‘Imagining pleasant thoughts makes even the alcohol I’m drinking taste sweet.’

Isn’t life truly beautiful? Not other people’s lives, just my own.

‘A toast to Diana Periway, born beautiful, intelligent, and lucky.’

Diana thought to herself as she downed the champagne.

When she was born to unremarkable parents, she resented life wondering if this was all there was to it, but in the end, fate was on her side.

Because it gave her a sucker of an older sister who would leave behind only a massive inheritance before disappearing.

‘If I could, I would have liked to keep even her corpse by my side to watch over, but that man said it wasn’t allowed, which was regrettable.

While not expecting her to play the role of a wife, saying she must be kept in his house because she’s his wife – what nonsense.’

Diana pouted her lips, arbitrarily referring to her sister, who wasn’t even dead yet, as a corpse.

It was right then that a familiar name rang in her ears.

“Did you hear that news? The Changryong Knights exterminated the monsters in the Nemere Mountains.”

“As expected of Sir Cedar Granite. The finest knight in this country.”

It was talk about Cedar Granite, her sister’s husband and her own brother-in-law.

Cedar Granite. The youngest Swordmaster in this country.

The eldest son of the Granite ducal family, said to be descendants of the dragon that aided the first emperor during the founding of the nation.

The first time Diana met him in person was when she asked him to enter into a contract marriage with her sister Nelly.

Recalling his handsome yet ascetic aura, her lips instinctively went dry.

‘Cedar Granite is far too good for someone like my sister. Though his illegitimate birth is a bit of an issue… well, he’s not illegitimate anymore.’

Usually, even an illegitimate noble child receives a title and fief upon becoming a Swordmaster.

That’s how difficult it is to reach that level, and how important such talents are to the country.

Having reached that level at a young age, succeeding the Granite ducal title was a given.

As soon as the current Duke Granite, who was bedridden and unable to leave his sickbed, dies, he would immediately become the duke.

‘A Duke Granite would suit my status. Though his previous marriage and divorce is a bit bothersome, I know better than anyone that nothing happened between him and Nelly anyway.’

The thought of Cedar excited her body involuntarily.

Diana shuddered, imagining a future with Cedar that he hadn’t agreed to at all.

‘I should sort everything out and ask him to marry me. From what I saw then, he seemed like he’d fall for it if I pushed brazenly enough. Well, what man in this empire would refuse a beautiful woman like me?’

With a confident smile, Diana looked up at the sky.

She wasn’t even afraid of her parents who might be looking down on her from somewhere up there.

Because she believed without a doubt that they would want her to live happily instead of a fool like Nelly.

‘I hope a month passes quickly and the inheritance falls into my hands.’

Thinking this, she emptied the champagne glass she was holding in one gulp.

Diana Periway’s guess wasn’t entirely wrong.

Cedar Granite, who had seemed impenetrable, was now being shaken mercilessly by the pushiness of a certain brazen young lady.

Only that the brazen young lady wasn’t Diana.

Quite some time had passed since Nelly suddenly awoke from her vegetative state.

Which meant a long time had also passed since Cedar, who used to dine with his fellow knights at the chivalric order, started eating all three meals at the mansion without fail.

Those meals, more than twenty times a week, three times a day, changed Cedar Granite.

That is, in a very unexpected direction.

Hail, wearing an apron with pink frills, shook his head as he kneaded flour dough alongside Cedar.

“I never knew Sir Cedar was such a romantic person. I thought it would be fortunate if he didn’t curse at his wife, let alone say affectionate words.”

Who would have thought he’d personally knead dough to make bread for meals like this.

‘He doesn’t even seem to realize what he’s doing.’

Hail looked at Cedar, who was concentrating on kneading the bread dough, with disdainful eyes. Cedar retorted with a fierce scowl.

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“…Shall I show you a mirror?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ah, never mind.”

Hail knew that love was an emotion powerful enough to suddenly change a person.

But Cedar Granite? Why him, who hadn’t budged even when faced with peerless beauties?

‘Honestly, I thought he married the lady who fell into a vegetative state because it was low-maintenance and quiet.’

Hail knew Cedar Granite well, having assisted him closely for a long time.

That he was a man who didn’t easily give his heart to anyone.

However, after Nelly opened her eyes, Hail began to get confused little by little seeing Cedar’s behavior that differed from usual.

Huh? Does he really like her?

‘Come to think of it, when the lady first opened her eyes, he said he didn’t want to announce that she had woken up in case other men might hit on her.’

