The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 64

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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 64

 

“H-h-hunting?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Alpheus said it as if it were nothing.

 

“After we finished eating earlier, I threw a fork and caught it behind the kitchen. Don’t wild wolves eat things like this?”

 

When I heard it, it sounded plausible again.

 

I had thoughtlessly brought bread and fruit. But when I heard it, Alpheus’s words were more rational.

 

“Right. Try giving it to him.”

 

Alpheus held out the dead crow to the wolf-dog. Then the wolf-dog growled ‘grrrr’ and showed signs of refusal.

 

Alpheus sighed and muttered.

 

“I guess he won’t eat dead things. Actually, I thought this might happen.”

 

“Oh, really?”

 

I didn’t know much about wild animals.

 

Alpheus explained seriously.

 

“Many animals won’t eat dead animals because they judge them to be spoiled.”

 

“I see.”

 

“Wait a moment. I’ll have to catch a live rat.”

 

“Alright.”

 

I had to respect the expert’s opinion.

 

I nodded my head.

 

“He might be starving, so catch a lot.”

 

That’s when it happened. The wolf-dog shook his head vigorously and pointed at my bag with his front paw.

 

“This?”

 

I opened the bag, somewhat surprised. Then I took out a croissant and grapes.

 

“You want this?”

 

“Woof.”

 

The wolf-dog nodded his head.

 

“Well, I’ll be.”

 

Alpheus, who was about to leave to catch rats, clicked his tongue.

 

“The Grand Duke must have raised this mutt by feeding him things like this. Was he trying to eliminate his wild nature?”

 

“I wonder. I’ll have to ask when he returns.”

 

I waved the bread in front of the wolf-dog.

 

The wolf-dog’s eyes swayed following the bread.

 

Taming beasts with food was the most basic of basics. If Leopold had also tried it, then it would be good for me to continue the training as well.

 

“Now, do you want to eat?”

 

I looked into the wolf-dog’s eyes and spoke gently.

 

“If you listen to me well, I’ll give it to you.”

 

I don’t know how much training Leopold had done, but… for now. With food in front of him, I should start with something like this first.

 

I was planning to do special training all morning today.

 

I extended my hand and said.

 

“Hand.”

 

* * *

 

“Are you really treating that commoner-born mercenary as Marquis Sears?”

 

Hilberry sighed from the morning. A guest had barged in from the Imperial Palace.

 

“You even gave permission for them to stay at the Grand Duke’s Residence?”

 

The name of that old woman with her white hair pinned up was Valerie Nogen.

 

She was Hilberry’s twin younger sister.

 

She had served as the Empress Dowager’s lady-in-waiting for a very long time. In other words, her residence was the Imperial Palace.

 

“Get a grip, Hilberry. Do you think I handed over the successor position to you without a word for this?”

 

Hilberry sighed and retorted.

 

“Anyone listening would think you yielded the successor position to me. I was just born as the Grand Duke of Nogen from birth.”

 

“Did you forget? We’re twins!”

 

Valerie shouted with her eyes forming triangles.

 

“By Empire standards, you’re the elder brother, but there are countries that consider the baby who came out later as the one born first and treat them as the older sister!”

 

“In our next life, we can be born as twins there together. Then you can be the older sister.”

 

Hilberry said sulkily.

 

“Since I’ve accumulated so much karma in this life, I’ll probably receive the punishment of becoming family with you in the next life too.”

 

“So you do know you’ve lived wrongly, Hilberry?”

 

“I suppose you think you’re living well?”

 

The old man instantly exuded an intimidating presence and pressured Valerie.

 

“Do you think I don’t know that you had a hand in the false rumors about Sears suddenly spreading in my territory?”

 

Valerie flinched for a moment.

 

Indeed, after the Seldoche Plains were officially declared ‘unproductive land,’ rumors spread that the Sears siblings were staying in the Western Region.

 

It hadn’t even been a full day, yet it wasn’t easy for word to spread this quickly.

 

Valerie immediately played dumb.

 

“Do you have proof? Do you have evidence! Why are you cornering me?”

 

“There’s nothing I don’t know in my territory. I’m the one who noticed that my grandson secretly sent flowers anonymously to the daughter of Marquis Sears. Of course, I also know that you just passed information to the Imperial Court as you usually do, and that the Duchess of Dibosthan in the Eastern Region immediately exploited it.”

 

“…Leopold sent flowers anonymously to Brisa Sears?”

 

Valerie raised her eyebrows.

 

“I thought that boy disliked the engagement. Hmm.”

 

Her golden eyes narrowed strangely.

 

“If it’s Brisa Sears, I saw her directly at the Imperial Court a few years ago. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager was fond of her. Even with just the Marquis Sears title, she would have been quite a suitable young lady as Leopold’s match…”

 

“Don’t change the subject.”

 

Hilberry glared with fierce eyes and spoke menacingly.

 

“If I hadn’t known that you had no malicious intent, I would have thrown you in prison with my own hands.”

 

“My goodness, how frightening.”

 

Valerie shrugged her shoulders. Even so, she sighed and turned her gaze away. She had placed her people in the Western Region and was quickly relaying that news to the Imperial Court.

