‘Diana is coming to visit?’

I wonder what kind of story that child will tell me when she comes.

‘She’ll probably try to take me to her house somehow. If she wants to kill me, it needs to be somewhere she can easily destroy the evidence.’

Or she might bring poison from the moment she arrives.

She’s probably calculating that if I die in Cedar’s house, she’ll have an alibi.

‘Either way, she’s going to try to kill me.’

I will remember Diana’s face mocking me as I was dying for the rest of my life.

And as long as I remember that image, the day I understand that child’s feelings will never come.

“I don’t want to weaken my resolve, so I have no intention of meeting her. Even if she comes, I’ll send her back and won’t open the door.”

Cedar’s eyes narrowed. He asked again as if trying to probe my true feelings.

“Don’t you want to hear what circumstances there might be?”

“Whatever the circumstances, that child has crossed the line. I don’t want to hear it. I’m not curious either.”

And there probably aren’t any such circumstances anyway.

‘She already bluntly said she covets my inheritance.’

My resolute answer seemed to pique Cedar’s interest instead.

The man who usually just nodded along appropriately was persistently continuing the conversation about Diana today to the point of being annoying.

“But she’s still family. Can relationships really be cut off so easily as you say?”

“I have to try. Otherwise, my life could be cut off instead.”

“You’re tougher than I thought.”

I wonder what on earth he thinks of me.

I wanted to retort that I’m not foolish enough to be deceived by my younger sister, but since I had already nearly died once, I just kept my mouth shut.

[This is the timeline separator]

As we walked quietly for a moment, we arrived at the garden attached to the side of the main gate.

“So this is the garden. I expected it, but it’s so bleak!”

The garden was tidy because a gardener came once a week. There were no weeds sticking out, and the trees were neatly trimmed.

But that was all. Not a single flower was planted, and there was no sign of any arrangement or attempt to cultivate the garden.

‘As expected! Someone with his personality wouldn’t care about a garden. He just left it as is since it was already there.’

The Empire has a few very strange laws, one of which is the garden management law.

If you don’t mow the lawn in your garden, your neighbors can report you, and the fine is quite high.

Even if it’s your own garden, legally the owner has an obligation to keep the garden tidy.

So Cedar hiring a gardener to at least cut the grass once a week was just fulfilling his duty.

‘Not a shred of affection can be felt. Good, good.’

It’s much better than having plants the homeowner likes planted all over, which would require me to negotiate with him.

As I smiled brightly while looking at the desolate garden, wrinkles formed on Cedar’s forehead.

“Why are you smiling so widely?”

“The less importance the garden holds in your heart, the more freely I’ll be able to use it.”

“You’re subtly sharp.”

He’s been using the expression “subtly” repeatedly, but at this point, isn’t it that you lack discernment in judging people?

I smiled brightly and politely asked him.

“May I decorate this garden as I please, husband?”

I just called him husband to mean that you’re the owner of this house, and I need your permission, but Cedar’s face crumpled up much worse than before.

Cedar grumbled, twisting his lips.

“I told you to drop that unfunny title. Just call me Cedar.”

“I said I’m too shy to do that.”

“Why is your standard for shyness like that?”

“Emotions are subjective, so don’t force it.”

Isn’t there such a thing as people who feel more shy about calling someone by their name in this world? And what’s important is not how we address each other.

I tugged on his sleeve and urged him.

“Hurry up and answer. Can I cultivate the garden? I can’t say I’ll make it beautiful. Some of the herbs magicians grow scream on their own or eat insects.”

As I was speaking, this thought occurred to me.

Wouldn’t you get reported for growing something like mandrake in a normal home? No, right?

‘I think some poisonous plants that shouldn’t be grown in homes will be mixed in.’

There’s a saying in this world. Anything goes if you don’t get caught!

Whether it’s poisonous plants or whatever, there’s no problem as long as you don’t get caught.

It’s not like I’m growing them to kill someone, just to make useful magic potions for daily life.

‘But if it becomes an issue, it becomes a problem, right?’

And the first hurdle was the man in front of me. Cedar was lost in thought with his arms crossed.

That appearance made it seem like he was gauging whether I would engage in legal cultivation activities, making my heart pound unnecessarily.

‘It can’t be. It won’t be. Don’t be suspicious.’

