My wife is an immortal black snake.

"Yes. But the person is still alive, and the other group of Duke Nikolai's nobles haven't been dealt with yet..." He nodded, glanced at Monica lying on the bed, still unconscious, before turning to the doctor in the room. "Doctor, what's the head maid's condition?"

"Miss Monica's condition is very bad. She has numerous bruises, and in some areas, due to prolonged and excessive binding, necrosis has occurred. We will decide whether amputation is necessary based on the extent of the necrosis..." the doctor replied, flipping through the documents in his hand. "The good news is that Miss Monica is recovering from her near-death experience. The bad news is that she may not be able to continue working as a maid..."

The doctor explained that Monica had been bound too tightly and too loosely in the van, and the impacts and jolting caused by the deformed nobleman carrying the van around had severely injured her. Although she had been saved, whether her limbs could be saved was another matter entirely.

Even the best medical Originium Arts master in Ursus wouldn't be able to help. The parts that can be healed must still be alive, and part of Monica's limb was already...

Yang Hao could see that Koschche's face had frozen. He patted his wife's ear, signaling the doctor and Mr. Napoleon to go out first. After bringing in the collected flesh and blood of the immortals, he let the snake scales that had brought the [Winter Mirror] into the ward.

“I think Monica can no longer live as a normal human.” Yang Hao placed the Winter Mirror opposite Monica, at the foot of the bed, in front of Koschche. “However, the materials are all ready; I can save Monica’s life. I just don’t know if she can adapt to life as the girl in the mirror. Is she prepared? Wanting to become immortal is one thing, but whether she’s truly ready is what worries me most…”

“Monica does want to become an immortal, but how can a short-lived being prepare for life if they don’t become immortal first?” Koschche relaxed. She helped her husband set up his winter glasses, then placed the bag of flesh and blood on the table. “But… let’s talk to Monica, darling. Should I go out?”

“No, it’s not necessary. Koschche, you and I will be the witnesses to Monica becoming an immortal. I hope that on the day I become an immortal, you and Monica can also be the witnesses.”

After speaking, Yang Hao arranged all the necessary items for the ceremony in the room according to the pop-up event steps for the "Girl in the Mirror Ascension".

The winter mirror—it must be placed directly in front of her. The mirror needs to reflect her entire body, and once it's ready, it cannot be moved even slightly.

The flesh and blood of the immortals need to be hung on the mirror. This will be the [concept] that the newly born mirror girl will need to absorb after she gains the ability to move freely.

Next, Yang Hao needed to create a simple magic circle on the ground—but this magic circle didn't need to be complicated, nor did it need to be drawn with Monica as the center. He simply used nearly 500 political points—his accumulated wealth—to directly draw a perfect magic circle existing in the void for Monica, and all the prerequisites were completed.

In addition, something with a "winter" orientation is needed... but for some reason, Monica herself has a winter orientation, so this can be ignored.

Finally, the ceremony requires at least one witness, and at the very least one person to whom the girl in the mirror pledges allegiance before her ascension. Now, all preparations are complete.

He and Koschche walked to either side of Monica. Monica, still disoriented, groggily opened her eyes amidst the chilling atmosphere of the ceremony.

"...Master Yang Hao? Master Cosiche...?"

She exhaled a breath of frosty air. She felt colder than ever before, but there was no sign of pain.

“Don’t be afraid, Monica.” Kosichek reached out and gently stroked her cheek, holding her hand to comfort her. “...You will become one of us. It will only take a while.”

"...Lord Cosiche?"

"Tell your feelings to your future master properly. It's true, right now I feel like your master is that little bat. Even though you're both thinking the same thing, you always have to wait for the other person to speak."

"After all, I'm not Kosiche... To be honest, thinking back on it, I feel embarrassed myself for being so blunt about things like 'From now on, the most precious thing in my bedroom will be you'..." Yang Hao's complaint came from the other side. He was holding his other hand.

“Because I’ve lived long enough, I know very well that shame will only make you miss out on something. Alright, my husband, can’t you just talk to Monica about what you think? Come on, I’ll be there to see everything.”

Lady Koschke concluded her speech with a single command. With her gentle support, Monica slowly turned her head, bewildered, and discovered that Lord Yang Hao was looking at her with an unprecedented gaze.

