My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 174

"We are still working according to the plan that the adults gave him before—it is estimated that in fifteen years we will be able to complete the work-for-relief program, the popularization of basic education, as well as industrial upgrading and scientific and technological upgrading. It's just that Mr. Joseph may not live to see that day."

"After all, he's an old man. And I remember Joseph didn't seem to yearn for immortality?"

"...I don't know."

"Let's find some time to ask about it."

Mr. Joseph of the Administrative Department is practically a protégé of Koschich, having raised the Serpent Scales captain and now the Minister of Administration. He is an official Koschich can trust, both in terms of loyalty and character—the only regret is that Mr. Joseph is already an old man.

He was no longer young. He would never see the day when his grand ambitions and the policies of the two leaders were realized—by then, he might already be a corpse in a grave, or ashes.

So in a sense, Koschei did have to consider Joseph's successor—but she couldn't find anyone comparable to Mr. Joseph for the time being, and considering that her husband also needed to gain more lifespan by ascending for others, she felt that it would be more appropriate for Mr. Joseph to also become an immortal if possible.

However, considering that forcing someone to become an immortal might cause more serious trouble than before, Koschche still hopes to make a decision only with Mr. Joseph's [approval].

And besides Mr. Joseph... what other important positions need to be extended or have successors prepared?

"Um..."

Kosiché was deep in thought... but while she was thinking, an unexpected event occurred.

Someone had barged into the audience hall, and Koschitch's guards made no attempt to stop them. She frowned, ending her thoughts, and looked with Head Maid Monica at the person slowly approaching from the entrance of the audience hall.

"...His Majesty the Emperor?"

It's His Majesty the Emperor—why did you suddenly come here?

Koschke blinked, knowing full well that His Majesty wasn't the type to come over for a free meal. She knew His Majesty's visit must be for some important matter, but she didn't know the specifics.

“I’ve come here to discuss some matters with you personally, Duke Kosice.”

His Majesty the Emperor was in a hurry, his face serious. She gestured for them to talk in a secluded reception room, which Kosicchi did.

After a while, served by the head maid, they arrived at the private reception room in the audience hall. There, new sofas had been set out; the Duke of Kosiché sat on an armchair, while His Majesty the Emperor sat on a new long sofa.

"My guards told me that Colombia, in alliance with Letania, is preparing a full-scale offensive against Casimir," Her Majesty Ekaterina dropped a bombshell on Kosiché. "And they intend to strengthen our defenses along the eastern border of Casimir after we have completely captured it, building more fortresses and landships to keep an eye on our front lines—I don't think this is good news, and we need to act quickly."

“…Indeed, if the ruler of Letania were to join the war… their Originium Arts would be a problem.” Kosichrie nodded seriously, swishing his tail. “But Letania probably can’t provide too many soldiers, right? Their system doesn’t allow them to have a large number of soldiers.”

"But providing some equipment and technology will suffice. Kazimierz is already half dead just dealing with the poison gas, and by the time the Lytania music Originium Arts equipment arrives, he'll probably be half dead too—my diplomats have already gone to Kazimierz to lobby, and I expect Kazimierz will soon ask us for help."

"...Not necessarily. Those knights have very high standards of honor. Unless it's absolutely necessary, they're unlikely to ask us for help."

"Do you think those knights can't see that their country is doomed?"

"perhaps."

They exchanged a glance, and both could see the antagonism in each other's eyes.

Kosiché relied on her knowledge of her husband's thoughts, while Her Majesty Catherine relied on the intelligence she had obtained—who would win and who would lose?

The answer was quickly revealed on September 15th.

Chapter 18

On September 15th—

Her Majesty Catherine kindly sent a diplomat to warn the Kazimierz people of impending doom, only to be insulted by those stubborn old knights.

"So those bastards really don't realize they're about to face national extinction?!"

Having witnessed her diplomats being slunk back, Her Majesty Catherine sat in the private reception room of the audience hall, staring in astonishment as the Duke sitting beside her shouted something, completely oblivious to the twisted smile on the face of the old black snake sitting opposite them, and the pitying look in the eyes of Monica, the head maid, as she looked at Mr. Yang Hao.

And what about Mr. Yang Hao?

He was simultaneously subjected to pity and indignation, as well as the piercing gazes that seemed to say, "You'll pay tonight." He sighed sadly in his heart, wondering if this was what he wanted to do.

Mr. Yang Hao was actually dragged there by His Majesty. He genuinely wanted to squeeze onto the same single sofa as Kosicche; he was truly innocent—but he dared not disobey His Majesty's wishes, fearing that His Majesty might become displeased and reveal the matter of "that money"...

If word gets out, not only will all his recent efforts to arrange dates with Head Maid Monica be wasted, but Koschei, who finally agreed to let him rest, will probably devour him tonight like a ravenous monster. Honestly, if Koschei just wanted to eat him up, Yang Hao wouldn't mind. But the problem is, Hela has been coming over to sleep with him frequently lately, and when Koschei goes berserk, he won't care about Hela being there...

