The Fake Wife of the Strongest Husband Wants to Survive - Chapter 75

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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 75
To be honest, I do lean more heavily toward the possibility that she’s a fake than the real thing.
And yet, I seated her here anyway, because even if she were a fake, it wouldn’t have mattered.
Clarissa seemed accustomed to having her identity questioned, recounting her biography with perfect composure.
“I was born in the Capital twenty years ago.”
“I see…….”
“It was a time of bitter cold like this. But my birth record wasn’t filed until two seasons later, in the summer…….”
Pesha’s expression stiffened almost imperceptibly as she sensed the opening notes of an epic saga.
“Wait, please. What I’m curious about isn’t your identity—it’s your purpose in seeking me out.”
“Oh! My purpose. Now we’re getting to the main point. I do prefer to jump straight to the crux of things. The reason I came to find you, my lady, is to be of service to your research.”
“My research?”
“The Siderocar Medicine you developed! Your jewels seem to be more famous in society, but I’m far more interested in your Siderocar Medicine than in those.”
At this, Pesha looked up from her tea with a tilted head.
“Siderocar? Why?”
If her mother truly was Olga Rafferty, there would be no reason to take interest in a purification drug.
If anything, I should be relieved she doesn’t react hysterically like io, insisting the drug might steal a mage’s livelihood.
Yet her eyes gleamed with nothing but admiration and reverence directed at Pesha.
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but magical power isn’t hereditary.”
That was one reason why Purification Magic practitioners were so rare.
Since no one knew whether it was inborn, gained by chance, or—if gained—how it was obtained, speculation and exaggeration ran rampant, as Pesha herself well knew.
“Yet because my mother was such an accomplished Purification Magic practitioner, I faced great expectations from childhood.”
“…….”
“Of course, I possessed no Purification Ability whatsoever, and the interest soon faded, but I suppose the stress was severe. For a long time, I believed myself worthless garbage for being unable to use Purification Magic.”
Clarissa spoke of her past self-deprecation plainly, as though she had already overcome it.
“I suffered setbacks, but ultimately, I studied Purification endlessly to prove I wasn’t garbage. And then—at that very moment—the Siderocar Medicine appeared on the market. The instant I saw it, I understood: you were the one who would accomplish what I could not.”
“Pardon?”
Clarissa pressed forward despite Pesha’s evident bewilderment.
“I know your research won’t stop at the drug. You’re painting a much larger picture. Please—include me in that grand design!”
…….”
Pesha and Mini exchanged a glance.
‘What is she talking about……? Am I the only one not understanding?’
‘Shall I show her out now?’
As Pesha communicated her unease to Mini through anxious looks, Clarissa set down the bundle she’d been carrying under her arm onto the table with a dull thud.
Her face flushed with excitement, she exhaled sharply, looking thoroughly worked up.
“These are my research notes, brought to aid your plans, along with other potions derived from modified Siderocar Medicine, varieties of Purification Herb, the mechanisms of Purification, histories of Purification Magic practitioners—I’ve gathered everything related to Purification.”
“Mm…….”
“I’ll be genuinely useful! So please, let me stay here and help with your research!”
Apparently all that lengthy preamble had been leading up to this main appeal.
Clarissa gazed at Pesha with desperate eyes, her hands clasped tightly together.
She was curious about the research materials Clarissa claimed to have brought, certainly.
But that wasn’t what needed to be addressed first.
“I see. First, I’ll need to send word to Baron Rafferty. If what you say is true, he must be searching for you frantically by now.”
All the color drained from Clarissa’s face, which had been flushed with excitement moments before.
“Mini, fetch the writing paper and quill for me…….”
“No! No no no! Please, not Mother! I’m certain she’ll thrash my back and drag me away by my hair, or—or—Mother’s health is poor right now. I don’t want to cause her worry. Haha!”
Cold sweat dripped down her face as she forced a smile of false composure.
Her excuse was transparently thin.
‘You wouldn’t have anything to worry about if you didn’t do things worth worrying over…….’
The thought apparently showed on Pesha’s face, because Clarissa quickly began her pitch.
“I’ll prove I’m useful. I’ve memorized fourteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty rare books related to Purification in their entirety. Wonderful! A living library you can press for answers without having to hunt through shelves!”
“Hmm…….”
“I wanted to study Contamination further. To do that, I had no choice but to come find Swap, which borders the Abyss……!”
“Quite.”
As Pesha’s eyes narrowed, the fidgeting Clarissa finally blurted out her true reason.
“If I tried to do research here alone, Mother would surely fly into a rage……! But if I have your permission and stay here at Namoi Castle, everything changes. I won’t stay long. Just half a year, or perhaps a year……. Please, I’m begging you…….”
Could she truly be this desperate?
Pesha let out a soft sigh and turned to Mini once more.
“Mini.”
“Yes. Shall I show her out?”
“Prepare a room for Miss Clarissa.”
“Countess……!”
Clarissa’s face shone with genuine gratitude.
“I’m not giving my full consent, you understand. Your identity remains uncertain — an unmarked hire carriage, a forged identification plate.”
“The plate — I lost it on the way and had to get a new one made in a hurry, but I was swindled in the process…… Still, I really am Clarissa Rafferty!”
“If you truly are, then I cannot possibly proceed without hearing from Count Rafferty himself. Let’s put this matter on hold until we receive his reply.”
“Yes, yes! Thank you so much!”
Pesha glanced at the relieved Clarissa and turned to Mini.
“Show her to her room.”
“Yes…… ma’am.”
Clarissa bubbled with excitement; Mini dragged her feet.
Once they left, Pesha felt the tension drain from her shoulders.
“Come to think of it, we never did discuss the purification itself.”
But since Clarissa would be staying, there would be time for that conversation later.
Pesha stepped out of the reception room and made her way back upstairs.
The corridor was quiet in the late afternoon, the hour drawing close to dinner.
As she reached the third floor where her chamber lay, she heard heavy footfalls on the stairs.
She turned to find Owen ascending, his hair and shoulders dusted with snow — it seemed he’d only just returned.
“Oh? I thought you weren’t coming back for another two days?”
When Owen’s eyes met hers, one eyebrow arched slightly.
“The matter resolved itself more quickly than expected.”
His absences had grown shorter of late.
There had been a time when leaving Lord’s Castle meant three or four days of silence, but now he rarely went out himself, and even when he stayed away overnight, he was always back by the next morning.
Owen brushed past the subject of his return and shifted to something else.
“Though the servants were muttering about something odd.”
“Hmm?”
“A strange woman came looking for you and caused a scene, from what I gathered.”
It wasn’t inaccurate, though harsh.
“Ah, yes. She turned out to be Count Rafferty’s daughter.”
“Rafferty?”
The name seemed to catch him off guard.
“Do you know Olga Rafferty?”
“No. It just seemed she came because of the Siderocar Medicine. From what she said, she’s conducting research related to the purification of the Contaminated Territory — it might provide useful information, so I’ve invited her to stay for a time.”
Owen’s brow furrowed slightly.
“The daughter of a purification mage, coming here to conduct research……?”
Pesha hesitated.
Now that she thought about it, she’d heard that Swap had repeatedly requested the dispatch of purification mages to the Central Government.
The Emperor, of course, had paid them no mind. And no purification mage was willing to brave the Emperor’s indifference and venture to the dangerous frontier — to Swap.
Which meant that Clarissa’s mother, Olga Rafferty, was one of the purification mages who had turned away from Swap.

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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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