"Master Yang Hao..."

"Sigh, I think so too. If I keep worrying about this and that all the time, I might lose a lot in the future." He grumbled, kneading Monica's left hand, then gently hugged her. "But... this is a big lesson that I'll remember forever."

So Monica, would you be willing to become an immortal for me, for Koschche?

Yang Hao finally spoke the words he had been holding back. But thinking about it carefully, it made sense; he seemed to have been deeply influenced by Margarita... He now had some of Margarita's bad habits too.

However, it's not too late to correct it now. If he only realizes his mistake after completely losing Monica or someone else... Yang Hao will probably regret it until the day he dies.

As for Monica... she also regretted not being able to personally explain her wishes and vision to Lord Yang Hao... she wanted to become an immortal and forever serve her family.

But it doesn't matter now. She won't hide her thoughts from the two adults again.

“Hmm…I do.” She nodded, smiling as she answered Yang Hao’s question with words that carried an inexplicable chill. “I am willing to pledge my eternal loyalty to you and Lord Koschei…I swear in my name. I, Monica, am willing to pledge my eternal loyalty to you and Lord Koschei.”

"Really, you even forgot your last name?" Yang Hao chuckled, patting Monica on the shoulder.

"Since I became Lord Koschche's head maid, I have abandoned my past... but now, I am still bound by it..."

"It's alright. After becoming an immortal, bid farewell to your past with your own hands."

"...Um."

She smiled and closed her eyes; as she drifted off to sleep, the ceremony officially began.

As Monica's loyal follower and the organizer of the ritual, Yang Hao needs to stay in the room and operate everything according to the [event].

As the second witness and one of Monica's closest people, Koschke also had to stay in the room and watch everything.

Under Yang Hao's control, the room grew colder and colder, and even in broad daylight at the end of May, frost formed on the windows.

As the temperature dropped, Monica's body reflected light unnaturally. Her body eventually faded like melting snow, until it dissolved into the cold air and disappeared into the winter mirror.

The girl in the mirror has successfully ascended!

As the organizer of the ceremony, you have been granted an additional 20 years of life.

Now, please summon your loyal servant and ask her to come out of the mirror.

He smiled and nodded, and amidst Kosiché's puzzled and confused gaze, he turned to the cracked mirror and softly uttered the name of Head Maid Monica, and from then on, a name that would remain loyal to him and her head maid.

"Monica?"

"...exist."

She slowly stepped out of the broken mirror. She looked exactly the same as before—if you ignored the fact that she no longer had a reflection in the mirror.

Chapter 188

The riots of May 30th were unprecedented in the records of the Duchy of Kosice, a riot in which the Duchy of Nikolai had been humiliated.

More than 15 people lost their lives in this riot, including assassins from the Duchy of Nikolai who carried out the assassination during the Emperor's visit to the Duchy of Kosice, an act that was undoubtedly an insult to His Majesty. Furthermore, the assassination of the Duchy of Kosice's esteemed head maid and the Duke's husband has escalated from a mere "humiliation" to a "blatant act of assassination."

In the territory of other Ursus nobles, this would be unremarkable. But the problem is that the Duchy of Kosiché is the first duchy to benefit its people through "work relief," providing jobs without stripping them of their dignity, even building schools for the poor and turning slums into residential areas, and then planning to reform the government to benefit them.

Therefore, all the citizens of the Duchy of Kosice were outraged after reading the newspaper. They began to march in the streets to protest the actions of the Duchy of Nikolai, and at the same time, they enthusiastically participated in the conscription campaign of the Duchy of Kosice, which had just begun.

The men, their faces filled with anger and determination, were seen off by women and children. Most of them were laborers who had managed to find work and support their families during the "work relief" period. They believed that even after their deaths, the Duchy of Kosiché would take care of their families, and the Duchy of Kosiché certainly did not disappoint their trust.

Every soldier's family will receive an extra guarantee. In addition to the ample daily and monthly pay during their service, if a soldier were to die on the battlefield, the Duke of Kosice's household would support his family for 20 years, until his children were able to support themselves and the family was stable for two years, after which a mere debt would be collected.

...

that's it.

