Chapter 4
It was true that Adelia had been Roerston’s junior at the Academy and had graduated at the top of her class.
Even when Roerston had still been a student there, he had heard rumors that there was a genius in one of the lower grades.
So it wasn’t accurate to say they were complete strangers.
But there was one far more important fact.
Their marriage…
…was a complete scam.
Years ago, the Whitton family had completely fallen apart when Adelia was ten years old.
Her mother had grown tired of her gambling-addicted husband and left, abandoning four-year-old Adelia behind.
Her father then hired a cheap nanny to look after her while he wasted his money enjoying himself.
By the time Adelia’s father finally declared bankruptcy after being hounded by debt collectors, she was ten years old and only in her fourth year at the Academy.
Since she was exceptionally gifted, the Academy paid her tuition.
However, they couldn’t provide living expenses or a place for her to stay during school vacations.
That was when an anonymous sponsor reached out to help her.
It was Roerston’s father, the late Duke of Ipsel.
Well, Father always enjoyed supporting talented scholars, Roerston thought.
The late Duke donated a huge amount of money to build a dormitory at the Academy just for Adelia’s sake.
Thanks to that, not only Adelia but also many students from distant regions no longer had to keep moving from one uncomfortable boarding house to another.
That was how Roerston and Adelia came to know each other.
Although Adelia graduated first in her class, she couldn’t afford to continue her studies at the Royal Research Laboratory.
So Roerston made her an offer.
If she married him and pretended to be his wife, he would provide everything she needed until she graduated from the laboratory.
Roerston smiled as he remembered the frightened look on Adelia’s face when he first suggested the contract marriage.
“W-Why are you willing to go this far?”
“Because I’m completely sick of people telling me to get married.”
Her face had been as red as a ruby, he thought.
Besides, Adelia was the perfect person for a contract marriage that could end cleanly afterward.
His brilliant junior seemed to have absolutely no interest in humans.
Only microorganisms.
“Duke Ipsel. You seem to be in an unusually good mood today.”
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.
Roerston rubbed the back of his neck before turning around.
A graceful middle-aged woman stood there, hiding her smile behind a folding fan.
“It’s been a long time, Lady Haizenne.”
“Indeed it has. I left the capital to recover my health over a year ago. Has it really been almost two years already?”
“It seems so.”
After politely greeting her, Roerston reluctantly asked,
“Your family has been well, I hope?”
“Oh, certainly. Everyone is doing quite well.”
“That’s wonderful…”
“Except for my daughter Violet, who has completely lost her appetite ever since hearing that news.”
…Here we go.
Roerston groaned inwardly.
“I never imagined that the first thing I’d hear after returning to the capital would be that Duke Ipsel had gotten married. And without even holding a wedding ceremony? Just how precious must this young lady be?”
Lady Haizenne continued poking at him with every word.
“How precious,” she said.
Considering there hadn’t even been a wedding, that clearly wasn’t what she really meant.
What she was actually asking was,
“What kind of problem was there that you couldn’t even hold a proper wedding?”
“Our schedules simply didn’t allow it. We plan to hold an official ceremony later.”
“I’m sure Violet will be delighted to hear that.”
Roerston let out another quiet laugh.
She’s really determined to keep attacking me.
Among all the nobles, no one was more troublesome than Marchioness Haizenne.
Rumor had it that she had secretly loved Roerston’s father for many years.
When Roerston’s mother died, Lady Haizenne had also recently become a widow.
People even whispered that she had tried to win over the late Duke while believing it was finally her chance.
Whether those rumors were true or not, the late Duke never looked at another woman after losing his wife.
So Lady Haizenne shifted her attention to his son.
Her daughter, Violet, was deeply in love with Roerston.
Lady Haizenne planned to marry the two of them.
Even if she couldn’t have the Duke himself, she believed she could still gain the wealth of House Ipsel through her daughter.
He got married while I was away? How dare he make my daughter cry. I’ll never let this go.
In reality, she treated Violet’s constant crying as little more than an annoyance.
Yet for some reason, she never stopped holding a grudge against Roerston.
Unfortunately for her, Roerston was not an easy opponent.
“I have a meeting to attend now, my lady.”
Smiling politely, Roerston gently turned Lady Haizenne by the shoulders to face the opposite direction.
“W-What…? Oh my.”
His movements were so smooth and natural that even she felt as though she had been courteously escorted away.
After politely sending her off, Roerston fell into thought.
I didn’t expect the Marquis’s family to return to the capital already.
I hope Adelia doesn’t run into Lady Violet.
And that wasn’t his only concern.
There was another reason, besides avoiding pressure from relatives, that had driven him to arrange this fake marriage.
For many years, there had been one woman who relentlessly pursued him.
No matter how many times he told her he had no intention of marrying her, she refused to listen.
In any case…
Even if the marriage was fake and only meant to fool everyone else, Adelia was still his wife.
She was also his junior.
And she was someone his father had supported for many years.
He couldn’t simply leave someone with such deep ties to him surrounded by wolves waiting to attack.
That was out of the question.
For a while, I’d better accompany her whenever she goes to and from work.
Roerston made up his mind.
***
While Roerston was skillfully avoiding the hidden barbs in Lady Haizenne’s words…
Adelia was touring the laboratory with Professor Siern.
She was still overwhelmed with excitement.
“Professor! T-That’s…!”
She pointed at something with her mouth wide open.
Siern brushed back his bangs and nodded.
For a brief moment, pride shone in his dark eyes.
“It’s exactly what you think it is.”
“The automatic nucleus extractor invented last winter…! I can’t believe I’m actually seeing it with my own eyes!”
“Would you like to try using it?”
Adelia’s eyes became huge.
“Really? Am I allowed to?”
“Of course. You’re part of this laboratory now. It’s best if you become familiar with the equipment.”
Siern walked over to the nucleus extractor and adjusted several controls.
He placed a petri dish containing preserved microorganisms underneath it and motioned for her to come over.
“Come here and try it.”
Adelia’s breathing quickened.
She was about to use such an advanced machine.
The latest model.
It would probably take another three or four years before equipment like this became available at ordinary laboratories or the Academy.
But I get to use it right now…!
Because I joined this laboratory!
Thank you so much, God…!
Following Siern’s instructions, she looked through the microscope and carefully held the extraction tube.
Very gently, she lowered its tip toward one microorganism.
The tube slipped in almost by itself.
Then it skillfully extracted only the red nucleus.
“I did it, Professor!”
“Good. Now move only the nucleus over here.”
Following his instructions, Adelia carefully transferred it.
The nucleus twitched slightly on the new petri dish before becoming still.
Without its protective membrane, it looked even redder than before.
“It looks… delicious…”
“…What did you say?”
Realizing what she had said aloud, Adelia smiled awkwardly.
“I-I mean… through this microscope, the nucleus looks just like a perfectly ripe cherry.”
“That nucleus came from a microorganism that causes intestinal disease.”
“Even so!”
“…?”
Adelia’s green eyes began sparkling far too brightly again.
For the second time that day, Professor Siern realized that something about this girl was definitely not normal.
