My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 171

That sounds like a reasonable explanation.

But the immortal black serpent knew very well that this woman named Ekaterina wasn't the kind of person who liked to shower at midday and was obsessively concerned with her personal hygiene...

and so--

What is going on?

For some reason, the alarm bells in my heart kept ringing louder and louder... Koschke's tail fur gradually became fluffy and puffy.

Realizing that things might get really bad if he didn't calm his wife down soon, Mr. Yang Hao, sweating profusely, disregarded the fact that Koschitch was still standing in the hallway. He suddenly reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, and then, under the surprised yet trusting gaze of the little cat, Yang Hao and his wife shared a deep kiss.

He actively pried open her mouth and began to entwine his tongue with hers. Yang Hao knew this was Koschei's weakness, so he didn't hold back. Even though Koschei's face was already flushed red, he still showed no sign of stopping.

He was looking at Koschei's tail. Koschei's tail was like an emotional indicator. The Duke, who was familiar with every part of her body, knew very well that Koschei would only truly relax when her tail looked like that.

After a moment, when he noticed that Koschitch's tail had become smooth again, and when he was also about to suffocate from the long, deep kiss and French kiss, he gently raised his head and broke the connection between them.

Wet, almost broken sap still clung to the corners of their mouths. They were both panting, but unlike before, Kosiché had given up on continuing to search for His Majesty the Emperor.

"Honestly... I don't mind being seen by others, but darling... haven't you been getting more and more proactive lately?"

Her eyes were a little dazed. She stuck out her smooth tongue and broke the sticky, precarious hold of fluid between them, which was about to snap under the weight of gravity. She gave Yang Hao a reproachful look, then tiptoed and kissed him gently one last time. She then told Yang Hao he'd better hurry up—otherwise the food would get cold.

Yang Hao simply chuckled and nodded. After watching Kosiché's retreating figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, he wiped the cold sweat from his brow, returned to his room, and closed the door.

Thank goodness Kosichek didn't come in—he glanced back at the bed in the dorm room, staring at the damp sheets for a while before thinking, "There's no way to explain this..."

Furthermore, the incense burning in His Majesty's room did indeed provide some cover, otherwise...

"I thought Duke Kosiché would just walk right in."

Before Yang Hao could even feel relieved, the bathroom door burst open. The Emperor, wrapped in a towel and steaming from his pink body, leaned against the doorframe and teased the embarrassed Yang Hao, saying, "I was all prepared to explain to Duke Kosiché that this was just a simple transaction, but you actually resolved it yourself."

"...hiss."

"Don't look at me like that. I'm just fulfilling your needs—or is 2 red gold not enough for you, and you're planning to work harder?"

"Hiss...no, no, that's enough, that's enough...I'm just planning to tidy up a bit and then go have lunch..."

"hehe."

Looking at the elegant lady who had just finished bathing, who looked a little tired but was still full of energy, Yang Hao covered his face and sighed heavily.

2 pieces of red gold—2 pieces of red gold that Yang Hao earned through arduous battles at the invitation of His Majesty the Emperor!

These 20,000 red gold coins will have a big use later. They can be used to pay for the necessary funds for the pony's activities, to rebuild the Duchy of Koschche, and most importantly, to make some [unspeakable] transactions with foreign powers—this is 20,000 red gold coins that I worked so hard to earn!

If it weren't for the fact that the funds for the Ursus Empire's reconstruction and recovery were absolutely unacceptable, and the only thing he could take was His Majesty the Emperor's personal treasury, he...

He lowered his head, then suddenly realized – His Majesty the Emperor has so much money in his private treasury.

So... what about those nobles?

He swallowed hard. To avoid being used against him by His Majesty again in the future, he had to...

He got a big one. After the Kazimierz incident was over.

Chapter XIII

...While Koschche returned to his bedroom and waited for Monica to bring him the prepared lunch, he was also playing with Hela, the adorable baby who was sitting on the edge of the bed showing him the "gift from Aunt Sonia."

Kosicche savored the taste in his mouth.

Suddenly I realized something was wrong.

'...Strange. Why does my darling's mouth taste like honey?'

She seemed thoughtful and somewhat confused. After all, in her memory, the taste in Yang Hao's mouth was almost always hers—or Monica's. Occasionally, there would be a hint of Sonia's taste, but what was this honey-like sweetness all about?

Although I vaguely remember him liking sweets? But then again, this "honey" flavor tastes more like...

What does the lipstick smell like?

Does His Majesty the Emperor wear lipstick? No, wait...

In her room, wouldn't it be easy for her to put on lipstick?

but why?

Does this taste in my husband's mouth?

Kosiché lowered her head, no longer in the mood to play with Hela. She vaguely realized something was wrong... but just as her consciousness was beginning to take hold, Yang Hao returned.

He seemed perfectly normal, and when he returned, he didn't forget to lock the door. He sat down next to Koschei, lifted Hela off Koschei's lap, and began to play with his living doll child.

