‘Why am I acting like this?’

His mind was in chaos. Cedar looked up at Nelly.

Instinctively, he gazed at the source of the problem to find the answer to a question he didn’t understand.

“Excuse me, husband.”

Just then, Nelly was rising from her seat. The straw hat she had found and put on at home was too big for her small head, swaying this way and that.

Her long hair, as if spun from fine gold thread, fluttered in the wind like a cloak.

‘Her hair should probably be cut a bit shorter. It’s too long for her build.’

A bob cut would make her look more lively. It would suit her quirky personality well too.

‘What? It would suit her?’

Cedar, who had been thinking this absent-mindedly, suddenly came to his senses.

What does it matter if it suits her or not! Why should he care whether it suits her in the first place!

‘I must be really going crazy.’

This is all because of the distance that has become too close. Cedar spoke in a stiff tone to Nelly, who was trying to toddle towards him.

“I think I told you to just sit there and open your mouth only if I have something for you to do.”

“…Hic, hiccup!”

Although he hadn’t particularly infused it with killing intent or given any pressure, Nelly seemed scared and started hiccuping again.

Covering her mouth with her small hands and curling up in her seat, she looked just like a fluffy chick.

‘Cute.’

Why is everything about that woman so small? Her face, hands, feet. There wasn’t a single large thing attached to her.

She was so thin and small that if he, with his strength, held her tightly, she might break. It seemed like he should place her on his palm and carry her around like a small bird.

Cedar, who had been staring as if entranced at the small hands moving about, suddenly came to his senses.

‘Cute, my foot!’

To be thinking such thoughts, his head must surely be broken.

Cedar pulled out the hoe stuck in the ground. This was all happening because he was doing work that didn’t suit him.

‘I need to finish this quickly.’

Once the unfamiliar task was gone, his mind would regain its composure too. Thinking this, Cedar moved his body diligently.

Although he lacked skill, his strength was twice that of others, so the furrows were made in an instant.

After sweating, his body somehow felt lighter. Cedar looked down at the field he had cultivated, holding the hoe.

At that moment, a very small voice carefully called out to him.

“Um, excuse me.”

It was that woman he had been trying hard not to be conscious of. Cedar asked back in a deliberately gruff tone.

“What? Do you have something else for me to do?”

He had just turned around, but she startled like a bird.

Then, flapping her two hands weakly like a chick’s wings, she shouted.

“I, I absolutely did not think it was strange or anything like that!”

Dumbfounded, Cedar opened his mouth.

“…Strange? Me?”

“Ah, no! I’m saying you’re not strange!”

She says that, but she must have thought it was strange. Otherwise, there’s no way those words would have burst out first.

But this situation itself was shocking to Cedar.

‘A strange woman is telling me that I’m strange instead.’

Nelly was the person Cedar had consistently thought was the strangest woman he had ever met.

She didn’t even know how to wear clothes properly, didn’t know the pleasure of eating, and had no thought of relying on him, that Cedar Granite, even though he was right beside her.

He really thought she was a strange woman.

‘How did it come to this?’

At first, he had decided to maintain this relationship simply because he disliked the hassle.

His marriage to a grand magician in a vegetative state was already quite noisy as a marriage itself, and divorce would surely be more complicated than that.

He needed a wife who wouldn’t perform the role of a wife, and since Nelly herself offered to pretend to be in a vegetative state, he thought it was a relationship that perfectly matched their interests.

‘But can this current situation simply be called a contractual relationship to prevent hassle?’

Personally preparing three meals a day, eavesdropping on her breathing at night and holding her hand when she has nightmares, getting startled when she’s sick and using even unused vacation days to personally nurse her?

‘It’s not. Anyone can see that the line has been crossed.’

As if striking his head, the words Hail had uttered earlier brushed past his ears.

[Love is truly a great thing, isn’t it.]

At that time, he couldn’t even imagine it was being said to him and had let it slide, but now he realized it was meant for him.

The moment he realized this fact, Cedar’s slate-gray eyes shook in disarray.

‘There’s absolutely no way.’

Love, me? Me, who married a woman in a vegetative state because I was tired of being pressured to get married?

It’s not that he had made up his mind to never marry. As he lived, a woman who could shake his heart might come along.

‘At least not now.’

At this moment when nothing was sorted out, even if love came, it wouldn’t be welcome.

