I pouted my lips as I answered.

“Why would I hit you? I just told you to go because you’re really busy.”

Hearing my response, Cedar stared intently at my face, then lowered his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

“…Sigh.”

I was just being considerate of Cedar, but why did I get such a long sigh in return?

Feeling wronged, I puffed up my cheeks even more. Of course, my protest had no effect on Cedar.

“I’m angry, so don’t try to look cute.”

“Cu…?”

I never thought I’d hear someone say I was trying to look cute by puffing up my cheeks.

I was so dumbfounded that my anger disappeared somewhere.

Cedar’s strides were as long as he was tall, so we reached my room in no time.

As soon as I slipped my feet into my slippers, he spoke as if tending to a child.

“Raise your hands, hurray.”

“Hurray.”

As I raised my hands and said hurray, the dress I was wearing was swiftly pulled off over my head.

Thanks to that, I was left in just the slip dress I wore underneath like pajamas, but before I could feel embarrassed, I was rolled up in the blanket like a cocoon and laid on the bed.

‘The touch of a skilled assistant!’

It was a moment where I could glimpse how he had taken care of me when I was unconscious with fever.

After laying me down on the bed, Cedar carefully asked various questions.

“Is your throat sore? Do you want to brush your teeth?”

“I’m fine.”

“Looks like the fever is just starting to rise. I should bring a wet towel.”

No sooner had he spoken than he returned to the room carrying a large basin full of wet towels.

‘He’s fast.’

As he said, I started to feel heat rising throughout my body.

As I was squirming uncomfortably under the blanket, I heard a question I really wanted to avoid.

“Did you eat?”

“I did.”

“What did you eat, and how much?”

“Just whatever was served.”

He said firmly.

“Tell me exactly.”

There’s no way to escape this. I squeezed my eyes shut and answered.

“…30g of flatbread, 30g of vegetables without dressing, and half a bowl of tomato-flavored vegetable soup.”

“That’s not a meal! That’s a snack!”

But I felt plenty full. As expected, Cedar, who was particularly fussy about my meals, got upset.

‘I’m sorry, Hail.’

Hail had taken such good care of me. Seeing Cedar get upset, I worried that Hail might get in trouble too, so I closed my eyes and silently apologized.

Cedar, who had been lecturing about the importance of proper meals, soon bowed his head.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be angry. You should be the one getting angry.”

“Why should I?”

I blinked my eyes. At my question, Cedar’s blue-tinged silver-gray eyes furrowed.

He answered in a guilt-ridden tone.

“I was supposed to take care of you, but I didn’t.”

What nonsense. I’m not a child, why would he need to pay attention to every little thing?

‘Just nursing me like this when I’m sick is more than enough to be grateful for.’

Wanting to ease Cedar’s mind a little, I shook my head with a slight smile.

“It’s not like you have an obligation to take care of me, you know.”

But far from easing his mind, it was clear I had said something wrong.

As soon as I said that, Cedar seemed to choke up, clenched his fist, and then abruptly slapped the wet towel onto my forehead.

“Ah! It’s cold.”

Even so, he had wrung out the water so well that there was no disaster of water dripping everywhere.

With the white towel suddenly blocking my view, I couldn’t see Cedar’s face.

His voice echoing in my ears was gruff.

“You just be quiet. I’ll assume you’re talking nonsense because of the fever.”

Again, again. It was the same situation as when Cedar had embraced me earlier.

I pouted my lips like a carp and retorted in a small voice.

“I regret that you dismiss my consideration for you as nonsense.”

“How is that consideration in any way?”

“It is consideration. It was consideration, I tell you.”

We’re just in a contract relationship, so you don’t need to worry about me this much. I was pointing out that fact.

So that he, with his kind heart, wouldn’t trouble himself by crossing the line unnecessarily.

‘And I might start to misunderstand too.’

He just needs a woman to fill the position of wife, and I just need him to avoid Diana’s gaze until I receive my inheritance.

We’re bound to part ways once our respective goals are achieved, so what would happen if I got used to having him close by?

‘Still, it feels nice to have someone by my side when I’m sick.’

Even as I kept reminding myself not to get used to that warmth, a corner of my heart was already melting into his kindness.

‘Since becoming an archmage, no one has cared for me like this.’

Not wanting to reveal such a weak heart, I forced my lips, which kept curving downward, to curve upward in a smile as I spoke.

“Ah, I guess I was feeling dizzy earlier. I can tell now that I’m lying down like this.”

I was too shy to say thank you directly, but too grateful to say nothing at all, so that’s what came out.

