The World’s Strongest Daughter.

Inside a dark room.

A middle-aged man spoke with a puzzled expression.

“Hmm? Why are we specifically targeting that place?”

The young woman sitting across from him answered.

“There’s a lot of foot traffic, and we obtained information that academy students will be gathering there this time.”

“Academy? Is that true?”

“Yes. If we miss this chance, we may never get another opportunity.”

At the young woman’s words, the man moaned lowly.

“Isn’t a place with many civilians too risky? Both the association and academy failed…”

“Father, if you’re going to be so cautious, how do you plan to lead the Salvation Church?”

The man, called ‘Father,’ stammered and answered hastily at the woman’s words.

“Ah, no… I was just thinking we should wait for a better time…”

“Because of your foolish plans, Sister Yu-mi died. How much longer are you going to wait?”

At the young woman’s sharp response, the man blew up in anger.

“Yu-mi died honorably…! Under the name of the Salvation Church, she fell as an honorable apostle…!”

At that moment, the woman cut him off bluntly and glared at the man.

“Stop it. I don’t want to hear it. Don’t forget many in our church could replace you as ‘Father.’ And I’ll be revoking your authority over the operation. Stay quiet as a mouse for the time being.”

Unable to say anything, the man trembled with rage, slammed his hand on the desk, stormed out of his seat, and left the room.

Left alone, the young woman sighed shortly and shook her head.

“Trash of a human being…”

***

Yoo Ji-hwan’s POV

Appetizing dishes were placed in front of me one by one.

The aroma of grilled eel seasoned with garlic and abalone porridge made with innards…

But that wasn’t the end.

Prepared who knows when scallion salad with oysters and red ginseng were laid out next.

When did she prepare all this…

Anyone could see these were blatantly suggestive menu items.

After a few more side dishes were laid out,

“You two, enjoy your meal!”

“When you’re done, please ring the bell once.”

The two maids smiled at us contentedly and left the room.

The moment they left and the door closed,

“Shall we eat?”

My wife picked up her spoon and spoke to me.

“Please enjoy the meal.”

I avoided her gaze and carefully picked up my spoon.

What in the world is going on?

It all happened so suddenly that my mind couldn’t properly process it.

Earlier, in the midst of busily preparing lunch.

My wife suddenly appeared in the kitchen and brought me to the 2nd floor.

I wondered what was going on, but she said she had something to discuss and invited me to have a meal together.

Thinking she may have noticed my identity, I readily accepted her invitation.

However…

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“Ah, no it’s nothing.”

At my wife’s words hinting at me, I hurriedly ate a spoonful of porridge.

Thanks to the maids’ skills, it tasted quite good.

But there was one thing bothering me.

When I stirred the bowl with my spoon, I found an absurd amount of abalone, almost half rice and half abalone.

I glanced at my wife’s bowl from the corner of my eye with suspicion.

It looked normal.

One could clearly see the abalone was piled on my side.

What could this mean?

At that moment, something was placed on my spoon with a swish.

“Have some of this too.”

Two pieces of oyster.

And they were quite plump.

Raising my head slightly to look across, my wife was gazing at me with a look that said, ‘Why aren’t you eating it.’

“Thank you.”

I muttered thanks, put the oyster in my mouth, and looked over the dishes on the table.

Oyster, eel, abalone, scallion, red ginseng…

All suspiciously aphrodisiac menu items.

My wife said she directly chose the menu, but the only thing she likes out of these is the eel at most.

What does this mean?

Her reactions and behavior yesterday and today, the suspicious menu, and the sudden lunch invitation.

No matter how much I think about it, my wife seems to have discovered my identity.

But how?

We only met twice, and there was nothing that would allow her to discover my identity.

Did Jeong Nan-do perhaps hint at it?

I couldn’t think of any other way she could have found out.

As I mechanically ate the porridge while trying to assess the situation,

“Here.”

My wife pushed over a piece of eel this time.

She reached out her hand towards my mouth as if to feed me directly.

After briefly hesitating, I thanked her and obediently ate the eel.

She then slightly raised the corners of her mouth and licked the end of her chopsticks.

This is…

Her coquettish behavior made my thoughts more certain.

My wife has definitely noticed.

She’s not the type of woman whose heart wavers enough to show affection to a man she’s only met twice.

Of course, there are no absolutes in the world, and she could have changed in the 3 years.

However…

Thinking back to her behavior since our first meeting, even if I don’t want to believe it, I have no choice but to trust her.

We’ve been together too long for her to break my trust.

In this situation, is there a need for me to hide my identity?

The reason I hid my identity was simply because my wife’s condition wasn’t good.

Considering the time when she seemed like she would die at any moment, she’s doing quite well now.

I never intended to hide my identity forever, and my wife may be waiting for me to reveal myself.

Then it would be right for me to meet her expectations…

“Is it to your taste?”

I was startled by my wife’s words which came at the perfect timing.

