My wife is an immortal black snake.

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Although he couldn't understand why the former head of the Ursus Empire's inner guard would open a bar near the palace and sell intelligence... considering that this might be a way for Her Majesty Ekaterina to amass her own wealth, and also considering that this could be a way to weaken the already out-of-control nobles by letting them fight amongst themselves, thus preparing for her future dictatorship... Yang Hao could understand it.

While he understood, Yang Hao was still quite curious about what that bar sold... The police chief and fire chief both recommended buying things there, specifically information about [high-energy combustibles] from the owner...

I guess I should go check it out tonight?

He pondered... and finally decided to go and take a look tonight—and while he was at it, visit Miss Elegy.

...... ......

After an unsettling lunch with His Majesty the Emperor, Yang Hao and Sonia returned to their room to rest and prepare for the afternoon's work.

Just like yesterday, Sonia was as gentle as a mother, using her soft, unspoken language to soothe Yang Hao's weary heart. And just after Yang Hao fell asleep again... under Sonia's gaze, Head Maid Monica emerged from behind the mirror in the room.

The mirror seemed like a passageway to her; she moved in and out of it with complete freedom. If it weren't for the strange expression on her face, Ms. Sonia might have been happy to have a private chat with Head Maid Monica about Mr. Yang Hao.

"Greetings, Head Maid Monica."

Regardless, Ms. Sonia, as an elder, was still very polite. At her soft gesture, Head Maid Monica had already noticed the exhaustion on Yang Hao's face, who was now sleeping with his head on her lap. Head Maid Monica said nothing, but quietly moved to within about a meter of Ms. Sonia.

Monica looked down at Yang Hao, who was fast asleep and snoring. She shook her head and muttered softly:

"It seems that Lord Yang Hao is indeed very tired. Negotiating with His Majesty the Emperor and working at Saint Jun Castle have certainly drained his energy."

"Indeed. But Head Maid Monica, may I ask what brings you here?"

“I’ve confirmed the situation, and I have something to tell the master—but don’t wake him. It’s not something that needs to be dealt with immediately.” Head Maid Monica shook her head, took out a wax-sealed envelope from her maid’s skirt, and placed it next to Lady Sonia. “Let the master see this when he wakes up. Hmm, it’s roughly related to Lady Kal’tsit, as well as Paul and Miss Theresa from the Duke of Nikolai.”

“Yes. But, you’re not going to say anything?” Ms. Sonia smiled, then pointed to herself and then to Yang Hao.

“Why should I say anything?” To this, Head Maid Monica simply shrugged. “This situation is indeed quite good. At least I don’t have to worry about the adults falling off the bed if they fall asleep in an unfamiliar environment—that’s all.”

"See you."

...

She disappeared, just as suddenly as she arrived.

Ms. Sonia stared at the spot where she had disappeared for a long time. Finally, she lowered her head, looked at Mr. Yang Hao, who seemed to be a little dazed from the noise, smiled, and began to hum her sad lullaby again.

...... ......

When Yang Hao woke up, he was still resting his head on Ms. Sonia's soft, plump thighs. Come to think of it, despite being deep-sea hunters with exceptional physical abilities, their skin and muscles, when relaxed, appeared no different from ordinary people, and even more beautiful.

So Yang Hao followed his heart's desire for rest and planned to rest his head on Sonia's lap for a while longer... However, Sonia's mother seemed unwilling to let him continue sleeping. After several shoves and her soft calls of "I know you're awake," he had no choice but to get up.

"Good afternoon, Sonia." He greeted her politely, then noticed again the dent in her leather pants where he had used his pillow. "Ha... I still have to go find that bar tonight..."

“Yes, sir. But before that, you should take a look at this.” Faced with Yang Hao’s complaint, Ms. Sonia simply smiled, then said something softly, reaching for an envelope from the bed beside her: “It was brought by Head Maid Monica.”

