Cedar was a very skilled hunter.

He clicked his tongue at my request to show me a live dark wolf, but before long he magically captured one.

“Here, this is the magic stone. I’ve kept my promise now, right?”

Even the large dark wolf, with its neck pinned under Cedar’s foot, whimpering, looked just like a big dog.

“Wow, wow. Wait a moment.”

I approached the dark wolf with sparkling eyes.

My goal was solely the magic stone on its forehead.

To see the magic stone up close, I wasn’t afraid of the warm breath of the dark wolf or its large teeth.

I looked at the magic stone and lightly touched it with a gust of wind created by magic.

It was an alternative I chose because touching it directly with my hand could cause an accident. The magic stone hit by the magical wind rang out loudly.

“It really looks like a heart. I can hear the throbbing pulse.”

My cheeks naturally flushed red at the fascinating discovery.

Cedar, who glanced at me in wonder, said in a gruff voice.

“Hurry up and take a look. Even for me, it’s not easy to hold down a magical beast without letting it move.”

“Grrrrrr.”

The dark wolf growled as if it wanted to bite my hand right away.

That was equally fascinating. I clapped my hands and exclaimed.

“It’s really big too. Anyone can see this isn’t an ordinary wolf.”

The sharp fangs looked as big as my palm. As I spread my hand to gauge the size, Cedar warned in a scary tone.

“Dark wolves have poison in their teeth. If you’re bitten, you’ll die, so don’t put your hand close.”

“As if I would touch it.”

“Even getting that close is already dangerous. You have no fear.”

At those words, I whistled and pretended not to hear. Rather than fearless, please say I was blinded by curiosity.

‘But poison in the teeth!’

I only knew of snakes as animals with poison in their teeth.

Wondering if the teeth looked like a snake’s, I looked around, but apart from being enormously large, there was nothing particularly special about them.

‘If there’s poison, there must be poison glands, so does it have a different oral structure from wolves?’

Forming various hypotheses, I asked Cedar.

“Is the poison very dangerous?”

“I told you it’s deadly. There was a member who had to have his arm amputated even though Jack, a skilled healer, immediately performed healing magic.”

“Is it fatal to you too?”

“……”

“Cedar?”

He had been answering promptly, but this time he didn’t respond. I tilted my head with a puzzled expression.

Cedar was looking down at me with an absurd expression.

“You’re not suggesting I experiment with my body to see if even a Sword Master dies from the poison, are you?”

Ah, so that’s how it sounded.

I realized that in my excessive enthusiasm for observing magical beasts, I had failed to consider Cedar’s feelings.

“No, no matter how curious I am, I wouldn’t do such an experiment.”

But once I realized that the person before me was a Sword Master, an even rarer being than magical beasts, various questions came to mind.

I held my chin and narrowed my eyes.

“But I can somewhat understand the professor who wanted to dissect you. I’m curious how a Sword Master’s heart works. If poison spreads, we could learn how it differs from a normal person’s heart, right?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Cedar’s face darkened.

He answered in a disgruntled tone, covering his body with his arms as if protecting himself from me like he’d encountered a pervert.

“……It seems you just casually said something terrible.”

“I said I understand a little, just a little. I don’t really mean I’d actually experiment.”

“That’s what’s terrible, you know.”

Cedar sighed and swung his sword.

Clang!

The magic stone hit by the tip of Cedar’s sword shattered like glass. The dark wolf let out a death cry and collapsed on the ground.

Its breath had ceased. And around its corpse, black smoke began to rise faintly.

‘So this is magical energy.’

I thought there would be a foul smell, but surprisingly there was no smell at all.

As I observed the magical energy intently, I shook my head.

“Hmm, it seems similar to mana. But I’ve never seen how mana escapes when something dies, so I can’t be certain.”

At those words, Cedar flinched again and became wary of me.

“Not me. Don’t even think about it.”

“I said I won’t. Who do you take me for, a murderer? Besides, even if I tried to kill you, you wouldn’t die, would you?”

“So you’ve thought about attacking me?”

“I said I haven’t!”

Even though I denied it loudly, Cedar seemed to have already concluded that I wanted to dissect him.

He put his hand on my shoulder and earnestly implored.

“After I die of natural causes, you can take out my heart. I’ll allow that much. And that’s a big concession. I don’t like the idea of being cut up even as a corpse.”

