The World Mistakes Me for Terminally Ill - Chapter 24

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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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The World Thinks I’m Terminally Ill Episode 024

Small Market near the Train Station Construction Site.

This place was originally land close to wasteland. As large-scale station construction began, construction workers, material managers, peddlers and others started gathering, and naturally a market formed in the open space near the construction site.

And as with any place, when proper management is lacking, vermin tend to swarm in.

“Hey, Auntie. When exactly are you going to pay the protection fee?”

Bang!

The thug roughly kicked the stall. The wooden stall, hand-carved by herself, cracked with a splitting sound.

The herbs the woman called ‘Auntie’ had carefully tended to all morning were also trampled into the dirt.

The thug gang trampled on them while giggling with laughter.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. If you could just wait one more day…”

“One day? Ha, really. Like you’ve only been doing business here for a day or two.”

The thug spat and said.

“There are plenty of people who want to sell here besides you, Auntie. Do you think the price for us protecting you safely from those pack of wolves is free? Huh?”

The surrounding merchants could only sigh or avert their gazes at such an unreasonable scene, unable to easily step forward.

That’s because they were all in the same situation.

Those who had started extorting money under the pretext of ‘protection fees’ from some point on.

Since only the nobility had the right to collect taxes from estate residents, this was clearly illegal exploitation.

Once they tried reporting to the guard, but then they threatened that they wouldn’t leave their wives and children alone.

Also, they were so cunning that whenever knights occasionally patrolled this area, they would put on friendly faces and cleverly curry favor.

Perhaps because they weren’t knights of Lunein, they didn’t try to look deeply into things.

It was a repetition of vicious cycles.

‘Is there really a need to do business here?’

Everyone thought this inwardly, but couldn’t actually leave.

The area near the construction site currently had the most active foot traffic in the entire duchy.

Though dirty and despicable, even considering having to pay protection fees, the earnings were better than other places.

So everyone kept their mouths tightly shut.

“I’m sorry, please just give me one more day’s grace…”

“Is this auntie’s ear holes blocked? I’m saying that one day won’t do!”

“Ah!”

The thug roughly grabbed the woman’s hair.

Just as his brutish hand was raised high, about to strike the woman’s cheek.

Click.

“What might this trash be.”

A cold gun barrel touched the back of his head. The thug got goosebumps from the cold metal sensation.

As he instinctively froze in that position, this time a languid voice was heard.

“Human waste that can’t even be recycled, perhaps, my lady.”

“Wh-what? Who are you bastards?! Do you know who I am-“

As the tense thug swallowed and tried to turn around.

Thwack!!

“Gah!”

“Oh, you startled me. Sorry, but could you not move? My eyes aren’t prepared to see the ugly face of human scum.”

The rifle butt skillfully struck the back of his head. The thug collapsed face-first from the skull-splitting pain.

A pointed shoe pressed firmly against his tear-streaming cheek. Click, the gun barrel was aimed at his head again.

“Have you subdued them all?”

“Yes, except for the one you’re personally trampling, my lady.”

The voice that had been cold as wind blowing from frozen ground when taking down the thug became gentle as spring breeze.

“But my lady, you’re incredibly skilled at handling guns. I think I might fall for you.”

“No, restrain yourself.”

“My lady, I think it’s too late. I’ve fallen for you.”

“Ah, I said restrain yourself.”

For a conversation while trampling on someone, it was peaceful to the point of being cringeworthy.

The thug felt extreme terror.

‘Are they crazy bastards?’

However, no one was interested in the thug.

Elisia raised her eyebrows upon seeing Shubel as soon as she arrived at the construction site.

It was strange that her idle husband, who did assigned work well but never did anything of his own accord, was at the construction site.

There was no way he would have followed her…

“Why are you here?”

“The new train station is the place you care about most, my lady. The patrol log was empty, so I came to check while taking a walk.”

While saying this, he slowly blinked as if asking for praise.

