MSDH CH 03

Chapter – 03

I stared at Noah, and heat rushed to my face. I stammered,

“I-I didn’t realize it got on me.”

“It’s fine as long as I know.”

He even smiled with his eyes.

Ugh… my heart tightened. Is this also part of his scheme? Huh? Is it?

He must have bewitched me like this every time and perfectly hidden his identity.

Before, my heart would’ve simply fluttered with excitement—but now it beat irregularly, almost like an arrhythmia.

…Still, the cream puff is delicious.

“Eating something sweet makes all the fatigue disappear.”

As I brought another cream puff to my mouth, Noah watched me quietly and muttered,

“Maybe I should’ve prepared something for stamina instead.”

“Hm? Why?”

“Because my wife has trouble waking up every morning. Even today, I had to wake you several times, and you still couldn’t get up. You look tired now too.”

I blinked twice and shot him a look.

“…That’s not my fault.”

Noah raised an eyebrow as if to ask why.

“Then it’s my fault?”

“Of course!”

“I didn’t do anything.”

His shameless tone left me speechless.

“That’s because you don’t let me sleep until dawn! Even yesterday, I told you I was sleepy!”

“I held back.”

“…What do you mean ‘held back’? When?”

“I held back very well because you said you were tired.”

That was holding back? Lies!

This man is completely different during the day and at night.

I glared at him suspiciously again, but Noah only smiled with his eyes.

“So, what is this good news my wife mentioned today?”

“Ah.”

I had completely forgotten while eating.

“I got a report from Nigella today. Compared to last year, our revenue increased tenfold! Including the request completion rate!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! At this rate, expanding the business doesn’t seem impossible. So I’m thinking of hiring another employee.”

“An employee… Hazel, I’ll help with that. I’ll find someone as capable as Nigella.”

I froze for a moment at his words.

“…‘Someone’?”

“Ah, I mean a person.”

W-Well, it’s not an insult… haha.

Since Nigella was also introduced by him, adding another person probably wouldn’t change much.

“Will you? That would make things easier for me.”

“Of course.”

I set aside the now-empty basket and turned my body fully toward Noah.

“Also, I was thinking of improving benefits for frequent clients. There are customers who always come to our guild. There’s one mercenary in particular who uses us the most—our revenue increase is practically thanks to that person.”

“Yes, and?”

“So I was thinking of treating that mercenary to a meal. They were my first client, so they’re special. They look a bit intimidating, but they have a good personality, and they handle requests quickly and efficiently, so clients tend to flock to them… Noah?”

“A meal?”

He was smiling gently, but suddenly the air felt as cold as frost.

“Yeah, nothing big. Just a simple meal for customer relations.”

“Just the two of you?”

…Why does it feel so cold in this carriage?

“Probably? It’s not like it’s a company dinner.”

Noah tapped his fingers lightly against his thigh.

“My dear, that doesn’t sound like a very good idea.”

“…What?”

“My dear is wise, so I’m sure you can come up with a better method.”

“Hm?”

As he spoke, Noah gently brushed my hair.

His fingers played lightly with my reddish-gold strands.

I flinched at the word my dear and straightened my posture.

I must not be fooled by that sweet word.

Because there’s a hidden trap—Noah uses “my dear” whenever something displeases him, when his jealousy rises, or when he’s suppressing something.

In other words, to him, “my dear” is the same as calling me by my full name, Hazel Love.

So if that word just slipped out now…

“Uh, well… that’s true, but they’re a top-ranked mercenary, and they only take requests from our guild.”

“Now, think again, Hazel.”

I shut my mouth.

Noah waited for my answer, his hand moving from my hair to my chin, gently stroking it.

Before, I would’ve found his jealousy cute and just laughed it off.

But now that I know his identity, this is no longer something to laugh about.

Back then, I would’ve pushed forward with my own decision.

And Noah would’ve always followed my lead.

But now that I think about it… maybe that wasn’t compromise.

Maybe it was a threat.

Maybe that wasn’t jealousy—it was killing intent.

If I upset him, he might change his plans and kill me on the spot.

First priority: survive!

I clapped my hands together.

