Surviving as the Wife of the Swordsmanship Clan’s Troublemaker - Chapter 116

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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 116

Seeing Eva shiver in the cold wind, I opened the door.
“Please come inside first. It’s freezing out there.”
“No. I don’t have much time.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I want to learn how to cook. Something that Elise would enjoy.”
It seemed Francesca had introduced me to her.
But was this really such an urgent matter?
Though puzzled, what surprised me more was that Eva wanted to cook for Elise.
“Are you hoping to reconcile with the young lady?”
“We’ve never fought, so there’s nothing to reconcile. And I know I can never truly be her real mother… but I’d at least like to become family she can confide in from time to time.”
She spoke in a low voice. Eva seemed to care for Elise more deeply than I’d realized.
‘But Elise despises Eva herself.’
Of that much, I was certain.
Elise’s biological mother had died in a medical accident. And the doctor responsible for that accident was named Eva—the same name as the stepmother standing before me now. The same eye color.
There was no way they could grow close.
Even if Eva cooked for her, there was no guarantee they could become closer in this situation.
Besides, I was in the midst of executing a plan to remove Elise from the Family.
“Please. I want to make something delicious for Elise with my own hands, at least while we’re here. You’ve probably already noticed, but once we return to Cardia, there are too many watchful eyes around Elise for me to cook for her.”
What should I do?
“Please. I really don’t have much time.”
“I heard from your mother that you’d be staying comfortably for a while.”
“I will be staying according to schedule. The problem is that once I return to Cardia, I won’t have much time to spend with Elise.”
“Why?”
At my question, Eva slowly opened her mouth.
“Actually… the Duke is planning to arrange Elise’s marriage.”
“Marriage?”
“Yes. He says he can’t just stand by any longer. Rather than have her continue to quarrel and clash here, he thinks it would be better for her to learn through marriage. He’s insisting on arranging it immediately.”
Elise’s marriage was something predetermined. In the original story, I had saved Elise from the shackles of marriage and recruited her as an ally. But the timing was different.
Why? Because of what happened at the Banquet Hall yesterday?
Yet that seemed like nothing more than a simple incident.
“Madam, might I ask who the young lady is to marry?”
“I can’t speak in detail about it.”
“I understand. But I’m having difficulty comprehending it myself. I wondered if yesterday’s incident truly angered the Duke so much.”
“…It seems a good match has been found. Someone of a status high enough to control the young lady Elise…”
“The Imperial Family?”
She nodded, glancing around cautiously.
If it’s the Imperial Family, then this isn’t Elise’s fiancé from the original story. Both the partner and the timing have changed.
“Can you help me?”
Eva spoke in an earnest tone.
“May I ask you one thing?”
“What is it?”
“Do you wish for Lady Elise to be happy?”
“Of course. If I didn’t, I would never have thought to cook for Elise.”
There seemed to be no falsehood in those words.
“I understand. Then I’ll help.”
“Please don’t tell Elise. She’ll certainly cause trouble if she finds out.”
“Yes.”
​
***
​
I’m sorry, Duchess Cardia.
I understood her heart, but that didn’t mean I intended to meekly marry off Elise.
Rather, my only thought was to help Elise escape as soon as possible.
‘Time is running short. I need to tell Elise to create a Gate right away.’
Teleportation magic could only be used by the caster themselves, so a Gate was essential for many people to come and go. With a Gate alone, I could prepare for any emergency.
Moreover, it could serve as an escape route for Elise.
If Duke Cardia decided to pursue me, I wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
“Nalari!”
That was when it happened.
A familiar voice rang out brightly.
“Could it be Helbeorn?”
“Helbeorn? That’s too short.”
“Ah, Your Highness.”
Helbeorn approached with a smirk. When I saw him for the first time in a while, he was wearing a lion’s fur pelt as if he’d just returned from hunting.
“Yeah. That’s right. I’m back. Were you waiting for me?”
Waiting for him?
I’d only noticed how quiet things had been without him.
“I’m very busy right now.”
“Hey! Don’t you even ask how someone’s doing when they come home after so long?”