She made a reluctant expression seeing this man, who had an exceptional build befitting a northerner, acting this way, then inevitably nodded.

“…Good job?”

“Yes.”

Shubel smiled gently with his eyes.

He slowly pulled Elisia’s wrist.

Click.

Her shoe stepped on the ground.

As Elisia completely moved away from the thug, Shubel naturally changed positions to block the thug from her view.

‘I’m saved.’

The barely freed thug tried to crawl away.

Then.

“Guh!”

The thug’s eyes met with those of an expressionless man with violet-colored eyes. Simultaneously, invisible mana strangled the thug’s neck.

Squeeze.

‘What kind of eyes…’

His pupils dilated from terror. The demon’s image reflected there looked bored and weary, unlike when looking at the woman who had trampled him.

As oxygen became scarce and his nerves concentrated to the extreme, he slowly read the man’s moving lips.

‘How dare you…’

Soon he either fainted or went limp, and a waiting knight dragged him away.

Having disposed of the trash that had momentarily stolen his wife’s attention, Shubel asked.

“And you, my lady, came out on inspection with father?”

“Yes. We should have cleaned this up long ago, but we lacked manpower until now.”

Elisia gazed at the thugs captured by the knights with eyes like looking at vermin eating away at her granary.

While the Duchess was away from the estate, Shubel was in charge of the duchy’s security.

However, he basically wasn’t an enthusiastic personality, and it didn’t make sense for him, being the heir, to intervene in every little matter like this.

So they had no choice but to use knights borrowed from other families as a temporary measure, but being knights from other families, it was hard to expect them to look into things thoroughly.

‘Knowing all this but having to leave it alone is so frustrating.’

She had tried everything, like narrowing patrol intervals of soldiers to somehow prevent it, but this was the result.

This is why knights are important.

No matter how many soldiers there are, if knight-level forces don’t back them up, thugs like those tend to look down on their opponents.

Just then, Jerkhal, who had subdued all those illegally collecting protection fees, approached and asked.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course, Father. Fortunately, I protected my eye health.”

That wasn’t what he was asking about, but seeing her change the gun to a parasol and smile cheerfully, he figured it was fine.

Thanks to bringing the knights, the scene cleanup ended quickly.

The thug gang was all arrested, and all that remained were merchants and construction workers who hadn’t left due to the rare spectacle.

“If she’s blonde, could that be her? Why was she said to be sick…”

“Shh! Don’t look carelessly at noble people. You’ll get in big trouble.”

People whispered while looking at Elisia.

Even though the Duchess and heir were present, their gazes wouldn’t leave her.

It was because she was a recent hot topic in the Capital City, and it was fascinating to see a woman of noble status at such a dusty construction site.

Normally, they would avoid coming anywhere near, complaining about the sweat smell and dirt.

The fact that Elisia had elegantly knocked down the thug with her gun—purely from the estate residents’ perspective—also played a part.

“Um, thank you, my lady.”

“Not at all. As long as you weren’t hurt.”

The woman who had been harassed by the thug approached and bowed at the waist.

Despite having an aura that seemed difficult to approach, her voice was gentle.

Her beautiful golden hair seemed to melt and shine in the sunlight, and her ruby-like eyes sparkled like the Milky Way.

When the blowing wind playfully tousled her hair, the woman with the white parasol tucked her hair behind her ear as if tickled and smiled with slightly narrowed eyes.

It was like watching a midday fairy at play.

Everyone there stared at her in fascination. Shubel was no exception.

“Shall we go eat milk pudding now?”

And at that most brilliantly shining moment.

An anomaly struck Shubel’s black and white world.

The delicate lips of the only person who possessed vivid color opened and—

“Ah.”

With a surge, a handful of red blood flowed out.

Eyes widening in surprise, a gaze blankly looking down at her own blood-stained hand.

A body swaying and collapsing, and a parasol falling, pushed by the wind.

A voice struck down like lightning.

“Young lady!”

He was already running at that moment.

To catch his falling wife’s body.

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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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