Glancing over, she was staring at me intently with a somewhat subdued gaze.

“Yes. It’s delicious.”

Satisfied with my cautious answer, she put down her spoon with a faint, enigmatic smile.

“Actually, I suggested having a meal together like this because I have something to say.”

Finally getting to the point.

I gulped nervously at her remark.

What could my wife possibly have to say to me in this situation?

Nothing other than my identity.

As I held my breath, waiting for what she would say,

My wife suddenly showed her right hand and said with a slight smile.

“Isn’t it pretty?”

Ah…

I let out a sigh inwardly as I looked at her.

My wife’s smile after three years.

A smile still beautiful enough to unconsciously raise the corners of my mouth.

As I blankly stared, captivated by her smile, she glanced at me and spoke.

“Not me.”

“S-sorry…”

Feeling my face heat up, I hurriedly turned my gaze to look at her hand.

Skin so pale it was nearly white.

On her fair skin, the ring on her finger caught my eye like a dot.

The dark blue jeweled ring she always wore on her right pinky finger.

I had never seen it when she was alive, but considering she treasured it despite not being fond of jewelry, it seemed to hold some meaning.

“It’s my husband.”

“Pardon?”

Husband? Me?

I didn’t quite understand her words.

That tiny ring is me?

Thinking hard, I felt like I had seen it on TV before.

Memorial diamonds or something, with bones…

As I traced back through my memories to figure out the ring’s identity, one fact suddenly popped into my head.

Wait, I’m right here though?

At the moment my thoughts stopped from the conflicting information, my wife swiftly removed the ring from her right hand and moved it to her left ring finger.

“I… still love my husband. I’ll probably love him for the rest of my life until I die.”

I felt strangely disturbed watching her caress the ring on her left ring finger with a loving touch.

Caressing the ring affectionately like that, my wife suddenly dropped her expression and said.

“But my husband is gone now.”

I shrank back slightly at her cold gaze that had deepened.

“My husband who left first probably doesn’t know how sad I am… right?”

Her gaze as she asked me felt like it was reproaching me.

“That’s right.”

After staring at me for a while, she asked another question with a satisfied glint in her eyes.

“If… my husband saw me living like this… what do you think he would think…?”

Just what is she trying to say?

I had no idea what her intentions were.

Why is she bringing up me of all things?

Is this some kind of confirmation?

I can’t just say I’m Min So-yeon out of the blue, so I decided to observe the situation for now.

“He would probably be very sad.”

Hearing my answer, she gave a short sigh as if she had been waiting and spoke resignedly.

“So, I’m thinking of getting out of this lifestyle.”

What?

It was a completely unexpected remark.

She’s going to stop living in seclusion?

What better news could there be?

If my wife returns to society, Jeong Nan-do, myself, and most of all, Min So-yeon would be thrilled.

Is there a hunter who wields a sword as well as the ‘Sword Empress?’

If Min So-yeon learns swordsmanship from my wife, it will surely be a good opportunity…!

“Would you consider becoming my adoptive son?”

The moment I heard my wife’s words, my mind went blank.

“Excuse me?”

Ad-adoptive son…?

The kind I’m thinking of?

Taken aback by the sudden proposal, she slowly continued.

“I’m sorry for secretly looking into it, but I heard you’re quite poor. If you come under me, you’ll be able to live without lacking anything.”

She was serious.

From lifelong spouses to complete strangers, and now becoming her son?

It was an idea I couldn’t possibly fathom.

No, didn’t she figure out my identity?

My head was in a mess from the unexpected development.

“You seem like a son to me. I’ve always wanted a son.”

What should I say?

No, I should quickly reveal my identity now…

As I was conflicted and trying to sort out the situation, my wife spoke again.

“If you don’t want to become an adoptive son, something else is fine too. For example… what about a ‘sponsorship?'”

“S-sponsorship…?”

Sponsorship?

What the hell is this woman saying!!!

Seeing my wife going off the rails, I need to reveal my identity right now, regardless of her condition.

I firmly made up my mind to immediately reveal my identity and slowly opened my mouth.

“You see…”

“My husband is not of this world.”

She cut me off.

“Huh?”

Taken aback by her remark, I let out a dumbfounded noise, and she looked straight at me with deep red eyes and said.

“My husband, Min Sung-jae, is dead. He’s no longer in this world. You know that well too, don’t you?”

As if not accepting any objections, her resolute tone completely silenced me.

My goodness…

I finally understood my wife’s intentions.

“There’s no other meaning to the sponsorship. I only have my husband, you know?”

As I thought, my wife had figured out my identity.

“You’re Yoo Ji-hwan. Right?”

But she has no intention of revealing it.

To protect her love with Min Sung-jae and build a relationship with Yoo Ji-hwan at the same time…

They’re both me anyway.

“If you don’t accept… Well, I’ll follow after my husband.”

I felt like I had been hit in the back of my head.