The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 206

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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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Part 2, Episode 11
I felt that satisfying itch being scratched. Here, only Maximus could expose Marcel’s identity.
For one, unlike us, he bore no psychological debt to Audrey. And as a member of the Royal Family, he could speak openly about Imperial secrets related to the Curse without concern.
“Wh-wh-what…… what is this…….”
Russell stammered. Gerdian’s jaw dropped as well.
“Now then.”
Maximus spoke with ease.
“The Cardipol Guild Master would be better off staying here. Fall into the open sea and they won’t even find a body.”
The Second Prince’s eyes, always quick to read several moves ahead, gleamed sharply.
“Who’s to say our Russell family’s second son, blessed with such good legs, won’t stumble about in shock and anger, accidentally kicking someone nearby?”
I too couldn’t help but interject from the deck.
“Of course, there’s a chance. If you’ve been secretly backing us out of conscience this whole time, you can just speak up now about how much.”
I knew money was rotting in that guild!
He had money to fabricate false testimony about Marcel studying abroad, but no money to send secretly to the territory his own son was letting starve?
And then trying to be treated well until the very end…… it really made one lose faith in humanity.
“Of course, you’ll need to give us the administrator’s name as well. It’s clear that person embezzled everything.”
“Then shouldn’t the Cardipol Guild Master call that administrator first in order to meet her son?”
Maximus struck back smoothly.
“The person who accidentally falls into the sea should be that administrator, after all.”
“That means you’ll be waiting quite a while. But we’d like to get home quickly.”
“The Cardipol Guild Master will probably make the wise choice not to follow, given how eager she is to meet her son.”
Maximus tilted his head artificially as he spoke.
“Oh, did I just say ‘wise choice’? Sorry, that was a slip of the tongue…… In truth, the Cardipol Guild Master isn’t really in a position to choose anything.”
Faced with our mockery, Audrey hesitated and stepped back.
In the meantime, I made a request of Maximus.
“Could you grab some clothes from that bag? Especially trousers.”
Experience showed in such practical readiness.
“Understood. I’ll pack underclothes too.”
Maximus easily seized the bag Audrey had been holding and opened it.
It was crammed full of all sorts of packed lunches, collected books, expensive towels, bottled water, and more. Remarkably, there was even something that looked like a monster hide inside.
‘Ah, so after the half-human half-beast reverted to Marcel, they were planning to fabricate a story about just happening to meet nearby.’
The reason for hiding Marcel’s identity to the end was obvious. He intended to restart the succession struggle in the Eastern Region.
Maximus fished out underclothes and trousers from that jumble of items and tossed them to Alpheus.
“This should do.”
“W-w-what about shirts and vests!”
At that, Alpheus, now standing on deck with trousers and underclothes clipped to his mechanical arm, cried out.
“My cloak will cover it! Now, let’s set sail!”
As Audrey shrieked ‘But those are used clothes!’, Gerdian — obviously wearing secondhand garments himself — swiftly raised the anchor.
“Gerdian! I can raise the anchor!”
The sailor gasped in horror, and Gerdian gritted his teeth, breathing heavily.
“If I don’t raise this anchor right now, I think I’ll send someone else overboard instead.”
In any case, we set off toward the island. The cursed island where the last half-human half-beast awaited, where dark waves rippled endlessly.
* * *
Gerdian stood apart from everyone on the deck. He wanted to belong to no one.
From the start, he had grievances with the world. He despised humans.
‘Why? Why exactly?’
Into peaceful Russell County came the monster like a bolt of lightning—a disaster.
Aiden Russell, the heir and eldest son of House Russell, had ultimately married a wealthy commoner. But that had fallen out of favor with the Duchess of Dibosthan.
“Taking a commoner as the wife of a storied noble house? Isn’t that a direct rejection of the Prohibition of Intermarriage Between Nobility and Commoners that the Duke of Dibosthan and the Imperial Court are pushing? It seems the pride has gotten so high you don’t even recognize the Eastern Region’s master anymore?”
The Duke of Dibosthan was indecisive. So when the Duchess and the Young Duke conspired to strangle Russell County, there was no way to survive.
