My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 240

Because this was a private occasion, theoretically reserved for only the two of them and a very small number of guards, Yang Hao chose... as the location for their meeting.

on the street.

Yes! He knew that many people would think he had lost his mind, after all, what kind of "privacy" was this? But to be honest, what could be less conspicuous than two people dressed up slightly and chatting casually in the middle of a noisy street, unrecognizable to others? Perhaps there was, but it was a bit too risky for Yang Hao.

For example, if Therese planned to have him hold a meeting in a room within Kazdel's palace, Yang Hao would definitely not trust her. After all, who knows how he might come out after going in?

Similarly, if Yang Hao planned to have Therese hold a meeting in his room, Lady Therese would definitely not trust him, right? After all, who knows if she would become Yang Hao's "personal property" one day and never be able to leave? So she definitely wouldn't trust him.

So after thinking it over, everyone felt that [the things they were going to talk about were actually pretty much like everyday conversations], and considering that neither side wanted to cause a scene, they compromised a bit: we would walk and talk on the streets of Kazdel, and also take the opportunity to observe the local life.

...

Before arriving, they had all made some effort to disguise themselves to ensure no one would recognize them as the Duke of Ursus or the CEO of Umbrella Security. They wore ordinary clothes and even carried a considerable amount of loose change, looking like they were going out for a stroll. Even so, they still brought a minimum of one bodyguard, just in case.

Yang Hao's bodyguard was Ms. Norsen, while Ms. Therese's bodyguard was a strange individual who called himself the "Absolver." After meeting, the two bodyguards kept a distance and stared at each other. And who were they supposed to protect?

...

"Even a skewer of grilled meat is this expensive... It seems that people's livelihoods in Kazdel are in a terrible state right now."

"That's natural. After all, Kazdel has nowhere to farm on a large scale, and with frequent natural disasters, there's nowhere to build dense industrial zones. Even its Originium mines can't compete with those of other countries—so the prices and people's livelihoods here have always been terrible."

"It seems your sister isn't very capable."

"Even the best chef in the world couldn't cook anything if he wasn't given a single grain of rice, right? That's how Kazdel is now, Master."

...They really were just strolling and chatting. This made Ms. Northon and the pardoner, who were on guard duty, twitch at the corners of their mouths: after all, if you really intended to go shopping, there was really no need to use the excuse of a "private meeting," really...

The guards sighed helplessly at their jobs. As for Yang Hao and Therese, although the purpose of their trip did include relaxation, they still had business to attend to.

After buying two skewers of grilled meat, they ate them as they walked to a bench that, while bustling, also offered some shade and a place to sit and rest... and sat down on it. Today's "private meeting" officially began.

"...In short, let's talk about the most important thing first—the sooner this is resolved, the more comfortable our shopping trip will be."

Yang Hao sat on a bench, eating kebabs while watching the pedestrians in Kazdel not far away, lost in thought.

This place is barren and resource-scarce, but the Sarkaz civilians are struggling to survive. Their bodies are deformed by the heavy burdens of life, but at least in Kazdel they have a home... right?

Yang Hao could understand the thoughts of those ethnic groups without a country, but he only realized after seeing it for himself that "having a home to return to" and "being homeless" are two completely different concepts.

However, it seems that Princess Theresa hasn't governed this land very well. Yang Hao probably understands that she likely lacks the ability and courage to overturn the current situation in the Kazdel region, where the ancient noble bloodlines monopolize resources. But that's irrelevant to the main topic at this time.

"...How did you find out?"

Yang Hao was concerned about how Therese discovered his little secret with Koschei—the secret that Koschei hadn't actually died.

After all, in the eyes of outsiders, "the immortal Koschei" actually refers to the fact that "Duke Koschei will be repeatedly reincarnated." Once the fact that "Koschei herself cannot die but only inherits someone else's body each time she dies" is discovered and revealed, it will have a certain impact on the current world situation.

