WFMW 47

Chapter 47

Cedar’s Warning

April 16, 2024

Diana quickly organized the situation in her head and brazenly lifted her chin, feigning ignorance.

“Surveillance? What do you mean? I’ve never done such a thing.”

The moment those words left her lips, even the faintest trace of a smile vanished from Cedar’s face, as though it had evaporated.

His expression turned cold—completely different from before—and Diana’s arms began to tremble.

“Our contract is clear,” Cedar said, each word enunciated with icy precision as his eyes locked onto hers like a predator watching its prey. “If Nelly doesn’t wake before the inheritance is transferred, I’ll receive it on her behalf and deliver it to you. If she wakes before then, the contract is nullified.”

“…So keep that in mind. I’ll honor the deal. But if you ever try sticking some pathetic spy on me again, I won’t be so polite. Understood?”

It felt like she’d become a cornered rat.

Diana completely forgot about her pretense just moments ago and practically screamed in response.

“Y-yes! I got it! I understand!”

Cedar gave her one last glare before spinning on his heel and leaving.

The staff who had been nervously watching the exchange rushed to follow him out.

For a brief moment, Diana stood there in stunned silence before her face flushed with anger.

“How dare he speak to me like that.”

So she had him followed—was that such a crime? And besides, it wasn’t even meant as “surveillance” in the first place!

She’d simply been curious about the wizard who kept visiting her sister at that mansion, so she had someone keep an eye on things.

‘What an arrogant man! Does he think every woman in the world adores him?’

Considering she’d just been weighing Cedar and Grisha against each other mere minutes ago, Diana wasn’t really in a position to be angry.

But Diana was always harsh toward others and lenient toward herself.

A few noble ladies who had witnessed the quarrel from afar cautiously approached her.

“Oh my, what happened just now?”

“Are you all right, Baroness Periway?”

At that, an idea lit up in Diana’s head. She dabbed her eyes with the back of her hand and began to sniffle pitifully.

“I—I only asked about my sister’s well-being. But it seems Lord Cedar took offense.”

It was no secret among gossips that Cedar had married a great sorceress in a coma, but the rumor had faded long ago—thanks to his mother, Lady Briar, who had silenced talk of it, and Cedar’s own lack of social activity.

Still, once such a topic was mentioned again, people’s interest would inevitably reignite.

And after that very public and heated confrontation, gossip was practically guaranteed to spread like wildfire.

As Diana forced out a few tears, she poured fuel onto the flames of curiosity.

“Every time I request to visit my sister, the Duke’s household rejects me. She’s in a vegetative state—she can’t even express herself, no matter how she’s treated…”

“Oh my…”

“That’s awful! She’s her only family!”

Her words were perfectly crafted to plant multiple seeds of suspicion.

Before long, the idea that Cedar Granite was mistreating his unconscious wife would take root naturally.

Watching the murmuring noble ladies, Diana smiled faintly beneath her palm.

‘Let’s see how you like that.’

It wouldn’t even take a week before Cedar Granite’s bad reputation spread throughout the social scene.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and Jacques’s curse was finally lifted without issue.

He clasped Grisha’s hands gratefully.

“I will repay this debt someday. Truly, thank you.”

“I’m just glad I could help,” Grisha replied humbly.

It was something he could’ve bragged about, but he didn’t—his modesty was endless. I watched the two of them with a pleased smile.

‘I’m so relieved the curse was lifted.’

Now that it was gone, Jacques looked far healthier than before, his complexion bright and clear—almost as though he carried the scent of lively green plants.

‘So it really was an ice-type curse.’

His mana had been entirely consumed resisting the freezing effect that encased his heart, but now that it was over, his magic flowed freely again.

I looked at him with sympathy.

“It must’ve been hard to endure. How did you end up cursed like that?”

“I fought a monster that entered the forest. Its curse pierced my heart during the battle. Though I serve as a healer in the Azure Dragon Knights, I’m also a front-line warrior in my village.”

“So you were defending your home. A monster’s curse… that’s rare.”

“High-level monsters with intelligence are always dangerous. You must also be careful, my lady.”

