Chapter 7: Cedric’s Priorities Are Strange, Aren’t They?
“Lady Eliana’s S-rank status will remain confidential until she enters the academy.”
“Father, Mother, Richard, please keep this a secret as well.”
Cedric emphasized this firmly.
Thus, it became a secret shared only among those present.
“When will you begin exploring the dungeon?”
“Cedric, the academy term will start soon.”
The duke directed the question to Cedric.
Cedric replied calmly.
“I will not be attending the academy.”
“I used the accelerated advancement system and have already obtained my graduation qualification.”
What!?
Not only the viscount family but even the ducal family members were shocked.
“You!”
“When did you do such a thing!?”
The duke questioned Cedric.
It was the first time he had heard about it.
“I first saw Lady Eliana at the guild.”
“I began thinking about how I could help her someday.”
“If I attended the academy, I would not be able to move freely.”
“And Lady Eliana will enroll a year later.”
“There is no point attending an academy where Lady Eliana is not present.”
No matter what the situation was, Cedric always placed Eliana above everything.
The duke sighed.
“You are the Crown Prince’s aide.”
“Are you sure this is acceptable?”
Eliana remembered the story Cedric had previously told about his classmates.
‘If he is the Crown Prince’s aide…’
‘Wouldn’t it be a problem if he doesn’t attend the academy?’
“If I am marrying into the viscount house, there is no reason for me to remain His Highness’s aide.”
“I would not be able to spend time with Lady Eliana.”
“I resigned from the position the same day she accepted the engagement.”
“And besides…”
“Lady Eliana will enroll next year.”
“So during this year, we will explore dungeons together.”
“I don’t have time to serve as the Crown Prince’s aide.”
Cedric calmly chose Eliana over the Crown Prince.
The duke suddenly burst into laughter while holding his stomach.
‘Ah!’
‘His way of laughing is the same as Lord Cedric’s!’
Eliana noticed the similarity between father and son and laughed brightly.
Everyone in the ducal family was captivated by Eliana’s smile.
“How adorable!”
“To think we could gain such a cute daughter!”
“For the first time, I feel like praising Cedric!”
That was the moment Duchess Celine completely fell in love with Eliana.
The duke nodded repeatedly, clearly pleased that Eliana would become part of the family.
Richard…
His ears turned red as he lowered his head.
“Richard.”
“Even if Eliana is cute, she is my fiancée.”
Cedric pointed this out.
Richard immediately raised his head.
“What do you expect!”
“If anyone saw a smile like that, they would get flustered!”
Richard loudly protested.
Meanwhile, the person in question simply blinked in confusion.
She had never seen her own smile before, so she had no idea.
“Eliana.”
“I’ve told you many times.”
“If you smile carelessly, it will cause trouble.”
Marina had often warned Eliana about this.
“What could I do?”
“They both laughed in exactly the same way!”
“I was just happy to discover their similarity!”
Eliana puffed out her cheeks and protested to Marina.
Even that gesture was adorable.
Celine fell even deeper under Eliana’s charm.
“Lady Eliana.”
“The similarity you mentioned was between me and Cedric?”
The duke asked.
Eliana nodded.
“The way you both hold your stomach while laughing, and then wipe the corners of your eyes afterward.”
“It was exactly the same!”
The duke looked surprised.
“Cedric laughed out loud?”
“Not just smiling, but actually laughing?”
“Yes.”
“Lord Cedric laughs quite often.”
“Or rather…”
“Maybe he laughs at me?”
Eliana answered honestly.
“So he wasn’t unable to laugh.”
“He simply never had a reason to.”
“Although he has been in a good mood since the engagement discussion began.”
“It seems he simply had no interest in anything before meeting Lady Eliana.”
The ducal family nodded in understanding.
The viscount family also seemed to realize something.
“It seems the two of them truly are compatible.”
“They will likely be very happy.”
Although the conversation could have continued endlessly, the engagement documents were finalized.
The Carmine family soon left the ducal house.
Cedric and Eliana promised to begin preparing for the dungeon the next day before parting ways.
The one who felt the greatest relief after the ducal family approved the engagement was Eliza.
From that day onward, whenever Eliza attended social gatherings, Duchess Celine always stayed by her side to support her.
When Eliana later heard about this from her mother, she felt deeply grateful to her future mother-in-law.
It would take time before the engagement was officially recognized.
Normally, visiting the fiancé’s house before receiving the king’s approval was considered inappropriate.
However, Cedric said they could use the excuse that they had formed an adventurer party if necessary.
Because of this, Cedric would temporarily stay at Eliana’s house.
Once the engagement was approved, the explanation would change to preparing for his marriage into the family.
They prepared an unused room in the mansion as a preparation room.
