The Fake Wife of the Strongest Husband Wants to Survive - Chapter 74

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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 74
Snow fell in thin, delicate threads.
White particles spiraled through the air and settled on the dark soil of the hills where Purification Magic Wibusu had been planted.
Pesha walked between the furrows, wrapped in a thick overcoat.
The territory’s residents showed signs of tending the fields here and there, though gaps remained where work had been neglected due to other pressing obligations.
Still, this year proved milder than expected, and barring some catastrophe, the Wibusu would survive the winter without difficulty.
Yet one thing troubled her: the spread of Wibusu wasn’t expanding as rapidly as she’d hoped.
If she relied solely on the people’s competitive spirit, the Purification Project itself would end up half-finished and fail—marked down as a failed venture.
‘Very well, I admit it. Wibusu is only a supplementary tool. But is there truly another way to solve this properly?’
As she stood thinking, she caught sight of Mini, her maid, waiting nearby and blowing on her hands for warmth, and smiled with sympathy.
She’d meant to take only a brief stroll, but here she was, thinking nothing but work—proof that she herself was a severe workaholic.
‘At this rate, I can’t say a word to Owen.’
Pesha waved a hand at Mini, who was hopping from foot to foot.
“Let’s head back.”
“Yes, my lady!”
On the way home by carriage, they passed the reconstruction site of a collapsed building.
The territory’s residents firmly believed that once this site was cleared, permission for Beryl mining and processing would be granted.
For their sake, the Lapis Lazuli Business she was currently preparing could not fail.
Since she had begun this work, she would see it through to the end with her own hands.
And if the result was good, well—nothing more could be desired.
‘The problem is that the stakes are simply too high.’
Naturally, the original work made no mention of pigments made from Lapis Lazuli.
Pesha had simply taken note of how Matthew Clark was mentioned as a great master painter near the end of the original story.
In the original, Io tracked down paintings made by her brother—used for money laundering by powerful figures—and exposed their corruption.
Reading this, Pesha couldn’t quite grasp Matthew’s genius, and wrestled with doubt for some time; but the moment she saw Lover’s Whisper, she was certain.
That painting, with its bold primary colors layered so densely that at first glance it looked like careless scrawling, possessed a power that seized you the instant you beheld it.
At first, she had relied on faith in Matthew’s future renown as one of the Empire’s finest painters.
But after seeing Lover’s Whisper, she truly wanted to witness firsthand what kind of portrait Matthew would paint.
If Matthew’s genius were crowned by Ultramarine—made from Lapis Lazuli—then……
the Lapis Lazuli Business would achieve unprecedented success.
Should any variable arise, she would simply force matters into the desired shape.
The carriage bearing Pesha reached the Drawbridge of Namoi Castle.
Yet at the roadside of the Drawbridge, a carriage stood parked while soldiers clustered around it, murmuring.
“What’s going on?”
“I’ll go and find out.”
Mini, who had uncannily understood her mistress’s quiet muttering, descended from the carriage and pushed through the crowd.
Though the soldiers towered over her and she scarcely reached their chests, Mini’s presence was fierce.
“Out of the way, out of the way! My lady is here!”
At Mini’s shrill cry, the commotion gradually subsided.
“This isn’t a market square—what are you all doing in front of the Territory Ruler’s castle?”
One soldier, startled by Mini’s sharp retort, pointed to the carriage that had been standing idle and spoke.
“This young lady keeps insisting on something……”
“Insisting?”
Where the soldier indicated, a girl in an unfamiliar maid’s dress stood waiting.
As all eyes turned toward her, the girl who had been arguing with the soldiers reddened in embarrassment.
She glanced inside the carriage, then answered.
“I apologize for not sending word ahead. But my young mistress desperately wishes to meet the wife of the House of Namoi.”
The moment the maid spoke, another woman’s voice erupted from inside the carriage.
“That’s not right. I must meet her!”
“……M-must meet her, she says……”
Mini regarded the women with a suspicious gaze and flatly rejected their request.
