Magic is fun. Because the answers are clear.

Exploring magic was like groping step by step down a dark, unseen path, whether failing or succeeding.

There is always an answer. It’s just not immediately visible to my eyes.

But people?

Grisha, who seemed like he would never hold hands, turned out to be quite affectionate once we became close.

Sometimes he would ask for a hug when feeling lonely, or ask me to stay by his side when he was sick.

Honestly, I found that side of Grisha cute, like taking care of a younger sibling.

With Diana, far from me taking care of her, I was the one getting scolded.

And Grisha responded to me with sincere affection.

Cute Grisha. Kind, pretty, and gentle.

‘So I hope Grisha will be happy.’

Recalling Grisha from childhood, I opened my eyes. Darkness surrounded me, with a small lamp lit by my bedside.

And that flickering light outlined the profile of the man sitting beside me.

A slender, pale silhouette with long black hair flowing down to his shoulders.

It was Grisha.

‘Grisha is still pretty.’

Even though he’s grown much taller than me and become a full adult, “pretty” suited him better than “handsome”.

After watching Grisha’s profile for a moment as I lay there, I slowly opened my mouth.

“…Do you plan to keep living so uncomfortably?”

Grisha, who had been lost in thought, finally turned his head towards me.

“You’re awake? Does your head hurt?”

“Not at all.”

“That’s a relief.”

His long, slender fingers brushed back my disheveled hair.

The touch tickled, making me blink briefly before opening my eyes to find sapphire blue eyes gazing steadily at me.

“What do you mean by living uncomfortably?”

There it was again. I felt a strange pressure from him.

Even though Grisha wouldn’t pressure me, I instinctively shrank back. I lowered my eyes to avoid his gaze as I answered.

“You were having that tense exchange with Cedar earlier in the dining room.”

“Ah.”

Grisha’s eyes curved gently. I could tell at a glance that it wasn’t a genuine smile, having spent so much time with Grisha.

Grisha tucked my hair behind my ear again and said:

“By the way, you cut your hair? Is this also to hide your identity? That’s a shame. I liked Nelly’s long hair.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m not changing it. Actually, I’ve been wanting to mention it but couldn’t. I’m curious why Nelly suddenly decided to cut her hair.”

“There wasn’t any grand decision or anything. Just…”

I recalled Grisha kissing the ends of my hair. Right after that, Cedar suggested cutting my hair.

‘Could they have been at odds since then?’

I narrowed my eyes, then sighed through my nose and brushed off the thought. Surely it couldn’t be that.

‘I don’t even know how I ended up between the two of them in the first place.’

But since I was involved, I had the right to give my opinion.

I slowly sat up in bed. Then I spoke gently:

“You don’t really hate Cedar, do you? You’re just in an awkward relationship because things got tangled up.”

“Why do you think I don’t hate my elder brother?”

“Because the Grisha I know isn’t someone who wastes energy on hating others.”

“…”

Grisha pressed his lips tightly together.

I reached out first and grasped Grisha’s hand. Somehow, Grisha’s hand felt cold.

“If you just need an opportunity, shall I be the stepping stone? If there’s some catalyst, couldn’t you have a sincere conversation with each other?”

I had my own selfish reasons too.

Diana and I have an irreparable relationship, but Cedar and Grisha are not like that.

‘Having experienced it, they’re both good people. It’s a shame they keep having this awkward relationship due to some misunderstanding.’

That’s why I was meddling in a way that wasn’t like me. Grisha, who had been quietly lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth.

“I’d like to answer like a good child that I don’t dislike him, but I can’t. From my perspective, there’s a clear reason why I can’t like him.”

“Reason?”

Grisha let out a small sigh. And the family history that followed was heavier than I could have imagined.

“My mother was poisoned to death.”

“What?”

This was a story about Grisha that I had never heard in all the years I’d known him.

After hesitating for a moment, I carefully asked:

“Did they catch the culprit?”

“They caught the maid who put in the poison. But not the person who ordered the maid to do it.”

“That…”

“Yes. It was Lady Briar, my elder brother’s mother.”

“…”

This time it was my turn to close my mouth. Lady Briar. The beautiful lady with silver hair. Cedar’s mother.

‘If I asked for evidence, it would only hurt Grisha twice.’

