The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 144

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 144

This time, they barely managed to meet the quota by combining the last remaining sheep raised in Bakahun territory with sheep painstakingly obtained from other territories.

‘But once we send even the duke’s estate sheep, there really won’t be any livestock left to mobilize at the end…’

An illegal warp was open in the pastures near Bakarun Duchy. The sheep should be moving smoothly in that direction by now.

Paul sighed and asked.

“No, but why on earth do you need so much livestock?”

Until now, he had been too afraid to ask. However, as the future looked bleak, the question finally burst out.

“Ex, experiment. Fine. I understand it’s an experiment. But you’re demanding too many sheep, so we’re in trouble too. You should at least pay us a lot of money… Especially wool is a continuous source of income for us.”

Then the Dark Mage tilted his head and asked back.

“Wool? Then just shear all the wool before sending them? We don’t need wool.”

“Good heavens, speak sensibly!”

The former shepherd was horrified.

“I heard the illegal warp leads all the way to the glacial region. No matter how much they keep taking local warps, if they pass through that cold land, the livestock’s condition will deteriorate, and you want us to shave their wool too?”

“As long as they’re breathing, it doesn’t matter. Well, as long as their blood is fresh, that’s enough.”

Blood…?

Paul blinked slowly.

Why on earth do they need the blood of wild beasts?

No, if they need blood in the first place, couldn’t they just extract the blood and transport it? Why go through the trouble of keeping the animals alive…

“Seeing that you still need this much, does that experiment of yours have an end? Or are the northern livestock just dying in vain from reckless failures?”

Then the Dark Mage pulled up the corner of his mouth as if displeased.

“Well, it’s true we’ve created a few failures. But this time we’re almost there.”

Perhaps his pride was hurt, as he narrowed his eyes and added.

“The former Duke Backhun lost his reason and became a monster. That was our doing.”

Paul swallowed dry saliva.

“But what if we become that monster? If we completely grasp that absurd miracle of another world?”

Madness began to flash in the Dark Mage’s eyes.

“What if we can put the continent’s barbarians under us and make them our prey?”

Paul rolled his eyes and backed away.

‘Barbarians’? What enemy are they talking about…

And they want to conquer the continent?

‘Even if you combine all the populations of Sebon and Riente, it wouldn’t even be half of half of this sparsely populated north?’

Are all these people insane…

Well, how could anyone become a Dark Mage without being insane…

However, the Dark Mage looked very serious.

“When that day comes, we’ll give the duke special treatment.”

He said ominously.

“So if you want the day of glory to come quickly, try to find a way to hand over Brisa Sears to us.”

No, how on earth could he hand over a young lady from the central region whose face he doesn’t even know…

Just then, a knock sounded in the reception room.

“Du, Duke!”

An urgent voice rang out from outside.

“There seems to be a problem with the sheep!”

The Dark Mage glared at Paul irritably.

“A problem? Don’t tell me you deceived me just now?”

“That can’t be!”

Paul shook his head as if wronged.

Earlier, he had personally checked all the sheep. There was definitely no problem.

He shouted loudly toward the door.

“What’s wrong?”

“The sheep… the sheep won’t move!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Why won’t the sheep move?”

“They, they’re just… standing there motionless in that spot! The sheepdog and Usher suddenly collapsed too…”

Usher was his successor shepherd.

Paul sighed and stood up.

“I need to see for myself. You stay here.”

The Dark Mage frowned.

“The duke is going personally? Without sending a servant?”

“Sheep tend to be wary unless it’s someone familiar. It’s faster if I go myself.”

The Dark Mage quietly nodded and wrapped his robe more deeply around himself.

Leaving him behind, Paul hurried toward the pastures.

Indeed, the sheep were standing motionless in the distance. Usher was rolling around clutching his stomach along with the sheepdog.

“What on earth are you doing?”

When Paul got angry, Usher barely answered while lying on the ground.

“Sto, stomach, stomach… suddenly hurts… But, but the sheep won’t move. As if wolves appeared…”

“That can’t be. If wolves had rushed in, they would have all scattered.”

Paul sighed and showed his irritation. Then he snatched Usher’s staff and began herding the sheep.

“Come on, whoa, whoaaa…”

He needed to send these sheep quickly so he could send that crazy Dark Mage away too.

It was when he skillfully herded the sheep and reached the illegal warp.

Suddenly an unfamiliar voice was heard.

“You’re under arrest for livestock smuggling. You’ve been purchasing northern livestock and sending them to Sebon using illegal warps.”

It was a mage wearing the Magic Tower’s robe.

“Young Lady Sears was right. She said if we waited here, the duke would come personally.”

Then a girl with braided platinum hair walked out from behind the bushes.

“I told you, didn’t I? Sheep only follow instructions from familiar people.”

Beside her was even a docile-looking wolf.

Wait. A wolf that listens to commands?

Paul blinked.

“As if wolves appeared…”

What kind of magic did these people cast?

But there was no way wolves would appear in the duchy’s pastures, and since wolves ultimately eat sheep, there was no case where sheep would just keep standing still like this.

‘Ah, no.’

Paul blinked and gasped for breath.

‘Now isn’t the time to think about such things.’

He looked at the girl and mage and lifted his chin.

“Wh, what are you talking about?”

And for now, he played dumb.

“Me smuggling? Huh? What’s the problem with me herding my sheep on my land? The problem is with you people who entered someone else’s duchy without permission!”

But the mage said confidently.

“This is clearly a temporary warp set up by Dark Mages. And the Magic Tower can infiltrate anywhere to investigate when dark magic is detected.”

When the mage waved his staff once, threatening blue magic circles began floating around Paul.

“I confirmed with my own eyes that you brought the sheep here.”

The mage no longer even called him ‘duke.’ However, Paul didn’t even realize this fact.

Having lived his entire life as a shepherd, Paul was seeing a high-ranking mage from the Magic Tower for the first time.

Seeing the magic circles circling around him and immediately falling into panic, the mage continued coldly.

“We already know there’s a Dark Mage in your reception room. He will be arrested immediately, and you’ll have to take responsibility for bringing a Dark Mage into the duke’s estate.”

When things came to this point, Paul felt cornered. But still, he absolutely could not reveal the truth.

“B-but! I was also th-th-threatened! I was threatened!”

So he began creating logic that would somehow get him out of the suspicion of being caught in the act.

“A D-Dark Mage broke into the Duke’s estate on his own. I really don’t know anything about what happened before that!”

“We’ve already secured all the testimony that you gathered livestock?”

“Actually, all those livestock went missing in the middle, so I was troubled too. I just wanted to raise other livestock in the Duke’s estate pastures, and I really don’t know about the smuggling incident!”

As he spoke, it sounded plausible.

Hadn’t all the livestock that had been smuggled already been sent to Sebon? Even a Magic Tower Mage would find it impossible to catch that evidence.

“A Dark Mage suddenly appeared today, and all I did was try to sacrifice only my sheep to his sudden threats.”

As he expected, the Mage was momentarily at a loss for words.

But at that moment, a platinum-haired girl accompanied by a wolf stepped forward.

“Shall we have a little chat? I know quite a bit about sheep too.”

Unlike the Mage, her face showed no intimidation whatsoever.

He shouted excitedly.

“Get lost, kid!”

At the same time, the wolf bared its teeth and glared at him.

“Grrrrrrr…”

Paul collapsed in terror.

The girl raised her eyebrows and placed her hand on the wolf’s back. The Mage quickly said.

“Please speak, Young Lady Brisa.”

What? Then… that impudent girl is… Brisa Sears, the one the Dark Mages have been targeting so much?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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