I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 35: Canbina Coast (5)

The next three days passed quickly, as I slayed the Krebiel as soon as I reached the shores of Canbina.

The last three days have been fairly uneventful, with no particularly dangerous creatures attacking.

It was still a little while before the second wave of demons would appear.

The weaker ones that crawled up from time to time were taken care of with a single AoE spell. For the time being, I could take it easy and get on with my day.

Of course, Alex still had a lot on his plate.

I never would have thought that he would choose a life that is focused on work, even on vacation. When I look at Alex these days, I can’t help but wonder.

So in the meantime, I’ve been doing my own research into why he’s changed.

I’ve been doing my own research into Alex’s behavior and what’s going through his mind.

For three days straight, I stood by my fiancé’s side, wordlessly focusing on his every move and observing a very different Alex than I’d ever known.

“…Ariana?”

“Yes?”

“Is there something you want to tell me?”

“No, not really.”

“…Okay.”

Now, it has become a daily conversation for him to notice my gaze and say something like this while I was concentrating on him.

I know that if I can’t contain my curiosity and pry into the secrets he’s hiding, he won’t lie and will tell me the truth.

But the difference between hearing it from Alex that way and figuring it out on my own was pretty significant.

More than finding out Alex’s secret, I didn’t want him to find out mine.

If I pressed him on the truth of why he’d traveled all the way to the shores of Canbina knowing that a dangerous creature would appear, he would inevitably become suspicious of the intent of my questions.

And then the next question would come back to him, “How did I know about it, and how did I know to follow?”

I don’t think he’s going to put me on the spot, but just in case he does, I’ll do my best to answer.

And if we get into a deep conversation, we might even end up discussing the secrets of this world.

I might even reveal that this world is actually the world of a game I created in a previous life, and furthermore, that I was originally a man.

…And Alex’s reaction to finding out, I don’t want to imagine.

I’ve already made up my mind to be Alex’s wife, and I don’t want to be hated for it now.

After all, I’ve worked hard to become a noble duchess, body and soul.

There may come a time when I feel comfortable sharing this secret, but it’s too soon, at least for now.

Another reason is that I don’t want to seem like I’m hounding Alex.

Even if my questions don’t come back from Alex’s side, the questions I’m going to ask are inherently suspicious of him.

It would be unbecoming of me as a duchess and of Alex as his fiancée to suddenly act like I’m doubting him again after I’ve already told him I trust him.

Maybe Alex, too, would be hurt by my questioning.

I know what it’s like to not be trusted by someone you love, because I’ve been there, done that.

In that sense, at least with Alex, I can’t ask him a question that would make him doubt me directly.

And then, most importantly, there’s the matter of my own ego.

After all, I’ve been his fiancée for nearly a decade, and he’s technically a character I created.

In other words, I’m his mother and wife. I guess you could say he’s my son and my husband.

I’m a mother who doesn’t recognize her son because he’s a different person, and a wife who doesn’t recognize her husband because he’s a different person.

It’s a humiliating story in many ways. I can’t forgive myself for that.

So for now, I’m gathering information through observation.

I’m going to observe Alex closely and make my own judgment based on that.

“…Is there anything you really want to say?”

“No, I don’t.”

“If Ariana says so.”

I’m going to find out why Alex has suddenly gotten cooler in such a short period of time, I swear.

* * *

Another week passed, and before I knew it, I’d already spent ten days on the shores of Canbina.

If I’m exaggerating a bit, that also means I’ve been living under the same roof with Alex for 10 days.

Sure, we have separate rooms and sleep separately, but at least it’s not like living in a dorm with other students who aren’t related to us.

Plus, the other three people are all Alex and mine’s servants, so it’s almost like we’re living together.

Ten days is not a short period of time, and it was enough time for me to notice changes in Alex.

I don’t usually have the opportunity to observe him carefully, but having the chance to watch his every move up close, it’s clear that a lot has changed.

Things like him using sword techniques he’s never been taught in the story, or his magic growing much faster than in the original story.

There were many other things, but it all boiled down to one thing: the use of time.

Perhaps the most significant change to Alex was his use of time, which was completely altered.

Of course, before he was brainwashed by the dreamweed, Alex wasn’t exactly a time-waster, but he always seemed to have at least some free time on his hands.

But after watching my fiancée closely these past few days, it’s clear that Alex is living his life as if every second counts.

I could see that he was cutting corners on things like sleep, which was essential, and I realized how much he was living under the pressure of time.

The way he was rushing around as if he had to get everything done in a few years, it was almost as if he had been given a terminal diagnosis and was trying to burn out the rest of his life.

“…I hope not.”

If Alex is acting the way he is because he’s already aware of his heart disease and knows he’s going to die in a few years then his seeming lack of personal life would make sense.

But Alex’s disease is a tricky one, one that can only be treated with modern medicine, not the magic of this world.

In fact, a recent medical examination at the church didn’t find it at all.

The highest priest in the land couldn’t find it, and even Alex couldn’t figure it out on his own.

And that was a good thing.

With no cure yet, it’s not good for Alex to know that his life is short.

Most people, when they realize their time is short, become pessimistic and lose the will to live.

There’s no point in giving Alex a bunch of red pills that he doesn’t need to take, at least not until I find a way to cure his illness.

The only thing that’s even remotely close to a cure in the game’s setting is Sierra’s light magic….

“…Ha.”

A sigh escaped my lips as I remembered her face, which had already disappeared.

If I was going to be reincarnated as a character in a game, it was much better for me to be reincarnated as Sierra.

If I were her, I would have been able to cure Alex’s illness, and I wouldn’t have had to use dreamweed or something to change the story’s plot.

Sure, I would have seen a different view from a different place, but at least I would have moved in a direction that was as helpful to the story as possible.

After all, it’s not my life that’s at stake here, it’s about ending the game’s story on the right note.

Anyway, the immediate task at hand was clear.

‘Finding the right ending for Academy Light Romance, or finding a cure for Alex’s heart disease, is important.’

That wasn’t what my fiancé needed right now.

What Alex needs right now is a good night’s rest.

“I need to get him some rest somehow.”

He was the kind of person who would bring work with him on vacation, work nonstop, and never lay down for more than two hours once he was in bed.

Dale told me that the only reason he was even showing signs of resting now was because he was worried about me, and that it wouldn’t have been strange for him to collapse at any time.

In fact, Alex, who hadn’t rested at all over the winter break, and had spent the entire time smashing up demon nests, collapsed upon arrival at the Academy.

Putting this much strain on a body that’s already in bad shape is definitely going to take its toll on his heart condition.

It’s not a good look for him to be taking his own life when he’s worried that it won’t get better.

Besides, even though he’s so busy, he can’t neglect the time he spends with me, and he’s devoting at least an hour or two a day to talking to me outside of meal times….

“Oh.”

As I pondered how to ensure that Alex gets his breaks, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.

It was a method that even Alex, a man of the world, couldn’t resist, and that would force him to take a well-deserved break.