Woke Up And I'm A Married Woman (17 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 6

“Absolutely not.”

“…Absolutely?”

Nelly straightened her back and spoke with confident composure.

“Absolutely, never, not even in a million years. Not the slightest bit do I wish to become your wife.”

“…”

Come on, did you really have to shut it down so bluntly?

His pride stung, Cedar pressed his back hard against the chair until it creaked and grumbled,

“Oh, I see. If you don’t have even a hair’s worth of interest, then why ask me to keep our marriage?”

“Because as long as I’m married to you, Diana won’t try to kill me.”

“You knew your sister was trying to kill you?”

“Of course. That’s precisely why I fell into a coma in the first place.”

‘She’s not as gullible as that woman claimed, is she?’

Cedar tilted his head. Nelly continued, her voice crisp and clear.

“If we’re married, killing me would pass my inheritance to you. So she wouldn’t bother trying to kill me.”

“What if I’m after your inheritance too?”

“Do you need it? Shall I give it to you? But if we remain married, it’ll become joint property anyway—so would you really need to?”

To Cedar’s half-teasing remark, she shot back as if ready to hand over all her wealth.

“You said you have so much money it’s rotting away, right? That’s exactly what I mean. Maybe start remembering what I say.”

“I do remember. My memory is quite good, actually. It’s just that in this case, there’s no trust to speak of.”

“You sure do chatter away confidently.”

Cedar felt deeply exhausted by this conversation with her—the problem was her unpredictable, bouncy replies.

If Diana’s greed was blatantly obvious, Nelly was utterly inscrutable.

Cedar asked in a disinterested tone,

“You don’t seem very attached to your inheritance. Instead of hiding behind me and giving yourself a headache, why not just give it to your sister?”

“I don’t want to.”

For the first time, Nelly’s expression hardened as she spoke firmly.

“If she hadn’t tried to kill me, maybe I would’ve given it to her. But Diana already killed me once. That ended our relationship for good.”

The word “killed” sounded slightly odd, but Cedar let it slide.

After all, someone truly dead couldn’t possibly come back to life.

“You don’t seem like the pushover people described.”

“Pushover?”

Pushover? Out of nowhere? Nelly tilted her head in confusion. Cedar just shrugged.

“I don’t particularly intend to maintain this marriage. If you want me to, you’ll have to offer better terms.”

Cedar pressed his fingers firmly into his eyes.

Seeing his indifference, Nelly’s expression flickered with anxiety for the first time. Fidgeting with her fingers, she made a pouty face.

“I can’t think of a good proposal to convince you. Does that mean we can’t stay married anymore?”

The moment her composure faltered, Cedar found himself intrigued once more.

With the lazy expression of a sleepy cat, he replied,

“Don’t give up. Think harder.”

“Then give me a hint.”

“I have no interest in your inheritance. So what do you think Diana Periway offered to get a contract marriage with me?”

Nelly found the answer immediately.

“Did you need a wife, perhaps?”

“Correct.”

“Wow!”

At Cedar’s answer, Nelly cheered like a child.

Having spent most of her life in the academy, she unavoidably had a simple streak.

“I’ll be a wonderful wife!”

Resting his chin in his hand, Cedar asked indifferently,

“What makes a wife wonderful?”

“One who pleases her husband?”

“My favorite kind of wife is one in a coma.”

At Cedar’s words, Nelly’s body flinched.

Her green eyes rolled nervously. After a brief moment of thought, she asked carefully,

“…Then can’t you just pretend I never woke up from my coma? You’re not planning to knock me out or half-kill me, are you?”

Amused by her absurd reply, Cedar couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

‘This woman is interesting.’

The irritation and embarrassment he’d felt at her unexpected awakening—contrary to his plans—had completely vanished.

[This is the timeline separator]

Though I’d awakened from a long slumber, I felt no sense of time having passed.

Naturally enough—because a coma from magical exhaustion was no different from time simply stopping.

‘So Grisha’s research worked after all.’

I just wiggled my fingers and toes out of curiosity.

Only the layers of accumulated mana faintly hinted at how long I’d been gone.

Yes, three years. Quite a long time, if you think about it.

I wondered if Grisha had received official mage certification from the academy by now. Three years seemed enough time for him to have become a proper mage.

