This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 198

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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 198

Contrary to my worries, the Alpha Wolf never ambushed us. But she followed us all the way to the Lightning Tree.
“Raven, why do you think she’s doing this?”
I ventured closer and asked. Raven glanced back and smiled.
“Hard to say. Maybe she’s taken a liking to Crockel.”
“To Crockel?”
“She’s been staring at him this whole time.”
I looked at the Alpha Wolf again. She had abandoned all pretense of hiding, her head already thrust boldly out of the undergrowth.
‘I couldn’t tell before—I only saw her ears.’
Just as Raven said, the Alpha Wolf was fixated on Crockel, who was sniffing intently around the base of the Lightning Tree.
‘Then maybe it really is safe?’
That was when it happened.
“Bark!”
Crockel barked loudly and headbutted the charred side of the Lightning Tree.
Crack!
The wood was so rotted that the dead bark and branches shattered all at once and collapsed to the side. As they fell away, a space opened up near the base, and inside it lay a small, weathered box with its lid rim sealed with beeswax.
“It seems Lord Frediki hid it in the hollow of the dead tree.”
Raven brushed the dirt from the box, scraped away the beeswax, and opened the lid.
Inside were document scrolls carefully wrapped in leather.
“So this is what Lord Frediki left behind……”
Raven unrolled the documents and sighed, then showed them to us.
“Only half of it. He split the evidence and hid it separately.”
The leather and documents were torn lengthwise, just as Raven said, and along the line of the tear was the mark of a Seal.
“Then where is the other half?”
As I asked, the Alpha Wolf emerged from the undergrowth and approached us.
I startled and retreated with Baron, Kyle, and Roze. But the Alpha Wolf sniffed at the box and leather that Raven held, then turned back toward the Caves. Partway there, she looked back at us and pointed her snout toward the Caves.
The way she moved—it was unmistakably an attempt to communicate with us—eased the fear I’d felt toward her.
“She seems to be telling us to follow. Let’s go.”
We followed the Alpha Wolf.
.
.
.
The Alpha Wolf led us to a cliff face carved into what looked like stairs.
She pointed downward with her snout and stepped back. Looking down, I saw a box identical to the one we’d found at the Lightning Tree lying on the nearest ledge.
Raven leaped down, retrieved the box, and climbed back up.
Inside was the other half of the document we’d found earlier.
“The paper is slightly degraded, but identification is no problem.”
Raven pressed the two documents together. The torn edges and the Seal marks aligned perfectly, and the full contents of the document lay revealed.
We placed the document in the center and examined its contents.
The script was unfamiliar, yet it read smoothly. Apparently, Adeline—the original owner of this body—had learned to read the Otix Kingdom’s writing.
The paper contained exactly what Lora Enox, the Duchess of Borderland, had told us.
Beyond that, it also detailed the exact terms of the Fake Invasion agreed upon between Duke Utra and the Otix Kingdom.
When the Otix Kingdom attacks, Duke Utra will pretend to defend as the Empire’s shield. Then, when the Regent Anna steps down and Bloden takes the reins of government, Duke Utra will feign being pushed into retreat, then appeal to Bloden for reinforcements.
Once Bloden steps in, the Otix Kingdom will pretend to lose their nerve before combat even begins and withdraw. Then, when Bloden returns to his duties, the Otix Kingdom attacks again.
Thus they will endlessly drain Bloden, shuttling him between the battlefield, his duties, and the Northern Gate.
This was their long-standing plot.
On the final page were recorded the number, timing, and location of each Fake Invasion—presumably written to ensure the agreement was precise.
The first Fake Invasion was scheduled for roughly a month away.
According to this document, word of war would reach us a month from now.
“Heavens, I’ve heard it described, but seeing the actual evidence—it’s truly horrific.”
At my words, Raven swallowed hard and secured the documents carefully.
“I’ll see this is properly delivered to His Majesty. You rest assured, and let’s head down.”
Then Kyle, who had been silent until now, grabbed my sleeve with an anxious expression.
“Nuna. What do we do? The document really did exist……”
“……Eh? What do you mean, what do we do?”
“Honestly, I was skeptical. I even wondered if Duke Utra was just tormenting the village with delusions.”
Until just moments ago, he’d seemed fine, but now tears welled in Kyle’s eyes.
“But it was real. All along, our family has been destroyed because of this, and the villagers have suffered too. My father hid this document……”
“No, Kyle. Your father didn’t hide this to make Frediki Village suffer.”
I wrapped my arm around Kyle’s shoulder and spoke gently.
“Your father hid this evidence here to protect it. The one who made the village suffer was Duke Utra, not Lord Frediki.”
Even as I explained, Kyle trembled. Tension and anxiety filled the child’s face.
“I don’t understand everything, but let’s say you’re right. Does that document really clear my father and our family’s name? Will the villagers be able to live a little easier?”
“Oh, Kyle.”
I recalled how Kyle had tried so hard to be brave despite the shadows that crossed his face.
“You’ve been through so much.”
As I embraced Kyle, Raven nodded silently. He seemed to be thinking the same answer as I was.
I spoke with certainty.
“Of course. Everything will be restored.”
Baron agreed with my words.
“Restored? Looking at this, it deserves more than that. They should be rewarded.”
“I share Baron’s thoughts. The villagers suffered along with him, so wouldn’t His Majesty offer them compensation once he learns of this?”
“You hear that? Lord Frediki bore this disgrace while protecting the Empire.”
“Father did?”
“Yes. That’s the truth. And now it’s proven.”
I stroked Kyle’s hair gently.
“You’ve endured so much. Only good days lie ahead now.”
Then Kyle gripped me tightly and burst into tears.

