Woke Up And I'm A Married Woman (17 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 8

‘So this person must be a knight as well.’

His build was far too impressive to merely be a butler.

‘Then, until Cedar comes to see me in person, I won’t have any reason to meet you. I really can make myself as comfortable as if this were my own home.’

The situation had become perfectly clear. I smiled faintly and spoke.

“Then please just pretend I’m not here. I’ll manage perfectly well on my own.”

“Huh?”

“You should return to the knighthood right away, shouldn’t you? Go quickly. Hurry.”

“Huh?!”

Hyle turned toward me with a bewildered expression, but I just kept smiling brightly and gently pushed him on the back.

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Even though his wife—whom he’d assumed would never open her eyes again—had awakened, Cedar’s life hadn’t changed much at all.

‘She really is a strange woman.’

Remembering Nelly, who had kept blurting out absurd things every time she spoke, Cedar twisted the corner of his mouth. Seeing Cedar’s smile, the knights nearby whispered among themselves.

‘Why’s the captain in such a mood today?’

‘No idea. What’s gotten into him?’

‘If you run into him on a day like this, you’re dead.’

Without anyone needing to say it aloud, they all quietly fled, carefully watching Cedar’s mood.

Time flew by in an instant, and soon it was a sweltering afternoon. Because their outdoor training sessions were long, they took a break from 2 to 4 p.m., when the sun was at its fiercest.

Cedar stepped out after washing off the dust and sweat from afternoon drills with cold water.

And right there, as if he’d been waiting, Hyle stood by the door, holding out a towel. Cedar glared at him.

“Why are you here?”

While Nelly didn’t know, Cedar had explicitly ordered Hyle to stay at the mansion all day and attend to her.

Already feeling guilty for seemingly disobeying that order, Hyle immediately let out a shrill, panicked excuse.

“I didn’t skip out on purpose! My lady told me to go!”

Hyle’s booming voice made the knights who had just finished washing up and were walking out turn to look.

“My lady?”

“…Huh.”

Hyle didn’t quite understand what he’d done wrong, but he clearly realized he’d upset Cedar. His face turned pale.

Grabbing Hyle by the scruff of his neck, Cedar’s expression hardened.

“You. Come here.”

Still shirtless, dripping water everywhere, Cedar strode down the corridor, dragging Hyle along. Everyone’s eyes followed them, and most shared the same thought.

‘He’s done for.’

‘Totally screwed.’

‘Not sure what happened, but he’s finished.’

Even Hyle himself thought so.

‘So today’s my last day in this world! But what did I even do wrong to suddenly make him this angry? Is it because I left Lady Nelly and came to the knighthood? But she told me to go!’

It was unfair, yet he couldn’t protest. Within the Azure Dragon Knights, Cedar Grenit’s word was law.

Yet Cedar still needed someone secretly assigned to care for his wife, and thus, Hyle’s life would be spared a little longer.

Shoving Hyle unceremoniously into his office, Cedar shot him a frosty glare and uttered just one phrase.

“You absolute fool.”

“I—I’m sorry! Really, truly sorry!”

Not even knowing what he’d done wrong, Hyle immediately prostrated himself in apology and cautiously peeked up at Cedar.

But Cedar, who had looked ready to throttle him on the spot, instead folded his arms and stared off elsewhere.

‘Huh? So he’s not going to take his anger out on me right now?’

More precisely, he seemed oddly distracted, his thoughts elsewhere.

‘He must be worried about my lady, right?’

Then why drag me into his office? If he were really that concerned, wouldn’t he urgently grill me for every detail about her?

‘He’s not the type to get so preoccupied he forgets what he wants to say.’

Though puzzled, Hyle supposed it wasn’t entirely unreasonable, given that Nelly had just awakened.

After all, love was known to transform people completely.

Swallowing hard, Hyle steeled himself and played his trump card.

“…My lady seemed lonely eating alone. She left me a note saying you were busy and couldn’t join her for dinner, and that she herself had no appetite, so she only ate half.”

Flinch!

Cedar’s broad shoulders twitched. Hyle’s eyes gleamed, having sharply noticed the reaction.

‘Ah-ha! There it is!’

Gathering courage, Hyle continued earnestly.

“Even after suddenly waking up and likely feeling disoriented, she still showed consideration for her servants—she truly has a kind heart.”

After a long pause, Cedar, still frowning, finally asked flatly,

“What did she do after that?”

“She kept moving between the second floor and other parts of the house.”

“And lunch?”

“She said she’d manage on her own. She also told me not to worry about her anymore going forward.”

“…”

For some reason, Cedar seemed irritated by her insistence on handling things herself. Hyle tilted his head.

“You did say you didn’t want anyone to know about my lady’s existence yet… But surely she misunderstood that, right?”

