WFMW 18

Chapter 18

Is My Sister Alive?

At first, Diana thought maybe she should’ve just filed a lawsuit instead of waiting three years.
But she quickly shook her head.

She suddenly remembered why she had even proposed a contract marriage to Cedar Granite in the first place — because Nelly had been the heir.

“Honestly, my sister is absolutely useless.”

When she thought of Nelly, all she could picture was her dull, frizzy golden hair.

Diana twirled her own glossy curls around her finger and pouted her full lips.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t heard anything about her in a while. Well, since Sir Cedar doesn’t seem to care, she might as well be dead.”

Cedar Granite was an incredibly stoic man.
Even though there was a woman lying comatose in his home, he wasn’t the type to check every day to see if she was alive or dead.

“Maybe I should visit and see for myself.”

If Nelly really was dead, there were formalities to take care of.
It wouldn’t look good if her only sister seemed unaware that she’d been on the verge of death.

Diana lifted her chin and gestured toward the desk.

“Prepare paper and a pen. I’ll send a letter requesting permission to visit the Granite estate.”

“Yes, miss.”

The maid quickly cleared the desk.
Once Diana finished writing the elegant letter, the maid stepped forward with an envelope.

Diana sealed it with melted wax and handed it back.
But as the maid turned to leave, she hesitated.

“…But, what if she really did die and… her ghost appears?”

For a second, Diana blinked, not understanding. Then it clicked — the maid was talking about the strange noises from Nelly’s room.

She burst into laughter.
“There’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“But truly, there were strange sounds. Ones I can’t even describe…”

“Hm.”

If the maid was this frightened, maybe there was something.

“Even if my sister’s dead, she’s not the type to come back for revenge. It’s not even my fault she fell into a coma — that’s on her, for being a lousy magician.”

The thought of Nelly irritated her again.
Scowling, Diana rose from her seat.

The maid, sensing her foul mood, quickly bowed and left the room.

Diana lay back on the bed.

“She finally became a magician, and yet she’s useless. At least study something profitable. Why waste your time on weird, nameless fields?”

A sister good for nothing but bragging to her friends — naïve, stupid, and impractical.

“Still, I guess I owe her for letting me inherit our distant ancestor’s estate.”

That thought brightened her mood again.
Stretching luxuriously, she murmured,

“Ah, I just want that inheritance already. I want to be a millionaire heiress.”

Whatever she got, she’d sell it all and turn it into money — buy a big house, get next season’s dresses…

As she enjoyed her happy fantasies, her eyelids slowly drifted shut.

When Diana opened her eyes again, it was deep in the night.

“I’m thirsty.”

It was so late that no one would come even if she rang the bell.
She fumbled around sleepily, but the water jug beside her bed was empty.

“No water? Unbelievable. They’ll pay for this.”

She huffed and set the jug down.
She wanted to just go back to sleep, but her throat burned with thirst.

“Well, moving around myself once in a while won’t kill me.”

Feeling unusually generous, she got up.

The mansion was silent and steeped in darkness.
Carrying a small lamp, she walked quietly — it almost felt like a late-night stroll.

“Now, where’s the kitchen again?”

As she turned a corner in the hallway—

s… ni…

“Ah!”

She almost dropped the lamp. Her whole body trembled as she spun around wildly.

“W-what was that sound?”

The maid’s earlier words suddenly echoed in her mind.

[Maybe she’s dead…?]

“Ah!”

Was it Nelly’s ghost?

Her face went pale. She stumbled backward until her back hit something hard — a wall.
The solid surface steadied her nerves a little.

“No. No, there are no ghosts. I’m just hearing things. Someone’s probably playing a trick on me.”

The faint crackling noise stopped.

Diana swallowed hard. The small room at the end of the corridor — right beside the stairs — was Nelly’s room.

“Whoever it is, I’ll catch them and make them regret it.”

She crept forward, lamp in hand.
Gripping the doorknob, she counted softly.

“One, two, three!”

She flung the door open.
No answer.

Crouching slightly, she lifted the lamp and scanned the room.

