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Chapter 12
Love-Sick Vanguard
‘When I let myself daydream, even the wine tastes sweet.’
Life truly is beautiful. Not other people’s lives—just mine.
‘Here’s to Diana Periway—beautiful, clever, and blessed with luck.’
With that thought, Diana downed her champagne.
She used to resent being born to such useless parents, but in the end, fate had been on her side.
Because she was given an idiot sister who would disappear leaving behind a massive inheritance.
‘If I could, I would’ve kept even her corpse by my side just to keep an eye on it. But that man said no.
What kind of nonsense is it to refuse the role of a wife, but insist she must live in his house because she is one?’
Calling her sister a corpse even though she wasn’t dead yet, Diana pouted her lips.
That’s when a familiar name rang in her ears.
“Did you hear the news? The Changryong Knights wiped out the monsters in the Nemer Mountains.”
“As expected of Sir Cidar Granite. The best knight in the country.”
They were talking about her sister’s husband—her own brother-in-law, Cidar Granite.
Cidar Granite. The youngest Swordmaster in the nation’s history.
The eldest son of the Ducal House of Granite, said to be descended from the dragon who aided the first Emperor at the founding of the Empire.
Diana had only met him in person once—when she begged him to enter into a contract marriage with her sister Nelly.
Remembering his handsome face and the aura of ascetic discipline he carried, her lips grew dry.
‘Cidar Granite is far too good for a wretch like my sister. The fact he’s an illegitimate son is a bit of a snag, but… well, he’s not illegitimate anymore.’
Even a noble-born bastard, upon reaching the rank of Swordmaster, would be granted a title and fief.
Becoming a Swordmaster is that difficult a feat, and they are that valuable to the nation.
Since he achieved it at such a young age, inheriting the ducal seat of Granite was already guaranteed.
As soon as the ailing Duke Granite passed away, Cidar would succeed him.
‘A Duke of Granite—that suits me. His one failed marriage is a blemish, but I know better than anyone that nothing happened between him and Nelly.’
Just thinking of Cidar made her body tingle with excitement.
Diana shivered at the thought of a future with him—a future that had never been discussed with Cidar at all.
‘I’ll have to tie up loose ends and ask him to marry me. Last time, he looked like the type who couldn’t resist if I pushed boldly enough. And really, is there a man in this Empire who could refuse a woman as beautiful as me?’
Wearing a confident smile, Diana looked up at the sky.
She felt no fear of her parents watching from somewhere up there.
She believed, without a doubt, that they would want her, not stupid Nelly, to live happily ever after.
‘If only this month would hurry up and pass, so the inheritance can finally be mine.’
With that thought, she drained her champagne glass in one go.
Diana Periway’s assumption wasn’t entirely wrong.
The seemingly unshakable Cidar Granite was, in fact, being mercilessly swayed by the bold persistence of a certain young lady.
The only thing was—
that young lady wasn’t Diana.
It had been quite some time since Nelly had awakened from her comatose state.
Which meant it had also been quite some time since Cidar, once accustomed to eating with his knights, had started taking all three meals a day at the mansion.
Over twenty meals a week.
That routine alone had changed Cidar Granite—
and in a completely unexpected way.
Haile, wearing a pink frilly apron, kneaded dough beside Cidar and shook his head.
“I never knew Sir Cidar was such a romantic. I thought we were lucky enough if you didn’t yell at Madam—let alone say kind words.”
Who would’ve thought he’d actually knead dough himself to bake bread for her meals?
‘And he doesn’t even seem to realize what he’s doing.’
Haile looked pitifully at Cidar, who was focused on pounding the dough with grim determination. Cidar scowled fiercely as he shot back:
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“…Shall I bring you a mirror?”
“What the hell are you saying?”
“Never mind. Talking to you is pointless.”
Haile knew love had the power to transform people.
But Cidar Granite? The man who never budged no matter how many beauties tried?
‘Honestly, I thought he married Madam because she was comatose—easy to deal with, quiet, no trouble.’
