This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 62

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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 62

 

“Not this time, okay? The jar has a simple shape, and this time I drew it using a bowl as reference, so there’s no way to misunderstand.”

 

That’s when Carter shook his head.

 

“It’s not that I can’t recognize it. I’ve seen this drawing before.”

 

“Oh, really? You know about jars?”

 

“This looks like my sister-in-law’s crook.”

 

Sister-in-law’s crook?

 

It was a word I was hearing for the first time.

 

Carter let out a long sigh.

 

“That’s right. The name seems different, but I know this thing.”

 

It was welcome news.

 

If he already knew about jars, production would be easy too!

 

I had been wondering if I could even make one properly, but now it seemed like I could make several, and my heart raced with excitement.

 

But Carter’s next words were unexpected.

 

“However, I think I need to ask my brother first before accepting the commission.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“My brother is currently separated from my sister-in-law because they fought over this.”

 

“?”

 

It was a bewildering statement.

 

“But if we accept this commission, maybe my brother and sister-in-law’s relationship could improve again.”

 

Just then, other customers who had been looking at pottery called for Carter. It seemed they had finished choosing their pieces.

 

“I’ll call my brother for you, so please wait a moment.”

 

Carter knocked on the workshop door and called for his brother, then went over to the customers. Soon, a man wearing an apron covered in clay came out from inside.

 

“I’m Potter. What can I do for you?”

 

Potter, who seemed to have come out from his work, resembled Carter in both appearance and speech, but his atmosphere seemed more stubborn.

 

“Hello. I’m called Hailey. I came here wanting to make this, but Carter said he needed to ask his brother.”

 

I gave a brief greeting and immediately showed him the jar design.

 

“Hmm. Well, this is…”

 

Potter’s brow furrowed.

 

After chewing his lips for a moment, he eventually shook his head.

 

“I won’t accept a commission for this. Please go back.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

Along with his firm refusal, the expression that flashed across his face was definitely fear.

 

‘He said he’s separated from his wife because they fought over jars, so did something terrible happen?’

 

But it was a delicate matter to ask a stranger I’d just met.

 

That’s when Baron, being a child, asked the question without hesitation.

 

“You know about it but won’t accept the commission? Don’t tell me you can’t make it? Do you lack the skill?”

 

Potter’s eyebrows twitched.

 

‘Ugh! Baron. I told you not to speak informally to adults.’

 

But before I could say anything, Raven spoke first.

 

“This is the young master of the Eldite Family.”

 

At that introduction, Potter nodded with understanding and lowered his posture as he answered Baron.

 

“What a truly dignified young master you are. I do have the skill.”

 

The informal speech itself passed without any problem. Moreover, since he said he had the skill, I felt a little hope.

 

Raven whispered quietly to me.

 

“Lady Hailey. No matter how young, nobles don’t speak formally to commoners.”

 

That’s right, Baron even spoke somewhat informally in front of Princess Nelloa. I’m anxious about what might happen if his identity as a child of an extinct family gets discovered.

 

But that wasn’t what was important right now.

 

“Excuse me, I really need this. May I ask why it’s not possible?”

 

Potter nodded.

 

“First reason. The raw materials. We need clay and sandy soil. But.”

 

Potter pointed to the forest.

 

“There’s plenty of that in that forest. But I haven’t received permission to extract it.”

 

Kyle, who had been listening nearby, carefully spoke up.

 

“Then couldn’t you get it from another region?”

 

“It’s possible, but that would make it very expensive, kid. And…”

 

Potter shook his head.

 

“The second reason is bigger. I’m sick and tired of this. Even if someone brought me the materials now, I don’t want to accept the commission.”

 

Just then, Carter’s voice suddenly interjected as he returned from seeing off the customers who had purchased pottery.

 

“Sick and tired, what nonsense. Don’t make excuses. The real reason you won’t do it is because you fought with sister-in-law over it, brother.”

 

Potter’s face crumpled with annoyance.

 

“Carter, saying unnecessary things in front of customers!”

 

“Just make up with sister-in-law while you’re at it. You’re still newlyweds after all.”

 

Carter shrugged with a pitying expression.

 

“Isn’t this the first crook commission that’s come to sister-in-law? How about giving sister-in-law a chance this time? She wants to make it so badly.”