I understand he’s made a big decision. If our positions were reversed, I absolutely wouldn’t want to be dissected after death either.

‘Still, I’d rather decline such a resolution.’

And it’s impossible in the first place, so I don’t know why he’s agonizing over it. I chuckled.

“You’ll probably live three or four times longer than me, so you’re worrying unnecessarily.”

“That’s uncertain. You might live much longer than me.”

“Just looking at past records, there should be many cases of Sword Masters living longer than Grand Mages.”

“……”

Cedar fell silent, at a loss for words. He must know it too.

Since becoming a Sword Master, his body has been aging noticeably slower than others.

‘It’s as miraculous as magic that when the human body surpasses its limits, it becomes free from the constraints of time.’

But unfortunately, such miracles don’t happen to mages. I smiled broadly.

“That’s fortunate for you. You don’t have to worry about me attacking you.”

It was half-joking, but Cedar didn’t know how to laugh.

Rather, he wore an even more serious expression. I tilted my head, not understanding why he was acting like this.

Cedar put on a solemn expression.

“This won’t do. I’ll have to manage your health from now on.”

What!

“Ah, that’s not necessary! Health management! That’s not your job!”

Cedar’s nagging was already overflowing.

If he tries to make me even healthier from here on, it was clear that I, who had neglected my health all my life, would never be able to keep up.

But Cedar was adamant as well.

“To declare that you can’t live long on your own, I can’t just leave you be. This isn’t just me, any decent human would do the same.”

“That can’t be……”

Then were all the people who had crossed my path until now not decent? Well, it’s true that there were no decent professors at the academy.

After all, they were people who told even their seven-year-old disciples that they were researchers before being children.

“What are you going to manage?”

For now, let’s hear what he plans to do.

‘Maybe Cedar’s health management that he wants to impose on me is much more moderate than I’m imagining?’

Of course, Cedar betrayed my expectations.

“I’ll make you eat more vegetables and exercise. After seeing you today, I definitely need to teach you horseback riding. That way you won’t have to ride in front of other men.”

I felt a bit wronged at his words. I had wanted to ride in front of Cedar.

It was Cedar himself who pushed me away and sent me to Jack’s horse.

Now using that excuse to try to make me learn horseback riding didn’t make sense.

‘I was so upset about that.’

Even now, thinking about the confusion I felt then dampened my mood. I crossed my arms and asked in a peevish tone.

“Is nagging your hobby? Why do you care about my health?”

“Well, because I’m your husband. Your health is closely related to my life.”

“You mean contract husband. After thoroughly ignoring me all day, it’s strange that you’re now pretending to be a normal husband.”

For the first time in my life, I experienced the strange phenomenon of being upset by my own words.

‘What is this?’

Until now, my world had been clear. Good things were good, bad things were bad. Facts didn’t ruin my mood.

But strangely, the fact that Cedar Granite was just my contract husband made me uncomfortable.

‘Why?’

And I had felt this confusion when Cedar avoided my gaze earlier too.

Even though I knew he wasn’t in a situation to fully take care of me and accept me, I felt disappointed that he didn’t do so.

It felt like my emotions and reason were running in opposite directions.

‘Why don’t my emotions and thoughts align?’

In fact, the answer was within me.

It may be my first time experiencing it, but there are many records of when humans act completely irrationally.

That is.

“……It was actually jealousy.”

“What?”

At the unexpected words, I turned to Cedar with my mouth open in a round shape.

Cedar’s tanned face was faintly reddened. His cheeks, earlobes, and even around his eyes.

His silver-gray eyes, rippling like a lake, gazed straight at me.

“The reason I’ve been sulking since morning, it’s because I was jealous.”

“Why would you be jealous……”

“You’re supposed to be a genius, don’t you know even that?”

Unlike usual, he smiled weakly and let out a dejected laugh.

“Because I’ve come to like you.”

Cedar clearly remembered Princess Aristella, Grisha’s mother.

She was an elegant, dignified, and splendid woman who suited the title of princess more than duchess.

When he was staying quietly, almost in hiding, with Lady Briar in the annex, there were no occasions to encounter Princess Aristella.

But after Cedar showed talent in swordsmanship, he had to learn in the main house, so he inevitably had to face her.

That day was one of those days.