WFMW 27

Chapter 27

An Unwelcome Visitor

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March 27, 2024

Unlike Cedar, whose features were bold and solid, Grisha was delicate and graceful.

That appearance reminded Lady Briar of the late duchess, which only made Grisha all the more unpleasant to her.

“If he left for the Academy to become a mage, he should’ve just settled down there. Why come back now of all times?”

Lady Briar’s heart was tight with anxiety.

“I should have made Cedar the duke while Grisha was away!”

Now that Duke Granite had collapsed and remained unconscious for so long, it was the perfect opportunity to transfer the title. Yet, despite all her maneuvering, Lady Briar had failed to secure her son’s position.

Before collapsing, the duke had left behind a clear condition for succession:

Marriage, and the birth of a child.

In other words, if Cedar married and had a child, he would immediately become Duke Granite.

The problem was—Cedar did not follow her wishes.

“He needs to marry and have a child as soon as possible, yet he goes and marries some woman in a coma just because he feels like it!”

When he rejected every prospective bride Lady Briar brought him, claiming he didn’t like any of them, she thought he was merely being stubborn. But then he stormed out and came back with a marriage certificate naming a woman who was in a coma.

Anyone could see that he had done it purely to defy her.

And while she wasted time fuming, Grisha had graduated from the Academy and returned home—

—a fully fledged mage!

“Damn it! I should’ve eliminated him before this happened. The old fools who insist the heir must be the firstborn will gain influence again.”

While many swordmasters had come from House Granite—earning the family the title “The Empire’s Sword”—mages were equally rare and precious.

“If Grisha marries and has a child first, Cedar will be pushed out of succession completely.”

Lady Briar had struggled too long and too hard to seize the Granite family to let all her efforts crumble now.

“I have to coax Grisha into delaying or giving up marriage.”

The worst-case scenario was that he had already married and fathered a child at the Academy—but if that were the case, he wouldn’t have returned so quietly.

“First, I’ll make sure he stays in the mansion. That way, I can keep an eye on everything he does.”

Finishing her quick mental calculations, Lady Briar smiled sweetly at him.

“‘Duchess’ sounds so distant, doesn’t it? Just call me Mother, Grisha.”

“The closer people are, the more they should respect each other’s boundaries.”

As Lady Briar stepped closer, Grisha took a step back, drawing a clear line between them.

Her smile cracked at the coldness of the gesture.

But she couldn’t show her displeasure, not after hearing what Grisha said next.

“I’d like to see my father.”

Duke Granite—Grisha’s father—had been bedridden for five years.

Throughout that long time, although no one else knew, his consciousness occasionally returned.

And whenever it did, he asked for Grisha.

“If he regains consciousness and sees Grisha…”

He might immediately insist on passing down the title.

Lady Briar quickly cut him off, forcing another bright smile.

“Before that, you should wash up and rest. It’s been so long since you came home! You must’ve had a tiring journey.”

“What could be more important than seeing my father?”

“It’s for his health. He’s only just fallen asleep. It would be better to see him in the morning.”

“Duchess.”

Grisha’s gaze was cold—deep and blue, like cut sapphire.

It felt as though that gaze was piercing straight through her, and Lady Briar involuntarily drew in a breath.

Then, in a measured, icy tone, Grisha warned her:

“I don’t care what schemes you’re plotting. But if you try to harm me—or anyone important to me—I won’t let it go this time. I’m not a child anymore.”

“Some… someone important to you? Are you saying you have a lover?”

“And what if I do?”

Lady Briar’s composure vanished.

Forgetting her polite façade, she reached out to stop him as he turned away.

“Wait, Grisha! We should talk more! Where are you going? This is your home!”

Grisha halted, his expression turning even colder.

“This isn’t my home. I only came here to warn you.”

Then, without another word, he left the Granite mansion.

Lady Briar stood frozen, staring blankly at the door he had exited through.

Then, with a furious snap, she hurled the fan in her hand to the floor.

“Ugh!”

Grisha Granite! That insolent boy—so much younger than Cedar, and apart from being the child of that woman, not superior to him in any way!

