My Wife Waited in the Wheat Fields

Throughout her 29 years of life, there had never been such an occurrence.

Never had she reacted physically first when dealing with someone, nor had she ever found it difficult to maintain eye contact having to bow her head, nor had she felt foolish about herself for these reactions.

None of these had ever happened in Ygrett’s life.

“Did you call for me?”

Her soft voice echoed in her ears.

With all other noise seeming to disappear, she said in the most girlish voice she had ever produced in her life,

“Yes…”

And then she panicked.

“What the hell…”

‘Why was her voice like this?’

‘Why was it coming out so thin and weak?’

Ygrett was shocked by her usual forthright and cursing self, feeling a disconnect.

But nothing changed despite her feelings.

“Are you a wizard?”

“Yes…”

“Do you have business in our domain?”

‘How could someone be so observant?’

The only clues were a question about whether you are Mr. Portman’s wife and your robe.

Yet, she managed to piece together a response so quickly.

Her cleverness further unsettled Ygrett’s heart.

“I mean…”

She felt dizzy.

It was also unbearably hot, and she desperately wanted to take off her robe but couldn’t.

Because this was the East.

And because she was famous.

If her face were exposed and an article like ‘Ygrett seen in the East!’ appeared, Kalbaran would be directly exposed to invasion.

Ygrett, meanwhile, made sure to pull her robe tighter.

“There’s someone I know in that mansion…”

She felt an inexplicable need to use honorifics.

Ygrett hunched her body.

The lady gracefully brought her hands together and bowed her head slightly.

“It’s a sudden meeting, and I regret not having shown proper manners earlier. I am Tyria Portman of the Portman family who governs Wiven.”

‘Tyria Portman.’

‘Tyria Portman.’

‘Tyria Portman.’

Ygrett repeated her name over and over in her mind.

She absolutely must not forget it, the thought surged wildly.

“I… I’m Ygr.”

“Ygr?”

“My name…”

Tyria made a sound of understanding and bowed once more.

“So, you are Wizard Ygr. Would you like to get on the carriage? Since I’ve just finished my business.”

Wizards are a rare resource.

Among them, those clad in gold robes are welcomed as elite personnel everywhere on the continent.

Even if the usefulness of their skills had declined with industrial progress, a high-level wizard was still akin to nobility.

For Tyria, it was only natural to show utmost respect.

Of course, Ygrett could not accept it that way.

Ygrett had been a gold-robed wizard even before she had matured, and throughout her life, she had only ever been on the receiving end of other people’s courtesy.

Now, finding herself inexplicably troubled by someone whose reasons she didn’t even know,

‘Does… does she have an interest in me?’

She found herself considering this beyond mere societal norms or the fact that the other person was married—it was something instinctual.

It might just be a whim.

“Th-thank you…”

Ygrett barely managed to express her gratitude amidst her confusion.

While she struggled to understand her own feelings, Tyria nodded and led her towards the carriage.

Ygrett was unaware.

‘Just as the head of the family said, wizards are truly bizarre.’

Tyria found her behavior strange, not knowing the real reason for today’s visit was to meet Kasha.

‘Wizards generally lack social skills. In the last ten years, I’ve not met a single sane wizard.’

It was a secret that would never be revealed.

* * *

Clatter, clatter.

As the carriage slowly made its way, Ygrett kept stealing glances at Tyria sitting next to her.

Thanks to her companion’s quiet nature, Ygrett had a bit of time to gather her thoughts.

‘What in the world is this?’

She placed a hand over her heart, feeling its rapid beats.

Why did she feel so diminished in front of this woman?

‘Do I… like her? Am I attracted to women?’

Could it be that the reason she had never fancied a man was this?

Was her sexual identity so misaligned that she ended up a spinster?

‘No…’

That wasn’t it.

Without needing to stretch her imagination too far, she could come up with an answer.

‘Isn’t that right?’

Usually, when thinking about romance or marriage, there should be an impulse to do this and that with the other person.

But Ygrett didn’t feel that way.

Instead, she had no desire to touch her.

Touching her felt like a great sin that should never be committed under heaven.

She wished she could preserve her current state forever.

Noble, beautiful, and eternally elegant just as she is.

Put differently.

‘Admiration?’

Perhaps that was the feeling.

Even with a genius mind of a grand wizard, it was surprising how quickly she could identify her feelings.

It turned out to be idolization.

Ygrett, who had always been everyone’s idol, was experiencing for the first time in her life what it was like to idolize someone else.

It was a moment that made her chuckle to herself.

“But may I know who you are looking for?”

“Uh, um…?”

“You mentioned knowing someone at the mansion, which suggests you mean a servant. However, none of our servants seem to have any connection to a wizard.”

That would be the case.

Considering Kasha’s deliberate efforts to infiltrate this place, it was unlikely that his identity would have been carelessly exposed.

“That’s…”

Another thought suddenly occurred to her.

‘What if Kasha is targeting this woman?’

Her heart sank with the thought.

The idea of this lady being tainted by that malevolent spirit sent chills down her spine like never before.

Ygrett lifted her head slightly.

Looking directly at Tyria, she silently vowed,

‘I’ll protect you…!’

Fate must have led her here for this reason.

With that thought, Ygrett continued her response.

