My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 196

He smiled and nodded, thinking that his guess was probably correct.

Chapter 61

......

For Kazimir's diplomats.

The difficulties they faced were particularly arduous.

"I told those warrior knights who only have muscles in their heads! Don't humiliate the Ursus diplomats! Don't humiliate the Ursus diplomats! But what did they do?! Did they listen to me?! They all think the Ursus people have bad intentions, but the problem is, even if they really do have bad intentions, what good will it do us to refuse them?!"

"Now look what's happened! They had their fun humiliating the diplomats! What the hell are we supposed to do now?! This is the third time they've rejected our request. What can we do if this continues?! How long can we hold out on the civilian aid provided by Ursus and those citizens?! Even the Sarkaz mercenaries hired by those capitalist companies at exorbitant prices can't change our losing streak. What the hell are we supposed to do?!"

"...Diplomat, don't we still have a group of them within our borders—"

"What can those remnants do?! Tell me, can they push the front line forward? Definitely not! Even with them and the Sarkaz mercenaries there, our front line is constantly retreating, and it's already pushed to the edge of the Grand Knights' territory!"

"Could it be that our conquering knights...?"

"Chemical defense equipment? How much chemical defense equipment do you think those companies whose factories have been occupied can produce for us? Even if they were willing to produce it—those bastards sell their equipment at ten times the price, ten times the price?!"

The Duchy of Kosiché, the temporary residence of Kazimir's diplomats—after all, they are diplomats from a neighboring country, so it is only natural that they have a place to stay, isn't it?

At their temporary lodgings, the diplomat from Kazimierz and his assistant were in the room. The assistant watched helplessly as the diplomat vented his anger on the sofa; although he wanted to stop the man from causing further destruction, he could only watch.

After all, the difficulties facing Mr. Byers, the diplomat from Kazimir, were truly extraordinary.

First, when Ursus sent its diplomats to demonstrate their "goodwill," their own group of muscle-bound warriors and money-grubbing corporations suddenly reached a consensus: humiliate them first, then send them away—in Byers' opinion, they shouldn't have done that! Now they're tasting the bitter fruit of humiliating Ursus Empire diplomats, but what's the use of regretting it now? Absolutely nothing!

Then came the diplomatic and public opinion problems in Kazimir following the attack on an Ursus civilian aid caravan by a small group of conquering knights... Yes, it was obvious to everyone that something was amiss. Perhaps those conquering knights were just slackers brought in by someone else, or perhaps it was a carefully orchestrated spectacle, but in any case—faced with the video evidence provided by the Ursus Empire, it was a fact. The undeniable fact that even a regular army from Kazimir dared to attack a civilian caravan.

If this matter hadn't been uncovered and made public to the world, it wouldn't have been a problem. But once the Ursus Empire revealed it to the world, Kazimir lost the ability to continue defending himself. Even though almost everyone knew there was something fishy going on—because their people no longer trusted their government. If they continued to be defiant, they wouldn't even need the Ursus Empire to do anything; they would be overthrown by their own people.

Under immense pressure, Qazimir was forced to open its borders to Ursus civilians and openly hire troops from the neighboring Sarkaz to support the front lines. However, the opening of the borders resulted in the people of Qazimir growing increasingly distrustful of the current government.

Honestly, anyone can make empty promises, like saying we in Qazimir can survive this war, but those canned goods and warm clothing labeled with Ursus's language were real aid. Thanks to Ursus's humanitarian support, the already enraged people of Qazimir are now beyond the control of the Qazimir government...

They began to hope that Ursus, or some other better nation, would take over Kazimir. Byers found this troublesome, but there was nothing he could do—after all, it was shameful to admit that even with the help of those Sarkaz mercenaries and the "remnants" from who-knows-where, Kazimir was still unable to achieve victory over Colombia.

Their defensive lines continued their steady retreat, while the Colombian cavalry advanced steadily. With the knights of war yearning to save their country but lacking the necessary equipment, and with capitalist corporations possessing the equipment yet seeking to profit from the nation's misfortune, Byers shouldered one of the most crucial tasks for the Casimir government—to secure military aid from Ursus. Genuine military aid.

Only the Ursus army could stand against the Columbians—this had become the consensus of everyone. This was especially true now that the western knights who had been conquering the west had been crippled in their first encounter, and those muscle-bound knights were speechless.

But what should we do?

Mr. Byers was at a loss: Ursus, because of the previous humiliation by the diplomats and the attack on civilian caravans by the war knights, was ignoring their requests. They had no connections here, so how the hell were we supposed to clean up the mess for those money-grubbing, muscle-bound bastards?!

What should we do?!