In a sense, this doesn't have much impact—but the problem is that... Yang Hao had specifically arranged for Princess Wei Qing of Yan Kingdom to witness Koschche's hope, making her mistakenly believe it was an accidental injury caused by an assassination attempt against her.

So, this is troublesome. Especially considering that the Yan people are currently racking their brains about how to "compensate," if Yang Hao and Kosiché's deception is discovered... then it's only a matter of time before Yan and Ursus become mortal enemies.

Yang Hao needs to do his best to prevent this from happening, and the most crucial point about this matter is: how exactly did Therese find out?

Was it through some mysterious Originium Arts? Or was it just a bold guess? If it was the former, Yang Hao needed to be prepared. If it was just a guess, then there wouldn't be much of a problem.

At worst, he could just find a way to make this audacious Sarkaz woman an accomplice and that would be the end of it.

So Yang Hao was waiting for a response from Therese, who was also eating kebabs and dressed in civilian clothes.

Meanwhile, Ms. Therese was also contemplating her own response.

Although she mostly guessed at the time, well, this meeting might determine how her teacher would view her in the future.

So what should she do? Therese sighed inwardly, thinking that if she were in a palace or some more private place, perhaps she could be a little bolder.

But this is on the street. Even the most shameless person...

Fine. There's no other way now anyway.

So after thinking for a moment, Therese simply smiled and said:

"What if I said I guessed this based on intelligence?"

"...That makes perfect sense."

Therese explained her speculation to Yang Hao. For example, as a legend of Ursus, the Duke of Koschei had left her mark on history. One of the most obvious was that all the Dukes of Koschei ultimately followed the same path.

“Teacher, if you know history, you should understand that all the Dukes of Koschei ultimately become the same person—they implement the same policies, their ideologies are almost identical, and they even die at the hands of someone for similar reasons within a few years, and the person who kills Him eventually becomes a Koschei. Based on this, your [wife's death] happened to be at the end of a cycle of Dukes of Koschei.”

Considering your emotional changes weren't as intense as I'd imagined... not to mention, I not only know a part of your history, but I also understand that the world truly possesses "immortals" and the Originium Arts of "inheriting bodies."

Hearing this, Yang Hao remained silent for a while.

"...Alright. Although your guess is rough, I have to admit that you're right in part."

He took a bite of the roasted meat, savoring the slightly charred aroma, but not quite salty enough. After a while, he sighed and said, "Fine, you're a smart guy. And a madman too."

"madman?"

“If you weren’t crazy, you wouldn’t cling to such a tiny opportunity that could bring you utter destruction—so you are indeed crazy. But I’m using it in a positive sense.”

"hehe."

Did she get a good impression? Therese blinked, but showed no sign of letting up.

Afterwards, the two remained silent for a while while eating grilled skewers because of this topic...

Yang Hao sighed and said, "Let's get straight to the point—what do you need to keep this secret forever?"

After all, for Mr. Yang Hao, Therese was a rare and extremely useful pawn, perhaps even overly so. He didn't want to replace Therese with a substandard one unless absolutely necessary. If Therese could keep secrets by satisfying some material desires or something else, that would be ideal.

If all else fails, he'll have to consider finding someone else, or simply turning Ms. Therese into a doll for his own use—but the problem is, Yang Hao's doll-making skills aren't yet proficient, and if freezing the corpse has a significant impact on the doll's creation... then it would be a losing proposition.

He didn't want to waste the expensive timber.

"...Can I only make one request?" Therese smiled at Yang Hao's question. "Or can I make multiple requests, as long as they don't exceed a certain limit?"

"...I would prefer one request, but of course, if you don't cross my bottom line, then multiple requests are fine too."

Yang Hao threw the wooden skewer he was holding to the ground. Littering wasn't good, but there wasn't a single trash can nearby. What could he do?

“I understand. So, teacher, may I make this request—I want to reserve this opportunity until a certain occasion when I need your support for an important decision... Of course, this won't have a negative impact on Ursus, nor on your plans, how about it?”

