My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 82

[Event: A Terrifying Sign]

A man in the Duke of Kosichè suddenly realized that the cannibalism in the Duke of Nikolai might not be a "specialty" of that territory. If the minimum requirement for joining the Sherlock Holmes nightclub was a count, then it was estimated that there were cannibalistic maniacs throughout the Ursus Empire. This would also explain why Duke Nikolai's crimes had continued until now, and why His Majesty the Emperor of Ursus was so slow to realize the truth.

Because while they were preoccupied with dealing with the economic crisis, the empire had already been eroded and split in two.

What do you intend to do? But you must ensure that you find military allies for the Duchy of Kosiché—at least you can secure their loyalty during this time with a moral high ground. Kill the ogres first.

'Will the Ursus Empire be divided into East and West from now on? Should we build a Berlin Wall?'

...

The emergence of this event essentially confirms that Yang Hao's guess was correct. The Ursus Empire is currently on the verge of collapse, and the influence of the Sherlock Holmes nightclub is estimated to be enough to trigger a civil war in this vast empire amidst an economic crisis—a civil war that would have a severe impact on the Ursus Empire. Even if it were won, the increased economic burden would lead to widespread suffering and rebellions.

Yang Hao was actually quite happy to stab Duke Nikolai in the back first, and then turn around and argue with His Majesty the Emperor a few times... but he figured Kosiché wouldn't allow it, so he abandoned his bold idea.

As expected, the first priority is to boost public support for the war. Thinking this, Yang Hao waved, signaling Monica to come over.

"grown ups?"

“Go find Mr. Joseph. Tell him to let our people know through newspapers or similar publications that war may be coming soon.”

"Eh?"

"Do as I say. But wait a moment, hand me the paper and pen..."

Yang Hao scribbled down his grand plan on a piece of paper, then handed it to Monica, telling her to quickly get Mr. Joseph to carry out the new task. He then sighed, "It's so comfortable to have all the power of public opinion," while lying on the bed in front of Theresa, who was still there.

His method for boosting support for the war was simple: to fabricate news—no, to write down the facts. This was solely because the refugees from the cities of Nikolai, which had originally separated from the Duchy of Kosice, were now recuperating and rebuilding around Kosice.

Originally, the people of the Duchy of Kosiché considered their fellow Duchesses of Kosiché as part of a large family. Although a few cities had moved to neighboring areas for various reasons, they were still distant relatives and got along fairly well, even considering themselves brothers and sisters [specifically referring to the residents of those few districts].

But now, their distant relatives are forced to leave their homeland—I mean, return—because of Duke Nikolai's terrible policies. Seeing them living in such misery, starving, the people of the Duchy of Kosice, who were already feeling incredibly proud of their homeland due to the easing of the economic crisis, are now thinking, "Good heavens! Who's bullying our relatives?"

They already harbored resentment towards Duke Nikolai for seizing cities from the Duchy of Kosiché, but for various reasons, they couldn't make a statement. Now, Yang Hao gave them an excuse to do so, and incidentally, had Mr. Joseph hold a press conference, selecting a few loyal and eloquent individuals from among the refugees to publicly denounce the crimes committed by the Duchy of Nikolai, while simultaneously representing the people of those cities in their willingness to return to the Duchy of Kosiché.

After all, the Duchy of Nikolai itself had many problems, so Yang Hao's initial plan was entirely feasible. However, increasing war support solely through press conferences and newspapers was far from sufficient!

Is there any way to quickly increase support for the war? Yang Hao fell into deep thought, and just then, his eyes inadvertently caught sight of Miss Theresa, who was still standing, her ponytail swinging restlessly behind her, her waist...

...The best way to increase support for the war.

Isn't it just letting the enemy attack us first?

And there are assassins planning to kill me...

In front of everyone, and with the emperor present...

"...!"

Isn't this a golden opportunity?! Yang Hao suddenly gave a high five, startling Teresa, while a bright, sun-like smile bloomed on his face.

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

The Duke of Kosiché is in a very irritable mood today.

She hadn't been able to return from Kotka Palace by 8 p.m. tonight. His Majesty the Emperor of Ursus had been pleading with her to lend her husband out for five or six years and then return him—but the problem was, how could the immortal Black Serpent possibly do that?

You borrow it for five or six years, so why not extend it for another ten or twenty years? And then just say, "He's having a great time here, so I'm telling you on his behalf that he's not coming home"? As the most esteemed Emperor of Ursus, how can you do something like this? Don't you have any shame?

