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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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It was the beginning of a grand plan.
Now that he was the Court Mage, he had practically unlimited access to research funding from the Imperial family. How he used that funding was entirely up to him.
Of course, blatant misuse for personal gain would be problematic, but as long as he stayed within reasonable bounds, the higher-ups wouldn’t interfere.
He had heard all of this from Elena.
If he were in their shoes, he wouldn’t want to stir up trouble unnecessarily either.
That didn’t mean he could just slack off.
“It’s embarrassing to even explain the cure to anyone.”
He grumbled as he sat down at his desk.
Arwen’s proposed method of treatment had been a culture shock. It wasn’t that he found it repulsive, but he imagined most people would find it absurd.
He could try to be optimistic and think, “At least there’s a solution,” but Arwen had said it wasn’t a permanent fix.
There had to be a better way.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” as the saying goes.
He had plenty of money and time. If he kept searching, he would eventually find a solution. He was about to embark on this new research project, everything seemingly perfect, when the inevitable distractions arrived.
“Come on, don’t be so embarrassed. What’s a little… treatment… between us?”
“It’s a big deal. My life is on the line here.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t die. I asked Sylvia, and she said as long as you regularly release your magical power, your condition won’t worsen, even if it doesn’t improve.”
Lassiel, sitting next to him with her chin resting on her hand, her eyes sparkling with amusement, was distraction number one.
“Seriously? You’re talking about this as if it’s someone else’s problem?”
“What else should I do?”
“Elena said she’s preparing for the wedding. You should be helping her instead of lounging around here.”
“Well, the groom’s also lounging around here.”
“I’m working. This is research. I’m doing my job.”
“Is that so?”
Lassiel tilted her head and repeated the word “wedding” several times, as if savoring it.
“I guess there hasn’t been a wedding with five brides and one groom before, huh?”
“…It’s even weirder coming from one of the five brides.”
“Well, I’m fine with it. To be honest, I was worried because there were so many strong contenders. But this isn’t so bad.”
Lassiel shrugged and added,
“And I like this dynamic.”
“Why…?”
“It’s like I’m stealing you away from them. It’s… exciting.”
Rudrick clutched his head, feeling a headache coming on.
He was trying to figure out how to deal with Lassiel, who was evolving into a more and more outrageous version of herself, when distraction number two arrived and spoke cautiously.
“…Rudrick, even if you have… those kinds of preferences… I’ll try my best to accommodate them.”
“I don’t.”
He immediately shut down Eileen’s suggestion.
This was driving him crazy. He was trying to start a new research project with a fresh perspective, and these two were distracting him with their nonsense.
If Sylvia or Arwen showed up, it would be a complete disaster.
“Sigh…”
He had finally decided to do something productive, and these two showed up to distract him.
He was about to scold them, but seeing their cheerful smiles, he gave up. He would just have to endure it.
He couldn’t bring himself to scold them while they were smiling like that. He decided to focus on his work and figure out where to start when Lassiel casually put her arm around his shoulders and asked,
“So, what are you going to do?”
“About what?”
“The wedding of the century. Have you thought about it?”
“The wedding of the century…”
“One groom, five brides. It’s definitely the wedding of the century.”
Lassiel chuckled playfully.
It was strange how casually she accepted this absurd situation. She was always so cheerful and easygoing.
“Thinking about it gives me a headache, so can you please stop bringing it up?”
“You have to endure it. You brought this upon yourself. You know it’s the woman who gets to have her cake and eat it too, right?”
Lassiel poked him playfully on the forehead.
He brought this upon himself…?
“I brought this upon myself?”
“Oh, it wasn’t you?”
“How did I bring this upon myself…?”
“Even someone as oblivious and insensitive as me noticed you were… flirting.”
Rudrick paused, thinking about her words.
He was flirting…?
He wracked his brain, trying to remember, and Lassiel added,
“Oh, I mean before I regressed.”
“Seriously?!”
“Ahahaha, I’m just kidding. Well, not that you weren’t flirting after we regressed…”
Lassiel chuckled, while Eileen looked at him enviously.
This was a complete mess.
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“So that’s what happened.”
Sylvia nodded, her expression and voice calm, after listening to Rudrick’s story.
She had been listening intently, adding her own commentary and expressing agreement, and Rudrick looked at her expectantly, hoping for some words of wisdom.
Since the incident at her lair, he had been thinking, “If she challenged me to a duel, I’d win for sure.” But magic wasn’t just about fighting, and Sylvia’s experience and knowledge far surpassed his own.
He had been hoping for some insight, having heard that Sylvia had been researching his condition independently.
“Then I should start preparing for the wedding too.”
“How did you reach that conclusion?”
“Huh? Isn’t that what you asked?”
Rudrick’s face fell, disappointed by her response.
Sylvia, sensing his disappointment, fidgeted with her hair as he sighed and said,
“I was asking if you had any insights on my research.”
“Ah, I see.”
They were talking about different things.
Rudrick was more concerned about his research than the impending wedding, while Sylvia was more concerned about the wedding preparations.
“I thought you meant you wanted to help with the preparations.”
“Elena will take care of it.”
“…Is that so?”
“Knowing her personality, she’ll do a great job. If we try to help, she’ll just be annoyed.”
“You’re right. If we just leave her alone, she’ll take care of everything.”
Sylvia nodded in agreement.
It wasn’t that Elena couldn’t handle the preparations alone, but she would be annoyed if someone interfered while she was working so diligently. At least, that’s what he had learned from observing her.
“Anyway, I got rid of distraction Yellow and distraction Black, so can you share any relevant research materials with me?”
“Who are they?”
“You know, the overly enthusiastic one and the shy one who were bothering me just now.”
“Hmm…”
Sylvia hummed, her eyes narrowing as she realized who he was talking about. It seemed the other two had visited while she was away.
Elena was undoubtedly busy preparing for the wedding, and Arwen was waiting patiently for Rudrick to return to his room. That meant Sylvia was the only one who was falling behind.
A thought occurred to her, and she retrieved a few books from the bookshelf next to her desk.
“I’ve been conducting some personal experiments. On your… condition… I don’t know if it’s appropriate to call it a disease, but… Anyway, if we can identify the cause, it might not be impossible to cure it.”
“I suppose so. Even cancer can be cured if it’s detected early and treated with surgery or medication.”
“…I don’t understand what you mean, but I’ve developed a hypothesis. We’ll see what happens after I conduct some experiments.”
“That’s great. Can I borrow those books?”
“But…”
As Rudrick reached for the books, Sylvia pulled them back with a smile.
“…?”
“I have one condition.”
“…A condition?”
“Here.”
Tap, tap.
Sylvia closed her eyes and pointed at her lips.
“Give me a kiss, and I’ll lend them to you.”
“…We’re practically engaged, and you’re setting conditions?”
“Well, as you said, we’re getting married soon, so a kiss shouldn’t be a big deal, right?”
Sylvia replied with a playful smile.
He couldn’t argue with that logic. He had fallen for his own trap.
Sylvia’s cheeks flushed slightly, unable to hide her embarrassment. But it was something she would have to get used to.
After all, she would be sharing his bed regularly to treat his condition.
“Sigh…”
He wondered if he would die of exhaustion after they were married.
He leaned in and lightly kissed her lips.
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