Raising the Northern Grand Duchy as a Max-Level All-Master-Chapter 161: My Mafia Wife (1)

Late at Night

Past midnight, Bardenheim was a city where light and darkness coexisted.

Two-thirds of the city was deep in slumber, while the remaining third was as bright and bustling as midday.

This was even more apparent after Renslet’s magic lighting artifacts had been widely distributed.

On the outskirts of the city, where narrow alleys and plazas intertwined chaotically—

A night market thrived in Grayfield, the district dividing the middle-class Bronze Point and the slums of Iron Point.

Market stalls displayed exotic goods from the East, the North, and the Empire—items so rare that even major royal capitals struggled to obtain them. A significant portion of these were either smuggled or outright illegal.

And wherever there was an abundance of money and people, there were bound to be other things as well.

“Drink! Drink up!”

“Hahaha!”

“Hey there, handsome~! Wanna come see some flowers?”

“I won! I won! Hell yeah!”

The place I was guided to was the heart of the city’s pleasure district.

A haven for gambling, alcohol, prostitution, drugs, brawls, and smuggling—I walked right through the thick of it all.

“This is the place.”

“……”

Deep within the pleasure district, my three guides came to a halt and pointed to a large, shabby-looking building.

‘Rensletians? What are Rensletians doing here?’

Something was off about the place. A considerable number of the people patrolling the area were Rensletians.

“Let’s go inside.”

“…Yes.”

With both stealth and perception-dampening magic tools stacked on us, my party and I confidently entered the building.

‘Frost Knights…?’

The interior was even more bizarre.

I spotted several individuals who unmistakably belonged to the Frost Knights.

But the most shocking thing of all was yet to come.

“They’ve all gathered, Boss!”

“This time, let’s wipe out the Snake Clan completely!”

“That’s right! The shadows of this city should belong solely to the Winter Clan!”

In the Underground Chamber

A gathering was taking place.

Men who appeared to be native to Bardenheim radiated a dangerous energy, their eyes burning with a thirst for blood.

At a glance, they all exuded the distinct aura of mid-tier underworld bosses.

‘Sir Balzac? And… the one sitting over there is…!’

And among them, seated at the highest position of honor—

“Yeah, it’s about time.”

A slender woman with black hair, red eyes, and a mask sat cross-legged in the prime seat of the underground chamber.

It was Arina.

‘What the hell?! She looks like a mafia boss!’

Fwoosh!

A mana cigarette rested between her lips, and standing silently beside her, disguised as Sir Dominic, was Balzac.

“We strike first thing in the morning.”

SCREEEECH!

“WOOOOAAAHHH!!”

The underground chamber erupted in deafening cheers at Arina’s command.

“Finally!”

“The Phantom has given us permission for war!”

“War! It’s war!”

“Kill them! Kill them all!”

“Phantom! Phantom! Phantom! Phantom!”

“Glory to the Winter Clan!”

The men were so certain of their victory that they didn’t even consider the possibility of failure.

But then—

“One condition!”

Arina’s voice, imbued with mana, silenced the ecstatic crowd in an instant.

“Do not fight near the Royal Point Art Center.”

“Eh? But if we want to eliminate the backers supporting the Snake Clan…”

“I have a date there with my husband at lunch.”

“Ah…! A date! Well, can’t be helped then.”

“Of course! A date with the husband is important—no argument there!”

‘What… Did I just witness?’

‘What… Did I just hear?’

I turned to Eote, Rosie, and Carrot, my eyes blank with disbelief.

“……”

The three of them awkwardly averted their gazes, clearly at a loss for words.

Thugs and delinquents existed everywhere. When they gathered into groups, they became gangs, mafias, and cartels.

In this world, they were generally lumped together under the term clans.

No matter how many times they were eradicated, they never truly disappeared. Like cockroaches, they kept resurfacing.

Even in the High Tower and Renslet, it was the same.

Recently, large-scale purges, forced labor in the mines, and brainwashing by the Church had significantly reduced their numbers.

But complete extermination was impossible.

Just as wolves replaced tigers when they vanished, and foxes took over when wolves were gone, human society functioned in much the same way.

The key was regular maintenance—like pruning branches.

Both Renslet and the High Tower had institutionalized this process. Every two years, they waged a war on crime, purging the underworld, brainwashing gangsters, and sending them off to the mines.

But Bardenheim was a different story.

This was a city where all the world’s money, desires, and corruption gathered.

Instead of purging the criminal groups, the city’s power players secretly supported them from behind the scenes.

They were useful tools—perfect for handling dirty work.

