Please Kill My Husband - Chapter 43

A damp room enclosed by brick walls on all sides. Inside the room filled with chains and groans, a bloodstained man lay bound and collapsed.

He was habitually reciting his wrongs.

Though he looked like a madman, muttering as if he had lost his mind, Benjamin’s eyes remained coldly calm at the sight.

They held no particular sympathy or compassion.

Just earlier, he was the man who tried to take Emma to a gloomy place. Captured by Aden and dragged here, what was done to him was simple torture.

A gag was put in the mouth of the man who screamed that he would tell everything, and he was immediately branded with fire.

Without pain, there is no truth.

It was a long tradition and custom of the Khan people.

Because of that, cries begging to be allowed to speak filled the room, but regardless, the focus was on half-killing him first.

The information obtained afterwards is usually more valuable. Benjamin stared blankly at the man’s face and moved his legs.

“Clean it up roughly.”

There was no intention of letting him live anyway. Disposing of trash is the answer.

At Benjamin’s gesture, the men nodded. As a final sight of them approaching with swords, Benjamin turned his body and opened the door with the death throes ringing in his ears.

Exiting the room, the thick smell of blood faded.

Reflexively lifting his sleeve to sniff, his eyes narrowed slightly. The scent of blood had clung in the meantime.

“I’ll need to change clothes before returning.”

He had promised his wife Melena that he would never fight or see blood before marriage.

If she found out he had tortured someone, she might turn pale and make a fuss about divorce.

Letting out a small sigh and turning his body, Benjamin spotted Aden walking from the opposite direction and stopped. Aden too seemed to have noticed him and calmly approached.

“I’ll save you the trouble of seeking me out. Here.”

Benjamin handed over the information obtained from the man and jerked his chin.

“This is all for now. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to know exactly who instigated it. That guy was also subcontracted. We could bring in the higher-ups for torture and maybe find out something, but we don’t know how many steps that would take. It won’t be easy to find the opponent who complicated the situation to avoid being caught.”

Aden furrowed his brow as he skimmed through the information obtained from torture. Benjamin, who had been staring blankly at that sight, put his hand in his pocket.

“But how did you know?”

“About what.”

Meeting Aden’s gaze as he looked up from the paper and glanced at him, Benjamin leaned against the wall.

“How did you know to have someone attached in anticipation of something like this happening?”

It was a natural question from Benjamin’s perspective.

The guy who had been bustling about saying he needed to hurry back suddenly changed his attitude after seeing an article in the newspaper.

He ordered to summon the person he had attached to Marquis Erdi last time, saying he had unpacked and work to do.

It was a very clean instruction and action, as if he had been waiting for it.

It was only natural to worry if he might do something like trying to kill Marquis Erdi to obtain Ludmila.

Even though they were the Khan people, it had been half a century since they were subjugated by the Empire.

To live within the framework of the Empire, one had to become accustomed to that life.

Moreover, killing and poisoning someone was an unacceptable act. Especially killing Marquis Erdi, who was not just an ordinary noble but the Minister of Commerce.

If it were exposed by chance, it would be at a level where the Khan people could be exterminated without protest.

Even now, there were those who picked fights at every turn to covet the Khan people’s land. The moment they seized a pretext by killing the Marquis, it would immediately be war.

‘…Well, just having Marquis Erdi’s wife is actually half a gamble already.’

Benjamin, who let out a low sigh, jerked his chin as if to say hurry up and answer. Aden let out a small sigh at his persistent gaze before briefly opening his mouth.

“I just had a hunch. Nothing special.”

“You know it’s too implausible to pass off as luck, right?”

“I know. And you need to keep your mouth shut even knowing that.”

Though he may now have risen to the position of Deputy Minister of Finance as a son-in-law of an Imperial Count family, his origins were in the Send Highlands.

He could not question Aden’s orders, which were more absolute than the Emperor’s.

Benjamin knew that Aden was showing him the utmost courtesy as a friend, so he didn’t say anything more. He simply nodded briefly and pushed off the wall.

“Well, that’s for you to handle. But if I may offer one piece of advice, don’t do anything too reckless. You could end up being framed if you do something suspicious in this chaotic situation.”

“…”

“There are many eyes everywhere. It’s best to be careful when trying to possess something dangerous, Aden.”

Though he’s still denying it himself, how long will that last? Two months at most. Or maybe three.

But when he realizes it, will there be any time left for him? Benjamin clicked his tongue softly at the fact that Aden was walking a very difficult path and turned his body.

The temporary office was bustling. The urgent influx of documents first formed piles, then mountains.

What was piled up like mountains there were documents brought by those who needed a savior to solve the problems at hand.

“I heard this person reviews things very well?”

“She seemed like no ordinary merchant, but her abilities are good too.”

“Let’s take it to her first. Showing it is free!”

