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Chapter 17
Seeping In
‘No need to worry that she’ll miss her sister. Maybe I should just cut things off cleanly.’
Cedar, whose eyes had glinted sharply, suddenly realized he was once again overstepping into someone else’s affairs.
‘Ha… I’m going crazy. What’s wrong with me?’
He wanted to punch himself. Get a grip!
But the moment he looked at little Nellie—so tiny, like a baby squirrel—his composure began to fade again.
‘How could anyone not worry about that woman? She’s so small, clueless about the world, can’t even sleep alone at night…’
And on top of that, her lifespan was said to be short.
She’d spent her life buried in research at the academy, never even enjoying good food, only to die young.
Suddenly, the woman before him seemed unbearably pitiful.
So uncharacteristically, Cedar blurted out whatever came to mind.
[Can’t you make some kind of medicine that helps people live longer?]
And the moment Nellie’s eyes widened in surprise, he realized his mistake.
If extending life with medicine were possible, this world would be full of immortals.
More importantly—
‘And what am I even planning to do if she does live longer?’
Their marriage was built on anything but love—convenience, circumstance, mutual benefit—but married they were, nonetheless.
Cedar was a swordmaster who could defy even death and time.
‘This sounds like I’m saying, “Since I’ll live long, shouldn’t you too?” Ridiculous.’
He really must have gone insane.
What made it worse was that while he was quietly tormenting himself, she just blinked up at him innocently, as if she hadn’t understood a thing.
It felt like he was the only one aware they were married at all.
‘Seriously, what the hell am I doing?’
All this nonsense was just because he was thinking too much.
Annoyance swept through him, and Cedar let out a long sigh. His tone softened, deflated.
[…You’re right. I don’t care about gardens anyway.]
But deep down, what he meant was—I don’t want traces of you left in this house we’re only staying in temporarily.
[Do whatever you want.]
Once again, his lips betrayed his true feelings and spoke on their own.
‘Great. Brilliant. If it bothers me, I should’ve told her not to do it, not the opposite!’
Ever since Nellie Fairway had opened her eyes, his life had become a complete mess.
Eating three meals at home, preparing food for someone else—none of it had been part of his old routine.
Even worse, he couldn’t stop his mouth from spilling words that contradicted his thoughts.
‘I don’t even like flowers. Actually, I hate them.’
Because flowers reminded him of her.
[Cedar! You’re all I have. You’re the most precious thing in my life.]
When he was young, he’d believed her sweet, affectionate whispers. Her joy was his joy.
[Look at this beautiful face. It was God’s mistake that I was born low, but I regained my place with my own strength.]
[You’re lucky you look like your father. I’m glad I gave birth to you.]
When had he realized those words were never love, but manipulation? That she only said them to make him act as she wished?
By the time he grew old enough to sense the twisted nature of her affection, she had already begun hurling cruel words at him whenever he resisted.
[Don’t use you? That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. You exist to give me everything—wealth, fame, power! That’s your reason for being born.]
[Do you think I would’ve had you otherwise?]
A woman who hid sharp thorns beneath her beauty—
His mother, Lady Briar.
Thinking of her made his chest sink heavily. She had adored beautiful things—flowers, jewels, dresses, and all the rest.
Under her command, the Granite Ducal House changed its curtains every season and replanted the garden the moment flowers began to wilt.
He’d grown to hate it all. That’s why he left the house.
‘And now… another garden.’
Cedar turned abruptly. Behind him came a cheerful voice.
[Wow, thank you!]
She only ever looked that happy when food was involved.
When he sat her down to eat, she chewed like a little calf on cud no matter what dish he served her—
yet just being told she could do as she pleased with the garden made her that delighted. It was absurd.
‘Still… watching her scurry around hugging flowers might not be so bad.’
He imagined Nellie surrounded by blossoms and thought—it suited her somehow.
Of course, he’d completely forgotten that she’d said she wanted to plant poisonous herbs and medicinal plants for her potion-making.
After a pleasant time at the banquet, Diana returned home—only to be greeted by a mountain of debt notices.
“Sigh. What a waste of paper. They should know I’ll pay them back eventually.”