In a single day, the number of new recruits in the Duchy of Kosice increased from 1 to 6. However, in order to maintain quality, and also because there wasn't enough equipment for training, only 6 of these 2-plus reservists were able to enter the army and serve the Duchy...

Even with the support of the Martian military factory and the storage of decommissioned and refitted weapons, the Duchy of Koschche is still facing a very serious problem of insufficient military weapons production. Many factories that had been idle recently have now found work, but even if they were converted into military factories to produce weapons, it would take a long time, and even after production begins, they cannot achieve satisfactory output.

"...To put it simply, because of your impulsive act—well, if I were on that scene, I would have done the same thing. We now need to worry about the production of military equipment."

"Even if...two Martian military factories were to produce weapons together, wouldn't that work?"

“No. The gold produced by one of our military factories could even buy more weapons from other noble territories. Even if we take into account the future output of other civilian factories that are being converted into military factories... we still need a preparation period of one to two years—by then we will be the attackers, not the defenders.”

"I remember most of the soldiers were stationed at that narrow entrance on the edge of our territory, which borders Duke Nikolai's territory?"

"Yes. I've already had the supply convoy deliver naval cannons to them. Duke Nikolai wouldn't be foolish enough to turn a mobile city into a mobile district and then send them to their deaths crashing into our positions."

"I think it's risky... Ouch! Ko, Koschche! Don't squeeze so hard—wow!"

"Hehe... Monica? Help your master wipe himself down."

"Yes, my lord."

Monica's words...

The situation is much more special.

After becoming the "Girl in the Mirror," Monica, who had become an Ascended Being, possessed an extremely terrifying ability: the ability to travel through any mirror and instantly teleport to any location with a "reflective mirror."

This made her everyone's nightmare. Unless an inanimate entity, devoid of blood, mucous membranes, eyes, and nails, appeared in a completely dark, enclosed space devoid of any liquid or reflective material, Monica could simply appear nearby and assassinate that individual.

In fact, she did just that. After receiving Yang Hao's permission, she instantly appeared in front of the terrified deep-sea hunter, then stared intently at the deformed nobleman's remaining head.

Yang Hao wasn't quite sure what Monica was thinking at the time... In the end, the monster died. When Monica returned, although at first glance she seemed no different from usual, as the person closest to her, Yang Hao could sense that the resentment in her heart had been removed.

She was living happily and gradually became more natural and warm. Although she was still a serious and meticulous head maid, to be honest, her sudden appearance behind Yang Hao while he was washing up this morning to tidy his clothes still startled him... Her abilities were just too useful; she could use them not only to kill but also to serve others. Moreover, according to her, she didn't have to come out at all if it wasn't necessary—interference in the mirror world would also affect those in the material world.

In other words, if Monica knocks over a cup in the mirror world, a corresponding cup in the real world will also be knocked over. She's been very impressed with this ability since yesterday.

So, what about the current head maid, Monica?

...She appeared nonchalantly in the bathtub where the couple had just finished, then used a clean cloth to wipe the sticky fluid off Yang Hao's pale abdomen. After giving a maid's bow, she disappeared from the water with a sly smile.

...That's kind of scary. Yang Hao could already imagine that if Monica suddenly appeared while he and Kosiché were doing serious business, there was an 80% chance he would be so frightened that he would collapse and be unable to get up again.

"...In short, Monica should be used to her new abilities by now, right?" he muttered to himself, then heard Monica's reply echoing in the empty air beside him.

"Yes, sir. There's still a lot that can be developed in this ability... Can you sense it?"

He felt the head maid massaging his shoulder.

“I felt…”

"It seems that sometimes I can serve you and Lord Kosichä without even having to come out. If possible, please take me with you when you meet His Majesty the Emperor tomorrow."

"Yes, of course—wait, wait, wait, wait! Koschche, no, I just—ah!!"

Koschke seemed somewhat annoyed that she couldn't see the head maid and Yang Hao's intimate contact. Ignoring the fact that Yang Hao had just surrendered, she tried to mount him, causing Yang Hao to groan and yell like a woman.

However, he quickly calmed down because Kosiché had just mentioned His Majesty. And tonight, the nobles of the Nikolai Duchy were also captured by furious soldiers and police—at the scene of their capture, the half-eaten corpses of a family of five were still dripping grease from the fire.

