I opened my eyes, realizing that Diana would try to lure me into a trap somehow if she knew I was awake.
‘I have no choice but to trust Grisha.’
And even if that’s not the case, the inheritance will be passed on to me in a month. After that…
After that?
‘Oh?’
I blinked belatedly as I recalled something I hadn’t realized until now.
The reason for maintaining the marriage was that if I had a husband, the inheritance would go to Cedar even if I died. But.
‘Isn’t that the same as drawing Cedar into my life?’
If I maintained the marital relationship with Cedar even after inheriting the estate, Cedar would inevitably appear somewhere in my future.
‘Cedar said he needed a wife.’
Why does he need a wife? Judging by how he preferred a comatose wife, it seems he literally just needed the existence of a wife.
‘Then can I just maintain the marriage and go far away? From Cedar’s perspective, there wouldn’t be much difference between a sleeping wife and a wife who’s gone far away.’
I’ll have to have a serious talk with Cedar about that part when he comes.
‘Anyway, he said I could use the second floor as I please.’
I needed writing materials. After thoroughly searching every corner of the house, I was able to find an inkwell and a quill pen in a room on the first floor.
‘A pencil would be better, but well, not everything in the world can go my way.’
All I can do is hope that my hand, drawing a magic circle after so long, will follow my will.
Standing in the second-floor corridor, I dipped the quill pen generously in ink. Then I started drawing magic circles on the walls and floor.
It wasn’t anything special. It was a magic circle designed to gather a bit more magical power towards me, the kind that would be engraved in a magician’s room.
Magicians are sensitive to magical power, so they control the space by engraving such magic circles.
In my case, being even more sensitive, I need more complex magic circles than others.
‘Grisha used to say I was just like a cat marking its territory.’
With a pencil, mistakes could be corrected, but ink couldn’t be erased. I carefully drew each stroke.
How long did I concentrate like that? By the time I finished the magic circle, quite some time had passed.
“Phew.”
After staring at the completed magic circle, I fell backwards. My arms were trembling.
‘Even though my physical condition shouldn’t have changed at all, why do I feel so drained?’
As I lay there briefly pondering this, I soon found the answer.
It’s because there’s no Professor Galgu here!
[Can’t you work faster? How do you expect to get any sleep today?] [Miss Nelly is wasting my time right now.] [Shall I brew you a strong cup of Jerusalem artichoke tea?]“Aack!”
Recalling the kind of things the professors would say, I shuddered from the trauma and suddenly got up.
“Huff, huff, such scary people.”
They all really insisted I stay at the academy even after I received my magician certification.
‘Now I see, they were all trying to exploit my labor at a bargain price!’
Pretending to conduct a magician certification exam, and then suddenly declaring me an archmage. It’s fortunate I didn’t sign anything promising to dedicate myself to research at the academy.
“How could I ever set foot in that academy I graduated from again… Huh!”
As I was wiping cold sweat with my sleeve, I froze in shock. The clothes I was wearing were covered in ink stains.
‘Ah, of course, I was crawling around the corridor drawing magic circles while wearing white clothes.’
It’s fortunate the magic circle didn’t smudge.
I could tell it was working properly from the magical power swirling around like a cool autumn breeze.
‘Now that the magic circle is complete, I should change clothes and find something to eat.’
A beat later, my stomach growled.
But then another problem arose.
‘I don’t have any clothes.’
The comatose state due to magical power depletion literally stopped all functions of my body.
Not only did I not age, but all physiological activities were halted.
So I didn’t need clothes, but…
‘Still, not having even one set is too much.’
I can’t go around in ink-stained clothes. I tiptoed down to the lower floor.
‘I think I saw a room that looked like it might be used by a woman when I was looking for the pen.’
Even though I had been asleep for years, my brain still had excellent memory.
Without wandering, I quickly found the room with deep purple wallpaper and lacy curtains hanging abundantly, and opened the door.
Opening a hidden door on the inner wall of the bedroom, I found various dresses hanging in a built-in closet.
‘As expected. There are women’s clothes in this room.’
Stepping inside, I saw not only clothes hanging, but also lace-decorated hats and necklaces.
The quantity wasn’t excessive, just enough to change into after spending a night at this mansion. I frowned and muttered.
“Could this be a lover’s room?”
Cedar’s lover…
‘Well, it’s none of my business.’
