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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Here you go. I’m in a good mood, so I’ll lend them to you, just this once.”
Sylvia handed him a stack of papers filled with scribbles and a pile of books with an air of self-importance.
Rudrick skimmed through them and saw complex equations. The books were mostly reference materials Sylvia used, valuable books that even the Imperial Palace library didn’t possess.
Most of them were ancient texts that were impossible to find these days. She must have retrieved them from her lair through a dimensional link.
Rudrick accepted them with a dubious expression.
“This is complicated. I’m more of a humanities guy.”
“Don’t you think you can understand it if you look at it?”
“I can understand the equations.”
He grumbled.
The only things he recognized in Sylvia’s materials were the equations.
Any mage worth their salt had to be familiar with mathematical formulas, so he could read those. But the rest were written in an ancient language, making them incomprehensible.
To use an analogy from his past life, it was like asking for historical sources and receiving a mountain of primary source materials in Latin.
He picked up a book written in the ancient language, carefully holding it so as not to damage the fragile pages, and shrugged.
“I can’t read ancient languages.”
“Ah, that’s a problem, isn’t it?”
Sylvia shrugged as if it was no big deal and reached out. She rummaged through her spatially linked lair and retrieved a pair of glasses.
“…Why the glasses?”
“It’s an artifact. A language decryption artifact. It doesn’t work on everything, just certain languages.”
She approached him with a smile and put the glasses on him. Then, she clapped her hands together.
“Oh, they look good on you.”
Despite being an artifact, it looked like a regular pair of glasses. Glasses didn’t require any sophisticated technology, so they existed in this world as well.
On Rudrick, they looked more like a fashion accessory.
“You look more… intellectual. A bit sharper too. It’s a different vibe.”
“Do they look bad?”
“No, not at all… It’s just… a different image, you know? You usually have this… innocent, childlike look.”
Sylvia examined his face with admiration.
“Wow, just a pair of glasses, and your image changes completely. You should wear them more often.”
“…No, thanks.”
“Don’t play hard to get. You know you like them.”
She chuckled and ruffled his hair, and he swatted her hand away.
As they were bickering, a pair of violet eyes peeked through the slightly open door before disappearing.
Neither Sylvia nor Rudrick noticed. It happened in a fleeting moment.
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“…Wedding, wedding.”
Eileen paced back and forth near the window in her office at the Grand Duchess’ residence in the Nord Duchy.
It was less than an hour away from the capital through the teleportation circle, and she had practically lived in the capital today.
A wedding.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Since it was an event that only happened once in a lifetime, Eileen couldn’t help but feel anxious, even though Elena was in charge of the preparations.
She didn’t want to interfere and upset her cousin, so she was torn between wanting to be involved and not wanting to cause any problems.
“…I’ll just have to trust Elena’s taste.”
She muttered in resignation, but her expression quickly hardened.
Something didn’t feel right.
Why was she worrying about Elena’s feelings? It was her wedding too.
“…Why am I even considering Elena’s feelings?”
Eileen pondered this thought.
It was her wedding too.
A once-in-a-lifetime event, a wedding to the man she loved, Rudrick. Did it make sense for her to suppress her own opinions just to accommodate Elena?
After much deliberation, she shook her head.
“No. This is unacceptable.”
She came to a clear conclusion.
It would be an unprecedented wedding, with five brides and one groom, but that meant she had a 20% stake in this wedding. It was her right to exercise that stake.
It was a logical conclusion, even in her own eyes.
Elena might be in charge of the preparations, but she could only make decisions for her 20% share. Eileen had the right to control her own 20% of the wedding, regardless of how Elena wanted to proceed.
Having reached this conclusion, Eileen fiddled with her communication artifact.
It was directly connected to Rudrick. She could contact him anytime by channeling her magical power into it.
“If Elena and I each have a 20% share, that means Rudrick…”
She hesitated.
If Elena, Eileen, Lassiel, Sylvia, and Arwen each had a 20% share of the wedding, it added up to 100%. But Rudrick’s share was immeasurable. It went beyond 100%.
“If Rudrick wants something… then…”
She shook her head and added,
“That’s how it will be.”
It was pointless to discuss Rudrick’s share in the wedding. If he wanted something, it would happen.
So, if she could gauge his opinion beforehand and subtly guide him in the direction she desired, she could silence Elena even if she started complaining.
Having reached this conclusion, Eileen smiled brightly and channeled her magical power into the artifact.
The connection was established quickly.
“Rudrick.”
– Ah, Eileen. What’s up at this hour?
“Well…”
Her voice brightened as soon as she heard his voice. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Are you still in your laboratory?”
– Yeah, I was just about to head back to my room.
“Who’s with you?”
Sylvia was here, but she went to bed.
“…So you’re alone.”
Yep…
As luck would have it, Rudrick was alone.
She didn’t want to deal with rumors and accusations of manipulating him behind the scenes, so this was a good opportunity to talk to him.
Of course, she rationalized that she was simply trying to get his opinion.
Lowering her voice, she asked,
“…Rudrick, about the wedding…”
– What about it?
“I was just wondering if you had any… preferences… regarding the arrangements.”
– Didn’t Elena say she would take care of everything?
“Yes, but…”
Eileen paused, gathering her thoughts, and then carefully voiced her concerns.
“You might have different ideas. I’m sure Elena would be willing to adjust the plans if that’s what you want.”
– Uh… I was just going to go with whatever she decided.
“…Is that so?”
– Do you have any preferences, Eileen?
Eileen was momentarily speechless at his question.
Rudrick might have seemed naive, but he was surprisingly perceptive. She had been beating around the bush, but he had cut straight to the chase.
“…Well, you see…”
– Just let me know if you have any ideas, Eileen.
“Huh?”
– I’m coming over now. We can talk about it face to face.
“W-wait! Rudrick! I didn’t mean…!”
She was flustered, but the connection had already been cut off.
Eileen stared at the artifact in dismay.
“…He’s coming here?”
She froze for a moment, overwhelmed by the implications, and then dashed towards the bathroom.
She hadn’t even showered yet, having planned to do so before going to bed. She couldn’t possibly face Rudrick in her current state, exhausted from the day’s events.
“I haven’t even showered yet…!”
His decision to visit her at this late hour meant he intended to stay the night.
In other words, it was enough to send Eileen, who was inexperienced and had never held a man’s hand other than Rudrick’s, into a spiral of assumptions.
She sprinted through the unnecessarily long hallways of the Grand Duchess’ residence, her face flushed with panic.
“I need to prepare… lingerie… and the bed… is the bed too small? No, I need to shower first…!”
Her imagination ran wild.
Rudrick, if he could see her now, would be dumbfounded.
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