Faced with Yang Hao's reminder again, Ms. Therese simply smiled and made this special "request".

This request made Yang Hao frown. After thinking for a while, he realized what was going on.

"...Oh? Diplomatic support?"

"Yes."

That is [diplomatic support]—Daresis chose to use this little secret to exchange for the diplomatic support Ursus would provide her in the future, which is... [favor]?

It must be said that this was a very smart decision. Because if it were resources, they would likely be exhausted within twenty years at most. If it were something too outrageous, Yang Hao would consider choosing a new successor for Umbrella Security after some time. But now—a middle ground, yet crucially vital diplomatic connection—perfectly meets Therese's requirements for the future while also giving Yang Hao a great sense of security.

So she's very clever, indeed very clever. But then again, where do you plan to use this "favor"?

Yang Hao scrutinized Therese. Therese was also looking at him. After a moment...

[Event: Diplomatic support]

Ms. Therese intends to trade a little-known secret for your future diplomatic support—though it's unclear why she believes you'll live for decades, the "diplomatic support" she hopes to gain certainly won't have a "bad impact" on the Ursus Empire and your plans, at most a little...shocking.

What's your decision? Do you intend to agree, or do you intend to refuse?

'...I think I should accept it.'

Diplomatic support is fine—if it's just about doing diplomatic favors for the next few decades, then I certainly won't lose out.

And considering that Kazdel will also be one of my vassal states in the future, it's really not a big deal—does a father need a reason to support his son? In other words, in a sense, this is like me getting something out of Therese's request for free, right?

Um..

"Row."

After careful consideration, Yang Hao nodded and agreed to Therese's request: after all, it really wasn't a bad deal. Even the worst-case scenario later—Kazdel declaring war on Laterano—was something Yang Hao strongly supported.

After all, the more civilized the era, the more pretexts are needed to start a war. Perhaps using political points and influence to directly justify war objectives is quite efficient, but it would be too terrible for me to be the villain.

So, my son, as ferocious as a stray dog, started this fight for me. After getting beaten up, as the father, it's only natural that I, while disciplining my son, also take care of the person who beat him up. Even though my reputation remains just as bad in the end, it didn't cross that line, so it's still acceptable.

So Yang Hao's mood improved.

Meanwhile, Therese's mood also improved: to be honest, she had been worried that her "proposal" would fail...

But now that we've succeeded, we should take the current teacher-student relationship to the next level as soon as possible.

"Thank you, teacher."

She smiled and nodded, already thinking about what she should do next.

Chapter 161

...

While Mr. Yang Hao and Ms. Therese, teacher and student, were relaxing through the streets and alleys of Kazdel under the pretext of a "private meeting"...

"...Um? Guest from Yan, what do you mean?"

"—This is a handwritten letter prepared by Princess Wei Qing for Mr. Yang Hao. Please give it to him when he returns. We will visit again when he is here. Thank you."

"Huh? Well... why did you leave..."

The guests from Yan Kingdom hurriedly arrived at the Ursus camp. After revealing their identities and requesting an audience with Lord Yang Hao, only to be told that he was already out, they left Lord Yang Hao a handwritten letter from Princess Wei Qing before hastily departing.

Miss Karina, who was completely bewildered and holding the letter, Miss Margarita, who had just gotten up and was ready to get back to work, and the Templar Knights around them stood there, staring blankly at their departing figures.

Did they come just to deliver a letter? Karina stared at the letter, sealed with Yan Kingdom wax, lost in thought: No, they might be more than just delivering a letter. They're clearly hiding something, and if she wasn't mistaken, they were probably here to meet Mr. Yang Hao?

Who exactly are these guests from Yan Kingdom hiding from? Why did Princess Wei Qing's letter have to be delivered at this time? And... is it really necessary to meet with Mr. Yang Hao?

Karina was unaware of the current situation in China and Princess Wei Qing's decision, let alone the fact that Her Majesty Ekaterina, Duke Kosiché, and Mr. Yang Hao had previously confirmed via mobile phone that they would use this incident to pressure the Yan people and extract more benefits. She was very confused and decided to ask Mr. Yang Hao for clarification that evening.

