Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Ch. 32 .｡.:✧ Cologne (2) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Cornelia Briam.
The daughter of a family that had produced heroes in the past, from quite an illustrious lineage.
As a non-believer, she was the optimal marriage partner for Lawrence Briam, who had just recently converted to the Church of the Holy God.
If he wanted to carry out the duties of the Holy Kingdom’s capital city mayor, he had to at least put on a show of believing in God.
It was a political marriage formed from the alignment of their mutual interests.
Nevertheless, their marital relationship was famously overflowing with sweetness.
That was the story and setting, and I had believed it too.
However, the situation unfolding before my eyes was the complete opposite.
“…Can I. Touch the necklace.”
“No, little miss. Cough, cough! It’s a precious item…”
Cornelia smiled as she tucked the pearl necklace back inside her collar.
Her smile seemed somewhat pitiful for some reason.
Perhaps it was because she was so thin it was painful to look at.
‘Cornelia will die within 2 months from now.’
Indeed, it was evident that she was ill.
But if asked whether this was the physical condition of someone who would die within 2 months, that was ambiguous.
It seemed her condition would likely deteriorate significantly soon.
But was it really the ‘unknown illness’ that it was claimed to be?
Such an abrupt suspicion arose.
‘Why is that pearl necklace offered as a dungeon reward?’
Actually, it wasn’t completely out of the blue.
2 months later, in other words, after Cornelia had died.
When I came to Cologne and cleared the dungeon, the reward was definitely that pearl necklace.
Disposing of a deceased person’s belongings wasn’t that uncommon.
But for a husband to give away a necklace his beloved wife had cherished so much that she hid it inside her clothes, to some barbaric mercenary, was something I couldn’t understand no matter what based on my common sense.
It seemed like he had impulsively sold it off out of spite.
Now it was time to be suspicious.
Did Lawrence truly love Cornelia?
And did Cornelia really die from an incurable disease?
Could it be that someone was deliberately worsening Cornelia’s health?
In terms of the game’s setting, it was an absurd story, but from my perspective, it was a suspicion worth considering.
Wasn’t there just one or two cases of additional settings (which can be read as the system’s arbitrary second creation, produced in the process of the system bringing the game into reality?
This was one of those countless cases, I speculated.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah. Yes.”
“You seemed to space out for a moment. Shall we continue moving then?”
“Sounds good.”
“Cornelia. Go home and wait. I’ll finish just guiding them to the dungeon and come back early.”
“Yes, darling…”
Cornelia trembled and lowered her head upon making eye contact with Lawrence.
Some might say it was the appearance of a loyal wife who respected her husband.
But to me, it only seemed like she was afraid of Lawrence.
“The smell is quite strong, isn’t it?”
“Yes. More than I expected…”
Inside the sewers.
The moment we entered that wide tunnel, my brow furrowed involuntarily.
Only then did I realize the identity of the smell that had been permeating the city.
It was the stench of sewage that had flowed back up from the sewer and reached the surface.
In the midst of that, Undecided alone looked up at us with an unaffected expression.
It seemed Undecided’s sense of smell was quite dull.
At this very moment, I was envious of Undecided’s nose to the point of dying.
“It wasn’t like this originally. After I renovated it, Cologne’s sewer system became the world’s best sewage treatment facility.
However…”
Thud.
Lawrence’s footsteps came to a halt.
Inevitably, I had to stop as well.
Where the waterway should have continued, a huge stone slab was blocking the path.
“After the dungeon appeared, the flow became a complete mess. We couldn’t leave the water to stagnate and overflow, nor could we let it seep into the ground and erode the groundwater, so we had no choice but to create a temporary waterway on the surface. But the sewage smell from 3 million Cologne residents using it is no joke. Hahaha.”
It may seem trivial, but it was quite a serious problem.
If left like this, hygiene issues would start popping up one by one.
No wonder they posted a request offering additional rewards despite the dungeon being designated as a black star dungeon by the Mercenary Council.
