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Chapter 09
You Have a Busty Lover
If Diana found out that I had woken up, she would definitely try to lure me into some kind of trap.
‘All I can do is trust Grisha.’
Even if not, in a month the inheritance would pass to me anyway. After that…
After that?
‘Huh?’
I blinked, realizing something I had never considered before.
The only reason to keep the marriage going was because if I had a husband, even if I died, the inheritance would go to Sidor. But then…
‘Isn’t that the same as dragging Sidor into my life?’
Even after inheriting, if I remained married to him, Sidor would inevitably stay present in my future.
‘Sidor said he needed a wife.’
Why would he need one? Considering he actually preferred me in a comatose state, it seemed he only needed the existence of a wife, nothing more.
‘Then could I just stay married but leave far away? From Sidor’s perspective, a sleeping wife or a distant wife wouldn’t make much difference.’
I’d have to seriously talk with him about that when the time came.
‘Anyway, he said I could use the second floor however I like.’
I needed writing tools. After rummaging around the house, I finally found an ink bottle and a quill in a room downstairs.
‘A pencil would’ve been nicer. Well, not everything in the world goes my way.’
All I could hope was that, after such a long time, my hand would still obey my will as I drew.
Standing in the second-floor hallway, I dipped the quill deep into the ink and began drawing circles and lines across the walls and floor.
It wasn’t some great magic circle—just one to help gather mana more strongly to me, the kind any mage’s room would have carved.
Mages are sensitive to mana, so they inscribe such circles to control their space.
In my case, being even more sensitive, I needed more complex ones.
‘Grisha once said I was like a picky cat marking its territory.’
With a pencil I could erase mistakes, but with ink there was no going back. Carefully, stroke by stroke, I worked.
By the time I finally finished, quite a bit of time had passed.
“Whew.”
Looking at the completed circle, I flopped back onto the floor. My arms trembled.
‘My body shouldn’t have changed at all, yet why do I feel so drained?’
As I lay there, the answer hit me.
Because there was no professor yelling at me!
[Can’t you go any faster? Do you plan to finish before dawn?]
[Miss Nelly, you’re wasting my time.]
[Shall I brew you a strong cup of Jerusalem artichoke tea?]
“Ugh!”
Remembering their voices, I shuddered with trauma and bolted upright.
“Huff, huff. Scary people.”
Even after I was certified as a mage, they’d all tried to persuade me to stay at the academy.
‘Now I see—they just wanted to exploit me for cheap labor!’
They pretended it was a mage’s certification exam, then suddenly declared me an Archmage. Thank goodness I hadn’t signed any agreement to devote myself to academy research.
“After I finally graduated, there’s no way I’m going back—oh!”
Wiping the cold sweat from my brow, I froze. The clothes I was wearing were completely stained with ink.
‘Well, what did I expect, crawling around the hall in white clothes drawing circles?’
At least the circle hadn’t smudged.
I could tell it was working from the cool, autumn-breeze-like flow of mana swirling around.
‘Now that it’s done, I should change clothes and grab something to eat.’
Right on cue, my stomach rumbled loudly.
But then another problem arose.
‘I don’t have any clothes.’
During my mana-depleted coma, my body had literally shut down. I hadn’t aged, and every bodily function had stopped.
So, naturally, I hadn’t needed clothes.
‘Still, not even a single set? That’s too much.’
I couldn’t walk around in these ink-soaked ones. On tiptoe, I crept downstairs.
‘I think I spotted a room earlier that looked like a woman’s.’
Even after years of sleep, my memory hadn’t dulled. I found it easily—the one with dark purple wallpaper and heavy lace curtains.
Inside, behind a hidden door near the bed, was a built-in wardrobe with several dresses.
‘As expected. Women’s clothes.’
Not only dresses, but lace-trimmed hats and necklaces.
It wasn’t a large collection, just enough for someone staying overnight. I frowned.
“Don’t tell me this is a lover’s room?”
Sidor’s lover, huh…
‘Well, not my business.’
I tried picturing her face, but only Diana’s image kept intruding.
‘That’s unfair prejudice. I’m just projecting my personal grudge elsewhere.’
Scolding myself, I picked the least frilly dress from the wardrobe.
‘She won’t be mad if I wear it, right?’
Not that it mattered. If she had the kind of temperament to be angry about this, she’d be furious about me smearing ink everywhere anyway.
I quickly compromised with reality, unbuttoned my stained clothes, and slipped into the new dress.
‘But… how are you even supposed to wear this?’
So many buttons, so many ribbons. The fabric was so soft it slipped and slid down my body.
After a desperate struggle, I finally managed to get it on—sort of.
Exhausted, I collapsed onto a sofa just outside the room.
‘I’ll just rest a bit until the dizziness passes.’
As I lay there, I regretted never developing a spell that could automatically dress me.
Then I regretted the regret. Such a spell would’ve required endless parameters—adjusting to different body types, clothing styles, and more.
‘So complicated…’
At some point, I dozed off. When I opened my eyes again—
‘The moon?’
A bright silver-gray moon was staring down at me.
I rubbed my eyes and realized that this moon could talk.
“…What on earth are you wearing?”
And it wasn’t a kind moon, either.
‘Did I just lose a few days again without realizing?’
I was momentarily stunned seeing Sidor—who shouldn’t have been visible to me.
Had I slipped back into a coma in my shock?
Even so, my lips moved smoothly.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
“You put it on wrong.”
Clicking his tongue, Sidor reached out a large, calloused hand—hard as wood.
‘Weird.’
When I put my hand in his, mine felt strangely soft.
Before I could even dwell on it, he yanked me up and began fixing my tangled hair and slipping dress with practiced ease.
“This outfit is far too big on you. Like a child wearing her mother’s clothes.”
He pulled the ribbon tight at the back of my waist. The sagging fabric instantly took proper shape.
‘So that’s why it kept slipping off.’
But why was he so natural at dressing me? I stared at the sleeves draping over my hands and muttered without thinking:
“So you prefer women with… fuller figures?”
“Again with your nonsense about preferences?”
He frowned but chuckled lowly, then stepped back a pace.
“Still, you did well finding clothes on your own. Use anything from that room. Throw them away if you like.”
That was a strange thing to say. I tilted my head.
“Isn’t that your lover’s room?”
His forehead instantly creased. His voice was curt.
“What kind of man do you take me for? By your logic, I’d have a wife, and on top of that a voluptuous, sleepy lover.”
“Well, obviously I thought they were your lover’s clothes.”
A single man’s house, with neatly arranged women’s clothes—anyone would assume that.
I sighed and corrected myself.
“Ah, so they’re your ex’s clothes.”
“Why do you keep jumping to those conclusions?”
“Because my husband is handsome?”
“Hand—”
Sidor’s mouth opened in disbelief, then he suddenly turned away. Oddly, his ears were tinged red.
“Anyway, it’s not what you think. Don’t jump to conclusions. And check with me about anything you’re unsure of.”
“How do you even check thoughts? You’re worse than my professors.”
“Only with you. You’re the one always thinking weird things.”
“Pfft.”
Weird thoughts? That was the first I’d heard of such a thing.
Puffing my cheeks like a goldfish, I tilted my head.
“You said you’re hardly ever home. Then why are you here today?”
This time not only his ears but his tanned neck flushed crimson.
“…I should get going.”
Why such an overreaction? Did I hit the mark?
I pointed at him in accusation.
“Ah! You came to check if I escaped, didn’t you?”
“No! Absolutely not, you woman!”
Oh. I’d thought he was embarrassed, but it turned out he was just angry.