Just one day. It was a story that spread in just a day since the rumor circulated that Ludmila had helped Tenber.

Unlike Ludmila, who thought she had just looked at ordinary documents, the rumors became exaggerated as they crossed bridges.

As a result, those managing the castle sought out Ludmila for advice.

“In this case, tax laws apply separately, so look up the relevant provisions.”

“For facility management, it’s more efficient to have a separate management department. If the general affairs department manages it, it gets complicated, so take this opportunity to create a new team.”

“I’ve used the dining hall before, and it’s very inefficient. If you divide the large dining hall in half and issue guidelines to use it according to meal times, you’ll be able to efficiently adjust dining times.”

“Ah, that too…”

“This is…”

And, living up to those expectations, Ludmila provided explanations for all the content without hesitation.

As a result, contrary to Ludmila’s expectation of living quietly, it had the side effect of suddenly gaining everyone’s attention, but at least personally, Ludmila didn’t dislike or find it unpleasant.

After all, as she had told Aden, this was her own way of revealing her value.

“Haa-”

“Are you okay?”

A brief respite after grueling work. Beressa, who handed water to Ludmila as she let out a small sigh, looked at her with worried eyes.

When people started flooding in, Beressa stepped forward to protect Ludmila, shouting at them to get out right now and what they were doing, but because Ludmila said it was fine and that she would help with what she could, there was nothing Beressa could do but watch.

“I’m fine with this much.”

It didn’t seem to mean much to say she was fine with a face that wouldn’t be strange if it smelled sweet.

Ludmila, who took a moment to catch her breath while drinking water, slowly opened her mouth.

“By the way, I’m not sure if I should say this, but… doesn’t Habertz provide separate management training? I know that usually for incorporated provinces or territories, the Imperial family sends people or sends them to the academy for education.”

“From what I hear, they did receive it… but there seem to have been several problems.”

“Problems?”

“It’s obvious.”

It was education that was conducted immediately after subduing the Khan people 50 years ago.

Even now they call them cancer and whatnot, so how much worse must it have been then? The Imperial people pointed fingers calling them barbarians, and the Khan people, who had antipathy towards the Empire that forcibly subdued them, were not cooperative either.

Moreover, the languages didn’t communicate well and the writing systems were different.

Instilling Imperial culture into the Khan people, who had never received any advanced education in their lives, was not something that could be glossed over in just 50 years.

The Imperial family tried to send people to manage, but even that was driven out of Habertz after causing a disturbance here.

It was only after some time passed that they sent the children of influential Khan families to receive education and brought them back, leading to the current situation.

Among them, there were those who showed excellent abilities like Aden or Benjamin, but the majority were no different from chaff.

Beressa also usually thought that most of the managers of the Black Wall were just men with fancy appearances and not much use.

But she didn’t think it would be to this extent.

Ludmila smiled awkwardly at the sight of Beressa continuing her explanation with a sigh mixed in, and tilted the water bottle.

‘No wonder.’

No matter how unfamiliar the field, they knew too little.

The managers here were at the level of young children receiving basic education.

Moreover, for a castle of this scale, there should be a basic organizational structure in place, but even what existed was in name only.

It was laughable that the castle was running in this state, and it was understandable that it was becoming severely in debt as they tried to forcibly run it.

“With just a little adjustment, the losses could be greatly reduced… what a shame.”

Ludmila muttered self-deprecatingly and smiled dejectedly.

She knew, but she had no qualifications. And no time either.

“Then why don’t you try?”

But as if reading Ludmila’s thoughts, Beressa grinned and suggested. When Ludmila opened her eyes wide and trailed off saying “But I don’t have the authority…”, Beressa jerked her chin.

“You’ve already come this far, what authority are you talking about? If you’re really worried, just try a little bit. Try it as a sample, and if it’s effective, you can make a formal proposal when Aden returns. Right?”

“Still…”

Would the people here follow the words of an outsider like herself?

Ludmila cast an anxious glance, but Beressa lifted the corners of her mouth.

“Isn’t this the picture you want? Proving your worth. It seems like the most plausible picture. Are you thinking of throwing away this opportunity?”

Ludmila swallowed at the sharp voice piercing her lungs. Beressa propped her body up by resting her arms on the desk.

“Think about it. How happy Aden will be when he returns if positive results come out.”

“…”

A pleased Aden. A faint smile appeared on Ludmila’s lips as she imagined the face of the man who would praise her, saying she did well, with a very satisfied expression.

It wasn’t that she particularly wanted praise, but it was true that it was an appealing proposal.

“If it doesn’t work out well, I’ll take responsibility.”

“…You must keep that promise.”

“Don’t worry.”

Looking at the grinning Beressa, Ludmila stood up from her seat.

“Then bring me the organizational chart right away.”

It was time to throw out all the rotten deadwood.