The First Official Wife War (2)

As the sun completely set and the garden and various magical lights of the mansion were illuminated, the mages who tirelessly handled miscellaneous tasks couldn’t hide their tension from the unusual atmosphere flowing inside the mansion.

The ‘commotion’ erupted around the time preparations for dinner began.

As always, every mage wanted to finish their assigned tasks quickly and settle in the garden to train their mana.

It was to the point where there was talk of moving the entire magic tower here, as those with even a slight knack for chores hoped to come to this mansion.

After finishing tasks suited to their talents, the mages would switch with their replacements and sit in the garden, where magic arrays and Depuratio, Depuro bloomed abundantly, stacking pure mana neatly—a scene now familiar in the mansion.

No mage who had worked at the master’s mansion even once thought they were wasting time on the few chores.

After all, gathering mana all day at the magic tower was less effective than two hours of training in the mansion’s garden, so what more needed to be said?

Moreover, if they pleased the master while doing chores, it was common to receive mithril ingots with a purity close to 100%.

Thus, no one felt a sense of degradation or time wasted in their work at the mansion.

On the contrary, they envied those who worked as regular employees—chefs, workshop assistants, magic array managers—and eagerly awaited the morning.

However, after the commotion that began this evening, the mages sincerely regretted working at the mansion for the first time.

Hazel carefully placed the spirit stone, which she had been repeatedly putting in and taking out of the storage box, into her magic pouch and left the room.

She climbed the stairs and arrived at Kim Han’s room.

As she opened the door and entered, a cool air lingered, perhaps because the owner was absent, though it shouldn’t be the case with the temperature control magic.

Standing in the middle of the room, she looked around the bedroom. The first thing that caught her eye was the messily scattered bedding.

Her own room on the second floor was always tidy because the caretaker cleaned it daily, but Kim Han’s bedroom and study on the third floor needed tidying up, as no one dared to touch them.

The Solo Count, an expert in matters of love between men and women, once said,

“There’s nothing as joyful as being able to do something for the one you love!”

She tidied up the disheveled bed and opened the bedroom window to let in some fresh air.

After straightening the decorations here and there, she looked around the organized room and smiled happily.

Sitting on the made bed, she enjoyed the pleasant breeze coming through the open window, waiting for him.

The evening in Exorsus, which has a warm climate all year round.

As the gentle spring breeze blew, Hazel, filled with nostalgia for her hometown, slowly lay down on the bed.

The soft feeling that warmly enveloped her and the cool, slightly rough texture of the blanket offered a sense of drowsiness, spreading a satisfied smile across her face when she heard the door open.

Click.

“Kim Han!!”

Thinking her partner had arrived, Hazel half-raised her body and met eyes with Naruan, who entered with a child’s voice.

“Ah… was it you?”

“You! Who are you!! Who are you to be on Kim Han’s bed…?!”

“Be quiet. This is the place where the head of our legion stays.”

“You! You, you, you! Get off Kim Han’s bed right now!”

Naruan, who was jumping up and down in place while pointing a finger at Hazel, couldn’t contain her rising anger as she watched Hazel ignore her and lie back down on Kim Han’s bed.

Hazel, who thought Naruan would make some noise and leave as usual, got up from the bed and turned towards the door when she felt a thick murderous intent emanating from where Naruan stood.

Hazel’s face, facing Naruan, was stiff and hardened.

“Hmph! You! You, you, you, you, you! I haven’t even attempted my sure-win strategy yet! And yet! On Kim Han’s bed!!”

“How dare you! No matter how immature you are, to emit killing intent in the leader’s bedroom. It’s not immaturity, but stupidity, isn’t it, gnome child?”

Standing by the bed, Hazel’s words and actions, as if sincerely scolding a child, became a decisive pair of scissors cutting through Naruan’s barely held sanity.

“You! Die!!”

Naruan, who had somehow drawn a black scythe, suddenly appeared in front of Hazel and swung the scythe larger than herself.

With heightened reflexes, excellent technique, and the added talent of Rabbit Step, the swiftly approaching scythe created a sharp line in Kim Han’s bedroom with nimble movements.

Thud! Crack—! Thud! Crash! Thud! Thud! Thud! Clang, crack—!

It was a fast and agile attack, but it was no match for Hazel, who could separate and sever space. Unless Naruan could control her force more precisely.

Instead, the black scythe left Kim Han’s furniture and decorations shattered in its wake, as if in place of Hazel.

“Argh! Die! You! How dare you!!”

Unable to contain her anger, she swung the massive scythe. Each time the scythe moved boldly through the air, Kim Han’s room gradually turned into a junkyard.

At the sight, Hazel, who had been expressionlessly defending against Naruan’s attacks, began to show a distorted expression.

“How dare you… in the bedroom where the mate of this body, the leader of the group and a high elf, resides…”

Boom—! Crash!! Crash!!

“Eek!”

The sound of space bursting and Naruan breaking through the door and flying outside happened simultaneously.

Moreover, the shockwave from the clash of the two’s attacks shattered every beautifully decorated window in the bedroom.

Naruan’s body, having broken through the door, twisted once in mid-air, then kicked off the wall with both feet, using that force to fly even faster towards Hazel.

However, Hazel, who had to block the attack, was lost in thought over the shattered windows.

