Ch.121Volume 11 (2)

The daughter of the Reckyless Duchy, Marie Housen Reckyless, had been enjoying happy days recently. Thanks to her diligent studying, she not only received good grades at the academy but also had very little stress.

Even though she had experienced various incidents this year, she managed to overcome them wisely. Above all, her relationship with Rina, which could be described as a bad connection, had progressed much further than before.

Following Issac’s advice, the two had a heart-to-heart talk, and when Rina sincerely apologized and bowed, their relationship grew somewhat closer. Of course, Marie didn’t forget to apologize to Rina for being too petty herself.

Having cleared up the tangled, thread-like bad blood with Rina, only one thing remained: her relationship with her boyfriend, Issac.

Who was Issac? He was Xenon, the author of the Biography of Xenon, whose identity countless people were desperate to discover.

Of course, while acquaintances knew Issac’s identity, what mattered more was that he was her boyfriend. And not just an ordinary one, but a boyfriend with whom she had shared intimate nights.

Since their first night together, she had truly awakened to sexuality and was now engaging in relations almost every other day. Coincidentally, Issac had been appointed as a recommended student by Professor Elena, giving him plenty of free time.

When Marie was stressed from her studies, Issac took care of her both physically and mentally, making it impossible for her to be unhappy. She was so happy that sometimes she wondered if it was all just a dream.

Above all, Marie was absolutely delighted with the recent changes in Issac. As they walked side by side, she called out to him.

“Issac.”

“Hmm?”

As Issac turned his head to look at her in response to her call, Marie slowly examined his appearance, which had changed dramatically over the past three months.

Before, he had possessed cute and innocent looks like a newborn penguin that evoked protective instincts, but now his eyes had sharpened, his baby fat had noticeably disappeared, and he looked much more dignified than before.

And that wasn’t all. As if proving the saying that men develop later than women, he had grown significantly taller in recent months.

Originally barely over 170cm, he was now easily over 180cm tall. His father’s genes had begun to shine through, broadening his shoulders as well. Apparently, he had grown so suddenly that he had to change his school uniform every two weeks.

But what mattered most to Marie was something else.

“Did you call me?”

“Mmm.”

As soon as Issac opened his mouth, Marie’s expression turned ecstatic at his sweet voice that whispered in her ears. While his noticeably larger body was impressive, what she loved most was his voice.

Unlike his previously delicate, boyish voice, he now had a mature, deep tone that seemed to drip with honey. A beautiful voice that could make her faint if he whispered “sleep well” in her ear.

A man’s attractive voice is enough to give a woman great affection, but Issac not only had the voice but also unique good looks.

He was a great author who had the world at his fingertips, with flawless looks and a perfect voice. One might question whether such a man could exist in the world, but it didn’t take long to realize that he was indeed her boyfriend.

Feeling a thrilling shiver, Marie firmly grabbed Issac’s arm. Before his growth spurt, it felt like clinging to him, but now with their height difference, it was more like hanging onto him.

“Issac. Issac.”

“Yes, Marie.”

“Hehe.”

What good deed had she done in her past life to meet such a perfect man? She smiled brightly and nuzzled her face against Issac’s arm.

Issac blinked his golden eyes at her affection, then smiled and gently stroked her head. Marie purred like a cat, as if asking for more petting.

“Mmm~”

“Do you like me that much?”

“Yes.”

“I like you too.”

His manly yet honey-sweet voice tickled Marie’s ears. She gripped Issac’s arm tightly, as if she would never let go.

While doing so, she didn’t forget to subtly press his arm between her slightly larger breasts. Just as Issac had grown, she too had matured in various ways, beginning to exude a more mature charm.

And Issac, feeling the soft sensation against his arm, only smiled as if indulging her, no longer embarrassed or ashamed as before. Between people who had already seen everything of each other, this level of affection was nothing unusual.

Of course, since Marie had teased him, he intended to tease her back. He slowly leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“Are you trying to seduce me? Just say the word anytime.”

“Heung…”

In the end, Marie melted like ice cream.

*****

I smiled at Marie’s expression as she melted like ice cream. Yet she still didn’t loosen her grip on my arm.

In the months since the exhibition, just as I had changed dramatically, so had Marie. First, she had grown slightly taller, and her appearance had matured from a girl into a proper adult.

Above all, as I could feel on my arm right now, her already large breasts had grown even larger. Of course, they weren’t as overwhelmingly present as Cecilly’s, but they had definitely grown since our first night together.

According to rumors, breasts grow larger when someone touches them, so perhaps that was part of it. I couldn’t help but smile, remembering Marie grumbling about needing to get new underwear.

Sometimes it was hard to believe that such a beautiful woman with such a great figure was my girlfriend, but that only made her more lovable to me.

“…Not today. I have to study for tomorrow’s exam.”

While I was lost in thought, Marie seemed to have regained her composure and barely managed to answer with a deeply flushed face. Her cheeks were so red that if you pressed them with your finger, red liquid might drip out.

After briefly feeling disappointed at her answer, I spoke up when I heard about the exam period.