“Hmm, yeah, that does sound a bit inappropriate, right? It’s not an interview or anything, and meeting a client one-on-one could cause rumors! I’ll just have someone adjust their payment ratio slightly instead. Y-Yeah, that sounds better!”

I instinctively glanced at Noah.

Seemingly pleased with my answer, he leaned in and kissed my lips, smiling dazzlingly.

“See? You can do it.”

“I-It’s thanks to you, Noah…?”

“Do you need any more help from me?”

“Hmm, I’ll tell you if I need it later. For now, I think I’m fine.”

As soon as I answered, he kissed me again.

“I see. Then…”

“Hm?”

“What is the name of that mercenary?”

Their name? Why is he asking that?

He gently rubbed my cheek again. It tickled, and I squinted one eye.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’m just curious. You said they’re someone you’re grateful to. Someone who made my wife smile.”

If that’s all, then it’s fine…

“Ah, what was it again… Go, Gobi something. I’ll have to check the chart properly. It was a pretty difficult name.”

Just in case, I vaguely brushed it off and glanced at Noah.

“That’s enough.”

He said I didn’t need to remember and changed the topic.

The place our carriage arrived at was an ordinary part of the city.

More precisely, a marketplace street filled with shops.

We usually came here once every week or two for simple dates.

Holding Noah’s hand, I stepped down from the carriage, and as always, people’s gazes gathered briefly before disappearing.

“There are quite a lot of people today. We should be careful.”

“Yeah. Come to think of it, Ferrarium seems to be getting more populated. Maybe I should do some promotion.”

“That sounds fine.”

“Then how about setting up a small office around here? Just for guidance and public requests—maybe hire part-timers instead of full staff.”

“That sounds good too.”

“…Are you sure it’s actually good?”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Everything Hazel does is right. Just leave the difficult parts to me.”

“Alright. I’ll think about it a bit more.”

I nodded and looked around, still holding his hand.

Normally, I would’ve searched for food the moment I entered the market, but maybe because I had eaten cream puffs earlier, I wasn’t as tempted.

Instead, my gaze landed on a large bulletin board near the entrance.

It was completely covered with notices.

As if drawn in, I walked toward it, and Noah followed naturally.

The word Caution! was written in bold red letters everywhere.

Looking closer, it said that the number of monsters in the northern and western regions was increasing, and their territory was expanding, so travelers should be extremely careful.

“The north and the west…”

This place is in the southeastern part of Elkium—far south of the capital, Elcard—so it doesn’t directly apply to us.

But I couldn’t ignore it either.

The reason I settled in Ferrarium wasn’t just because it was as developed as the capital, with lower prices and a nearby sea.

More importantly, it was the exact opposite of the northern region, Sergal.

Northern Sergal is the most dangerous place in the original story.

It’s where the final hidden boss—the ultimate villain—breaks free from their seal and regains their power.

For now, that power is sealed, but one day, they will pose a great threat to the protagonists.

The increasing number of monsters is already a sign of that.

And when high-level monsters start appearing, along with dangerous followers—beasts with purple magic stones embedded in their heads—it will mean the seal is about to break.

That’s also why I resigned so quickly.

If you ask whether I did it just to save myself…

I can’t deny it.

But the protagonists will defeat the final boss and achieve a happy ending—just like the title says.

After Hazel Love dies from overwork.

So even without me, nothing changes.

Still, the fact that the territory is expanding is concerning.

Ah… come to think of it, it was said that Kailus Hadid disappears around the time the final boss appears.

Until then, he keeps tormenting the protagonists…

Wait.

If Noah is Kailus Hadid, then who is the hidden mastermind supposed to appear before the protagonists?

Is there a way to confirm Noah’s identity…?

I turned my head and looked up at him.

“Hazel?”

“I-I was just looking because you’re handsome.”

There is a way.

Kailus Hadid, as the hidden mastermind and villain, has extremely strong resistance to poison, illusion magic, and dark magic.

Which means—my illusion magic wouldn’t work on him.

Even I, who can trap a Sword Master in illusions, wouldn’t be able to hypnotize him.

I haven’t tried it yet, but…

…Then I just have to try it myself, right?