To Lady Briar, Grisha’s very existence was like a wall of bloodline she could never overcome, no matter how hard she struggled.

No matter how beautiful she was, even though she had seduced the duke and borne him his first son, her low birth had kept her a servant for years—and now Grisha’s presence mocked that humiliation itself.

After gnawing her nails for some time, Lady Briar turned and muttered:

“I need to see Cedar.”

Even if her son was foolish and defiant toward his mother, surely he wouldn’t keep ignoring her now that someone had come to take everything from him.

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It had been a week since Cedar had last joined family meals—a tradition of House Granite that everyone eats together.

According to Heil, Cedar had been extremely busy preparing for the upcoming subjugation campaign.

“Th-There’s always a lot to get ready for! Especially since Madam was unwell and he couldn’t participate last time!”

Heil had answered like that, sweating profusely when I asked why Cedar hadn’t been around.

Judging from his flushed face, it seemed the entire knight order was under strain because of the campaign or whatever it was.

So I told him to take a break.

“Well, less vegetables for me—nothing to complain about.”

Even though Cedar was away with the Azure Dragon Knights, my life hadn’t changed much.

Heil prepared my meals, though his cooking wasn’t particularly impressive—just some bread he picked up on the way, a bowl of soup, and a bit of salad.

Compared to Cedar’s well-balanced meals, it was plain and repetitive, but I wasn’t picky about food, so it didn’t bother me.

Once, I told him:

“You don’t have to come all the way here. Just buy groceries in bulk and I’ll cook for myself.”

But Heil nearly panicked.

“Ah! But this is my joy, Madam! I still feel guilty, you see! I’m just—still so sorry about everything!”

His reaction was so dramatic that I couldn’t bring myself to insist again, so I just ate whatever he brought three times a day.

“Though I still don’t know what he’s sorry about.”

No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out, so I just gave up.

I’ve always been a little slow when it comes to people’s feelings—so even if he explained, I probably wouldn’t understand why I should feel guilty.

Anyway, while Cedar was gone, I focused on cultivating my herb garden.

I told Heil what seedlings I needed, and what seeds to get.

I’d worried he wouldn’t be able to find them all, but to my surprise, he managed perfectly.

Wearing the straw hat Cedar had given me, and my shortest dress with an apron tied over it—since I didn’t own proper work clothes—I took my hoe and went to the field.

“If I try to plant them all in one day, I’ll collapse.”

My stamina was pitifully weak, so I adjusted my goal drastically:

One row per day.

So far, one neat row of seedlings swayed gently in the breeze—the ones I’d planted yesterday.

From what I’d read, transplanting seedlings could shock them due to sudden environmental change, but these looked perfectly fine.

“The soil must be good.”

It definitely wasn’t my planting skill, so I decided the ground itself deserved credit.

Cedar had already prepared the furrows for me, so all I had to do was dig small holes, place the seedlings, and cover them with soil.

As I worked, I could feel the difference between the sections Cedar had tilled with his pickaxe and those he hadn’t.

“Maybe it’s because he’s a Swordmaster? He’s definitely strong—different from mages.”

There wasn’t a single large stone left in the areas he’d worked on.

As I remembered him swinging that pickaxe so diligently, I shook my head.

“Maybe Cedar’s just special. I’ve never met another Swordmaster, so who knows.”

Somehow, I doubted all Swordmasters would be kind enough—or skilled enough—to dig up a garden so neatly.

“I’ll have to thank him later. Maybe give him the first potion I make. It’s going to be a fatigue recovery potion, though, so I’m not sure he’ll need it.”

The more I thought about it, the less useful it seemed, leaving me with a strange feeling.

So I stopped thinking about Cedar and focused on planting the rest.

I carefully removed each seedling, made sure the roots weren’t damaged, covered them with soil, and watered them thoroughly.

By the time I finished, sweat was dripping down my forehead.

Wiping it away, I smiled in satisfaction.

“I think I’ll be able to brew my first potion soon.”

At this pace, I’d have all the seedlings planted by the end of the week.

As I admired the droplets glistening on the green leaves, I suddenly heard the sound of approaching hooves.

“Huh? Why would a carriage be coming here?”