“What exam is it this time?”

“Math exam. I envy you, Issac. You only have to take history exams.”

As Marie’s envy showed, I had been appointed as a recommended student by Professor Elena, so I didn’t need to attend other classes. I only needed to focus on history, and from the second year on, I would work as Professor Elena’s assistant.

However, wanting to acquire various knowledge of this world, I sometimes attended other lectures as an observer. But since I rarely took exams and truly just observed, the professors didn’t mind much.

“But I still need to do well on the history exams. I was appointed as a recommended student, and it would be troublesome if that got canceled because I was slacking off.”

“I’m still envious. The professor must have recommended you because you love history as much as you do.”

“I was just lucky.”

The professor had simply discovered my notes while I was organizing them. Afterward, I started reading books and papers in exchange for teaching writing techniques to Cindy and visiting the research lab.

Marie gave me an envious look, then shook her body back and forth while still holding onto my arm, grumbling.

“Ah~ I’m really jealous. I want to be a third-year soon too. From third year, you only need to focus on your chosen subject.”

“I think you could definitely do it. Or ask Professor Elena. You’re going into history too, right?”

“I used to think so, but I’m changing my mind. I’m going to study politics.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to be with me?”

“I did originally, but I’ve changed my mind. If I want to help you, learning politics would be better. Now that I’ve made peace with Rina too, don’t you think this is better?”

How does she always choose such thoughtful and adorable things to say? She’s truly unbearably lovable.

I wanted to take her to a secluded place and have my way with her, but since she had an exam tomorrow, I barely managed to restrain myself. We had plenty of time anyway, so I could look forward to later.

“By the way, are you okay?”

“About what?”

“There’s such an uproar about Volume 11. I heard people are even coming to your territory to pay their respects?”

“… …”

I gave a bitter smile at Marie’s question. It had been about three days since Volume 11 was released.

Many people had been deeply shocked by Kayre’s death and the tragic end to the love between humans and elves. There were even memorial processions for Kayre, even though no real person had died.

To be honest, I had expected some intense reactions. The Kayre side story had just been released, raising his popularity.

But it was purely my mistake to think I’d just receive some criticism and be done with it. The situation started to take a strange turn when people began showing up at the publishing house and even coming to pay respects at our territory.

According to my mother’s letter, they all wore solemn expressions as they placed white chrysanthemums in front of artwork related to Kayre. For reference, the artwork displayed during the exhibition was still in place.

‘If I had known this would happen, I would have released Volume 12 together…’

Volume 11 highlighted Kayre’s death, while Volume 12 focused on the relationship between Xenon and Merry. Merry reveals herself as an elf and confesses to Xenon.

And that’s when the line I gave to Cecilly appears: Rather than living with regret like someone else, it’s better to live with longing. So I will love you.

Thanks to this, Xenon also escapes from shock, grows one step further, and begins rigorous training to take revenge on Jealousy.

Of course, these are all scenes that will appear in Volume 12, and right now Volume 11 is more important. I rubbed the back of my neck out of habit, unsure of how to respond.

“…I didn’t expect it to be this bad either. When I first heard the news, I thought it was an exaggeration.”

“Well, who told you to create such a heart-wrenching story and then kill off a character? This is what happens when you shatter readers’ fantasies so spectacularly.”

“Keep it down. Someone might hear.”

Fortunately, there were no passersby around at the moment, but Marie’s comment was quite dangerous. Marie seemed to realize this belatedly as she quickly covered her mouth with her palm.

She then looked around and, confirming that no one was there, let out a sigh of relief.

“Anyway, killing off characters seems risky. Just in case, I’m asking—Kayre won’t be resurrected or anything, will he?”

“Hmm… I don’t think so?”

“What do you mean ‘I don’t think so’? Are you considering it?”

“Even if he does appear, it would be at the end. It’s not even decided yet.”

Originally, Kayre wasn’t supposed to appear at all, but with readers’ intense criticism continuing, my mind was gradually changing. However, concerned about complicating the story, even if he did appear, it would be in the epilogue.

The form of his appearance would be similar to how I was reincarnated into this world—Kayre’s identical soul would be reincarnated. Upon meeting Elisha, he would remember his past life completely, continuing their love story that transcended time.

‘But before that, Jin might cause problems…’

If this was the reaction to Kayre, the response when Jin dies would be even worse, not better. I was considering whether I should change the story because of this.

Changing the story would mean not being able to resolve the foreshadowing I had planted so far, risking turning it into a mediocre work. But if I proceeded as planned, I would face tremendous criticism from readers.

Even my mother was among the readers hoping for Jin and Lilly to end up together, so I might get severely scolded. It was an inevitably complicated situation for me.

“Well, I’m sure you have something in mind. As long as Xenon and Merry end up together, I’m satisfied. Surely those two won’t…”

“No matter what, I have to let the protagonist and female lead end up together.”

“Good thinking. Yes. As the protagonist, he should have children. The same goes for Jin and Lilly, right? By the way, my mother is looking forward to it.”

“… …”

I hope this doesn’t lead to our engagement being called off.