This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 190

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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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Chapter 190

Baron stepped down from the carriage alongside Hailey and surveyed the exterior of the Frediki Family Mansion with deliberate care.
The two-story manor, overgrown with ivy, was not particularly large, and both the entrance and windows were firmly boarded shut.
“Hmm, should we try going inside?”
Raven shook her head at Hailey’s murmur.
“Duke Utra has likely searched every corner of this house already, so there’s probably no need to enter. Unless there’s some hidden place, of course.”
“No. This house doesn’t even have a basement storage.”
Kyle answered with a forlorn expression, standing with his back to the mansion entrance. He gazed wistfully down the path ahead, sifting through old memories, and pointed toward a narrow forest trail.
“Father and I went quite far up that mountain together. If there’s a lightning-struck tree along the way, my memory is correct. The mountain path was narrow and treacherous, and it took quite a while.”
“Then we’d better let the horse rest and continue on foot. We’ll need to prepare basic camping supplies just in case… Wait—where do we leave the horse?”
“Brother, if I remember right, there was a well in the backyard. We can leave it there.”
Kyle and Raven led the horse, separated from the carriage, toward the backyard.
Hailey called out to them as they turned away.
“Then I’ll search for supplies we can use for camping.”
Hailey began rummaging through the carriage’s storage compartment.
Standing beside her, Baron scanned the surroundings and noticed three people running hurriedly from the direction of the village—a middle-aged couple and a girl who appeared to be in her mid-teens.
“Hailey.”
“Hmm?”
“People from the village are coming.”
“From the village?”
Hailey immediately raised her voice and called to Raven.
By the time Raven returned, the villagers were standing before them in a line.
“Hello. We’re from this village.”
The moment their eyes met, the couple and girl greeted them in unison, each clutching a shovel, hoe, and slingshot respectively. They appeared to have armed themselves, though their efforts were clumsy at best.
Raven answered calmly.
“Hello. Is there something we can help you with?”
The man and woman spoke in turn.
“A wanted notice for Kyle was posted in our village not long ago. But we just heard that the men guarding the village entrance have suddenly disappeared.”
“And apparently someone showed up asking for directions to Lord Frediki’s mansion. We thought perhaps you might know Kyle…”
Upon hearing this news, the couple and girl had rushed over at once.
Hailey hesitated for a moment, looking as though she were weighing her response.
Baron, who had been intending to stay silent and feign ignorance, changed his mind.
The moment Hailey left Snoril, Duke Utra’s men had come after Kyle.
‘Trying to deny it won’t accomplish much.’
If these were people hostile to Kyle, Raven would simply confine them in the Spatial Pocket, much as she had done with those guarding the village entrance earlier.
“So you know Kyle too. But why did you come after us?”
Seeing Baron’s reaction as he folded his arms, Raven caught on to the intended direction and offered them a preemptive warning.
“I’d advise you against reporting him or attempting to take him with you. I also want to make clear that a confrontation with us would be unwise.”
“Report? Heavens, no!”
The man quickly set down his shovel and waved his hands frantically.
“Not at all. We used to deliver firewood to this manor.”
The woman’s eyes glistened with tears.
“When we heard the boy had been left alone, you can’t imagine how worried we were.”
Though it was strange that they’d brought a shovel and hoe, they didn’t seem intent on harming Kyle.
Raven, apparently sharing Baron’s assessment, asked them a question.
“Why did you bring the shovel and hoe?”
Understanding the intent behind the question, the woman quickly lowered her hoe.
“Because of the wolves…”
“Wolves?”
Now certain they were not enemies, Baron gave a subtle signal for Kyle to emerge from his hiding place.
Kyle crept out from the backyard where he’d been watching the situation unfold, and the girl threw down her slingshot and suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace.
“Kyle! You’ve grown so much—I’m so glad to see you again!”
But Kyle looked bewildered.
“Who… who are you?”
“Don’t you remember? I’m Roze. We fished together on that lightning-tree mountain and camped, remember?”
Roze shared more about those days.
“We were picking wild strawberries together when a downpour started, and we ran into a nearby cave. You slipped on the slope leading into the cave and cried so hard. I thought I’d get in terrible trouble too, so I cried as well, but your mother said it could happen to anyone and comforted us both.”
Kyle’s eyes widened as he listened to her account.
“Wait, now that I think about it—when father and I camped out, there was someone else there!”
“That’s right, that was me!”
Hailey, listening to their exchange, turned to Kyle with a question.
“Kyle, do you remember where that cave was?”
Kyle fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. At that, Hailey turned to Roze instead.
“Miss Roze, do you happen to remember the way to where you camped?”
Roze, startled, tried to stop her.
“I do know the way, but you can’t go there.”
“No? May I ask why?”
“The mountain beasts are swarming everywhere—it’s far too dangerous.”
Kyle cocked his head at Roze’s words.
“Huh? There weren’t any dangerous animals before.”
“Kyle, that’s because of Duke Utra.”
Roze’s father gave a brief account of what had transpired in the years since.
Three years ago, Duke Utra had arrived with his knights and slaughtered every member of the Frediki Family. He then forced the people who worked at the manor to turn over anything related to Lord Frediki, and he ransacked the entire village.
It seemed Duke Utra was searching for something, but what it was never came to light. And he remained here for a full three months.
“Before he left, the Duke released wolves, bears, snakes, and other creatures onto the mountain from who knows where, and he issued a Hunting Ban.”
Roze’s father explained the situation regarding Frediki Village.
The village did engage in farming, but its primary income came from the forest. They harvested firewood, berries, mushrooms, and medicinal herbs to sell. There was also a place where small amounts of gold dust could be found.
With their vital source of income blocked by the mountain beasts, the villagers petitioned Duke Utra several times to lift the Hunting Ban.
But Duke Utra’s response was always the same.
“He said he would deal with the fierce beasts once key testimony related to Lord Frediki comes forward, and to think carefully about it.”
In the meantime, the number of beasts only multiplied until they began coming down into the village to devour livestock. Eventually, six desperate men from the village armed themselves and ventured into the mountain, but…….
“All but one died, and that survivor was so gravely wounded he passed away three months later. Apparently, the wolf pack’s leader is remarkably clever—they coordinated their attacks from all sides like a military strategy, and they didn’t manage to kill a single wolf.”
Baron stroked his jaw thoughtfully.
A few beasts were nothing. If he set his mind to it, he could wipe them out in no time.
But Imperial Law was the problem.
Mountain beasts were not Monster Beasts. So even as Emperor, he could not arbitrarily meddle in the affairs of each domain without clear justification.
There were nobles like Count Enox who appreciated such intervention and assistance, but if other nobles took issue with it, things could become complicated.
Moreover, this village fell under Duke Utra’s domain.
At least until he secured evidence enough to bring the man down, he couldn’t touch the mountain beasts.
“Hmm, I need to find something in that mountain, but the beasts are crawling all over it, and I can’t hunt them down…… This has become quite the headache.”
Raven’s assessment aligned with Baron’s.
“Raven, is there a way to find what we need without clashing with the mountain beasts?”
Raven gazed at Baron for a long moment, then shook his head.
“Nothing comes to mind at the moment.”
That was when Hailey asked Roze’s parents a question.
“Doesn’t the fact that bears and wolf packs are devouring livestock mean the mountain lacks sufficient food?”
“Yes, I imagine it must be scarce. Their numbers have grown so much, after all.”
At those words, Hailey’s eyes lit up.
“I have a good idea. If food is scarce, then we should provide it.”

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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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