The Fake Wife of the Strongest Husband Wants to Survive - Chapter 59

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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 59
The servants scattered in all directions at Pesha’s command, each striving to complete their assigned tasks amid the chaos.
“Madam, we’ve set up tents inside Namoi Castle to receive the wounded, but we don’t have nearly enough tents for the number of injured.”
……
Pesha surveyed the tented grounds within the castle, and after a moment of silence, she spoke.
“Move the children and elderly to the separate quarters.”
“Pardon?”
“The most vulnerable people must be kept in the safest spaces.”
“But—how can we ask the commons to vacate the—”
“Don’t leave empty rooms unused. Bring the injured inside. What are you waiting for? Move now.”
“Yes! Of course, madam!”
The servants, who had been floundering in confusion, felt a spark of hope as their lady stepped in to command—perhaps they could overcome this crisis through her wisdom, just as she had revitalized the fief before. They set about tending to the wounded with renewed purpose.
Then a violent shout erupted from somewhere.
The sound rang out from behind the Storage Building.
Hurrying toward the noise, Pesha caught sight of a familiar red-haired knight in her field of vision. It was Jane.
As the tall, broad-framed Jane wielded a Document Folder with her neck cords straining, her opponent across from her looked decidedly menacing by comparison.
“Is finance a joke? Are the ledgers nothing but games? You’ve handed out every scrap of emergency rations without thinking—next month we’ll starve!”
Then the man standing with his back to Pesha raised his voice.
“What good does it do to hoard that food? If we don’t distribute it now, everyone will die anyway.”
The man with wiry black hair and a pale face, shadows deep beneath his eyes, wasn’t ranting like Jane, but he expressed his position with unmistakable clarity.
Though dressed simply, as though recently returned from a long journey, his quarrel with Jane suggested he was no ordinary servant.
“We’re already stretched thin just feeding and protecting our own estate residents. And you want us to give special treatment to soldiers sent by Tilas?”
“It’s not special treatment.”
“It absolutely is! So even if our own people starve, we have to fill the bowls of outsiders—is that what you’re saying?”
Standing before the bellowing, burly Jane, the wiry-haired man showed no sign of retreat.
He met her argument with a cool, steady gaze.
“They aren’t coming empty-handed either. Food and some weapons will come with them.”
“Ah yes, food. You’re sending a crowd of men with barely a spoon to their names, and you talk of food?”
“The lords of neighboring fiefs are themselves hesitating whether to send aid. We have no reason to treat them with such contempt in the meantime.”
The wiry-haired man’s eyes grew even sharper as he spoke in rapid succession, cutting off Jane’s chance to interject.
“If it weren’t for Tilas Military, the castle walls would have been breached already. We can barely afford to keep Tilas satisfied while gathering reinforcements from other fiefs—don’t let your stubbornness make the estate pay the price.”
“Since when does Lyriboy act out of kindness? Even without his damned supplies, those who’ll come will come!”
“Even the capital has turned its back on us. It’s not an easy decision for another fief to help us now.”
At that, Jane dragged her hands through her hair and shouted.
“Fine! As long as I’m guarding the coffers, Tilas Military won’t lay a finger on our rations—you can count on that!”
Soldiers and servants held their breath, watching the two argue.
No one dared intervene.
Strengthening their external alliance was crucial, but internal financial stability could not be ignored either.
Both matters were equally pressing; no one could say with certainty which side was right.
At that moment, Pesha approached.
She walked with long strides, indifferent to the eyes turning toward her, and positioned herself before the two men.
“Lord Penrose.”
Jane turned to face Pesha while still gripping the Document Folder, breathing hard.
“Madam.”
Though her face remained flushed and mottled, she didn’t seem to have lost all reason; her expression softened somewhat upon seeing Pesha.
Pesha furrowed her brow and continued.
“You know how dire the castle’s situation is. Everyone is trembling with anxiety, and shouting like this will only deepen the chaos.”
Jane bit her lip, then lowered her head.
“……I apologize. Work has piled up, and I’m afraid my nerves have grown sharp.”
As Jane’s overwhelming presence ebbed, a brief silence fell.
It was then that Pesha’s eyes met those of the wiry-haired man.
His gray eyes, melancholy in aspect, regarded her with both wariness and appraisal.
Before Pesha could introduce herself, he spoke first.
“I apologize for my late introduction, madam. I am Fulton Taylor, Vice-commander to the Lord. I was away in another region on matters of inter-fief negotiations and cooperation.”
Upon hearing his name, the source of this commotion became clear.
Right after Owen’s wedding, this third vice-commander—Fulton Taylor—had left for another territory on business concerning fief exchange and negotiations.
With two people of equal standing holding opposite views, this squabble was inevitable.
What struck her as absurd was that even as he stated his name and title, Fulton closed his mouth as though to say that was all she needed to know.
Without Pesha present to mediate, they would resume fighting the moment she left their sight.
Pesha sighed and turned to address Fulton.
“I see. I understand roughly why the two of you are quarreling. But I’ve never believed that foreign policy and internal affairs roll forward separately.”
“…….”
“To earn trust from without, you must have the strength to endure within. And to sustain what’s inside, harmony from without is absolutely necessary. What I’m saying is that this fight you’re both waging is meaningless.”
“…….”
“Even now, starving Estate Residents wait for a handful of grain, and the Tilas Military stands to protect those Estate Residents. If either side is slighted, wouldn’t you lose both trust and fief?”
Fulton’s eyebrow twitched faintly.
His cold gray gaze wavered for a moment.
But soon he seemed to recover his composure, and he nodded with a hardened face.
“……I understand the essence of what you’re saying, ma’am.”
“If the supporting forces go hungry or feel neglected, diplomacy crumbles. But at the same time, our Estate Residents must not feel deprived either. Your task is to strike that balance. Not to go at each other’s throats like this.”
At her soft but firm rebuke, both men fell silent and looked away.
“Show respect, but only within bounds that don’t diminish the Estate Residents’ share.”
The two men nodded in agreement with her words, though they looked dissatisfied.
As the atmosphere improved somewhat, Pesha tried to change the subject quickly.
“Now then, Jane.”
“Yes?”
“I have something to discuss regarding grain management. Would you come with me?”
“Ah, yes…….”
As the situation seemed to settle, the surrounding servants and soldiers dispersed with relief, hurrying back to their posts.
But that relief was short-lived.
A violent drum thundered as if tearing through leather.
At the same time, a blood-soaked soldier in armor came running.
He stumbled forward, breathless, and shouted at the top of his voice.
“The Lord’s order! All Estate Residents except soldiers, evacuate to safety!”
It wasn’t just this soldier—across the courtyard, soldiers were repeating the same call to hide.
Fulton’s brow creased at the words.
“What? That means right now…….”
“Monsters—monsters are swarming in! They’ve breached the perimeter!”

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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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