"Huh? Monica... wait?"

Upon hearing Monica's name, Yang Hao broke out in a cold sweat.

Um...

For no other reason than... he knew that his recent contact with Sonia had displeased Monica. He just didn't know what Koschei would think, so this man, still clinging to a sliver of hope even before his death... remained the same.

So he simply wiped the sweat from his face, and after taking the envelope from Sonia, he unwrapped the beeswax while chatting with her about Monica—he wanted to know what Monica thought when she came over, especially after seeing him fall asleep with his head on Sonia's lap...

"Hmm? Head Maid Monica didn't say much. She just said not to worry that Mr. Yang Hao's terrible sleeping posture might cause his head to fall off the bed one night."

"Hiss... I do have a terrible sleeping posture when I sleep alone, but it's not like that, is it?"

"And she also said that you must see the contents of the envelope. She said it was related to two people from the Duchy of Nicolai, and Lady Kelsey."

"what?"

Kelsey? Nikolai's two...are they Paul and Theresa?

What happened? He took out the letter and immediately got to work, fearing that something serious had happened to his subordinates.

Chapter Fourteen

...

In short, nothing major happened, but there are some things that it would be better for Yang Hao to handle and make decisions about.

Moreover, Kosichrie had already looked into the situation there beforehand, so after writing down her suggestions and questions on the letter, she decided to entrust Yang Hao with the entire process.

Yang Hao wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he noticed that Koschche's handwriting was a bit strange. He realized that it seemed to be some kind of code Koschche had written... After breaking out in a cold sweat and turning the letter upside down, he realized that it seemed he really would be lying in bed as a motionless living puppet when he got back.

"...hiss..."

"Mr. Yang Hao?"

"No, no, it's nothing... It's just that my cat seems to want to eat me, that's all..."

He shivered, then began to seriously read the contents of the letter.

The letter's official contents consisted of two parts: Ms. Kal'tsit's request and Theresa's report.

Now let's talk about Ms. Kelsey's request—basically, she wanted to be granted permission to move around in areas where infected people congregate, and she wanted to use some of the funds for research on treatment technologies for infected people.

"Hmm...? Treatment technology for infected individuals? Hmm, considering these technologies will be useful later..." Initially, Yang Hao rejected Kal'tsit's suggestion. After all, all the resources of the Duke of Kosichä's territory are currently focused on the upcoming civil war and economic reforms. The next phase of the work-for-relief program is still uncertain, so researching advanced technology now would have to wait at least a while, right?

But then he thought, the upcoming war would inevitably lead to a large influx of infected people—especially given the situation in the Duchy of Nikolai. Not only for the sake of his own people and soldiers, but also for commercial and economic reasons, an effective treatment for the infected should be developed. After all, the risk of Oripathy infection exists for the vast majority of people, and Yang Hao was certain that many children of the powerful and wealthy would also be anxiously searching for a temporary cure after contracting Oripathy.

...At that time, the price for outsiders will be a little higher, and that's it. Then, all citizens of the Duchy of Koschche can use the potion for free. That's it.

So, after briefly reviewing Koschich's suggestions and giving them considerable thought, Yang Hao decided to agree to Kelsey's proposal—though the promised funding might take some time. To ensure Kelsey could stay and work in the Duchy, he planned to have Monica explain the future arrangements to her.

After resolving Ms. Kelsey's issue, the next problem was obtaining intelligence from the Duchy of Nikolai.

Theresa told Paul that they might need to bring some refugees onto the landship along the way to return to the Duchy of Koschche—this sounded fine, and Yang Hao agreed. However, Theresa added some additional information:

For example, the reserve forces of the Duchy of Nikolai have been steadily decreasing, but their crematoriums and any facilities related to the disposal of corpses show no sign of opening.

For example, more and more puppets made of flesh and blood have appeared in the Duchy of Nikolai, and the Duke of Nikolai's personal guards are all fat and strong, and they look increasingly stupid.

