Chapter 154: Don’t Insult My Husband

The men laughed among themselves, clearly pleased with how easily they had found something to talk about.

Emily remained beneath her hood, her face hidden by the robe she had pulled over herself, while Reinhard stood slightly behind her, covering his mouth with one hand. He was already shaking, taking everything he had not to laugh.

One of the men looked at Emily with a strange expression. "You really don’t know who Reinhard Ashcroft is?"

She shook her head slowly. "No. I don’t think I’ve heard of him."

Behind her, Reinhard lowered his head, his shoulders trembling harder. Emily caught it from the corner of her eye, and though her face stayed hidden, the slight movement of her shoulders suggested she was fighting her own smile. The men, however, completely misread the reaction.

"Then you’re lucky," one of them leaned closer. "He’s probably the biggest fraud in the world."

"A fraud?" Emily tilted her head.

"Exactly," another man laughed. "The man contributes nothing. He just happens to be married to Emily Ashcroft, so everyone assumes he’s important."

"I see," Emily nodded thoughtfully.

"He’s useless," the first man continued. "If you removed Emily’s name from his life, nobody would even know who he was."

"He’s basically living off her reputation," another folded his arms. "She’s the one who has the strength, the accomplishments, and the connections. Reinhard just stands beside her and takes the credit."

"So what does he actually do?" Emily asked from beneath the hood.

The men looked at each other. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing worth mentioning," one replied. "He’s probably good at spending money, though."

"He’s handsome, at least," another laughed, earning a round of laughter from the rest.

"So he’s not strong?" Emily asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"Not even close."

"Then why did Emily marry him?"

That question made the men pause only a moment before one grinned. "Because he’s handsome."

"That’s probably it," another laughed immediately. "The Ruler Emily must have chosen him because he had a good face."

"He certainly didn’t choose her because of his abilities."

"So his face was his greatest ability?" Emily nodded slowly.

"Exactly."

Behind her, Reinhard nearly lost control, pressing his fist against his mouth as his shoulders shook violently. His eyes were already watering, and Emily could practically feel the laughter radiating from him.

She continued as though she’d heard nothing strange. "That sounds useful."

"It is," one man said confidently. "If you’re handsome enough, apparently you can marry the strongest woman in the city and never have to accomplish anything yourself."

"That’s interesting," Emily tilted her head again. She paused before asking, "Then what would you do if you were Emily’s husband?"

The men suddenly grew much more serious.

"I’d protect her," one straightened his back.

"I’d make sure she always had the best resources available," another nodded.

"I’d rebuild her reputation," a third said. "I’d make sure everyone who abandoned her regretted it."

"I’d make enough money that she’d never have to worry about anything."

"I’d stand beside her in every battle," a fifth crossed his arms proudly. "A husband should never abandon his wife when she needs him."

Emily nodded after each answer. "That sounds good." The men grew more confident. "You all sound like excellent husbands," she said.

Behind her, Reinhard was trembling so badly he had to lean against the stall behind him, desperately trying not to laugh. Every single thing they were describing was something he had actually done.

Emily knew it.

Reinhard knew it.

The men had absolutely no idea.

Emily continued asking questions, her tone calm and almost curious. "Then would you have spent over a hundred million credits to help Emily repair her Gnosis?"

The laughter stopped. The men exchanged glances. One eventually nodded. "Of course."

"How would you earn that much money?" Emily asked.

The man froze. She waited. "I would have found a way," he finally said, looking away.

"What way?"

He opened his mouth. Nothing came out.

"A hundred million isn’t impossible," another quickly stepped in. "There are plenty of ways to earn money in Elyndor."

"Then how would you have done it?" Emily turned toward him.

He hesitated.

She waited again, the silence growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"Last I heard, Emily was broke back then," she finally asked. "If you were her husband, where would you have gotten more than a hundred million credits?"

The man looked away. Someone else muttered, "That’s an unfair question."

"Why?"

"Because nobody can simply produce that much money."

"So you couldn’t," Emily nodded.

"I didn’t say that."

"You didn’t answer."

The man’s face turned red. Emily’s voice stayed gentle. "You said you would protect her, provide resources, rebuild her reputation, and make enough money that she wouldn’t have to worry. Those all sound very impressive." She paused. "But how would you actually do it?"

Nobody answered.

Reinhard had now completely given up trying to control his laughter. He kept it quiet, but tears ran down his cheeks as he stood behind her. Emily glanced back at him for half a second, and their eyes met.

She almost laughed too.

Then she turned back toward the men. "You said you would do what Reinhard did," she said.

"What?" one frowned.

"You said you would protect Emily." They nodded. "You said you would give her resources." More nods. "You said you would stand beside her." Again, they nodded.

Emily’s voice stayed calm as she continued. "Did any of you actually do those things?"

Silence.

"Reinhard did."

The crowd around them had begun to grow and people who had originally been walking past stopped to watch the strange conversation.

Some recognized Emily’s voice while others recognized Reinhard standing nearby and now nobody wanted to leave.

"Anyone could spend money if they had it," one of the men scoffed, trying to recover his confidence.

"Really?" Emily tilted her head.

