Standard Contract Guidelines for a Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 52

When Adelia arrived at the Laboratory, she barely returned Siern’s greeting before slipping into her own workspace.

Thinking of yesterday’s events made her face burn with embarrassment.

She wondered why she hadn’t thought of it during her walk here.

Once she’d put on her Experimental Goggles and pulled on thin gloves, Adelia placed the dish of Holly—the ninth fungal sample she’d cultivated two days prior—beneath the Microscope.

If the cultivation experiment had succeeded, the fungal structure should have shown visible changes.

Adelia stepped back, drew a deep breath, and held it.

As her tension eased, she finally stepped forward and pressed her eye to the lens.

For a long moment she stood absolutely still, and then her lips began slowly to part.

“It… worked…!”

She nearly seized the microscope in her excitement.

“It worked! It actually worked!”

Adelia bounced away from the microscope, unable to contain herself.

She thought she’d only taken a few steps when her back and shoulders collided hard against the opposite wall with a dull thud.

“Ow, ow, ow…!”
“What was that noise?”

The door flew open and Professor Siern rushed in.

Seeing Adelia holding her shoulders, he frowned and hurried toward her.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“Oh, Professor! No, it’s not that—I’ve succeeded in restructuring the Holly tissue! I was so excited I got carried away bouncing around, and then… well…!”

Siern let out a long sigh.

“You frightened me. No matter how happy you are, show a little restraint. You’re not a child.”
“I’m sorry. But, but Professor! Look at this! It turned out exactly as I’d planned—perfectly shaped! The Spore has become a rabbit!”

Siern was practically pushed toward the microscope by Adelia’s enthusiasm. He peered through and spoke.

“It certainly does look like a rabbit.”
“Right?”
“These ear-like protrusions here—they’ll help with Acid Neutralization, yes?”
“Exactly! Rather than just decomposing it, the Spore genes formed in the projections actually neutralize and expel it. Beyond Nitrogen, nothing else is needed.”
“Nitrogen, then. Interesting.”
“The imported fertilizers contain Nitrogen too. These little ones will need it in greater abundance than that, but that’s all they require.”

Siern nodded thoughtfully and asked, “So how are you planning to mass-produce this?”

“I’ll need to do more research on that. For actual experimental deployment, I’ll need quite a large quantity. I could replicate it here in the Laboratory, but that would take considerable time.”

“Then we’ll need to find an external location for replication.”
“External?”
“Yes. No matter how beneficial this is to soil, fungus is still fungus. If we over-cultivate it in this confined space and something goes wrong, we’ll have a serious problem. We haven’t conducted any biological trials yet.”
“That’s true…!”
“Let’s look for a separate location.”

Siern patted Adelia on the shoulder and turned to leave.

As Adelia gazed contentedly at the microscope, lips pressed together, Siern paused at the door and turned back to her.

“Adelia?”
“Yes, Professor?”
“You’ve done excellent work. Once you finish the Acid Neutralization testing, prepare a full report.”

And with that, he was gone.

Adelia stood stunned for a moment, then stifled a laugh and bounced excitedly in place.

If she succeeded in mass-producing the ninth fungal sample, it would be a landmark discovery!

And to hear Siern say “excellent work”—his other students who’d passed through would have fallen backward in shock at the sight.

‘It seems the Professor isn’t concerned about what happened at the reception. I’m so grateful for that.’

Practically dancing with joy, Adelia gave a light clap and paused.

“Right, that’s right. Wine. I need to think about the Wine too.”

If she made Wine from grapes grown in the Duke’s Territory and paired it with complementary foods, it could receive quite a favorable response.

‘Hmm, to make Wine, the first thing I need is yeast. Everything else would be ingredients… but there’s already an abundance of good Wine on the market. What kind of addition would make it popular?’

And she’d also need to figure out how to make grape juice.

She wanted to create something that would astonish people.

Oddly, this seemed to give her more of a headache than even Spore Cell Restructuring had.

She could explain the process of wine-making from grapes in clear, orderly fashion, but this…!

‘This isn’t something I should puzzle out alone. I need to talk to Loerston about it.’

Though there remained a certain awkwardness, she couldn’t carry this uncomfortable feeling around forever.

Her feelings toward Loerston had softened, yet the memory of their last argument lingered, keeping her heart from settling fully at ease.

But once they began discussing Wine, this discomfort would surely fade away.

Deciding she should broach the subject that very evening, Adelia threw herself back into her experiments.

***

Having finished his audience with the king, Loerston headed toward the Central Palace to attend a bureaucratic council meeting an hour hence.

Inside, bureaucratic nobles were already gathered in small clusters, conversing. Some had gathered in the Recreation Room smoking, others shooting billiards…!

Though Loerston didn’t enjoy tobacco, he entered the Recreation Room.

Lingering in the corridor risked running into bothersome people—the Countess, for instance.

Yet the moment he stepped inside, Loerston felt that something was very, deeply wrong.

Normally, those who gossiped in the Recreation Room were either those holding high office or those seeking to curry favor with them for some position.

As a result, they paid little attention to who came or went, focused entirely on their own conversations.

But today was different.

‘What…?’

The moment the door swung open, dozens of eyes fixed upon him, their weight pressing heavily against his chest.

Even after he stepped inside and took a glass of Champagne, the stares remained fixed.

He tried to act as though nothing troubled him, yet he couldn’t help but notice.

He worked his way toward a window where fewer people clustered and spotted Gibson, the Marquess.

He was talkative and somewhat frivolous—not someone Loerston particularly admired—but the man was well-connected.

He might know something about this strange situation.

“Good day, Marquess Gibson.”
“Oh! Oh… Duke Loerston.”

That’s odd, Loerston thought.

The Marquess’s reaction alone was enough to tell him this situation was far from normal.

“Do you know what this is all about? I feel as though I’ve missed something amusing.”

Rather than answering, Gibson stared at him in obvious confusion.

“You haven’t heard? Good heavens.”
“Heard what…?”

The Marquess looked around, then led Loerston toward a more secluded corner.

The Champagne in his glass sloshed and spilled onto Loerston’s hand. Loerston didn’t consider himself superstitious, but it hardly seemed an auspicious sign.

The Marquess, his small frame doing little to shield Loerston from view—though he made the effort—spoke in an almost whispered tone.

“There’s been an absolute uproar about your wife since earlier.”

Loerston’s eyes went blank for a moment.

“My… wife?”
“Yes! There’s a rumor going around that your wife—Adelia, the famous Professor Siern’s…! Well, that she’s his mistress. Is that true?”
“What?!”

Loerston’s voice was so loud that every eye in the room turned toward him once again.

Glancing around, he quickly pulled Gibson outside.

Even in the corridor, people glanced at him uneasily—it was far from comfortable.

“Marquess Gibson, what are you saying? How did my wife come to be the subject of such a rumor?”
“Yesterday’s party. Someone witnessed your wife and Professor Siern having a rather… intimate rendezvous on the Balcony.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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