On a bright morning, the familiar sounds of wood being struck and tools swinging once again broke the silence of the forest. Lizzy heard the noises as she slowly stirred awake.
When she opened her eyes and sat up on the pile of dried leaves, the first thing she saw was Kael, sweating as he continued building their wooden cabin.
"When did you wake up...?" Lizzy asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Her voice was hoarse, as was typical of someone who had just woken up.
Kael turned around and gave her a faint smile, though his expression looked somewhat weary and his eyes were slightly bloodshot. "Maybe... a few hours ago."
"You didn’t sleep at all?" Lizzy immediately got to her feet and approached him. She examined his face up close, taking in the faint dark circles beneath his eyes and the exhaustion in his expression. She couldn’t hide her concern. "Why do you always push yourself this hard?"
Kael chuckled softly. His rough hand reached out to gently stroke Lizzy’s head, ruffling her silky white hair. "Thank you for worrying about me, Lizzy. But I just don’t want my cute wife to have to sleep out in the open for too long."
Being openly showered with affection so early in the morning made Lizzy’s face turn bright red. Her heart swelled with happiness, but her twisted instincts and pride sent her emotions into a frenzy, making her want to punch Kael right in the face on the spot.
"S-say that again... Praise me some more and make me happy!" Lizzy shrieked before suddenly throwing a punch at Kael’s chest!
Kael deftly shifted to the side, allowing the attack to narrowly miss him. His expression remained calm, but inwardly, Kael winced a little.
"???????? ??????????... ?????????? ???????????? ?????? ????????, ?????? ?????????? ???? ???????????? ????. ???????? ?? ???????????? ?????? ???? ?????????????? ??????????????????."
With a fluid motion, Kael caught Lizzy’s wrist, wrapped his other arm around her waist, and pulled her mature figure into a tight, warm embrace.
"Of course I’ll praise Lizzy as much as you want," Kael whispered right into her ear. "My wife isn’t just beautiful and talented. She’s also incredibly adorable when she’s angry."
Kael continued whispering sweet words and showering her with compliments one after another without stopping. The effect was extraordinary. Lizzy’s face turned an even deeper shade of red, her eyes rolled back, and a little drool trickled from the corner of her mouth as overwhelming happiness washed over her. Her brain seemed to overheat until she nearly fainted in Kael’s arms.
Once he felt that Lizzy was sufficiently distracted, Kael slowly released her and picked up his wooden hammer again.
"I actually wanted to spoil you a little longer, but I’m sorry... I need to finish this work."
Lizzy cupped her burning cheeks and gazed up at the forest canopy with a wide, lovestruck smile.
"Kyaa~~ I feel like I’m floating on a cloud..."
A little while later, after Lizzy had finally managed to calm the madness raging in her chest and regain her composure, an idea suddenly crossed her mind. She wanted to cook something for Kael. A sly, dangerous grin spread across her lips. She turned around and sprinted toward the river.
"I’ll be back! Don’t leave me, okay, my husband!" she shouted from a distance.
Kael let out a long sigh as he watched his wife’s back disappear behind the trees.
"What is she planning now? Looks like she’s going to play with my life again."
He resumed hammering wooden pegs into place to reinforce the walls.
"Her urge to kill me really is difficult to control. Fortunately, she never actually uses the full extent of her assassin skills to do it."
Only two sections of the cabin’s walls remained unfinished. Kael continued working until the sun was directly overhead. The walls now stood firmly in place, enclosing the cabin. Follow the newest chapters on NovelPing.
Kael wiped the sweat from his forehead as he admired his handiwork.
"This is much faster than I expected. All that’s left is to install the roof, level the ground and lay the floor tiles, make some windows, and build a few simple pieces of furniture."
He turned toward the river and looked around at the stillness surrounding him.
"She’s taking so long... Is she all right? Ah, but there’s no way someone like Lizzy would die in such a ridiculous way in a forest like this."
Still, unable to shake his growing concern, Kael decided to go after her. He strolled toward the riverbank, where he found a small campfire and two grilled fish that... looked absolutely horrifying atop a makeshift arrangement of stones.
Kael’s eyes widened in utter disbelief.
"W-what the hell is this?! How could she grill fish until they turned such a deep purple and started giving off such a disgusting smell?!"