Above all, the cautious Grisha wouldn’t assert something like this without evidence.

And Lady Briar was certainly capable of such a vicious act.

‘She even sent an assassin to eliminate me, Cedar’s wife, so poisoning the legal wife would have been nothing to her.’

Rather, living in the same house would have given her many opportunities.

The appearance of such heavy family history left me speechless.

Grisha flipped his hand over, taking my hand that had been covering the back of his hand into his palm. Then he continued speaking while pressing my hand with his thumb:

“Mother, who came to a foreign country where she couldn’t even communicate through an arranged marriage, had a very hard time adjusting. Lady Briar made that adjustment even more difficult. She interfered in Mother and Father’s relationship with all sorts of lies. Even after I was born, she didn’t leave the duke’s mansion, using my elder brother as a shield.”

It wasn’t hard to imagine. How heavy the atmosphere must have been in a house where the mistress, illegitimate child, legal wife, and legitimate son lived together.

‘If only Cedar had been an incompetent son, there wouldn’t have been a problem.’

Even I could tell that Cedar was the spitting image of Duke Granite. He didn’t resemble Lady Briar at all.

Being the youngest Swordmaster, his talent for swordsmanship must have been impossible to hide since childhood.

Grisha smiled grimly.

“Even knowing all that situation, I didn’t hate my elder brother. Because it wasn’t his fault. But the poisoning was different.”

“…Are you saying Cedar was involved too?”

My throat tightened and my heart pounded. Grisha met my eyes again.

“Is that curiosity about me, Nelly?”

Or…

I was confused, not knowing the answer myself, when Grisha suddenly pushed my body.

I fell back onto the bed with a thump.

After carefully arranging my hair and blanket, Grisha patted my arm with his palm.

“Go to sleep now. You’ll be tired tomorrow too.”

“Ah, okay.”

Grisha stood up. The door closed and I was left alone.

But sleep didn’t come. With wide-awake eyes staring into space, I bit my lip.

‘Cedar couldn’t have done that. There must be some misunderstanding.’

The Cedar Granite I knew wasn’t someone who would cover up an injustice if he knew about it.

I sighed regretfully and closed my eyes.

‘I wish the two of them could reconcile.’

Who was making me feel this regret?

Even I couldn’t answer that.

Grisha stood up and left Nelly’s room.

As soon as he came out, an unwelcome face was leaning against the wall with arms crossed. It was Cedar.

Why Cedar was standing in front of Nelly’s door. There was no need to ask the reason. Grisha’s lips twisted sardonically.

‘How ridiculous. Who’s protecting whom.’

Unpleasantness clouded his mind. How much do I cherish Nelly? How dare he think I would harm Nelly?

The face before him was utterly impassive.

Seeing those silver-gray eyes without a hint of wavering, Grisha impulsively opened his mouth.

“Not Nelly.”

“Grisha.”

Once the floodgates opened, the pent-up emotions poured out in an instant. Grisha reproached Cedar with deep resentment:

“Why did it have to be Nelly? You must have plenty of other women who like you. No, you don’t even need to choose. Why don’t you just marry whoever Lady Briar tells you to marry, like always?”

Grisha felt wronged. That man had taken Nelly’s husband’s place so casually, without even knowing Nelly’s worth.

When someone else had wanted it so desperately but couldn’t have it.

Cedar sighed through his nose. He had nothing to say about that.

“It was a coincidence. A complete coincidence.”

Just that he had been lucky.

That answer grated harshly on Grisha’s heart. That man was always like this.

He may have been born without his own will, but he was the eldest son of the ducal family and possessed outstanding talent.

Even the vassals who had been going on about bloodlines fell silent when they learned he was a Swordmaster.

‘Even if it’s a coincidence, this is too much.’

He had effortlessly taken away precious things one by one, and now he was snatching away Nelly too. Grisha spoke in a fierce tone:

“Get a divorce. You have no obligation to keep your promise to that woman, Diana Periway, anyway.”

Cedar rubbed his eyelids as if tired and replied:

“Her life is in danger right now. I have a duty to protect her until she’s safe.”

“Then hand that duty over to me.”

Grisha’s eyes gleamed as blue as a well-honed blade.

“She’s precious to me. Give her back.”

“…”

Cedar closed his mouth again.