The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 223

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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 28
4. Beyond the Territory is Dangerous
“So we need to find the hive first, then.”
Alpheus asked.
“How do we even locate it?”
“We find the flight direction the bees take when returning to the hive.”
I stood in the flower field and explained.
Sure enough, the bees were busily gathering honey.
“We have enough time since the sun’s about to set.”
Bees hunting for food weave back and forth as they fly, but returning bees move in straight lines, low and fast.
So by tracking the bees that repeatedly disappear in the same direction, we could locate the hive.
“It’s probably hidden somewhere like a hollow in an old tree deep in the forest.”
I spoke with my eyes narrowed.
“And there’s a good chance it’s near water. Bees are constantly fetching water.”
We were all dressed in thick white clothing, with even a thin mesh veil covering our faces to avoid bee stings.
Sure enough, as the sun began to set, the honeybees started flying toward the hill.
“Can we actually follow that?”
Maximus cocked his head dubiously.
“Is it even possible to keep up with a bee without losing sight of it?”
Then Leopold stepped forward.
“It is possible.”
Leopold’s vision and sense of smell were beyond human limits.
“Really? It seems like it would be difficult…”
“It’s not difficult.”
“Hmm, I didn’t know the Nogen Grand Duke had such an eager temperament. You seem genuinely enthusiastic about taking the lead.”
“Yes, I am sincere.”
Leopold answered flatly.
“I can’t let my fiancée suffer. Brisa doesn’t particularly enjoy hiking.”
Alpheus trembled behind us.
“He’s definitely caught the fiancée disease!”
Leopold let his anger pass without comment.
“That illness doesn’t affect sensory organs, so it doesn’t matter.”
In any case, we all ended up following him as he moved forward without hesitation.
I spoke to him casually as I followed his pace.
“It doesn’t feel like we’ve been apart for six years. Does it?”
“No.”
Leopold immediately shook his head.
“Truth is, the moment I saw you, a single day felt like a year—I wanted to weep and complain about how much pain I was in, coughing up blood. But I haven’t quite abandoned my social dignity enough to let others hear me whine. So I’m holding back.”
“Don’t ever abandon it.”
I warned him.
“If you want to stay my fiancé.”
Leopold let out an artificially relieved sigh.
“That’s a burden I’ll have to bear. After all, I came back from an extended business trip abroad without a single souvenir for my fiancée.”
His tone was quite matter-of-fact, which somehow made it seem all the more brazen.
“I should be grateful you didn’t kill me.”
“Do I need to? Alpheus’s assassination attempts would continue even if I stayed still.”
“Ah, but that’s because of my original sin.”
Leopold answered seriously.
“Put myself in your shoes, and I’d understand completely.”
Alpheus, who somehow overheard the remark, shrieked.
“Stop with the noble dialogue! That’s mine!”
In the end, I stepped in.
“What do you mean ‘mine’ and ‘yours’ when it comes to words? Are you saying Leopold should only talk nonsense?”
I glared at Alpheus and issued a warning.
“And keep your voice down. The bees will run away.”
Then Maximus nodded and interjected.
“Listen to the young lady’s words. You can commit murder without shouting, after all. In fact, staying quiet is more common…”
In any case, it wasn’t long before we arrived deep in the forest.
When we came upon an old hollow tree, a faint sound of wings began to echo from inside the wood.
“Here.”
I pulled out matches from my pocket and spoke.
“Honeybees are weak against smoke. While I’m making smoke, pull out the hive.”
Alpheus took on the task of removing the hive. Naturally, because his mechanical arm couldn’t be stung by bees.
“The hive is fragile, so lift it carefully along with the wood. Then wrap it in cloth and put it in this box. Understand?”
As Wendy, who had followed me, began to blow smoke, the bees’ movements slowed.
“Don’t sting! You guys, don’t sting me! No! Please don’t do that!”
Alpheus, who loved nature, cried out piteously as he began to detach the hive.