And on the other side-

"Um, Miss Karina? Excuse me, is this for Yang Hao?"

I'm still very sleepy.

But Margarita roused herself and walked over to Miss Karina, curiously looking at the handwritten letter she was asked to deliver to Yang Hao. She examined the Yan script on the envelope with interest, and after a while, the little bat muttered that she simply couldn't understand the complex characters.

“Yes, this is for Mr. Yang Hao. I must put it away properly… But by the way, Margarita? I heard from Mr. Yang Hao that you possess the ability of [prophecy], is that right?”

"Huh? Is that so?"

Margarita blinked, looking at Karina with considerable confusion. Karina, meeting Margarita's innocent gaze, finally understood why Margarita felt she needed to grow stronger before coming to Ursus...

Is it just because I'm relatively "close" to Mr. Yang Hao that he's willing to tell me something so important...? Miss Karina thought to herself. If others knew this was a "prophetic" ability, Margarita would probably be treated very badly... Even now, Karina was actually using Margarita rather than genuinely "worried" about her...

...So this little bat really does need more time to grow. Karina shook her head, then said:

"Then, can Margarita predict what the Yan people are doing?"

"Huh? But... um... that won't do... I only listen to the teacher, or Yang Hao..."

"That's it."

Okay, I still have basic caution—at least I don't have to worry that this naive little bat is really as innocent as a blank sheet of paper...

Even so, revealing one's abilities to others so casually is still a terrible thing. After all, once you enter the political arena, a friend of a friend may not necessarily be a friend—although Mr. Yang Hao's case might be a bit of a special case, but if Little Bat doesn't want to be treated like a daughter by Lord Koschchet in the future... she'd better be careful.

Since the little bat was unwilling to use her abilities, Karina didn't intend to force her to do anything. She simply patted Margarita's shoulder gently to indicate that there was no need to worry about recent matters, and then hurriedly returned to Yang Hao's room with Princess Wei Qing's handwritten letter.

After placing the letter in the safest spot on Yang Hao's desk, she muttered to herself, "The work has been really heavy lately," and then sat down at her desk, stretched, and wondered what everyone back in China was doing.

...

In reality, Duke Kosiché of Ursus was staring at Her Majesty Catherine.

"I mean... Your Majesty? Those Yan people...?"

“Literally, Duke Koschche. The Yan people—uh… I mean, a group of Yan radicals entered the Kazdel region around the same time as those ambassadors…” Her Majesty Ekaterina flipped through the records in her hand. “These radical Yan people seem to believe that it is necessary to stop anyone from funding Kazdel…right? Hey, Head Maid, are you sure the intelligence you sent is correct?”

"That's right, Your Majesty, and Lord Yang Hao—the Yan Kingdom's delegation is currently trying every means to contact Lord Yang Hao because those radicals who discriminate against the Sarkaz people have become uneasy since they learned that Kazdel is about to receive 20 mobile cities. In fact, it's not just the radicals in Yan Kingdom, but even the radicals within our own country are protesting this."

Monica, the head maid, stepped forward and explained. She paused for a moment when she said "radicals," then added:

"But, our domestic radicals... aside from those warlords and old nobles who are really difficult to deal with, the others have been purged by us. But... we can't control the radicals in other countries."

“And what’s worse, they’re planning to target our kings?” Her Majesty Catherine frowned.

“Your Majesty, that’s my husband—never mind. In short, have those radicals’ hatred for the Sarkaz reached the point where they can disregard political interests?” Duke Kosiché wanted to say something, but ultimately gave up. Then, Kosiché looked at his loyal head maid, wanting an explanation.

"Yes. Actually, this can be considered as the fear that the people around Kazdel have had of the Sarkaz since ancient times. After all, Lord Kosichek, His Majesty... the derogatory term 'Demon' originated from fear and was a nickname used against the Sarkaz."