Chapter 34
In the past, Tristan hadn’t married, but in this life, if he broke the curse, he could live as an adult instead of a boy.
For now, since he was married, there might not be anyone approaching him—but after a divorce, that would be a different story.
He was handsome, had a good body, a good personality… people would surely flock to him.
I’m just a temporary, contractual wife. It’s only polite to behave in a way that won’t make things awkward for his real wife in the future.
In that case, it would be better to give Tristan a heads-up.
If not today, then when they went to the capital, Tristan was bound to meet all sorts of people.
“Tristan, since we’ll be going up to the capital, there’s something I want to say.”
“Yes?”
“If you ever find someone you like, please let me know.”
The unexpected request left Tristan at a loss for words.
“Then I’ll make sure not to act too close to you in front of her.”
“…Why?”
Tristan asked back.
Maya calmly explained her reasoning.
“We’re in a contractual marriage, and eventually we’ll get divorced. What if you meet someone you truly love then? It’s better to prepare for the future in advance.”
Watching Tristan’s constant consideration for others, she had often thought she wanted to learn from him.
This kind of consideration isn’t bad, right?
Maya felt quietly pleased with herself.
Tristan will probably like it too.
Of course, Tristan didn’t like it at all.
He etched it deep into his bones—at present, he was the only one with feelings.
Gently taking Maya’s hand, he said softly,
“Maya, people don’t even know we’re married yet…”
He whispered in her ear,
“…It’s a bit hurtful to start talking about divorce already.”
His voice was lower and calmer than usual, brushing against her eardrum like a tickle.
“Am I really that unpleasant to you?”
Maya shook her head in a hurry.
“No, of course I don’t dislike you, Tristan!”
At the very least, there seemed to be a human-level fondness, which was a good starting point, wasn’t it?
They say a strong denial is a kind of affirmation—should he take it the other way around?
Narrowing his eyes, Tristan then smiled brightly.
“Then I’m relieved.”
“Please don’t misunderstand.”
Maya floundered in front of Tristan. Normally, he would have lightened the mood immediately, but this time, he didn’t.
It was a small act of mischief.
“Maya, for as long as we’re married, I will never look at anyone else.”
Let’s start with this.
“So don’t imagine I’ll end up with another woman.”
Let’s make sure she remembers him first.
“The only person by my side right now… is you.”
Tristan didn’t fully understand Maya.
He didn’t know what feelings she had for him, nor how she would react if she learned about his heart.
So until he understood her better…
Until he was sure that Maya’s feelings were similar to his own… he decided to keep trying.
“Maya, I have a question for you.”
“Yes?”
“What about you? That promise—surely it’s not meant to apply only to me.”
After all, there were already people who loved Maya.
And there was no guarantee more wouldn’t appear.
“Me?”
The person in question had never even considered such a thing.
“Hmm… I’ve never met anyone like that.”
There had been people who approached her suggesting a spar, but most, upon learning of her skills, would just shake their heads.
These were people who had grown up proud of their own abilities.
Even if Maya was a descendant of Pendragon, the idea of being beaten by a woman bruised their pride, and most left.
Of course, a few had found her appealing—but none were generous enough to take on the Pendragon family’s debts along with her.
And beyond that, most of the useless ones were frightened away by the sight of Kendrick at her side.
But the biggest problem was Maya’s lack of awareness.
If human abilities had a fixed total, then Maya had invested nearly all of hers into physical ability—leaving little for social perception.
And even after returning in time, this was about as much awareness as she’d gained.
“Hmm…”
Maya couldn’t answer for a long time.
She had never experienced such feelings, so it wasn’t easy to respond.
What exactly was it, when one person loved another?
Will it ever happen to me?
She had never seen or felt genuine love before.
“You don’t have to answer right away.”
It was Tristan, not Maya, who broke the silence first.
“But if you ever do feel that way… please tell me.”
Tristan smiled at her.
“No matter who it is.”
And he deeply hoped… that the person she would name would be him.
Very deeply.
The capital was abuzz with fresh rumors.
The first was about a new magical beast that had appeared in the north.
“They say a new mage completely defeated the White Serpent.”
“His name is Kendrick, right?”
The Tower Master, Sebastian, fully intended to spread Kendrick’s achievement as widely as possible.
Kendrick, realizing the Tower Master had taken an interest in him, accepted it as the first stepping stone toward becoming the next Tower Master himself.
With his looks and the skill to defeat a White Serpent, Kendrick quickly became the center of attention.
Of course, he wasn’t the only one becoming famous.
“Did you hear? The Duke of Bearden got married!”
“And his spouse is from the Pendragon family, apparently.”
At last, House Bearden was returning to the capital.
The Duke—who had never even made his debut in society—was coming back married.
And people would be meeting the Duchess before they even saw the Duke.
Public curiosity about Maya Pendragon was intense.
But the only known Pendragon relatives were the gambling-obsessed McGuire couple.
No one actually knew anything about Maya herself.
Naturally, speculation about what kind of person she really was began to grow.
“They say she’ll be attending the upcoming ball.”
People were eager to find a place where they could see Maya.
As it happened, word spread that she would be present at a ball hosted by the Emperor himself.
And since no one skipped an imperial ball, the event became the perfect stage for rumors about Maya to flourish.
On the road back to the capital, small magical beasts appeared from time to time—though they were no trouble for mercenaries or knights to handle.
Maya, along with the White Dragon, played around with them; most ended up as food for the wyverns they had brought along.
The wyverns might not look it, but their appetites were enormous.
So hunting like this was useful for keeping them fed.
Still—
“These aren’t the kind of prey I want!”
The White Dragon cried out in frustration.
Later, when they stayed at an inn, Tristan booked a separate room from Maya.
Maybe he noticed I’ve been a little awkward since that conversation.
It was easy for her to ask Tristan questions, but the ones he asked her were always hard to answer.
Especially when they were about feelings she had never experienced before.
Just because I’ve lived once before doesn’t mean I can do everything in this life.
She wished she had experienced more before coming back.
But then again, if she had lived a different life with more experiences… she might not have wanted to return at all.
Maya had always lived in the present.
“You and Tristan seem pretty close.”
Fresh from her bath, Maya heard the White Dragon speak.
“Me and Tristan?”
“Yeah. You two look really close.”
“Well, even if it’s just a contractual marriage, it wouldn’t look right for us to seem distant.”
Hearing they looked close made her happy.
Feeling pleased, she replied—and the dragon asked,
“But if breaking the curse requires contact, shouldn’t you be spending more time together?”
“I do think so. But… it’s kind of hard to bring up when he hasn’t said anything himself.”
When it came to breaking the curse, she’d thought Tristan would be eager for any kind of contact—but he seemed to be approaching her slowly, almost as if watching her reactions.
“Why don’t you just tell him you’re fine with it?”
“That’s true. I could say that, but…”
For some reason, ever since that last conversation, she’d felt hesitant about stating her opinions to him.
He looked hurt back then.
She hadn’t expected that asking him to give her advance notice about someone he might like would hurt him.
“I guess I’ve become more cautious.”
Even Tristan was an exception for her.
“I get that,” the White Dragon said casually, nodding.
“Anyway, I’m feeling restless lately.”
“You mean the monsters aren’t challenging enough for you?”
“Yeah, except for that White Serpent.”
After thinking for a moment, Maya asked,
“You said before the White Serpent was one of the Demon King’s subordinates, right?”
Little was known about the Demon King’s underlings.
Both Pendragon and Bearden officially served the Emperor.
If their accomplishments became too great, imperial authority could be threatened—so the Imperial Family deliberately downplayed their deeds in the historical record.
