If I Can’t Be Your Wife - Chapter 88

“He doesn’t want me to go back for him. I will convince him and wait until he calms, but I am not sure when that will be.”

That’s why I tried to study my abilities by examining my mother’s records. I wanted to develop on my own, but I also hoped that my uncle, who was immersed in his memories and was projecting my mother on me, would weaken his resolve and support Luci.

“It will come sooner than you think. Maybe you don’t even know but it’s already here.”

Contradicting Kathleen, Joseph spoke confidently.

Kathleen asked, puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

He explained step by step.

“I heard from a stationed troop who recently went out on reconnaissance. They say there will be another uprising in the South.”

“Another uprising? As far as I know it’s already over…….”

“They said that Count Hopewell, who fled, raised an army there. There’s also the justification of the assassination of the Emperor, so the Imperial Family will do everything in their power to stop him. If we look for a chance while the attention is focused elsewhere, we might be able to get Luci.”

Count Hopewell is starting a war.

If so, the commander and vanguard would be one of the high-ranking nobles with experience in the battlefield. In Meyer, no, in the entire Trivellian Empire, there’s only one suitable person.

Alexis Walten.

It was a clear fact. Despite the opportunity, Kathleen’s fingertips went cold at her sudden recollection.

The new master, the Duke of Hopewell, who pushed her to the edge with a sword before her return, was the one who killed the Duke of Walten.

‘…… No he won’t.’

A lot has changed after she went back in time. There was a high chance that it wouldn’t go that way.

“I heard from Cassiel that there is an herb field about halfway through Carmine. It’s probably the place we’ve been to before. If I go down the road from there, I’ll be able to visit the Northern territory, so I’ll hear more news about it.”

“Will my uncle accept him?”

“Luci inherited your eyes and hair color so you can say that he resembles Juliana. When he sees him, he won’t be able to tell you to return him.”

Thanks to Joseph, who gently explained and reassured her, her anxiety gradually subsided.

“Then I will go with you.”

Kathleen said sternly.

“If I tell him that you will help me gather herbs, he won’t be very suspicious even if I don’t come back for a few days.”

“But, Kelly, it can be dangerous. If war has already broken out, the border to Meyer would be tighter.”

“If you change my face, there will be no risk of being caught. Besides, I now have the strength to protect myself.”

Kathleen opened her palm and handed him a sharp ice crystal in an instant. Joseph, who accepted the thick frozen crystal, nodded his head after a while.

“Then let’s go together. I will speak to Cassiel. Just in time, there are some things I have to prepare since I’m the sole healer in Usmund.”

“Yes. I will be ready to leave anytime.”

The unexpected news made her heart feel lighter and she was able to finish her meal comfortably after a long time. Kathleen suggested picking Joseph up on the way back but he rejected her offer because it was cold so they would meet outside the gates.

“But why did Count Hopewell rebel? No matter how much he cooperates with the South, if he raises an army in the name of the assassination of the Emperor, he will have no choice but to protect the Trivellian imperial family.”

Even if Hopewell wins the civil war and becomes a duke like before, he cannot become the emperor himself. He would have to establish another imperial family, but there weren’t many choices in the current empire.

“His Majesty just came of age, so wouldn’t he use that as an excuse to ascend to the position of regent?”

“Regent…… I hope Peter doesn’t have a hard time. I’m worried.”

“He’s an excellent emperor, so he will overcome it well. He’s also a strong-minded person.”

“I guess so?”

Her heart felt heavy because she couldn’t even contact Peter and let her know she was alive. Joseph patted her shoulder lightly, as if trying to ease her worries, and said.

“Then I’ll be going now. Hurry up and go in.”

Kathleen, who was watching Joseph as he turned towards the path outside the castle gate, suddenly remembered something and called him.

“Joseph!”

“Yes?”

“I forgot to ask. How did you meet uncle and the people of Usmund in Carmine?”

It was difficult enough to even be  called ‘luck’ to meet people who had disappeared in the harsh and cold mountains. That must’ve been why Joseph had been missing for so long, she wondered how he found and persuaded them.

“Ah…… That.”

With a slightly vague expression on his face, Joseph muffled his words.

“I actually got help.”

“Help?”

Kathleen, who thought that Joseph found them himself, was a bit surprised.

“Who was it? Someone knew about Carmine and Usmund?”