I thought Cedar would understand my gratitude even if I didn’t say it outright.

But what’s this? Cedar’s response was unbearably heavy.

“Right. I’m the bad guy.”

What’s wrong with this man? He’s been like this for a while now. It’s hard to respond when he answers like that.

“…Why are you saying that? Is self-loathing your hobby?”

“Curse at me. Curse at me more.”

“If you’re trying to be funny, it’s not funny at all.”

“I’m not trying to be funny, you know?”

A large hand seemed to cast a shadow over my face, then changed the wet towel.

As he did so, his fingers naturally brushed against my face.

His hands were hard and rough, but strangely, the touch on my face felt nice.

“Husband, instead of the wet towel, can’t you just press your palm against my forehead? I think your hand would feel better.”

“Stop talking nonsense and go to sleep already.”

It’s not nonsense.

I pouted my lips. As I fell silent, silence naturally settled between us.

Sleep wouldn’t come, and the silence felt heavy, so I finally spoke up first.

Given the situation, the topic that naturally came up was Cedar’s mother.

“It seems you don’t get along well with your mother.”

“You saw it yourself. We’re worse than strangers.”

After saying that, Cedar didn’t speak anymore.

Was he averse to mentioning his mother’s existence itself? Or did he have too much to say and was choosing his words?

Though I couldn’t see Cedar’s expression because of the wet towel, somehow it felt like the latter.

‘It’s hard to truly hate family.’

Even with all that Diana has done to me, if someone asked if I genuinely hated Diana, I wouldn’t be able to nod without hesitation.

That’s how terrifying blood ties are.

‘Cedar’s mother was a terrifyingly beautiful woman. And her personality was scary too.’

I wonder what happened in his childhood. Wanting to know more about Cedar, I pressed him a bit urgently.

“If you’ve been wanting to talk about it but had no one to listen, you can tell me now. I’ll listen.”

At my words, Cedar snorted a beat late and muttered.

“What’s with this, when it’s just a contract marriage.”

This man, he seems affectionate and kind, but strangely, every time he opens his mouth, he spouts irritating words.

I mustered up the courage to tell him to speak, but that’s the response I get, so I muttered again, feeling upset once more.

“Even if it’s a contract marriage, aren’t we friends before that?”

“Friends?”

This time, Cedar’s silence was a bit longer.

Something seemed to have rubbed him the wrong way again, as he answered a bit later, and in an even stiffer tone than before.

“I don’t do that kind of thing with you.”

“Fine, suit yourself then.”

Does he think just anyone can be my friend?

Even at the academy, I didn’t offer the position of friend lightly. Hmph.

Feeling sulky, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to sleep.

Sleep still wouldn’t come, but I pretended to sleep hard because it seemed like it would be uncomfortable if I stayed awake. How much time passed like that?

A long sigh poured out by my ear.

“…What am I doing?”

Cedar’s muttering somehow seemed a bit excited, yet tinged with self-loathing, giving an ambiguous feeling.

After arguing with Cedar, Lady Briar returned to the mansion and immediately rushed up to her room.

She threw her shoes and accessories as if venting her anger, then began biting her nails.

The only thing on her mind was Cedar’s mansion with its melted lock.

“He must be dead. There’s no other reason to lock the door like that.”

If he were alive, he wouldn’t have left the lock in that state, even if just to check on his condition once in a while.

Anyone could see that lock was meant to keep everyone out absolutely.

‘Such an impudent fellow. He must be lying about being alive when he’s dead.’

Cedar Granite was only a good son until he became a Swordmaster and elevated his lowly mother to the status of a duchess.

After becoming an adult, the son hardly ever listened to her words.

‘He doesn’t even know for whose sake I’m trying to pass on the duke title! Bluntly speaking, wouldn’t he benefit from becoming a duke, not me?’

He was an ungrateful child who didn’t understand a parent’s heart. Feeling frustrated, Lady Briar clutched at her chest.

‘This is no time for me to be like this. If he’s dead, I need to act quickly.’

What Cedar needed most right now was a healthy wife who could bear children.

That cunning boy had brought in a woman in a vegetative state, hard to even find, and put her in that position to block his mother’s interference.

‘If he’s dead, there’s no need to be cautious anymore. No…’

If he’s not dead, why not just kill him?

‘Oh my, why didn’t I think of this before?’

If someone is in the way, just kill them and be done with it.

Even if she’s already dead, no one would be surprised given the life she’s been living, so killing her for real wouldn’t cause any problems.