‘This isn’t my house, so I don’t have the communication device Grisha gave me.’

I wanted to contact Grisha.

‘I suppose I’ll have to write a letter, then.’

In the end, the only option left was analog. I stayed silent and thought about the letter I’d send him.

‘…Grisha might faint backward when he reads this.’

A husband? Even after waking up, it sounded like madness, and even after a good night’s sleep, it still didn’t feel real.

I was a married woman—already nearly a full year into marriage.

That morning, after diligently touring the manor, I stared blankly at the man who’d come to invite me to breakfast.

Strong, prominent features; tanned, sun-darkened skin; tousled black hair that somehow looked both fitting and messy; and steel-gray eyes.

Cedar turned to look at me, broad shoulders spread wide enough that I could easily have ridden on them.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

He was precisely the husband Diana had assigned to me. I bit my lower lip.

‘I sensed he had an unusual aura—but to think it was Cedar Grenit.’

He was famous enough that even someone like me, buried in the academy for years, had heard of him.

The Grenit ducal family was an ancient, distinguished lineage whose founder was said to be a dragon.

Perhaps due to that, the family had produced an unusually high number of mages and sword mages.

But among them, Cedar Grenit stood apart.

He was one of only three Swordmasters in the empire—just as among many mages, very few became Archmages, not every sword mage could become a Swordmaster.

‘I remember how chaotic the academy was when he became a Swordmaster.’

Recalling that time, I frowned. It was the first time I’d seen professors from all disciplines unite so fervently.

[He’s not even of age yet, and he’s already a Swordmaster!] [We must analyze his magical circuits—they’re surely different from an ordinary person’s!] [Even though he’s a swordsman, there must be lessons in mana control we can learn!] [Dragon Heart! His ancestor was a dragon! There must be a secret in his heart!] [Professor of Monster Anatomy, please stay quiet! Surely you’re not suggesting we dissect the young lord of House Grenit!]

‘I really did survive well amidst those lunatics.’

Lost in memories of his Swordmaster promotion, I forgot to answer his question. Cedar’s gaze sharpened as he watched me.

“If you have something to say, just say it. I hate hesitation.”

I wasn’t hesitating at all.

I couldn’t very well say I’d been remembering how I stopped professors from demanding to dissect him, so I came up with a suitable reply.

“I was just looking around the manor. It’s very different from the academy.”

He was currently showing me around the estate.

A modest two-story building with a small garden—this was the home where Cedar Grenit and I lived.

‘“Modest” might be too generous—it’s more accurately described as humble. Even the Periway estate had a larger garden than this.’

My eyes drifted past the garden to the lonely-looking manor.

The building was as plain as could be, clearly made with no regard for aesthetics.

‘At least the inside was thoughtfully decorated.’

The interior was, at least, clean and neat.

Many oddities stood out, but what troubled me most was that we hadn’t encountered a single person while walking through the garden.

After crossing the garden—so small it felt pointless to walk around—we reentered through the front door, and I spoke to Cedar.

“Weren’t you about to become Duke Grenit? Yet you live in such a quiet place.”

Cedar’s reply came a beat late.

“…I dislike places with too many presences.”

I nodded readily.

‘As expected—Swordmasters must have exceptionally sharp senses.’

It made perfect sense, similar to how I was sensitive to mana.

“This is perfect for maintaining my coma.”

“You sure know how to talk.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

At my indifferent reply, Cedar’s brow furrowed. He’d meant it sarcastically, but I’d accepted it too cheerfully—he looked annoyed.

Even now, Cedar’s surroundings appeared slightly distorted to my eyes.

I could clearly sense the abundant mana contained within his body.

‘Now I understand why the professors were so excited about Cedar possibly having a Dragon Heart. With that much mana, he couldn’t possibly be an ordinary human.’

But wasn’t he unusually irritable for a dragon descendant?

‘Is his aggressiveness just part of being a Swordmaster?’

I couldn’t understand why every single word he spoke seemed deliberately provocative.

Was I just supposed to accept that as a Swordmaster’s natural disposition?

Even after passing through the entrance hall and the drawing room, we saw no one. I asked Cedar,

“Um, so which room will I be using?”

Cedar frowned. By now, his scowling face felt like his default expression.

“Didn’t I just show you your room a moment ago?”