Certainly, it would be better to quickly eliminate this dungeon, but…
“It’s my first time seeing this type of dungeon. I’ll need some time to slowly grasp it.”
“You’re quite prudent. I don’t think I’ve ever met a mercenary like you.”
If I finished conquering this dungeon, I would lose justification to stay in Cologne.
I could break through the dungeon at any time, but Cornelia’s issue seemed like it would take quite some time.
I couldn’t leave Cologne until at least uncovering the secret behind her death.
‘If kept alive, Cornelia will definitely be helpful.’
Before getting married, she was called a prodigy and was on the elite track.
Even if I tried to persuade Lawrence, he would never become my ally, but Cornelia was different.
Since it was my first time challenging the final boss, I didn’t know what variables might arise in the future.
It was best to secure as many allies as possible.
“Since the sun has set, I’ll commence the dungeon exploration starting tomorrow morning.”
“Do as you please. There’s no need to rush. The stench may be quite uncomfortable, but how could that be more important than human lives? We have to proceed safely, don’t we?”
“Hearing you say that puts me at ease.”
“If you don’t mind, would you like to come to my house for dinner? Feel free to come comfortably.”
Since the guest was a commoner, it would be awkward to gather nobles and hold a banquet.
But he couldn’t neglect the guest either, so it seemed he wanted to personally treat me to a meal at his residence.
Considering most nobles didn’t even treat commoners as human, it was an extremely wise course of action.
‘He’s not someone to be taken lightly.’
In other words, he wasn’t just a man whose head turned a bit faster.
If this kind of person became a villain, it would be the most troublesome type.
No matter what ulterior motives this man had, it would be difficult to uncover them in a short time.
“Sounds good. And if possible, could I stay at your residence the entire time I’m in Cologne? I couldn’t secure a hotel room.”
“Oh my. You’re welcome to. There are spare rooms in the house. The maids who are always too busy playing will be happy to have some work to do.”
“Thank you.”
I needed time to gather information.
The mayor who governed the massive city of Cologne.
The residence of Count Briam was surprisingly small in scale.
To the point of making one question if this was really the place.
Of course, even when saying it was small, that was only by noble standards.
It was a scale that could be called a large mansion without any exaggeration.
Rather, because it was relatively small, it exuded a refined beauty without any unnecessary corners.
As I strolled through the garden and approached the main gate, the door soon opened and Lawrence came out to greet me.
“Welcome. Come in first. We’ll have a meal right away…”
“…Ugh. Yawn. Sleepy.”
Undecided covered her mouth with her hand and made an emotionless sound like reading from a textbook.
Lawrence’s expression stiffened, dumbfounded by this.
“This child seems very sleepy. I’m going to put her to bed, so could we be shown to our room’s first?”
“What about the meal?”
“She ate a lot of snacks on the way here. I think dinner will be enough with just me.”
“I understand. Follow me.”
Lawrence turned his back, looking puzzled.
Undecided made a V-sign at me, looking triumphant.
Yes.
Well done.
Undecided had a body that couldn’t eat meals, so I had no choice but to separate her.
“The food is almost ready. It will just be a short wait.”
The dining room I entered following Lawrence.
The first thing that caught my eye was Cornelia sitting demurely in front of the table.
Upon noticing Lawrence and me, she immediately stood up and quietly bowed in greeting.
“You saw her earlier, but I’ll formally introduce her now. This is my wife, Cornelia.”
“Nice to meet you, Countess.”
“Yes…”
I examined Cornelia’s complexion as I greeted her.
The slightly clenched jaw.
The subtly twisted eyes.
And the curled-up corners of her mouth.
It was a fleeting expression, so Lawrence probably didn’t notice.
However, based on my close observation of the movements of Cornelia’s facial muscles using Mana Control.
Cornelia regarded me unfavorably.
No, perhaps she was dissatisfied with the words I had spoken.
“Before the appetizer arrives, shall I bring out some alcohol first? Do you have any particular preference?”
“Do you have Trium?”
