My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 178

Why do you say that?

Because it's a very simple reason—by their first date, he and Košice were already practically inseparable.

On this date, however, he and Theresa maintained a proper superior-subordinate relationship—although his sexual harassment of Theresa was a little more than usual, as long as that barrier wasn't crossed, their relationship still appeared pure.

so...

What should I do now?

They disguised themselves slightly to avoid being recognized by the public and having their date ruined. Yang Hao, looking worried, led Teresa around, all the while keeping an eye on the little pony's expression—who, despite saying she was "business as usual," had actually put a lot of effort into dressing up.

"Theresa, come sit over there."

"Huh? A newly opened dessert shop? Gallic-style—"

"I promised you before, but I didn't have time to come. I just happen to have time this time."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. Let me make it clear first, I won't be spending a single penny on this purchase."

"Hahaha..."

How to say?

Although she appeared genuinely happy, Yang Hao noticed that her gaze kept drifting towards the visibly content people walking the streets. Theresa seemed to believe she was worlds apart from the Ursus people here; their joy and happiness seemed to the little pony as something she had only read about in books—real, yet utterly unreal to her.

So it really is because of things back home? Yang Hao put himself in Teresa's shoes. If he were in Teresa's shoes, he would definitely be uneasy about the current situation, right? Although he had gained unexpected benefits and happiness, he had also almost completely cut off the possibility of returning to his hometown to revitalize his family.

Although Yang Hao wasn't the kind of person who was enthusiastic about reviving the glory of a certain place, he understood that these people regarded these goals as their life's direction. So, while he didn't support them, he wouldn't oppose them either.

But why did Theresa keep thinking about reviving her family?

Is it simply because of her family traditions? Or does she truly love her family?

Was she forced into this by her father before his death, or did she think this way on her own initiative?

Yang Hao needs an answer from Teresa... and that answer will determine whether he does that kind of thing or not.

"jingle--"

Upon entering the dessert shop, Yang Hao, led by the Gallic chef and his Ursusian waiter, found a seat by the window. He watched Theresa excitedly selecting her favorite desserts from the menu, but also noticed her slight absent-mindedness.

"...I feel like you're not very focused on your life right now." Taking the opportunity of looking at the menu, Yang Hao said. "Although you do seem to enjoy life here, you feel out of place with the people of Ursus around you... While I don't mean to interfere in your private life, Theresa, I'd like to know more about you."

"Huh? Why did you say that chilling thing so seriously, boss?" Theresa paused, then looked up at Yang Hao with a playful expression, only to be forced to lower her head under his earnest gaze. "And boss, why do you want to know what I'm thinking? I'm just your chief spymaster—you wouldn't actually have any designs on me, would you?"

"Because that's really what I think." Yang Hao readily admitted his own quirk—after all, where else could he find a pony like Theresa?

She fell silent. Looking down at the Easter egg, Yang Hao noticed through the gaps peeking out from the sides of the menu that her face seemed to be flushed.

She hurriedly spoke a few words to the waiters waiting nearby. Seeing that she might really need some dessert to calm down, Yang Hao smiled and stopped for the time being.

.....

Not far away, following her intuition, Miss Karina was watching the Kuranta person sitting at the same table as Mr. Yang Hao.

“…”

The Kuranta woman, named Theresa, is the commander of a secret unit under Mr. Yang Hao, a former spy in Kazimir, and, as Lord Kosichek said, Mr. Yang Hao's "personal possession"...?

But that doesn't seem to be the case. Lord Yang Hao's interactions with Miss Theresa are quite equal. And, perhaps it's just Karina's imagination... she always feels that Mr. Yang Hao seems to harbor feelings for Miss Theresa that go beyond simply treating her as a personal possession...?

"...gentlemen."

She silently took a sip of her delicious sweet coffee. She really had come here to enjoy the food. Only by deceiving herself first would the shrewd spymaster not suspect what she was planning to do—although, the aloof-looking Karina believed that even if she didn't do anything, the spymaster probably wouldn't be able to figure out what she was thinking.

While Miss Karina was enjoying her coffee and life, she noticed quite a few things.

Firstly, there were the Templar Knights and... Imperial Guards who followed Mr. Yang Hao. Miss Karina had seen many of the former. As for the latter, she was seeing the Imperial Guards who served His Majesty the Emperor for the first time.

They were all hidden away in dark, inconspicuous places, each going about their own work. Karina thought to herself, "If I went over and talked to the adults now, it would probably alert them. Sigh."