Cedar raised his head. Light green eyes like freshly sprouted buds were twinkling brightly, gazing at him.

They were childlike eyes, devoid of any emotion like affection or fondness. Cedar bit his lip.

Moreover, when the other person has no feelings for me. The very thought of having such thoughts alone felt sinful.

A red light went off in his head. The moment he thought he should stop, his lips parted and words flowed out smoothly.

“For the time being…”

“Yes?”

“I think I’ll be busy for a while.”

Leaving those words behind, Cedar left the mansion as if fleeing.

His mind was in a mess, like yarn tangled in all directions. Amidst that, the sound of his heart beating as if about to burst reverberated chaotically inside his body.

‘Just when did it seep in like this.’

It was indeed a mistake to let someone into his home for any reason.

Cedar thought he should keep his distance for now. At least until he could sort out what his own emotions were.

[This is the timeline separator]

Upon learning that Nelly might have awakened from her vegetative state, Diana urgently sent a letter requesting a visit to the Granite ducal family.

But the replies that came back were all polite refusals.

“Why on earth!”

The reason the Granite ducal family refused Diana’s visit was simple.

Cedar, in rebellion against his mother, the Duchess Granite, was staying at a mansion attached to the Blue Dragon Knights rather than at the Granite ducal residence.

And the Duchess Granite, thinking this was shameful, was desperately trying to hide it.

If she had sent a letter to the Blue Dragon Knights instead, Cedar would have sent some kind of reply.

But Diana, unaware of this fact, could only bite her nails in frustration.

“This won’t do. I’m anxious. I’ll have to go see for myself.”

Diana dressed up beautifully and headed to the Granite ducal residence. She calculated that if she visited in person, they wouldn’t turn her away at the door.

But contrary to her thoughts, Diana couldn’t even pass through the main gate of the Granite ducal residence.

“Nelly Periway is my sister! I want to see my sister!”

“As I’ve said, an important guest is coming today, so it’s not possible! The madam ordered not to let anyone in!”

“Does it make sense to not even allow me to see my own sister?”

“In any case, it’s not possible today. Please go back!”

Diana didn’t give up easily, but in the face of the gatekeeper’s stern attitude, she had no choice but to retreat.

And there were eyes watching Diana’s carriage as it left, almost as if being chased away.

“…The house seems to be in an uproar.”

It was a man with long black hair reaching his shoulders, loosely tied.

Though lean, he was tall with broad shoulders, so he didn’t give off a weak impression.

Facing him, the Duchess Granite, Briar, answered with an awkward smile.

“I refused all guests, but it seems someone impolite has come again.”

“Why did you refuse guests? You could have proceeded as usual.”

At his polite but cold tone, Lady Briar tightened her grip on the fan she was holding.

It made a creaking sound, but the fan didn’t break.

Yet, a bright smile never left her face. She was a woman who had risen from a mere maid to a duchess solely on her beauty.

She knew well what expression made her look most beautiful.

“I heard you were coming, how could I not, Grisha.”

The man facing his stepmother, who had been a maid and then usurped his own mother’s position, didn’t even offer a courteous smile.

Only the servants watching the two from a step back exchanged anxious glances.

It was the return of Grisha, the legitimate son and second son who had long been away from the Granite ducal family.

[This is the timeline separator]

Cedar decided to stay away from Nelly for a while to get a grip on his unsettled heart.

But where else could he go after leaving home?

In the end, his steps led him to the Blue Dragon Knights, where he had declared to Hail that he would use another week of leave.

It should have been a time for diligent training, but strangely, the knights were buzzing with chatter.

‘Has discipline loosened again because I’m not here?’

Cedar hardened his face and deliberately made noise with his footsteps as he entered.

“Why is it so noisy here again?”

“Commander!”

But those who should have been startled and mindful of his mood, instead of being cautious, rushed towards him and spoke loudly.

“Did you know that Sir Jack is an elf?”

“An elf?”

What nonsense is this now?

Cedar frowned and turned to look at Jack, who had been surrounded by knights until he arrived.

Jack was sheepishly scratching his cheek with his finger. Cedar tilted his head.

“I knew he wasn’t human, but an elf?”

But what’s an elf? Cedar frowned at the unfamiliar race name.

‘Do these guys all know and are buzzing about it?’

It was natural not to know, as it had been over a hundred years since elves were last discovered by humans.