I tried to put on the most harmless expression possible.

It’s the expression magicians commonly make before causing trouble, and among fellow magicians, they tend to be wary when the other person makes this expression, but Cedar wouldn’t know that fact.

Cedar, who had been lost in some thought for a while, tilted his head slightly.

I thought he was going to ask what kind of herbs I would grow, but the question that flowed from his mouth was quite unexpected.

“Can’t you make a potion for living longer?”

“Pardon?”

A potion for living longer?

‘Swordmasters live an average of 200 years.’

Then how long does the man in front of me want to live to be asking for a potion to live longer? Is he thinking of becoming immortal?

‘Swordmasters don’t even age much, right?’

I couldn’t understand why he wanted such a potion, so I tilted my head in turn.

Cedar’s face turned bright red as our eyes met. He turned his body and answered in a gruff tone.

“…You’re right. I’m not interested in things like gardens, so do as you please. The gardening tools should be in that shed over there. Tell Hail if you need any seedlings, seeds, or cuttings, and he’ll get them for you. I’ll tell the gardener not to come anymore from now on.”

The process was a bit strange, but it was ultimately the answer I wanted. I smiled brightly.

“Wow, thank you!”

Instead of answering, Cedar waved his hand and walked towards the mansion.

[This is the timeline separator]

The woman with golden curly hair looked up at him with her small fists clenched tightly and said,

[Hurry up and answer. Can I cultivate the garden?]

Although she was trying to look forceful, with her eyes focused and plump lips pursed, she didn’t seem intimidating at all.

Her light green eyes were like fresh buds just sprouting on trees in spring.

The slender line from her delicate neck to her narrow shoulders was graceful and fragile-looking.

Cedar frowned.

‘Honestly, it’s irritating.’

He had never even imagined having a wife. But it’s clear he had never vaguely imagined a wife like the woman in front of him either.

Not just as a wife, but even expanding the range to friends or just acquaintances, there was no one like Nelly around Cedar.

Small, fragile, and yet thinking herself strong.

[Magicians originally have short lifespans.]

She seems timid, yet she blurts out things like this so readily.

Cedar bit his lower lip. He couldn’t explain why, but when she talked about her lifespan, an unpleasant feeling suddenly filled his heart.

That was the same when she talked about family.

‘She’s really an irritating woman in every way.’

It’s because of her eccentricity that he, uncharacteristically, keeps looking after someone else’s meals. Except for mealtimes, she truly didn’t come down from the second floor even once.

Even when Cedar was staying at the mansion in the evening, she could have come down at least once to talk.

As if she had no interest in Cedar Granite at all.

Now he was at the point of being confused about what he wanted.

He thought it would be better to leave her alone, but now he feels hurt by her indifference.

Listening for footsteps going between the first and second floors after returning home had become part of daily life.

Taking care of a woman who seemed like she wouldn’t even eat if left alone had now become a natural routine.

But now the garden?

‘I don’t like the idea of her range of activities expanding.’

Can she even do garden work with those thin arms to begin with? It doesn’t seem like she could even hold pruning shears or a shovel.

Nelly’s green eyes were sparkling, full of confidence as if she could obviously do it well. Cedar swallowed a bitter laugh internally.

‘All talk. She doesn’t even know what kind of dreams she has every night.’

Even now, Cedar often visited her bedroom at night, just like when Nelly was in a trance-like state.

If before it was just a feeling of wanting to talk to her on nights when he didn’t want to be alone, now it was solely for her sake.

Nelly sometimes screamed or cried at night. The content was mostly about her sister.

[Diana.] [It’s too much. Why are you trying to kill me? I truly liked you.]

Then, when Cedar grasped her hand tightly, her breathing would become peaceful as if the nightmare had disappeared.

At first, Cedar felt uncomfortable secretly entering a sleeping woman’s room, but now he was keeping his ears perked up for her sake.

‘It seems it would be easier to just get rid of the cause of her nightmares.’

Rather than comforting her like this at night, wouldn’t killing Diana Periway or chasing her to another country be more helpful in stabilizing Nelly’s mind?

That was the context for talking to Nelly about Diana earlier to the point of being spiteful.

He wanted to confirm what Nelly’s feelings towards Diana were.