My Wife the Empress is Becoming Frightening

9. Unexpectedly

Episode 9

Even though it was night, the empress of the Blata Empire wished she had at least two more bodies, looking blankly at the magic tools that lit up the office.

Thinking that the fact that even magic tools, the essence of the sorcery society, are only tools for extended work, she sighed, thinking that it was quite sad.

“… … ha.”

Of course, just sighing doesn’t mean the work is over, so Marianne buried her face in the desk again.

With the exception of the charisma and dignity required to subdue the high-ranking officials, and the splendid decorations she had to show as the emperor of an empire, Marianne’s appearance was no different from that of a student whose assignments were overdue.

The previous emperor had indulged in luxury and pleasure without caring about state affairs at all.

There was even a rebellion, so I was afraid to think how much more time I would have to spend on the follow-up process alone.

Is it because of that? The sober thinking, which he managed to maintain during the day, loosened somewhat at night. It was the same even now.

I’m working thanks to my body, but about half of my head was thinking about something else. And lately, it’s been one person who’s had the most share of that thought.

“The more I think about it, the more absurd it is.”

Marianne mumbled unconsciously in a shrill voice and immediately threw away the pen. No matter how much I thought about it, the feeling of being ignored didn’t go away.

There were things that kept bothering me.

Before the surprise of having virtually destroyed Diarose passed. The party involved, her legal husband, had come looking for her.

It was true that he, who possessed unexpected power, had done a great job in eliminating Abrarum’s main source of money and weeding out some of the rats mixed in with the imperial government and the aristocracy.

That’s why I thought that Marianne would also tolerate it if I shouted a little louder.

Of course, I had no intention of watching him challenge the emperor’s authority, so I allowed him to meet alone with the intention of giving me a proper warning if he crossed the line.

However, her legal husband, instead of bragging about her strength and merits, asked for gold coins.

-… … Your dignity and upkeep should be paid in full, but could it be that it wasn’t enough?

-no. Other than that, Diarose was the source of Abrarum’s money. Then the gold coins confiscated by the imperial government this time won’t be worth much.

It was. Thanks to the inescapable cause created by the evidence gathered by the Hounds, Diarose was able to collect a significant amount of illegal goods as well as gold coins that were used legally.

The gold coins confiscated in this way were enough to fill the imperial treasury at once, which was on the verge of being squandered by the previous emperor and the subsequent rebellion.

Even Marianne was surprised to hear the amount, so if you’re an ordinary person, there’s nothing wrong with being greedy.

However, her legal husband was also no ordinary person.

-You came to me directly to ask for it?

Marianne was drained of energy, preparing to deal with Isaac’s share demands or outrageous sums.

The amount he said was not small. by the standards of the common people. However, it was a ridiculously small amount to ask for even after destroying a branch of the empire’s largest criminal organization and meeting the emperor.

-I heard that, as your husband, I need the Empress’s permission to receive money other than the dignity maintenance fee?

Isaac tilted his head at Marianne’s attitude. In principle, that was correct. I don’t know who it was, but he explained it properly to Isaac.

The person who explained it probably never imagined that Isaac would go to the emperor and ask for money. I don’t know who it was, but I didn’t feel like blaming it.

You didn’t even have to open the safe to find the gold coins. Marianne rummaged through a drawer and handed one of the pockets she found to Isaac.

-Is this enough?

-uh. thank you.

Upon receiving the pouch, Isaac nodded in satisfaction and was about to leave. I would have really gone out if Marianne hadn’t called.

-for a moment. Did you really come to see me to receive it?

-? huh.

She couldn’t say anything to Isaac, who looked at her with the attitude that there was something wrong with her. If that was the only thing to do, there was no need to continue the conversation anymore.

Despite knowing that, Marianne, who was strangely unrefreshed, said as if adding:

-… … If you need that amount, tell Haria in the future. I will pass it through her.

-okay.

After answering, Isaac went outside. It wasn’t technically a big deal, but Marianne couldn’t shake the feeling of being ignored.

It’s funny to think about it, but honestly, I didn’t feel anything other than absurd at the time.

But belatedly, I felt something annoyed that that was the only reason I came to see him in person for the first time.

Most of all, he was dissatisfied with the fact that he hadn’t come to visit him even after he was instructed to refrain from contact with women for a while at the tea party a few days ago.

According to Haria’s report, she was turning in agony because she couldn’t do that.

Of course, even if he came, he had no intention of doing anything in particular, but the feeling of being ignored did not go away.

“Oh really.”

Marianne clenched her tongue in displeasure and left the office. It was because I decided that it was wrong to focus on work any longer.

When she opened the door, the waiting maids turned on their magic tools and came out to follow her to the bedroom. Afterwards, the magic tool that was turned on in the office was turned off by another maid.

In the dark office, only the pen that had been thrown away by its owner was lying around.

—

“Um… .”

Haria’s consciousness returned due to the dull pain. After coming to her senses, she quickly checked her body condition, as was her old habit.

First of all, it seemed that he had not been insulted, as his clothes were not torn or peeled off. I was still a bit dizzy from the strong shock to the back of my head, but nothing serious.

The eyes were covered with something like a black cloth. The damage to the body was not as great as expected, except for the gag in the mouth, the shackles tied to the ankles, and the arms restrained behind.

‘What and how severely he intends to torture me.’

Even knowing that her body was normal, Haria couldn’t be happy. Being unscathed after being kidnapped with hostility wasn’t a very good sign.

This is because it is the same as saying that you will inflict pain when the target comes to his senses. In particular, Haria, who knew the identity of the kidnappers, wished she could die now.

