‘Unlike the princess. There’s no one who would grieve if she dies, and no one to investigate the truth behind her death.’

Though Grisha’s mother, the former duchess, had passed away long ago, Lady Briar still habitually called her ‘princess’.

Even now, thinking about when she died made her head ache.

Although she was slowly killed with poison in a way that wouldn’t be noticeable, everyone insisted she must have been poisoned and searched for the culprit.

And of course, the person who received the most suspicion was Lady Briar.

Being interrogated, subtly probed, and even after becoming the duchess, the topic would be brought up whenever it was nearly forgotten.

That experience clearly made her more passive.

But Nelly Periway is not a princess, and there aren’t as many people watching her as there were back then.

Even if she’s killed for being an obstacle, there won’t be people to torment her like before.

Having reached that conclusion, Lady Briar immediately called for her right-hand maid.

“We need to send someone to Cedar’s mansion. We must confirm the death of Lady Cedar there.”

“Death?”

“Yes.”

At the words that seemed certain of Nelly’s death, the head maid’s face darkened.

“Wasn’t it said to be a comatose state due to mana depletion? The academy certified it was different from death.”

“That’s how it starts! People fall into that comatose state and then die! It’s the same for ordinary people too.”

“Well, that may be true, but…”

What if we go there and she’s still alive?

Just as she was about to ask that, Lady Briar preemptively provided an answer.

“Even if she’s alive, we must kill her. She’s only an obstacle in our Cedar’s path.”

So she meant to send an assassin.

The head maid, who had naively understood it literally as just confirming death, hurriedly bowed her head.

“I-I’ll contact the guild.”

Lady Briar, who had been quiet since obtaining the position of duchess, had once again begun to scheme.

I was pretending to sleep out of stubbornness because I didn’t want to talk to Cedar, but at some point I really dozed off.

When I opened my eyes again, it was the middle of the night.

‘Cedar is… not here.’

Reflexively, I checked the spot next to me first. The chair Cedar had been sitting in was empty.

I sighed and rubbed my face.

‘Well, of course he’s not by my side now. It would have been troublesome if he had stayed by my side all night.’

No matter how much I tried to distance myself from Cedar emotionally, if I received such devoted care, my heart would inevitably soften.

I’m especially weak to such things.

When I pressed my palm to my forehead, the fever had gone down.

The basin and wet cloth that had been placed nearby were also gone. It seemed Cedar had taken them away after my fever broke.

Just a contract wife no different from a stranger, yet he diligently nursed me until the fever went down when he could have just left me alone.

‘This is really troublesome.’

The meals have too many greens, and it’s awkward having someone watch over me while I sleep.

I complained a lot to Cedar, but truthfully, I didn’t dislike it that much.

As I recalled the strange cohabitation with Cedar since waking up, I scratched my head vigorously.

‘Who is he calling slow-witted! He’s the truly slow-witted man!’

I should scold him firmly when I get the chance. Tell him not to be kind to just anyone.

‘It’s fortunate that I’m good at calmly assessing situations.

If I were even a bit dull-witted, I might have misunderstood that Cedar liked me.’

But that’s impossible. Having sorted out my feelings, I let out a deep sigh and got out of bed.

Perhaps due to the fever, my throat felt dry and I wanted to drink water.

There was no need to go all the way down to the first floor. A pitcher and cup were placed on a table not far from the bed.

Along with a note written in what looked like Cedar’s dry handwriting.

Glaring at the note, I picked up the pitcher.

Perhaps mint leaves had been added, as the lukewarm water had a cool scent that made it pleasant to drink even on an empty stomach.

Unnecessarily attentive.

‘I must have been living too closed off from the world.’

What I knew about Cedar Granite was only the most well-known facts.

The eldest son of the Granite ducal family. The youngest Swordmaster. The captain of the Dragon Knight Order.

There was no private information about his personality or hobbies anywhere.

It was just my assumptions. Since he’s a knight, he must be brusque; since he’s the eldest son of a ducal family, he must be arrogant.

But the Cedar I actually met was an extremely attentive person who liked taking care of others.

Usually quiet, but when he nagged, he poured out so many words it made me wonder how he had been holding them all in.

‘But his mother was so scary.’

I shuddered, recalling the beautiful woman who had kicked the front gate repeatedly without hesitation in her high heels.