‘The problem is… why the hell is Arina involved in this?’

I was utterly confused.

Judging by the situation, this must have been what she had been doing for the past month while I was absorbed in my research.

Arina had been roaming the city’s underworld under the alias Phantom, masked and disguised.

Now, I finally understood why she hadn’t complained about anything. With this, how could she have possibly been bored?

‘But still… to have built a clan of this size in just a month? Winter’s Clan, was it? Even the name sounds so… Northern.’

It was shocking—my wife, the ruler of Renslet, was the boss of a crime syndicate.

The same Arina who had been at the forefront of the war against crime in the High Tower.

“Uh… Chairman?”

“What will you do?”

“Will you reveal yourself to Her Highness now?”

As I stood there in stunned silence, Eote, Rosie, and Carrot cautiously asked for my next move.

“Let’s observe a little longer.”

Just as I said that, the underground meeting was concluding.

I had decided—I would follow her and see for myself why she had chosen this city to establish a mafia.

“We could just explain—”

“I’ll listen to your explanations after I’m done watching.”

“Understood.”

At my firm response, the three of them fell silent and nodded.

The Streets at Dawn

Following Arina outside, I saw the city sky caught between night and morning.

Even the pleasure district, which had seemed like it would shine forever, began to dim and quiet down as the sun rose.

Step, step, step.

I trailed behind Arina, who walked ahead of me with absolute confidence.

She didn’t bother sneaking around or hiding in alleyways.

Neither did the three guards flanking me—Eote, Carrot, and Rosie.

And despite our bold movements, no one on the streets noticed us.

The stealth magic tools I had created took the form of bracelets and necklaces.

When activated, they rendered the wearer’s body nearly invisible.

On top of that, perception-altering magic ensured that even if someone did notice something strange, they would simply overlook it.

Of course, someone using Arad Radar could detect us—but the world had yet to know of Arad Radar.

That was why these tools were so useful for intelligence operatives like the Frost Knights.

‘And right now, I’m the one using them… to spy on my own wife.’

Life was unpredictable. That famous line from a certain movie about chocolates came to mind.

“Winter’s Clan is here!”

“Look over there! It’s Phantom! Phantom’s here!”

‘Phantom?’

As Arina walked through the streets with the Winters Clan officers, a hushed murmur spread in her wake.

“Phantom! Look over here! Phantom!”

But rather than fear or resentment, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

Not the forced, uneasy kind of positive, but the genuine kind.

“Anything unusual happening lately?”

Arina—who now had a second alter ego after Mary—approached a woman and asked.

“Kyaaa! Phantom just talked to me!”

“…I’ll take that as a no.”

“Yes! That’s right! Ever since you took over this district, every day feels like a dream!”

The young woman, who seemed to be a prostitute, looked a little exhausted, as if she had just finished work.

Yet her voice and expression were bright.

There was even a faint glimmer of hope in her eyes—hope for life and the future.

And it wasn’t just her. The same hopeful light flickered in the eyes of other women dressed similarly around her.

“No one’s mistreating you or getting violent, right?”

“Of course not! You already beat those bastards half to death, remember?”

“Even if it’s a client, they’re no exception. If anything happens, tell me.”

“Yes! I’ll do that!”

“And everyone’s saving up properly, right? Hurry and pay off your debts and start a new life.”

“Yes, Phantom!”

Bardenheim was a city where people from multiple kingdoms converged.

As a result, the predominant language spoken here was the Southern-accented version of the Empire’s common tongue.

Meaning, at least in Bardenheim, there wasn’t much of a language barrier between the Rensletians and the locals.

And Arina—having spent a month here—had become surprisingly fluent in Southern Imperial speech, seamlessly holding conversations in the dialect.

“Oh, right. Lily, how’s your treatment going?”

“H-Huh…?! Me?! Phantom remembers my name?!”

“Of course I do. Looks like you’re doing much better. Your skin, especially—it’s cleared up a lot.”

“Yes! I’m completely cured! Phantom, you saved me when my body was rotting away from disease! Thanks to you, I can at least work as a cleaner now!”

“…Venereal diseases need consistent treatment. Never stop your medication. If you need a medical kit or potions, just ask the clan.”

“Yes! I’ll be sure to do that!”

What… was I witnessing?

This was practically an idol fan club.

As Phantom walked by, the prostitutes screamed in excitement and flocked toward her.

And Arina didn’t ignore them. She talked to them, asked how they were doing—showed that she cared.

‘What the hell…?’

The Winters Clan members watching this all had expressions of pride, as if they were witnessing something truly admirable.