* * *

Hailey was in deep sleep, and the full moon hung high in the sky.
Baron, who had stepped outside, mounted Crockel, now returned to his full size, and climbed the mountain again.
Crockel leaped and arrived at the cliff-like stairs where the box had been found during the day.
There, the Alpha Wolf sat with her pack.
When Crockel revealed himself, all the wolves in the pack except the Alpha Wolf yelped in unison, tucked their tails between their legs, and scrambled backward before flattening themselves submissively. Instinct had them surrender first.
-Tch, you cowards.
The Alpha Wolf, having rebuked her pack, began wagging her tail at Crockel.
-I thought we might meet again, but I didn’t expect it to be today.
-My master has summoned me, so I’ve come.
-Master?
The Alpha Wolf saw Baron mounted on Crockel’s back and let out a small laugh.
-Now I’m curious. How did such a small child become your master?
-Do I need to explain?
That was when Baron’s eyes, as he dismounted from Crockel, flashed crimson. The startled Alpha Wolf instinctively tucked her tail and retreated a few steps before quickly dropping low.
-M-my master. I greet you.
Respectful speech spilled naturally from the Alpha Wolf’s mouth.
Bloden, surveying the Alpha Wolf and her pack, asked in a flat voice.
“How did you know about that box?”
-It was originally in the caves.
“In the caves?”
-Yes. I came to this mountain about three years ago. I was alone then and used that cave as my den. One day I returned from a hunt to find a box I had never seen before.
The box carried the scent of humans.
-Humans do travel throughout the mountain, but this was the first time I’d smelled human scent in the cave.
Displeased, the Alpha Wolf had seized the box and thrown it off the cliff.
Then, quite some time passed before a human came to her cave once more.
-The second time, it was a group of humans.
Knowing that revealing herself would surely bring an attack, the Alpha Wolf had kept herself low and waited until they left.
-As more time passed, suddenly many of my own kind appeared.
Countless wolves that had been caged were released into the forest.
Thrust into an unfamiliar environment, they began to fight for hierarchy. Since they came from many different places, they were all strangers to one another.
But the struggle for dominance didn’t last long. Once they came face to face with the Alpha Wolf, the hierarchy was settled at once, and they formed a single pack, maintaining their own order.
Having heard this much, Bloden realized how fortune had favored them. And when the Alpha Wolf finished her account, she glanced at Crockel.
-As of today, this one—Crockel—became rank one in our pack. He is our Alpha.
-Huh? It’s natural that I’m rank one, but why am I your Alpha?
-Because you’re the first wolf to ever beat me. Since you defeated me, the Alpha, it’s only right that you become Alpha.
“Fine. I’ll come back another time.”
At those words, the Alpha Wolf and all her pack bowed their heads to Bloden.
Bloden climbed back onto Crockel’s shoulders and descended the mountain in a flash.
As they reached the front of the Frediki Mansion, Raven, who had been waiting there, bowed respectfully toward Bloden.
It wasn’t as though Bloden had ordered him to wait nearby, yet ever since the documents had surfaced, Raven had been keeping watch over his liege.
The reason was clear: he was waiting for Bloden’s command.
“Raven.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“There’s no reason to call Utra a Duke anymore.”

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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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