02: At the Borderlands

Four months after leaving the Magic Tower—

Noah was diligently conducting magical research in a remote duchy. Thanks to the reward money, the facilities of his research center were nearly perfect.

When tired of research, he would leave the research building on the lord’s estate and take a stroll by the lake, surrounded by the forest.

Here, with almost no onlookers, there was no need to wear a mask or pull his hood low.

Noah felt the wind on his bare skin, inhaling the air saturated with the moisture from the lake and the scent of fresh greenery.

Gazing at the beautiful forest and the blue sky reflected in the mirror-like lake, Noah enjoyed an exceptional lunch bathed in warm sunlight.

A pristine white cloth covered the garden table, displaying an array of sandwiches filled with duck meat, vegetables, and eggs. Noah had a particular fondness for duck meat, so he indulged in that.

“Well, Lord Noah, you should also eat your vegetables.”

A shadow fell over Noah, accompanied by a voice like rolling bells. At the same time, the gentle aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air.

“May I sit to the left of Lord Noah?”

Offering a cup of freshly brewed hot coffee, an elegant young lady adorned in platinum hair shined through the sunlight.

She had arrived here alone two months after Noah’s return to the borderlands.

Her noble family, facing financial difficulties due to investment failures, had sent her here, hoping for financial support and possibly a marriage proposal.

Normally, Noah would have turned her away, but she had her own deep reasons, and Noah reluctantly allowed her to stay.

“You can sit wherever you want.”

Noah responded bluntly, to which she smiled.

“The left half of Lord Noah’s face is so beautiful; it soothes my soul.”

“You’re quite impertinent, aren’t you?”

Noah’s right half, including his face, was marked with burned marks and scars, making it so disfigured that it was unbearable to look at. Despite being complimented only on his left side, he hadn’t received such praise since he was a child.

“Please don’t mind. I have only six months to live, so just consider me a pitiable girl and let me be,” she said unabashedly, smiling brightly.

“What an exasperating person! Always using her limited lifespan as leverage,” Noah grumbled.

Surprisingly, despite her ailing health, this girl had traveled by carriage for a month from the capital to the remote duchy. If he had turned her away, she would likely have weakened and died on her way back.

“That’s because Lord Noah is kind. That’s why someone like me can be looked down upon. Oh, by the way, I might not have six months left, huh? Haha, I completely forgot about the peaceful life here,” she said, enjoying a scone and sipping heavily brewed tea with a lot of cream.

“If you were kind, you wouldn’t be a magical researcher, and you wouldn’t have any success. Besides, you are not a fiancée but an experimental subject for me,” Noah replied with an unsociable expression.

“Yes, as that experimental subject, I would like a delicious apple pie. It would be even better if there were a scoop of cold ice cream on top of a hot apple pie,” she said.

“Ugh, fine. You’re a pitiable person about to die soon anyway. I’ll grant your dream,” Noah reluctantly said.

“I’m so happy, Lord Noah. I love that side of you,” she said, smiling brightly like a sunbeam.

“Guh!” With that, Noah swiftly covered his face with his hood and fell silent.

After lunch, the two sat side by side at the garden table, gazing endlessly at the sparkling lake.

The noble girl left on the porch of the lord’s mansion was indeed a mysterious woman.