They completely crushed the in-laws of the Young Duke’s wife, who had been running a small guild in the Eastern Region.
The Cardipol Guild, backed by the Duke, was something the Young Duke could do nothing about, but a small guild was easily strangled to death.
“I should help my in-laws’ business. It’s impossible in the Eastern Region, so I’m thinking of trying the Western Region. I’ll send money regularly as profits come in.”
Eventually, the eldest son left in secret.
A nobleman’s eldest son engaging in commerce would reflect poorly on the family name, so he hid even his identity.
In the end, Gerdian alone was left to care for the aging father and the young youngest child.
Father was always ailing and the youngest was whining about their suddenly declining fortunes. Though he’d recently come to his senses, the youngest’s adolescence, having tasted poverty in his mid-teens, was violent.
‘What did we do wrong? Is struggling to survive such a great sin?’
He tried earning money by laboring and working on ships, but commoners recoiled in horror.
“It won’t do! If something happens because of this, it’s we who bear the consequences!”
Grievances accumulated, making a person negative.
Commoners avoided them for being noble, and nobles despised them for being entangled with commoners.
And in the midst of all this, the truth he learned from the Second Prince was horrifying.
That monster was the Cardipol Guild Master’s son?
Then why did the Cardipol Guild Master, whose money was rotting away, sit idle when his sister-in-law’s guild was driven out? It would have been an easy matter for him to facilitate a trade deal and arrange funding!
The reason was obvious. It wouldn’t have profited him.
“Gah…….”
Gerdian ground his teeth.
“I really hate humans.”
In his life, he had never met a single decent human being.
Then Brisa approached him.
“We’re almost there, aren’t we? Alpheus said he could see the island in the distance.”
A remarkably beautiful woman with platinum hair flowing loose. Her expressionless face was cold.
Gerdian muttered irritably, thinking, ‘Why ask if you already know? Don’t you care about my vocal cords?’
“Yes. We should arrive soon.”
He glanced at her and asked.
“Aren’t you afraid? Going toward a monster on just this small ship.”
Brisa responded seriously.
“You’re right. What if the ship breaks? Are there lifeboats?”
“Th-there are, but…….”
As he answered, Brisa fished something out of her bosom.
“It’s Awakening Herb. I brought it from the Magic Tower.”
This seemed to be why she’d approached him.
“Keep chewing it. I have plenty. Then even if you hear that half-human half-beast’s song, you won’t fall asleep. I’ve already given it to everyone, so don’t worry and take it.”
He was about to snap, ‘So I’m the last one?’, but held back. Awakening Herb was impossibly expensive.
No matter how twisted his heart was, money and fists could temporarily straighten it out.
Gerdian accepted the herb and began chewing it steadily.
His gaze drifted to the distant sea, as if urging them forward, when Brisa suddenly spoke.
“We could have come sooner, perhaps, but there were too many things to resolve in the meantime.”
“Pardon?”
“But I didn’t know the Territory’s situation had deteriorated this much. Honestly, I didn’t expect the Duke of Dibosthan’s House to be this irresponsible.”
That was something even Gerdian, bitter as he was toward the world, couldn’t resent her for.
Maximus and Alpheus had already come a few years ago to supposedly deal with that monster.
Back then, Maximus nearly died. And because Alpheus struck that creature even once, preventing it from leaving the island, Russell County had barely managed to survive until now.
Before that, the monster would appear and disappear along the beach, making it impossible to venture into coastal waters at all.
The creature even appeared on land, and had things continued as they were…….
‘Seven years ago during the Monster Wave, the family would have all been asleep and lost their lives, and this place would have become a complete wasteland.’
So, whatever others might say, there was nothing to complain about regarding Sears.
“Honestly, it’s not my responsibility, but I’m still sorry. I brought some gifts from Sears, and I’ll give them to you when we return. They should be quite helpful.”
Brisa continued expressionlessly.
“So, don’t rush at that half-human half-beast. Even if it seems like you could win once you’ve been Tamed, even if you’ve often imagined killing that creature.”

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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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