Hazel couldn’t block Naruan’s side attack. No, she didn’t even think to block it.

At this rate, Hazel would be severely injured by the side attack, and Naruan would also suffer considerable damage from the recoil.

“Limited grant. Time stop. Target—gold coin. Trajectory—calculation complete! Song of Light, Song of the Lonely Heart!”

In a critical situation. With a cold voice piercing between them, something golden continuously collided with Naruan’s scythe attacking Hazel.

The force was significant, and with the continuous impact on the same spot, Naruan’s weapon finally slipped from her hand and embedded itself in the wall connected to the study.

“Stop!”

The weapon flew away, but Naruan, who was about to pounce on Hazel, and Hazel, who was about to fully utilize her divine power, both stopped and turned their heads simultaneously towards the sound.

There stood Lee Hyo-ju, glaring at them with a frosty expression, and Mae Young-ryeong, unable to hide her surprise.

“Freeze! Step back!”

“Naruan, I told you to stop.”

Just like at the fortune teller’s shelter yesterday, Lee Hyo-ju’s informal speech was icy cold, enough to make Naruan and Hazel shiver momentarily.

Lee Hyo-ju was truly angry. Kim Han had clearly entrusted her with the girls, but to think she would let his bedroom end up like this, no matter how thoughtless she was.

“What on earth is going on? Was it Naruan?”

Unlike Lee Hyo-ju, Mae Young-ryeong asked in a gentle, soothing voice, and Naruan, slightly softened, pointed at Hazel, expressing her frustration.

“That, that one! Just because she’s got a big chest, she was lying on Kim Han’s bed! You! Who on earth are you?!”

Surprisingly, Naruan’s sharp question, uncharacteristic of her, drew the attention of the three women to Hazel.

Before they returned to the mansion, Hazel had gone out to learn the Harmonious Divine Technique, and when Hazel returned, the three women were in their rooms, practicing the skills they had learned yesterday, so they hadn’t had a chance to meet Hazel after her transformation.

“Who are you?”

Lee Hyo-ju’s question remained cold. At the same time, she drew a coin to use as a hidden weapon.

Hazel, surprised that even Lee Hyo-ju was questioning who she was, realized she wasn’t wearing her earrings and let out a dry laugh.

“Huh? Oh! Right. You don’t recognize me because I dispelled the magic. I’m Hazel.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?!”

“…….”

Naruan, Mae Young-ryeong, and Lee Hyo-ju were all surprised in their own ways.

If Arun had been there, he might have made an even bigger fuss about this.

“Lies! Hazel is a man!”

Naruan shouted incredulously, but Hazel didn’t even bother to respond. It was as if she was ignoring Naruan like a dog barking in the distance.

Just as the astute Naruan was about to flare up again, Lee Hyo-ju intervened.

“Were you a woman?”

“Hmm, that’s strange. Didn’t I appear as a woman to human eyes? I had the appearance of a perfect woman. I thought it was odd that my partner entrusted Arun with my guidance.”

“…Partner?”

“Partner?”

As Lee Hyo-ju and Mae Young-ryeong asked in surprise, Naruan also felt uneasy about the word “partner” and glared at the woman claiming to be Hazel.

“Yes, I’m talking about the High Elf’s Comes, Kim Han.”

“Partner…”

“Since when have you been in such a relationship with Kim Han?”

“Partner, my foot! But, what does that even mean?”

Ignoring Mae Young-ryeong, who was lost in thought with a blank face, and Naruan, who was shouting without understanding the meaning of “partner,” Hazel looked Lee Hyo-ju in the eye and answered clearly, one syllable at a time.

“Since. T.O.D.A.Y.”

“…Did Kim Han also agree?”

“…Well, how should I put it? I couldn’t be sure, so I came to find my partner. This day, my partner suddenly fell asleep on me, so we only managed a kiss.”

At the word “kiss,” the three women flinched.

Especially Naruan, who thought, ‘I only managed to rub cheeks…’ and lowered her head with a dejected look.

“So, it’s not ‘confirmed’ yet, is it? Anyway, what are you going to do now?”

“Huh?”

“I mean this mess. Even if we set Naruan aside, Hazel got so worked up that it turned into a complete disaster. We should be thankful the walls didn’t collapse.”

“…Right. What should we do?”

Lee Hyo-ju and Hazel looked around with worried expressions. The only fortunate thing was that the walls hadn’t crumbled. Everything else was a disaster.

Every specially made window was shattered, and not a single piece of furniture was intact.

Moreover, the shockwave had left its mark on the walls, and Naruan’s side had pierced through the wall connected to the study. It was no wonder the two women sighed.

For a brief moment, Lee Hyo-ju considered turning back time, but even that seemed impossible.

The place was too severely destroyed, and the backlash was beyond what she could handle.

The tower master and elders who approached the chaos couldn’t say a word.

Naruan sidled up to Lee Hyo-ju and asked in a small voice.

“Um… do you think Kim Han will be really mad?”

“Who knows.”

“…Oh no. We’re in big trouble.”

“Indeed.”

While the four women were lost in their own thoughts and worries, unable to take any action, a sound broke the silence.

It was a voice they always wanted to hear, but at this moment, it was the last voice they wanted to hear.

“What on earth is all this?”