“It’s not a misunderstanding.”

“Huh? You really mean to keep her awakening a secret? Why?”

“Why do you need to know the reason?”

Cedar’s eyes held no warmth—only pure irritation. Hyle’s face twisted oddly.

‘Wait, he’s really keeping it a secret?’

The marriage between the Archmage Periway, who had fallen into a vegetative state, and the kingdom’s strongest Swordmaster had stirred major gossip throughout the realm.

Since Cedar would inherit the massive Grenit fortune, no one cared about Nelly’s own wealth.

Everyone had simply chattered excitedly about when these two had blossomed into such a romantic couple.

But not all rumors were favorable.

Just as someone had once asked if Cedar’s taste leaned toward sleeping women, unsavory whispers about him had quietly circulated.

‘If we announce my lady’s awakening now, those nasty rumors would vanish.’

Yet Cedar had decided to hide it.

‘Why on earth?’

After racking his brain from every angle, Hyle could only come up with one possible reason.

“My lady is certainly beautiful, but is she really so stunning that you’d go this far to keep her hidden? I’m just… not entirely convinced.”

“What?”

Even that earned him a fierce glare from Cedar, and Hyle instantly wilted.

He had no intention of provoking a beating. Bowing his head deeply, he stuck to his point.

“In any case, my lady wanted me to leave the mansion, so I did. It wasn’t my choice.”

“That woman really said that? That she prefers being alone?”

“Well, even if not, wouldn’t any woman feel uneasy being alone with a strange man in a mansion they’ve just woken up in?”

“Hmm.”

Hyle’s words deepened the furrow in Cedar’s brow. There had been only one reason Cedar never hired servants for his home.

‘If I bring people in, Mother will somehow recruit them to spy on my every move. I can’t stand that.’

Cedar hated being watched constantly.

That was why he’d moved out and kept not a single servant in the mansion—only calling on Hyle whenever necessary.

‘But perhaps this situation is difficult for her to adjust to.’

Now that he thought about it, Hyle had a point.

While Hyle was easy for him to manage, he might not be as comfortable for Nelly.

Misinterpreting Cedar’s internal struggle as typical newlywed anxiety, Hyle grinned cheekily and said with cheerful boldness,

“So you should just head home early and all that.”

“Nonsense.”

“Huh? Aren’t you dismissing my heartfelt advice a bit too harshly?”

About to protest in frustration, Hyle quickly shrunk back again at Cedar’s fierce glare. Cedar gave him a stern warning.

“My wife’s condition is to remain absolutely secret. Please, for once, keep that mouth of yours shut—before I personally stitch it closed for you.”

“Yes! Yes!”

After thoroughly intimidating Hyle, Cedar returned to his duties with the knighthood.

He needed to drill the knights even harder, as they’d soon be heading out on a monster-clearing mission.

But what on earth was this? While training the knights as usual, Nelly’s face kept drifting into his thoughts.

Her pale, almost translucent skin, her bright lemon-gold hair left unstyled, and her petite frame—so small he could easily lift her with one arm.

Though it was a face he’d long grown accustomed to, one new detail had now been vividly added to his memory:

her sparkling emerald-green eyes, shining like precious gems.

‘Damn it.’

If he’d known she’d haunt his thoughts like this, he shouldn’t have looked at her—not even to hear her complaints.

Now her face had become far too familiar for his own good.

Nelly’s image kept floating back to him like soap bubbles, and eventually, Cedar returned to his mansion earlier than usual.

And when he finally faced Nelly, he couldn’t help but ask,

“…What on earth are you wearing?”

Of course—this woman always exceeded every expectation.

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I couldn’t find the pantry, though I did locate the kitchen.

But even the kitchen held no food. Only the bare minimum of utensils were out.

As if anticipating I’d wander around looking for something to eat, a glass and water had been left on the dining table.

‘So he’s telling me to just drink water, then.’

I’ll definitely have to ask about the pantry tomorrow.

Though I don’t particularly enjoy eating, ever since collapsing during research at the academy, I’ve always kept emergency rations nearby.

[If you collapse like this again, Sister, I’ll just move into your room. I’ll assume you can’t take care of yourself.]

All thanks to Grisha.

‘I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to repay Grisha for this kindness.’

Thinking of Grisha made my expression droop automatically. My dear younger brother, Grisha.

‘He must be worried about me. Maybe he’s stuck waiting for my message and can’t do anything else.’

If our roles were reversed, I’d likely do the same.

After dwelling on Grisha for a moment, I quickly shook my head.

‘Grisha must know I’ll wake up soon. He’ll surely reach out first, so there’s no need for me to worry.’

It would be far riskier to recklessly go back to Baron Periway’s estate just to fetch the communication device Grisha had given me.