The two of them began discussing their plans.
“I researched various things and wrote down what we might need.”
“Can you check whether these are necessary?”
Eliana showed Cedric a sheet of paper.
Cedric read through it.
“You came up with these using knowledge from your previous life, didn’t you?”
“Nearly half of these items do not exist in this country.”
Only then did Eliana realize it.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t speak about my ideas too freely…”
Eliana still did not want people to know she was reincarnated.
She couldn’t always tell whether a thought came from her previous life or her current one.
“Lady Eliana.”
“Do you clearly remember your past life?”
Cedric asked.
“I had memories since I was born.”
“But if you ask whether I remember everything…”
“I’m not sure.”
“I remember living in Japan.”
“But I can’t remember things about myself.”
“Or things I personally experienced.”
Eliana explained while trying to recall her memories.
“After learning you were reincarnated, I searched through royal archives about past reincarnated individuals.”
“Some had the opposite situation.”
“But eventually all of them remembered their memories.”
“It seems most reincarnated individuals excel in a particular talent.”
“So perhaps the memories you haven’t recalled yet are related to that talent.”
Hearing Cedric’s explanation, Eliana smiled slightly.
“It would be wonderful if the life I lived before was something special.”
“If it could help this country and the people living here, I would be very happy.”
Deep down, Eliana felt anxious.
She remembered knowledge from Japan.
But she had no idea who she herself had been.
Cedric’s words eased that worry slightly.
“Even if you never remember everything, the knowledge written on this paper is already extraordinary.”
“Could you explain the unfamiliar terms written here?”
Only then did Eliana realize that she had written words that didn’t exist in this world.
“Lord Cedric.”
“Whenever I want to create something…”
“Can I consult you first?”
“Until my memories fully return, may I rely on you?”
Cedric had no intention of refusing such a request.
“Of course.”
“Please rely on me as much as you want.”
Cedric gently pulled Eliana closer and placed a kiss on her cheek.
Eliana was surprised.
However, she had already begun to feel attracted to Cedric.
So she accepted the kiss.
Cedric seated Eliana between his legs.
He let her lean back against his chest like a backrest while holding her gently.
The two of them discussed the items on Eliana’s list.
They talked about how each could be created.
The discussion never seemed to end.
That entire day was spent talking about dungeon preparations.
From the next day onward, they visited magic tool shops in the dungeon town.
They purchased various items that seemed useful.
Then Eliana and Cedric modified them together.
First, they worked on cooking equipment.
Fire could not be used inside dungeons.
Using the idea of induction cookers from her previous life, Eliana designed a stone plate about the size of a cutting board.
A fire magic stone was embedded in the center.
Instead of producing flames, it generated heat.
She drew a circle in the center of the stone plate large enough to place a pot.
Crushed ice magic stones were mixed along the circle’s line.
The ice created a boundary so that heat would not spread outside the circle.
Inside the circle became extremely hot.
Outside it remained cool.
Next, they worked on a water container.
Water flasks existed in this world.
However, they were simply wooden containers with a magic stone embedded to prevent the water from spoiling.
Because of that, adventurers had to carry large amounts of water inside magic bags.
Dungeons could require several days of exploration.
If all party members had magic bags, they would divide the burden of water and food supplies.
For solo adventurers, the real danger was starvation rather than monsters.
That was why solo dungeon exploration was prohibited.
Eliana prepared two water magic stones and infused them with her own magic power.
She placed one magic stone inside an existing water flask.
Then she brought Cedric to the viscount house’s well.
She dropped the second magic stone into the well.
“I’m not sure if this will work.”
“But watch closely.”
Eliana tilted the flask and began pouring out the water.
The water kept flowing continuously.
Cedric watched in shock.
“Did you connect the flask to the well?”
Eliana looked inside the flask.
“It worked!”
“There’s still water inside!”
Cedric lifted Eliana high into the air and spun around.
After placing her back on the ground, he hugged her tightly.
“Lady Eliana, you are amazing!”
“Water is the most troublesome problem.”
“With this, adventurers can stay in dungeons much longer.”
Eliana looked into Cedric’s eyes.
“Are my ideas actually useful?”
Cedric nodded firmly.
“They are extremely helpful.”
“Overcoming the harsh challenges of a dungeon is part of the adventure.”
“But reducing unnecessary danger is also important.”
“Whether to choose risk or safety should be the adventurer’s decision.”
Cedric gently patted Eliana’s head and made a suggestion.
“May I show these other items you created to the guild master?”
“We should confirm whether they are allowed for dungeon use.”
Eliana agreed with Cedric’s suggestion.
When Cedric later brought Eliana’s inventions to the guild master, the man immediately became extremely interested.