Just as Mr. Byers was deep in thought, his assistant suddenly said thoughtfully:

“Mr. Byers, if I remember correctly, the Duke of the Duchy of Kosiché will be hosting guests from Yan in two days. They will be holding a public reception—if nothing unexpected happens, although we are not welcome here, we should be able to get in. We should be.”

"—So what? The Duchy of Kosichè? But we're looking for the Emperor of Ursus, not—"

"But the Duke of Kosiché's husband—that Duke Yang from Colombia... he is a prince of Ursus."

"How come a duke became—wait, a king?"

Mr. Byers was stunned, and then he realized what was going on.

In Ursus, the title of "King" is generally reserved for royal consorts or close friends; in other words...

Is Duke Yang able to have direct contact with the Emperor of the Ursus Empire?

...

He frowned, and without realizing it, he calmed down.

Mr. Byers realized this was the best opportunity—he had to get to the party anyway and try his luck!

Chapter 62

...

That evening, after receiving news from the foal who had stayed behind, confirming that Kazimir's diplomats would also attend the reception two days later, Yang Hao sat on his large bed in his room and nodded to Kosichev, indicating that they were indeed prepared.

"If nothing unexpected happens next, Kosiché, you will die two days later at the hands of the Colombian assassins—and if nothing unexpected happens, you will be very close to Princess Wei Qing at that time. Moreover, when you appear, we can immediately tell that they intend to assassinate Princess Wei Qing, not you; it's all just an accident," he said. "This will mislead the Yan people into believing that the assassins' target is actually Princess Wei Qing, not you, but that your death is due to Princess Wei Qing's appearance—of course, things may not develop as we imagine..."

“They might condemn our security as utterly inadequate. If possible, we need to make that attack as ‘inevitable’ and ‘unstoppable’ as possible…” Kosiché added from the side. She sat on Yang Hao’s lap, grooming her tail with a comb. “Do you have any ideas? We do have quite a few facilities here that could achieve the above conditions… but having Colombian spies dismantle our Ursus ship cannons and transport them to the rooftops of buildings outside the banquet venue? That’s still too… unacceptable.”

"Hmm... perhaps we could ask Hela for help?"

"Hela?"

"...No, forget it. We can't let Hela go astray... Oh—right, wasn't there that immortal being who could disguise himself as a tile? Maybe we can use that ability..."

"But nobody here has that ability, right?"

"So—what should we do?"

The couple lay in bed, chatting about the big events that would happen two days later. They discussed many things, and finally decided to carry out the assassination in a seemingly normal way.

Kosichrie plans to use her snake scales to disguise herself as a Colombian, then have him end her life. But before that, she has to solve one problem...

"—My life will end on that day, but darling, I must make this clear beforehand—if I have already inherited Miss Phidia's body before I die, the one accompanying you to the party... will not be me, but [Grimm], understand?"

"...that is?"

“Once I leave her body, her original mind will be restored. She will have all the memories of my previous actions, and she will know her fate—but in any case, for that short period of time, she will still be Miss Green, not Koschche…”

"...Ah. So, will this be Miss Green's last...acting according to her own will?"

"Yes."

Kosichrie nodded. She stared at the tip of her tail, and after a moment, she loosened her grip, letting her tail slip loosely from her palm.

She turned to look at her husband, seeing the indescribable loneliness, unease, and regret on his face. She sighed helplessly, thinking that this was an obstacle her husband had to overcome.

but.

Kosichrie is not the kind of person who only gives her husband multiple-choice questions.

so...

“Spend some quality time with Green then, okay?” she said with a helpless smile, gently rubbing her husband’s cheek. “Make her happy, and then—either let her enjoy the last happy moments of her life, or you can try to preserve her.”

"...Save it?"

“I will not stop you from doing anything to my heirs. But my dear, just as I cannot do things they do not want to do, I hope you will not force Miss Green—or any of the heirs after her—to live if they truly do not want to live.”

“...Koschche, this..."

"You can do it, can't you? You're the future puppeteer... No matter what, Hela is willing to help you, isn't she?"

To put it bluntly—if Miss Green wishes to live, Koschei doesn't mind if she lives.

But the prerequisite is that Miss Green wants to live.

If she truly had no attachment to this world and had accepted her fate with a clear conscience, then she believed that no matter how uneasy or regretful her husband was, he should not deprive his heirs of their wish to depart peacefully.

After all, as she said before—immortality doesn't just mean pleasure, it also means eternal work. No one has the right to force someone who doesn't want to live to have eternal life, because that's a kind of "charity" that's more unbearable than the cruelest punishment in the world, truly.

If Miss Green doesn't want to live, then letting her leave according to the normal plan is perfectly acceptable. But if she wants to live, Koschei wouldn't mind introducing her to the little bat when it comes along—but then again, even if her husband has the ability to preserve their souls, what about their bodies?

