The Fake Wife of the Strongest Husband Wants to Survive - Chapter 32

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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 32
Even if Father, Duke Raidel, were to learn of this, there would be nothing he could do about it.
If he made a fuss about collecting that money and the customs office caught wind of it, he’d face penalties worth dozens of times the original amount simply for attempting tax evasion.
So he would torment the broker who arranged the sale without mercy, but she had already compensated them generously for their commission.
Even if he complained the moment the funds arrived, from that point forward Duke Raidel would have to stand firm against his accusations while protecting Pesha.
Once sufficient capital was secured, she placed large orders for the items she’d had her eye on.
‘It should be arriving soon.’
As she checked the calendar and peered out the window, she spotted a procession of carts rolling into the Count’s Estate in neat formation.
“They’re here!”
It was a staggering convoy—dozens of carts.
When Pesha descended to the first floor, she found Jane Penrose in a heated argument with the merchants who’d brought the carts.
“I’m telling you, we never ordered anything like this!”
“Look at the order form! It clearly says Count’s Estate! Do you know how much trouble we went through hauling all this? And the payment’s already been processed! You can’t just send us back!”
“What? The payment’s already gone through?”
At that moment, Pesha pushed past Jane and appeared before the merchants.
“Welcome. I’m the one who placed the order.”
“M-Madam?”
Jane stared blankly as Pesha planted her hands on her hips.
“Well? Why aren’t you having the soldiers move the goods?”
“What exactly is all this……?”
“Trees, of course.”
“Trees……?”
Pesha beamed at the bewildered Jane.
“Trees meant to revive the Swamp.”
* * *
The sheer volume of trees unloaded from the carts seemed more than enough to blanket the Back Mountain behind the Count’s Estate.
Owen, who’d learned the news belatedly through Jane, regarded the enormous heap of timber with a troubled expression.
By contrast, Pesha—who had brought him here—wore an air of triumph.
“I need your help to plant these trees.”
“……How might I be of service?”
“Assemble every soldier you can recruit from the Swamp. I’d like you to spare as many personnel as possible, excluding those needed for Demon Beast defense.”
Owen narrowed his brow in hesitation.
He seemed to wrestle with what to say, faltering several times before finally speaking.
“Madam. The Swamp is an environment where trees cannot take root. I thought you understood that.”
“I do. Even with all the effort, these trees likely won’t survive more than a year.”
“Then why…….”
“Because I only need that one year.”
Seeing the unwavering certainty in Pesha’s eyes, Owen gradually realized she was not joking or playing games—she was serious.
“Do you see the size of these trees?”
At her words, Owen examined them more closely.
Compared to typical saplings, their branches were thin and their height modest.
“These are shrubs. They’re smaller than ordinary trees and their roots don’t penetrate deeply into the soil. So even if planted in contaminated earth, they shouldn’t die immediately.”
The Demon Beast Aura accumulated in the Swamp over generations had seeped deep into the earth itself.
This was why the Swamp could never dig deep enough for waterworks or irrigation channels.
Pesha had noted that the shallower layers of soil were comparatively less contaminated.
In other words, shrubs rooted in shallow soil could survive for an extended period.
Even if only a year, they could still serve to block rain and snow, and allow the soil to regenerate.
“So there’s a reason for planting shrubs.”
“Exactly. While the shrubs act as a roof for one year, I’ll plant Purification Plants to cleanse this land.”
Owen’s expression grew complicated.
Pesha understood why.
“You want to say it won’t work, don’t you? That Plant Purification is nothing but dust compared to Purification Magic.”
“We’ve attempted purification using Purification Plants many times before. All we’ve confirmed is that this land is too hostile even for such plants to take root.”
Owen’s bitter tone grated on her.
After so many failures, his weariness was understandable.
But this time was different.
“That’s why they failed before—I wasn’t here.”
Pesha straightened her posture and tilted her chin up with unmistakable pride.
“But I don’t intend to fail.”
Owen, who had been looking down at Pesha, then gestured nervously to Jane, who had been anxiously eavesdropping on their exchange.
“Yes! Did you call for me?”
“Jane.”
“Should I send them back? Should I tell them to take everything away again?”
“Fetch Rebecca. Tell her to accept the lady’s command.”
“Pardon?”
Jane’s head snapped toward the towering stacks of wood piled before him.
The sheer volume made his vision swim.
Planting these absurd quantities of trees was already preposterous, and now they wanted to assign Rebecca to it?
‘That can’t be right…….’
Rebecca Bates.
Military adjutant to Owen.
She wasn’t merely high in rank.
She held real command over the soldiers—the operational officer responsible for major campaigns deployed against Demon Beasts and in wartime.
And now…… tree planting?
Worse, Owen was ordering it as casually as if he were sending someone off on some menial task.
“R-Rebecca? My lord, surely you jest?”
Jane stared at Owen in disbelief, but his master was already walking away in the distance, completely indifferent to Jane’s shock.
A lord’s command was absolute.
The moment permission was granted, this act of tree planting had been elevated to an Official Duty.
From this instant forward, no one could openly refuse.
“……So it’s real, then.”
As Jane muttered in dismay, Pesha beside him issued an order to a servant with obvious intent.
“Bring Rebecca Bates here at once.”
“Yes!”
Unlike Jane, who struggled to accept the situation, Rebecca had an easy rapport with Pesha.
When she appeared under the servant’s escort, she wore a crisp uniform, her posture sharp and radiating confidence.
Passing soldiers straightened visibly as she walked by—a clear sign she ran a tight unit.
“So I’m to plant these trees at regular intervals throughout the entire territory?”
Rebecca glanced at the map once to grasp the situation, then asked matter-of-factly.
“That shouldn’t be difficult.”
“You’re certain?”
Pesha’s eyes sparkled as she asked.
“My concern is less about the work itself and more about the soldiers’ resistance…….”
The Swamp soldiers took great pride in belonging to Owen’s army.
Asking the elite troops of the hero who’d driven out Demon Beasts and the Kingdom’s forces from the Empire to plant trees would hardly yield enthusiasm.
“I can imagine their reaction well enough.”
Rebecca let out a wry smile, unbothered.
“But don’t worry. These men have toughened themselves digging and shoveling from dealing with Demon Beasts. This may be easier than actual combat.”
Her tone carried both effortless composure and military coldness in equal measure.
What made Rebecca peculiar was her ability to sense complications and accept them without resistance.
And so the soldiers’ planting work began—but not without friction.
As they deployed according to the locations marked on Pesha’s map, complaints erupted from every direction.
“Is this really what we’re doing……?”
“I enlisted to fight Demon Beasts, not to plant trees…….”
“What happened? Weren’t we combat troops?”
Discontent rippled through the ranks in an endless murmur.
Soldiers who’d held the frontier posts where Demon Beasts were most frequent resisted particularly hard.
But Rebecca silenced every objection with a few words.
“Damn it, you’ve got a lot to say today. Work tired you out? Want me to bash in that useless, heavy head of yours?”
“…….”
“If you’ve got energy to run your mouth, use it to plant another shrub. Got it? What’s with those diamond eyes? You want to die?”
Rebecca walked up to the soldier who’d complained loudest and kicked him hard in the rear.
As he stumbled and fell forward, quiet laughter rippled through the nearby men, and the mood lifted slightly.
“From the moment the lord gave his blessing, the lady’s orders are the lord’s orders. Even if the lord commanded us to plant trees, would you refuse?”

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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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