“I’m truly busy. Even three bodies wouldn’t be enough.”
To create a Gate, Elise would need a massive amount of mana. For that, I’d need to take whatever money I had and go buy mana stones.
“You’re lying. What could possibly keep you busy here?”
He scoffed. I wanted to pinch his mouth shut with a clothespin, but then a brilliant idea occurred to me.
I had a perfect errand boy right in front of me.
“Your Highness, do you have anything to do right now?”
“What’s with that disrespectful look in your eyes?”
“What could you possibly have to do, Your Highness? You’ve been going out to play with friends this whole time.”
He’d followed his childhood friend—whom he’d met at my wedding—on an outing. It seemed they’d gone shopping.
“No, that’s not it? Who do you think I went through all that trouble for?”
He flared up in anger.
“Who, then?”
“That’s…!”
Helbeorn’s lips moved soundlessly.
In any case, I couldn’t waste time on idle chatter with him here.
“Your Highness, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor? I’m absolutely exhausted.”
“Please go out and gather as many mana stones as you can!”
“Hey! I said I’m tired!”
“I’ll pay you later. As many as possible. Preferably ones with as much magical power as Freya’s full collection.”
“You’ve gotten quite bold in the time I haven’t seen you. Did that reckless fool teach you that?”
Helbeorn planted his hands on his hips and held his ground.
This won’t work. I need to use my special technique reserved just for Helbeorn.
“Your Highness is the greatest swordmaster, after all. Who else would I ask if not you?”
“…Greatest?”
The reaction came immediately, as expected.
“Last time, if anyone other than Your Highness had gone to my Village House, would they have even survived? It was only possible because it was you.”
“…Well, that’s true?”
“This time, I don’t know what might happen. Besides, while Your Highness was away, something serious occurred in the Manor.”
“What? Something happened while I was gone? This household always falls apart the moment I’m not around.”
“I’ll explain when you return, so please hurry and gather all the mana stones.”
“…Wait, you’re not flattering me with all this ‘greatest’ talk just to use me, are you?”
“How could I?”
Had his perception improved that much?
“Really?”
“Yes. Quickly, please.”
“Ugh!”
Helbeorn cursed and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
“I’m counting on you. Then! I trust you. Bring back those mana stones as a commemoration of becoming the greatest swordmaster!”
I quickly slipped away from him.
Helbeorn reached out from a distance.
“Hey! You little schemer!”
“Please hurry.”
Whoosh, whoosh.
“That’s not—ugh, why are you so quick?”
I erased him from my sight and hid within the Castle, listening to him mutter something to himself before the sound faded away. Helbeorn had left.
“Done. He’s gone.”
I’d nearly gotten stuck with annoying tasks, but this worked out well. Having sent him on an errand for mana stones, I could finally breathe easy.
“What’s settled?”
“Ahhh!”
I wondered if it was Helbeorn.
“Why are you so startled?”
It was Docheop who brushed away my shoulders in alarm.
“I thought it was Prince Helbeorn.”
“Helbeorn? Do I look like him?”
Docheop narrowed his eyes as he asked, his expression clearly bewildered by the comparison.
“What are you saying? Prince Helbeorn is the true reckless one.”
Of course they were different.
“Aha ha.”
He burst into laughter, then spoke with amusement in his voice.
“Helbeorn certainly is like that.”
“By the way, Prince, did you know Princess Elise is here?”
“I just met Duke Duncan. Elise must have followed him.”
“What is the Duke doing?”
“He seemed distracted, as if his mind was elsewhere.”
Just as Eva said, Duncan appeared to be hastening Elise’s marriage.
“I heard Princess Elise is getting married.”
“…Marriage?”
His complexion hardened at once.
“To whom?”
“I heard it’s to someone from the Imperial Family.”
“The Imperial Family?”
He furrowed his brow in confusion.
“He didn’t tell me who the other party is.”
“I need to get Elise out of this immediately.”
“That would be right. The Princess shouldn’t marry just anyone.”
Besides, she was also Docheop’s valued colleague….
“It’s pitiful to allow it.”
“I also can’t allow it because I pity the Princess.”
“What do you mean by that?”
But Docheop tilted his head. Then he added firmly.
“I meant the other party is to be pitied, not Elise.”

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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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