Though Cedar never said such a thing, Hail thought so on his own. He nodded his head.

‘Love is great. It even makes the rationally impossible possible by putting on blinders. Even a Swordmaster can be blinded by love. Under the emotion called love, everything becomes insignificant.’

But still, being in the kitchen kneading flour dough like this for every meal made him feel skeptical.

Hail grumbled as he put the well-kneaded dough into a bowl and covered it with a plate.

“Did you get a job as a chef? Why are you suddenly so passionate about cooking?”

“It’s all because of that woman!”

Cedar, who had been satisfied looking at the chewy dough, suddenly lost his temper and slammed the dough down on the cutting board.

Then, kneading the flour dough vigorously with his thick arms, he grumbled.

“She says she’s only been able to eat boiled eggs, so why is she such a picky eater? Why can’t she just eat any bread? She won’t eat if it’s even a little rough, or if she can feel the grains because it hurts her jaw. She says she’d rather starve than bother chewing. Can you understand that?”

‘I don’t. You could just hire a chef.’

Though he said that, it ultimately meant that he was cooking himself because he loved his wife dearly.

‘But why am I involved in this too?’

The dough needed to rise sufficiently to become delicious bread, so it had to be kneaded like this and left to ferment for about a day.

For that reason, Cedar’s home kitchen was filled with dough made for each meal, each in its own bowl, waiting for the right time to ferment.

Isn’t this the epitome of devotion? Eating freshly baked bread at every meal.

It seemed like even His Majesty the Emperor wouldn’t receive such treatment.

Moreover, bread wasn’t the only thing Cedar was cooking. Hail sighed and shook his head.

“Yes, yes, so you’re making food to suit her tastes. You’d beat the knights with your scabbard if they complained about side dishes.”

“Ah, then what should I do? I wish she’d at least gain some weight. Right now there’s nowhere to hit!”

Cedar’s protest, which sounded truly aggrieved, only made Hail’s eyes grow colder like frozen mackerel.

Hail replied in a voice devoid of even 1g of emotion.

“Yes, yes, I’m sure you would. I’m the sinner here. They say you shouldn’t add fuel to a couple’s fire.”

“What fire! Where do you see any fire here! Can’t you hear my anguish!”

“Yes, yes, you’re the vanguard of a plague.”

Where is there such a fussy husband? Even if a daughter were born, one wouldn’t prepare meals so fussily.

In truth, though it was a bit irritating to watch, Hail didn’t mind Cedar floundering about in love.

The Changryong Knights members, who had always been uncomfortable with the captain sticking around 24 hours a day, were also very satisfied, and it was amusing to watch that lovesick behavior.

But there was just one thing about Cedar’s actions that Hail couldn’t understand.

“If you like my lady so much, why do you keep it a secret that she has awakened? Don’t you want to be lovey-dovey in front of everyone?”

It was precisely the fact that he wasn’t telling the world that the Great Mage Nelly Periway had awakened.

‘He might think that all men who make eye contact with my lady could fall for her, being so severely blinded by love.’

As far as Hail knew, Cedar was a lifelong bachelor.

He had started his life as an apprentice knight surrounded by only men from a very young age.

He had heard that the Granite ducal family was a closed-off place, and there wasn’t a single female knight in the Granite knightly order.

So although he was married, this was truly his first time properly facing a woman.

‘But it’s been a long time since my lady opened her eyes! And I, who frequently come in and out and make eye contact with her, haven’t fallen for her!’

Isn’t it about time that delusion was shattered?

Once he started speaking, it was difficult at first, but as the topic flowed out, his lips began to move on their own as if speaking in tongues.

Hail interrogated Cedar like a mother-in-law grilling her daughter-in-law.

“I told you! Though my lady is beautiful, she’s not that level of peerless beauty! A healthy mind dwells in a healthy body. Let’s break free from this delusion and lead a normal life. And the start of a normal life begins with announcing your wife to the world, you married man!”

It must have been extremely frustrating, for the nonsense flowed out smoothly like human speech.

‘If I talk this much, the captain would normally be furious and threaten to kill me.’

Cedar was precisely the type of person who couldn’t stand subordinates getting above themselves.

Hail stared at Cedar with a pounding heart.

‘Come back to your senses, you scoundrel. And let’s lead a normal life!’

To begin with, the situation itself of two such high-level personnel making meals for my lady is abnormal! Hire a cook! I didn’t grasp a sword to wield a kitchen knife, you know.