To be honest, she didn't want to reveal that she was stalking Mr. Yang Hao... So next, I have to take a detour, then go around [directly] everywhere, and finally [accidentally] bump into Mr. Yang Hao... right?

This plan is feasible. But then again, what will Lord Koschche think of me?

He was supposed to be her next body, but now he was a man who wanted to know more about her...

This is really...

Karina felt extremely ashamed.

Meanwhile, completely unaware that someone was watching him from a short distance away, Yang Hao's conversation with Teresa had entered a new phase.

"Boss, are you trying to get into the inner world of a Kuranta girl? Although I can guess that this is definitely related to your strategy regarding Kazimierz, I feel it's a waste to just tell you this for no reason."

"So what do you want me to give in return?"

"Hmm...how about this? Boss, how about you give me a chance, a chance to ask you for anything at any time, in exchange for this information? Anyway, I won't ask you for anything too outrageous, what do you think?"

Watching Theresa cut the mille-feuille with a knife and fork, Yang Hao smiled and agreed with her idea—isn't it just about exchanging something?

Go ahead and change it. Anyway, I have plenty of whatever you want!

Chapter 26

After enjoying a delicious dessert.

Yang Hao's optimism only resulted in one thing—

Theresa led him to the library, which seemed like a suitable place for conversation. This was the largest library in the central city of the Duchy of Kosiché, with a vast collection of books and quiet, open reading rooms that were readily accessible and, to the point that there were no security cameras, and even the librarians probably wouldn't bother with them.

Yang Hao and Theresa were alone here at this moment. They were both holding some books, some about Kazimierz.

Theresa says this is some basic social knowledge about Qazimir that you need to know before you can understand her—that is, what exactly is a knight to the Qazimirs.

"The backbone of society?"

"One of the correct answers. But beyond that, knighthood is our tradition, our spiritual pillar, and... the glory of the vast majority of Kazimierz."

Theresa sat in her chair and pointed to the cover of the book in her hand. Yang Hao looked at it and saw that it was a book labeled in Ursus language and with Ursus-style illustrations—"On the Knights of Casimir".

Yang Hao wasn't familiar with the contents of the book. However, judging from Theresa's expression, she didn't seem satisfied with it. She pulled up a chair and sat down next to Yang Hao. The table resembled the one in Yang Hao's office—it was spacious underneath and had some obstructions.

The only drawback was that Yang Hao, sitting in the main seat, was directly opposite a large glass door. I wonder what was the design of this library... using glass for the door?

Is this because they're worried about some man and woman having an improper relationship inside? Yang Hao muttered to himself, turning his head to look at the book that Teresa had placed on the table beside him, which was already open.

“This book records what my father did back then,” she said, flipping through a few pages before shifting her seat to a comfortable distance from Mr. Yang Hao. “It was terrible—though it was reality, how should I put it? It was my nightmare.”

"That was when...you were still a glorious knight of conquest?"

"Yes. Sigh, I was incredibly successful back then—because I had a general as my father, reporters followed me wherever I went. I was proud of my father, and he was proud of me. I thought it would last forever, until the day war or disease separated me from my father..."

"And then, the war between Kazimir and Ursus began?"

"Ah."

Theresa's father was an even more despicable figure in a war than a deserter: he was the commander who ordered his soldiers to flee.

This directly led to him suffering extremely severe public opinion within Qazimir, because it went against the chivalry of Qazimir—he was judged as a shameful loser in this war, and his family was also disgraced.

But that's how people in Kazimierz... In reality, in Ursus's opinion, Mr. Nowitzki is a rare commander who isn't so stubborn.

Had he not made a decisive retreat, Kazimierz might have suffered heavy losses in that war, losing more than one city. However, while his decisive retreat thwarted the Ursus plot, it failed to convince his own people.

"After all, the Ursus's secret operation was just too good—although my father saw through the camouflage unit's plan, when he led his team to withdraw and reached a safe place... the Ursus who suddenly appeared on the former position were considered to be the enemy who appeared there because of his dereliction of duty."

"...But if that's all there is to it, it shouldn't lead to...a sentence of hanging, right?"

"Of course not."

"This is just the beginning," Theresa sighed heavily. The girl, who had become listless when talking about her father, lost her previous energy and slumped over the table, seemingly lamenting her past or her father.

With her explanation, Yang Hao understood the inner demon that had been haunting Teresa's heart.

"The more my father cared for his soldiers, the more those remaining soldiers revered me."

