This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 17

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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 17

Despite having said something shocking, Raven flipped through a few more pages with a nonchalant expression and even smiled cheerfully.

“It explains that the bumpy-skinned demon frog requires aura to defeat, so anyone below Swordmaster level would get eaten and should run away.”

‘S-Swordmaster? It eats people? A frog eats people?’

“Hehe, there’s even content like that. I’m looking forward to it!”

Despite the shocking content, Baron grinned widely and nodded enthusiastically.

“W-wait! Then isn’t this book too dangerous for Baron to read? Baron is still young.”

Could it be rated for ages 19 and up?

But since the library lent out the book, it probably wasn’t that kind of rating.

‘Or maybe there’s no concept of age restrictions at all?’

Even Raven still had a calm expression, making me feel like I was the strange one for being flustered.

“Empire citizens with verified identities must serve mandatory duty once because of the Northern Gate. There’s nothing wrong with learning about such extreme creatures early.”

“Northern Gate mandatory service? That was mandatory service?”

“Yes, from age 15 to 40, you serve for 5 years at any time you choose. If you serve longer than that, you receive higher pay.”

My head felt numb.

Of course, I knew that monsters poured out from the Northern Gate and that the Emperor with special abilities led the army to protect the Empire. But I had never thought about Baron being conscripted when he grew up.

When I thought about it carefully, the army led by the Emperor was definitely composed of Empire citizens, and Baron would be included in that.

“Even though I’m young, I’m bound to encounter these bad frogs someday, so the sooner I know about them, the better.”

Baron’s words made me imagine the child’s future.

The image of Baron fighting life-threatening monster frogs while drinking antidotes in the snowy fields of the north where winter winds howled fiercely.

Many high-ranking officers would command from behind or have much better equipment to ensure somewhat more safety, but Baron probably wouldn’t be like that.

‘Our Baron is no longer nobility, so he’ll have to rough it out there completely.’

I naturally pictured low-ranking soldiers sitting around a campfire after exhausting battles, eating poor-quality soup.

It seemed to connect with the hidden story of the original work that I had previously speculated about.

‘Ah, so that’s the route where he distinguishes himself there and becomes a knight commander?’

Baron was so exceptional that he would survive without dying. But that didn’t mean it would be comfortable or easy.

‘Ha! To think he has to think about combat at such a young age!’

The trials ahead of the child felt heartbreaking.

“Huh? Nuna, are you crying?”

“Well, that’s… Nuna didn’t know there was conscription. I hadn’t thought that our Baron would go there when he grows up… Sob!”

I put down the things I was carrying and hugged Baron.

“Our Baron, I wish you wouldn’t grow up. I wish you could stay peacefully by Nuna’s side forever without going to war or anything.”

Baron flinched. But after staying still for a moment, he hugged me back and patted me.

“Hey, I’m a man too, so when I grow up I have to protect people.”

The child’s voice was resolute. His tone suggesting it was natural to go made me even more emotional and brought tears to my eyes.

“Oh my, our Baron is so deep inside despite being so young.”

Raven returned the book to Baron with a smile.

“By the way, it’s amazing that you’re proficient in foreign languages despite being young. If Baron likes books.”

He pointed to his house that was still under construction.

“I’m planning to bring quite a few related books and other specialized texts there.”

Baron’s eyes sparkled. Seeing his obvious interest, Raven smiled cheerfully.

“You do like them indeed. If Baron doesn’t mind, you’re welcome to come read books anytime.”

I was the one who questioned this.

“Anytime…?”

“Yes. Day or night, anytime. Construction will take at most about a week, and I’ll finish moving quickly too.”

“That quickly?”

“I hired many workers and deployed lots of equipment because I want to rest soon.”

Baron looked at me.

“Nuna, can I go to this house to read books?”

“Do you want to go read?”

“Yeah.”

Raven added.

“Oh, and how about having a meal together to commemorate becoming neighbors once I finish moving?”

I was so grateful for Raven’s kindness. But I also felt burdened because he was trying to give too much.

‘Baron likes it so much that it would be awkward to refuse…’

It seemed I should repay him by taking better care of Raven somehow.

“Thank you for being so considerate. How do you have lunch?”

“These days I’m overseeing the construction site, so I just grab sandwiches.”

“Then could I prepare Raven’s lunch tomorrow? Though it’s a bit embarrassing as payment for showing books.”

Raven rolled his eyes for a moment, but nodded saying he understood.

* * *

As soon as I parted with Raven and returned home, I soaked the soybeans in water first. Then I rolled up my sleeves and put on gloves again.

“Baron, stay inside and read.”

