WFMW 22

Chapter 22

Love Truly Is a Great Thing

“…You’re coming out today, right?”

Hearing Hael’s voice, Sither slowly turned his head.

That sharp gaze—like a beast watching its prey—made Hael swallow nervously.

When he didn’t know Sither Granite well, that look used to terrify him.
Now, though, he wasn’t so easily cowed.

He just doesn’t want to work, that’s all!

Why did the man have to glare at him like that, when he didn’t even have a proper excuse?

Well, you’re working today whether you like it or not!

Hael wanted nothing more than to ignore it all, but this time he had no choice—he had to drag Sither back to the Blue Dragon Knights.

The northern subjugation campaign is coming up soon, and we need to coordinate with the other orders.

Until recently, his superior had been the definition of a workaholic, so Hael had never once worried about him slacking off.

But now that the commander’s wife—who had been in a coma—had woken up, Hael felt a creeping sense of crisis.

It’s not urgent enough to pressure him… yet.

But instinct told him he had to start now.

Sither was already spending every waking moment with his wife—
personally cooking all her meals, taking sudden vacation time for the first time in his life because she was unwell.

And Lady Nelly’s health is frail. She’ll probably get sick often… which means he’ll take time off often, too.

And when his superior doesn’t work…

That means the work becomes mine!

Absolutely not. Hael respected Sither Granite deeply as a commander,
but there was no way he was going to take over the man’s duties.

The key to a healthy life is separating work and personal life!

So please, come out. Come back to work.

Besides, everyone’s already noticed the sudden vacation.

A man who’d never once taken a day off suddenly going on leave—it was only natural everyone was curious.

A Sword Master doesn’t take sick leave, so clearly it was for personal reasons.

Before long, rumors would spread that Sither had divorced Nelly Periway and started a new, rosy romance with another woman.

If you don’t want people to find out Lady Nelly has woken up, you need to come to work!

But Sither mercilessly crushed Hael’s desperate hope with a flat response.

“I’m taking the rest of the week off.”

Hael’s face crumpled instantly. Scratching his head in frustration, he protested,

“What? But my lady seems to be recovering well now!”

At that, Sither’s expression also twisted in irritation.

Turning fully to face Hael, he planted his hands on his hips and scolded,

“Have you seen her properly? She’s still clearly a patient!”

“She looked perfectly fine when I saw her at breakfast.”

Sure, she’s thinner than average, but if she’s walking around like a little chick, she’s doing fine.

Hael thought sourly.

Apparently that comment hit a nerve, because Sither clicked his tongue and strode toward him.

“You didn’t even look closely—wait, why are you meeting my wife without my permission?”

And just like that, the interrogation veered wildly off course.

Hael exhaled a long, weary sigh and shut his eyes.

“…You’re seriously ill, Commander.”

“Yes. She’s still sick! She only just managed to get out of bed this morning. Do you know how worried I was, thinking something might happen while she slept?”

“I wasn’t talking about Lady Nelly. I meant you, Commander.”

“What?”

Hael could only stare in disbelief as the man poured out his worries about his wife, thinking Hael was agreeing with him.

He sighed again.

I knew it was true love, but this is worse than I thought.

Once, he’d genuinely admired the fact that even someone as inhumanly strict as his commander could love someone so deeply.

But now? Not anymore.

First he told me to take care of her like a butler, and now he’s interrogating me for doing it?

Hael was now certain that the reason Sither was hiding Nelly’s recovery was to hide her from everyone entirely.

She’s not even that much of a beauty! He’s the only one who sees her that way!

But Sither wouldn’t understand no matter what he said, so Hael could only stew in frustration.

Letting out another deep sigh, he pushed his hair back and summarized tiredly,

“So, just one week off, right? You’ll be back next week.”

“If I need more time, I’ll let you know.”

“No!”

Hael, who usually trembled in front of Sither, raised his voice instinctively.

After all, this wasn’t the same cold, fearsome commander anymore—this was a man hopelessly lost in love.