My father possessed that ability, but I was just an ordinary knight-errant.

In the end, he was hanged on charges that weren't his own because he issued a series of orders to protect his men. And me? I was inexplicably met with the expectations of those remaining soldiers...

What are they expecting me to do?

Is it to revive the family, or to shoulder the title that my father once held?

I don't know... I don't know anything. I was even confused at one point... because I didn't understand why my father was protecting them.

I was desperate at the time. I needed money to make a living, and the only way I could think of to revive my family through the arena of competitive knights also required money—but I didn't have that much money, so I had no choice but to accept the company's funding and be trained by them to be a spy.

I thought that after becoming a spy and being sent to work in Ursus, I should be able to earn a lot of money in two or three years, and then I could try to go back to my family...

But now? Gone, impossible—I've been bribed by you, boss, so there's no way I can clear my family's name in Kazimir. Even if the remnants of the army, and the Ursus people's books, remember my father as a good general who loved his soldiers like his own children, a good general who stood up against unrealistic orders from above... so what?

What others say is their business... In Kazimir, the fact that the Nowitzki family not only produced deserters but also traitors is undeniable.

That's why I'm afraid to go back... If I don't go back, they won't be able to confirm whether I've truly betrayed them. But if I go back... I... sob...

...

Choking back tears, Teresa took a deep breath. She had said too much. She had finally let out everything that she had kept bottled up inside, things she had only mentioned in passing to her sisters. She didn't even understand why she trusted the man beside her so much.

Yang Hao gently patted her ear, hoping his gesture would help her relax a little. His actions were effective; his hands were gentle and warm, and the experience he had learned from Koschke's cat ears unexpectedly came in handy here.

However, the girl, who was slumped over the table, remained stubborn, sobbing, and refused to admit her feelings:

"Boss, don't you realize how weird your movements are...? Don't do that... it's really strange..."

"But I feel like this will make you feel better."

"......Um."

Okay, at least she's willing to admit one of those things.

Yang Hao rubbed Theresa's horse ears. His fingers gently brushed into the fur inside, making her body tremble several times.

After a while.

"...Theresa, so you want to revive your family, right?"

Yang Hao began his questioning.

When questioned by Yang Hao, Theresa remained hunched over her desk, nodding with a subtle gesture that was almost imperceptible to everyone.

"Ah."

She responded, slightly raising her head, then turned to look at Yang Hao. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were red, and she had secretly wiped away a few tears from the corners of her eyes.

“But I can’t even think about it now—after all, I’m already a Ursus citizen, a high-ranking member of a secret organization in the Dukedom of Koschei. I no longer have the chance to go home openly, so I’ve given up on that idea.” Theresa laughed, saying that she’d given up on the past, but how many people truly give up on it completely? “So… it’s good now. Although my boss is a perverted maniac who likes to pat someone on the back, at least here I don’t have to worry about being set up for some inexplicable reason… You agree, right, boss?”

"Yes. Although I wouldn't call myself completely honest and upright, how could I possibly wrong my subordinates and my little colt?"

Yang Hao answered seriously. This was not only because of the convenience brought to him by the [Puppet Stage], but also because he was not the kind of person who would wrong his subordinates, and might even be the kind of ruler who would tend to protect his subordinates, and was not exactly honest and upright.

"...Who's yours?"

Faced with Yang Hao's words, Teresa, who had already composed herself, smiled and playfully punched Yang Hao on the shoulder.

"But the problem is, aren't you mine now?"

"...snort."

She remained silent. But this time, Teresa did not stop Yang Hao's intimacy.

They had no interest in the books on the table. They just stared at each other, as if playing a childhood game, or perhaps testing each other.

Finally, Theresa couldn't hold back any longer. She couldn't stand Yang Hao's gaze, which was both caring and scrutinizing. She turned her face away and stammered, "..."

"No, please don't stare at me like that, okay? If you're planning something, we can talk about it when we get back... The door here is transparent."

She looked at the door to the reading room. It was made of transparent glass, so that if he wanted to do something, in case someone came in from the outside—the person outside could see almost everything.

Theresa really didn't want to lose face, although it wasn't impossible to do it that way, but... so...

"I'm thinking about serious matters, you know. After all, Theresa, you really want to go back, don't you?"

"...Ugh."

Why are we bringing this up again?

She sighed, turned around and was about to say something when Yang Hao gently rubbed her ear.

"—Theresa. Do you want to be the Queen of Kazimierz?"

He said gently.

His eyes revealed his commitment.