For example... they discovered the core urban area of ​​the Nikolai Duchy, the upper level of the city control tower, which appeared to have been [transformed into some kind of grotesque, fleshy structure], the kind that could be observed through telescopes from over ten kilometers away...

......

Yang Hao knew that Duke Nikolai must be planning something big recently.

He then realized that the speed of his actions would determine whether Duke Nikolai was prepared—if he was fast enough, Duke Nikolai would be caught off guard. If he was slow, Duke Nikolai would be fully prepared...

The former approach could avoid casualties, while the latter, with too many casualties, would be difficult for Yang Hao to explain to his wife. Therefore, he decided to speed things up starting today.

"Anyway... I've taken care of all that. Oh? Speaking of which, Sonia, have you seen where my cane is?"

"A cane? Hmm... Did you bring it with you, sir?"

“I remember I brought it with me… Ah, here it is.”

He sighed, rummaged around the bed, and finally found the walking stick his wife had given him under the bed. He then decided to find His Majesty the Emperor during his meal to discuss the next steps.

Hmm. After all, burning down a councilor can only be done after His Majesty the Emperor's personal guards, sent to "accept the territory," have taken their positions.

At that time, we'll burn the people alive and take over the territory. The emperor wins once, I win once, and then the councilors will be cremated. Everyone will be quite happy.

Yang Hao was very pleased with this win-win situation.

Thinking of this, he tapped his cane, stretched, and then left his room with Sonia, who had a strange look on her face.

Of course, before leaving, he didn't forget to use the [Puppet Stage] to ensure that everyone in the Duke of Koschche carried out his instructions.

... .....

While Yang Hao was busy with his work, Monica in the Duchy of Koschei discovered with dismay that Lord Koschei had entered a certain state of being incapacitated since Lord Yang Hao left.

Specifically, whenever Lord Koschei was about to handle an important task, she would subconsciously turn her head to look at the empty throne beside him, then sigh in disappointment. Her mental state seemed to have become that of Lord Yang Hao. If Monica hadn't followed Lord Koschei for many years, she probably wouldn't have been able to imagine that the current Lord Koschei was actually the immortal black serpent...

However, Lady Koschei is still Lady Koschei. Although her work has been slightly affected, she can still manage well even with Lord Yang Hao's temporary departure.

"—Monica, please arrange my trip to Saint-Germain-Castle—"

"Lord Kosiché, please reconsider!"

...Never mind what I said.

Seeing that Duke Koschchet seemed to have reached his limit and couldn't wait to reunite with Lord Yang Hao, Monica sighed heavily, appeared from the mirror world, and stood behind her to comfort her:

"Lord Yang Hao certainly wouldn't want to see Lord Kosichek like this! In fact, if you go there now, it might even affect Lord Yang Hao's work!"

"...Sigh. I was just saying."

"But if I hadn't stopped you, you probably would have already done it."

"Ugh."

Lord Kosch's change of expression was even faster than the speed at which he twisted his waist on Lord Yang Hao. One second he looked like he couldn't contain himself, the next he was calm again, and then the next second, the helplessness in his eyes was almost unmistakable...

...Anyway, Monica didn't have much to say. She could only try her best to take care of Lord Koschche to prevent her from having too much of an impact on Lord Yang Hao's work at Saint-Germain.

But speaking of which... it's not just Lord Kosiché who's spoiling Lord Yang Hao, Lord Yang Hao has spoiled Lord Kosiché to this extent... If this continues for a while, I'm afraid Lord Kosiché might not even have the heart to leave Lord Yang Hao's office to work...

That won't do... We need to let Lord Kosiché calm down.

Thinking this, Head Maid Monica silently took a step forward. She carefully considered her words, and after Lord Koschche put down the last of his work, she said:

"Furthermore, Lord Kosichä... if you continue like this, how will you manage your household and your duchy if Lord Yang Hao has to go out on work alone in the future..."