"...And you'll be making your own dolls in the future, won't you?"

"You want to..."

"If they want to survive, they will definitely need a new body later."

"...So you want me to make...their doll bodies? But what if I make a mistake? Koschche, you should know I haven't had any time to research or study lately, and..."

“But we will have decades, or even centuries, to prepare. If they really want to witness the future of the Ursus Empire a thousand years from now, then they should also be prepared to stay in one place and wait silently during that time—but at least go and talk to them from time to time, okay?”

"...Ah...I understand."

That's not a problem. My husband will be making his own dolls from now on.

Why not just let him make a puppet body himself, and then send the souls of those heirs into it?

Thinking of this, Kosichrie narrowed her eyes. She smiled and gently kissed his cheek, thinking that since he really wanted to remember the names of each of his heirs, then let him remember them.

After all, I'm not the kind of woman who only gives you bad choices, darling.

Chapter 63

......

The time soon came to August 10th.

Today's reception is a welcome party for the arrival of the Princess of Yan Kingdom. This reception, which is attended by all the dignitaries of the Duke of Kosiché and the Saint-Jun Castle, is not only to give Princess Wei Qing the respect she deserves, but also to make the subsequent developments of this reception seem more "reasonable" and to allow more people to witness the tragedy that follows.

...Yang Hao was ready. He held Hela in his arms, sitting on the sofa in the lounge, nervously waiting for Koschei to return—no, that was no longer Koschei.

Koschl has gone to inherit the body of Miss Phildia—Miss Lorelei. So when the time comes, it will be Miss Green the kitten Phildia who returns, not Koschl.

"Dad...why did Aunt Koschke need to change bodies?"

The daughter in his arms looked curiously at her father's chin. Yang Hao didn't say anything, but simply ruffled her hair and sighed softly.

"Because...the time has come, you know? When that time comes, please spend some quality time with Miss Green, okay? I...I hope she'll want to live."

"But..."

"It's alright. If Miss Green wants to continue living, I'll find a way."

"Good~"

Hela was as obedient as ever. She wriggled out of Yang Hao's arms, folded her little sickle and carried it on her back. She said that if her father needed it, she could help fix his soul.

Hearing this, Yang Hao simply smiled and said that he did indeed need Hela's abilities. But just as he was about to say something more, the door to the lounge opened.

...

He looked up at the open door. Standing there was Koschche, as always, with an air of arrogance… no.

That's not Koschke.

"...Greetings, my husband."

She mimicked Kosiché's way of speaking, but curiosity gleamed in her eyes. This Miss Green had regained her body, and it seemed she had accepted her fate... or so?

"...Good morning, Green."

"Hmm? You recognized me? No matter how I try to imitate you, I can't capture the essence of Lord Kosiche."

"Actually, I already remembered you when we first met. Green, you're the kind of person who can strut around the Duke's mansion with a weapon on his head, looking all arrogant, you know?"

"That time—ah."

Miss Green paused for a moment, then couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes, the day Lord Koschke inherited my body? Ah... I did indeed bump into you on the way there that day. I didn't expect you to remember."

"Because I swore that I would never forget the name of every body that Koschche inherited after I came here."

"I see."

Miss Green sat down next to Yang Hao. Then, she seemed to want to hug Hela, but her outstretched hands froze halfway.

Was she hesitating? After all, she wasn't Koschche; perhaps Hela wasn't willing to get close to her? But it didn't matter.

Yang Hao personally picked up the obedient Hela and gently placed her on Miss Green's lap. Then, he put his arm around her shoulder, and under Miss Green's curious gaze, he sighed again.

"...Green, you now possess all your previous memories, don't you?"

"Yes."

She hugged Hela tightly, then rested her head on Yang Hao's right shoulder. Her eyes were slightly closed, and her ears were twitching; she seemed to be in a very good mood.

"...Do you know what Kosiché and I decided last night?"

"Huh? Is it a question about whether or not to live?"

Miss Green shook her head. She smiled and said that she seemed to have no regrets in her life—she had achieved her career goals, witnessed the decline and subsequent rise of Ursus, and had husbands who loved her throughout this chaotic period—at least on the surface, they did seem to love her.

She now has a girl who isn't her biological daughter, but is closer to her than a daughter. It seems she truly has no regrets in her life, doesn't she?

Even if she wanted to survive, she didn't seem to know what to do... So, perhaps she didn't want to live? Perhaps.

“I always felt this was a problem that needed long-term consideration, but for now, I really don’t know what to do,” she said, hugging Hela and leaning on Yang Hao’s shoulder. Her voice was full of satisfaction, yet tinged with a hint of confusion. “Living, living—I’ve already completed my mission… I have nothing more to do. Mr. Yang Hao? Tell me, if I’m to live on, what should I do?”