As someone who had served Cidar up close for years, Haile knew better than anyone—
this was a man who never gave his heart easily.
But ever since Nelly woke, Haile had started to doubt his own convictions.
Wait. Could it be… he really likes her?
‘Come to think of it, when Madam first woke up, he didn’t even want people knowing, in case other men tried to hit on her.’
Cidar had never said so outright, but Haile had interpreted it that way. He nodded to himself.
‘Love is amazing. It makes even a Swordmaster see through rose-colored glasses. Under love, nothing else matters.’
Still, having to knead dough every meal made him doubt life choices.
Haile plopped the dough into a bowl, covering it with a plate, and muttered:
“What are you, a chef now? Why are you working so hard at cooking?”
“It’s all because of that woman!”
Satisfied with the dough’s elasticity, Cidar suddenly snapped, slamming it down onto the board.
He grumbled as he pounded it with his thick arms.
“She said she only ever lived on boiled eggs, but now she’s such a picky eater. She won’t touch bread that’s too coarse or has grains in it—says it hurts her jaw. If chewing feels like a bother, she’d rather starve! Can you believe that?!”
‘I can. You could just hire a cook.’
That’s what Haile thought, but really it all came down to one thing: Cidar loved his wife too much.
‘But why am I stuck doing this too?’
Bread had to rise for hours to bake properly, so the kitchen was filled with bowls of dough at varying stages of fermentation.
At this rate, it was devotion itself—fresh bread every single meal.
Not even the Emperor was treated this well.
And it wasn’t just bread. Cidar had taken to cooking other dishes too.
Haile sighed, shaking his head.
“Right, right. So now you’re cooking everything to match Madam’s tastes. You’re the same man who used to beat knights bloody with your scabbard if they dared complain about food.”
“What else can I do? I’d rather she put on some weight! Right now, there’s not even anywhere to grab!”
Cidar’s genuine frustration only made Haile’s eyes glaze over like a dead fish.
He replied in a flat, emotionless voice:
“Yes, yes, of course. My apologies. I should’ve remembered—when couples flaunt their love, outsiders shouldn’t comment.”
“What flaunting? Where’s the flaunting here?! Don’t you hear my suffering?!”
“Yes, yes. Love-sick vanguard.”
What husband fussed like this? Not even a father with a newborn daughter would prepare meals this obsessively.
Still, Haile didn’t exactly hate it.
The knights of the Changryong Order were delighted, since their commander was no longer hovering over them twenty-four seven. Watching his antics was also entertaining.
But there was one thing Haile simply couldn’t understand.
“If you care for Madam this much, why keep her recovery a secret? Don’t you want to show her off to the world?”
Yes—why hadn’t Cidar told anyone that Archmage Nelly Periway had awoken?
‘Maybe he really does think every man who meets her will fall head over heels.’
As far as Haile knew, Cidar had never dated.
He’d grown up surrounded only by men, training as a knight from childhood.
The Granite household was notoriously closed-off; their order had no female knights at all.
So marriage aside, Nelly was likely the first woman he had ever properly dealt with.
‘But Madam’s been awake for a while now! I’ve looked her in the eyes plenty of times myself, and I didn’t fall for her!’
Shouldn’t that delusion have broken by now?
Once the subject came up, words poured out of Haile like a floodgate bursting.
Like a mother-in-law badgering her son-in-law, he pressed on:
“I told you, Madam is pretty, but she’s not some unparalleled beauty! A sound mind resides in a sound body. Snap out of it and live a normal life. And the first step to normal life is announcing your wife to the world, you married man!”
The words flowed so smoothly it was almost impressive.
‘After saying this much, Captain will explode. He never tolerates subordinates overstepping.’
Haile watched him anxiously, thinking:
‘Come back to your senses already, you fool. Let’s live like normal people again!’
After all, two elite warriors fussing in the kitchen like housewives was absurd.
Hire a chef!
‘I wielded a sword to hold a blade, not a kitchen knife.’