...

Kosicie watched him nonchalantly, leaning against him as usual. She subtly twitched her nose, inhaling Yang Hao's scent.

To her disappointment, she didn't detect any other scents to confirm her suspicions. And then again, if she wanted to investigate the taste of his breath further, doing it in front of the child... it was definitely too much.

Ugh!

She sighed softly, and then, while waiting for lunch, she began to talk to her husband about Kazimierz...

"In short, darling—you probably don't need to go to Kazimierz in person for this matter, do you?"

"Hmm? Hmm... I guess so?"

Yang Hao rubbed Hela's face and nodded blankly. He wasn't sure whether he should go to Kazimierz; he needed to see how things went.

“If you have to go out, I definitely won’t be able to stay with you.” Kosiché sighed. “By then I will be inheriting Miss Karina’s body, plus a whole lot of things to do… Sigh. I’m worried about how you’ll be out there, darling.”

"Well, there's really no need to worry too much. If I go to Kazimierz, I'll definitely bring Sonia with me. Besides, Paul and Theresa are there this time too."

"But that's a foreign country after all."

"That's true..."

They were silent for a moment, then the head maid, Monica, came over with some snacks—she said that this lunch would take a while to prepare, and for some reason, the smile on her face when she looked at Yang Hao became particularly strange.

Kosichello asked about the Easter egg—and then, with a strange expression, realized that all the ingredients related to "replenishing energy" did indeed require a long time to prepare.

So let's have some dessert first.

With this in mind, Kosice ate a piece of Gallic dessert. As she ate, something suddenly occurred to her, and she turned back, still chewing her food, to her husband, who was [teaching their children how to eat with decorum], and asked:

"However, in your plan, it seems that only half of the people need to be sent over for the time being? Hmm... the other half and Miss Theresa are still on standby in the duchy?"

“Yes, after all, I need to make sure the actual situation is right before I can invest all the resources.” Yang Hao shrugged and answered honestly, “Besides, Theresa’s situation is a bit more complicated—she still needs to go to the hospital for a check-up. You know that.”

"That serious injury? Or was it the overexertion of Originium Arts?"

"The problem is overspending..."

Kosiché noticed that when her husband mentioned "overdraft," a few drops of cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

He chuckled a few times, ate a few bites of dessert, and then, holding little Hela who was quietly eating, looked up at the ceiling:

"And by the way... Koschche. Recently, I received a sum of money from His Majesty the Emperor..."

"Ok?"

"It'll cost about 2 taels of pure gold... It'll be shipped over from Saint-Germain in a few days. I plan to use it first for rebuilding the damaged city and increasing education spending..."

"Hmm? Of course, that's no problem—but speaking of which, why did His Majesty the Emperor give you this money?"

Can I just say that this is the result that your dear husband painstakingly cultivated on His Majesty the Emperor's body?

Yang Hao opened his mouth, cold sweat pouring down his face. He knew he absolutely couldn't say this—but with so much pure gold to use, he certainly couldn't hide it from his wife's discerning eyes, so...

He flashed a bright white smile and, with a tone that even he himself didn't believe, explained to his wife:

"His Majesty the Emperor said this is for nutrition expenses."

"...ha?"

Kosiché made an extremely strange expression.

"Exactly, the nutrition expenses for the baby in her belly—I'm thinking that since we don't need that money for the time being, why don't we use it for infrastructure and public education first? What do you think?"

“...From a purely economic perspective, that’s certainly true.” The strangeness on her face became… even more indescribable. She was now looking at Yang Hao with the eyes of someone looking at a lunatic, a look that deeply wounded Yang Hao. Her next words only reinforced this: “But I never expected, darling… that you would even skimp on your own child’s nutrition expenses…?”

"...Hahaha, this is called—an emergency response, an emergency response, right..."

“I understand, but Hela, you can’t be like him.”

Koschei sighed and reached out to pat Hela's forehead in Yang Hao's arms. Hela looked at Aunt Koschei, who had suddenly touched her forehead, with a puzzled expression. After a moment, understanding what was going on, she nodded and let out an innocent laugh.

"Okay, I know! But Aunt Koschche—what does 'inheriting a body' mean?"

"...So, I need to get a new body, okay?"

"Then why change it?"

"For various reasons..."

...

Watching his wife, Kosich, become completely absorbed in family education.

Yang Hao breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he had finally managed to fool them—

"...Lord Yang Hao, did you have a good time with His Majesty the Emperor today?"

...

The girl in the mirror gently blew a breath into his ear.

Chapter Fourteen

-

Amidst the chaos, the date arrived at September 7th.

Meanwhile, the people of the Duchy of Kosiché were jubilant about the construction of Saint-Germain Castle next to their homes. However, the joyous atmosphere in the streets brought no happiness to Theresa, who was lost in thought in her office. Two days earlier, some of her close friends had already returned to their hometown to prepare for the project.