I wasn’t sure when I’d ever encounter a monster, but I nodded anyway—better safe than sorry.

Jacques smiled lightly.

“It’s fortunate that it was me, someone strong enough to bear it, instead of a woman or child. Now, I can finally return home.”

“Are you leaving right away?”

“I’ll stay until the Knights’ subjugation mission concludes.”

“The Knights will be sad to see you go.”

“Partings are inevitable, aren’t they?” he said, sounding every bit like the long-lived elf he was. Then, he handed me and Grisha a small token.

“This is proof that an elf regards you as kin. If I cannot repay this debt myself, my descendants will. Please, visit our village someday.”

I chuckled. “Descendants? Knowing me, I’ll just show up to bother you long before that.”

“To be the subject of a new record would be an honor,” he said kindly, humoring my joke.

After seeing Jacques off, only Grisha and I remained in the mansion.

Cedar had gone out to buy supplies.

‘Cedar said I shouldn’t be alone.’

So I couldn’t tell Grisha to leave first. As I hesitated, Grisha took my hand.

“Now that the curse is lifted, shall we check your mana circuits again, Nelly?”

“Huh? Now? You must be tired.”

“I’m fine.”

Honestly, I was curious too, so I obediently lay down on the sofa as Grisha instructed.

After asking a few questions, he held my hand and sent his mana into me.

Time passed in silence before he exhaled deeply, his face tense.

“The mana flows into your heart, but then it’s as if it gets sucked away and vanishes. If I tried sending in more, I don’t know what might happen. I’m afraid it could hurt you.”

Our mana affinities were polar opposites—his and mine couldn’t mix.

I forced a smile. “I see.”

I’d suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed still felt like a weight pressing down on my chest.

Even though it wasn’t his fault, Grisha bowed his head.

“I’m sorry. If there were a crack or a visible leak, I could try sealing it, but… there’s nothing I can see.”

“No, thank you. If even you—who have the sharpest eyes in the world—can’t find it, then there’s nothing there.”

I said that, but my mind was a mess.

‘If Grisha can’t help, then there’s only one option left…’

[Then perhaps you should try… a kiss?]

‘No way. That’s ridiculous.’

A kiss isn’t something you just do with anyone.

Sure, I had a reason—to restore my mana—but I couldn’t just ask Cedar for that without context.

‘Why does it have to be something like that…’

I groaned, and Grisha, misunderstanding my frustration, looked at me with sympathy.

“You must have suffered a lot. How did you bear it?”

“It wasn’t that bad,” I said awkwardly, scratching my cheek. “The worst part’s over. Besides, you helped me.”

“But you must’ve cried.”

I gave a faint, embarrassed smile. I’d only cried once—right after turning back time.

After that, I hadn’t even had the luxury to feel pain; every day just passed in a blur.

‘That’s thanks to Cedar.’

Knowing that Grisha and Cedar didn’t get along, I couldn’t bring up his name.

Grisha muttered gloomily, “I should’ve left the academy back then.”

“No!” I pressed a finger against his forehead, firm. “I told you, if you’d done that, I’d never see you again. You can’t throw away your future over me. My problem is mine, yours is yours.”

“…You’re so cold.”

“As your senior, that’s the only right advice.”

Grisha didn’t owe me anything—not my injury, not my recovery.

He looked at me with clouded eyes, then changed the topic.

“How’s your mana? Is it unstable?”

“It’s the same. I’ve been trying to gather it with magic circles, but…”

No matter how many I drew, the mana flowing into me was pitifully small. I’d half given up by now—just enough to melt a lock or two was fine.

At the mention of circles, Grisha’s eyes lit up.

“On my way in, I saw the ones you drew in the garden—they were quite intricate, helping the plants grow.”

“Yes! I knew you’d recognize them!”

To non-mages, it probably just looked like decorative symbols, but magic circles were actually complex constructs that combined multiple formulas according to need.

The caster’s calculation and structural skills determined their quality.

‘Cedar always makes sure not to disturb my circles, but it’s true—a mage understands another mage’s struggles best.’