And that's my husband! Not His Majesty's subject. My husband can make Ursus great again in the Duchy of Kosichear, so why must he be sent to your court to worry himself sick and exhausted every day, without even a moment's rest?

They say they'll return it after the economic crisis is resolved, but after that, won't you find some excuse to keep people here? Like diplomacy? Or commercial and livelihood reforms—for these things, why don't you just set an example and copy their work?

Not to mention—you, the emperor, are worried about the successor, which noble here doesn't know that? I haven't even had a child with him, and you're already trying to take him from me?!

"Phew... My dear husband has been in extraordinary danger lately. The emperor is watching him with covetous eyes, and Duke Nikolai next door probably hates him to the core... Sigh, looking at it this way, that little bat seems much cuter."

Duke Kosiché was perfectly aware of His Majesty's desire for Yang Hao. Besides, she was, after all, the woman who had seen the chat history on that phone with her husband! Didn't Duke Kosiché understand Catherine's diplomatic skills?

If she gives in just one time, everything will be over! Similarly, if her husband is inexplicably swayed by her words, then everything will be over too!

Fortunately, her husband was still staying in the bedroom and wouldn't come out. Even the most esteemed emperor had no reason or right to barge into the boudoir of a duke who was ill... She could still figure out a way to stall him, and if all else failed, a little threat wouldn't be out of the question...

Duke Kosiché was genuinely considering the possibility of finally confronting His Majesty the Emperor: her bottom line lay with her husband, the love she had finally found, how could she possibly hand him over? Even if he had a mistress, she would have to keep her watchful eye on him and find her on her own territory! No one else could try to seduce him!

...

Just then, Duke Kosiché suddenly paused.

"..."

She suddenly realized that she had begun to place Yang Hao's existence in a position of even greater importance than Ursus...

...But is there a problem with that? As long as her husband is alright, Ursus can become strong, so he is more important. Is there a problem with that?

Unlike those short-lived babies who grapple with the psychological dilemma of "what's more important," Duke Koschei readily accepted that her husband was more important than Ursus. She sighed, took one last sip of wine, and decided to bid Her Majesty one last meeting, wishing her a pleasant stay before heading home.

She longed to snuggle in her husband's arms and enjoy a moment of peace. Sigh, in the past, it was always you who acted affectionately towards me; now that I'm acting affectionately towards you, you should accept it, right?

Roles reversed. Tonight, I'll make you my master.

For no apparent reason, her mood improved... A smile gradually appeared on Duke Kosiché's icy expression. She continued her work in a good mood, while at the same time...

At this moment, Yang Hao was discussing some very important matters with Theresa.

"To put it simply, boss, you want my sisters to cause trouble for Duke Nikolai?"

"It's not about causing any destruction. It's just that I asked you to find the rebels in the Duchy of Nikolai, didn't I? Well, it just so happens that our Duchy of Kosice has a lot of newly equipped weapons that we don't know where to dispose of..."

"Give them armed support?" Theresa blinked, thinking that was easy enough. "But we can't find smuggling routes in the city—those strange soldiers and curfews, my sisters simply don't have the time to handle both investigating noble secrets and smuggling routes at the same time."

"You don't need to be in charge of two things. From now on, have your sisters focus on finding smuggling routes—and also, boost the morale of those rebels so that they [spontaneously begin to rebel against the Duchy of Nikolai], and then you use cameras or something similar to photograph the tragic events of their massacres."

Ah, if possible, try to find some good angles to make the fallen look like heroes. Then we can use those newspapers not only in the Dukedom of Kosiché and other territories within the Ursus Empire, but also on the citizens of the Dukedom of Nikolai who are still hesitating about whether to flee.

"Money is no problem, but you absolutely must complete this task, understand?"

"Eh..."

Yang Hao's plan wasn't really anything special.

By manipulating public opinion in the neighboring territory, he aims to rapidly increase support for the war in his own territory while simultaneously causing a sharp rise in resistance in the neighboring Duke Nikolai's domain. Through his plan to deliberately create resistance heroes and by intentionally broadcasting news about Duke Nikolai's brutal massacre of his own people, the ideological divide between the two territories will soon shift.

The Duchy of Kosice has always held deep sympathy for its compatriots in the Duchy of Nikolai. They greatly respect those who dare to stand up in rebellion and are filled with righteous indignation at the deaths of those heroes. Led by a group of volunteers, soon the people will send a petition filled with signatures to the Duchy's palace, urging the esteemed Duke of Kosice to punish the Duke of Nikolai.