“Who exactly are you? From what I can see, you won’t even reveal your names—there’s something improper about this. And you expect my lady to receive you?”
At that, the carriage door burst open.
A woman with blonde hair tied high and a bundle tucked under her arm sprang out.
“Improper? I can reveal myself perfectly well. I’m Clarissa Rafferty, the one and only daughter of Olga Rafferty, the finest Purification Mage!”
“Oh, Olga Rafferty?”
As Mini was taken aback by the name that had emerged so abruptly, Pesha, who had been sitting in the carriage, leaned her head out the window.
Olga Rafferty was one of only five Purification Mages currently in the Empire.
Born as a refugee from a fallen nation, she had awakened her Purification abilities early and rendered great service to the Empire, earning a noble title; now, she was said to have retired from active duty due to old age.
Yet what was puzzling was that she had never married.
An unmarried woman with a daughter—it was unheard of.
Of course, the girl could have been born from a lover, but since she had no official husband, it was difficult to treat her immediately as the young lady of House Rafferty.
“Olga Rafferty has a daughter?”
“I don’t know either. Besides, Olga Rafferty isn’t even an Empire citizen, so what would calling someone her daughter even mean…….”
“Not an Empire citizen? She received a title—she’s completely an Empire citizen now!”
The soldiers murmured among themselves, debating the woman’s identity.
Pesha herself knew nothing about the Rafferty Countess.
She didn’t appear in the original work, and the Rafferty Countess—known only through society gossip—was an outsider who remained locked in her territory except during purification operations, so knowing her well would have been stranger still.
‘How odd.’
Pesha tapped her foot thoughtfully.
Why Olga Rafferty of all people?
Even if this woman wasn’t Olga’s daughter, there had to be a reason she’d invoked the name of an aristocrat with comparatively little influence among so many noble houses.
And given that she’d mentioned Olga, a Purification Mage, Pesha suspected her business had something to do with the contaminated Swamp lands.
There might be new information regarding purification.
If she truly was the young lady of House Rafferty, it would be a fortunate development—a direct line of communication with the Grand Mage Olga.
Pesha leaned out from the carriage window and gestured.
“Mini.”
“Yes, my lady! I’ll have her turned away at once!”
“No—bring her inside.”
“My lady?”
Guide her to the Reception Room. I’d like to speak with her.”
“But—the carriage she arrived in bears no house crest at all. And the identification papers she showed looked so crude, they must be forged…….”
“That’s all right. Forged or not, I have things to discuss. Let her through.”
“Ah…….”
“And I’m freezing. I want to get inside as soon as possible.”
“Oh! Yes, yes! I’ll relay the order to the gatekeepers at once!”
Mini dashed off to pass word that the carriage should be admitted.
Upon arriving at Namoi Castle, Pesha changed into fresh clothes and made her way to the Reception Room to meet Clarissa Rafferty.
Clarissa, who had been sipping the hot tea a servant had prepared for her, jumped to her feet when she caught sight of Pesha.
“Are you the Countess of House Namoi?”
Pesha nodded and took her seat.
“Hello. I’m Pesha. And you are……?”
“Clarissa!”
“Yes, Clarissa. Please, sit down.”
“Yes.”
Though her bright blonde hair was tied up haphazardly in any fashion whatsoever, Clarissa was quite a beautiful young woman.
Yet she seemed entirely indifferent to her appearance—she wore spectacles with such thick lenses that her eyes appeared as small as pebbles, and her dress was far too plain to befit a noble’s daughter.
It was no wonder the soldiers had been confused about her identity.
As a servant poured tea into Pesha’s cup, Clarissa pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and spoke abruptly.
“Countess of House Namoi. I have much I’d like to tell you. And many things I’d like to ask.”
“I see.”
“But before we discuss any of that, I need to make one thing perfectly clear.”
“Yes?”
“You suspect I’m not really Clarissa Rafferty, don’t you?”

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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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