It was tiny, with only a bed and a nightstand — nowhere to hide.

Then something on the nightstand caught her eye.

“Huh? What’s that?”

It was the small orb Nelly had clutched dearly when she’d returned from the academy.

Seeing that nothing seemed dangerous, Diana walked closer, curiosity flickering.

The orb, about the size of a fist, shimmered faintly with a rainbow glow.

“I thought it was just a trinket, but it glows?”

Was it some kind of magic item? She leaned closer to look—

zzt—

“Oh my gosh!”

The same crackling noise startled her again — it was coming from the orb.

After a few more bursts, a voice emerged, clear enough to understand.

—Finally, you’re responding. Can you hear me, Nelly?

“Th…”

The voice was speaking through the orb.
Diana’s eyes darted nervously.

Should she answer? Stay silent?

Before she could decide, another voice spoke—

—I knew you’d wake up by now.

“Ah!”

In a panic, Diana swung her arm instinctively.

CRASH!

The orb flew from her hand, hit the floor, and shattered.

Breathing hard, she stared down at it, cold sweat dripping from her forehead.

“Huff… huff…”

The pieces flickered faintly, then went dark.

Finally regaining her senses, Diana crouched and tapped the largest shard.

Of course, it didn’t respond.

“Wh-who did they say woke up? Wait… I should’ve listened longer.”

She groaned, raking a hand through her hair, scolding herself for breaking it too soon.

Her beautiful eyes gleamed sharply.

“They definitely called Nelly’s name.”

She bit her lip.

The sister she had dismissed as practically dead — that presence began to nag at her again, like a splinter under her skin.

After receiving Cedar’s permission, my range of movement expanded — I could now go from the second floor down to the garden.

But that didn’t mean anything special happened.

“Wow, working with soil really isn’t easy!”

My stamina was terrible, and the garden was enormous.

“I never realized shovels were this heavy… or dirt this solid.”

Just like I’d drawn a magic circle in my room when Cedar gave it to me, the first thing I did in the garden was draw one there too.

One that would help plants grow and keep mana flowing — basically, anything good I could think of.

Then I lightly dug up the ground to divide it into plots for planting.
It wasn’t even real labor — just prep work.

And then… I got sick for three whole days.

“Ow, ow…”

My whole body ached, my fever spiked, and my vision blurred with tears.

“What’s happening to me?”

I’d thought I’d endured enough hardship training to be a mage, but this… this was brutal.

“No, it’s not just the labor.”

Even back at the academy, I hadn’t been this weak.
But after lying comatose for so long, if my body used to be trash, now it was the kind of trash that couldn’t even be recycled.

“How pathetic.”

It was depressing — I had chosen to fall into a coma to survive, and now I’d woken up weaker than ever.

I cried until I fell asleep, woke up, and cried again.
Then, one day, I heard unfamiliar voices nearby.

“This is… Sir Cedar…”
“How come…”
“…Ugh, I told you already…”

There was no warmth in their tone — only annoyance.

“So noisy…”

If I’d had the energy, I would’ve shouted at them to get out.
But I couldn’t even open my eyes.

Realizing how helpless I was made me tear up again.

Who knows how much time passed after that.

It was a very quiet night.
A faint herbal scent drifted through the air — the kind meant to help someone sleep.
Ironically, it woke me up instead.

It was a sleep-inducing candle I’d used often at the academy.
The moment I smelled it, my body instinctively rejected sleep.

“…!”

My eyes flew open — and there, right in front of me, was a man’s face.

Dark hair like the night, tired-looking eyes with sharp corners, and faint shadows beneath them.

Our eyes met, and his widened slightly, startled.

I moved my lips, barely making a sound.
I knew that handsome man.

“…Cedar.”

Cedar Granite.

My husband.

It was a faint whisper, but he heard. His eyes softened, and his hand — large and cool — came up to cover my eyes.

“Sleep more.”

His palm was firm and soothing.

And so, I closed my eyes again.

This time, I fell into a dreamless sleep.