 

Potter pressed his lips tightly together. With a face mixed with complex emotions, he looked elsewhere for a moment, then turned his back.

 

“Hmph, what kind of chance for that stubborn woman!”

 

“Come on, even if your mouth is crooked, speak straight. Sister-in-law’s stubbornness is understandable. You’re the one who was being unreasonably stubborn, brother.”

 

“Shut up! You brat!”

 

Potter disappeared behind the workshop building with rough steps.

 

Soon smoke began rising vigorously. He had started firing up the kiln.

 

“Sigh.”

 

Carter shook his head and pointed to the forest.

 

“They bickered over those crook materials and had a big fight a month ago. They’ve been separated since then. If you follow the stream in that forest, you’ll come to the pond lowlands where sister-in-law should be.”

 

“The forest?”

 

I looked in the direction Carter was pointing and asked back.

 

“Isn’t that toward the Lord’s Forest?”

 

“Half right, half wrong.”

 

It was indeed toward the Lord’s Forest, but where his sister-in-law was located was state-owned land beyond the domain’s boundary.

 

“The materials for crook only come from a few specific spots. In this area, they come from there.”

 

Carter explained the reason for their fight without even being asked.

 

“I didn’t hear the details of what happened, but sister-in-law apparently lost her hometown and all her property and was wandering when she met my brother. We all have the same profession.”

 

Potter’s wife’s name was Cosette.

 

Potter was very attracted to her, as she had expertise not only in pottery but also in ceramics. So he had agreed to making crook, which was an item from Cosette’s hometown.

 

But after marriage, once he learned that the raw materials had to be extracted from the forest, the story changed.

 

Potter was someone who really hated going into the forest.

 

“He just said the Lord hadn’t permitted extraction and kept his mouth shut. But this actually doesn’t make sense.”

 

Carter scratched his head.

 

“The raw material extraction site is strictly speaking state-owned land. Plus, since we have official business permits from the domain and the Empire, we can extract raw materials even from the Lord’s Forest.”

 

Potter was essentially lying.

 

But Potter wouldn’t budge and inevitably brought in materials from elsewhere, absolutely forbidding Carter and Cosette from entering the forest.

 

As a result, the margins were small, and importing the already expensive crook materials became a very burdensome task.

 

‘We haven’t seen a single person commission one, so why insist on making them first?’

 

This was another reason for opposing crook production.

 

During the decades the brothers had been running the workshop, they had never once seen anyone commission crook production. So Potter’s argument had merit on this point.

 

But Cosette was adamant.

 

Whether Crook sold to her or not wasn’t important. If there was no money, she could just go collect the materials herself. She tried to enter the forest, saying she would make the raw materials on her own.

 

No matter how much Potter tried to stop her, saying the forest was dangerous, it was useless. Seeing her husband who, far from understanding her feelings, only continued to oppose her, Cosette’s anger rose to the top of her head.

 

In the end, Cosette took advantage of Potter’s absence and entered the forest.

 

Potter wanted to bring Cosette back immediately. But he couldn’t chase after her into the forest.

 

In the end, Carter had to check on Cosette’s whereabouts and return.

 

“The forest is wide, but it’s not that deep. There aren’t any deadly beasts originally. At most there are foxes, rabbits, deer?”

 

Carter tried to persuade his sister-in-law to return to the workshop. Although there might not be dangerous beasts, in places like this, humans are usually more dangerous.

 

However, Cosette was stubborn.

 

Carter also told his brother to persuade Cosette and return together. But Potter insisted that he absolutely could not enter the forest.

 

“They’re running on parallel lines.”

 

Carter, who had been stroking his chin, made a suggestion to us.

 

“If it’s alright with you, could you persuade my sister-in-law to come back? My sister-in-law can make Crook. If she reconciles with my brother, the work speed will be faster too.”

 

Carter was hoping for the two to reconcile. Since I also needed the jar, there was no reason to refuse.

 

“I’ll try. But, uh…”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“There’s something bothering me a bit… I can’t remember well.”

 

What was it?

 

That’s when it happened.

 

Pyuuuuu! Bang!

 

A red flare burst in the sky over there.

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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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