The Fake Wife of the Strongest Husband Wants to Survive - Chapter 21

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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 21
“I’ve seen more people afflicted by Aura corruption than anyone. A critical case like that one—no purification mage on earth could have done anything.”
“Why bring that up all of a sudden?”
He glanced at the empty glass bottle in Pesha’s hand before continuing.
“If I’d used my methods, the patient would have died remembering only agony. But because you stepped in, at least he’ll pass peacefully, surrounded by family.”
Pesha bowed her head deeply, biting her lip.
It hadn’t been born of such noble intent.
With no way to save him, she’d simply given him painkillers as a last resort.
And it was hard to deny that beneath it all lay a wish—one she couldn’t quite articulate—that Owen wouldn’t have to bloody his own hands easing the passage of someone already standing at death’s threshold.
As if he could see through the tangle of regret and self-doubt settling over her, Owen offered quiet consolation.
“I’m no god, and neither are you.”
……
“As a human, you did the very best you could.”
In that moment, as she stared at the ground, she felt something—like a gentle touch brushing through the hair that fell like a curtain across her shoulders.
She looked up in confusion, but Owen’s hands weren’t touching anything.
Had she imagined it?
“You must be shaken. Rest would do you good.”
He urged her to take her ease, then vanished toward the Office to resume his work.
After that incident, Owen forbade expeditions to the Abyss Borderland for some time and ordered the Knights Order to undertake monster cullings.
But of course, it proved no lasting solution.
Since the fiefdom’s primary revenue came from minerals, the miners had to venture into the Borderland regardless of when; and the castle’s military strength was woefully insufficient for the Knights Order to systematically exterminate the monsters.
Owen sought countermeasures to minimize damage with the limited forces at hand.
Meanwhile, Pesha was absorbed in assigning positions to the newly hired servants and conducting basic instruction—each day a whirlwind of activity.
If her hands weren’t occupied, she feared she’d sink into despondency and self-reproach.
Though she couldn’t solve the fiefdom’s troubles directly, she wanted to give her best effort where she could.
Each morning she visited the Medical Tent to check for shortages or outdated facilities.
In the afternoons, she planned to assign the newly hired workers to organize the Food Storage.
It was toward the supply wagons that she was heading now, to inspect the condition of the provisions they’d recently acquired.
At the Stable, the Stable Keeper was feeding hay to the horse.
The moment he spotted Pesha, the Stable Keeper set down the armful of hay and greeted her.
“Good day. How do you do?”
Pesha’s attention went not to the greeting Stable Keeper, but to the horse contentedly chewing the hay.
“Hm—isn’t this Wolfram?”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s right.”
Wolfram was the horse Owen frequently rode, and usually kept pace with his schedule.
“I heard the Lord went to inspect the Borderland. Has he returned already?”
“Ah, he took a different horse today. The poor fellow’s been rather listless because of it. He’s barely picking at his feed.”
Whether the Stable Keeper’s guess was right or not, the horse did seem to be eating halfheartedly.
Pesha leaned down to examine the feed trough before her.
“Timothy and Tall Fescue mixed together.”
Both were common grass species used as hay for grazing animals.
They weren’t particularly unpalatable varieties, but Wolfram’s reaction was decidedly poor.
Watching him, she recalled the roasted grain mixed with Triticale that the Vice-captain had brought back.
“I gave the kitchen some horse feed earlier.”
“Do you mean the sack we received a few days ago?”
“Try giving him that.”
The Stable Keeper fetched the sack of roasted grain and scattered it into the trough.
At first, Wolfram sniffed indifferently, but soon his ears perked up and he began devouring the hay with vigor.
The roasted Triticale gave off a savory aroma that apparently made livestock eager to eat—just as the texts recorded.
Pesha felt as amazed as the relieved Stable Keeper.
During those years confined in the narrow well of the Raidel Duchy, never glimpsing the wider world, books had been her only window to it.
Plants that didn’t grow in the Manor Garden had to be understood through illustrations and descriptions alone, so each time she applied knowledge like this in practice, she felt that same sense of wonder.
“At first I thought it was just ordinary wheat from how it looked… but this will be handy for the pickier eaters from now on.”
Pesha fell silent at the Stable Keeper’s words, lost in thought.
Though Triticale couldn’t be a perfect substitute for wheat, it still had its place to fulfill.
She wanted to find her own direction like that—to make new attempts, to discover where she belonged.
Pesha made her decision, at last resolving the doubt she’d kept only in her heart.
“Good.”
“Ma’am?”
The Stable Keeper, who’d been stroking Wolfram’s mane, turned toward her with a puzzled expression.
‘I’ll make the antidote myself.’
After the miner’s death, Pesha combed through the Earl’s Castle Library and the reference books she had, searching for medicinal herbs that could address Aura Poisoning.
She managed to identify several herbs with proven effects on Aura Purification, but when she excluded the finicky seeds requiring specific climates or soil conditions, only one herb could be cultivated in the Swamp.
Now the question was how to turn it into medicine and distribute it.
To help people injured by monsters, the power of Aura Purification alone would not suffice.
If wounds weren’t healed, the Aura would seep back in quickly.
‘The real challenge is whether I can manage both healing and purification at once.’
If she couldn’t manage it, the people of the Swamp fiefdom would continue meeting tragic deaths.
She couldn’t simply stand by and watch that happen.
Having made her decision, Pesha changed course and retraced her steps.
Just then, the maid Bri, who had just seen her off, spotted her returning and tilted her head in confusion.
“Did you forget something, ma’am?”
“Bri, bring Jane Penrose to my research room right now.”
“The Vice-captain? Understood.”
Pesha issued the order to fetch Jane and then headed to the research room.
The research room, newly prepared recently, was a converted empty space serving as study, office, and research area combined.
The moment she entered, she opened the desk drawers.
Inside were ledgers she had compiled earlier regarding household operating expenses.
She took them out in order and stacked them on the desk, when a knock came at the research room door.
It was Jane Penrose.
“Come in.”
Since their relations had been rather poor until now, Jane’s expression was somewhat guarded.
“You called for me?”
Pesha dispensed with preamble and got straight to the point.
“Nothing major—I’m allocating my personal maintenance allowance and other budgeted funds to research expenses, so make note of that.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Because Pesha spoke as though it were something trivial, Jane was momentarily stunned.
“So you’re saying you’ll use all the budget allocated to you for… research?”
“Yes.”
An earldom of this rank typically had a steward.
The steward assisted the lord with finances, military affairs, and diplomacy, and took his place when the lord was absent.
What was unusual about the Namoi Earldom was that there was no separate steward; instead, three vice-captains under the lord each managed their respective domains.
Since finances fell under Jane Penrose’s purview, she needed to give him advance notice.
“We’ll only operate with the staff I’ve already hired, so don’t recruit anyone else, and don’t call for any tailors or merchants for me.”
“But… why…?”
“I’m going to create medicine that can both treat wounds and purify Aura. To do that, I need a Plant Growth Potion, which is rather expensive, so I’m redirecting my budget for research.”
It sounded like sheer fantasy to Jane. He let out a heavy sigh.
“What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Everyone’s already busy enough with the Borderland situation…”
Then Pesha’s brow furrowed and she cut him off sharply.
“Didn’t you understand? That’s exactly what I’m trying to solve right now.”

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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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