Last to leave are Mas and Lily. They were also on this mission, and what I'm about to do is personally hand over the forged documents and other things to them—ah, here it comes.

"Hey—Theresa? Aren't you really going to talk to the boss for a bit so you can go over there too?"

Without knocking, Mars barged in and casually sat down in the chair opposite the desk, while Lily rolled her eyes and sat down in a corner of the desk, clearly displeased with Mars taking her place.

They were not wearing their own uniforms, but rather civilian clothing in the style of Casimir.

"How can I go there? I'm not like you guys. You can at least try to hide, but if I go back and get discovered, I'll be dead, okay?" Faced with Mars's joke, Theresa rolled her eyes and threw over the fake documents the two of them needed: "Here, yours—look at your names and stuff, and the reason for returning home is on it too."

"Ugh—why did they give me a name that sounds like a prostitute's? Oh well... The reason my documents expired is because I was caught up in the civil war in the Ursus Empire and can't return home temporarily? Okay, I should be fine at customs."

“I’m about the same here… But Theresa, are you really not going back? If you’re not going back, Mars and I will go to your family’s old cemetery to see if there’s anything good we can bring back. You’re welcome.” Lily asked curiously, flipping through the documents in her hand.

"You bunch of bastards, you don't even spare the dead's belongings?! Oh well, if you can go, then go. Anyway, I remember there were still quite a few remnants waiting there before I came to Ursus..."

Faced with Lily's shocking statement that she would even dig up her own family's ancestral graves, Theresa was first taken aback, then she slumped listlessly onto the table, indicating that if they could do it, then so be it—after all, if something went wrong, it wouldn't be her responsibility, so who would care?

Her action startled Mas and Lily for a moment. They then exchanged glances, put the forged documents into their clothes, and looked back at Theresa.

"Remnants? I think they're veterans who retired during the last major war, right? If I'm not mistaken, it was because..."

"Yes, that's what you're thinking about—they're my dad's loyal followers, but these retired veterans, who have neither money nor power, can only barely make a living by guarding a few villages that aren't even mobile towns."

Theresa was once a descendant of a noble knightly family in Kazimierz—but during a great war, when the family patriarch faced a doomed defeat, he chose to desert with his men. Naturally, the family fell into ruin because of that dishonorable act, and all the deserters were forced into retirement, taking all their equipment with them.

Those deserters, known as the "remnants," had their lives etched with shame. Their well-made equipment was so valuable that even the most profit-driven capital companies in Kazimierz wouldn't bother to buy it—of course, those companies were probably more concerned about the reputational damage they would suffer if they acquired the deserters' weapons.

However, those remaining soldiers are still loyal to Theresa's family... As for why? Perhaps those deserters know very well that if her father hadn't done what he did, they would all be dead on the battlefield, or worse. But the loyalty of these remaining soldiers is meaningless, because Theresa has already broken away from the ranks of the Conqueror Knights due to successive blows and the contempt of the Conqueror Knights' superiors.

Driven by the desire to earn money and restore her family's honor, she, burdened by her humiliating surname, became a commercially trained spy and was sent to Ursus.

But before she could return home with any valuable intelligence, that incident happened—but in Mars's opinion, isn't life in the Dukedom of Koschche more comfortable than life in the Grand Knights? So if he doesn't care about the revival of his family, he can live happily in Ursus.

But clearly, Theresa didn't think that way. As her best friend who knew her inside and out, Lily knew very well that Theresa had always longed to revive her family.

"So, Theresa, if you asked the boss, he should also—"

“But the problem is, I can’t go back at all, okay? A knightly family that has produced cowardly deserters in the past, and now its last descendant has been turned into the chief spymaster of Ursus. Do you know how many people in Kazimir are waiting for me to go back and make a fool of myself?” Theresa rolled her eyes as she lay on the table, then slowly sat up straight. “The capital company that trained us before is definitely eager to publicize my current situation and then take the opportunity to make a fortune from those newspapers and news articles—and the War Knights certainly won’t let me off the hook either. Those stubborn old men have an extraordinary hatred for the Ursus people, and they’ll be even more resentful towards a knightly family that has been turned by the Ursus people.”

"But... how about disguising yourself, or something?"

“I’m different from you. Your surnames weren’t always so illustrious. I was, after all, a young lady from a prominent family, okay? Guess how many people in the eastern cities back when I was a knight in arms with the Grand Knight Commandery could even recognize what I looked like?”

Before that incident, Theresa was a very famous knight's daughter. Naturally, she had many suitors, and newspapers even secretly photographed her patrolling the streets.

But the fame she had during her glorious years now became an obstacle to Teresa's return home. She was simply too famous back then... to the point that no matter how she disguised herself, there was still a very high risk of being exposed.

So, not only for my own safety, but also because of my boss's current plans—Teresa can't go. Really.

Ugh.