“I… marriage…!”

She would personally confront the likes of the unsavory Kasha and preserve her in this beautiful state!

“Marriage…? Ah, are you engaged?”

“Sort of…?”

“That’s surprising. If he’s around your age, could it be Ron? Dane? Or perhaps… one of the knights?”

Tyria’s response was the longest she had spoken so far.

‘Was she interested in someone else’s love life?’

Her tone even seemed a bit more cheerful.

Something about it was pleasantly girlish.

“Um, he might be using… an alias.”

Ygrett replied shyly, struggling to keep her lips from trembling.

Tyria’s fingers twitched at that.

Ah, it might be suspicious if she said a servant of the household was using an alias.

“I’ll… take him away.”

She would remove any irritants from her sight.

Upon hearing this, Tyria pondered for a moment before nodding.

“It’s a humble rural estate. I should inform the head of the house to pay more attention to security.”

“The head of the house…?”

“Ah, our lord, my… husband…”

For some reason, as she uttered the word ‘husband,’ Tyria’s cheeks seemed to flush.

Although the change in her expression was subtle and hard to detect, it was clear that her feelings for the lord were significant.

Being a stranger, yet keenly aware of her subtle reactions, it was evident.

‘Should I kill him?’

Should she kill this man who dared touch the beautiful Tyria?

Wouldn’t it be just to tear apart such a shameless man?

‘Yes, let’s kill him.’

That was her thought in that instant.

“Ah, we’ve arrived.”

The carriage stopped.

Through the window, a small and tranquil mansion was visible.

To Ygrett, the mansion seemed like a mere country house in the borderlands.

‘To live in such a small place…’

It felt like her heart was tearing apart.

She decided she would kill the lord and take Tyria and Kasha away.

Ygrett stepped out of the carriage.

Tyria followed her down.

“Just a moment.”

Tyria reached out and firmly grasped Ygrett’s hand.

At that moment, a warmth spread from where they touched, sending a strange and thrilling sensation up her spine.

The sense of betrayal was an added bonus.

“Uh…”

She let out a soft sound.

“…Madam.”

A chillingly cold voice echoed.

A murderous aura pressed down on Ygrett’s entire body.

Tyria responded in her soft, calm voice, seemingly unaware.

“Ah, the head of the household. This is a guest of our mansion.”

“A guest…”

“The head?”

The voice was familiar.

The man’s voice was all too familiar to Ygrett.

Yet the way he and Tyria addressed each other was strangely formal, and this murderous aura was unusual too.

‘What…?’

Ygrett lifted her head and saw.

Standing by the door, leaning on a cane, was the man with features from her memories, yet dressed differently than she remembered.

Thump―!

Her heart pounded heavily.

Kasha, Kasha was right there before her.

In an unexpected form, seated in a position of authority.

“Madam, this man is the head of our household.”

‘So this man, Kasha, was Tyria’s husband.’

Her mind went blank.

And still, Kasha approached.

Leaning on his cane at a pace neither slow nor fast.

Pressing down with an oppressive murderous intent.

And coming right up to her.

“Come here.”

He roughly grabbed Tyria and pulled her into his embrace.

Ygrett lifted her head.

There was Kasha, looking down at her as if he could kill her at any moment.

“…What brings you here?”

An invisible force seemed to choke her throat.

It must be his killing intent.

He was intent on killing her.

It was strange.

She should first question why he was hostile toward her.

No, the fact that these two were married should be what’s questionable.

And she should be struggling to fend off this murderous aura.

But all of that felt inconsequential, and a single thought, a single scene filled Ygrett’s mind.

“Uh…”

Kasha, looking handsome even as his face was distorted with killing intent as he protected Tyria.

Tyria, looking like a frightened rabbit with her face flushed red in his embrace.

And behind them, the tranquil mansion.

The more she looked, the more the scene seemed like a painting, like someone’s idealized fantasy.

Ygrett finally realized.

“Ah, I actually like this.”

She realized she was hopelessly attracted to beautiful people.

Anything looked good if it was pretty and handsome.

She muttered as if enchanted.

“It’s been a while…”

And then,

“…!”

Tyria’s complexion turned pale at those words.

She remembered why Ygrett had come here—to take away her betrothed.

* * *

‘Why is she here?’

Danal felt suffocated.

He had followed Kasha outside, curious about his menacing demeanor earlier in the day.

And now, to his shock.

The lady who had gone out in the morning and the little one who came with her were none other than Ygrett Valentina.

‘…Screwed.’

Something extraordinary was happening.

Surely, before the day was out, someone’s head would be rolling on the ground.

Danal quickly left and headed to the barracks of the knights.

“Knights, full alert!!! Assemble!!!”

His robust call summoned five subordinate knights to line up before him.

Danal, pale-faced, said.

“There’s practice. The Knightly Order’s stealth technique must be maintained for a day! You must not be discovered by anyone!”

Snap!

As Danal formed a hand seal, his figure blurred.

The four perceptive knights, realizing something was amiss, also formed hand seals and concealed themselves.

Veron was…

‘A true knight doesn’t panic even in sudden situations!’

He smiled broadly, beginning to apply the stealth techniques he had diligently practiced.

Veron was on his way to becoming a proficient assassin today.