Last time I explained "game," but how can I explain it now that Dad's been drained dry? And if I explain it as "game" again, what if Hela suddenly wants to play that game with me?

Besides that, it seems like Miss Karina has been coming over to chat with me quite often lately.

...

Whether this counted as Kosich's tacit approval, Yang Hao wasn't sure. But the more time he spent talking alone with Karina, the stronger his ominous premonition became—a premonition that something terrible would happen before Kosich inherited the body. So now he was under immense pressure from all sides, and he truly dared not say or ask anything, for fear that even the slightest action of his would shatter this delicate peace.

But if you don't break this peace, someone else will sooner or later! Yang Hao, you can't go on like this—

"And my dear husband, can't you say something—"

Kosich's brow twitched, and he interrupted Empress Catherine's speech directly: "Your Majesty, he is my husband."

Her Majesty the Emperor patted her lower abdomen, which was slightly swollen from the new life growing inside—this was her advantage: "It's mine too."

No, he is mine.

Seeing that Kosichello's dissatisfaction might drag this important private meeting into a long, pointless session, Yang Hao, with a "speak of the devil" expression, sighed heavily and reluctantly stepped forward, standing between the two assertive women, and sighed in a humble manner:

"—Everyone, stop for a second. Kosichev, Her Majesty Ekaterina, let's talk this out, let's talk this out... Besides, aren't we supposed to be discussing matters concerning Kazimir? Let's at least settle that before we start arguing, shall we? Monica? Could you get us some cold drinks?"

"Yes."

Monica, the head maid, covered her mouth and chuckled as she left. Thanks to their husband's (their) words, the two wives finally calmed down. They sat in their respective seats, both looking at Yang Hao standing between them, putting immense pressure on him.

Should he sit back down? Or should he sit next to Kosic? Yang Hao, cold sweat dripping down his face, stared at the seats the women had deliberately made room for him. Finally, he flashed a wide grin, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, under the simultaneously icy gazes of the two women...

He pulled over a new chair and sat down in a comfortable spot diagonally opposite them.

"Humph."

"Humph."

"...Ugh."

What can I do? No matter whose side I sit on, one of you will get angry... so I might as well just sit alone. Let you vent your anger on me then, it's better than a family constantly disliking each other...

Yang Hao sighed. After the head maid brought over some cold drinks and quietly said that she was going to check on Miss Karina, Sonia, and Hela, she left—the three of them could now resume their serious conversation.

"In short... the foolish knights of Kazimir are too arrogant and hateful of us, so they refused the help of the diplomats sent by Her Majesty Ekaterina and severely humiliated the poor diplomats..."

Yang Hao started to drink, taking a sip of his cold drink with a gloomy expression. He then strangely realized that what he was drinking seemed to be... damn it.

“But we can’t let them fail—we have to find a way to secure the benefits we can gain from Kazimierz, and the Serpent Scales and Creeds we’ve already sent out can’t be wasted. More importantly, the United City we’ve finally acquired, which is almost a vassal state, is also in Kazimierz.”

Kosiché took a sip of her delicious cold drink and nodded. She smelled the strange odor coming from her husband's cup, approved of the head maid's actions, and hoped that her husband would make up for it a little tonight.

"Moreover, if we don't find a way to stabilize the defeated forces in Casimir and allow them to enter into a protracted war of attrition with Colombia and Letania... our borders will soon be damaged because of their war."

His Majesty the Emperor sighed, took a sip of red tea, and found nothing wrong.

They chattered and discussed for a long time, during which Kosicé questioned His Majesty the Emperor: Why haven't your advisors, your ministers, and your generals come up with a suitable plan?

Faced with Koschche's questioning, His Majesty the Emperor's explanation was also very simple and easy to understand:

"My advisors? Ministers? Generals? I haven't even had time to find suitable replacements after the first two were burned by our Duke. The last one is still being wiped out by the remaining members of the Sherlock Holmes nightclub—and they'll probably suggest to me that we take over Casimir before we win in Colombia."

"...a bunch of reckless brutes who don't understand political interests."

"hehe."

They reached a consensus in an instant.

Then, having reached a consensus, the two looked at Yang Hao, who had a worried expression, seemingly expecting him to give a good answer.

Chapter 19

Under the gaze of the two women, Mr. Yang Hao frowned and took another sip of what was more like watered-down kidney-tonifying tea than water with added kidney-tonifying tea. He then put down his cup, snapped his fingers, and said:

“We have a backup plan, namely the Sarkaz mercenaries.”

"Sarkaz mercenaries? You mean those in your Sarkaz settlement right now?"

"Correct."

Yang Hao's idea was actually very simple—that is, didn't the Kazimirs humiliate our Ursus Empire?

So we can think about it differently, how should I put it?

If you don't want our Ursus Empire's regular army to set foot on your territory, then wouldn't it be better to let Kazdel's mercenaries set foot on your territory?