“I do have a treasured 30-year Trium. I didn’t expect to be opening it today. You seem to be quite knowledgeable about alcohol, knowing about Trium.”
“Haha…”
It was said to be not a very popular liquor.
My taste wasn’t particularly expensive, but I was already quite familiar with that liquor.
All because of a certain gloomy, alcohol-loving elf…
“Chat with Cornelia while you wait.”
It seemed he was going to personally fetch the alcohol.
Lawrence sent a meaningful smile to Cornelia and left.
Cornelia stiffened as if nervous.
Soon, an awkward silence flowed over the table with just Cornelia and me.
Taking advantage of the break, I examined Cornelia’s condition.
Spotlessly clean and clear skin.
Distinct features that appeared even more prominent due to being thin to the point of gauntness.
The dark complexion added a decadent beauty to it.
‘This isn’t it.’
Who told you to evaluate someone else’s wife’s appearance?
I told you to check her condition.
But even after coming to my senses and observing Cornelia closely, there was no particular gain.
After all, there was no way I could figure out an illness that even renowned doctors couldn’t uncover just by looking at her face for a moment.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I apologize. It’s because you’re such a beauty.”
“Thank you. I hear that quite often.”
“Not often, but every day, Cornelia.”
“…..”
Cornelia’s eyes widened.
She seemed a bit surprised, but there was no displeasure to be found in them.
‘Earlier, it was the form of address ‘Countess’ that was the issue.’
She couldn’t hide her displeasure at being called Countess, but when I abruptly called her by name, she was only a little startled.
To be more displeased by the polite form of address ‘Countess’ than the rude behavior of a commoner she was meeting for the first time.
It seemed their married life wasn’t very smooth.
“That…”
“I’m sorry. I accidentally called you by name.”
“Ah, no. Feel free to call me however you like. Don’t you call my husband Lawrence aswell? It would be strange if only I was called Countess.”
“That’s true. It suits you both to be so down-to-earth.”
“Ahaha…”
Cornelia turned her head, laughing awkwardly.
For a very brief moment, she had expressed annoyance again.
It seemed she disliked being told she resembled her husband that much.
With this, it was certain.
Their relationship wasn’t just not smooth.
It was so bad that they even detested each other.
‘I have enough circumstantial evidence. The problem is how to secure physical evidence.’
A bad marital relationship.
A wife dying without even knowing the clear cause.
And a husband who sold off his wife’s cherished keepsake as soon as she died.
The circumstantial evidence that Lawrence had killed Cornelia was overflowing.
But without physical evidence, all of this was just my delusion.
It was of no use.
‘Is it a curse using sorcery? Or magic skillfully concealing a ritual?’
How did Lawrence kill Cornelia?
Various possibilities flashed through my mind.
But none of them were easy to secure evidence for.
‘This is so annoying I could die.’
I would have to slowly get close to Lawrence over a long time and find evidence.
I absolutely hated things dragging on…
I couldn’t thoughtlessly invest a long time either since there were many dungeons I had to break through.
Even if Cornelia was called a prodigy when she was young, I wondered if keeping her alive would really be of much benefit to me.
The desire to just give up and leave gradually grew.
“I’m glad to be drinking such precious liquor with such a distinguished person.”
“Oh.”
Lawrence soon returned with the liquor bottle.
In his other hand was a glass cup.
A cup of warm water with steam rising from it.
‘Inspect.’
[30 Year Aged Trium Whiskey]
[A premium whiskey aged for 30 years in oak barrels.]
I checked in case he had switched the bottle.
It seemed he wasn’t the type to do something so crafty.
The moment I slightly turned my head and brought the glass cup into view.
[Poison]
[A small amount of poison has been added to the warm water.
Drinking it will impair heart and respiratory functions.
Long-term consumption can be fatal.]
Lawrence placed that cup of water, no, that cup of poison, in front of Cornelia.
“Drink it. You kept coughing.”
“Yes, darling…”
The mystery was solved.
I didn’t even need to invest much time.
Gotcha, you bastard.
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