His Majesty's attitude is of paramount importance in this matter. If His Majesty were to show any dissatisfaction with Duke Nicolai during the talks, then the Duchy of Kosice would not fight alone—other nobles who still obey His Majesty, or who still have a conscience, or who are simply acting for their own benefit, would form an alliance with the Duchy of Kosice against the Duchy of Nicolai, and the Carmelite nightclub standing behind the Duchy of Nicolai.

"However, His Majesty the Emperor will definitely use this as... well... a bargaining chip... So you must be careful when we meet with His Majesty—because I have already promised her that I will only be there to listen in."

"Huh? Koschche, you've already agreed...?"

"At the time, in order to extricate myself as quickly as possible... and because things had already gone that far, it wouldn't be good for me to refuse any longer..."

"I understand... Let's talk about serious matters after this is all over... I can't figure it out..."

Behind him, an unseen maid was massaging his shoulders, while in front of him, a kitten was stimulating him. Yang Hao had to suppress the pleasure below while racking his brains to think about the important matter at hand—it was too much for him. So Kosicche smiled and said, "Let's talk about it after we're done."

...

They waited until 10 p.m. to finish. Only after the couple had finished and were lying in bed covered with blankets did they begin to talk about their serious business again.

First, it is certain that the Emperor is very concerned about what happened in the Duchy of Kosiché, because His Majesty's expression was quite grim when Kosiché explained to the guests at the palace yesterday that "this attack was initiated by the Duchy of Nikolai".

However, Her Majesty the Emperor certainly wouldn't offer any help to the Duchy of Kosiché for free—as the ruler of a nation, she would never do a great act of charity for free. Therefore, Yang Hao made three rules with Kosiché: he couldn't sell his own underwear and lose it all for the sake of the Duchy of Kosiché.

"In short, our bottom line is that you can help out occasionally, but you must go home after a few days."

"I have a feeling that I'm gone forever..."

"...I don't think so, right?"

"Koschei, you're quite suspicious..."

"It's alright. Monica can be by your side anytime now. At worst, we can have Monica come and help take you away—don't you think so, Monica?"

"Yes."

Monica appeared suddenly and then disappeared just as suddenly; her presence put Kosicciard at ease.

Chapter 189

7:30 a.m. on November 2th.

Yang Hao, dressed in a suit, looked at himself in the mirror. Finally, Monica appeared behind him and helped him straighten his clothes and brought him a cane.

"Hey, Monica, you're not even reflected in the mirror anymore," Yang Hao grumbled, looking at the empty space in the mirror where the [floating] cane was. "Sometimes it really scares you to death... By the way, how's the Deep Sea Hunters doing?"

"After you gave them some cash that day and promised to invite them to the banquet later to talk in detail, the Deepsea Hunters were in a good mood. But instead of checking on them, I went to Miss Theresa's office and retrieved her intelligence."

After Monica tidied Yang Hao's clothes, she answered his questions. When she mentioned the name "Theresa," she smiled, but it was unclear what she was smiling about.

Listening to Monica's soft laughter, Yang Hao helplessly took the cane in his hand, weighing it down, and sighed in exasperation.

"Sigh... Theresa? Ah, I already had a feeling that little pony would get angry... By the way, have you spoken to her yet?"

There is a message.

Monica shrugged, walked over to Yang Hao and straightened his collar. Then she listened to the sounds coming from the bathroom and realized that Lord Koschche still didn't seem to want to call her over.

"That's fine then... Don't do that next time, okay? Unless I or Kosiche gives you permission."

"...Of course. If you, Lord Yang Hao, wish to contact Miss Margarita, I can go in your place."

Monica simply smiled and changed the subject.

When the topic shifted to Margarita, Yang Hao's bitter smile turned strange. He really wanted to see Margarita... but meeting her now wouldn't be good for either of them.

"Oh dear, Margarita only contacts me when she wants to, huh? After all, if I'm always there for her, showering her with care and concern... she won't be able to grow up according to her own wishes."

"Actually, sir, you just want to keep Miss Margarita, who hasn't grown up yet, by your side and raise her, right?"