When I picked up the hoe, Baron raised one eyebrow but soon nodded.

“Don’t overdo it. It hurts when you get muscle pain.”

“Okay. I’m going to do just a little bit at a time, not as much as yesterday.”

Coming outside, I looked at the field.

‘Did I mark it too wide? But I think it needs to be at least this much.’

Thinking about picking out all the stones from the wide field felt overwhelming, but it had to be done.

‘I need to stabilize our life quickly and earn a lot of money.’

The conversation between Raven and Baron earlier was shocking. But if I prepared in advance, I might be able to reduce Baron’s future hardships a little.

‘Baron is smart, so I’ll earn money and send him to the best academy possible.’

I wasn’t sure if I could afford the tuition well. But if I could just manage the entrance fee, everything after that would work out somehow.

They say promising trees show their potential from the sprout, don’t they?

‘Obviously he’ll be first in his class and attend on academic excellence scholarships, right?’

Baron seemed exactly like that type.

Even if not, if he graduated well, he would be able to join a knight order.

‘Even going to the same battlefield, going as a soldier versus going as an officer would have different treatment from the start.’

The more I thought about it, the more determined I became.

Indeed, if conscription couldn’t be avoided, I should go the route of making Baron suffer as little as possible.

‘Since I decided to raise him, I should raise him well! For that, something like this rocky field is nothing!’

I took a deep breath and thrust the hoe forcefully into the ground.

Thud.

“Huh?”

I had definitely prepared for the hoe tip to hit a hard stone.

But the hoe sank smoothly into the ground. There was surprisingly little resistance. When I applied force to turn it over, the soil flipped over completely.

It was too easy.

“What?”

Finding it strange, I tried digging another spot. Far from stones, only fertile soil was revealed.

“?”

Scratching my head in confusion, I struck the hoe where I had first dug yesterday. Then I felt a heavy sensation as it hit a hard stone.

“Huh?”

I let out a hollow laugh.

Looking at it now, apparently only the exact spot where I had started hoeing yesterday was rocky.

“What the heck. I worried for nothing. I just need to pick out a bit more from here?”

I began turning over the soil with ease.

* * *

<Northern Gate Record 12th.>

Baron sat alone at the cottage’s dining table, quietly turning the pages of a book he had brought from the library.

The purple-eyed smile he showed Hailey was nowhere to be found.

Right now, he wasn’t Baron, but Bloden, whose cold aura flowed so intensely that the red color of his pupils seemed pale in comparison.

After staring at the book for a while, Bloden pulled out a small pouch from his chest. When he reached into the pouch and withdrew his hand, a fountain pen filled with red ink emerged.

Though it looked like just a small pouch on the outside, it was a subspace pouch that had been passed down through the Royal Court for generations.

He began adding records to the book with the fountain pen. His neat and elegant handwriting made it look as if the records had been part of the book from the beginning.

To ordinary people’s eyes, it would look like a foreign language, but it actually wasn’t a foreign language.

Long ago, the nobles of the Imperial Capital had created a language and script to hide their own scandals and maintain confidentiality among themselves. While the language had become a dead language by now, the script remained and was used for confidential records.

His mother, the previous Emperor, had recorded information about magical beasts in this book, and now Bloden was supplementing it.

Once the revisions were complete, Raven would retrieve the book and process it as returned to the library.

The records about magical beasts roaming outside the Gate were relatively accurate, and Bloden and his army had fought battles using them as reference.

Originally, Bloden had no intention of modifying the contents of this book either. But after experiencing combat inside the Gate, his thinking changed.

‘If we can fight inside the Gate as well, then the place that gets devastated doesn’t necessarily have to be the Empire.’

It was because magical beasts invaded that the area around the Northern Gate was always laid to waste. And in the process, some magical beasts would flow into other regions as well.

In Bloden’s opinion, it was only fitting that the territory of those who caused the problem should be the one to get destroyed. So, if they were to fight magical beasts in the future, it should be inside the Gate.

That way, they would naturally prevent magical beasts from flowing into other regions as well.

However, even among the same types of magical beasts, there were differences in characteristics and behavioral patterns depending on whether they were inside or outside the Gate.

Bloden was the only person who knew these differences.

In other words, this information had to be corrected by him. So that even if an army composed of Empire citizens entered inside the Gate, they would be able to win sufficiently.

Bloden quickly turned pages while adding or modifying records. For parts that required illustrations, such as maps or the appearance of magical beasts, he drew them from memory.

Then suddenly, the fountain pen tip stopped.

‘I hope our Baron doesn’t grow up. I hope he doesn’t go to war or anything and stays peacefully by Nuna’s side forever.’

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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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