Chapter 3

Siern quietly watched Adelia, pleased by the way she reacted with wonder and excitement.

“By the way…”

Adelia looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

“Who exactly are you?”

“Huh…?”

She froze for a moment before quickly standing up straight with her hands folded in front of her.

“My name is Adelia Whitton. Starting today, I’m a new research student who will study and work in this laboratory.”

“Adelia Whitton? I’ve heard that name before… Adelia Whitton… Ah.”

Does he actually remember me?

Adelia clasped her hands together as if praying.

The idol of microbiology… the god of microorganisms remembers me! What an honor…!

“You’re the top graduate from this year’s Academy, aren’t you? I heard the old professors were practically pulling each other’s hair trying to recruit you. Is that true?”

Adelia’s eyes shook in surprise.

The principal of the Royal Academy, Mr. Moite, had told her something similar.

Professors from literature, mathematics, astronomy, and many other fields had argued over who would get to take her as their student.

But… no one mentioned they were pulling each other’s hair.

Siern rubbed his chin.

“Strangely enough, I never even argued with those old men, yet I ended up getting you as my student.”

“I… I suppose that’s true.”

“So that means you chose this laboratory of your own free will?”

Adelia pressed her lips together.

It sounded like a simple question…

But I have to answer carefully!

If she looked nervous or uncertain now, she might never earn Professor Siern’s trust.

“Yes, Professor. I applied myself.”

“Why? The microbiology taught at the Royal Academy barely scratches the surface. You’ll have to start learning again from the beginning here.”

“Because…”

A hint of amusement appeared on Siern’s face.

“Because?”

“I… I absolutely love microorganisms!”

Her cheerful voice echoed throughout the quiet laboratory.

Siern narrowed his eyes with a strange expression.

“…You love microorganisms?”

“Yes! Their countless shapes and colors… and their endless possibilities! Once people learn what those tiny creatures we can’t even see actually do in our lives, there’s no way they couldn’t love microorganisms too! Especially G7-3-I from the paper you published recently! I couldn’t stop admiring its perfectly spherical shape. And despite the short clinical testing period, its remarkable effects…”

“That’s enough.”

“Huh? But I still have a lot more I wanted to say.”

“I understand perfectly well why you came here.”

Completely unaware that she had managed to overwhelm even the famous Professor Siern, Adelia continued looking at him with sparkling eyes.

She’s certainly… an unusual one, Siern thought.

The truth was that microbiology was not a field that attracted much public attention.

Even when researchers made new discoveries, those discoveries were often forgotten unless they were turned into practical applications.

Anyone who wanted fame usually chose chemistry or the rapidly growing field of electrical engineering instead.

Yet despite graduating first in her class, she had chosen this unpopular laboratory.

“Very well.”

After making up his mind, Siern spoke.

“First, go change into your laboratory clothes. Today I’ll give you a simple tour of the laboratory, introduce you to the equipment, and explain the safety rules.”

“Oh! Yes! I’d love that!”

“And after that, prepare a brief summary of the research topic you wish to study… Why are you drooling?”

“Oh no…”

I got so excited I didn’t even notice.

Feeling embarrassed, Adelia quickly wiped the corner of her mouth and pretended nothing had happened.

Siern looked at her strangely once again before continuing.

“Every semester you’ll write a short research paper. Once a year you’ll also prepare research to present at the annual conference. It won’t be easy, so be prepared.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Think carefully about what you want to research.”

“Yes!”

“Now go change your clothes and come back. The women’s changing room is on the right after you leave.”

With a bright smile, Adelia hurried out of the laboratory.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Her energetic footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Siern suddenly laughed to himself.

“What is she so happy about? She’s certainly a strange one.”

***

Meanwhile, after dropping Adelia off at the laboratory, Roerston headed straight to the royal palace.

He was attending the weekly government council meeting.

Strictly speaking, there was no need for him to become a government official.

However, his father had spent his entire life serving the kingdom, leaving behind both completed achievements and unfinished work.

To finish what his father had started, Roerston had no choice but to take part in government affairs, whether he wanted to or not.

His participation was rather limited.

Most of the time, he simply attended the meetings.

But people were so captivated by his extraordinary good looks that they somehow convinced themselves he had fulfilled his duties simply by showing his face.

“Well, if it isn’t Duke Ipsel!”

“It’s been a while, Marquis Gickson.”

“Haha! Do you have any idea how shocked I was by your news? My daughter brought me stacks of newspapers, and I still refused to believe it!”

“It all happened rather suddenly, so I didn’t have time to inform everyone properly. We are considering holding an official wedding ceremony later.”

“Yes, of course you should. You can’t just end a marriage by only registering it at the church.”

A mysterious smile appeared on Roerston’s lips.

Just as he had expected, his sudden marriage to Adelia had caused quite a stir.

I knew this would happen. That’s exactly why I deliberately didn’t hold a proper wedding ceremony.

Because they had only registered the marriage without holding a wedding, news that Duke Ipsel had married his former junior spread even faster.

In conservative noble society, very few events could create such a shock.

At the same time, because the marriage had been registered so urgently, everyone assumed Roerston had wanted Adelia so badly that he couldn’t wait.

From now on, people would pay close attention to everything Roerston did.

And naturally, they would also become curious about this woman named Adelia, who had suddenly become the Duchess of Ipsel.

If he wanted everyone to quickly recognize her as the Duchess, this had been the best possible method.

After all, there was an old saying.

Good news should be announced with drums for everyone to hear.

Bad news should be swallowed with soup and forgotten as quickly as possible.

Roerston wanted news of his marriage to spread loudly throughout the kingdom.

That way, his relatives would finally stop constantly pressuring him to get married.

And besides…

No. I shouldn’t think about that yet.

In any case, everything had gone perfectly.

The only thing he worried about was whether Adelia might be disappointed about not having a wedding.

But she had completely exceeded his expectations.

“W-Wedding? You mean I’d have to wear a white dress in front of everyone… throw a bouquet… and dance too?”

“If we held a proper wedding, then yes.”

“I-I absolutely can’t! I’d rather… I’d rather…”

“Rather what?”

“I’d rather give up microbiology and become a classical literature researcher!”

He had no idea what one thing had to do with the other.

But one thing had been perfectly clear.

She absolutely hated the idea of having a wedding.

“By the way, that Miss Whitton you married…”

“Yes?”

“Did you already know each other? Or…”

As Marquis Gickson’s expression became increasingly suspicious, Roerston answered with the most innocent smile imaginable.

“She was my junior at the Academy. A very intelligent young woman.”

“Yes, yes, I heard about her. She graduated first in her class this year, didn’t she? And she entered some very demanding research laboratory.”

“That’s right. I’d had my eye on her ever since our Academy days. The more I got to know her, the more I admired her, so I proposed.”

“Haha! So even someone known for being impossible to approach couldn’t resist when he met the right lady!”

Laughing loudly, Marquis Gickson repeatedly slapped Roerston on the back.

Roerston subtly avoided the blows and let a faint blush appear on his face.

He tilted his head slightly and smiled shyly.

The sight was so beautiful that people truly could believe he was the most beautiful living being beneath the heavens.

Of course, Roerston was not actually embarrassed.

It was simply one of his special talents.

Whenever he found himself in an awkward situation, acting shy usually made the other person back off on their own.

Besides…

The best lies always contain a little truth.