“Are you trying to make your lady into a Sword Master? Why do you need that long? She’s just a bit weak! You could still come to work. You’ll see her three times a day anyway!”

Their workplace was practically next door.

Just hop the fence, and you’re there! If anything happened, he could come running.

Why on earth did he need to stay home? Hael simply couldn’t understand.

After listening in silence, Sither crossed his arms and answered in a grave tone:

“I need to make an herb garden.”

“…What?”

“I’m going to grow medicinal herbs in the garden.”

“…”

Because Nelly might overexert herself and collapse if she tried to garden again, Sither decided he would do it himself—strong, healthy, and capable.

To him, it was the most natural conclusion.

But he made one crucial mistake.

He didn’t explain why he was making the herb garden.

So naturally, Hael thought—

First he insists on personally cooking every meal for her health, and now he’s growing herbs too?!

He was going to grow herbs just to feed her more nutritious food!

Is it because of this sheer persistence that he became a Sword Master—or did becoming a Sword Master make him this persistent?

Whichever it was, Hael could only admire him.

“Love truly is a great thing.”

To think it could change a man this much—what else could it be but the power of love?

And here I was, grumbling about having more work dumped on me… how shameful.

My apologies, Sir Sither. I’ll support you wholeheartedly once again.

Hael looked at him with eyes glistening with emotion.

Unfortunately, his sincerity bounced right off.

“Are you in love or something?”

Sither frowned as he asked the question.

His face didn’t show even the slightest suspicion that Hael might be talking about him.

Despite how obvious it was—how utterly devoted he was, to the point he wouldn’t even care for his own parents this much.

I’m talking about you! You!!

Hael longed to grab his superior by the collar and shout, but he just sighed deeply instead.

“Never mind, sir.”

Using magic to turn back time had left me with an incurable condition—
magical depletion.

I’d long since given up on healing myself.

Just as a fish knows instinctively it cannot live outside the water,
I knew, the moment I woke, that I could no longer contain mana within my body.

The vessel used too long will eventually crack—and once it’s exposed to intense heat, it’s bound to shatter.

That was exactly my situation.

When I recklessly poured out too much magic at once, the vessel holding my mana—my body—broke.

Now, my heart could only contain the faintest trace of magic.

But then—

Someone said they could cure me.

[If he heals my illness, I’ll tell you how to solve your problem as well.]

A helping hand, completely unexpected, had appeared.

I can’t wait for Grisha to come.

My heart raced, my mind restless.

It felt like wandering a desert and finally finding an oasis.

He said I was already handling it well, didn’t he?

That’s what Zach had told me.

He’d said he would show me the method, but that I was already managing well on my own.

Did he notice the way I was gathering mana through the magic circle? But that amount is far too little.

Maybe, being an elf who lives countless times longer than humans, he thought it was fine to collect mana slowly, bit by bit.

If that was his solution, that would be a problem.

Still—

So this is what hope feels like.

My heart fluttered.

Even if I told myself not to get excited, anticipation swelled inside me.

Now I understood why Zach’s expression had shifted so much during our conversation.

Calm down. If it turns out to be nothing special, I’ll only be disappointed.

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

I took deep breaths to steady myself.

How much time passed like that?

Step.

Hearing light footsteps, I lifted my head.

Beyond the open dining room door, a shadow slipped out of the darkness—black hair sliding into the light.

Sither!

No matter how I tried, I couldn’t calm my heart. But the moment he appeared, it started pounding again—for an entirely different reason.

His eyes were sharp, like a hawk staring down rotting meat.

And in a cold tone, he asked:

“…You had plenty of time to eat, didn’t you?”

“Ah—!”

Right. It was time for the meal inspection he’d warned me about earlier.

I completely forgot!

Looking down, the fresh greens on my plate seemed to grin mockingly up at me.

Sither frowned and crossed his arms.

I lowered my head and mumbled an excuse.

“I didn’t ignore you or refuse to eat. I just… remembered something important while I was thinking, and then…”

My voice was barely audible, even to myself.

Above me came a long, heavy sigh.

“Haa…”

Was he disappointed in me?