Moreover, it just so happens that Yang Hao's Sarkaz mercenaries were indeed "hired," so sending them back to Lady Therese's command and having her commander take over wouldn't be a problem. And most importantly, Lady Therese's representative is currently wandering around the Dukedom of Koschie.

After signing a crucial business contract with the Ursus Empire, the envoy decided to stay and serve as a bridge between the two powers—but the envoy probably didn't know that Yang Hao could contact Ms. Therese directly via mobile phone...

On another note, Ms. Therese, why the hell did you get transferred to my marriage agency?

Yang Hao wiped the cold sweat from his face, chuckled dryly a few times, and then took out his phone in front of the two ladies—

Then he noticed that both His Majesty the Emperor and Duke Kosiché stood up and stood behind him.

"That, um...?"

"It's nothing, I just came to see what you're planning to do."

Her Majesty's speech was quite ordinary, but Yang Hao could feel from the strength of her hand gripping his left shoulder... This girl clearly had other reasons!

"It's nothing, I just wanted to see if anyone would try to seduce you with that app again."

His wife's cold statement was much more direct—she knew that Yang Hao had an app on his phone that he couldn't delete no matter what he did. Especially given the recent pressure from His Majesty the Emperor, this old black snake now harbored an extremely high degree of vigilance towards any woman who approached Yang Hao.

On another note, aren't you worried that Miss Karina might do something to your husband? A head maid, who had just returned from jet lag, quietly stood behind Mr. Yang Hao and pondered this to her mistress.

...

Under the watchful eyes of the two powerful women, Yang Hao swallowed hard, staring at his phone screen—the person he needed to contact was right there on the marriage agency app!

How to do?

Clicking this now will kill me.

I can't contact Ms. Therese without clicking on this...

What should I do?

Just as Yang Hao was hesitating about what to do in the face of his life-or-death crisis, an unexpected event occurred.

At first, it was a series of vibrations from my phone.

Then, Yang Hao's expression changed from sorrow to joy, and his situation turned from danger to safety, because he saw that Ms. Therese had actually taken the initiative to contact him!

If she had contacted me first, that marriage agency app wouldn't have popped up! My wife wouldn't have wanted to kill me just because she saw that long list of names, and His Majesty the Emperor wouldn't have made me exchange "aid funds" with her again!

Ms. Therese, you did a great job! Thank you so much!

Yang Hao was inwardly grateful, tears streaming down his face. However, he maintained a calm demeanor on the surface. After gesturing for the two women (who hadn't noticed Monica) to quiet down a bit, he answered the phone.

"—Mr. Yang Hao, do you have a moment?"

As expected, the voice that came through was indeed Ms. Therese's. Yang Hao's brows relaxed, and he quickly nodded in response:

"Yes, it's me. I also had something I wanted to talk to you about, but you go first—are you in trouble?"

"Yes, I am indeed in trouble..."

Ms. Therese explained her troubles in simple terms: since Kazdel's Umbrella Security Company signed a business contract with the Ursus Empire, her prestige in Kazdel has been rising steadily. However, her sister is deeply worried about this, even though Therese has repeatedly assured her that "the Sarkaz will have a brighter future." Therese now wants to focus her efforts on developing Kazdel and her company; she really doesn't want to clash with her sister at this critical juncture.

So she was very distressed and hoped to get help from Mr. Yang Hao, who seemed to have a lot of experience in dealing with these kinds of things.

Faced with Ms. Therese's request... Yang Hao was completely baffled: he really had no experience in handling this kind of "domestic matter"?

So after thinking about it, he could only offer this suggestion:

"If your sister can't see any hope for a better life for the Sarkaz, then let her see that hope—look, we recently signed a trade contract. You can improve the livelihoods of the people in your territory through trade and build a mobile market economy that isn't affected by geographical factors... But we'll have to discuss the details for a long time. You should create a general framework first, and we can talk about the details later, okay?"

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away—but what about your situation?"

"Here's the thing, I can't interfere in matters concerning Kazimir in the name of the Ursus Empire or the Dukedom of Kosiche. I will send the Sarkaz mercenaries currently in my territory back to your side, and then you can try your luck in Kazimir under the guise of a security company. I require that after you successfully acquire mercenaries in Kazimir, you do your best to prevent Kazimir from collapsing quickly, until we can intervene directly."

"...I understand. So detailed..."

"Don't worry, this is also a [transaction], and you'll get something you're satisfied with. But on another note, if nothing unexpected happens, we'd like to build an embassy in Kazdel—what do you think?"

There was a pause on the other end of the communicator. Just as Yang Hao thought Ms. Therese might refuse his offer, he heard her reply:

"Of course, no problem. It would be even better if you could come and take a look at the development plans here to see if there are any issues—that's all for now. I'll get started on the preparations immediately."

"Ah... okay then."

...Huh? This...

Ms. Therese, are you implying something to me?