"...Sigh. I know I've been looking like a short-lived ghost, not even 30 yet... Is this what they call love?" Duke Kosiché sighed heavily, rising from her throne in frustration. Seeing the empty throne beside her, she shook her head, her expression one of desolation. "Or is this actually a problem with Miss Green's health? Perhaps the more aloof Miss Karina could alleviate my problem a little?"

Lady Koschke is well aware that this is her own problem, but as Monica says, it doesn't seem like a problem that can be solved simply by changing bodies...

After all, although Koschke will be affected by the new body to some extent after changing bodies, it is more her personal mental state and soul that will affect the body she is possessing.

In other words—so what if you, Lord Koschche, replaced Miss Karina's body? She may be cold, but what does that have to do with your heart, which has now been melted?

You'll continue to pester Lord Yang Hao... so it would be better if you focused more on your own ideas.

With that in mind, Monica bluntly exposed Koschche's true colors:

"But Lord Koschche, even if you change bodies, you'll still be like this, won't you?"

"...right."

"So, Lord Kosich, you'd better get used to it as soon as possible."

"I never imagined it would turn out like this before I got married..."

"So, you'll have to get used to it. Otherwise, what if that little bat you mentioned takes advantage of the situation..."

I vaguely remember Lord Kosichek mentioning him? Is there such a character?

Monica blinked, momentarily thinking she had said something wrong, when Lord Koschche sighed heavily, confirming her suspicions:

"That little bat? Ugh...no offense, but Monica...she really is..."

"Forehead?"

"...Let me put it this way, I don't mind giving her a chance, and I have indeed given her a chance—but every time she communicates with her darling using that communicator that can only be used once every two months, she talks about those kinds of things?! To be honest, I'm very disappointed..."

"that..."

“I don’t think I should have any expectations of a baby who is still breastfeeding... even if that baby is 26 years old.”

Lord Koschche, did you... say something that contains a lot of information?

Monica followed the grumbling Lord Koschich out of the audience hall, still in a daze. It wasn't until they arrived at the bathroom next to the bedchamber that Monica came to her senses.

"Lord Kosiché, which communicator are you on—"

“No, no.” Duke Kosiché, who was taking off his clothes, shook his head listlessly. “After each communication, my dear would excitedly tell me about their conversation. I believe he didn’t hold anything back from me, but because of that, I think that little bat is truly hopeless.”

"Um...she's still breastfeeding...Lord Koschche, please spare her...?"

"I didn't even lift a finger. Sigh..."

Duke Kosiché took off his clothes and went into the bathroom in front of Monica to bathe before having his meal. Monica, the head maid, gave a few helpless laughs and then also took off her clothes.

She planned to help the master bathe while also cleaning herself. After that, she would prepare dinner and then check on Master Yang Hao later.

But then again... could it be said that Ms. Sonia... took advantage of a moment of weakness? Monica had considered that Lord Yang Hao might feel somewhat out of place after leaving them, perhaps revealing his vulnerabilities to outsiders... but Monica hadn't expected that it wouldn't be His Majesty the Emperor who struck first, but rather Ms. Sonia...

"...I still need to give him a proper reminder." She muttered to herself. Although as the head maid, she had no right to interfere in the master's choice of lovers, for the sake of his health, she still needed to find time to have a serious talk with Lord Yang Hao about this matter... "Otherwise, if Lord Koschche can't even satisfy his desires in the future, it'll be troublesome..."

Speaking of which, that little bat... um...?

tentatively...

Or should we, for now, treat her as one of the future mistresses? Although Lord Koschei is greatly disappointed, we shouldn't let our own disappointment get the better of us...

Monica, carrying a bath towel, naturally entered the bathroom, which was now incredibly familiar to her. While serving Lord Koschei's bath, she chatted with him about Lord Yang Hao, feeling exceptionally comfortable with her current life.