“…… I didn’t know who it was because I met him by chance. He told me he had seen a man of House Usmund in Carmine and gave me an approximate location. I went there and waited patiently until I met Cassiel.”

“That’s what happened.”

I somehow understood. He probably ran into them, and if he was familiar with Carmine, it’s probably one of the residents of the North who wasn’t allowed to enter the mountain range.

I don’t know who it was, but I feel grateful. If it wasn’t for that person, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet my uncle or learn about my freezing ability.

‘If we meet again someday, I want to give you something in return.’

If he lives in the North Territory, she thought that she would meet him at least once someday.

“Then, Joseph, get home safely.”

“You too Kelly, don’t focus too much on training. See you tomorrow.”

Joseph waved his hand and disappeared into the darkness. Kathleen shifted her gaze in the direction he was facing when she suddenly noticed a twinkling light inside his house. It was like the last time she had mistaken it for a firefly.

‘What is that?’

It was blurry because of the distance, so she couldn’t tell. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but the light was gone.

She tilted her head and waited a little longer, but the light didn’t come back.

‘Did I see wrong?’

It may have been nothing because she had been practicing for too long.

Assuming it was just a feeling, Kathleen returned inside.

***

The opportunity came sooner than she expected.

A few days later, Joseph came to Cassiel with a couple. The wife was with child, and she was so frail that he needed to prepare in case of an emergency childbirth months later.

“My healing powers can’t solve everything, so it’s better to stock up on herbs.”

“Do that. If it means at least one of the descendants of Usmund could be safer.”

The head, Cassiel, put the safety of his race above all else. As he believed that the winter fairies’ hands are precious, he thought that childbirth should be prepared as tightly as war.

“I will go with you. It will take a while for Joseph to gather the herbs alone.”

“But Kelly. Can you go out to such a rough place after all this time?”

“It’s okay. I’ve done it before, and now I can handle some power.”

Convinced and persuaded, Cassiel nodded his head and agreed.

“Okay. Then you must return safely. I want to go with you, but the head can’t be away for a long time…….”

“Don’t worry. I will be back safe and sound.”

“Be careful in the northern territory. They say the atmosphere over there is unusual, so if something happens, shoot a flare. Then I will send the troops.”

Cassiel handed her one of his small pouches.

“Thank you, Uncle.”

To the extent that Cassiel, who had not consciously mentioned the situation outside of Carmine, said so, it seemed that the power of the war had spread across the Empire. Her heart pounded anxiously at the thought of bringing Luci to safety.

After leaving the castle with Kathleen, Joseph told the couple.

“There are other physicians too, so please be patient and wait. I will come back with enough herbs in case anything happens during the birth process.”

“I am relieved to hear Joseph say that.”

The pregnant woman, with tears in her eyes, expressed her sincere gratitude.

“Miss Kelly, take care too.”

“Don’t worry about me. I will help you give birth safely.”

Kathleen, who knew how worrisome it could get when the time to give birth approaches, comforted her.

“We have to leave right away, Kelly.”

Joseph said, counting the time.

“It can be difficult to get into the capital once the military starts moving.”

“It doesn’t matter. I have packed my luggage in advance, so we can go right away.”

“Then I’ll see you at the entrance in an hour.”

Kathleen hurried back to the castle, packed her things, and then headed for the entrance to the Usmund village. Joseph had come out ahead of time and was waiting for her. After the stationed troops confirmed the reason for her leaving the village, Joseph changed her face.

“It won’t return to your original face unless you see the change in a reflection, like a mirror or clear water.”

Joseph changed her face and explained. Kathleen handed him the hair dye she had brought, she said.

“You have to change your hair color too.”

“My hair color?”

He asked bewildered. Kathleen nodded her head.

“You’re supposed to be dead, so just in case. If you come back to Meyer, they might order you arrested.”

“Ah…… yes. Yes. I forgot.”

Joseph took hold of the bottle of hair dye and replied belatedly. Joseph’s face, as he hastily dyed his hair brown like hers, looked strangely awkward.

‘Why are you like that?’

Was it because it brought back his memories of being kicked out when he visited the Walten mansion earlier?

She didn’t see it herself, but Joseph said that he was coldly kicked out even after knocking on the door for a long time and begging, therefore it was worth remembering that he didn’t want to recall that again.