"Yes."

"Then why couldn’t you?"

The man’s grimace.

Emily continued before he could answer. "Reinhard handled it easily. In fact, he can earn a hundred million credits in a month."

The surrounding crowd erupted into quiet whispers. "A hundred million?" "In one month?" "Who exactly is this Reinhard?"

The guys looked increasingly uncomfortable.

"How would you even know that?" one stared at Emily.

Her hand slowly reached for the edge of her hood. "Because I’ve watched my husband put me first."

She pulled the hood down, her white hair falling around her shoulders, her silver eyes looking directly at the men.

The laughter disappeared and the entire street seemed to go quiet.

"I’ve watched him spend everything he had when I needed him," Emily continued, her expression calm. "I’ve watched him go places he had no reason to go, fight people he had no reason to fight, and take risks because I needed help."

The man stared at her.

Someone in the crowd whispered, "Emily Ashcroft..."

She looked directly at the men who had spent the last several minutes insulting her husband. "So I think I should know what kind of man my husband is."

Their faces went pale.

The realization spread through the crowd almost instantly. They had not been speaking to some random woman. They had been explaining to Emily Ashcroft why her own husband was apparently a useless fraud.

One of the men swallowed hard.

Emily took a step toward them. "You all said you would do what Reinhard did," she said. "But you couldn’t even answer how you would earn the money."

She took another step. "You called him useless."

Another step. "You called him a fraud."

Her silver eyes turned colder. "You called the man who rebuilt my life a bastard."

Nobody dared speak. She stared at them for several seconds before her expression changed slightly. It was not quite a smile. That somehow made it worse. "That’s unfortunate."

She looked around the street before her eyes settled on the group again. "Actually, I have the urge to relieve some stress." Her gaze traveled over them. "And I see several punching bags standing right in front of me."

The crowd immediately reacted. "Oh no..." "The Deadly Mouth." "They angered the Ruler." "Back when Emily was in her prime, I can’t even remember how many people she sent to the hospital." "Those men are doomed."

The men finally understood they had made a terrible mistake. "Wait," one said quickly. "Let’s calm down." Another took a step backward, then another.

Emily watched them.

They turned around and tried to run. Her Mana Pressure descended, and the entire street seemed to grow heavier. The men were slammed into the ground almost simultaneously, their bodies pressed against the stone beneath them.

The surrounding crowd felt the pressure as well, but Emily controlled it precisely enough that none of the ordinary people were harmed. There was no loss of control and she was simply choosing exactly how much power to use.

"Please..." one of the men struggled to lift his head.

"You’re trying to run from me?" Emily looked down at him.

The man’s face went pale. "It seems you’ve forgotten what I was like before," she said, her voice growing colder.

She paused. "That’s fine." Her silver eyes swept across the group. "I can slowly start recreating it until everyone remembers."

The men immediately began begging. "We’re sorry!"

"Please forgive us!"

"We’ll do anything!"

Emily stared at them for a moment. "Anything?"

They nodded desperately.

She seemed to consider it, then said, "Apologize to my husband."

The men immediately began speaking. "We’re sorry, Reinhard—"

She raised a hand. "Don’t say it out loud."

They froze.

She pointed behind herself. "Go to him."

She looked directly at the men. "Get on your knees, look him in the eyes, and apologize." She glanced toward the time. "You have one minute."

The Mana Pressure disappeared, and the men immediately scrambled to their feet and rushed toward Reinhard.

By the time they reached him, Reinhard was barely standing. He had been holding himself together for so long that his entire body was trembling, tears gathered in his eyes, one hand over his face as he desperately tried to calm himself.

The guys stopped in front of him.

Reinhard tried to speak. "Sorry." He wiped his eyes. "Give me a second."

The men stared at him in confusion.

Reinhard took several breaths, but the smile on his face only grew wider. "I’ve been trying not to laugh for the last ten minutes."

He looked over at Emily, and she immediately realized what was coming, her face turning slightly red.

Reinhard looked back at the men and waved his hand. "Go ahead."

The men dropped to their knees. "We’re sorry, Mr. Ashcroft."

"We shouldn’t have insulted you."

"We were wrong."

Reinhard listened quietly, and for once he didn’t tease them. "I accept," he said, smiling at them for a moment.

Then he walked past them without even looking back, heading directly toward Emily. She watched him approach with growing suspicion. "Reinhard?"

He reached her, and before she could react, he bent down and picked her up.

"Reinhard!" Her eyes widened as he lifted her easily into his arms and started running down the street, her face immediately turning bright red. "What are you doing?! Put me down!"

He laughed as he carried her away, completely ignoring the stunned crowd and the men still kneeling behind them. "I can’t!"

"Why?!"

"Because this is the best day ever!"

"REINHARD!"

His laughter echoed through the street as Emily desperately tried to hide her burning face against his chest. The crowd watched the two of them disappear around the corner, and for several seconds, nobody said anything.

Then someone quietly muttered, "I think those idiots just learned something important."

Another person nodded. "Never insult Reinhard in front of his wife."

And somewhere down the street, Emily’s furious voice could still be heard. "REINHARD!"

Followed by his laughter.