“If you sting me, you’ll only hurt yourselves! This is hard metal!”
Even as he cried out miserably, his mechanical arm skillfully separated the hive.
Soon the hive was completely inside the wooden box we had prepared.
“Hmm.”
Maximus murmured as he examined the hive.
“The color of the honey is definitely strange. Gathered like this, it’s completely red.”
Indeed, with the moisture evaporated, the honey stored in the hive had taken on a reddish hue.
I had never heard of honey like this. Perhaps those flowers…
“It seems to be a flower that produces honey containing blood components.”
Maximus spoke gravely.
“So if you collect and consume this honey, it would have the effect of feeding on blood.”
I nodded.
I’d need to research more carefully, but the probability of that hypothesis being correct was high.
“There will be more hives besides this one.”
I continued to waft strong herbal smoke through the gaps in the box to keep the bees from pursuing us.
“We’ll leave the rest to the other workers. Let’s just take this one for now.”
As I was closing the wooden box lid, Alpheus let out a deep sigh.
“They keep trying to follow us. I guess they want to go home! Well, I did raid their precious home, didn’t I? Sorry, you guys! I took your home!”
“That’s an incorrect apology.”
I spoke coldly.
“It’s probably because of the queen bee that came with the hive.”
And I sealed the wooden box securely.
“Once the queen’s scent is blocked, they won’t follow anymore. Let’s go.”
So we made our way down to the mansion with the wooden box containing the hive.
Gillab was waiting anxiously at the main gate of the mansion, and when he spotted us, he took a step backward.
“W-well, you’re all okay, right? You all look fine?”
Seeing this, Leopold clicked his tongue.
“Gillab, usually you’re supposed to say things like that while you’re approaching, not while you’re slowly backing away.”
“Ah, but what if there are bees nearby…”
Gillab rattled off nervously, rolling his eyes.
“What if I get stung and have a whole-body allergic reaction or develop fatal complications?”
“You should’ve just said you were worried we’d been cursed with Dark Magic.”
Leopold sighed and offered advice.
“At least then you wouldn’t have sounded so pathetic.”
“I won’t be cursed with Dark Magic. But I can be stung by bees.”
Gillab remained stubbornly fearful.
Only after confirming there were no bees near Leopold did he finally approach him.
“What is it?”
Leopold asked warily.
“That wasn’t an invitation to approach happily.”
“There’s no need to dislike it that much. I just have business.”
Gillab handed Leopold a letter.
“Leopold, a letter came for you from the Western Region in the meantime.”
Leopold’s brow furrowed as he frowned.
I too found the news unexpected and rose on my toes to look at the letter in Gillab’s hand. At first glance, the sender’s name written on the envelope was Harrison.
“A servant came and asked me to deliver it as quickly as possible.”
Gillab spoke with an uneasy tone.
“Is something wrong in the Western Region? Given that Harrison wrote with such speed? That fool usually takes all day to write anything.”
Of course, negative thinking was Gillab’s entire life, but I too had no good feeling about this.
Surely it hadn’t been long since Leopold left, yet he’d sent a letter immediately…
Leopold seemed to be thinking the same thing—his complexion wasn’t good.
I spoke to Leopold as he took the letter.
“Check the letter first. If you need to respond urgently, do so. I’ll tell you what I find later.”
“Thank you.”
Leopold nodded once and entered the mansion first.
I watched his retreating figure for a moment, then spoke to Gillab.
“Is there an empty room? I need to use one for a bit. I should send the honey from inside the hive to the Magic Tower. Though I can already guess the research results.”
A sigh escaped me even as I spoke.
Truthfully, it was a strategy no one could have predicted. Create flowers that substitute for blood, have bees collect their honey, and then if it could be consumed…
‘And honey keeps for a long time, too.’
I swallowed dryly.
‘If this flower had spread across the entire continent, giving vampires a constant food supply wherever and whenever they wanted, that would be catastrophic.’

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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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