However, our Duke Kosiché has always been a man of reason. How could he possibly conclude that Duke Nikolai was truly responsible based solely on a single statement? We will certainly reject this act that damages the harmony among nobles, but we can't stop a civilian investigation team from investigating your territory, can we? So...

I believe that the Duke of Nikolai would be willing to let the civilian investigation team investigate the matter in your area thoroughly—which has created a dead end.

If Duke Nikolai actually sends the "Civilian Investigation Team"—which is actually an investigation force composed of Serpent Scales—into the city, then they're finished. The Serpent Scales will unleash a massive, explosive piece of good news within the Nikolai Duchy, and then it won't just be the Kosichean Duchy that wants to beat him up; the enthusiastic citizens of Victoria next door, the enraged people of Yan Kingdom, and even the Ursus Emperor himself will likely give him a severe beating. He'll be utterly finished.

So, what if Duke Nikolai tries to make the [Civilian Investigation Team] disappear? Regardless of whether anyone is dead or alive, regardless of whether the serpent scales have infiltrated the cities of the Duke of Nikolai's territory, you have harmed the people of my Duke of Koschche, this is a blatant insult—there's nothing more to say, let's declare war, or wait for the Imperial Council to send a full-fledged investigation team to investigate and give justice to all those you have eaten.

In this situation, there's not much to say about the former; let's fast forward to the war—though Yang Hao will allocate a few months to expand the army. The latter? Hmm... With the foal still in that city, is it really that difficult for the investigation team to witness the cannibalistic behavior of the nobles of the Duke of Nikolai?

Then, when they follow the clues to investigate the [Sherlock Nightclub], is it difficult to make them notice that Duke Nicolai is a member of this nightclub? It's not difficult.

What will happen next? It'll probably escalate into a civil war. After all, Duke Nikolai likely has many hidden cronies providing him with immense support. Once his affair with the [Sherlock Nightclub] is exposed, they won't just sit idly by...

However, Yang Hao was also worried about the civil war. If he only killed Duke Nikolai, one cannibal, what would happen if there were still a dozen or so cannibals lurking within the Ursus Empire? Once a civil war broke out, aside from other considerations, at least those who jumped out would die, and a massive purge would be necessary—there might still be a few cannibals remaining, but at the very least, the vast majority would be dead. Yang Hao could finally focus on developing his economy, improving technology, and farming in peace.

Doing so could cause immense damage to the Ursus Empire. However, given the choice between having all cells in one's body killed by snake venom and having a limb amputated to save the rest, surely His Majesty the Great Emperor knows which to choose?

...

However, while Yang Hao thought that way, in reality, many more variables would likely arise. The biggest variable might be that before his plan succeeds, a minor nobleman under Duke Nikolai's command might try to sabotage and assassinate him. In that case, the Imperial Council's sanctions might be implemented several months earlier, and whether the war could even begin would become uncertain again.

"Hey, haven't you guys received any similar training in news warfare? Or do you need to find a few reporters to help you?"

"Hmm... I just feel like you're doing this so skillfully, you must have been in Kazimierz before," Miss Theresa muttered with a strange look, the ponytail at the back of her dress swaying gently.

“I’ve never been to Kazimierz, I just learned about similar operations online back home,” Yang Hao replied irritably, noticing that Theresa seemed to be having a slight mental breakdown again. “Also—if everything’s alright, you can go back to work later.”

"Hey~ But boss? Don't you think our compensation is—"

"Sigh, plenty of money."

"What about mine?"

"..."

Seeing Theresa blush and reach out her hand, Yang Hao helplessly covered his forehead, laughing and crying at the same time. He said that if she was referring to that time she went out to buy things, then it probably wouldn't be possible recently.

Since His Majesty the Emperor is visiting the Duchy of Kosiché, if Yang Hao doesn't want to be invited to the palace, it would be best to avoid going out recently and pretend to be sick and stay in his palace.

"I see." Theresa couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but she could still distinguish between work and daily tasks. "Then I'll take my leave—by the way, boss, could you please use a little less force next time?"

"......"

"Haha~ Just kidding~"

She laughed it off and then turned to leave Yang Hao's palace.

But it's unclear whether Teresa did it on purpose. She deliberately patted her buttocks lightly—the spot Yang Hao had slapped many times before—then turned around, made a face, and quickly fled the scene, seemingly afraid that Yang Hao would lose control and take advantage of her on the spot.

