling you, you were like a blood brother to me.”
“Does a blood brother threaten you like this?”
Docheop shrugged with an unbothered expression.
“It’s not a threat. I’m giving you a choice.”
“Pushing someone off a cliff and telling them to choose whether to fall or not isn’t what I’d call a choice.”
Casio glanced out the carriage door. Gravel scattered with each rotation of the wheels. It was clear that jumping now would result in far more than a few broken bones.
After a moment of silence, he reluctantly settled back into his seat.
“…So then.”
Casio straightened his priestly robes once more before asking his question.
“You’re asking me to seriously believe you came from the future?”
“Believe it or don’t—that’s your choice. But one thing’s certain: you’ll become the world’s greatest healer.”
At Docheop’s declaration, Casio’s expression hardened visibly.
I spoke carefully, choosing my words with precision.
“I mean it, Priest Casio. You said you were nothing more and nothing less than a gravedigger, but the truth is you love and pity people more than anyone.”
“What could you possibly know about me—”
“Everything. I told you, you’re like family to me. I could reveal all your secrets here. Even what you mutter in your sleep.”
Docheop interjected, and despite calling him family, he looked ready to throw a punch.
“Ha. I don’t even know how to process this.”
“Just give us one month.”
“What changes in a month?”
Casio asked.
“If we still look like con artists by then, leave.”
By then, everything would be over.
“Stay with us until then. In that time, I’ll help you achieve what you desire.”
Just until then.

***

The key turned, and the lock clicked open with a crisp sound.
“I’ve been waiting for this day alone.”
A room lined with drawers on every wall. Ludvin rushed forward as if he’d been waiting for this moment, his white-gloved hand reaching into a drawer to retrieve something.
A single strand of golden hair, unchanged despite the passage of time.
“I’m glad I paid handsomely to collect those strands from the previous Northern Emperor.”
He held it reverently and finally presented it to the High Mage he’d brought from the Guild. One of the Guild members who had returned from the Northern Empire likewise produced a golden strand.
It was a hair from Maximus, the current Emperor.
“Now that we have everything, tell me whether these two are blood relatives or not.”
“Yes, Master.”
The mage’s hands closed around both strands of hair.
“If a red light bursts forth, they share blood. If blue light appears, they do not.”
“Yes, yes. I know that much. Go ahead.”
The mage nodded curtly and stepped onto the magical circle.
Ludvin held his breath, waiting for the result as anticipation poured from his nostrils.
He couldn’t fathom how long he’d waited for this moment.
‘Please be blue. Blue light.’
He prayed to a god he didn’t even believe in, waiting for nothing but this instant.
And then.
Boom!
“It’s blue! Blue light!!!!”
Azure light erupted from the magical circle like fireworks. Ludvin collapsed to his knees.
“My God. So you reward me now for all these years of diligent, virtuous living.”
And I wept.
“I acknowledge your diligence, but virtue? That’s debatable.”
Karl, who had arrived late and witnessed this, helped Ludvin to his feet and murmured.
“Karl, we’re rich. We’re rich!”
“The Master becomes rich. I’m just a salaried employee.”
“If the Guild prospers, your job becomes secure—that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
Ludvin was nearly in tears. All those years of waiting seemed worth it now.
“What should we do first? Blackmail the Northern Emperor into handing over a dominion as vast as Bloodmere? No, wait. First, that woman. We need to bring that woman from Bloodmere.”
As long as this information was true, Ludvin had no intention of letting Hallara slip away.
Now it didn’t matter where Hallara had obtained this intelligence. I coveted her. Did Francesca know of this and protect her despite her common birth?
Just how much does she know?
No, wait. She’s already become Docheop’s wife, so we’re practically family.
“Hehehehe. At this rate, I might just found a kingdom myself….”
“Master. There’s an important report.”
“Later.”
“It’s truly urgent, sir.”
Karl spoke again.
“More important than this?”
Ludvin glared at him, and Karl shrugged.
“Perhaps.”
“What is it? It better not be nothing.”
“They’ve captured a Holy Church member in Bloodmere. News that just reached the Imperial Palace—we at the Libra Guild learned of it faster than anyone else, moving with our characteristic swiftness.”
“The Holy Church? Aren’t those people supposed to be dead for centuries?”
“Yes. There were always rumors that the Holy Church persisted across generations, but no one had ever seen or found them—until Bloodmere did.”
The resurgence of the Holy Church was a global crisis. And to think it was discovered in Bloodmere, the most reclusive domain in the Western Empire.
“Insane?”
This was no ordinary matter.
“So what happens now?”
“Prince Nikolai has already brought the Holy Church member to the Imperial Palace, so they’ll begin a comprehensive investigation. Seraphim’s Paradise as well. If any suspicious activity is found there, the Northern Empire, currently serving as the Paradise’s overseer, will be held responsible.”
Karl laid it out cleanly for Ludvin, whose mind was foggy from days without sleep.
Responsibility for the Northern Emperor….
“Does that mean a World Summit will be convened?”
“It does.”
Insane!
Ludvin’s eyes gleamed as he sniffed the air.
“Karl. Prepare to head to the Imperial Palace at once.”
I smell money.
“What scheme are you concocting now, sir?”
“The Summit. Tell them the Libra Guild will take the lead in assisting with the preparations.”
There it was.
The perfect place to cook up this information and sell it for a profit.
​
***
​
The familiar silhouette of Bloodmere Castle came into view.
I handed Casio the sweater I had knitted during our tedious carriage journey.
“Unlike the Southern Empire, this region is in the northern reaches of the Western Empire, so it’s quite cold here. Please wear this.”
“You’ve been making this for me all this time?”
“Yes. I thought you’d be unfamiliar with winter, Priest Casio.”
I offered the sweater with a gentle smile, and he hesitated before reaching out to take it.
“Hallara.”
Docheop, who had been watching the scene with displeasure, called out to me.
“Yes?”
“I’m cold too.”

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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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