After looking around, he realized that Lizzy had apparently stepped away to look for something in the bushes.
Kael smiled mischievously and folded his arms across his chest.
"Too bad, my dear wife... Your plan is going to fail again this time."
With the quick, practiced movements of a veteran, Kael caught two fresh fish from the river, cleaned them, and grilled them over the campfire. Without hesitation, he tossed Lizzy’s poisonous purple fish into the bushes far behind him.
For his grilled fish, Kael sprinkled on some crushed leaves from a local wild plant that had a naturally savory flavor—a common substitute for expensive table salt among mercenaries and commoners alike.
Before long, the rustling of bushes caught his attention. Lizzy came running back, cradling several wild berries in her hands.
The moment she spotted Kael standing beside her campfire, Lizzy froze in surprise.
"Eh? Why are you here, Kael? I was making something really special for you!"
She proudly held up the berries in her hands.
"Look at these! While I was looking for seasoning for the fish earlier, I happened to find some fresh berries in the forest."
"I’m truly touched..." Kael said in an exaggeratedly dramatic tone. "My wife went to all this trouble just for me. I’m truly the luckiest man in the world to have you."
The praise immediately made Lizzy puff out her chest with pride.
"Of course! I know that!"
"Then hurry up and eat my grilled fish! I guarantee it’ll taste much more flavorful than yours, darling!"
Lizzy handed Kael a wooden stick with a grilled fish on it. Deep down, however, she was a little puzzled as to why its color had changed from purple to an appetizing golden brown.
"?????? ??????????????... ?? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ?????????? ?? ???????????? ???????? ???? ??????????????. ?????????? ?????? ???????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ?????? ??????????? ????, ????????, ????????’?? ??????????! ?????? ?? ??????’?? ???????? ???? ?????????? ?????????? ???????????? ?????? ??????????!"
"Hurry up and eat! I can’t wait to see your reaction!" Lizzy urged, her body trembling with anticipation as she imagined watching her husband slowly succumb to the poison.
Kael suppressed a laugh that was threatening to escape.
"All right, all right... I can’t possibly waste such a special meal prepared by my wonderful wife."
Kael took a big bite of the grilled fish, chewed slowly, and savored its rich, savory flavor. His face lit up with satisfaction.
"Wow... this is amazing! It tastes absolutely delicious and savory, Lizzy!"
Lizzy’s eyes widened in shock.
"???????! ?????????????????? ?????? ?????????????! ??????????’?? ???? ?????? ?? ???????????????? ??????????’?? ???????????? ?????????? ?????????? ???????? ????????! ???? ???????? ?????? ???????????? ???? ?????????????! ???? ???? ????... ???? ???? ???????? ???????????!"
Seeing Lizzy’s utterly stunned reaction as she struggled to make sense of what was happening, Kael finally couldn’t hold back any longer. He burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Before Lizzy could even ask why he was laughing so hard, Kael had already grabbed another piece of the delicious grilled fish and shoved it straight into her mouth!
The fish melted on Lizzy’s tongue. It was genuinely delicious, crispy, and naturally savory. Before she knew it, Lizzy’s eyes sparkled with delight.
"It’s so delicious! I never expected it to taste this—"
Her words abruptly stopped. Realization struck her instantly.
"???????? ?? ????????????! ???? ???????? ???????? ?????? ????????????????... ???????? ???????? ???????? ??’?? ?????? ?????? ??????’?? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???????????????????!" Lizzy panicked internally. She froze, waiting for the poison to burn through her throat.
But second after second passed, and no signs of poisoning appeared in her body.
Kael wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes after laughing so hard.
"You really do have an extraordinary talent for cooking, Lizzy... Next time, please make something even more ’flavorful’ for me, okay~?"
Realizing that her fish had been switched and that she’d been thoroughly tricked, Lizzy turned her face away, her cheeks burning bright red with overwhelming embarrassment and a little frustration at her failed plan.
"?????? ???? ???????????????? ???? ???? ?????????????????????? ?????!" Lizzy grumbled inwardly, gritting her teeth in frustration. "??????! ??????’???? ???????????? ?????????? ???????? ????????, ???? ??????????????... ?????? ???????? ?????? ????????!"