... .....

When Head Maid Monica returned from the administrative office, she noticed that Miss Theresa seemed to be planning to leave.

"I have to go to work, so I'll be leaving now," Miss Theresa said with a smile when she noticed the head maid who seemed to be targeting her for some reason, which annoyed the head maid. "Well then, Miss Monica~ I hope we can get along well from now on~"

"...It was a pleasant time to get along."

Head Maid Monica watched as Miss Theresa left the Duke's mansion. As she turned back towards her bedchamber, she muttered to herself, "Who wants to get along with a Kazimierz person like you?"

Not only do you want to instill bad habits in adults, but you also dare to try and get special privileges from them? No, that's impossible. You'd be better off sticking to being a "Chief Intelligence Officer." As for any higher position? You're not cut out for it.

Even so, Monica knew that as the head maid, she couldn't interfere with Yang Hao's decisions—alas, what could she do? She was just a head maid. And as a head maid, she certainly couldn't boss people around...

Lord Kosiché can influence the Lord's decision, but he ignores such matters and even simply lets them go—what can I do? I can only hope that Lord Kosiché can make Lord Yang Hao obedient.

"Sigh..." Monica sighed heavily, thinking that being the head maid and taking care of such a troublesome adult was truly exhausting. "Lord Yang Hao really is... at least consider Lord Koschche and my feelings..."

She returned to her chambers muttering something to herself. After knocking on the door and receiving a response from the adults inside, she returned to Yang Hao's side with Mr. Joseph's words in mind.

Chapter 177

...

The morning of February 30st.

Kosic has been utterly exhausted lately, both mentally and physically.

On one hand, His Majesty the Emperor kept trying to get a glimpse of Yang Hao, but Kosichelle kept stopping her, which made the nobles present realize something very strange.

What they realized was so outrageous that they looked at him with deep sympathy every time "Lord Yang Hao" was mentioned. To clear up the misunderstanding, Kosichrie had to work even harder at the gathering, but the more she tried, the stranger the misunderstanding became, and rumors even began to circulate that "Duke Kosichrie is a woman who loves her husband so much that she imprisons him in her bedchamber"...

How could that be! Although Koschke said she didn't care about the outrageous rumors circulating about her, she was very concerned about how Yang Hao would feel if he heard them, so...

This is her mental exhaustion. She admits that she cares too much, but admitting it doesn't mean she has to change.

Ugh!

She sighed heavily, and nestled naked in her husband's arms, rubbing her head against his hand while listlessly swishing her tail, hoping the movement would urge her husband to lower his hand that was touching the base of her tail—she had to get ready for work.

"Hmm... Koschke?... Haha... Good morning."

"Good morning, darling. I have to go to work. Could you please take your hand off me?"

"Ah, oh..."

On the other hand, Yang Hao's nonchalant attitude after learning about the rumors only made Kosichev feel more exhausted.

He didn't seem to care about the impact of any rumors, but that also meant Koschke had no idea what he would think after hearing them. Even if she asked him directly last night, Yang Hao could only scratch his head in bewilderment and say something like, "I really don't feel anything. Having you by my side is the biggest feeling."

This left Kosicé physically exhausted. Her husband had given her so much support; how could she do nothing in return? Wasn't that right?

The combination of these two factors has resulted in Kosic's current state of double exhaustion, a state of extreme fatigue.

However, she was still enjoying herself, so the fatigue should fade away soon.

... .....

While Koschke was washing up and getting ready to go to work, Yang Hao lay sprawled on the bed watching Monica tidy up the room, idly browsing the interface of [Puppet Stage]. The pony and Mr. Joseph's work seemed to be going smoothly, at least for the time being.

Thanks to their efforts, the Duchy of Kosice's support for war is slowly increasing despite the economic crisis. If Yang Hao's calculations are correct, it should reach a level that allows for waging war in a few months.

However, he hoped the war could proceed at a slower pace, at least until some basic buildings on his territory were completed before starting the fighting—but this was not up to him, so he could only hum along as time ticked by.

"hehe."

"My lord?" Monica, who was packing her things, turned around and looked at Lord Yang Hao, who seemed to be in a good mood for some reason, with some confusion.

"No, I'm in a good mood. Sigh... but I feel like going out for a walk."

"I can accompany you for a walk in the courtyard, but please try to avoid going out when His Majesty the Emperor comes, okay?"