I tried to imagine her face but quickly gave up. Diana’s face kept appearing in my mind.
‘This is a terrible prejudice. I’m transferring my personal grudge elsewhere right now.’
After admonishing myself like that, I chose the least flowy dress among those hanging in the closet.
‘I hope she won’t get angry that I’m wearing it?’
Even if she gets angry, it won’t matter. It’s beyond my control. If she has the personality to get angry over this, she’d probably get angry about me getting ink stains everywhere too.
Quickly coming to terms with reality, I swiftly unbuttoned my clothes. And then squeezed into the new dress.
‘Wait, how exactly do you put this on?’
Why are there so many buttons, and why so many ribbons? The fabric was so soft it just flowed down my body.
After several struggles, I managed to somehow look like I had put the dress on properly.
Exhausted just from that, I flopped down on a sofa visible as I was walking out of the room.
‘Ah, I should lie down for a moment until the dizziness passes.’
Lying on the sofa, I regretted not developing a magic spell that would automatically put clothes on.
And soon I regretted that regret again. There were too many settings that would need to be configured at the spell-casting stage to automatically put on clothes.
‘The magic would have to manifest differently depending on body type, and also vary according to the type of clothing…’
While thinking about such things, I dozed off at some point. And when I opened my eyes again.
‘The moon?’
A bright silver-gray moon was looking down at me.
Only after rubbing my bleary eyes with the back of my hand did I realize that this moon was one that could speak.
“…What’s with that appearance?”
It was also a moon that spoke very unpleasantly.
‘Did I unknowingly waste several more days?’
My head went blank for a moment seeing Cedar, who shouldn’t be visible to my eyes.
I was so surprised that I even wondered if I had momentarily fallen back into a comatose state.
Even in the midst of that, my lips moved just fine.
“What’s wrong with my appearance?”
“You’re wearing the clothes wrong.”
Cedar clicked his tongue and held out his large hand toward me. It was a hand like a wooden block with hard calluses.
‘Strange.’
When I took that hand, my hand felt excessively soft.
But before I could even register that softness, he yanked my hand forcefully and lifted my body.
Then, while neatly arranging my hair that had become tangled with the flowing dress, he nagged:
“To begin with, this dress is too big for you. You look like a child wearing her mother’s clothes.”
He tightly pulled the strings attached to the back of the waist. As the loose waist tightened, the dress naturally took shape.
‘No wonder the dress was flowing down so much.’
But isn’t his hand too natural at dressing someone? As I waved my sleeve that was so long it covered my entire hand, I blurted out:
“You must prefer voluptuous women.”
“Are you going on about preferences again?”
He frowned and chuckled lowly. Then stepping back from me again, he said:
“But you did well to take it out and wear it on your own. If you need anything, take it all from that room. You can even throw things away, it doesn’t matter.”
That statement was a bit strange. I tilted my head and asked:
“Isn’t it your lover’s room?”
At those words, Cedar’s forehead wrinkled again. He answered in a gruff voice:
“I don’t know what kind of man you take me for. According to you, I have a separate wife, and on top of that, a voluptuous lover who likes to sleep.”
“No, I naturally thought it was your lover’s clothes.”
In the house of a man living alone, neatly organized women’s clothes – wouldn’t anyone think they belonged to a lover?
I sighed and corrected myself. So this is:
“The clothes of your ex-lover then.”
“Why do you keep coming to that conclusion?”
“Because our husband is handsome?”
“Hand…”
Cedar’s lips twitched as if dumbfounded. Then he suddenly turned his head away. His ears were strangely red.
“Anyway, it’s nothing like that. Don’t just make assumptions as you please, make sure to check everything you think of with me.”
“How can you check thoughts? You’re worse than the professors.”
“It’s just for you. You who always has strange thoughts.”
“Pft.”
Me always having strange thoughts? That’s something I’ve never heard before.
As I puffed out my cheeks like a goldfish, I tilted my head.
“I thought you hardly ever came home, so why did you come today?”
At that, not just the tips of his ears but even his tanned nape turned red in an instant.
“…I’ll be going back then.”
Why is he reacting so excessively? Could it be that I hit the nail on the head and he’s flustered?
I pointed at him with my index finger and shouted:
“Ah, you came to check if I had escaped!”
“That’s not it, woman!”
Oh my. I thought he was red from embarrassment, but it seems he was red from anger.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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