Naturally, their conversation came to mind as well. That is…

‘They were arguing about the duke’s title. It seemed they weren’t on good terms either.’

The image of the duchess hurriedly coming to find Cedar and scolding him somehow made it seem like Cedar might not inherit the duke’s title.

That part was completely incomprehensible from my perspective.

‘But isn’t he naturally going to be the next duke since he’s a Swordmaster? Of course, even if he doesn’t become a duke, His Majesty the Emperor would grant him a title if he’s a Swordmaster…’

Even a commoner with nothing becomes at least a count if they become a Swordmaster.

But Cedar was originally the eldest son of the Granite ducal family.

It was the same for me, a Grand Magician.

To bind Grand Magicians to the empire, the Emperor offered me a title. Though I politely declined.

‘Unlike magicians who don’t need to be bound to the country, it’s better for Swordmasters to receive titles and stand in appropriate positions. For Cedar, there seems to be no more fitting title than Duke Granite.’

The Sword of the Empire. Isn’t that title perfect for him?

Someone so attentive even to a mere contract wife must surely be a kind yet leadership-worthy captain to the members of his knight order.

He would certainly fight without backing down to protect those weaker than himself.

‘Well, no matter how fitting it is, if he doesn’t want it himself, that’s that.’

As I imagined the splendid Duke Cedar Granite, I shook my head.

I could understand the duchess’s frustration, but if Cedar didn’t want it, I wanted to take Cedar’s side.

‘Well, even if I take his side, he probably won’t think much of it.’

It would be fortunate if he didn’t just sneer at me.

‘I woke up at an odd hour.’

Even after drinking water, I didn’t feel like lying back down in bed.

I just stood and twisted my body this way and that to stretch.

It was a simple movement, but when I bent my waist, there was a cracking sound and my torso ached with a tingling pain.

Wincing, I leaned against the wall with my hand for a moment.

As I waited for my body to feel better, tears suddenly welled up from the sadness.

“This is really shocking. To be in this much pain from just that small magic.”

The magic I used to melt the lock today. Before I lost my power, I could have used that level of magic a hundred times a day without tiring.

“I guess this is why people say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”

Because I hadn’t been using magic all this time, I knew my internal mana was depleted, but I hadn’t really felt the true sense of deprivation.

But realizing that even magic I once thought trivial was now difficult to use, the sorrow felt doubled.

‘What’s done is done, and it’s fortunate I survived, but…’

Can this really be called fortunate?

Perhaps because it was late at night, the gloom washed over me more than usual. Just as I halfheartedly rubbed away the tears falling on the back of my hand…

‘Something’s off.’

Like the wind gently rustling the very edge of a spider’s web, there was a strange sensation that pricked my nerves.

I raised my head, stopping mid-wipe of my tears.

‘Someone stepped on my magic circle.’

Is it Cedar?

The only people who should be in this house at this hour are Cedar and me.

But Cedar has a distinctive, plodding footstep when he moves around.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve never been bothered by Cedar moving around on the second floor.’

Thinking carefully, I realized I had never felt the magic circle being disturbed when he came in and out of my room.

That too must have been his consideration.

‘Then that’s a stranger!’

I need to run away!

But even if I decided to run away, there was nowhere to run to.

In a rush, I crouched in the space next to the drawer in a corner of the room.

Just as I huddled in the shadow of the drawer, my room door opened silently. And what entered were two people dressed entirely in black.

Because their footsteps made no sound at all, it felt as if ghosts were floating through the darkness.

But I could only tell they were people by the murmuring voices of those standing in front of my bed.

“The bed is empty?”

“I can feel the warmth. She must have been here until just now.”

“Then does that mean she ran away to avoid us?”

Having reached that conclusion, the assassins turned around as if scanning the room.

‘Gasp!’

At that, I who was desperately crumpled up hiding almost screamed out.

Thump thump.

My heart was pounding as if it would burst. I bit my lip hard.

‘First, those people need to leave.’

Since they noticed I had been in bed and left, they would soon go out to look for me.

I would move after that.

‘But where on earth should I run away to?’

Since it was the first time someone had come to harm me, my mind just went blank and I couldn’t come up with any good ideas.

All I could do was use every ounce of strength not to make a sound.

Fortunately, the two didn’t discover me hiding in the shadows and moved towards the outside of the room.

I could clearly hear each word of their whispered conversation.

“Surely the young master Granite didn’t sense our presence and move her away?”