 

“…I had a duty to inform the Empress Dowager about news from the Western Region. I thought it wasn’t particularly confidential anyway, so it wouldn’t matter. That’s… Ha, forget it. If it’s the Eastern Region’s doing anyway, there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”

 

Hilberry glared at Valerie without saying a word.

 

“Ahem, ahem.”

 

Valerie cleared her throat several times as if uncomfortable, then sighed. Then she mumbled hesitantly.

 

“Fine. I’ll definitely repay my debt to Sears’ child.”

 

“Swear it.”

 

“I swear. If those siblings ever face a crisis in the Imperial Court, I’ll help them at least once.”

 

Only then did Hilberry withdraw his glaring gaze from her.

 

Help from Valerie, who was at the very center of the Imperial Court, would certainly be valuable. It felt like his guilt was somewhat relieved.

 

He clicked his tongue in displeasure and threw out his words.

 

“I believe that you are ultimately a person of Nogen. Even if you’ve lived your entire life as the Imperial Court’s dog.”

 

“Well said, Hilberry. Can’t I be a person of Nogen who doesn’t necessarily oppose the Imperial Court?”

 

Valerie glared at Hilberry again.

 

“You’ve always been like that. Acting as if human affairs, high society trends, and the Imperial Family’s opinions don’t matter at all.”

 

‘Nogen’ could afford to do that.

 

It was a fact that everyone secretly knew.

 

If the Western Region didn’t release grains at low prices, the entire Empire would be in trouble. Therefore, Nogen was always relaxed. Food was also the lifeline of the Empire’s people.

 

They had never directly confronted the Imperial Family, but they weren’t swayed by the Imperial Family’s every move either.

 

“So.”

 

Hilberry raised his eyebrows.

 

“You’re not telling me to agree with the Crown Prince’s proposed ‘law to expel from nobility anyone with even a drop of commoner blood,’ are you?”

 

Then Valerie snorted and retorted.

 

“Because you won’t do that, the Second Prince gains recognition in the Imperial Family, and in the Eastern Region, a bastard who didn’t even inherit a castle is making a fuss about becoming heir.”

 

In the Empire, the only one who could have multiple wives was the Emperor.

 

The Second Prince’s mother, the Second Empress, was from a commoner Knight Order captain background. Therefore, according to the Crown Prince’s argument, the Second Prince was an existence that ‘shouldn’t be incorporated into this society.’

 

“The Crown Prince has openly made statements about this several times.”

 

Valerie spoke in an ominous voice.

 

“But you didn’t even pretend to listen. You just made vague comments like ‘that’s an interesting opinion.'”

 

The idea that anyone with even a drop of commoner blood should absolutely not be treated as nobility…

 

That opinion was difficult for even the Crown Prince to push strongly. The backlash would certainly be severe.

 

Especially the Commoner Merchant Alliance, which had recently established itself as a major force, obviously wouldn’t stay quiet.

 

So naturally, the Crown Prince wanted Nogen, the head family of the First Five Families, to take his side. But Hilberry wasn’t responding to that request at all.

 

“You’ll get into big trouble, Hilberry. I’m saying this sincerely as someone who knows the Imperial Court well.”

 

Valerie crossed her arms and lifted her chin.

 

“Actually, Xavier shouldn’t have been married off like that either. Ruthlessly rejecting the marriage proposal with the Imperial Princess, and then marrying that wild filly-like Baron’s daughter?”

 

Xavier was the name of Hilberry’s son and Leopold’s father.

 

Originally, the Imperial Family had long set their sights on pairing Xavier with the Imperial Princess.

 

However, the woman Xavier chose was not the Imperial Princess. It was Baron Forman’s daughter, who had grown up with him in the Western Region for a long time.

 

A young lady of low status who worked as an information agent among Nogen’s retainers.

 

Moreover, since he had an elder brother above him, he couldn’t even inherit a title.

 

However, Hilberry gave permission when Xavier said he wanted to marry that woman.

 

“The heir of Nogen having a love marriage, even thinking about it now is absurd…”

 

“Valerie Nogen.”

 

His eyes instantly turned menacing.

 

“Don’t mention my son. This is a warning.”

 

Valerie flinched and immediately backed down.

 

“Then I’ll talk about another family’s son. It’s time I should be going anyway.”

 

She was saying she would return to the Imperial Palace without even having a cup of tea.

 

Hilberry didn’t particularly try to stop her.

 

“Alpheus Sears isn’t simply someone with commoner blood mixed in. He’s the man who saved the Second Prince twice after he was pushed into death ground.”

 

Hilberry frowned.

 

Only then could he understand why Valerie had suddenly come and why she had deliberately turned a blind eye to the public opinion war in the Eastern Region.

 

The Crown Prince was extremely wary of the Second Prince. That’s why he pushed him into death ground twice.

 

The Northern Region’s civil war, the Eastern Region’s sudden monster wave.

 

But the Second Prince successfully concluded both and returned. At the same time, he gained more followers and the Emperor’s trust grew thicker day by day.

 

The one who decisively helped with all of that was Alpheus.

 

When he was merely a mercenary, it didn’t matter much. But if he was Marquis Sears, that was a different story.

 

It was as if one of the First Five Families had sided with the Second Prince.

 

“Don’t you really understand, Hilberry?”

 

Valerie asked with a trembling voice.

 

“The moment you treat Alpheus Sears as Marquis Sears, you’re standing on the opposite side of the Crown Prince.”

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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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