The Strongest Man’s Fake Wife Wants to Live Chapter 30

However, it seemed Io had failed to notice the subtle upward curl at the corners of Pesha’s lips.

“Don’t say something ridiculous. The purification power that can be produced by herbs is truly negligible. Besides, you’re an ordinary person who can’t even use ordinary magic, let alone purification power!”

Io’s forceful shouting caused a commotion inside the party hall.

Looking around at the people who had begun to waver, Pesha spoke with a smile.

“Whether it works or not will be determined once sales begin. Io, what exactly are you unhappy about?”

“Purification is my life’s mission. How can I just stand by when someone is using that mission to commit fraud?”

Io had begun by saying that she couldn’t trust the potion, but now she was outright branding Pesha as a fraud.

“I’m an expert in the field of purification, so I know very well. Purification consumes a great deal of energy every time it’s performed, and the method of manifesting it is complicated. It’s not something you can treat so lightly.”

At that, Pesha tilted her head.

“Is that so? Then I’ll refund anyone who says it didn’t work.”

“What?”

“You said you’re worried that I’m using purification to commit fraud. Then wouldn’t it be enough to refund anyone who buys the potion but doesn’t see any effect?”

Io and everyone around them were taken aback and began whispering among themselves.

“She’s saying she’ll refund a potion that’s already been used?”

“Yes. But only if it doesn’t work.”

“What kind of nonsense…”

“I’m that confident in it.”

“D-Don’t be ridiculous. It’s obvious you’ll end up suffering losses when refund requests come pouring in, so why are you being so stubborn?”

“Whether it’s stubbornness or whatever, isn’t that a good thing for you?”

Pesha simply could not understand Io’s reaction.

“If purification is your mission, shouldn’t you be happy that something has appeared to help with purification in your place when you’re so busy? It means people from a wider range of social classes can access purification more easily. So why are you reacting like this and hating it so much?”

It really was true.

The Empire had always been short of purification mages, and the places where these precious purification mages could be dispatched were limited.

If Io truly regarded purification as her mission, she might have been suspicious, but there was no reason to desperately try to stop the potion before sales had even begun.

If the potion’s purification power was real and it saved people’s lives, it should have been something to welcome.

“It’s strange. From where I’m standing, it looks like you’re afraid your rarity will disappear if purification potions become widespread.”

“W-What?”

Io’s face turned bright red after Pesha exposed what was at the bottom of her heart in an instant.

“Sorry. Did I hit a little too close to home?”

Pesha left the dumbfounded Io behind and glanced at Duke Pontroy.

She couldn’t exactly continue arguing this much at someone else’s birthday party, so Pesha roughly brought the conversation to an end.

“Anyway, since you really don’t trust it that much, I’ll gladly refund anyone who doesn’t experience any effect, even if it means taking the loss myself. Is that enough?”

This declaration that she would not seek monetary gain if the potion proved ineffective left even Io with nothing to say.

Duke Pontroy also looked somewhat surprised at the mention of refunds, but since he had personally experienced the effect, he did not seem overly concerned.

As expected, he lightened the atmosphere and confidently declared,

“I understand all of your concerns. But I guarantee its effectiveness, having experienced the effects of this potion myself.”

With Duke Pontroy personally stepping forward to defend her, on top of having directly experienced its effects himself, Io had nothing more to say.

If she pressed any further, just as Pesha had said, it would really look as though she was only badmouthing the potion because she was anxious.

Unable to hide her furious expression, Io turned around irritably and left the party hall.

Marquis Clark followed after her with an angry look, but that was all.

Everyone’s attention returned to Seedroka, the new business venture introduced by Duke Pontroy.

Standing beside the duke as he calmly answered the barrage of questions, Pesha sighed inwardly.

‘Well, I landed a hit, but what am I supposed to do about what comes next?’

Putting aside the true nature of Io, the female protagonist of the original story whom Pesha had thought of as her best friend, the situation had become troublesome because she had ended up fighting with the heroine when she was supposed to be the one building a bridge between them.

‘And on top of that…’

Pesha rolled her eyes to the side and looked at Owen.

Owen, still dazzlingly handsome in a way she hadn’t gotten used to yet, immediately noticed her gaze.

“Is something wrong?”

Something wrong…?

There certainly was.

Pesha shook her head from side to side as she thought.

‘It’s only because I have the worst compatibility with the original story, but Owen isn’t a bad person. Is it really okay to set him up with someone that petty?’

For the first time since she had decided to bring Owen and Io together, Pesha felt that Owen was a waste.

What should she do?

At the same time, she couldn’t exactly continue a loveless marriage like this forever.

Her relationship with Io, which she had carefully built over her entire life, had fallen apart. Just like in the original story, the two of them would now become enemies, and if that happened, Owen would be a dangerous person to keep close.

The desire to escape as soon as possible, even a single day sooner, to get farther away from death, and her concern over what Owen himself wanted became fiercely tangled together in her mind.

How long had she agonized over it?

It was not a problem she could easily or simply reach a conclusion on, so Pesha pushed her complicated thoughts aside and answered with a slight smile.

“It’s just that you look especially handsome today, my lord.”

After brushing it off with a bland joke, Pesha spent the rest of the party answering this and that question from people curious about the potion.

Except for the fact that Owen, who had stuck by her side throughout the party as her husband, had started creaking awkwardly at some point as though something inside him had broken, it had been quite a successful promotional event.

 

***

 

After returning to the territory following what had been a fairly successful trip to the capital.

“Hmm…”

Pesha stared intently at the construction site before her.

The ditch construction, which had begun at Owen’s command, was meant to divert melted snow in preparation for the coming winter.

If ditches like these were dug along sloped terrain, there would be no need to worry about suffering because of melted snow in late winter or early spring.

Furthermore, since the territory’s residents were being mobilized as laborers, it also created jobs, making it a wise decision as a lord.

‘They’re good lords and diligent territory residents. That part is true, but…’

After signing a contract with the Pontroy Merchant Guild, Seedroka sold like hotcakes.

However, it seemed the merchant guild had decided to use Seedroka more for building its image than for making profits from it. It was cheaper than existing purification potions, and because it was mainly sold in the eastern region, it did not generate enormous sales.

In other words, Pesha was not going to make an enormous fortune or become rich enough to never have to work again for the rest of her life.

‘Besides, I put almost all of the profits into the territory’s budget.’

This ditch construction was originally scheduled to begin sometime next year because of budget constraints, but thanks to the money Pesha had earned, it was being carried out this year.

It certainly wasn’t meaningless money.

‘But I can’t survive on side income like this forever. This territory needs the strength to become self-sufficient.’

The territory could only breathe easier if its people had enough to live on.

Pesha couldn’t feed everyone simply by running around busily on her own, so she had to help them stand on their own feet and earn their own living.

‘And that’s how I survive, too.’

The biggest problem was her own situation. After falling out with Io, she had now boarded the express train straight to hell with no way off.

Her role as Cupid, bringing Io and Owen together, was now hopeless, so the only thing left was to somehow help develop the territory and prevent the future event known as the ‘execution of the villainess Pesha.’

‘In other words, I need to make Owen indebted to me directly, without going through Io.’

For that to succeed, she had to make a tremendous contribution to the development of the territory, whether by using the hints she had seen in the original story or coming up with something herself.

And then, after securing a nice sum for herself, she would get divorced and make a quick escape abroad.

That was the only way she could survive.