Arina’s march continued.

And the warm reception toward Phantom and the Winters Clan didn’t fade even as they left the pleasure district.

“Phantom!”

“It’s Winter’s Clan’s Phantom!”

The same reaction greeted her when she entered the middle-class district, Bronze Point.

From the early morning, shopkeepers and street vendors preparing for the day’s business were the first to greet Arina.

“Phantom, please try this apple.”

“Phantom! We just got some high-quality fabric in. Would you like a custom outfit?”

“Phantom! Thank you for offering a low-interest loan for my building repairs! I’ll repay it with everything I’ve got!”

“Phantom! Thanks to the low-interest loan you gave me, I was able to buy my daughter out of a brothel!”

“Phantom! The scholarship you sponsored allowed my son to enroll in the academy this year!”

Even here, she was met with gratitude and admiration.

“Work hard in your trades, everyone. And if you run into trouble, don’t hesitate to knock on the Winter Clan’s door. Your tribute payments won’t be in vain.”

Arina and her clan members took the praise in stride, as if they were used to it.

Though she couldn’t completely hide the slight lift of her shoulders and the subtle curl of her lips.

“And one more thing! A war with the Snake Clan will break out soon. Make sure not to get caught up in any unnecessary fights.”

As she patrolled Winters Clan’s territory, Arina never forgot to give a warning.

“Finally, we’re taking down the Snake Clan!?”

“Yes! My younger brother runs a business in their district, and they’ve been making his life hell.”

“Phantom! We support you! Teach those bastards a lesson!”

Even with an impending clan war, the people cheered.

None of them seemed to doubt Phantom and Winters Clan’s victory.

Arina’s patrol continued from the pleasure district through the middle-class shopping areas and finally into Iron Point, the slums.

“Phantom! Phantom’s here!”

“Phantom! Thanks to you, we don’t have to starve anymore!”

“Phantom, is there any way I could work for you?”

“Phantom! If it weren’t for you, my little sister would’ve starved to death by now. I want to repay this debt with my life!”

Her popularity in the slums was even more intense than before.

“Aaaaah! Phantom!”

In the previous districts, her relationship with the people resembled that of an idol and her fans—here, it was more like a cult leader and her devoted followers.

“Phantom is surely a blessing sent by the gods.”

An old beggar woman, clutching a bowl of stew (probably Arad Stew), spotted Phantom from afar and made the sign of the cross.

“Phantom.”

“Phantom.”

“Our great and benevolent Phantom, the Rensletian we love most.”

And it wasn’t just her.

A significant number of the slum dwellers bowed their heads reverently and made the same sacred gesture as Arina passed.

“Waaaaah! Phantom! It’s Phantom!”

“Has everyone been doing well?”

Arina’s path led her through the slums, stopping at a soup kitchen before finally reaching an orphanage.

“Phantom! I missed you!”

“Phantom, look! I gathered these flowers for you!”

She was adored here as well.

If the slums treated her as a saint or a goddess—here, in the orphanage, she was a mother or an older sister.

“Phantom, these shoes…?”

“Make sure the kids wear them, Riche. Last time I was here, I noticed they were all either barefoot or wrapping their feet in rags.”

“Yes! I’ll take care of it!”

“Do you need anything else?”

“We already have so much… Honestly, without you, this orphanage would’ve fallen apart a long time ago. The children would’ve ended up homeless or sold off.”

“But not anymore.”

“Yes! That’s right. You know… I think you’re holier than the bishop of this city.”

“You know that saying something like that while wearing priest robes is blasphemy, right?”

“Even the gods would agree with me. Maybe we should all convert to that Rensletian faith of yours?”

“…Forget it. Just take care of the kids.”

“Of course!”

With the orphanage as her final stop, Arina’s patrol came to an end.

Though she wore a mask, her face glowed with pure happiness as she cared for the people.

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

‘Seriously…’

Having witnessed this other life of hers, I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

‘She’s not a mafia boss—she’s a damn Hao Sect leader!’

At first, I thought she was running a crime syndicate.

But now?

She was practically the leader of one of those chivalrous underworld organizations you’d see in wuxia novels.

The kind of righteous, unrealistic underground sect leader that only existed in web novels.

“Our Phantom is truly remarkable, don’t you think?”

After seeing everything, my three guards looked at me expectantly, their eyes full of admiration.

“…Haah.”

I let out a long sigh before finally opening my mouth.

“So this is why I fell for her.”

A smile tugged at my lips.

From afar, surrounded by children, she looked almost divine.

My heart pounded—just like it always did.