But never in her life did anything she wished for come true.

“Are you awake?”

When the cloth covering her eyes disappeared, she could see the light. A light that suddenly appeared in the darkness blurred his vision, but it didn’t last long.

After struggling to look around, it was assumed that the place where she had been taken was the basement. It was not a special looking place. It was a place that would have been if it were a little larger average family home.

However, those gathered there were by no means common. About ten people in black masks stood in a large circle, looking down at her.

‘Is it a unit under the direct control of the Council of Elders?’

After confirming that each individual had an unusual aura that could be recognized even though they had not emitted it, Haria came to that conclusion.

Sika, one of the leading assassin families on the continent. And the actual leaders who moved them were old monsters called the Council of Elders.

“Release the gag too.”

The gag that had been placed on someone’s mouth disappeared at someone’s command. Haria gnashed her teeth to burst the poison hidden in her molars, but it was meaningless.

As half expected, the poison had been removed. I didn’t bite my tongue though.

It was because he knew that not only would he be in pain, but he would not be able to die right away, and that if the opponent was Shika, he would rather help them.

So instead I said:

“Isn’t it too big for a moving force to catch me?”

“Of course, we didn’t move to catch only four years.”

A man walking forward. Judging from the quality of fighting, he was undoubtedly the leader.

While feeling the feeling of being weighed down by the gently spreading and oppressive aura, Haria shouted with poisonous spirits.

“What the hell! They treated me like a dog because I was low in rank and then left them to die casually, and now I have something else to do!”

Haria, to be exact, had a fairly low status among her blood relatives, although her family was Shika.

Haria’s family was almost like slaves in Shika, where vertical strict top-down discipline was the basis.

Nonetheless, her family was proud of being Shika. The same was true of Haria, who grew up hearing Shika’s countless legendary anecdotes from a young age.

It was definitely like that until the family abandoned by Shika as expendable items was exterminated.

“If you are a Shika, it is natural to devote your body and mind to your blood relatives. Originally, the four-year-old traitor should be punished immediately upon discovery, but the Council of Elders is merciful. He said he would give you a chance to be loyal to your bloodline again.”

It is said that if you give me information, you will save me.

It was bullsh*t that even dogs couldn’t believe.

“Blow on everything you know about the Empress. It doesn’t matter if it’s trivial. And before that, I have a question for you.”

Haria had already expected that she would ask about the emperor. However, there is no way that Shika, who is not a gossip, does not know that Haria has no information.

So the real purpose would be the latter.

“What?”

“Is it really Isaac von Mayer, the new husband of the Empress, who massacred the top combatants of Abrarum stationed in Diarose?”

‘Ahh. Did you really want to know that?’

I don’t know the details of Shika’s current situation, but it wasn’t hard to predict that at least she wouldn’t be friendly to the empress.

Shika had been attached to the power class that followed the previous emperor and made huge profits. The Empress, who stole it, would be an object of displeasure and reluctance to the old Council of Elders.

From their point of view, as long as the empress was alive, they could not relax, so they needed to keep an eye on them and keep them in check.

Therefore, if the empress had new powers, she had to check it out. And once the confirmation is complete, they will definitely go out to remove it.

Haria didn’t know exactly how strong Isaac was, but it was hard to imagine that she would be able to defeat Shika in terms of assassination.

He was the one who came for this role from the beginning. A shield and a scapegoat for the Empress, and a paving stone and justification for the Empress to move with another blow.

That was the fate of a man with the gaudy title of the empress’s husband, and the role of the hound captain.

Because of this, Haria smiled and said without hesitation.

“That idiot slut annihilated Abrarum’s top combatants? Shikado has become a jerk. Are you serious?”

“… … … .”

Although he was wearing a mask, he could tell that the man’s face was frowning. He grabbed Haria’s wrist and asked again.

“Are there any lies in that?”

“under! All I’ve seen from tailing him are the women he’s hung out with. Could it be that the top combatants were women? then i don’t know That bastard, he seemed to be really good at that one thing.”

“… … I’m not lying.”

The man was obviously an excellent assassin, but in the end it was Shika. Unable to conceive of Haria, the lowest ranking, faking his heartbeat, he fell for her lies.

“So what? Now, if you blow up on the empress, will you save her?”

“no. Plans have changed. Four years here were useless.”

Suddenly, the man pulled out a dagger and held it. Is it discarded right away when it is no longer needed? This was as expected, so Haria did not feel dissatisfied.

The vowed revenge was not fulfilled. Instead, she was betrayed and abandoned, and she was able to f*ck Shika, who forced her to betray again, so I should be content with this.

If it’s the only regret, there’s only one.

‘I wonder if I’ve never been in love like a normal woman.’

It was when Haria closed her eyes, thinking of the lingering regret that would make her laugh.

“Is this it? Are you unexpectedly moved? Wow, I was really impressed.”

“uh?”

Haria’s eyes widened. The owner of that voice did not belong to the man who asked her a moment ago. It was a voice I remembered relatively recently.

“I really didn’t know you thought of me that way, Haria.”

When Haria opened her eyes and looked up, there was the severed head of the man who tried to kill her… …

“… … Excuse me, but who? No, this voice is definitely… … .”

“Oh right. Besides the mask, I was wearing what Derrigan gave me.”

A stranger with a familiar voice ripped off the skin on his face. Then the fake skin peeled off and his real face appeared.

“Captain?!”

“huh.”

The one smiling and looking down is undoubtedly her captain.

It was Isaac.