Muttering shamelessly, she tore open the envelopes piled on her desk.
They were loan statements from the bank—various types of debts she’d taken out, all in anticipation of the Fairway inheritance.
The numbers differed, but the message was always the same: Repay immediately.
“They sure tried hard to phrase ‘Pay up now’ politely.”
But to Diana, those collection letters were neither painful nor frightening.
A person timid enough to be scared by such things would never have borrowed that kind of money in the first place.
With a bored flick of her wrist, she swept the letters into the trash.
Then she removed the heavy necklace from her neck—it was so weighty it almost hurt—and placed it on the desk.
The jewels shimmered brilliantly, and she couldn’t take her eyes off them.
“Oh, how lovely. I knew buying this was the right choice.”
The moment she saw it, she hadn’t been able to resist. That necklace had clearly been made to adorn the neck of a beautiful woman like her.
‘Sure, my debt grew a little because of it… but what choice did I have? My parents didn’t leave me any fortune to maintain my status. If only I’d been born into a richer family.’
I should’ve been born a princess or a noble’s daughter. God must’ve made a mistake.
Diana often thought that way.
Her parents had done everything they could for their beloved second daughter, but it had never been enough for her.
She always wanted something grander.
‘But soon… soon it’ll all change. Once I get my inheritance, I’ll live like a princess.’
She didn’t even know what the ancient founder’s inheritance was, but she was certain it must be priceless gold or jewels.
What else could an inheritance be?
‘Then again, if it’s meant to be passed down only once one becomes a Great Mage, maybe it’s a magical artifact. Either way, it’ll be worth a fortune.’
Whatever it was, Diana had no intention of keeping it.
She would sell it immediately—to fund a more luxurious life. That was her one and only goal.
As she hummed, lost in dreams of a dazzling future, the door opened softly.
“Young Lady.”
It was her maid, coming in to help her change out of her gown.
They had lived together for so long that she was more like a sister than a servant. With deft hands, the maid removed Diana’s makeup and dressed her in a soft nightgown.
Lying still like a doll under those practiced hands, Diana spoke.
“Anything happen today?”
She didn’t really care—it was just to break the silence. But the maid’s answer was unexpected.
“There were strange noises coming from the eldest lady’s room. Everyone was frightened… She couldn’t have… passed away already, could she?”
The maid’s pale face looked truly terrified. Diana snorted in disbelief.
“She can’t be dead already. Though I wish she were. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with the hassle of receiving the inheritance from Sir Cedar.”
Even though she and Cedar Granite had formed a contract based on mutual benefit, Diana didn’t actually trust people.
‘Would Cedar Granite really hand over a massive inheritance without hesitation?’
Regardless of how wealthy the Granites were, people always grew greedy when treasure was in front of them.
‘But if my sister dies before living even a single day as his wife, that’s a different story. I can file for annulment and claim the inheritance myself.’
After all, they hadn’t fulfilled any of the marriage requirements—
not even the signatures on the oath were truly her sister’s; Diana had forged them. She was confident she could win the case.
‘And in the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt if Cedar and I grew closer.’
He was, after all, an enticing man—handsome, one of the world’s few swordmasters, and the eldest son likely to inherit the ducal title.
‘His only flaw is his bloodline, but marriage with me would fix that, wouldn’t it? I’m from the great Fairway line of archmages, after all.’
As she spun these fanciful, unshared dreams, Diana chuckled softly to herself.
Then, spotting the pile of debt notices in the trash, she scowled and kicked the bin.
“Ugh, stop sending those damn letters! I’m sick of them already!”
While she brushed her hair, the maid soothed her gently.
“The three-year deadline is almost up, my lady. Just hold on a little longer.”
“Ugh, why did our ancestors have to add such an annoying condition?”
They could’ve just released the inheritance as soon as her sister became a Great Mage. Why make them wait three more years?
‘All mages are social misfits. And my sister—who didn’t even question such nonsense—must be insane too.’
Honestly, wasn’t it strange that the Fairway family’s inheritance was being kept secretly at the academy?
What if it turned out to be land or property? Who had been collecting the harvest and rent all this time?
